Chapter 61: Cost of Control

Rachel rubbed her chin as she turned her head to listen to the conversation; the female nurse had become a male at some point. "I think our hacker doesn’t only use avatars in the digital space... I’d categorize them as on their own side, but if things are really as bad as you say they are, then we can use all the help we can get. Right?"

Tom worked around his jaw, studying something on a tablet beside him. "We’ll see... I’ll review the doctor’s notes and get back to you. Stay sharp, and keep an ear out for what is happening with that South Beach cartel."

"Got it."

The screen cut, and Barbara scratched the back of her neck, shimmering golden eyes shifting to appraise her. "You’ve already located Astra, haven’t you?"

Rachel shifted positions to look at the taller woman, far more cool-headed than she thought the captain would be after the intrusion.

"I’m fifty-fifty on whether it really is them; they could be using another person with body-altering abilities to mislead me. Either way, the person I’m following is either affiliated with or is Astra. They crashed my meeting with Richard, and I suspect their jewelry was used to hide whatever technology they were using to pull data off his laptop, and he needed to be close."

"A male?"

She shrugged. "He is at this moment, at least. My guess is he’s leaving my listening range to take on a new identity before setting up his next game to contact us. He didn’t give us all the information for a reason and probably wants to be in charge of overseeing the operation and directing us."

Barbara sighed. "So...all of this is a game to them. Still, if they do have all of this information, it’s hard to ignore."

Reflecting on everything Astra showed them, Rachel knew it was all for a particular purpose; it showed how good they were at getting difficult-to-obtain data, and how dire the situation was. One thing did resonate with her, though.

"The general expects there to be an arms race on recruiting the people that changed, and we’re included in that as a pilot program?"

"Haha! Not even a pilot program yet." The saint held her arm behind her back with a shining grin. "It’s more like the general sees the possibility and dangers of allowing others to form groups on their own without the guidance of government departments."

Ears tilting to the opposite side, Rachel hummed. "Doesn’t the US have a long history with PMCs? If we are entering a world war against these Crystal attacks, changed people, and the potential outbreak of other armies coming through legendkin quests, then isn’t the evolution of warfare only natural? At least, that’s what I’ve concluded, and PMCs grant deniability and a shift of responsibility away from the government if things go wrong."

Barbara smoothed her skirt and straightened her front before adopting a perfect poker face. "All of that will come in time. For now, enjoy what time you have with your family. I have some inquiries to make with the local officers. Don’t get into too much trouble."

The legendkin left Rachel stewing on everything they’d heard to attend to other duties. It was challenging not to run after Astra and corner them, but she tempered expectations. The hacker had worked for the Scarlet Hand.

Did something sour their relationship with the Scarlet Hand? Were they bitter about being used? As a gut feeling, Astra seemed like the type that would hold a grudge. They did come off as the lazy type from their comments, but, in practice, they were quite active—a natural spy. She couldn’t truly trust someone like that.

Laughing to herself, Rachel exited the room to meet up with Scarlet and her mother; Selvaria was still being interviewed by Richard. She listened in on the leviathan’s session, but it was hard to take the girl seriously when she talked about making underwater bases and gathering an army of seal warriors.

Astra had to be a part of the goddess’ plan; it was too convenient that the one person who could prompt them along the path the heavenly figures set had interrupted her discussion with the man who could make it happen. She’d also confirmed what Rachel had suspected from the start, given her Misfortune Sense; she had to get much stronger, or everyone she loved would die.

At least things were spicing up, and the Mexican gangsters were in a frenzy, making calls and trying to figure out what had happened to their queen. Rachel didn’t let anything slide to anyone else in the two hours it took for Richard to finally finish Scarlet’s interview.

The vespertine reaper broke down into bloody tears a few times, but the man was far gentler than he’d been in their discussion.

He primarily focused on how she was faring after her life had fallen to pieces and how she felt toward her parents. There was a lot of anger and even more questions. Eventually, she voiced that she was terrified to see her mother. Scarlet said she’d rather not talk about her father, which he accepted and moved on. Astra didn’t make contact throughout that time and had since left the range of her hearing.

Unable to dodge her mother’s jabbing questions any longer, Rachel finally broke down and told her parents what she wanted to do. Her father wasn’t thrilled since it was basically her saying she was joining the military, but her mother was a total wreck and shut herself in a room and sobbed into her dad’s shoulder.

Rachel sat outside, waiting for Scarlet’s meeting to end with the Green Berets giving her forced, understanding smiles; a few of them offered words of encouragement that they had similar reactions with their folks when enlisting. It wasn’t like she was enlisting, though; it would be a private endeavor that could net them a lot of money and fame—not that her mother was interested in that.

She sighed when Scarlet finally left the room, giving Richard a thankful smile for listening to her fears and complaints—some of which included Rachel never resting. It wasn’t true, she argued to herself; she was sitting here waiting outside the room, doing nothing right now. However, that wasn’t entirely true, since her mind and ears were always on the roam for more information.

