My Werepanther System: Starting with Nine Lives
Chapter 63 VIOLENTLY EARLY MORNINGS

Chapter 63: 63 VIOLENTLY EARLY MORNINGS

Thursday Morning September 6th, 2274. Fort Amazonia’s Drift Soldier Training and Deployment Zone, AKA, The Box. AG Brennus’ Office of Operations, AKA, The Den.

Haphazardly, Rex suited up in his recently upgraded Drift Soldier kit, featuring his new spec ops additives.

One of which was a bracelet known as a Snipe-Gauntlet— which could instantaneously summon a hard-light construct of a wrist mounted long range scoped rifle that functioned on high octane pressurized "Lux-Rounds" which were basically bullets made almost entirely out of light. On his other wrist, he had a bracelet that summoned hardlight constructs of a sword and shield.

Perfect for stealth, they were weightless and easily hidden. But they also didn’t pack much of a punch against more durable targets.

Working in tandem with the stealth kit was Rex’s upgraded mana stone that could change the fabric and texture of his martial skin as well as smell and temperature.

Either due to lack of sleep or the residuals of the Drift Dimension lodged in his skin, he arrived to AG Brennus’ office looking a little out of uniform.

He didn’t notice it until he found all of them looking back at him.

Sgt Isadora’s pigtails were freshly made and starkly in contrast with her bothered expression.

Cpt. Camo grunted and turned back to face their Alpha-General with a flash and ruffle of his heavy poncho.

Specialist Lyra smirked. "Is this supposed to be an erection joke?"

"...what?" Rex asked.

"That’s morning WOOD, you bird." Isadora said to Lyra, "Morning rock sounds way worse. And kind of nonconcensual."

Rex was so taken aback by what looked like a child carrying a shotgun explaining euphemisms to a super-model... also wielding a shotgun, that he paused for too long.

"Look at yourself, you ape!" Isadora spat.

Rex looked down at himself and found his martial-skin’s surface had lost its smooth and veiny skintight allure in exchange for one of jagged edges and cuts.

He looked like he was wrapped in stone.

"Awe what the f—"

"Specialist Rex. You’re late." AG Brennus interrupted without looking at him.

As usual, he stood like a statue. Poised and inhumanely disciplined with his hands behind his back and long spiky hair alarmingly wolfish.

"I’m sorry— I was working the other angle." Rex used his alibi the best he could.

"Work those push-ups while you’re at it."

For no reason apparently.

Rex almost had to choke himself to stop the hiss rolling from his throat as he dropped and began cranking out push-ups.

"I guess the dinosaur kobolds were my preworkout for the day." Rex thought sarcastically as he fired away on the floor.

"Now that you’re all here, I will begin." AG Brennus started before quickly adding, "Sgt Isadora, get on the ground."

"WHAT—"

"I didn’t wait ten minutes in silence just to hear your impish chortling as soon as the main focus of todays meeting arrives and inevitably DISAPPOINTS ME! Now GET! ON! THE! GROUND!"

Sgt Isadora was on the floor before he finished with her shotgun laid across her knuckles as she started her possibly endless set of push-ups.

AG Brennus wiped his scruffy sideburns and sighed, "As I was, operatives, usually— for any functioning and fully realized unit today or any start day post starter mission, you’d get your detailed roadmap and future deployments as a means to prepare and tailor your trainings. But as you all know, you’re not your average special ops unit. Your goal is not so tangible. There is no roadmap— no completely followable path for that of a chameleon. They spend half of their life among the unseen. As will you four. You will hide in plain sight. Followed by few and known by even less. And I’ll be your brain— your instinctual drive, telling you where the flies are. And what do we know about flies, Rex?"

"They’re..... uhh.... unpredictable and on the move."

"WRONG!" AG Brennus yelled, "Lyra, make him work."

"Oh, c’mon." Rex thought as Lyra picked up a stack of formation books and dropped them on Rex’s back.

As she squatted down beside him she whispered, "Keep pushing for me, muscle-man."

"Flies are the most predictable species known to man. They follow death, destruction and corrosion. Where it grows, they go. And you follow. Understood?"

They all nodded.

"Sgt Isadora, Specialist Rex, on your feet and beside your fellow operatives." AG Brennus said.

Quickly, Rex and Isadora got to their feet and rejoined Cpt Camo and Spc Nightingale before the generals desk.

"Now, your flies in question for your next mission are two socialite philanthropists and stock trading experts that are investors in the Price Family Economic Complex." AG Brennus pulled a steel capsule out of his pocket and slid it across his desk.

The holographic image of two individuals rose up with character profiles and diagnostics reading off their physical stats and habits down to which hand they wrote with and their type in men and women and whatever hormonally modified in between.

