“I would love to ask if you don’t mind, what your favourite part of today as been?”
“I-I beg your pardon?”
Malcom stuttered a little, confused by what Esmond just said.
He thought for a moment he heard wrong, but what Esmond said next clear that straight up, like hot coffee straight to the face.
“I’ve seen you taking a tour of New York with me today…
From when I left my hotel to the boat hire for the graceful lady of liberty and then you broke off for a bit when I went to the library, but you came back like a Jordan in the fourth quarter and joined me here, in the majestic Grand Central Station that makes one wonder if they are waking under the heavens…”
Malcom, and those listening in on their conversation through his microphone, were on edge Esmond kept a close eye on Malcoms steps which meant they rest weren’t likely to have escaped Esmonds sights.
‘Malcom! Hurry the hell up and say something man!’
.
Those outside in the vans with monitors and computers were screaming through the microphones to get Malcom together, as they were going through their own little crisis trying to understand how Esmond knew of their agents’ movements.
One of the agents in the van were watching the monitors and saw that Malcom was about to speak so he screamed, “Every shut up! Malcoms about to say something” felt a little ashamed to have spoken up after hearing the garbage that came for their colleagues’ mouth.
‘…You have a way with words, Mr Manston…’ the collective sigh could be felt by everyone in the vans and rooms that surrounded Esmond and Malcom.
.
“Ahh… well… my mother likes to say I’m gifted with words as well…
Now Mr Fletcher,”
“Please just call me Malcom,”
“Then please going forth call me Esmond, now as I was saying… what part did you find was your favourite during today’s little trip?
I haven’t made my way to Central Park as of yet, so you could send your friends along their and the Museum of Natural History also… I enjoyed the filmed Night at the Museum, so I’ve wanted to take a peek.
Who you care to join for that as well or would you like to stalk from a distance, Malcom?”
There was no malice in Esmonds voice, however the sharpness his eyes that exhibited the magnificence of the nebulas in space within them, clearly showed the irritation he felt by their actions and behaviour.
.
Malcom couldn’t understand why he felt so supressed and gasping a little for breath, but he pushed himself through the pressure the best he could and came out atop like he was gasping for breath.
But when his body and mind broke free of the weight that bound him, Malcom didn’t feel breathless, instead he was drenched in the sweat of his own body, that his blue shirt beneath his suit coat had turned a darker shade from being slathered in his sweat.
.
“Seem to be a little uncomfortable there Malcom, I think it’s best get going and leave you to your vices…
Let’s meet another time when I am visiting the GREAT land of the FREE! Haha…
Anyway… it’s been a treat…”
Malcom wanted to rebuttal Esmonds words, however his body felt dreadful to say, move or even breath in Esmonds presence.
There were screams coming from Malcoms earpiece, asking him to say something or to give some orders on what they should do next.
‘MALCOM! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!’
‘Got dammit, what the hell do you think we should do?! Fuck it! Send the boys to grab him!’
‘NO! DON’T MOVE! We don’t have anything on the guy for Christ’s sake so relax everyone.’
Only the mention of some sanity by one of the agents speaking on the communications line did Malcom finally get some words out, though he croaked every syllable out his mouth like it was tortuous.
.
“Sstopp… bbaccckk off fffoorrr nowww… justtt obbsserrve.”
Barely making out his words, the agents all around moved fast according to Malcoms orders, quickly sending some people to observe him at the locations Esmond had mentioned during his conversation.
While everyone ran around and moved like a fired bullet, one of Malcoms colleagues made their way over to him, as Malcom had stopped speaking once again after getting the few words out of his mouth.
“Malcom! What is wrong with you? Did he give you something?!”
“Jaina… jjusssttt… let mee breath…”
Malcom could only get a few more words out before quietening up again and sitting very still as his colleague, Jaina tried to nudge and move Malcom, but he refused to say anything like his mind was fragile and struggling to keep it together.
With panic written all over her face, Jaina called for an ambulance to attend to Malcom, while she took charge of the operation, being the next agent in line.
Anger and the mystery of what happened bugged at Jainas mind while he tried to figure out what the next course of action was with Malcom out and her running everything now.
.
