Some time later…

“Much better, now it only needs some decoration...”

Alejandro has completely cleaned the factory and designated some specific areas for his purposes; a kitchen, main workshop, his room, a guestroom, living room, and finally an armory. He begins to adjust the manager’s office as his new bedroom, moves the desk to another spot and takes away the old cabinets to the main workshop to recycle them into scrap metal. There are a few old couches in decent condition that could be used for someone to sleep on until he gets hold of something better, now he needs something crucial: a bed.

“Ding ding ding ding… I’ll find a bed for my house, but first I need to borrow a smartphone.”

Alejandro delves into the industrial area around the building. Some factories still are operating, but he can see most of them are abandoned due to the presence of a nearby confederate outpost. He spots a small, abandoned storehouse and as he enters, Alejandro hears some voices from afar.

He is only carrying his standard-issue knife, but feels it’ll be enough to protect himself. Getting closer to the source of the sounds he spots three gangsters, and Alejandro reveals himself to them while maintaining some distance.

“Hey hey look at this guy, we have a dumbass taking a walk in our neighborhood.” The first guy to speak seems like he might be the boss.

“Wrong place boy.” Another guy steps forward. “Hand over your valuables or else...” He makes a murdering gesture with his finger.

“I can think of seven ways to break that finger and shove it where the sun doesn’t shine.” Alejandro says.

The thug scowls and charges towards Alejandro with a shiv in hand. At the last moment, Alejandro evades him and trips him without effort, hitting the wall with the man’s head. The other two charge at him, armed with small blades. Alejandro draws his knife, parries the attacks, and disarms them with quick shallow cuts to their wrists. Still, they don’t stop and begin to use bare fists as a last resort. Their jabs are easily dodged, he finishes the fight using the knife’s butt to the chest, knocking them to the ground. The last remaining thug takes his shiv, gets up and silently prepares to stab Alejandro from behind but, in the moment he is about to strike, Alejandro grabs his wrist and squeezes it hard enough that he drops his weapon, he’s finally pushed to the wall.

“Damn it I give up, let me go I won’t mess with you anymore…”

“I could, but I’m not terribly inclined to do so... if you have a smartphone I might change my mind…” Alejandro says.

“Take it from the boss, I don’t want to be part of this anymore, if you let me go I promise not to return to this place ever, I swear it by my dead mother.”

“You better keep your word, or your mother will be very disappointed, now SCRAM!”

The gangster flees from the place panicked, while Alejandro loots the belongings of the unconscious thugs.

“A weird-looking ring, a silver chain, and the smartphone, pleasure doing business with you.”

As he walks to the exit he notes a few old appliances loitering the place.

“Mmm, maybe I should come back to forage some electronics and more,” he thinks.

Alejandro cleans the smartphone screen and calls Roberth.

“Hello, who is this?”

“I am Valeria’s boyfriend, who the hell are you to be going out with my woman, you idiot.”

“Darn it, it’s you Alejandro!” They share a laugh.

“How have you been? Everybody has been asking for you.”

“I finished my training and I’m working for the VOA, alone for now, and… what have you told them about my absence?”

“I explained to them that you were captured by the Red Confederacy and they have you working in a gulag, I wish you could have seen their faces!” He laughs.

“Suuuuuree, I can always trust you to be discreet…”

“Relax, I told them you were accepted into that school for gifted people, “Thales Brilliancy Academy” right?”

“That institute for Superhumans? Sounds good to me, hey, I need a hand for a work, are you busy?”

“I can’t help right now, I’m gonna do something in a moment. One more thing, where are you right now?”

“In my new hideout, I’ll message you the address.”

“Alright, call me to meet up one day.”

Alejandro finishes the call and sends the address to Roberth, then he calls Valeria.

“Hello, who is this?” Valeria says.

“Guess who…”

“Alejandro?!”

“Yeah, I have returned from my training in the Boy Scouts, I work for them for now.”

“Great, where are you now? As far as I know you can’t be at your home since that *incident* with the Reds.”

“With Roberth, any secret is safe…”

“I thought they were looking for you because of a robbery or because you disrespected one of them, not a massacre.”

“I don’t care how many of them I’ve killed, I will destroy as many bases and outposts as I can find on my way, without a doubt.”

She pauses, then says, “I agree that we should get rid of the Confederate presence in the country but killing a lot of people doesn’t seem right to me.”

“They are soldiers, not civilians, they chose the path and its consequences.”

She sighs. “I won’t argue about this, where are you now?”

“I have a new hideout, my temporary home. By any chance, do you have time to help me with something?”

“Well yeah. I think. What it’s going to be?”

“I need to go to my home to get some things, I could use a hand.”

“Alright, I’ll wait for you there.”

