Amber walked passed the rows of narrow low standing work tables. Every inch of each table had been left covered in mechanical drone pieces, schematic papers, pens and data tablets. The work ethic the Skell Tech employees had really showed their devotion to changing the world for the better. And they would change the world for the better. Just not the way many of them might expect.

Jace Skell and Amber's father were still meeting in Skell's office. Amber thought of the current situation as she waited for her father to finish his meeting. The young woman still felt off about Walker and the soldiers he commanded. They were 'Wolves' by name and uniform, but these men and women weren't selected by Amber and those she trusted. They were chosen by her father without her input.

Speaking of Walker, he stood alone facing out of a wall made of durable bulletproof glass. It was basically one massive window. The seasoned war veteran stared out to the large lake that sat just to the East of the expansive base. An entire jungle ecosystem surrounded the lake and tech facility.

Amber approached the older man and stood to his right.

Amber: "Settled in already?"

Walker let out a calm breath as he took a glance at Amber.

Walker: "Yeah. I've been here a little longer than you actually"

The clicking of heels came from behind Amber and swept next to Walker. A woman with wavy brown hair that ended at her shoulders stood next to the veteran soldier. She couldn't have been a year older than Amber. The woman wore a white trouser-suit with a black tie and dress shirt underneath. Her dark brown eyes met Walkers as they shook hands. Her voice was engulfed in a thick Russian accent.

???: "Walker, I am pleased to hear that you have arrived without any trouble"

Walker nodded as their hands parted.

Walker: "It's all been smooth. Seems we might see everything come together"

The woman gave a soft smile before moving her gaze to Amber, dressed in her Phantoms uniform and tactical gear.

???: "And who are you?"

Walker took a glance back and lifted an arm in a presenting gesture.

Walker: "Yelena, this is Ms. Amberlynn Stone. The daughter of our head security contractor"

The Russian looked a little surprised for a moment, but let it pass as she held out a hand. Amber took the woman's hand hand shook it. Like Walker, the woman known as Yelena gave a soft smile before pulling her hand away.

Yelena: "It was a pleasure to see you both. But I must go now. There are many others that need my support"

The young woman walked away, being followed by two men dressed in all black tactical gear and clothing, holding experimental looking weaponry.

Amber: "That woman, Yelena, who is she exactly?"

Walker grinned.

Walker: "Yelena is the daughter of a very powerful and wealthy Russian family. She inherited a piece of her fathers wealth after he died. She saw eye to eye with us after hearing of our cause and decided to give us a little support. She handles nearly all of our money"

Amber kept an eye on the woman before she heard her name called out.

Stone: "Amber! Meet the boys outside and get them to their barracks! We have a plan we need to get working on!"

The young woman nodded and began to leave Walker. She had no clue about this 'Yelena'. Let alone the plans her father has been making behind her back. As she was leaving Amber caught something out of the corner of her eye. Amber took a quick glance and noticed a pair of men dressed in lab coats and holding tablets walking into a dark room at the far end of the lab. Before the sliding doors could close behind them she saw a glimpse of what was held in the darkened room.

Robotic human limbs hung from the walls around a single large cylindrical tube. She saw something in the tube, but couldn't make out what it was. Amber pulled her eyes back forward, preparing herself for what was to come next. The Phantoms were going to prepare for war, even if it was not officially declared as such.

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John fired the last rounds of his rifle into a freshly painted steel target as Zofia tracked his accuracy.

Zofia: "Good work. Though I would recommend taking your time at longer ranges. You missed a few shots when the target was moved a little farther back"

John unloaded the empty magazine and made sure the weapon hand no rounds left in the chamber.

"I get impatient with these things. I haven't kicked the bad habit yet"

The young man placed the empty HK 416 onto a small table next to him and removed his eye protection.

Zofia held a piece of paper and used a permanent marker to black something out. John raised an eyebrow.

"What's with the paper?"

His eldest sister glanced up from the paper and spoke.

Zofia: "It's a list of the requirements that need to be met in order to enter selection for Rainbow. Ela and I completed all of the things on this paper, just as you will"

John nodded and approached his sister.

"How much is left to do?"

Zofia checked over the list of requirements once again and hummed before speaking.

Zofia: "Well you already did some training back at Rainbow HQ. You 'attempted' the objective insertion simulation, though you failed but that was because of Nøkk"

John crossed his arms.

"I was kinda told that the simulation was to see what I could do"

Zofia shrugged.

Zofia: "They still counted it"

John groaned.

"So we are doing that here or back at your base?"

Zofia circled the simulation test and the other tests below it on her sheet.

Zofia: "We will not do that here. We don't have the equipment or the correct facilities"

John nodded.

Zofia: "Then the last few things we have to do now are mostly team based exercises. Which Hereford can wait for, just like the final simulation"

Coming out from around the entrance of the outdoor firing range came Zofia's daughter. While behind her came Zofia's husband, holding a slight frown as he made eye contact with John. Anastasia rushed to her mother, holding out her small arms for Zofia to grasp. John's elder sister lifted her daughter and held her up with one arm, poking the young girls nose with the hand that still held the training papers.

Zofia's husband approached the happy pair and began speaking quietly with her. John had an uneasy feeling again. Like he was being watched. He felt the same thing when he was eating breakfast the other day. John turned around and began to scan the area. He looked past the training targets and towards the tree line behind them.

John began to make something out. A black silhouette that stood tall between a pair of dark trees. John felt a dark feeling that began to creep into his chest.

Zofia: "John?"

Just as Zofia had spoken, John's phone began to ring. The young man reached for his device and looked at its touchscreen. It was an unknown caller. John got a bad feeling about it, but pressed the green icon on the screen and answered the call. He put the phone up to his ear and kept an eye on the black silhouette.