“Attention… *sigh* F.B.I Senior Agent Malcom Fletcher is out and recovering after his conversation with the target, Esmond Manston.
From now on, I, Jaina Mathews, will be running the operation, so right now I want surveillance and observation only for now.
Nothing more.
DO NOT!
I repeat! DO NOT interact with the target in any capacity!”
Get her order across the radio channels, Jaina moved to her blacked-out all over Mercedes Sprinter Panel Van and got her team moving out fast from the Grand Central Station and to tightly follow Esmond’s movements.
…
..
.
Esmond wasn’t interrupted for the remaining part of the day, though there was always a team observing his movements from a distance, nobody got close like Malcom.
Walking through Central Park had to be one of his favourite moments just because of the peace of mind it offered in the jungle of steel all around.
He’d even made this point to Carter, who also felt that the second city he was making should be more open and spacious as they had plenty of land within the space from what they knew so far.
Plants, large gardens, and trees of various sorts filled the sidewalks of the roads and were integrated into the buildings to create a unique ecofriendly atmosphere all around the citizens.
Carter had already started taking notes where the first city needed to change and be rebuilt before it would be open to everyone.
.
Once Esmond returned to his hotel and entered his room, he sent out his body energy to look for some bugs or toys the agents might have installed in his absence.
His little inspection found several small cameras and bugs that were installed, but Esmond did do anything to them, nor did he ask for Carters help.
Instead, he simply pulled out his phone and called Carter and spoke loud enough that the people listening in on him wouldn’t miss his words.
“Book me a flight home… the contract didn’t work out with the New Jersey State Government, but no matter, the recycling and dismantling factories we have already in Adelaide should be fine for now.
Once we have enough people trusting our work, we can expand our business for the United States, but for now I think we should look into areas overloaded with garbage as landfills…”
Esmond just blabbed on about his business that his name was already attached to and brought up his earlier meeting in New Jersey in the hopes to push the agents off his back for a bit.
And to check the type of business he was conducting…
Though they weren’t wrong in Esmond’s mind to monitor his actions, they were wrong to catch him out on the premise of his recycling business.
…
..
.
Meanwhile, away from Esmond’s monologue to his loyal assistant Carter, who would more than like be muting Esmond’s bullcrap, Anton was wandering through the streets of Karachi, Pakistan, quickly reaching the Lyari neighbourhood.
Anton was wearing a kurta, a loose and overhanging shirt that had a collar, but could be made without one.
The plain faint green colour of the kurta and black and white checkers keffiyeh, Anton’s lucky scarf he’d kept and worn since his time operating out of the middle east, in particular, Palestine.
While walking among the chaos of the busy night markets, as people yelled allow to advertise their goods, and others had come out for the amazing street food that were littered all over the markets.
Anton even felt like stopping for a little snap, but he was already a little late, so he pushed on after handing some money to a little child who didn’t seem like he was being fed enough.
Take a few more cuts into the side alleys, Anton arrived at a wooden door that seems a little torn up, but none the less it was still standing and fulfilling its purpose.
Though it looked like it was dying while do so.
.
“Your late…”
“Shalom to you as well my friend.”
Through the shady door, the inside was a complete opposite of the door’s appearance, as it looked well cleaned and built, even containing a small flat screen tv which was were quite dear to buy in Pakistan because of tax and importing costs.
In the far corner of the room, close to the window, the one Anton called his friend sat with his eyes on the people moving about outside on the street.
He was paying attention on the people, looking out for an irregularity, but in the meantime, Anton came in carrying some packaged food in his hands and started plating everything up, not caring about his friend in the corner.
.
“Did you call me here to eat Anton?
You really think I have the time to freely come out for meals like this…?
We aren’t all burned like you, you know…”
“Whoa! That’s a low blow Schmuel…
I thought you were better than that!”
“Stop… with the childish games Anton…”
Already annoyed Anton was late, Schmuel couldn’t believe Anton was further wasting time with this nonsense of food and other crap.
He had taken time out of his busy schedule monitoring some target from a radical group who planned to attack Israeli, but they were finding some trouble grasping a hold of some location where they would feel safe.
