Page 44 of Dark Flame

The plane would be ready for her in three days’ time. Three long fucking days, she had to wait just to make her way to Argentina and begin building her fortune again. She would start anew, creating a different army. She would find a way to make new ‘freaks’ and a way to control them.

Karena was smarter than anyone ever gave her credit for. She understood the complexities of creating new creatures who would do her bidding. She understood that sacrifices needed to happen. This time, perhaps she would focus on those already trained – soldiers. They would do nicely for what she had in mind.

“Where are we in finding our prey?” she asked the man seated across from her.

He fidgeted nervously, shifting in his chair slightly. The woman could put fear in anyone who denied her, but he also knew better than to lie to her.

“We cannot seem to locate them. Their tracking devices are no longer functioning.” He felt the first drops of perspiration begin to collect on his forehead and grimaced.

“What do you mean they are no longer functioning?” she said through clenched teeth. “I know for a fact that those devices were not traceable in their bodies. I helped to create them! I’ve seen them pinging in my fucking dreams for twenty years now. How could they not be working?” She tried to control the rage building within her body, but it was fast consuming her thoughts. Nothing was going her way, nothing.

“I don’t know, ma’am. I really don’t know. All I know is that they were working just a month ago, and then suddenly, they all disappeared from the map. Ms. Viskoff, the trackers are twenty years old, as you said. It’s quite possible that they are malfunctioning for some reason.”

“Possible but not probable. And certainly, it wouldn’t happen to all of them. That is not probable. Notallof them! Where was the last working location?” she asked. The man was silent, looking down at the floor. “Well!?”

“I… We don’t know. The tracking software seems to have a glitch. We can’t find any records on their history. It’s as if it all just disappeared, wiped clean from the system, the hard drives are empty, no backup, and the system continues to give a failure notice.”

The man knew it was most likely Groome. He was the last one inside the program. He knew that from the software, but he didn’t tell her. It didn’t matter any longer. The man paid with his life for changing his loyalties, and if he were telling the truth, he admired him for it.

She stood from the blue velvet chaise, straightening the skintight pencil skirt. The white v-neck t-shirt hugged her naked breasts, her nipples poking through the thin material. The man swallowed and wisely looked away.

He was a man, and any man would react at the immediate site of her, but he also knew her secrets, her terrible hidden secrets. He knew better than anyone. Touching this woman would never be worth it. Never.

“Do you know why I’m the only one left, Mario?” she said quietly. He shook his head, and she smiled at the noticeable discomfort the man was experiencing. “I’m the only one left because I am the only one with the balls and intelligence to do the job right. The only one.”

She opened the drawer of her desk and pulled out the handgun, cocking the trigger as loudly as she could. Fear was her drug. Making others fear her made her high. It was addictive. She could see the fear in the animals’ eyes when she was a child and then later the other children when she approached. It excited her. It made her happy. Seeing fear in a grown man’s eyes was like the ultimate drug, the ultimate weapon.

“I was the one who came up with all the plans,” she said casually, waving the weapon in the air above her head. “I was the one who took all the lives. I was the one who ensured Colonel Moore would not be of consequence any further. I made sure the freaks were under control. And look what happens when, just for a moment, a simple moment, I take care of other business. Everything goes to shit, and I’m left to clean up the mess that all of you incompetent assholes have created!”

Mario swallowed, but he knew what was coming. He was dead. She would kill him right here in this room, and no one would care either way. More than that, no one would be here to clean up her mess.

He wasn’t about to go without letting her know she was out of options. The other guards left earlier that morning, tired of her games and threats, her erratic behavior, and the constant blood clean-up. He was it. He was all she had now, and that moment was about to end. He would die knowing that he had one decent shred of dignity left in his body.

“That may be, Ms. Viskoff,” he said, emphasizing her last name, “but you keep burning through all your muscle, and you’ll be left alone. No one to guard you. No one to take care of your dirty little issues. There will be no one left to dispose of the male bodies that you delight in carving up for your pleasure. You think we don’t see you? See you for who you really are?”

Her face flamed red, and he could see that he was pushing all the right buttons.

“You’re a user, Karena, a whore, and a user. You always have been. You whored yourself out to Moore as a teenager. You saw him as a way out of your miserable life, and you took it, knowing that you were going to have to suck his cock and bend over for him. You didn’t care. You gave the old man whatever he wanted.

“Then you followed him around like his fucking puppy for years; years you followed. Don’t tell me you’re the one who did it all, Karena. Moore was in charge, at least in the beginning. You think your body entitles you to whatever you like, whatever you want. You think you can buy your way into a position of authority, fame, or wealth.

“Well, you can’t. You’re nothing but an insecure, whoring bully. So, shoot me. Go ahead. I’ll be one less person to walk out on you. In fact, I would be the last person to walk out on you. I’m it, Karena. The last man. After me, you’re on your own now. So, go ahead. Shoot.”

She leveled the gun at his chest, and he stood straight, staring her directly in the eyes. In all her years, no one, not one man or woman, stood eye-to-eye with her, daring her to pull the trigger.

“How dare you!” she screamed. “How dare you assume you know who I am, what I am. I’m no whore. Any man who uses my body uses it because I allow it to happen. I ALLOW HIM! I decide who touches me and how. I decide if he gets to blow his load. Me!”

Her chest was heaving up and down, and he couldn’t help but to feel some satisfaction with that. He hated this woman with a passion. He was forced by Moore to guard her the last ten years, and when Moore died, he thought he would be free. Now, he was certain he would finally get his freedom. It might be at the end of a gun. But he would have his freedom, one way or another.

He said nothing as she moved closer, the weapon still outstretched. She’s angry, he thought. She’s angry, and she’s going to make a mistake. She’s going to get too close. She inched nearer and nearer, and he kept hold of her gaze.

“I’m not nothing. You’re the nothing, the no one, the Mexican without a country, without a life! You have nothing left! No one! I will end you as I’ve ended everyone who was of no use to me.”

One more step…

She took that next step, and he took his chance grabbing her wrist and jerking it to the left. He twisted hard, and she released the gun, trying to kick out at him. He dodged her heeled foot, grabbing the handle of the weapon. He pulled the clip out and tossed it across the floor. He threw the weapon on the bed and grinned at the woman. She may be clever and vicious, conniving and cruel, but he was still bigger and stronger.

Karena shoved his chest, attempting to kick him again, but he blocked her and shoved at her shoulders. She stumbled on the sky-high heels and fell backwards against the cold, white tile. Shock filled her features, her eyes wild and crazed.

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