02 - Killing Is My Business

<< Torn Asunder

Protected By The Damned

And Business Is Good >>

Katie Maddison never wanted to learn how to kick a demon's ass, but now that she knows how, she is going to give it her all. Now, she isn't the newbie on the team, but rather one of the teachers. She is a demon hunter, a demon fighter ... Known as one of The Damned. But to stay in control, she has to work out her truce with Pandora who is constantly testing her patience. This time, Katie's desire to help others helps her find a valuable asset. A young blacksmith whose family might have the secret to weapons that can help change the war. The only problem? The government might want what she has, if they learn about it. Before Katie can do much, the team is informed of a major operation planned for the Western United States. An incursion that even Pandora is stressed about. Join Katie and Pandora as Hell learns what they have unleashed.

NEW TEAM MEMBERS

PBTD 02/1 : Eric Bynes, field medic in the military, not infected. Jeremy Crofts, Damned, was part of the FBI ( pretty much the perfect agent), professional, strong, and follows the rules to a fault. Alissa Bonds, Damned, relatively new, trained with the East Coast teams but looking for a home. She was a schoolteacher. Strong, fast, and can wield a mean sword. Needs a strong hand. Bruno Ronshaft, martial arts specialist, worked for the CIA overseas, speaks six languages. Rafe Waterb, high school senior, Varsity football, Damned by his cheerleader girlfriend. Has a vengeance for the Damned after having to kill his girlfriend to make it out alive.

PBTD 02/2 Korbin's Killers (Korbin and Calvin) meet with three other teams who cover the main branches for the western part of the US and Canada. they have all worked together for years, and are Korbin's Killers (Korbin and Calvin) California, Nevada, and Arizona; Hudson's Hitmen (Brian Hudson and Chloe) Washington, Oregon, Canada and Alaska; the Huntsmen (William Hunt and Melvin ) Texas, Louisiana and New Mexico; Amy's Assassins (Amy Brown and Jack) Utah, Colorado, Wyoming and Idaho. As Korbin has forst choice, he choOses Eric and Jeremy.

PBTD 02/7 All meet back at house, Korbin introduces new team members to group Eric (see Characters, Eric) and Jeremy (See Characters, Jeremy). Jeremy asks Derek about Katie - really the glue of the team?" "Our lady is granite, but with a heart.” “You know granite can be cracked,” Jeremy responded. “That’s true enough.” Derek paused the show. “Granite can be cracked because it’s real. It’s firm and solid, just like Katie. She is the base of the formation, the part that takes the most weight and the most heat, and though it cracks, it doesn’t buckle under pressure. You’ll learn very quickly how this whole thing works, but just remember that it’s our job to make sure that she isn’t the only one taking the hits. If she goes down we all do, in a way, and I think you will understand that better as we go. Right now, what’s most important for you to remember is that she will have your back whether you have hers or not—and no one here fucks around with that. We make sure she is taken care of. Trust us, the bigger picture…it’ll come to you.”

PBTD 02/8 First Training Match : Jeremy draws Katie on his first training match, doesn't know what to expect. Katie smaller than Jeremy. “New meat needs to be tenderized.” Calvin said, patting Jeremy on the shoulder. She was trying to help train him, but she couldn’t say no to crushing his ego a little. The new guys had been eyeballing her since they got here, and she had gotten the vibe that they didn’t understand how a woman could be the rock of their team. Jeremy looked at Katie for a moment, tired of the back-and-forth and her condescending tone. He was going to take her down, and if he couldn’t do it with smarts he would use his superior size and weight to wrap her up,but everything went black. “So, would you tell me how the FBI uses the strategy of blocking a front snap-kick with your chin?” Calvin asked.

OTHER DEMONS

PBTD 02/1 Katie and Damian have a drink on Sunday (only beer!). Katie asks about demons outside of the body, and Damian takes her to see the spirits and the possessed.