Schmuel wanted to capture or end the group tonight before reporting back to Mossad, but seeing how things were going with Anton, he didn’t believe he would be able to leave anytime soon.
.
“Calm down… I bought enough food for several of us.
Now help me set everything out for everyone…”
‘Knew it…’ left to only complain in his mind, Schmuel went to help Anton with the food, while they waited for a couple other people to arrive before everything started.
Who Schmuel didn’t expect to see was his counterpart from Hamas, however he was quickly restrained before either made a scene.
.
“Now we can eat and talk a little, before going for each other’s throats.”
In the room beside Anton and Schmuel were several operatives from different intelligence agencies from all over the world.
There was Husan from Hamas, similarly, wearing a kurta like Anton and not jeans and sleeved shirt like Schmuel.
His light tone of brown hair matched with his green eyes that gave him the charms of a panther.
From M.I.6, Vishal, dark brunette and deep caramel tan which helped his work in the region and Luka from FSB who stood out like Anton in the streams of Karachi and was wrapping his face in his own scarf.
It seemed like the only ones to develop in deeper with the people were Anton, Husan and Vishal who were all dressed in kurtas, while Schmuel and Luka preferred their pants, belt and shirt.
.
“You already know I was burned and sent to be forgotten by my nation…”
“If you think one of us will take you in, you are sorely mistaken Anton, right now no one wants to be near Blackwater operatives.”
Schmuel interrupted Anton as he was speaking, impatient with the amount of time he’d wasted in this safe house of sorts.
“Ex… operatives… and I haven’t called you here for that, in fact I already have a new employer, which is also the reason I’ve called you all here.”
Everyone was visibly confused, and shocked Anton had found work with someone willing to take a gamble on him after all the nonsense that went down with Blackwater and the methods of their operatives.
However, what they all heard next put a unique thought into every mind within the room.
.
“I’ve called you here because I know you all are contacts for your agencies and practically retired from your work.
Especially Vishal and Luka… you guys have had it bad with Iraq and Afghanistan, so I came looking for you guys.
For the rest, I took a wild shot to see if you’re interested, but I’m looking for people.
The group will be working in certain territories to reclaim the land and help revitalise the regions we will operate in.
I don’t want to give too much away, but I’ve already got the Lone Wolves squad to join up, just to let you know…”
Everyone had to take a deep breath and question what they heard, finding it unbelievable that Anton could secure the US Delta Force, Australian SASR, and U.K SAS taskforce that was created by the three nations to combat against special targets.
They went through some of the most strict and brutal training which saw them alone and in the deep wilderness of Canada, United States, Australia, and various other nations around the world to test their resilience.
Unfortunately, the taskforce was dissolved, and the members, reaching 100 elite and deadly soldiers, were forced into retirement when they were selected for any missions because of politics between the armies and national leaders.
.
“I’m in…” Luka voice caught everyone off guard even Anton, who didn’t show it, but felt surprised that Luka would return into the chaos of private military work and giving up on work for Mother Russia.
“However, I don’t know if I can bring many brothers… I might be able to convince a few who’ve been itching to move again…”
Lukas thick Russian seeped into his English, which added to his brutish charm and appearance that screamed gladiator.
.
“Fuck… fine… if that oaf is in then I’ll throw my name in.
My problem is, what is the goal of group behind the company?
What do they want us to achieve?”
Anton wanted to laugh aloud at Vishal’s words, but he held himself back as it would be highly rude and they had no idea about Esmond in the first place, so it was his responsibility to let them know of their future boss, even if the others could hear.
Hopefully his words attracted more…
.
“There is no group… just one person.
He plays for everything and is even creating things for our use right now.
While… he is a little young, he’s more deadly than those I’ve come across in battle…
A monster that should never be bothered… but if it were… there would be no saving you…
Buttttt… who knows… I haven’t completely figured the guy out…”
Leaving his words in such a coy way and thinking it was fine, Anton got up and moved to Vishal’s and Lukas side, ready to hand them some information about their next steps, ignoring the mind games going through the heads of the others who didn’t know what to do after they heard Anton.
Just knowing that one person was in control of their life and not thousands of fools above them and to their sides that put them in countless bad situations which saw them lose people they held close and dear.
.