The first was a man. He wasn’t at all handsome. He was quite gross actually with a neck hidden under layers of greasy fat and a beard that was too thin to hide his jowls hanging off his hidden jawline. He was also balding and one of his canines was a silver capped fang. Still, he wore a visibly priceless suit that was undeniably stylish and fit him well.

"This is Ryder Graves. Before his life as a well... this, he was a quote unquote low level gang member known as Big-Pug working out of the Fractured Kingdom, more accurately, Bedlam County of Old England."

"I have to chat up a Brit? I’ll take the discharge, General." Lyra said.

"No you won’t." AG Brennus said, "You’re exactly his type. You see, Mr Graves was a man who fell into money fast. A man who was ugly and unwanted before then. Something strange happens to men who are thrown through the societal gauntlet. They get resentful and aren’t able to truly enjoy what is really a second chance at life. In Mr. Graves case, despite all his money and influence, he can’t help forcing himself on women he knows thinks he’s ugly."

"So there’s a reason he stays like... that." Rex said.

AG Brennus nodded, "It’s part of his revenge fetish."

Lyra dropped her head in defeat, "Sometimes this job sucks."

"Will it suck when I tell you to kill him?" AG Brennus asked.

Lyra grinned like a demon, "I love this job."

"Now, our next target is his wife." AG Brennus said.

Rex looked at the next holographic image. Unlike Big-Pug, she was pretty. Pretty in that high-class way that Rex couldn’t really comprehend. Half of her was fake. She had an almost elven face with high cheekbones, deepset thin brows, long colored lashes and glowing outlined lipgloss slathered across her plumped lips. Her hair was up in a high ponytail so they all could see her comically large bussom.

"This guy is married?" Isadora asked, seemingly unbothered by who he was married to.

"Ten year anniversary this weekend." AG Brennus said.

"She deserves compensation." Lyra said.

AG Brennus shook his head, "Nerissa Naught. She’s got her own issues. Including, a hyper inflated ego, infidelity issues, and a lust for power. Her money came from sucking and thrusting the numbers out of stock exchange and company logistics owners over many years. Arguably an illegal amount of years. She hit her first good investment freshly at eighteen. Didn’t stop for a second after."

Isadora leaned forward to read her character profile. "It says her type is old men with old money and old power and usually ugly faces."

They all side eyed Cpt Camo.

"Go fuck yourselves." He grunted.

"Rex, you’re up." AG Brennus said.

"Ouch." Rex said.

"You don’t understand. You’re the opposite. It’s what we need."

"It is?" Lyra asked in confusion before immediately saying, "Ohhhhhhh..... I get it. I jumpstart the revenge lay."

AG Brennus nodded.

"Nerissa’s lust for power works from all aspects of her life. Down to her marriage. She allows Big-Pug to act out his weird revenge sex fantasies. But only with women she approves. Lyra will not be approved. Big-Pug wont be able to help himself. He’s a dog, and the Nightingale is a treat he can’t resist."

Lyra looked to Rex and winked.

"This will do unknown amounts of psychological damage to Mrs. Naught. She’ll be inebriated, depressed and in need of both an ego boost and a jab back at Big-Pug."

"Rex fits because he’s handsome, young, unknown and a bad boy." Lyra added. "If fatso can’t resist the Nightingale, then the naughty-girl can’t resist the King."

AG Brennus clapped his hands, "Operation Birds and Kings will begin this weekend. Friday evening to be exact. I’ve provided an alibi for both Lyra and Rex’s doctored social media profiles. Until then, you’ll prepare yourselves in any way you see fit. For anyone that doesn’t understand, this is a political assassination. Our two main actors will be the driving force and motive behind the targets quote unquote suicides. A reverse Romeo and Juliet of sorts. That’s where the rest of you come in. Once they’re gone, the amount of shares they had in relation to the Price Family Economic Complex will by default spread among the rest remaining. Which means, more money will go back to the people funding us."

They all nodded in understanding.

"You’re all dismissed."

They all dispersed.

"Spc Rex, fall back." AG Brennus said.

Rex stopped halfway to the doorway and turned around to return to the desk.

"How are things with Imani?"

"Good." Rex said.

"I’m being told you’re playing your role well." AG Brennus said.

Rex shrugged, "I’m doing what I can."

"Can you avoid getting emotionally involved?"

"....what?" Rex asked.

"Don’t forget. Your relationship with Imani is a job. It’s a service to your country." AG Brennus said. "A means to an end."

"Understood."

"Now, is there any sensitive information you can tell me about her?" AG Brennus asked.

Rex was taken aback to Imani telling him about her dead brother. Another one killed by political assassins.

Rex shook his head, "No."

"Very well. You’re dismissed."