I always liked staying at hotels. If you asked me why I'll tell you, "no clue, just like them." Maybe it was because hotels seemed to have mattresses in all their rooms that you could only get legally if you were a hotel. If you wanted one and didn't have a hotel you would have to go to the black market, or the deep web or some shit. The same thing seemed to go for their window units, where did they get them and why are they so strong compared to some other ones I've seen? Again, can you only get them if your hotel only? I've never seen those long ass units in anyone's house, no matter where I looked. I'd even tried goggling it before, but can never find anything

Despite Best western being a pretty high end hotel, I didn't sleep well that night. The Reason? Every time I saw a fucking headlight outside, I found myself going, "Shit, how could they possibly have tracked us? How did they even know we got him out?" Every time it turned out just to be someone passing by or turning around, but still. Every time I heard a car come close by I was up, rifle in hand, staring out that window until I could I could assure myself that they weren't the mercs coming to get us. It didn't help the next morning when we were leaving that I had gotten maybe two total hours of sleep. Everyone noticed.

"You okay Ace?", Mercury asked as he packed his air mattress away.

"No", I yawned, "my paranoia kept me up all night last night. It had me thinking every car were the mercs coming to kill us."

"That's a perfectly rational fear for your position", the professor said, "with two little kids and a HVI, it's understandable your not wanting to take any chances."

"So now your a mind reader?", I yawned, "I thought you were a Biologist or a neural guy or some shit?"

The professor smiled slightly, "I'm an expert in DNA and Genetics, but it's rather easy to tell when someone is worried for the safety of an HVI and his team members. And until you get some rest, I will handle the driving."

"No you wont", I said, "putting some rubber down will wake me up."

"I'm obviously in no position to order you to hand over your keys", the prof said, "however, I am going to recommend that you permit me to handle your Honda until you've had at least 5 hours of sleep."

"I think you should listen to him Ace", Riley said, "the last thing we need is for you to fall asleep at the wheel when were doing 70 down the interstate."

I sighed and tossed the professor my keys, "fine whatever, what ever shuts you all up quicker."

I finished packing up my things and walked out to my car, I helped the kids cram their stuff into the tiny trunk and then helped them in, sliding into the passenger seat. I had never once ridden shotgun in the Civic, it felt weird not having a steering wheel in my lap.

"Be warned", I said putting the seat back a bit, sliding it forward as well so I wouldn't kill Riley's legs, "the clutch travel is about 2 inches with 45 pound springs and the shifter is just as heavy. Redline is 8125 RPM."

"Noted", the professor grunted as he pushed the clutch in and started the car, "where's reverse?"

"Down from 5th", I said.

"Same places as my Integra", the professor said as he backed out of the parking space and pulled to the entrance of the parking lot. I reached up and turned on the GPS so I wouldn't have to tell the prof where to go. Green turned the car onto the main road and rode it to 5500 RPM before making a smooth transition into Second Gear.

"Smooth shift there proff", I commented.

"'I've had a lot of practice", he said, "I've never driven an Automatic, my whole life I've driven 5 speed front wheel drives, you could say I have some experience."

I smiled, yawning as I replied, 'same here. The only RWD cars I've driven weren't even cars, they were trucks."

The professor smiled as he stopped for a light, turning the blinker on and turning into a McDonalds, coming to a stop out of the way of other cars.

'Drive through or go inside?", Green asked.

"Go inside", I said

"Inside", Riley said.

"Inside", Mercury said.

"Inside", Arnett smiled.

The professor pulled into a spot under some shade and killed the Civic. We all spilled out and walked inside. The McDonald's seemed very, very old, still sporting the old color scheme of red and yellow as opposed to the new tan and silver. Inside was rather busy, but most of the window seats were empty.

"What do you guys want?", I asked, "Morningstar gave me money for today's expense."

"I just want an Egg", Riley said.

"Me too", Arnett said.

"I want a a plain spicy chicken patty if they got 'em out", Mercury said.

I laughed, "what about you professor?"

"I can pay for my own food Ace", Green smiled.

I shrugged, "okay."

We stood in a line for about ten minutes before we got to order.

"Hi welcome to McDonald's can I help you?", the cashier asked me.

"Can I get a 2 egg McMuffins, a large, 20 piece nugget meal and 3 Hot and spicy McChicken, no lettuce no mayo and three medium drinks?"

The woman typed a few things into the computer.

"So that will be egg McMuffins, a large, 20 piece nugget meal and 3 Hot and spicy McChicken, no lettuce no mayo and three medium drinks?"

"Yes mam, also, do you have a discount for active military members?"

"yes we do", the cashier said, "can I see your military Id?"

"One minute", I said. I dug my wallet out of my pocket and fished out my Venom ID and handed it to her.

"hmm", she said handing it back, "it's not any military Id I've ever seen, but it has the watermark so that's good enough for me, your total is 15 dollars."

I swiped my card through the reader, entered my pin number and was then handed a receipt.

"Your number is 218 and should be out in a few minutes."

