walk down the hallway, soon they pass Haus's room, and Eve is overcome with emotion. Eve bursts into tears, whimpering as she slowly moves away from his room. “Are you going to be ok?”
“ I'm fine. I just need to say goodbye.” Eve says.
“ Say goodbye to whom?” Eve panics, she couldn't possibly tell Alex about Haus. The times they spent together, or the fledgling romance they once held. Eve justifies her feelings in her mind, the past is gone now, and Haus is only a memory.
“ Rednek.” Eve says.
“ Fair enough, I haven't seen him since I got here. Is he still cooking that god forsaken gumbo?” Alex says.
“ With a passion, he thinks we actually like it...” Eve replies.
***
“ Omegawak, returned from the mission, and I have a bit a problem on my hands.” Reese says.
“ So that is what brings you here.” Olaf Sly says with a chuckle. His long platinum blonde hair forms small wave like curls around his face. His large nose, pitted cheeks, and wrinkles remind Reese of a man he met that was working on a fishing boat. “So what does your little problem have to do with me, and my freaks?”
“ You are in charge of the Xwing now, and I don't have the resources to deal with it.” Reese says, a grimace crosses his face, and he grinds his teeth. There was once a time, when Reese could have handled anything, then came the politics, followed up by special favors.
Not long ago, Reese controlled it all, but that was the good old days. He had devoted himself to his country, sacrificed everything he could, and was rewarded the position for outstanding service. Things have changed; it started out small, a contractor here, an expert there. Soon the whole place was being over-run by the private sector.
Politicians were more than happy to give it up. No longer did they have to hide the funding in obscure bills, but they could also reward the corporations that gave them massive campaign contributions. They also lined their own pockets, and awarded lavish contracts to family, friends, and anyone that could boost their own investments.
Reese tried to keep things in check, but he was powerless to the never ending onslaught of vouchers, tax exempt status, and the multitudes of paper work. The culmination of his life's hard work, sacrifice, can now be bought, and even traded as a commodity for those privileged enough to know about it.
Olaf was the new face of clandestine warfare. A true company man, molded to specification, with no other interest than the bottom line. A moral compass exchanged for profit margins and ROI yields. A sense of duty, cast aside for standard operating procedures.
“ There was once a time, when real men, were given your position. Real men, don't envy power, money, or self gratification.” Reese says.
“ Reese, you still cling to the idea of chivalry. I can admire that, but you ignore the real truth of the world. Money. Money controls the world; money makes the factories produce, money makes the workers work. You can't hold it against me, I know how to manage money, and that is why I took over Xwing. With some tweaks it was able to turn a rather nice profit.” Olaf says.
“ You still don't get it, and maybe you never will. Until the day your pansy ass has no choice but to point a loaded weapon to someone's skull, and demand some answers, will you ever understand, and even then I'm sure you will try to find a way to make a quick buck. I don't deal with money, I deal with souls, and the more souls I can protect, the better I feel about the ones I had to take.” Reese says.
“ So what happened?” Sly asks.
“ I sent the boys into a biological hot zone, for a recovery mission, and there was an unforeseen event. They are in isolation at the moment. I need you to send in a crew to scrub 'em clean.” Reese says.
“ That was a foolish mistake Reese. I don't know what you thought was worth exposing your men to pathogens, but lack of planning on your part...” Reese interrupts
“ I'm fine. I just need to say goodbye.” Eve says.
“ Say goodbye to whom?” Eve panics, she couldn't possibly tell Alex about Haus. The times they spent together, or the fledgling romance they once held. Eve justifies her feelings in her mind, the past is gone now, and Haus is only a memory.
“ Rednek.” Eve says.
“ Fair enough, I haven't seen him since I got here. Is he still cooking that god forsaken gumbo?” Alex says.
“ With a passion, he thinks we actually like it...” Eve replies.
***
“ Omegawak, returned from the mission, and I have a bit a problem on my hands.” Reese says.
“ So that is what brings you here.” Olaf Sly says with a chuckle. His long platinum blonde hair forms small wave like curls around his face. His large nose, pitted cheeks, and wrinkles remind Reese of a man he met that was working on a fishing boat. “So what does your little problem have to do with me, and my freaks?”
“ You are in charge of the Xwing now, and I don't have the resources to deal with it.” Reese says, a grimace crosses his face, and he grinds his teeth. There was once a time, when Reese could have handled anything, then came the politics, followed up by special favors.
Not long ago, Reese controlled it all, but that was the good old days. He had devoted himself to his country, sacrificed everything he could, and was rewarded the position for outstanding service. Things have changed; it started out small, a contractor here, an expert there. Soon the whole place was being over-run by the private sector.
Politicians were more than happy to give it up. No longer did they have to hide the funding in obscure bills, but they could also reward the corporations that gave them massive campaign contributions. They also lined their own pockets, and awarded lavish contracts to family, friends, and anyone that could boost their own investments.
Reese tried to keep things in check, but he was powerless to the never ending onslaught of vouchers, tax exempt status, and the multitudes of paper work. The culmination of his life's hard work, sacrifice, can now be bought, and even traded as a commodity for those privileged enough to know about it.
Olaf was the new face of clandestine warfare. A true company man, molded to specification, with no other interest than the bottom line. A moral compass exchanged for profit margins and ROI yields. A sense of duty, cast aside for standard operating procedures.
“ There was once a time, when real men, were given your position. Real men, don't envy power, money, or self gratification.” Reese says.
“ Reese, you still cling to the idea of chivalry. I can admire that, but you ignore the real truth of the world. Money. Money controls the world; money makes the factories produce, money makes the workers work. You can't hold it against me, I know how to manage money, and that is why I took over Xwing. With some tweaks it was able to turn a rather nice profit.” Olaf says.
“ You still don't get it, and maybe you never will. Until the day your pansy ass has no choice but to point a loaded weapon to someone's skull, and demand some answers, will you ever understand, and even then I'm sure you will try to find a way to make a quick buck. I don't deal with money, I deal with souls, and the more souls I can protect, the better I feel about the ones I had to take.” Reese says.
“ So what happened?” Sly asks.
“ I sent the boys into a biological hot zone, for a recovery mission, and there was an unforeseen event. They are in isolation at the moment. I need you to send in a crew to scrub 'em clean.” Reese says.
“ That was a foolish mistake Reese. I don't know what you thought was worth exposing your men to pathogens, but lack of planning on your part...” Reese interrupts
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