Chapter 219. Military Bearing.
“What’s going to happen now?” I asked as we piled into Julio’s Buick for the drive home. At least Lopez’s people hadn’t asked for any of the tactical gear back, and I was glad to have a full set to take home with me.
“I suppose we keep doing what we’ve been doing. What I do know is that I’m going to keep close tabs on the media reports of the bank robbery. I’m not sure how Lopez is going to spin what just happened. Even though the media had been kept away and the cameras inside the bank were turned off, too many hostages watched it live,” Marie said.
“We’ll just have to wait and see. It’s the government’s problem. I’m happy to let them deal with it and that we don’t have to slink around in hiding anymore,” Julio said.
“You’re right, but what about that summoned being loon we just took out? How many more like him are running around out there?” I asked.
“Who knows, I suspect most of us are part of some group by now, given how hard everyone was looking for us,” Marie offered.
It felt good to be a part of something, and to have a home, but I could see the appeal for some people to want to remain on their own. How long anyone could remain on their own with various groups, cults, and the like looking for them, I had no idea. I was just thankful that I fell in with Refuge, and not anyone with more sinister motives.
When we arrived back home, I collected Melvin from Jeanette’s apartment and headed back to my own. Hearing that Jeanette was a great cook, Melvin had decided that he wanted to stay near her after the kids were tired out from playing. From what Jeanette told me, Melvin was a big hit at playing catch. He’d change his shape to reach the ball, and as long as he could touch it, the cube would pull the ball into his body and spit it out a respectable distance.
“You have a good day, Melvin?” I asked him.
“Playing fun.” Was all he tiredly sent back.
“I’m glad you’re having a good time. I’m going fix something to eat and then probably watch a movie before turning in for the night. Are you hungry after all those tacos earlier?” I asked, though I shouldn’t have, Melvin was always hungry.
My dinner was nothing special, just a box of mac and cheese, along with a salad. I made enough to feed two people, but even after eating, Melvin was up for dessert. All I had were some off brand brownies that he seemed to like. After that, he slithered up onto the foot of the bed like a goopy and disgusting puppy. We watched Big Trouble in Little China together. He was new to my world, and I had to make sure my friend was exposed to the best that Earth media had to offer.
The next morning, Jeanette had everyone over for breakfast. I got lucky and scored a one-point bonus to my constitution after eating. Jeanette’s ability and class were amazing for a group like ours. After we finished eating, Marie pulled me, Julio, and Jeanette aside.
“I spoke with Agent Lopez earlier this morning. So far, they’ve been able to contain the story. They’re going with the police using a new drone hostage rescue system as well as some hologram technology to distract the shooters. As far as the summoned being, he wasn’t on anyone’s radar, and that’s making the government nervous. The last thing we need is for them to put trackers on all of us in some misguided attempt at control.
“Apparently, more people in the government are being read in on the summoned beings and the eventual system takeover. I’m not sure how that will affect us, but Lopez seems to think it’s a good thing. It’ll mean more resources allocated and some of that funding should make it way to us,” Marie explained.
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“What about the guy we stopped? He fired mana beams from his hands and all the hostages saw it. How are they explaining that away?” I asked.
“They’re saying he was using some kind of homemade flamethrower. It’s a weak explanation, but the hostages seem to be buying it, or at least not throwing up a fuss for now,” Marie said.
“Is there anything they discovered about the summoned being?” Julio asked.
“Just that he was twenty-seven years old, had prior mental health issues, but was living on his own. No connection to any cults, and they think that with the stress of becoming a summoned being, he succumbed to his mental issues and went on a rampage. As far as his minions are concerned, they were local gang members, and there’s always the possibility the summoned being had some kind of mind control over them,” Marie told us.
“Weird, the dude had laser shooting hands, and mind control. Just what tier and rank was he?” I asked. All Marie did was shrug, there was no way to know.
“One last thing. Lopez’s technician, Jeff, documented a short, but rather large spike in mana that coincided exactly with when Rico’s drone killed the summoned being. Laser hands and mind control don’t help when a big drone slices off your head, but the event sure dumps a bunch of mana into our world,” Marie said.
“Any new estimates on when Earth will be integrated into the system?” Jeanette asked.
“No, but they’re leaning toward one to three years unless some catastrophic event happens to release vast quantities of mana here. It should be noted that summonings also seem to be increasing in pace. Now that we have a united database, we’re tracking that the summoning frequency is accelerating, though the number of summoned beings isn’t growing.” Marie advised.
“I suppose we’ll have to keep an eye out for a new summoned being in the LA area, with that other guy’s death, there will be a new opening for the system to fill,” I offered.
“Yes, the Grimslade Group has a stronger sensor network in that area, so they’ll probably recruit whoever it is. We’re better set up to cover Orange County,” Marie said. I wasn’t sold on the Grimslade Group, but at least so far, they seemed to be playing nice with others. Whoever the new summoned being was, they wouldn’t be alone for long, and at least they’d have some support structure behind them.
After our little meeting broke up, I received a call from Agent Lopez to schedule some training at the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos. It was a short drive from my apartment, and I’d be training in personal combatives, firearms, and small unit tactics. Just my cup of tea, I missed my old martial arts dojo and loved shooting with Julio, so I’d eat up any training they wanted to offer.
While guns may be going the way of the dinosaur with the advent of the system, there was always the possibility that someone would find a loophole to get around a Fail Weapons spell. Given that I could summon my minions without using mana, I would help out by allowing a team of soldiers to practice fighting against my minions.
My training started the next morning, there was no reason to delay. Finding a babysitter for Melvin wasn’t difficult, the entire apartment complex seemed to have taken a liking to him. He was happy to just hang out, especially if they fed him. The drive over was short, but I was a bit nervous pulling up to the main gate of the base.
“Sir, how may I assist you today,” the guard in front said.
“I’m Rico Kline and I’m here to meet a Major Finley,” I replied, handing over my ID. The guard scrutinized it, shifting his gaze between the picture and myself several times. This wasn’t some bored cashier going through the motions to verify if I was old enough to buy beer, these guards were no joke.
“Please pull over into the marked space. Stay in your vehicle. Someone will be by to collect you momentarily,” the guard ordered, pointing to the spot just outside the gate where a few parking places were kept. I followed his commands and waited. A few minutes later, a plain, white Ford Explorer pulled up to the gate and a man in camo walked over to my car.
“Rico Kline?” the man asked, I could see that his name tape said Finley, so I figured this was the guy I was supposed to see.
“That’s me, I take it your Major Finley,” I said as I exited the car and shook the man’s hand.
“Correct, I’ll be your main point of contact for any training related events. I don’t need to remind you that you aren’t to talk about your special qualifications with anyone other than the appropriate personnel. If you don’t know if someone is cleared to speak to you, assume they aren’t. Are you ready to go?” Finley explained.
“Yeah, I’m good,” I replied. Finley cringed at my reply.
“We need to work on your military bearing if you’re going to fit in around here. Yeah, I’m good is out, roger that, is in,” Finley said.
“Wait, I’m just training here, I’m not in the actual Army or something now, am I?” I asked, getting a bit concerned as I sat in the passenger seat next to the major. All I got in reply was a devilish grin from Finley that would have looked right at home on Gary’s mug.