PBTD 02/2 Damian takes Katie to a brothel in the lower-income area of Las Vegas. Building is beautiful 3-storied, white, well groomed, gardened, fenced and gated, guarded. Upon entering, Pandora tells Katie that there are succubi there. Katie meets Mamacita, who introduces her to Alicia, Natalie, and Sabine, three of her working girls. Damian is introduced as administrator of Armani's estate, and that he had set up 4-year college funds for them all, plus $25,000 each upon graduation, Katie being his back-up representative. Katie applauded Armani's non-judgemental and helpful qualities.

SPIRIT CLEANSING PBTD 02/3

Ghost Cleansing: Derek alerted them that a call had come in, and Korbin and Calvin weren't there, so - Level-Three Spirit called in by the operations contact of a local Vegas ghost-hunting team. Won’t leave whatever house it’s in. It’s wreaking some serious havoc, and is bordering on dangerous.” Katie interested, as she had never dealt with the spirit realm.(See Creatures-Spirits). The house was old and dark, the shingles dingy, and the paint was peeling inside and out. Damian goes in, bible and cross high, looking for the Las Vegas Spook Hunters, who usually meet him at these kinds of events. but they aren't there, and Damian gets nervous. Damian found them walking out of the kitchen toward the two of them. Their eyes stared in all directions, and they had strange smirks on their faces. Their skin was pale and clammy, and she now knew exactly where the smell was coming from. Damian’s hand shook as he held the cross out in front of him with one hand, and he reached for his pistol with the other. Katie’s pistols were already out.

PBTD 02/4The house starts to laugh, and begins bleeding. Then a demon jumped from the second-story railing, a third-level physical manifestation, with an angry, swollen face. It fought Katie for a moment,, then reached forward and grabbed Damian by the neck too fast for either him or Katie to react. The demon growled and threw Damian directly at her. They rolled to opposite sides, and shot art it, wounding it in the leg arm. Damian tried pressing his cross on the demon. It didn't work. The demon reacted by saying, It’s time,” he growled , his eyes dropping. “To teach you about killing!” Demon gets bigger, Katie and Damian get more scared - they are indeed out of their element and withoUt back-up, when Damian asks about Pandora's help.

PBTD 02/5 Katie calls for Pandora's help. Pandora agrees, but has to take control of Katie's body to do so. Katie agrees when Pandora promises to give it back when she's done. Pandora takes over, and attacks the demon, Damian recognizes what is going on, and that he cannot help. Katie could live, or die, or come back possessed. he had no way of knowing which He could only watch. Pandors/Katie eventually killed the demon, impaling him on a fireplace poker, and Pandora's last message before the demon went back to Hell was ,Tell T’Chezz,” she whispered, the sound like buzzing bees as Pandora’s voice flowed from Katie’s mouth, “that I’ll be coming for him. And I will not be nice.” Pandora gave Katie her body back, and she wouldn't tell Katie or Damian who T'Chezz was.

PBTD 02/6 Damian walks back into the kitchen where the three ghost hunters were lying unconscious on the floor, and all had demons inside them. Damian decides not to tell Korbin what had happened (in case they decide to sideline Katie in case Pandora will bnot give her back her body, next time), and they go ahead and work on getting the demons out of the ghost hunters. Damian makes excuses to the Spook hunters (sorry their equipment failed, their memories were lost, etc.), and he and Katie decided that this was a "whiskey" event, and argues about who should get the $25,000 for the demon's life. Damian gives his thanks, "I don’t know a human or Damned who could have taken that demon on their own. If not for you, I’d be dead," adding, "And I mean both of you.” “Thank you.” Katie smiled at Damian. “We accept.” There was a pause. A moment of understanding, something that suggested to her that everything was going to be okay between her and everyone else despite her strange and unique powers. They went out to dinner which, at the end, was interrupted by the phone ringing. “Hey, Damian.” Derek was on the line. “Supposed to let you know that Korbin called a meeting. He wants everyone back ASAP.”He hung up the phone and looked at her for a moment. “Duty calls.”

