Chương 9: 176. Familiar Faces

Alex looked around calmly, observing the world through Scout's eyes. The room was dim, sterile, and now empty. It was made of cement on all sides, and there were metal bars at the front with a swing doorway. The sight made him want to chuckle. In this new world with stats and skills, metal bars couldn't even hold Sam. That's when he remembered the collar around his neck. The tech seemed beyond normal, and it made him wonder where they'd gotten the technology.

He wanted to reach up and touch the metal collar that was reducing his stats, but with his hands bound, there wasn't much he could do at the moment. He searched through his memories and was surprised by the two faces that greeted him when the bag had been removed from his head. Neither of the former military officers was present at the moment, which left him to stare around the room and think through the snippets of conversation he'd heard.

The former Colonel and Major were the same officers who'd tried to detain Alex after the fight against the sun elf encampment more than a month before. To Alex, it felt like it had been the better part of a year since then, and the two power-hungry soldiers hadn't even been on his mind. Certainly have my attention now. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, smelling decay and rust. The underground area likely hadn't been touched for some time, and was only two flights of stairs underground.

The most aggravating part of the entire experience was the constantly flickering, single emergency light that was on overhead. The duo had left roughly fifteen minutes before, after beating on him some more and asking a few questions in between. At first, he thought they were hitting him to get him to reveal more information, but as time passed, Alex was certain that they were just attempting to release some frustration or resentment.

With a mental pull, Alex returned his focus to his main body, still seated comfortably at home. The effect wasn't instantaneous, and it was an extremely odd sensation for his mind to feel like it was returning to his natural surroundings. It felt like the same disorientation that he'd feel waking up from a nap on a friend's couch.

"That's definitely going to take some getting used to," he mumbled to himself. The sensation was akin to when he spoke with Valtherion, though he'd never been quite this far from each other to test it. It was that facet of the skill, the one that allowed him to sense the general direction and location of the clone, that he hinged his plan on. Looking over his shoulder, Alex saw the sun rising, surprised to note that the entire night had already passed.

He shrugged, happy that this at least gave him a slight excuse for what came next. Standing, he yawned and walked from the office. Turning left, he knocked on the door next to his own. There was a long pause with no answer, but just before he was going to knock again, Sam opened his bedroom door and looked up at Alex sleepily.

"I need you and Mark for something," Alex said, ruffling Sam's hair while the young man rubbed his eyes. He swatted at Alex's hand and grumbled some incoherent words. After a moment, he tried again.

"Why? It's so early, and we just got back. Can't you do it?"

"I got kidnapped and am being held in a basement by some military officers. Colonel Hayes and Major Bennett, remember them?" Sam perked up, instantly awake and eyes wide.

"Wait, what do you mean? How did they— the real you?" He stepped forward to poke or pinch Alex to see if the mirage dissipated, but stopped mid-motion, thinking better of it.

"No, not the real me, but they think that they have the real me." Sam's shoulders fell slightly.

"Well, good. Can't you just dismiss the clone, then?"

"I could, but I think we can get more out of this by going to pick these guys up. And, the fewer people who know that I have physical clones like this, the better. They were already cautious when they picked me up to make sure it wasn't an illusion."

"They're physical now? You finally did the evolution?"

"Yep. Did it yesterday!" He smiled at his friend.

"All right, all right. But I'm not waking Mark up. You have to do it," Sam said. Alex laughed again.

"Fair enough. Leave in 10?"

"Sure," Sam dragged out the word before turning back into his dark room. Walking down the hall and knocking on Mark's door, Alex was greeted by the large Polish man like he'd woken a sleeping bear.

"Sorry, dude. I know it's early. Can I get you and Sam to help me with something, though?"

"Nfhhg?"

"What?"

"Guh." Mark closed the door. Alex stared at it for a few seconds until he heard shuffling and a loud thunk through the door, and everything went quiet.

"Guuuuh," came the muffled groan through the door. When Mark opened the door a minute later, he was dressed and glaring at Alex, who now had Sam waiting behind him.

"I appreciate you," Alex said in a sickly sweet voice.

"Yeah, yeah." The trio walked outside and were surprised to be greeted by two members of the staff waiting for them. Alex shook his head.