She handed me the coke cups and I handed them out to the kids. I filled mine with simple water, while the kids mixed all the soft drinks together and then we went to sit down.

"You guys like Suicide huh?", I asked.

"Suicide?", Riley asked, "no....I like living."

I laughed, "nah, suicide is a mix of Coke, Pepsi, Dr.Pepper, Sprite and that orange stuff."

"Oh", Riley said, "well in that case very much yes."

"What you guys talking about?", the Professor asked as he sat down.

"Suicide soft drink", Mercury said.

"I love that stuff", Green commented, "another thing I love is your car Ace. I've driven a lot of Honda's in my years, but something about yours is just", he paused, "right."

"What's right?", I asked.

"Everything", the prof said, I just love the car."

"Well thank you then", I smiled.

It was about ten minutes of waiting and getting to know the professor before our number was called. We ate quickly and even had some leftovers. When we walked back out to the Civic, I took my keys from Green. We piled into the car. I put the windows down, stuck the tranny in neutral and turned the key to bring it to life. As I was backing out, I saw a few people pull out their cameras and slink closer to get a better shot. I also saw two people run to their car and soon the sounds of a cammy V8 were trying to overshadow my V6. In the rear view mirror, I saw a 1990 Chevy I-ROCZ pull out of it's parking space. It was painted a beautiful crimson red, was sporting aftermarket bumpers, a wide body and LED headlights. Another thing I didn't fail to notice were two Turbochargers hanging off the back of the car, and when it turned around, there was a large ROTS blower sticking out of the hood. It was sitting on Torque thrust rims that were chrome. A member of The Great Eight in all her high-powered glory, I felt my heart start racing. When ever people brought me Great Eight cars for one takes, I considered it a privilege, even though most of the time they were the ones asking to drive the Honda.

"Wow", I said turning on the blinker, "look at that Camaro behind us."

"A member of the Great Eight", the professor said, "not exactly a rare car, but a very well built one."

"Whats the great eight?", Mercury asked from the backseat as I turned onto the road.

"The Great Eight is a group of 8 cars from 6 companies that are considered to be the most highly modifiable cars ever built", I explained, "with the right work some of them can push 2,000 or more horsepower and do 0-60 faster than you can blink."

"Cool", Mercury said, "think he wants to race?"

"Not in this traffic", I said, "If we were on the interstate it might be a different story. I think he just wants to follow me around and force the turbo ti make blow off noises so he can post it on You Tube and say, "hooning with Josh Miller and The Short Throw Civic."

"That could be a legit title", the professor laughed.

"It's weird", I said, "I have like a thousand subs on You Tube, but every where I go it's like, Holy shit is that the Short Throw Civic?"

"Holy performance front wheel drive cars are a circus wherever you go Ace", the prof said, "you have any idea how much attention a Type R draws just sitting in traffic?"

"More than I'm guessing you want", I said taking the exit onto I 191. The driving lasted till about two in the afternoon when we made it back to 29. I pulled into the hangar and let the Civic idle for a bit while the turbo cooled off and we unpacked. I shut the car off, dropped my stuff at the armory and then went to the barracks, where I found Nina watching TV.

"Hey Ace", Nina said rising and putting her arms around me, "how was the trip."

"It was okay I guess", I said putting my keys on the table, "though I hardly got any sleep last night."

"Why was that love?", Nina asked.

"I was worried about the kids", I said, "every fucking headlight I saw had me thinking we'd been found by Blackriver."

"I think I get it", she said, "I was worried about you as well."

I leaned into her, still tired from the driving, she started rubbing my back, causing me to purr.

"How did you go from your not my friend to in love with me?", I asked.

She shrugged, "I couldn't tell you."

"I'm happy you did", I smiled.

"So am I", she said, "now come on, Morningstar needs to talk to us about heading back to the middle East on a much longer mission."

Nina and I walked leaning against each other to the broad room where we found every member of project venom gathered around, from Morningstar to the guys who guarded the gate and even the dogs who checked the cars.

"This must be serious", I commented.

"It is", Morningstar said, "this information must not ever leave this room, it has to stay just between us, am I clear?"

There was a resounding, "yes sir."

"Professor", Morningstar said, "if you will."

Professor Green then began talking, "In 2008, in front of an audience numbering 7,000, I carried out a procedure that gave the world it's first true clone, sure it was a rat, but it had full intelligence, could breed with females and seemed to posses a learning curve. Shortly after that event, I was called by an upstart mercenary company, then Critical Mass, now Black River. The man on the phone wasn't clear on much, but he said that they would offer twice what the university was paying me if I would come work for them. Of course, being a little greedy, I accepted. Two days later, I was asked by the same man to head to Los Angles International Airport and asked for a Sargent Valentine, and not to speak to anyone on broad the plane, not ask the destination, that everything would make sense once I arrived. A day later I ended up at a salt flat in the Middle East, somewhere south of Baghdad I was told. From there, I rode in a very high end Hummer out to a valley with a concrete dome in the middle as well as what appeared to be a sort of training course, had I known then what I know now, I would have jumped ship that day."

