The Red Scorpion, Chapter 5

2024
Pic La Selle

She hugged her knees close to her chest, staring out into the horizon. The blood-stained mercenary watched as the sun slowly disappeared under the vast stretch of forest beneath her, feeling a sense of contentment wash over her. She continued to stare out into the distance, a small smirk tugging at the corner of her lips until the darkness of the night enveloped her.
She closed her eyes, savoring as the memory of the hard-fought battle hours ago flashed before her - black horsemen ridding atop jet-black horses; the clash of swords, steel against steel; gunshots disturbing the silence of the forest around her; the battle cry of her men; explosions caused by the tanks; the rancid smell of burning, dying, decaying flesh. Her enemies never stood a chance. She smiled. Ciel would’ve been very proud. If only he could see her now.
At the mention of her Mentor, her thoughts shifted to that of a time when her days and nights were devoted to learning how to fight. Honing her skills for combat… For revenge. Her anger consumed her. Ciel fostered it. Used to it to push her to her limits. Vengeance fueled her need to prepare herself for the day when she faced her parents’ killers. Retribution drove her to committing the one act that she would regret all her life. She remembered it all too vividly…

**********
2024, A few months ago
Ciel’s Chambers
Section A (Red Scorpion Tactical Command)
Char de combat Invisible des Scorpions Rouges (CISR)

“You called?” Nicolette asked, pushing the carbon fiber-covered aluminum door behind her, directly her question to the smiling man, bed-ridden yet maintaining about him an air of command and respect. She picked her way about the chamber and sat near his side.
Ciel waved a hand at his nurse, currently pouring copious amounts of what looked, disgustingly enough, like yellowish-green vomit, to an overflowing cup. The nurse set the cup down and promptly left.
Nicolette made a face and turned to Ciel, helping him to recline amongst the many big fluffy pillows surrounding the bed. He caught her hand in his.
“Say yes to him, child.”
Nicolette blinked, thoroughly confused. “Say yes to who?” A smile was all she got in return. She shook her head and grinned, “Riddles. Again. I have no idea what you’re on about, old man.”
Ciel reached up and touched her cheek, “I’m not losing you to the Avalon Knights, cherie. You came to me for revenge, but I won’t have it. Marry Alastaire, lead the Scorpions. Don’t go chasing down trouble.”
She looked at him, startled, “You knew?! All this time, you knew about my search but you kept your silence.” Disbelief laced her words.
Ciel sighed and nodded, silent as she figured out his intention to keep her safe.
Nicolette stood up in defiance, fists clenched, “No. I’m going after the bastards who killed my parents and my entire village. All these years I’ve waited and waited for a chance to face them, to fight them and I’m not about to let a sick, bedridden man ruin my plans. So no, I’m going to set out and wipe them all out whether you like it or not.” With that, she turned and walked out of the room, slamming the door at her wake.
And search them out, she did. She left the Red Scorpions to bring down her wrath on the men that raided her village years ago. She spent years gathering information about them.
The Black Avalon Knights were a family of elite assassins who, obviously, love to dwell on the past. They were excellent horsemen and revel in the glory of killing atop their black horses for pleasure. Clearly, they were nothing but a bunch of rich, bloodthirsty folks with no purpose whatsoever but annihilate any village they come across. Or so she thought.
She was lucky that she only had to face a quarter of the family when she discovered their château. Facing the whole Avalon Knights would’ve led to her death, only because their numbers would’ve overwhelmed her.
Their fortified power house, perched near the side of the cliff, was surrounded by a thick solid wall and a keep. It looked ancient, at the least, and has maintained its grandeur. Getting inside posed a problem.
Her research unearthed a very important fact – the Avalon Knights financed the Black Army. In return, the Black Army took all the blame in the Knights’ escapades. And every month or so, a convoy of Black Army soldiers would be granted permission to get inside for their supplies. Nicolette took her chance.
Sneaking up on a pissing Black Guard, she slit his throat and took his clothes, leaving him to die on the forest floor. She joined the convoy to get in and hid herself long after the Black Guards left.
Night fell. She took her time waiting. Sneaking around, she poisoned the water supply with Poison Hemlock to ensure that no Avalon survived her mass massacre. One by one, she slaughtered them. The sun rose on spilled blood.
Her victory, however, was short-lived. She went back to the Red Scorpion camp of find the bodies of her Mentor and the majority of her comrades, piled up, dead, on the forest floor.
**********

The light sound of familiar footsteps snapped her out of reverie. A pair of dust-covered boots, stopping beside her, “The men need your orders, Scorpion.”
Nicolette nodded once, slightly turning her head towards the sound, “Set up the perimeter. We’re camping here tonight. Tomorrow, we set out for France.”
“With all due respect, Scorpion, but...” Nicolette’s second-in-command hesitated, “France?”
Nicolette grinned and got up, brushing the dirt off her clothes, “Yes, France.” Her hand briefly touched the Deagle holstered on her hip, “An old friend awaits us.”

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