"I guess I really shouldn't be surprised at this point, huh? That trait of yours is amazing, Edwin. Whatever I'm paying you, increase it." Edwin simply nodded before unclasping his hands from behind his back and gesturing to Diane.

"Good morning, sir. Mr. Hartley informed me that you'd need a ride." Alex thought about it for a moment before nodding.

"Okay, you can come." She gave him an odd look, and he realized Mark was, too.

"What?"

"She doesn't want to come, dude. She's your driver now. She's going to take us." The group descended the stairs.

"Well, yeah. I get that," Alex said defensively. Diane opened the back door for all three of them to climb in, and Edwin handed Alex a thermos of coffee. He paused and looked at the older man.

"I could kiss you."

"The raise will suffice, sir," he said with no change in his tone. Alex laughed and loaded into the back with his friends.

"Alright, head east for now, please. I'll let you know if we need to change directions," he told Diane. When she started to drive, he looked at his two confused friends. He opened his mouth, then closed it with a slight frown.

"I'll explain to Sam, I just don't want to go into a ton of detail while we're on the move. Sorry, Mark."

"Huh?" Mark's face grew more confused. Alex held up his finger in reply and sent a tendril of mana to Sam. He briefly explained the use of his clone as bait and the group that had been monitoring them since they'd left the Rift. The younger man's eyes slowly widened the more was explained. Mark looked back and forth between them before shrugging.

"No worries, I guess. Just tell me what you need me to do." Alex smiled at his best friend.

"Thanks, dude."

"Should we expect a fight?" Mark asked. He released his breath when Alex nodded in response.

"All right then." They rode most of the way in silence, Alex providing Diane with more directions as they drew closer. The vague sense of direction he could feel through the link of his mind was odd to follow, and it reminded Alex of the ambiguous compass systems found in some video games. It wasn't hard to follow the red dot that moved left and right at the top of the screen, but it wasn't that hard to overshoot and need to keep adjusting, either.

They veered off the road and onto a dirt path, just wide enough for the SUV to travel. Weeds and the occasional branch brushed against the side of the vehicle as they slowly made their way into the woods.

"We can stop here, Diane." The car pulled to a slow halt.

"Okay, wherever they are, it's just through the woods in that direction, less than fifty yards or so. Go in with as much force as you can, but I don't think any of them are that high a level. Don't go easy on them; they've somehow got the ability to limit stats with a device. If they resist, do what you need to." Sam and Mark nodded seriously and got out of the SUV together. When the door closed, Alex stared at their backs through the window for a moment before shaking his head with a scoff.

"Something wrong, sir?"

"No. It's just… the world has changed a lot. I basically just told my friends, one of them a teenager, to go assault a compound of prior military guys, and they did it with almost no explanation." Just that admission of detail and plan seemed to make Diane uncomfortable.

"Is everything okay, sir? I'm sure you've got your reasons, but what are we doing here? Will- will they be all right?" Alex waved his hand.

"Yeah, they'll be fine. Especially with their kits, even if they didn't have a huge level advantage. Everything will be fine. I'm going to close my eyes for a few minutes and try to focus. Stay alert. I'll be here if anyone shows up." Diane's throat bobbed along with her head.

"Yes, sir." Leaning back, Alex closed his eyes and reached out with his mind the same way he had before. He could see Major Bennet sitting in a chair near his own. The man looked up when Alex moved, but otherwise seemed unbothered, continuing to read his book. Alex looked around and flexed his arms, though nothing about the situation had changed in his short time away. Not even a full minute passed as it was, though. Soon, calls from overhead could be heard, followed by some shouting.

Alex and the Major both sat up straight when they heard the sounds of gunfire. The military man stood and grabbed something from behind Alex. With the metal collar restricting his movement, Alex struggled to turn his head, but as Major Bennett passed by again, heading toward the stairs, he caught sight of the pistol in the man's hand.

"Wait!" he called. The major paused and turned back to him, surprise on his face.

"You barely make a peep while Hayes laid into you… Now you want to talk?"

"I just want to know why you guys came after me." Bennet gave him an odd look and shook his head before turning to leave.

"Was it because you lost your jobs?" Alex prodded. The ex-military officer stopped again.