PBTS 02/7 Debriefing Korbin calls Damian into his office and states that the report he had submitted "sounds like complete bullshit. I know you are holding something back from me. I want to know what happened at that house—and no bullshit, Damian. The truth, no matter what it is.” Damian thought a minute. "Katie was an important part of today’s kill and exorcism, so you are right—that part of the report is bullshit.” “Katie,” Korbin said with a sigh. “Six ways an angel, six ways a devil, and one complete enigma wrapped up in a riddle.” “True enough. When you have to make hard decisions, know that my vote—based on my experiences—will be for Katie.After about five minutes of silence Korbin nodded his head in acceptance, figuring there wasn’t really another choice. He was going to respect Damian, and he was going to trust in what he was telling him and his reasons for leaving something big out right now. If the secret was important enough, it would show itself in time.

MISCELLANEOUS EVENTS

PBTS 02/08 Team out to dinner at regular dive bar. Good menu, good drinks, perfect atmosphere. Tables and chairs taped together, as usual. As usual, girl-fight breaks out (Faleena and friend), but girls FIGHT, furniture broken up, as usual. As usual, Jeremy (a new-bie), ends up with food on floor, and table and chair ruined. Bartender (Robert - "Bob") brings them another table, and life goes on in the bar TORN ASUNDER, the history of its fights being the definition of Korbin's Killers.

PBTD 02/9 The Heavy: Pandora and Katie head off f or a talk in Korbin's office and Pandora notices a ward in place to block major powers (demons). If the demon is dominant, it won't be able to gop through the block. If the human is dominant, there will be no problem. No problem when Katie heads through. Wants to talk to her about her position on the team- as his "heavy". Calvin is my second-in-command, and with Derek pretty much helping with everything else, that leaves you as my heavy,” Korbin said, the girl who does everything: Jill of all trades, the one who gets it done, and a major bad-ass among the fighters.” He chuckled. “That said, you being the heavy means you are also part of the decision-making process of weapons and defense. This is important to us, since it is our central defense. We want to know what you want, and what you think the team will want. Otherwise, defenses will be less than what they could be." In two days Calvin and I will be at the Las Vegas Air and Defense. We want you there, as s our heavy, I expect you to be there, too. There are going to be a lot of new weapons; some things we won’t be able to use, but a lot of things we will. We have a pretty big budget, so it’s a bit like Christmas for us. I really think you will enjoy it. She agrees, and says, as she leaves the office, “I’ll always be stronger than my demon,” tapping the door frame and walking away.

PBTD 02/9 After Katie's meeting with Korbin, Katie and Pandora relax and go to watch "Priest" a comedy about a priest. Damian is there, also watching, as the team says he could have been the main character. Katie goes to make Dad’s Special Popcorn. It's so popular that she has to make four more batches of it, so everyone could enjoy. By the time she was done her fingers were blue, and the guys all looked like they had eaten Smurfs. It was the perfect way to end the day. Even Pandora enjoyed the time with the others.

NEW BUSINESS - WEAPONS PBTD 02/10, 11 Joshua: At the Air and Defense show Katie finds, in a back corner, a weaponsmith who can make special weapons, specially designed to kill demons and spirits. learned it from Family people and history. Katie buys up all of his product, his company, and him, too! Pandora thinks he's not worth much, and his weapons worth less, until Katie purposefully sticks the point of the knife into the palm of her hand, and Pandora screams, yelling, "What in the ever-loving fuck do you think you are doing, you fucking bitch? And what the hell kind of weapon is that? You better fucking set that shit down and walk away, because I am not playing with your human ass anymore. Do you hear me? Katie chuckled, realizing that she had found the jackpot. Katie bought up all of his inventory, all of his company, and him, making him promise to go to work for her, producing the special knives and weapons. Korbin send Derek after Katie, wanting her input on some knives. Derek finds her talking to Joshua, and Katie gives him a "test" to see his reaction to a small nick. He jumps and screams, and wants in on the business. They'll tell Korbin as well.

