Superego: Betrayal by Frank J. Fleming

Author:Frank J. Fleming [Fleming, Frank J.]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Publisher: NTM Publishing
Published: 2022-03-20T00:00:00+00:00

“Panic”

There was a fist flying at my head. Other women in my position might have let out a girlish shriek, but I have been training for this since childhood. You see the threat. You react to the threat. You defuse the threat. You don’t shriek — except maybe as a distraction (you can be assured that all of my girlish shrieks serve a purpose).

I didn’t shriek here — I simply dodged. But what I did not do was focus only on the single threat. I was fighting a whole person, and the fist was not my only worry. I quickly recognized the punch as a feint. The real danger was the follow-up kick, which is why I dodged in close to remove its power. Then I struck my opponent in the abdomen, sending her staggering backward. I didn’t let up; I swept out her feet and dropped the blonde woman to the ground. I leaped at her, stopping my fist right in front of her face. Though for a moment there, I wasn’t sure I was going to stop.

“I guess you’re feeling better,” the Messenger said.

I still felt a bit stiff from the damage I had taken at the casino, but the pain was gone. I stood up and offered the Messenger a hand. “You still seem rusty.”

The Messenger took the hand and pulled herself to standing. “Muscle memory does not transfer well. If I want to use one of these things…” She pointed to her feminine body, currently clad in purple workout clothes. “…for combat, I’ll have to pick one and keep training her. And perhaps find some vessels better suited for this sort of thing.”

I suppressed a shudder. I knew that what my father proposed meant taking a life. I had taken many lives in my pursuits, but something about this felt creepier — hollowing people out to wear them. It was sometimes hard to not feel like a villain, but I had to keep our larger goals in mind. All these deaths and other injustices were minor in the scope of everything. Our simple minds tended to focus on little actions as “right” and “wrong,” but only through will and intellect could you instead keep your gaze on the bigger picture.

My father was always supposed to be looking at the bigger picture, but sometimes I wondered if he had my will to be as focused. But that’s why he’d made me — to be the better leader.

“So, any idea what Rico was up to on Cragan?” I asked.

“I have another one of me on the way to investigate,” the Messenger told me. “Our reports were that they had numerous invasion forces ready, but nothing further happened. So I think whatever Rico was doing, he failed.”

“Time to take him out before he tries his next plan, then. And don’t just send syndicate thugs after him this time.” I stepped off the mats and took a drink of water from my bottle that stood on a table nearby. This was a nice training facility, and I had it to myself… nearly.

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