The Valkyrie’s Ghost

Author's Note:

It has been a full six weeks since I hit send on Chapter 18. My apologies for May and June. A handful of real‑life distractions kept dragging me away from the keyboard, despite my best intentions to finish the story in this submission. Instead, you are getting another 34,057 words for the brave souls still following Riley and Lysandra through the MoD maze.

As always, every character, setting, and delightfully awful villain comes straight from my imagination. Honestly, that might be part of the delay. There is only so long a person can wade through MoD darkness before needing to climb out, blink at the sun, and remember that normal people do not behave like this.

The big operation lands in Chapter 96, which is next, and I can almost convince myself I will not write more than five chapters after that. The idea of ending on a perfectly even 100 chapters is so absurdly satisfying that my OCD is already grinning.

We are close now. I can see the finish line from here.

Chapter 91

Riley Vale

Monday, February 4th

La Fortaleza del Silencio

Even's Haven (Gilded Cage)

27°00'16.47"S 49°11'47.64"W

Brazil

Riley----------------

Riley Vale took a deep breath and enjoyed the morning air. The fact that he was standing on the train station's platform, guitar case in hand, and outside the towering fence was a psychological breath of fresh air. It had been hours and not the weeks, months, and years for Stacy, Morgan, Savannah, and their sisters. Eve's Haven is definitely a gilded cage.

The sleek train hummed its way from the fortress and glided its way to the station. A group of fifteen women in white jumpsuits stood by with a pair of electric pallet jacks. Three of the mini-UPS trucks were lined on the cobbled pathway that led to different parts of the MoD compound.

Talia stood next to Anika who had been tasked to shift her work to the 4th campus, what the Aegis team tagged the Collegium. Irene stood next to Eamon and they were involved in light banter as the rest of the performers were in different stages of wakefulness. Riley's muscles provided pleasant feedback that the four or five mile run was a good start to a workout, but Riley deeply missed his meditation and kata work.

Riley was shocked to find that his MoD daywear dress was replaced with a much more modest sleeveless beach dress that fell to his ankles. The heels were replaced with crochet ballerina flats. The garter belt and hose were absent, but the thong and bra remained. As the cluster of Emon's performers stood on the train station's platform, their rainbow of dresses still designating their caste, stirred in the light breeze.

When the faces of men appeared in the windows of the passenger car, Eamon's troupe self-aligned into an orderly line and assumed the MoD stance that was only interrupted by instruments of all sizes and shapes. The spectrum of the exact same style daywear dresses and shoes made the group of women look like a tail of a peacock as they waited for the men to exit the train.

The second the train stopped, the women in white coveralls buzzed into the middle freight car and soon a series of pallets were aligned near a ramp that would lead them to the waiting trucks.

A group of six men dressed in a muted military uniform stepped off, positioned a cap, and marched down the stairs and towards the guard tower the gathering of women had navigated earlier that morning. The stewards slash conductor appeared and directed the women with instruments to stow their cases inside the middle freight car.

Riley stepped in and found a good thirty pallets of shrink wrapped boxes that were fastened to the wall and floor of the storage car. Riley followed the stream of women who turned to the right were there was a large floor to ceiling luggage rack that easily accepted the different instruments, from Marceline's massive bass to Nayeli's violin. A set of sliding doors granted them direct access to the passenger car where the conductor encouraged them to take their seats as the train would be departing in matter of seconds.

Irene slapped the empty seat next to her. Seeing that Anika was sitting next to Talia, Riley nimbly stepped over Irene and dropped into the seat next to the window. The train chimed, the conductor spoke into a small hand-held phone or radio, and the doors closed.

"Did your dreams come true?" Irene asked Riley.

When Riley looked over and smiled. "I did get to speak to Val." Riley smiled. "So, it is on its way to coming true."

The train hummed down the concrete pathway. In and out of the forest, through tunnels and occasionally emerging from the trees and earth to run along a river.

"When do you finish up your contract?" Riley asked.

Irene was quiet and Riley felt the midnight blue clad contractor shaking. A glance showed that she was doing everything she could to muffle the sobs and hold back the tears. Riley turned and looked around the cabin and each grouped pair of passengers were either engaged in soft conversation or staring at the countryside out the windows.