"This wasn't supposed to be personal, it was just a job," he said as he talked from the small cell-like room. Sure felt personal while you were hitting me… Alone again, Alex looked around the room. The sounds of gunfire from overhead were slowly replaced by the clash of metal and screams of pain that Alex had grown more used to in the last months. While he listened, he prodded at his core and was surprised to find that he still had access to his mana, though it felt extremely hard to pull at it.

Confused, he opened his Status, only to instantly have his question answered. Despite his stats already being split from the use of [Fractal Body] and [Parallel Mind], they had been further reduced by the collar he wore. He still had three points available in his Mana stat, so it was enough to feel his magic, but if the stat was somehow restricted, then it made sense why he couldn't form a spell. Unsurprisingly, the only stat that wasn't knocked down to almost normal human baseline levels was his Intellect.

With the Magician's Cap still on the main-Alex's head, and all of the lines of consciousness still technically being one mind, it meant that it couldn't be debuffed. His attention was pulled to the ceiling of the small room as he heard the shouting grow louder. There were shouted, muffled commands and several loud thuds, followed by a growing silence. The final sound to be heard was a distinctly closer sound of what he could only assume to be a body slamming into the metal door at the top of the stairs.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Silence fell over the building, and Alex stilled. Sounds of muffled conversation could be heard and cut off as the metal door opened, and measured steps followed. It frustrated him that he couldn't see anything outside of the poorly lit cell, and he strained his limited senses. There was a pause, a grunt, and then Mark ducked into view. He moved through the open bars and grinned at Alex.

His shoulder plate had a bullet embedded in it and several small tears in his clothes.

"Yo. I think I'm bulletproof now." His smile grew from ear to ear. A muffled call came from the top of the stairs.

"Not without me, you're not." More footsteps followed as he descended the stairs and entered behind Mark. When he entered, his eyes quickly went to Alex's state. Moving quickly to his side, and started to heal him while examining the collar.

"This is what you were talking about? It really limits your stats?"

"Yeah, I think it does."

"There is a dial on the back. Should I turn it?"

"No," Alex said quickly.

"We don't know what the thing does, and now isn't the time to mess with it. What if it does something when we try to take it off?

"Right," Sam said, his voice wavering. Once the healing over time spells had started on the fractured body, Sam removed a dagger from his belt and cut the ropes away, freeing Alex to stand.

"Sorry for all of that hush-hush in the car," Alex said to Mark.

"I'll fill you guys in when we get back to the house." His eyes naturally scanned the corners of the cell, wondering if there were any sort of cameras or recording devices.

"What's the situation upstairs?"

"They're all still breathing," Sam said with a thumbs up.

"One guy might wish he wasn't. I think I broke his femur on accident… but he'll definitely live." Mark smiled guiltily.

"All right, that's great. Use this rope, and let's start tying them up and moving them out front. Make sure you use as much as you need to account for their stats. They can probably break it on their hands or feet, but maybe tie their torsos and knees together. I would assume that's a lot harder to break, even with a strength stat. Maybe also tie them all together? I'm not sure… just make sure they can't get away for a bit."

"What are you gonna do with them?" Mark asked.

"I think I'll have John come get the group of them, but we'll take back the colonel and major personally. I think it's about time I had that debrief with Director Matthews." Mark and Sam looked at each other, and Sam explained.

"These two tried to detain Alex after the whole sun elf camp mission. They said Alex was a national security asset or something and wanted to detain him without anyone knowing. The director got pissed and stepped in on our side."

"Oh, right. Those guys," Mark said.

"Yeah. We'll take them back with us to the house. While you guys bind them upstairs, I'll go back to the car and get the collar off. I'll come back here and meet you in a few." He gave them a meaningful look, and when Mark opened his mouth to ask a question, he shook his head. Together, the trio walked up the stairs and over the semi-conscious and injured bodies.

They scooped weapons and guns into spatial pouches as they passed, and Mark used the bottom of his fist to hit someone on the top of the head when they tried to lash out at Sam with a knife. When they emerged from the building and into the woods, the morning sun was just starting to trickle in through the canopy overhead. Alex let the two of them start the work, chatting back and forth like it was any other morning at the house. He started off toward the car, where he could sense his other mind's connection.

Returning to his main body, Alex opened his eyes and let out a breath.

"Stay here, Diane."

"Is everything okay, sir?" He saw the concern on her face through the rearview mirror.

