The First: EVO Uprising (68 page)

“
You hurt me,” Sophia glared at her, “you really hurt me, Gemma, and I don’t know if I can forget about what you said and did to me.”

Gemma bowed her head preparing for the axe her sister had grinding for her.

“
But I have to find some way to forgive you,” Sophia’s face softened, “almost losing Mom and Dad put a lot of things into prospective, that and watching Frozen a couple of times.”

Gemma was unsure if she should lift her head until she felt the warm touch of her sister’s hand on her face igniting her to burst into tears again.

“
You’re a spoiled miserable little brat… but you’re my baby sister,” she reaffirmed, “and I still love you.”

Gemma rushed into her sister’s arms bawling as she buried her face in her chest. She clung onto her for dear life as if she feared falling.

“
Sophee, I’m sorry!” she cried. “I’m so sorry!”

“
You tell me ‘I’m sorry’ one more time; I’m going to crack your neck like a chicken.” Sophia fought back her own tears. “I’m tired of sorry. Let’s just be good to each other, like we’re supposed to be.”

 “
I’d like that.” Gemma slowly raised her head.

With her arm around her little sister, she walked into a home she had not acknowledged in over seven years. Each step she took extinguished the anger and hatred that had been burning throughout her. Dropping the heaviest weight she ever had to carry she not only could breathe easier again; she learned that she could still mend and heal even the deepest of wounds.

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Back that the Ranch still under construction, Doozers big and small performed repairs and rebuilds to return the Regulators’ base to the operational status it once was before Peace’s attack. Rogers stood alone in the central command with a smile on his face. The cause was his infant grandson on the large screen flailing his arms, making baby sounds, and blowing spit bubbles at him. Holding him in his arms was his second eldest son with his wife standing next to him.

“
He’s definitely a Rogers,” Abe grinned. “You two did a wonderful job.”

“
Well, she did all of the work,” his son laughed. “I just started screaming when the head came out.”

His wife playfully nudged him.

“
Thank you, Dad,” she smiled.

“
Your mom would be proud of you both,” Rogers nodded.

 “
So… Thanksgiving?” His son changed the subject.

The wounds were still raw; she was still missed.  

“
And Christmas,” he confirmed. “I’ll be there. I can’t wait to hold him and see all of you.”

“
Sergeant Rogers, sorry to interrupt,” Maxine came on the audio system, “The Miss is on the other line, shall I have her call back.”

“
No, I’ll take it, just give me another minute.” Rogers turned his attention back to his family. “I got a run.”

“
It’s okay.” His son nodded. “Dad… Mom would be proud too.”

“
You know I love you guys, right Mike?” Rogers lowered his head. “You, Oscar, and Sarah… I love all three of you.”

“
We love you too, Dad,” he grinned. “Talk to you soon.”

The screen switched to a beaming Erica sitting in her bedroom with an anime t-shirt on.

“
Sergeant,” she snapped a playful salute.

“
Lady Tech,” he returned with a causal two finger salute. “How’s the family?”

“
First day was your typical crying and glad you’re home stuff.” She shrugged. “The next two days were kind of awkward, but I’m learning to keep my mouth shut and listen. It’s not perfect, but it’s getting better.”

“
Good to hear,” he nodded with approval.

“
Maxine informed me our recruitment headcount has reached one hundred and fifty.” She smiled.

“
Something we can deal with when you get back,” he sternly reminded her.

“
On an off topic,” she hesitantly asked, “I spoke to Oliver and the twins.”

“
Me too, I spoke to Oliver last night, and Adrian reported in today.” Rogers nodded. “They all wanted to come back this coming Friday, but I ordered them to take the additional week, I think it’s too soon for anyone to be here.”

“
Then why are you there?” she asked with a motherly tone. “Maxine and the girls are there, the base is self-automated and practically runs itself. You don’t need to be there to oversee the repairs.”

“
I’m a… superhero now,” he bowed his head grunting. “Someone has to be here.”

“
See you soon, Sarge.” She drew a deep smile.

“
See you soon, Lady Tech.” He tilted his beanie to her.

He signed out on the screen, alone once again.

“
Maxine, let’s start from the last candidate we left off from,” Rogers requested.

“
That would be candidate fifty-eight,” Maxine answered, “shall I read off the file to you like before?”

“
Sure, why not,” he nodded.

The screen lit up once more revealing a file of an EVO candidate for the Regulator program. Maxine began with her name and age.

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Sophia stood on the sands of her island with Sister Shareef looking out into the blue waters of the ocean. With her and Kimberly’s help, she and the residents of Sanctuary completed all repairs to the island under a month’s time. Thankfully, not a single soul was lost during the battle with the Draugr and Jiang-Shi.

Sister Shareef stood in her white tank top and jeans shorts gripping the soft white sand with her toes while drinking in the beauty of the island and the beach. It had been almost two decades since she had seen the sun shine over anything other than prison walls. Sophia in her black and yellow bikini top and blue jeans shorts glanced at her friend, who was now free, and felt full.

“
Damn beautiful place you got here, girl.” Sister Shareef nodded. “Damn beautiful.”

“
You know there’s a home ready for you, if you want to stay,” Sophia motioned.

“
Island life ain’t for me,” she smiled. “I’m a Texas girl. I was born there, and I will die there. Not to mention I got family I got to get back to and fences to mend.”