Riley wrapped his right arm around Irene and pulled her into his shoulder. He hummed the melody toYou've Got a Friendsoftly. Voices gave way as the rest of the cabin listened to pitch perfect humming. Zamira's soprano and Elayne's mezzo-soprano joined in. Not the words, just the melody and harmonies.

The music soothed Irene. She dragged her index finger under each eye to dam the tears that threatened her make up. Her shoulders shuddered as she attempted to silently reclaim her breathing.

"I have six days left." She whispered. Then she spoke so low that it could have just been a breath, but Riley was sure he heard "Six days because you stepped in and said something."

A twin of the Eve's Haven's train station waited. A group of women dressed in white coveralls and pallet trucks stood in orderly ranks. Riley noticed this campus was defined by a tale of two different parts of the campus.

First up was a towering twenty-story building pulled out of a 1970s public housing development. The presence of a mini skyscraper was jarring in the otherwise pristine Atlantic Forest. The building had none of the architecture features seen so far. It was a utilitarian concrete building with narrow balconies. There were hints of a green patina accumulated from standing the high humidity for a number of years. Riley counted 15 private balconies per floor and estimated a building with 600 apartments.

The building sat next to a modern building pulled from the most exclusive community in the world. It was a three story architecture architype of a hospital and used glass, metal, and stone to generate a sense of authority and fortitude against the world's pathogens and injuries. The building sat on a hill that had meticulous landscaping. However, the aesthetic was ruined by the presence of four levels of a 15 foot prison chain-link fence, one of which was topped with razor wire.

Riley thought if the fence was around the concrete building he would call it an aging prison. He now knew this to be the location in which the IVF production of a master race existed.

The building that Riley remembered to be the place where kids were raised was barely visible from the train. Fifteen pallets lined up on the platform and the train slowly accelerated to their final destination. Riley's last glimpse was of the women in white scuttling around the supplies as if they were ants returning with much larger objects for their nest.

"So, tell me of what you the dreams you are chasing in six days." Riley said kindly.

Over the next three minutes of the train, Irene shared her life's story. She was the oldest of six siblings to a bus mechanic in Medellin Colombia. The family lived in a small two bedroom house, and she shared a bed with four sisters and a room with two brothers. Her mother was a veracious reader and so she and her siblings always had their nose in a book. She did well in school and when Irene was 16 was offered a private scholarship to prestigious university in Bogota. The scholarship was funded by a Medellin banker.

It was the night of her 18th birthday that the banker revealed the shadow component of the scholarship. A sexual relationship. These expectations were wrapped in exotic travel and luxurious hotels, but she was to agree to this addendum or her scholarship would end. Irene would return home with a perfect 4.0, no future, and stress her family's limited resources.

Irene's voice was low and eerily had no emotion in it. She stared past Riley and out the speeding train's window. A solitary tear rolled down her cheek. Mourning the loss of her youth and innocence.

Irene went to work for her benefactor at the bank which funded her scholarship. The expectations continued, but she was able to fund the education for her sisters and brothers, free from the burden of the expectations of a predator. Three of her siblings are college graduates and working professionals based on her modest living and financial support. It was not the private university that Irene attended, but they were able to live the life of a college student.

Then Irene began to share about the baby of the family; Lucia. She will graduate a private high school in Medellin and is off the charts intelligent. She has been accepted into Brown and Harvard, both with generous scholarships, but based on the US's limits on student visas, her application was denied. So, Irene resigned from the bank, became a contractor, and her sister will have citizenship before the start of the fall semester.

The train started to slow. The pull of Irene's story had his eyes on her slim and graceful form. Her long sleek hair glimmering with the morning sun. Her warm eyes moist with passion for her family.

"It would have been tight if I served a standard 364 day contract." Irene said. Emotion leaking into her voice. "Since I whored myself for my degree and continued in my role at the bank, what was another six months."

Riley held his hand up in an offer. Irene actually tilted her head as if she couldn't see why Riley would be willing to touch her, but she threaded her fingers into his.

"At least Lukas is only 95 kilos versus the banker who was three inches shorter and 30 kilos heavier...." Irene smiled. "But still a whor..."

Riley's fingers tightened to stop Irene from finishing the word. "Still a woman who would do almost anything for her family. Who single handedly shifted the trajectory of her brothers and sisters and their future children."

Irene just stared into Riley's hazel eyes.