"Yes, everything's okay. They already finished, I'm just going to go help them for a few minutes." She looked skeptically around the vehicle. Stepping from the back, he knocked on her window. When it rolled down, he gave her a smile.

"Seriously, everything is fine. We'll be back in a few minutes. Can you make sure that the trunk is cleared for me?" It only took him a few minutes to walk through the woods and meet up with his clone.

"Heya," Scout said.

"Nice going in there," Alex said, immediately getting closer and looking at the device around his neck.

"Eh, it's not hard to be a punching bag when it doesn't hurt. Want to just dismiss me to get this thing off?"

"Yeah, I think that's best. We can have Warrior test it at the house or something." With that, he held his hand to the collar and dismissed the second body. The rush of physical stats returned to him, immediately making him feel more awake, stronger, and like he could go for a run. Will definitely need to spend more time getting used to low-level stats. As the body disappeared into a cloud of motes, he caught the collar, and the rest of his scuffed clothes fell to the forest floor.

Putting the collar into his ring and the clothes back into his bracer, Alex walked back to the holding area where Mark and Sam were working. He texted Sarah as he made his way there. Alex: Hey, are you up? Sarah: Yep, just in the kitchen. Where is everyone? Alex: Had to take care of something. Can you set up a call with Director Matthews this morning? ASAP Sarah: I can. Everything okay? Alex: Yeah, it's fine. We'll be back soon. Sarah: See you then.

There was a pause in their conversation before another text came in from Sarah. Sarah: What happened to using Jake for the go-between? Alex read the message and stopped walking before closing his eyes. Jake… He let out a breath and started forward again. Alex: Yeah. I'll call him now. See if you can still set up the meeting; it's important. Might be faster through you than Jake at this point. Sarah: Got it. Tell Jake I said, hey. See you in a bit.

Alex locked his phone and looked around at the group of men being hauled from the house in the woods and unceremoniously dumped to the ground by Sam and restrained by Mark. He stood there, watching them work while actually thinking through how the conversation with Jake might go. Rubbing the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger, Alex let a small groan out.

"Might as well rip off the band-aid," he muttered to himself.

"Huh?" Mark said through heavy breaths as he knelt on someone and readied another length of rope.

"I've got to make a call. Are you guys good here?" When they both assured him they didn't need help, he walked a distance away again and removed his phone. He tapped on Jake's contact, and it only rang twice, despite the early hour, before it was answered.

"Alex?"

"Hey, Jake."

"Hey, little bro. You're back?"

"Yeah, we got back yesterday. Are you back in Jersey?"

"Yep. Got back a week ago after things settled down in DC," Jake said.

"Can we set up a time to meet?"

"Of course. What time works for you?"

"What about later today?"

"Sounds good. Want me to come to you?" Jake asked. Alex thought of Jake coming to the house and seeing how much things had changed. Just the idea of explaining things and dealing with whatever reaction he had seemed tiring.

"Nah. I was planning to go into the safe zone later anyway for some shopping. Where should we meet?"

"I can text you the address. Mom and Dad will be excited to see you." He had to suppress the groan that rose in his chest.

"You know what… I might not have a ton of time in the safe zone. I'll call you when I'm there, but if things are tight, I might just have you come out to the house tomorrow. Does that work?" Jake laughed.

"Yeah, sure. Works for me. Talk to you later."

"Later," Alex said, hanging up. He put his phone back in his pocket and walked over to the two goons he recognized. He kicked Major Bennett's foot, causing the bound man to stir and turn his head to look up at Alex.

"Come on, you two. We're going for a ride." Getting the two of them into the vehicle wasn't difficult, though the colonel tested Alex's patience by assuming he was too soft to enforce compliance. Alex responded swiftly and with more force than strictly necessary, quickly changing the man's mind. An hour later, a slightly shaky and awe-struck Diane dropped the trio off with their two new guests, and Alex had Mark assist him in taking the two ex-army soldiers up to his office.

He handed him the collar and held up a hand when his friend wanted more details.

"Take this to the workshop. It'll make more sense when you get there." Mark left and passed Edwin, who paused outside the office in the hall until Alex was certain that the two men weren't going to be any trouble. He adjusted his hat with a huff and stepped out from his wards and stood in the doorway to keep an eye on the captives.