“Anton… if I wanted to meet the ‘boss’ first, could it be arranged?”
Schmuel wasn’t ready to say yes or no, plus he was looking closely at Husan’s movements, wondering if he would join, but first off, he wanted to speak with his future boss.
One boss meant much more safety for himself and his comrades that would be out fighting and doing the bidding of their employer, so Schmuel wanted to ask his what their main plans were.
Anton knew something like this would come up because everyone would want to know what the goal was other than the money they were being paid.
They weren’t ever told so it never helped with their confidence for the job, but when they were told in detail, they could get involved and make their own suggestions on how to proceed.
.
“I won’t be able to get you to meet in such a short notice, but I can get you in touch be phone.
Secured, of course…”
֍ 5th February 2008 ֍.‘Hello, this is Titan… who am I speaking with?’Esmond was on the phone, currently in the first class at John F. Kennedy International Airport, waiting for his flight back home.He thought there would be some issues going through customs, but there weren’t any problems thankful, and it seemed like he wasn’t being followed anymore, so he was happy to get out of America.With Carter informing about the possibility of a call from Anton, Esmond paid for a little private room off from the side of the lounge, which was perfect for the call..“Thanks for taking our call, I am a friend of Anton… Schmuel…”He didn’t know if he should say his name or not but seeing Anton nod as he paused for a moment, Schmuel decided to say his name, even
֍ 6th February 2008 ֍.*Ding*[Daily Wheel of Chance!][Pouch of Medicinal Plant seeds][ - 15 seeds of Uncommon Grade medicinal herbs which come from Planet Alura -56, known for supplying the Intergalactic Network with herbs, potions, and tonics that could improve someone's strength and health][While others could cleanse the body from any filth and waste before practicing their body energy].'Hmm… at least Carter can plant these and make something of them…'Esmond wasn't overly concerned with the rewards from the Daily Wheel of Chance, because the Uncommon Grade herbs wouldn't be able to affect his body.The Xoplis Body Refinement and Spiritual Practise Manual made it incredibly d
Carter and Esmond were walking through the streets to the Summoning Square in the second city, watching the drones install sewage pipes and roads to buildings with furniture and décor.It all made Esmond feel amazed by the abilities and technical skill of the drones but there was a setback to their brilliance which bothered him.His turmoil was spotted by Carter, who understood why Esmond looked so stressed suddenly."Even if they can't exactly go out and speed up the work… we can use them discreetly of course…Have you thought about examining the cloaking system you got and see if we can apply it to the drone?"Carter had hit the nail on its head with his question as Esmond pulled up the cloaking system schematics in the System Interface.Staring at the notes, code, and designs of the cloaking system, for up to 10 minutes, until Esmond found something they could work with to make some adjustments to the cloaking system
After Esmond was cleaned up and attended to, which Carter objected to, however Rubys opinion far superseded everyone else's, when it came to her childrens health.The other mothers and parents among the Zadris people understood so many rushed forward and helped Ruby treat her boy.She was amazed how an alien species could speak fluent English so easily, but it turned out to be one of the traits of the Zadris people to pick up languages quickly.Astonished, Ruby enquired about much more, as was Daniel who was connecting with the fathers and elderly who stood in the Summoning Square.Only when they noticed some of the children and elderly were about to sit down did Carter suggest they leave the square and move inside to the palace.Everyone, including Esmond at times, were utterly amazed and taken aback by the sight and brilliance of the palace.The Zadris people felt a little inspired and their creative genes exploding when they eyes would co
*Ding*[Host has unlocked Hidden function of the system… please wait for installation…][…][…][…][Installed…][Scanning… Analysed!][Quest activated in conjunction with Spectral Consciousness Ability][Media: Film][Name: Stealth][Year of release: 2005][UCAV, cya CAV!][The year is 2021 and the U.S Navy has developed the F/A-37 Talon, a single-seat fighter-bomber with an array of advanced capabilities which makes it one of the fastest and deadliest fighters in the air][Dr. Keith Orbit, as developed an artificial intelligence that has reprogrammed its neutral patterns to become more powerful and egotistic with a blu