***

9:00 pm…

Valeria waits for Alejandro in front of his house. She notices a person from afar running very swiftly, she is wary at first but discovers that is him.

“Since when can you run so fast?” Valeria says, impressed and a little intimidated.

“I learned it when I was working out at the north, still it makes me considerably tired.”

“Not bad, I also learned some tricks, but for now let’s do the task you mentioned. How are we going to enter?

“My father gave me the keys to the house just in case.”

“Good to know, open the door.”

Alejandro unlocks the door, they get inside and proceed to lock it behind them.

“Long time since I left home...” Alejandro feels strange being back. The house is so empty.

“Do you ever miss it?”

“Hardly, I prefer to live with my aunt.”

Alejandro goes to his room with Valeria behind, it remains as tidy as the day he left.

“Now we have to get the mattress and take apart the frame, it shouldn’t take long,” Alejandro says.

Valeria takes the mattress and a blanket while Alejandro gets his father’s toolbox, the process only takes a few minutes, once they are done they load everything in a pick-up truck and head to Alejandro’s hideout.

9:54 pm…

They arrive at the hideout, Valeria seems curious and a bit scared. A few manufacturing plants are still operating, making noise even at this hour. The air is smoky from the plants.

“Why choose this place? It feels… dangerous and hazardous…” Valeria says.

“Maybe because of that—I like it, when I finish the VOA assignment tomorrow I’ll see how I can refit the main entrance.”

“Ok, let’s move all this stuff.”

They move everything to the bedroom, where everything fits perfectly. After some minutes of work Alejandro drops to the bed. “Much better.”

“Why not bring just the mattress? Did you really need the frame too?” She sighs. “You are too comfortable, move aside.” Valeria drops herself to the bed next to Alejandro.

“That’s right, it would be unthinkable to sleep like a hobo.”

“Of course, speaking of…” She gets up and pulls out a piece of newspaper. “Look at this.”

The article shows pictures of soldiers heavily armed and lined up, and the caption says, The People’s Militia.

“Guess what, the regime is making The People’s Militia stronger, they are providing them bigger weapons, communication systems, surveillance equipment and the best one, motorcycles, hit and run attacks are a very reliable tactic in this country,” Valeria says.

“Expendable people… and some of them are superhumans, a lot has changed these six months, if I see one of them—common folk or not—I won’t hesitate…”

She frowns. “I would rather you not kill people. I suppose it’s none of my business. See you tomorrow.” With that, Valeria leaves the hideout.

Alejandro worries over what Valeria said. He knows that killing people is not right, but what about those who bring suffering and anguish to the innocent, either for profits or to bring fear? He has seen it in the media numerous times, the wanton corruption in Venezuela: how all kinds of criminals almost get away without repercussions, non-stop embezzlement of the government’s entities, kidnappings, assaults, robberies, and now The People’s Militia is covering more ground and getting bolder… the ultimate solution to eradicate a bad herb is to pull it out from the root.

“I decide who does and doesn’t deserve to be under the executioner’s pollaxe... No rest for the wicked,” Alejandro thinks. After that he gets up, secures all the hideout’s entrances, and finally goes to sleep for tomorrow’s assignment.

***

The next day, 8:00 am…

The annoying smartphone alarm sounds loudly, and Alejandro fumbles to turn off that irritating sound. He gets up and does some basic exercises to eliminate any trace of drowsiness, puts on his clothes, and contacts Eve Grant for his first mission.

“Officer Grant, do you copy?”

“I hear you, just in time. As we planned before your deployment, we are now going to call you by your codename.”

Alejandro remembers the codename assigned to him from now on: “Phrixus.”

“Ready for your first task, Phrixus?”

“Ready and able, what it will be?”

“There’s a confederate outpost with vital data we need. We learned they have information about routes and schedules and supply transports, which are shipping unknown but highly valuable strategic cargo. The supervisor should have the information in any form; in a storage device, papers or in any personal computer, by any means, I need that intel. These are the coordinates to the location, it’s lightly garrisoned so it won’t be a problem for you, once the area is clear try to demolish it or cause enough damage to the outpost to weaken the presence of the Red Confederacy in the country; that will make them more alert to our presence, but loosening their grip on the Bellusaxum is our main priority, Eve out.”

“Interesting, is the same outpost that has been bothering this zone? Time to work.”

Phrixus prepares his equipment and heads to the military post.

***

8:49 am…

Phrixus arrives at the confederate outpost, staying at a safe distance to survey the place.

“Fifteen soldiers moderately armed, simple enough.” he says to himself. Phrixus has not only developed a sense of duty regarding getting rid of the Red Confederacy in Venezuela, but he has also developed a thrill for combat situations.

