Everyone at the facility was very eager to start the mutation. General Buhaden of India and General Cloutier of France happily informed Dr. Brischt about their subjects. The two were locked in two different rooms, both unaware of what was coming their way.
"Dr. Brischt, can you start the project now that you have two possible candidates for the mutation?" asked General Buhaden in a very confident tone.
"I'll start the preparation for now. I need to initiate a full body examination, evaluate their behavior, and lastly, make them ready for the outcome. If we don't make them understand their situation, the project might backfire and put everyone here in danger." Dr. Brischt called his subordinates and asked them to assess the two guests.
"I hope General Johanssen has a plan about this. They don't know anything about this project. It takes more time than I thought." General Cloutier walked away, heading for Diego's room.
"General Cloutier," a woman's voice called out to him. She then slowly walked towards the General and greeted him with a kiss on the cheek.
"May I know who you are?" astonished by the woman's gesture.
"My apologies, General. By the way, I'm Dr. Theresse Spencer. I'm a neurologist from California. I just started my contract here a few days ago." She playfully wiped off her lipstick from General Cloutier's cheek. With her curvy figure and seductive face, it was pretty obvious that she was up to something.
"Dr. Spencer, if you may mind your manners." General Buhaden annoyingly glared at the new doctor.
"General Buhaden, if I'm correct. I'm sorry if my behavior doesn't fit your taste. You're a serious one, aren't you?" she smirked and stepped away from General Cloutier.
"Whoever hired you must truly believe in your capability as a neurologist and not be driven by your looks." General Buhaden firmly stated what was on his mind.
"Something wrong with hiring her, General Buhaden?" General Johanssen then popped out from the door, walking closer to them.
"As long as she's capable, I won't mind. But talk some manners into her. This isn't a club where she can just walk around kissing people." General Buhaden then headed for the door, away from the bunch. General Johanssen just giggled and faced the new doctor.
"Dr. Spencer, I guess you need to wear more than just a sexy dress and a doctor's gown."
"I'm not changing how I dress just to please an old school general." She then walked off, teasing General Cloutier before going out.
Russia
"Ring, ring, ring." Slacovich turned off his phone and rolled over, trying to sleep again, yet he failed as loud banging on the door wouldn't let him continue his slumber.
"Who the freakin' hell is that?!" He angrily headed for the door and peeped through the hole. "Crap, it's him again!"
"I heard you loud and clear. Open the door or I'll open it for you." A man's voice was obviously impatient enough to wait.
"I'm opening it. Just don't ever knock that hard again." As he opened the door, the man suddenly grabbed him by the throat and choked him. Angry yet, he pushed Slacovich onto the sofa.
"What's wrong with you?! The job was pretty easy. Why didn't you finish it?! You're the best one we have, yet you're not taking it seriously!" The man walked back and forth uneasily.
"I told you, I do the job, but I won't kill. You agreed to it, and now you're scolding me for not finishing a life." Coughing while recovering from the choke.
"How did you even become an assassin when you won't even take a target's life? We already got the payment, and the client is really mad."
"Then give the money back. For all I know, I did my job perfectly. The target may still be alive, but he's crippled and paralyzed. He's as good as dead. You exactly know how I execute my job, and those clients know how I work, so there's no need for you to scold me for this nonsense."
"Man, you really are quite something else. An assassin who doesn't kill yet leaves his prey good as dead."
"I know you're not here to talk about my last job, right? Go straight to the point, what do you want?" Slacovich lit up a cigarette and puffed a few times, leaning comfortably on the sofa.
The man handed out an envelope.
"New job for you. This time it's something unusual."
"What is it this time?" He opened the envelope, and a complete detail of the new target with a photo was inside.
"The client wants you to do what you're good at: make her useless. Dr. Theresse Spencer. That's your target."
"A neurologist from California. Seems like I need to travel. There's no whereabouts on her location. How am I supposed to finish my job like this? You usually give me complete details and locations of the targets, but this time it's nothing. Just a name, a photo, and her background information."
"The client's son died undergoing brain surgery led by Dr. Spencer. He doubts something went wrong, and when he tried to ask the doctor, he wasn't convinced by her explanation. After the surgery, the doctor disappeared. Your mission is to find her, and I know you won't eliminate your targets. The client wants you to cripple her like you always do."
"I see. So how's the pay?"
"Half of the payment is already in your account. The rest will be given after completion. Rest assured, the down payment is triple your previous pays. Isn't this client generous?"
"He should be, because he's making me search for this doctor all around the US."
"Best of luck. You need it."
The man left his apartment and then started packing the things needed. Passport and pocket money were all inside the envelope. The first plan was to inquire at the hospital she worked for, then ask around or befriend someone who knew her. This new job was going to be a pain, for the doctor's location was unknown.
He took a flight to California and booked a hotel where he could stay for the rest of the mission. Every now and then, he called Blu, the man who gave out new missions to him, for new information about the target from the client. Days passed by but still no luck on her whereabouts. He even dated the doctor's friend, but all information about her was useless. One thing that bothered him was the information the doctor's friend said. After a failed surgery, a military man came to the hospital to pick her up. Since then, she was not able to be seen. With this info, he was left with no choice but to search for the military man's identity.
"This mission is even more difficult than I thought." He laid out necessary information and possibilities regarding the doctor's connection with the military. If she was somewhat connected, then this mission was an absolute failure. But he wouldn't back out without digging into other options. It was going to be impossible for him to get a hold of the doctor if she was working for the military now. He must think of a better way to expand his information.
On the other hand, back in Russia, General Nushka was getting impatient. It had been weeks, yet his men hadn't given him any progress for a possible candidate. He knew there were low-profile groups who worked with principle and money, of course. If only someone would catch his interest, then everything would go at ease. Every now and then, the only news he got was a bunch of failures. He was getting weary and impatient, so he decided to call a friend he once knew but was separated by different principles in life.
Back in California, Slacovich received an email from Blu regarding an update on the mission. He told Blu about the possibility of the doctor being in the military's custody. So when Blu informed him about the talk he had with General Nushka, Slacovich saw it as an opportunity to gather more information once he got associated with the military in Russia. For the intel, there were much faster and more reliable ways than his usual methods.
General Nushka was very amazed by Blu's subordinate. When Blu told him about Slacovich's way of dealing with the job, he found it very fascinating. Even though General Nushka worked for the government, having underground connections was a very convenient way for him to expand his authority. In short, Blu was General Nushka's underling, which made Slacovich one of his men.
As he received the news of General Nushka wanting to meet him, he took off and went back to Russia. This was an opportunity he was willing to take to get closer to the target and also to know more about the society he was meddling with. Whatever the outcome of their meet-up would be depended on his instincts and foresight. Would he be able to raise General Nushka's expectations towards him or just be another failure in the bag? As for his mission, he decided to complete it as he promised himself this would be the last mission he'd do, and he would cut loose with the society. The money that the client would pay after completion was more than enough to make him live a luxurious life. Far from the bloody life he'd been living for all those years. He just wanted a simple life, settling down and happily living in peace and freedom. No restrictions, no more hunting games, and especially no more hurting others for money. If only he was fit to do work with integrity, yet he ended up working as an assassin. The only thing that kept him going was never to kill any target he'd been set to.