'Move to the adjacent building.Downstairs there is a team waiting for you and upstairs they have already entered your home.'Mark listened to the voice coming from his phone, looking over the ledge of the building and saw some armed men taking formation and ready to storm up the building to look for him.'Fuck, fuck, fuck…'All that was going through his mind was getting as far away from those hunting him.With no other option, Mark moved back and gave himself some space for a run up, before bolting hard for the ledge and vaulting himself over, flying through the air for a couple metres before he landed hard on the second floor of the adjacent building.Mark barrel rolled on his landing and pushed himself forward to keep the momentum going in his legs so he wouldn't stop..'Cut through the two buildings to your left and head down to the rail tracks, from there you will find a b
"Well look whose here!Come in young man, your fathers been talking about you nonstop lately that I've gone bloody deaf."James hugged Esmond as he entered, a little shocked by the muscle tone he felt from the usually skinny and normal nephew of his."Have you been going to the gym?You look much healthier than you use to Esmond.""Yeah, Uncle James, I've got myself a chef and…"Esmond lied a little, explaining he'd been busy at the gym to help him with all his time travelling which made him feel unhealthy, so it was the push for him to investigate a healthier lifestyle.James didn't question it and even asked for some tips from Esmond, who ended up bothering Carter for some help.Before the two went to James' office so they could have their meeting, Esmond went by to the kitchen and found his aunt Lisa cooking one of his favourite meals, creamy pasta with mushrooms.It was a simple but amazing meal with the garli
A swathe of drones piled out the gate from the Spatial Ark Land before landing and merging together to create a couple dozen humanoid drones that stood in formation before Esmond.He looked at them for a second and wonder why they weren't moving but Echo called right away, telling him why.> Master, I'll need you to use the Inventory Function to summon the necessary goods.I believe this will be more efficient <Esmond found no reason to argue and brought up his System Interface so he could open the Inventory window to find everything that Echo would need to build a fortification.Carter helped out, providing Esmond with a couple suggestions as he knew better than anyone, what was stored in the Inventory.While Esmond started to unload gun turrets, a couple miniguns, steel, and a couple other things, the drones controlled by Echo were digging away at the crack in the land to make a huge clearing and a fake flooring on
"Mmm… H-hello…?"Esmond sleepy voice carried through his phone, earlier scrambling to find it as it started blaring aloud and disturbing his sleep.'It seems like I've disturbed your sleep, Mr Mars…'Like the wind was knocked out of him, Esmond sat right up, as the drowsiness left his body…"Not at all… *cough* just resting a little, after a long day… anyway, how may I be of service?"With no clue who was on the other end, other than someone important through Anton, Esmond did his best to sound authoritative and relaxed.But being caught off by his sleep made him ill equipped for the conversation, he soon fell back into rhythm and took hold of the conversation..'My… child, Anton, has given me your letter… as well as this simple phone…While I appreciate the two, it seems the wooden box is more of an important gift than the two.'<
֍ Sametime in Iraq ֍......"I am exhausted…Seriously… what the hell am I doing? I'm supposed to be relaxing in Thailand but no… still gotta trek through the goddamn desert!"Anton was stuck dealing with the misery of travelling alone on camel back through the Iraqi desert while trying to reach a hidden military compound.It was his last stop before leaving for Thailand and resting with that little time he had left to enjoy the luxuries his boss had bought the new recruits and their families before training started.His own wife and children were already there and enjoying themselves as he would hear from them during his evening calls every so often.It all made Anton jealous and furious that he had to be out in the desert alone on a camel, but he more thought about the rewards and benefits his work wou
"My Lord, if you wouldn't mind me asking a question?"One of the G.A.E humans called Janet, a red-haired beauty who could change her hair colour and length with just a simple thought as part of her specialised augmentation ability, wanted to ask Esmond more about the body coding and augmentation as she was curious about having some of her own."Sure, go ahead.""Could the body coding be made for specific organs…?What I mean is, currently I have gathered from my quick skim through the information that the coding affects the body as a whole.But why not affect the organ instead.If we wrote the coding for, let's say, improved eyesight, could be write it on the organ and increase the body coding any person could be subjected to."Esmond like their idea and even thought it worked better that the current method which meant it could give his soldiers a greater sense of power and strength.His snipers could be deadlier than an