"Just a woman who risked everything and shared a truth at the cost of her own body." Riley said under his breath, attempting to keep his response quiet. "I don't know you, but your story and your actions make me want to call you my friend and to find an opportunity to get to know the real Irene."

"Really?" Irene hesitantly asked in an embarrassed, school-girl voice.

"Absolutely." Riley squeezed her hand in confirmation. "Now, you better manage your eyeliner, or I will not be able to use you as my how to act model."

Riley felt the squeeze before Irene's forefingers were addressing the potential makeup disaster.

Lysandra-----------------

The leather captain's chair of the Dassault Falcon 10X nestled the restless WNBA star. Her almost obsessive listening to Parker's harvested songs played clearly over the headphones as the sun appeared over the eastern horizon. As the Cadillac was speeding its way back to the Echo Pines, Mags called and informed them that they could take their time. They wanted to include a full battery and armament supplies, which were enroute via a private jet. They could leave any time after 5:30.

The sense that she was actually going to get Riley was smothered as if a rough ember was stomped by a large hiking boot. Forced into the role of patiently waiting was almost unbearable. The Escalade slowed to the posted speed limit and Shawna looked back with kind eyes. "We will get you to him before you know it."

The large jet elegantly navigated the dark of the February evening. The cabin lights were dimmed when the door to the Ghost Chamber flew open and in three steps Shawna was kneeling at her seat. Lysandra's eyes found the worried eyes of her bodyguard.

"Good, you are awake." Shawna said softly. "We need you now."

Lysandra pulled her headphones off, stood up, and followed the former Marine into the cyber wonderland.

"Lysandra, we have less than 30 minutes." Parker said his voice full of stress. "We just found that the MoD has an abduction of your mother and Fiona Rowan Callahan planned for the dark hours of the night. Call you mother."

Worthington announced. "Dialing Ms. Dana Vale's cell phone. Masking the call from a Mr. Graham Mercer. Hold please."

A groggy voice sounded. "Graham? It's 2:30 in the morning love. Are you ok?"

"Mom." Lysandra said. Worthington offered a script.

A shocked voice from her mom almost screamed. "Lyssie? Oh my god are you ok?"

"Mom, I am fine, but Riley's team just uncovered something that suggests that you might be a target by the group that is trying to hurt me. You and aunt Fiona."

"What?" A confused Dana Vale asked. "I don't know..."

"Mom, I am going to add Aunt Fiona."

A similar groggy voice sounded. "Dana, I love you with all that I am, but this better be..."

"Auntie, this is life or death." Lysandra interrupted her aunt. "I have mom on this line. I need you both to listen to me."

"Mom, you are going to slide on something black, including a cap and as quietly as you can, slip out our back door. Go to the fence you share with the Jamesons, and you will hear three knocks on the fence and two soft whistles. Just tap the fence once and a ladder will be pushed over and you will exit that way." Lysandra read the text from the screen.

"Mom, you are not getting dressed. Dress now." Lysandra urged.

"Lysandra..." Dana started.

"MOM! SHUT THE FUCK UP AND GET DRESSED IN BLACK THIS VERY FUCKING SECOND!" Lysandra screamed.

"Yes, Lyssie." Her mom answered fully cowed.

"KEEP THE LIGHTS OFF for God's sake!" Lysandra begged.

"Auntie, they want you dressed in dark colors as well. Please get dressed now." Lysandra said, forcing herself to calm.

"She gets a please I get a shut the fuck up..." Dana mumbled softly.

"You are going to go down to your garage and exit out the side door. Walk towards the Talbot's side yard fence and we will have a woman dressed in black waiting for you. She will ask you if you are ready to fly. Then just follow her."

"You will be safe in ten minutes. The attack will happen in twenty-five minutes. So, hurry. Stay quiet. No lights. I love you both!"

"We love you Lyssie!" Fiona and Dana said together. "D get yourself safe so I can gloat about Lyssie loving me more."

"We will discuss this soon Fiona love." Dana said as the phone disconnected.

Mags. "New York, Falcon Command has control."

Tyler Grayson's calm voice repeated the command. "Falcon has command. New York is support."

"Lion One." Mags said. Worthington's display shifted over to a Tulsa map. Lysandra found her mom and aunt's homes were highlighted. "Execute Tucson. I repeat execute Tucson."

A deep basso voice responded. "Command, Lion squad to execute Tucson."