"What do you know now?", I asked.

"When I was escorted inside the dome, I was taken down to the bottom level and assigned to a small station and given a single assignment, "stabilize this genetic formula, and get it to self replicate."

"No here is where things get interesting", Morningstar said, "I had some time to look over the DNA strand that the professor sent me and got a few other well known Biologists to look at it. It would seem that the three main components are from a Black Rat, Brown Recluse spider and a Gila Monster."

"A Gila what?", Nina asked.

"Gila Monster", Sam said, "a venomous lizard found in the deserts of South Texas and what gave you guys your natural night vision."

"The gene cocktail was rather difficult to stabilize", the Professor said, "but eventually, I got it working. After a few tests, it was completely self sufficient. That was when things got rather strange. I was in the middle of a test, watching the cocktail replicate in a manner I had never seen before, seeming as if it were trying to grow into something, what, I didn't know. I was in the middle of running a test to check it's DNA to see if it had mutated when four armed guards burst into the lab, grabbed me and escorted me out to the same hummer I had ridden in on. I was taken to the same airport I had come in at and put on the plane, where the escort told me. Quote, "speak of your activities to anyone, ever, and we will find you and kill you."

"And that was when things got suspicious?", I asked, "people wanting to protect their research in a secret location, understandable, but when they start threatening your life is when you question it?"

"I couldn't have said it better myself Ace", the Prof said, "now, here's where things get personal, as well as top secret. My son, whose currently stationed overseas, sent me a video from a GoPro on his helmet. He was on patrol on a night operation when, one by one, his men began disappearing. In the last seconds of the video, the camera gets knocked off his helmet and the video cuts out, but then I can hear snarling, hissing, my son screaming and then what sounds like something crushing his skull. I got the casualty news two weeks later."

"Then", Morning star said holding putting a You Tube video from ISIS on the TV Screen, 'there's this, an ISIS member put this video on You Tube two weeks ago, and in America, you can't see it, but I pulled a few strings and got it, be warned kids, this is very graphic."

The video showed a few ISIS commandos, seeming as if they were vets, well armed, well uniformed and with body armor on, plowing through what seemed hospital with decimated bodies. They were saying something in Arabic and seemed to be on the hunt for something, or someone.

"What are they saying?", I asked, "my Arabic is complete shit."

"There saying "where the fuck did it go, it can't have run that far missing a back leg!", one of Carlos' men said.

"Missing a black leg?", I asked, "what the hell?"

I saw one of the fighters disappear around the corner and then a scream echoed through the halls and there was a very loud ripping sound, like when you were tearing aluminum foil. The other two ISIS commandos ran around the corner, M4's Drawn, only to find their comrade had been ripped in half and partially eaten. By what, well, your guess is as good as mine. Then, I heard a loud snarl from behind them and next thing I knew, both men screamed and they were on the ground. The man who was filming pushed himself up slightly, pulled out a chunk of C4 and shouted AllahAukbar before hitting the detonator, cutting the film out.

I sat back in the chair and sighed, 'wonder what it was?"

"That's exactly what I'm sending you kids to find out", Morningstar said, "tomorrow morning, you'll broad a C-230 Spectra Gunship in route for the same area where Professor Green was working. I want you to recon the area, gather what intelligence you can on what could possibly have been causing all this carnage and gather any of David's research Data that you can if the opportunity presents itself and if you can, kill whatever caused the deaths of greens son and those two ISIS fighters, I can't help but think it's the same thing."

"Take it as easy as possible", Green said, "if you work yourselves too much you might not come home."

"What?", Mercury asked, 'Dad what's he talking about?"

"I found a problem with the serum used to mutate you kids", green said, "In short, the glue they used to hold everything together was school glue and not Industrial cement like it should have been. Strenuous physical activity seems to hasten the process, but seems to be as easy a fix as change a few gene strands and give you a shot, so until then, play it safe."

'Are you sure?", I asked, "if a firefight brakes out we can't exactly take it easy."

"I haven't had much time to review it, but it would seem that is the case yes", green said, "if I hurry, I should beable to have a temporary fix tomorrow and a permanent one in two days."

'What exactly is the problem?", Rylar asked.

"Take a sports car", Green said, "you have rivets, welds, screws, glue and stitching that holds everything together. Now, take all those rivets, stitching, glue, welds and screws and vaporize them instantly, what happens?"

"The car falls apart", Leanna gulped, "so basically were all.....dying?"

The professor nodded, "if it goes untreated you will. I'll work through the night to get something to you guys in the morning if I have to, until then, just try and take things easier. Now, excuse me, I have work to do."

The professor left as I turned to Morningstar, "did you know about this?"

He shook his head, "no Ace, I don't keep secrets from you guys, if I had known, I would have told you. Sam fanboyed a little bit and showed the prof the sequence for the formula and he basically said, "this is all wrong."

I sighed, "so when are we headed for the Middle East?"

"Tomorrow morning", Morningstar said, "soon as the prof has the patch ready, until then, dismissed."