"Man… I've really got to figure out how to keep awakened people from running or fighting." Everything that popped into his mind seemed far too drastic and like he was some sort of evil villain.

"Do you plan to keep many individuals hostage, Master Moore?" Alex snorted.

"What did Sarah say about the director?"

"The call is set for noon, sir." Checking his phone.

"Okay, thanks, Edwin. Also, we're probably going to have Jake over in the next day or two. You don't need to prepare anything for him, but just be aware he works for the HA. We're just going to catch up since he'll be my contact with them now."

"Very well, sir. Anything else you need?"

"I'm good for now," he paused as he felt his stomach twinge.

"Actually, could you get Gabby to make me an early lunch? I'm starving." Edwin ducked his head.

"Mrs. Cruz has been hoping to find some time to chat with you. Can I have her expect that to happen before you leave again?"

"She does? Yeah, sure. Of course, she can talk with me. Is it urgent?"

"I don't believe so, sir. It involves her class and where she hopes to take its progression."

"Oh, okay. Yeah, I'll chat with her tomorrow. After the call with the director, I need to get some sleep." Lunch passed, and noon approached quickly. Twice, the colonel attempted action, once using an active skill that actually managed to cut a small part of the carpet before the [Spell Storage: Barrier Spell Circle] formed and stopped it.

From there, Alex moved to the floor beside the two and explained what he'd been up to over the last few months, vaguely conveying how strong he'd grown, and very plainly explaining their situation. He didn't feel it was smart to issue threats or promises because he wasn't sure he'd follow through on anything so drastic in this situation.

But, either what he said or how he said it was clearly impactful to the hot-headed officer, and by the time the laptop was dialing into the virtual meeting with Director Matthews, both men seemed eager to be out of his house. Alex had pulled over one of the extra chairs and had both men sitting, bound, in front of his desk. The laptop camera was pointed toward them, and he bent over between the two of their shoulders to stay eye level with the camera, even though he left it off for the time being.

The bright blue screen that hosted the call had the HA logo in the center with the icons for the Department of Defense and the new Department of Awakened Affairs in the lower left corner.

"Hello?" A voice came from the computer.

"Director?" Alex asked.

"Mr. Moore, good to hear from you," a second voice, the director's, sounded off.

"You too, sir. Who all is on the call? I'd prefer if cameras were on."

"Go ahead, turn it on," Matthews said to someone else in the room. When the image changed, it showed a long table with four people seated at it and two more standing near the walls. Satisfied that he wouldn't be turning the camera on to an entire host of people, and was just dealing with the upper management of the HA he knew, Alex flicked on his camera. The sight of a grinning Alex standing over two bruised, bloodied, and bound men was clearly as startling as he'd hoped.

The room on the other end of the call erupted into concerns a confusion.

"What is this?" Shouted a thin man who stood. Alex recognized him as the Deputy Director.

"Glad you asked, Director Sullivan. You don't recognize these two?" Alex stood and lightly used the open palm of his hand to tap on the colonel's cheek.

"These are the same two military officers who tried to detain me as 'a matter of national security' last month." He used the Standard Earth Time duration, even though it felt like eight had passed to him.

"Colonel Hayes and Major Bennet?" Director Matthews asked.

"You got it," he answered while grabbing the laptop and moving to his normal chair to sit.

"I know they're not with the HA, but I definitely thought that it was something you were going to handle." Everyone on the other end of the call seemed cautious and exchanged looks. It wasn't until the director spoke again, hesitantly, that they had no context. For all they knew, Alex got out of the Rift, hunted them down for revenge, and now flaunted them like a prize.

"What exactly are they doing with you… And in such a state?" Alex laughed, but cut it short to prevent himself from seeming like some evil villain on a throne.

"They kidnapped me from my home last night. I'm showing them to you because I don't want them. I have no idea what to do with them. I'm hoping you'll take them and throw them in a prison or something this time. If they come after me again, though, I'm just going to kill them." He gave the two a pointed look over the laptop.

"They kidnapped you? How did they even manage that?" Alex realized he recognized that voice, too. One of the figures leaning against the wall stood and moved closer to the frame.

"Oh, hey, Jon. I didn't know you'd be on this call," Alex said with genuine surprise. The grizzled veteran simply waved and waited for him to answer.