Korbin: When Korbin finds out what Katie has been up to, and experiences her "trial test", he wants part of the business as well, and will rent her space and buildings in exchange for weapons. He was already chomping at the bit to push one of those blades deep into some demon’s chest. If it had hurt him like it had, he could only imagine what it would do to most of the fully infected out there.

Calvin:“This shit is nuts,” Calvin said. “Seriously, this shit is off the chain. We need to have like everything made out of it.”

Planning:How much production do you think we are capable of?”“I honestly have no fucking clue,” Katie said. “It’s a one-man show, and I don’t have a clue yet how hard his weapons are to manufacture. I don’t even know where we get the material for them. Joshua has to sit down and tell me all about it, then give me lists of materials to procure. What I’m wearing on my body right now is two years’ work but I’m sure it wasn’t full time like I’m hoping to get him to work now.” “So other than him, there is no one else that does it?” Calvin asked. “Not that I know of,” Katie answered. “The way he made it sound was, his father and grandfather were hunters, and they gave him the books and such so he could learn how to be a weapons maker. He has a disability—or an ability, however you want to look at it—which he said keeps him from being on a team and fighting demons. He knew I was Damned as soon as he touched my hand, though. He has a gift. These right here on my body were made by his hands, so they are invaluable, if you ask me.”

The Call: “Eric is calling,” Calvin said, hitting the speaker button in the SUV. “Eric, what’s going on?”“We have a problem,” he said. “There’s an incursion in Phoenix that we need to hit. They just called us in on it.”

PBTD 02/13 The Company: After the call, and after the Phoenix battle, Korbin and Katie talked about how to protect the new company, both legalyl and practically. The Demon Killers DID have legal contacts which would help, but it would help practically if they could hide the comany as long as possible, and the first time they did a multi force operation, the secret would be out. “Is there anywhere on the base that would be good to hide it?” He nodded. “We will have to pull the blueprints when we get back. I’m sure there is somewhere we can accomplish what we need to do,” Korbin answered. “Until then, though, we have to keep these on the down-low. “We will have to secure them in a different place than our team weaponry room,” Katie said. she was uneasy, as was Korbin. There was a chance that like everything else, this war had evolved, and she was the next step in the evolution of the Damned.For a moment she felt the weight of the world on her shoulders, and imagined that was how Korbin felt every day of his life—trying to navigate the messy and dangerous maze they were running through head-first with no idea of what was around the next corner. For the first time since she had been Damned, Katie felt completely alone.

PBTD 02/14 The New Facility: when they landed in Las Vegas, Korbin got off the plane, and asked Katie to go with him, to a cluster of buildings she hadn't been to before. When they reached the intricate wrought iron gate, Korbin stopped then unlocked the padlock and pulled the chain through the bars of the gate.The gate creaked and moaned as he pulled it open,then walked forward into an area that at one point had obviously been some sort of garden. He stopped in front of tall metal doors. “I think you’ll find this helpful.”The outside of the building was relatively plain. It had two levels and was built of sand-worn red brick, but it had absolutely no charm to it whatsoever. Korbin pushed open the doors, letting just a bit of light inside. He pulled off a flashlight he had clipped to his harness and clicked it on before continuing inside, leaving Katie standing in the doorway. She heard a click as the breaker was thrown, and suddenly lights illuminated the space. It was over twenty thousand square feet, with tall ceilings, concrete floors, and a completely open floor plan. This part wouldn’t be good for you. Follow me.” Taking her down into a basement, there was another door, and when they stepped inside, Katie nodded in understanding.Korbin pointed to the open space, which smelled a bit like old oil. “This area is about three thousand square feet. It’s considered the basement, and that far wall is exactly five feet of soil and rock from our building,” he told her, turning to her and smiling. “With maybe three days of work—give or take, depending on calls— we would have a secret way to get into the building and back out again. We would have to do it ourselves, though. We can’t let the higher ups know about it.” There was definitely enough lighting, and they could clean it up to the point where Joshua could live down here if he wanted to.“We can store the product here, and if anyone tries to get in, we pull it and make it look like not much was in here,” Korbin declared. “We could put all the weapons inside lockers on wheels to get it out quickly.”“I want this place to be safe for Joshua,” Katie told him. “He is just as important as the product—and arguably more critical.” “This is exactly what I need to make this work, and it will be good for all of us.”