Phrixus is carrying his XM8 assault rifle, P226 pistol, one grenade and his melee weapons; he positions himself on an advantageous shooting spot and snipes the watchman with a single headshot, then the two other guards patrolling the outskirts of the outpost. The alarm resounds all over the place and Phrixus begins to advance. As he gets closer to the entrance he shoots down two soldiers nearby, just inside he is suppressed by a group of guards, forcing him to take cover. They empty their magazines and stop to reload, so he takes advantage of the pause to bring them down, then takes cover again. While he is reloading his rifle, one trooper attacks him with the butt of his gun, Phrixus dodges it effortlessly and breaks his neck with an accurate jab. He notices some soldiers getting closer, so he pulls out his pistol and begins to eliminate the enemies ahead. They land a few shots in the process, but not enough to stop him. Then he observes that the rest of the soldiers are regrouping and forming a defensive position.

“Enough lead.” He drops his rifle and pistol. “Time to finish this, up close and personal.”

Phrixus wields the pollaxe strapped to his back and charges towards the remaining troopers. They shoot with everything they have, but Phrixus deflects the bullets with his weapon even though it slows him down. He assaults the soldiers, dispatching them hastily, one by one. The last trooper lunges at him with his knife, and Phrixus does the same, deflecting the enemy’s blade and finishing him with a stab to the chest.

The outdoor area is clear, just one small building remains to be checked, possibly the boss’s office; Phrixus rearms and brings down the door with one kick. He begins to inspect the area, but reaching the main room he finds there is no one in the office. Suddenly he has the feeling that someone is behind him. He turns, hearing some words in an unknown language. The stranger shoots him in the head, but it does nothing more than make him flinch thanks to the alien meteorite and the gifts it bestowed. Phrixus grabs the aggressor and throws him toward a desk. The officer tries to get up but freezes when the spearhead of the pollaxe rests on his neck.

The man says something in his language.

“I hope this works,” says Phrixus, striking his pollaxe down on the wooden desk. He grabs the head of the officer with both hands and forms an intrusive psychic link, copying his knowledge and memories to learn his language instantly. He hasn’t managed to adequately control that skill yet, so although he gets the information he wanted, he receives a migraine and a mild case of mental fatigue in return.

“Stop it, I surrender!” The officer says.

“Hand over the intel, or else...”

“What intel? This place is just an observation post, not the confederate HQ.”

“If you are not willing to cooperate, then you are disposable.” Phrixus draws his pistol and shoots him between the eyes. “Good night.”

Phrixus begins to search the body, finding a storage device that seems like what Eve was looking for, and takes an insignia of the Red Confederacy from his uniform as a trophy.

Before leaving he picks up the officer’s gun. “Revolver MP412 REX, nice.”

Phrixus leaves the building and picks up some weapons and ammunition from the bodies, then looks for something to carry all the goods. A parked vehicle inside the outpost gets his attention, and he loads the spoils inside the car, finding the keys inside.

“First one down…” Phrixus thinks, hoping the information he’s taken is enough.

Before leaving the place Phrixus moves some fuel barrels of the outpost and places them on key points to cause as much damage as possible. He spills gasoline to make sure every container explodes, moves away, and throws a grenade while leaving. The bomb detonates and ignites the fuel, fire spreads to the barrels exploding simultaneously, in less than a minute the outpost lays in ruins and is engulfed in flames. Phrixus goes to his hideout with the data and his loot.

***

10:23 am…

Phrixus arrives at his hideout, parks the vehicle in the back of the place, and goes to report to Eve. “Officer Grant, do you copy?

“Loud and clear, have you found the data?”

“Affirmative, sending it right now.” Phrixus sends the data using the handheld computer provided by the VOA.

“Good work, give me a moment.”

10 seconds later…

“It’s all encrypted, as I expected.”

“Do you want me to do anything else?

“No, you have accomplished your mission, we will take care of breaking the code.”

“How long will it take?”

“About a week, for now, we don’t have more tasks for you to do but you can speed up the process of removing the confederate presence by demolishing any outposts you find. We will receive the reports and you get paid depending on the size of the garrison. The bigger they are, the more money is in the sack.”

“…And speaking of payment...”

“I haven’t forgotten it, you have earned three thousand dollars for completing the mission, on your PDA you should see the current balance of your account. Contact me on Tuesday for your next task, Eve out.”

He sighed with relief. “A free week! This place needs a true overhaul.”

Phrixus calls Duncan next.

“Duncan here, what’s up Alejandro, or should I say Phrixus, I heard you finished your first mission perfectly, ready to spend some cash?”

“Sure, but it won’t be weapons or stuff like that just yet, I need some tools and a pet, think you can do it?”

“Mmm, maybe I can arrange something. Non-military equipment not included in the VOA shopping list will be a bit more expensive.”

“No problem, let’s do business.”

“Alright, what it will be…”