"I was just tired from training and was using most of my magic just before they jumped me," he lied easily. The right side of Jonathan's mouth pursed, and his bushy eyebrows came together in disbelief. Alex shrugged and didn't go into more detail, assuming that fewer details and sticking close to the truth were in his best interest.

"So what? You then just broke out and subdued them?"

"Were they operating alone?"

"I'll contact-" Several of the people in the other room moved into action or probed for more information. Alex told them the details he had and kept the story to a vague recounting of how his team had tracked him down and broken him out of the cell he'd been kept in. He intentionally didn't mention the collar, but he was sure they'd find out eventually.

When the story was finished and he made it clear that an SUV would be showing up at a safe zone checkpoint with a half dozen other goons and their weapons, the deputy director looked like he might be ill. The room moved into action, and soon it was just three people in the other room. The director's back was stiff, and the posture was mirrored by his assistant, who stood behind him, tapping away furiously on a tablet.

Jonathan, on the other hand, seemed to grow more relaxed with fewer people in the room and hearing how the situation had been handled.

"Mr. Reeves is here to coordinate a continued plan of training with you. He reports that you handled yourself well and didn't waste the opportunity that was given to you. For that matter, no one on your team wasted it, and as a whole, you five likely showed the most growth of anyone in the rotation.

"As two entities, this can be a tricky situation. Mr. Reeves is not a member of the HA and has strictly operated with us as a way to close as many rifts as possible. The Crimson Warrior, on the other hand, is an icon that we cannot part with at this time. You have an obligation, still, at least in part, to see through on those commitments. However, if you feel the best path forward is to work with Mr.

Moore and his team, then I don't see a reason to try and stand in anyone's way, as long as it's strictly done as Jonathan Reeves and not as the Crimson Warrior. Fair enough?" Jon nodded.

"Yes, sir." Alex was a bit confused, but agreed as well.

"Sure, makes sense to me. Jon, reach out to Sarah soon if you want to keep working together. We're all going to be splitting up for focused training in the next week or so."

"Got it," Jonathan said. When the director nodded and dismissed the berserker, Alex saw some more of his tension fall away.

"Well, I guess that's one way to start the call." Alex laughed, and he saw the older man crack a smile as well.

"Before we start with the debrief, if you don't mind, I wanted to see if you were open to assisting us."

"In what way?" Alex asked, waving at Jonathan as he disappeared from the screen.

"Most of our strongest hunters are currently occupied across the country. Having a few additionally strong contractors pitching in could make all the difference. It wouldn't be anything big or likely even require your full team."

"I could be open to helping, it just depends on what it is." His thoughts went to his recent work in attempting to decipher the elven ritual, and he didn't want to do too much that would hinder progress in that field.

"At this point, I'm not sure what it would be. Do you mind if I get back to you in the next day or two when I speak to some of our coordinators? It would likely just be me wanting to take advantage of your powerful scanning ability, and perhaps helping some of the new scanning magitech set up. Once an SOP is set for that, it'll be easier for us to get it established in other safe zones." Alex made a 'hmm' sound, giving it some thought.

"Yeah, something like that should be doable. I have some magic that I'm trying to work on, so as long as the task doesn't take up too much time, I'd be happy to lend a hand."

"Fantastic. I'll reach out when I have a firmer idea of what the task would be. Let's start with the debrief. I wanted the others to be present, since most of them want to put a face with the title of Integration Champion. No idea if you're idea to start the call this way was to pull their attention away or not, but if it was… well played." Alex's eyebrows rose, and he realized that it could seem that way.

He just shrugged and didn't deny it, enjoying the idea that the director might think he was several steps ahead in that way.

"I have notes from last time we talked, when you described the functions of the Planetary Title and how it can enforce oaths. Describe the second half of your rotation for me. Tell me about Lin Mei and if there were any issues there." His assistant whispered something to him, and he nodded.

"Also, we received reports about several large spinners coming with you out of the rift as bound companions?" Alex forced his face to remain neutral and dove into telling the story of his training over the last few months of the Rift. After he was done, and more questions arose, he felt a sudden desire to end the conversation and return to training. Unable to split his mind, since they were all in the fractured bodies, he was forced to focus on the mundane conversation at hand. Ugh. Clerical work?

Maybe I should trade places with Mage and make him sit through this stuff…