"Hello?"

The faint bristling of tree leaves could be heard from the other side before a cold voice answered back.

???: "Do you know who I am?"

John shook his head mentally. That a stupid fucking question.

"You must have the wrong number dude"

Before John could pull away his phone, the person responded.

???: "I know you, Mr. Elliot. Or would you rather go by Mr. Bosak?"

John was utterly confused.

"Are you someone from one of those Asian scam call centers?"

The person chuckled.

???: "You certainly are an interesting one, Mr. Bosak. I'm beginning to see why my employer wants you"

John was taken off guard with the last sentence.

"What did you just say?"

The person on the other end shrugged off John's question.

???: "See you soon, Mr. Bosak"

The call disconnected, leaving John in a state of confusion as he stood still. Zofia walked to her brother's side while still holding Anastasia in her arm. The silhouette held up a hand as if greeting John before disappearing.

Zofia: "Hey, what's going on?"

John slipped his phone back into his pocket.

"I... honestly don't know..."

•

•

•

Carlos slipped his mask on before checking the tightness of his plate carrier. A pair of his comrades did the same before holding their rifles across their chests. Crackling radio's sounded off as the communication network began running at full capacity.

Carlos: "Let the drones out and get one last lay of the area!"

Three pairs of masked soldiers similar in appearance to Carlos carried large and heavy black boxes. They set them down in the forest grass with multiple heavy thuds before releasing the heavy clamps on the box coverings. When they removed the coverings, three dozen drones the length of an average man's forearm activated in unison. The hum of drones filled the air as they arose in layers. The drones clicked and rotated their multi-lens camera faces before darting forward towards the Bosak residence.

Carlos watched the black drone swarm disappear almost completely as their newly made reactive camouflage began to activate.

Carlos: "Those Skell Tech gurus really outdid themselves"

The masked soldier turned to his left, facing another comrade that held out a black tablet. Carlos took the tablet and looked at the screen, seeing multiple rectangles that held each individual video feed from the drones. They broke off into two swarms and circled the perimeter, automatically marking doors, side windows and skylight windows that could be entered through. As the swarms quietly zipped through the air, a hollow red diamond appeared on the tablet.

Carlos selected the camera feed that picked up the movement and saw a woman with a child in their arms standing outside. Carlos grinned before placing a hand on his radio and pressing the button on its side.

Carlos: "Sniper team, IR lasers only"

A quick response through the radio came as Carlos heard his phone buzz.

???: "Copy, sir"

Carlos pulled the phone from his pocket and read a simple message.

'Go. Now.'

•

•

•

Zofia placed her daughter on the stone patio in the backyard and watched as Anastasia began to play. It was quiet now as John and the others were inside deciding what to have for lunch. Anastasia picked a wild flower that had somehow bloomed in the uniform yard, turning to her mother and smiling. She began to run towards Zofia with the flower. The world began to slow down as Zofia quickly noticed something flicker through the petals of the flower Anastasia held. Zofia's eyes widened as a dot traveled up the back side of Anastasia's arm and what she assumed was the back of her daughter's head. Zofia ran to her daughter bedside diving down and pulling them both to the ground.

A soft crack echoed through the air as a bullet zipped through the air and hit the white stone siding of the house. Zofia quickly stood up, holding Anastasia tightly in her arms and quickly ran inside, narrowly avoiding another bullet in the process.

•

•

•

Amber stood in silence with her arms crossed. She watched as her Phantoms unpacked supplies and set up their new permanent base of operations. Her silence was cut off by her phone however. It hummed as she reached into her pocket. Amber answered the number after recognizing it.

"Hello?"

The voice that responded was quick, with the faint sounds of rustling grass in the background.

'We are on the move. Your package will be delivered to you soon. Make sure you have what we requested in return..."

With their last words the call ended. Amber stood with a grin as she slid her phone back into her pocket. Soon she would have John again, and show him why he needed to be on her side in the coming new age. Small drones flew in slow, uniform packs in the air as they scanned the area for any threats.

Amber then pressed the side of her radio and spoke into it.

"Daniel, I need you at the war room. Right now"

Her radio crackled as she turned towards the main building of the Phantoms new base.

Daniel: "I'm coming"

Groups of tech geniuses and Walker's Wolves traced the inside Phantoms building as Amber entered. She walked through the white halls before ending in a darkened room. It held a black conference table with black leather chairs surrounding it. On top of the table sat a 3D simulation projector that projected three dimensional holographic renders of specific areas. Amber stood patiently until the war room door clicked open. Daniel stepped inside, wearing his black Phantoms uniform like Amber. The pair stood on opposite sides of the table.

"An associate almost has John. I need you with me when they had him over to us"

Daniel never knew about this. No one but Amber knew.

Daniel: "I thought you said you were going to forget about him"

The young woman rolled her eyes.

"I did, but I can't. He doesn't know what he's doing, and I want him here when Wonderland goes into full swing. To keep him safe here while he understands why we are doing what we're doing"

Daniel shook his head.

Daniel: "I get that you want to keep a friend safe. But the kid beat my ass and after that saying that he wanted to be left well alone..."

Amber sighed in frustration.

"Are you going to help me? Or are you going to just complain to your superior?"

The old soldier nodded with reluctance. She was going to get her way on this one, no matter what kind of protest was sent her direction.

Daniel: "Alright... I'm in"

Amber nodded as well.

"Good! Now get your gear in order. We meet them in Warsaw, Poland to retrieve John"

Daniel nodded once more before turning to the door behind him and leaving. Amber stood in silence once more.

"Nothing will stop this... nothing will stop Wonderland..."

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To be continued...
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