When I arrived at my destination, it was in a remote part of Washington D.C. The area was unfamiliar, and that particular block seemed to be uninhabited. I stepped out of my car, pulled Shefali’s note out, and double-checked the address. I was at the right place. Alas, there was no restaurant in sight. Nobody was around, for that matter. Or at least, that was what I thought, for I was suddenly blasted with a freezing cold substance in my back!

My entire body was encapsulated in thick ice, and I could feel my vitals begin to decrease rapidly. Then, I heard footsteps approach me from behind. There were two assailants, and as they spoke, I tried to decipher their voices. I was, however, unsuccessful, as the ice muffled all noise. I began raising my metabolism to increase my body temperature. My vitals began to rise to normal. Then, I concentrated on shaking my body as rapidly as possible. This caused tiny tremors in the ice, and slowly, it began to crack. My assailants noticed, however, and before I was able to free myself, I received a crushing kick to my back which sent me crashing through the front of the building.

I laid in a pile of rubble and ice before slowly staggering to my feet. Brushing concrete off my suit, which was torn and ruined, I looked up to see one of my attackers advancing through the hole in the wall. My vision was hazy at first, but I could see well enough to know another blast of ice was coming my way. I leapt to the side, narrowly escaping being frozen again. Frustrated, I ripped off my suit coat and shirt as they slowed me down a tad. My attacker watched me and laughed, insulting me by saying my physique was much smaller than he imagined it would be. His taunt was followed up by another ice beam. This time, I maneuvered out of the way by zipping past him and punching him in his mouth. The attacker’s mask split in half. On a normal hyper being, that blow would’ve shattered his jaw and rendered him unconscious. It was apparent I was dealing with someone who had genetic upgrades, for this guy merely ripped off his torn mask in frustration, and that’s when I recognized him. It was Jamad Musa.

Jamad is a member of Ramses Hondo‘s elite forces. He grew up in Cairo, Egypt and was a trainee under Ramses, when he was overthrown as the separatist commander. He did not finish training, because he was out of town when the Egyptian government destroyed their faction, and by the time he got back to Cairo, everyone was missing or dead. So, Jamad went into hiding and eventually found his way into a small political group in Jordan as a bodyguard. When Ramses tracked him down and came calling, he immediately left to join The Pharaoh’s new group. After having his DNA spliced with alien genetics, Jamad developed the ability to manipulate water, even moisture in the air, and use it to shoot an ice projectile that froze anything instantaneously. He also had a number of heightened physical capabilities.

We stood across from each other, and I called out his name, letting him know I recognized him. I also let him know I didn’t appreciate Ramses sending his goons after me on my one night off. Jamad laughed, and pressed a button on his communication device. It was Shefali’s voice. The recording was of her, speaking with Ramses. She stated she accomplished her mission, which was to seduce me in order to set me up for an ambush. I felt so stupid. Shefali was also a member of Ramses’ crew.

The CIA had heard whispers of a new member possibly joining The Pharaoh’s elite forces hailing from Kashmir, but they had no idea who. Word was, this individual is a world-class espionage expert with masterful skills in manipulation and psychology. I told Jamad I pieced it all together: that Shefali was the new mercenary in their faction, and I knew her role and what she was up to. He mentioned that I forgot to mention her superpower of being able to persuade anyone with the sound of her voice and look of her eyes. And then, thinking back on her appearance, it would make sense that she’d also benefited from the advanced physical attributes their alien DNA splicing afforded them. I could not dwell on my mistake with Shefali, though, because Jamad was attacking once again.

He shot staggered bursts of ice while rushing forward. I ducked and dodged them, so when he was close, he engulfed his fists in dense ice, and began swinging furiously. One punch landed, but I blocked and parried the rest. That one punch, however, was enough to let me know I should not let another land. Therefore, I unleashed a fury of punches and kicks. The first few sent Jamad stumbling backwards, while the last kick pounded him into the ground. Laying there face-down, he was unaware I stood over him, ready to strike the final blow. Unbeknownst to myself, though, Jamad was luring me in. A flash of ice appeared before my face, which was followed by a devastating kick from a totally opposite direction! My chest was caved in and I was launched through steel pillars into the brick wall on the opposite side of the building. I coughed up blood and wobbled to my feet.

Another one of Jamad’s comrades had joined the fight…

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