'I knew it was too good to be true…Fuck my life'"Carter! Help me out here…"Esmond massaged his head as it throbbed in pain from his carelessness to not read labels properly.He cursed his luck for wasting credit just like that for something that would require time and patience, and he didn't have any to spare if he wanted to get started as soon as possible.Before he completely discarded what he brought from the system, Carter gave him a rundown of what he bought.Much to his delight and surprise…"What you bought, of course, isn't the complete Buklish Special Security Forces which would mean they could be summoned at the square, instead what you got is a way to create your own super soldiers with accelerated growth development.Plus, it's set with a universal list of genetic coding which means it can be used on the Zadrisian, humans and even the G.A.E.The pods make the operation seamless and ove
Esmond hadn't started using the Virtual Labs he'd bought from the system store along with the Virtual World which the labs were connected with and integrated into.Though the system had removed the side effects and problems associated with Virtual Labs, the Virtual World would allow Esmond to both test out his simulations with near identical environment to the external world.Now getting the System Knowledge Databank as a reward, he felt it would perfect for him to recreate some of the items and projects from his past lives.He might not need it now but uploading it to the S.K.D would definitely bring him some sort of benefit."Carter?!""Yo yo yo!What do you need fool?"Carter was twirling like a ballerina, trying his hand at dropping some hot verses before Esmond called for him.He'd come across rap music by chance while fascinated by the graceful movement of ballerinas, so he started performing them at the same time which E
"….Mmm…. hello…"Julias sleepy, croaky voice spoke into the mouthpiece of her housephone, waking her up before her alarm for work.She felt like cursing at whoever it was for ruining her sleep, however the voice from the otherside just happened to be the person she most dreaded and feared, having been tortured by their mind-numbing calls that broke down Julia at times."Goooooood Morning! JULIA! RISE AND SHINE!" Carter's voice came screaming through the phone awaking Julia right up and ruining what left of her sleepy mood and she knew instantly her day was going to be long and arduous."I've got some great news for you today!So, wake up and get dressed.Also bring your daughter along today.The office has been updated and prepared based on Esmonds thoughts.All the instructions have already been sent to your email, with that to do.Also, today is the first day for James Trudell, the new CEO so I hop
Oscar recounted the past of his people and planet while the other G.A.E humans were conversing and chatting freely with the Zadrisian people who'd come out to chat and act as guides for the newest members of the city and space.Carter was also busy gathering all the details and information of the new citizens of the Spatial Ark Land, so he couldn't stick around and continue to listen to Oscar's past for now."If I remember things correctly, the insectoid race was called Chisidin, a planet conquering nuisance that had 6 eyes, though you would only see 4 on their faces while the two remaining were hidden at the back of their heads.Those pricks were difficult to deal with honestly… especially the captains within their ranks could shapeshift, I think so… or was it Lord ranked…?"Esmond added his thoughts to the conversation, thinking back to a time in the past when he came across the 6-armed, 6 eyed creature which ripped apart assailants
Esmond moved according to Carter's instructions, however the cut through side streets and alleys to catch up to the small motorcade that surrounded the personal secretary.He circulated his body energy to increase his speed and movement which removed most of Esmonds need for a vehicle, but it got to a point that he needed more than his body to assault the security detail in the motorcade.Follow the roughly direction and estimations of Carter, Esmond eventually found the motorcade slowly approaching a backed-up region of traffic.It seemed like the perfect place, but it would cause a huge scene and mass casualty..>Master, please summon some drones, I believe I may be of some assistance…<Esmond felt relieved and summoned a gate, letting a dozen or so drones entered before shutting the gate.A guilt fluttered in his heart for not getting in contact with Echo once he was
[Status!][Name: Esmond Manston][System Level: 19[Experience: 49,578,500/1,048,576,000][Credits: 1,001,000][Body Condition: Healthy][Body Status: Primordial Human][Status: Healthy][Strength: 67][Endurance:67][Stamina: 67][Dexterity: 77][Intelligence: 87][Agility: 64][Wisdom: N/A][Abilities:- Spectral Consciousness- Taming]*[Spatial Ark Land][System Level: 19].[Hunting G