On the map, four blue dots appeared, labeled Lion 1 to Lion 4 around the Jameson's back garage where Mr. Jameson stored his large pontoon boat. A fast moving vehicle appeared on the back street and pulled into the Jameson's drive. Lion 5 and Lion 6 appeared on the screen.

"Cobra One." Mags announced. "Execute Denver. Execute Denver."

A woman with a slight French accent responded. "Command, Cobra squad to execute Denver."

Three red dots appeared with the labels of Cobra 1 to Cobra 3.

Vera announced to Mags. "Eagles are up at both residences."

"Lion. Cobra. Eyes in the sky to your tactical glasses. Go fast, but be silent."

Lysandra's eyes tracked the bright green low-light video of her mom slowly sliding a door open and twisting her body out through the smallest of cracks. Then she expertly moved with the grace of an Olympic athlete as she moved to the Jameson's fence. Cobra 1 was on the other side of the fence and Lysandra could hear the knocks and whistles. Soon a lightweight portable ladder dropped in front of Lysandra's mom, who quickly climbed the ladder, stepped on the top of the six-foot fence, and jumped to the ground with eloquent balance. Hands reached over and pulled the ladder back over the fence as if it never existed.

To the right of that scene found Fiona lacking the grace of her best friend, stumble in the dark to the Talbot's fence, which opened to have a woman in dark introduce herself as Nadia Serrano, despite her call sign reading Lion 1.

The two women were pulled into a large SUV which slowly pulled out of the neighborhood. As her mom's vehicle pulled under a streetlight she saw private security decals emblazed across the vehicle. The SUV would slow as if they were inspecting properties with their security sign.

"Why are you leaving the Eagles over the sites?" Lysandra asked.

"Evidence." Vera said in a matter of fact tone.

"Here they come." Mags said.

Three SUVs for each house appeared on the street of each home.

"The second they touch the property line, show them Vegas!" Jordan said.

"Command. We have a Gulfstream G280 at Richard L. Jones Jr. Airport." Tyler informed the room. "The runway is only 5,102 feet and seating is tight, so let's only send two soldiers as escort."

"Sky, Command." Mags called.

"Command, Lion 1." Captain Marcus "Sky" Hale answered in his rich deep basso.

"Sky, we need an escort for our VIPs, but the plane is tight. May I assign Red and Jay to the detail?" Mags asked.

Worthington pulled up a pair of small digital summaries of Sargent Innes Byrne and Staff Sargent Naomi Fletcher.

Innes "Red" Bryne was a 6'7", 35 year old from London's famed SC019 unit. His deep auburn hair and proud Scottish heritage offering him the handle Red. Just scanning his awards suggested he was elite with weapons and police tactics.

Naomi Fletcher was recruited from the US Air Force's Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape school. At 32, the 5'9" airmen had light olive skin, shoulder-length dark chestnut brown hair and hazel-green eyes with gold flecks. Her list of accomplishments filled the last half of the screen.

"Jay is one of the smartest soldiers we have in Aegis and Red is a mountain." Vera offered to Lysandra. They will make sure they are safe.

The drone video bloomed white until the software caught up and the cameras shifted from night vision to 8k cameras. While the landscape and homes were different the scene was not. What had to be 100 lights and both properties flared to life, drowning the approaching SUVs in light. The display blinked and Worthington served video from two different drones. Crosshairs appeared on the SUV tires and the image showed tracers leading the invisible bullets that disintegrated the right rear tire, before the crosshairs moved to a different vehicle.

"We are just disabling one vehicle, hoping we don't have any one hurt from stray bullets." Mags said over her shoulder.

Soon gunmen rolled out of the affected SUV, hunkering behind the front fender, guns tracing the night looking for the helicopter that was attacking them.

"Sounding Sirens and showing lights." Tyler announced.

"Trying to avoid a Las Vegas attack." Jordan said nervously.

The second SUV at Fiona's house pulled back and the five gun men crawled in the back of the SUV, both SUVs rapidly driving opposite of the flashing lights and screaming of the sirens.

However the SUVs at her mother's house started to drive away. The men trapped, started to run after the departing vehicles until they lowered their assault weapons and opened up on their own men. Both SUVs moved for a good 15 seconds before one blew up, flipping the vehicle before exploding in flames. The other SUV just veered to the left before it exploded through a brick mailbox a heartbeat before hitting a tree and joining its escape partner in flames.