It took another half-hour before Saint Barbara got a text that pulled Rachel’s misfortune sense in an entirely new direction, putting her slightly on edge. She figured the general had done it in response to her sensitive ears and had things to say he didn’t want her to know. Upon knocking on the door and telling her mother she needed to meet the legend, she was pulled into the room by the arm.

Her mother’s cheeks were puffy, but her eyes were alight with fire while holding her hands. "I know I can’t talk you out of this—you’re too damn stubborn! So... So, if you are going to do this whole private military thing—if you do make it work—I want to be a part of it."

"Mom...what?" Rachel mumbled in disbelief, not expecting this at all. "How—what, do you want to be, like...a receptionist? What are you asking me?"

"I’m not asking," she stated, her shaking fingers white as she held her in a death grip. "I want to be a part of your life, and if I let you go... If you walk away from me, then I’ll never see you again. I don’t care if I am the receptionist or whatever. I just can’t be shut out—please don’t shut me out... I can be strong, too!"

Rachel wasn’t so sure about that with how her mother was acting, but she couldn’t see any other way at the moment, and by the look on her father’s face, she knew he didn’t either.

"I’m...sure we can work something out. I still don’t know what to expect, Mom. I’ve never run something like this, so...Dad’s input into running things and financing would be amazing. I don’t know—Dad?" she asked, hoping for a lifeline.

"I...can understand where your mother is coming from. As you said, we can’t be sure of the structure of what will come from this. All we can do is try to support you. I’m sure your brother will want some words about this...direction, but in the end, you are an adult, young as you may be—but an adult, nonetheless."

Rachel wanted to cry now as her father’s face softened. "If you’ll allow us to remain in your life, it would mean the world to us."

"Dad... Of course. Mom, I love you both. I don’t want to hurt you—I’m just trying to figure out how to move forward after, heh, after growing ears and a tail! It’s not like I’m planning to die."

"But it is always a possibility in this line of...work," her father hesitantly replied. "Your mother would have acted the same if you decided to become a police officer or—"

"No!" she heatedly shot back. "The military and the police are two very different things, Sam, and we’re not even talking about alien invaders! I would be worried but not petrified! Yes, we support you, Sweetie, but I can’t pretend like I’m not terrified. I love you, and I can’t lose you!"

"Mom..." Holding her head for a few minutes, she puffed out a hot breath and gently pulled away. "I need to go, but we’ll talk later. Okay?"

"Okay..."

Her face said otherwise.

Leaving her in the care of her father, Rachel joined Selvaria and Scarlet outside; the leviathan’s dull expression somehow took the pressure off her chest. If there was one thing she could count on, it was this girl’s ridiculous antics to lighten her mood.

They walked to the back room to wait for the captain to join them; she was speaking to several officers regarding new troop positions and preventive strategies for some of the troubles they were encountering.

Rachel scratched her forehead and forced a chuckle, drawing the two girls’ attention. "You’re really going to build an underwater base and fill it with ninja seals?"

"Huh? When did I say anything about ninja seals?" Selvaria hummed, dangerous tail weaving behind them. "If we have magic, then I should be able to find something to get a magical seal army. Plus, if we do a bunch of quests, then we’ll have loads of treasure—there’s always treasure. Sometimes, maybe you can get tames or beast companions, too. That’d be awesome... Mmh. Seal pets."

Scarlet snickered. "Oh, yeah, like the barrel of ale that Anthony brought back. I’m sure that will fetch a high price."

Rachel tilted her head with amusement. "Actually, it probably would. Otherworldly beer? I’m sure that’ll sell high on the market. How’s your mom with the whole dangerous thing?"

Selvaria scratched her collarbone. "Uh... I haven’t told her yet. She knows I want to be a superhero, so...she’s probably good with it. I just have to be super strong and invincible, which I already am, so yeah."

"Just super strong and invincible," Rachel repeated with a laugh. "Wow. Honestly, I didn’t actually think I’d get this far. I mean, shoot for the stars, but damn. Let’s see what the verdict is."

Anthony was still totally distant and catering to his woman, which was heartwarming to see, but she did need to somehow brighten his mood to get approval for his potential addition.

Sitting in chairs—Selvaria taking the wall to avoid breaking anything—they chatted a few minutes before Barbara came in. Rachel held her breath as she addressed them.

"I’ll be brief; I don’t like drawing things out," she said with a serious tone. "There are a few dire circumstances happening in South Beach, and the threat level has increased. If you want to show us how useful you can be in a combat scenario, then you’ll be running backseat in the operation, providing support where asked.

"I will be taking over command and leading Lt. Mateo’s unit in conjunction with the remaining SEAL team that was sent in—"

She cut off as a knock came at the door, and a bright-eyed, handsome blond boy poked his head in, making Rachel smirk. She’d followed his entrance into their area and BS excuses to the Green Berets; the bubble gum in his mouth gave him away.

"Welcome, Astra. You’re late."

The man laughed it off, pixelated blocks shifting parts of his frame to now show a young girl’s cheery face; his scrubs turned to a pink summer dress as her voice lightened. "Fashionably late, yes! I got held up on a bit of code. Now, allow me to tell you everything that you’ve missed. Our villains are quite the pieces of work, but never fear, for Astra is here! Let the operation...commence!"