“
Well you know, if you need anything,” Sophia nudged her. “You got family here.”

“
Well, I got to come back,” Sister Shareef smirked. “Seeing as Mr. Earl has been talking me up something fierce these past few weeks. He got a thing for big girls like me.”

“
Shareef, you’ve been locked away a long time.” Sophia tried her best not to laugh.” Please, do not kill that man.”

“
The man’s a former soldier,” she scoffed. “He’s been in dangerous places before.”

“
Shareef,” Sophia put a little more bass in her voice fighting to be serious.

“
I ain’t gonna hurt him,” her voice went up a couple of octaves to reassure her friend, “too bad.”

The two women no longer able to fight it anymore broke down laughing.  Sophia was close to tears as she placed a hand on her friend’s shoulder.

“
So now that you’ve saved the world again,” Shareef became semi-serious, “what are you going to do? All eyes are on you now.”

“
I can’t turn my back this time,” she shrugged with a smile, “even if I wanted to. Funny thing is, I feel ready, kind of welcoming it.”

“
Okay now.” Shareef stepped back a bit. “What brought this on?”

“
You remember the last white slavery brothel I shut down in the Ukraine?” Sophia asked.

Sister Shareef nodded, remembering the uncomfortable story.

“
Well, I went back to shut down my counter operation,” she explained. “My handler, Olia, wasn’t too pleased, but after I explained to her the new direction I had to take, she understood. I released the criminals I brought down taking off their collars which was for the best. Their reputations made it impossible for them out carry out the tasks I set upon them to do. I then gave them a stern warning to find a more legitimate profession because I would be back to shut them down for good if they started up again. One of them said I need not worry, because between myself and someone named “Brother Paul,” the skin trading business was no longer worth it. Curious about whom this Brother Paul was I asked around and went looking for him.”

A deep smile grew on her face as she continued her tale.

“
I arrived at this once abandoned monastery,” she went on. “It looked like it had some serious renovation work done to it. Before you even walk through the gate, you can hear the laughter of children. They were of all ages, along with a lot of women both young and old. Some of the older women were helping tend to the children, you can faintly see that they all came from someplace not so nice, but the smiles they wore told otherwise. As I walked around and talked so some of the women, they began to tell me their stories of slavery, and the day this “Brother Paul” liberated them, brought them here, took care of them, and began helping them build back their life. A lot of the women actually stayed on to help him take care of the younger children. After a couple more minutes I finally saw him, and almost fainted.”

“
You knew him?” Shareef asked.

“
I sure did,” she nodded. “It was the superhuman from the last brothel I took down. His name is Kostyantyn Yurchenko. He walked up to me a bit nervous at first, and the first thing he asked is if he could give me a hug.”

Sister Shareef instantly swatted away mist as she continued to listen to the beautiful tale of redemption.

“
We walked for awhile,” she continued, “and he began to tell me a bit about his life before and the day after we met. How he grew up poor with his mother and no father and how he watched the men his mother brought home walk all over her and abuse him. It taught him to be hard in order to survive. He said he never personally abused women and children, but that he also had no respect for them either. When he got his powers, to him it was an added bonus to make more money, especially as a hired bodyguard, until the day he ran into me. He said it was the scolding I gave him that stuck more than anything else. No one had ever talked to him like that, like a mother to a son.”

Sophia shook her head with a bit of a smile and some disbelief that this was her life.

“
At first he didn’t know what to do,” she shrugged. “He wandered around picking up odd jobs here and there. Then he came upon the monastery. He didn’t know what overtook him, but something told him to start fixing it up. Next thing he knew, he was taking orphaned children and runaways off the streets and giving them a place to eat and sleep. He kept doing odd jobs to pay for food and clothing, and encouraged them to go to school. Next, women started to come who were either homeless or in abusive situations seeking protection, and he just took them in as well. Then one day he overheard some men talking about going to have some fun at a brothel similar to the ones I brought down. He followed them there, busted the place up, took the women with him, and he just takes care of them. All of them.”

“
Wow.” She shook her head. “How’s he financing that operation?”

“
He flat out jacks the pimps,” Sophia laughed, “all of it goes toward the victims and the upkeep of the monastery. He calls it their ‘donation’ in repentance against their wrongs. Apparently it’s set off a chain reaction of some kind. Through him a lot of the women have found the strength to take back their lives. He’s become a big brother to them, and a father to the children. I gave him a sizeable donation which he tried to refuse, and I introduced him onto Olia. With her information network, they can work together to track down these horrendous operations and put an end to them.”

“
So you were the blinding light that struck him down on his road to Damascus,” Shareef chuckled. “And put him on the right path, hence the name “Brother Paul.”

“
I guess so,” Sophia shrugged, “but he wasn’t the only one who learned something on that day. I learned I don’t need to break bad men to make a better world. I just need to inspire good ones.”

“
Amen,” she nodded, “Amen.”

“
I remember telling Charlie, when I decided to pull that stunt in Washington in 08, that I was tired of running,” Sophia confessed. “Since I came back after surviving that nuke, all I’ve been doing is running. Fighting Peace again was a revelation, the world has changed, is changing, and I played a huge part in it. I can’t turn away from my responsibilities anymore. Ten, maybe fifteen, years from now, a whole new generation of EVOs will reach maturity, if we don’t want a repeat what happen three months ago, I have to lead by example. Try to make a better world for everyone to live in.”