PBTD 02/19 Katie awakens to find Joshua commandeering a work crew, loading machinery and equipment into his new facility. Good leadership qualities! He had put the down-payments on his account, knowing she would take care of them when the bills came through. Mamacita had brought a number of the girls to clean up the buildings for them. Joshua had offered them a stupid amount of money to help. One of the girls had brought a gold cross,of the same special metal as the knives, which she wanted given to Damian as tanks for one of the things he had done for her. Katie promised that he would get it.

PBTD 02/15 Meeting with Joshua: Joshua drives into Las Vegas, comes and meets with her, /eric and Derek, who take him don, show him facilities, rooms, where the tunnel will be, etc., Impresses on Eric that this is TOP SECRET, and that NO ONE can know about it. Hopes she can trust him. Asks Joshua to make a budget for what he will need.

PBTD 02/16 Joshua's Lodgings: When Katie finds Joshua living out of his van, at the base, she makes arrangements for him to live at Mamacita's with the girls, just until his own quarters will be finished. Joshua has come up a first budget of $1.2 Million to start.

PBTD 02/17 The Budget: Katie needs to come up with $1.2 million for start-up. Calvin suggests she sell 30% of the company to himself, Korbin and Damian. Calvin shakes on $450,000 from him.

PBTD 02/18 Korbin and Damian agree, also. Korbin offers to buy each of the others out at double their money, $900,000 per, at that minute. they all so no, they want to keep their 10%. agreed.

PBTD 02/19 Production Schedule: Joshua anticipated that starting three weeks from then, he would be able to produce one knife a week, more after that. he had to get used to using the equipment.

PHOENIX CALL PBTD 02/12 The Cartel: Big drug cartel’s operations center,” Calvin explained as they flew. “Some murders and rapes and some other pretty fucked-up shit has gone down there, just like you would expect from a drug cartel. The head of the cartel was apparently known for kidnapping his enemies and skinning them alive. Some DEA guys were trying to be heroes. They thought they could get a line into the cartel and bust the whole thing wide open. When they got there they noticed some fucked-up shit going down, so they called it in. It was picked up by our guys when they heard the words ‘red eyes’ and ‘cannibalism.’” As the landed, Eric glanced at the three black SUVs parked waiting for them. They loaded in. The SUV slowed down as they approached the back entrance of an old unused hospital. It was the kind of building that would make one nervous to go inside, just from looking at it. The kind you just knew something terrible had happened in, and they closed the facility down because of it. There was weedy gravel landscaping around it graced by a few dead plants, and the parking area looked like it had been used for most of the cartel’s murders. There were bullet holes all over the place, and blood stains every few feet.The team piled out of the SUVs and lined up, weapons in hand.

PBTD 02/13 The Attack:I want our team to stay together, but separated by twenty yards.” He pointed to each as he spoke their names. “So it will be me, Katie, Jeremy, and Eric in the lead, then twenty yards behind us I want Damian, Derek, and Calvin watching the back. We have to keep our eyes open here, guys. If we make one mistake, it could be the end of us. Not only are there Damned and demons in there, but the human bodies they took were thugs, gang members, and essentially the mob. It’s no joke—they’re the kind of men who will mow us down in a heartbeat if we don’t work as a team. Watch each other’s backs, move swiftly, and never take your eyes off the corners around you.”When they came into the main corridor there were guys everywhere, some Damned and the rest straight demons. The fighting started immediately, but the small guys came easy, even to the new team members. They took the demons out and checked the Damned, doing what needed to be done without question.Jeremy was doing his best to kill and yet stay alive as a larger fight unexpectedly broke out around him.When the demons began to attack, it was almost surreal how synchronized Katie and Jeremy’s movements were. She reached back and locked her arms with his, rolling up on his shoulders and kicking a charging demon in the chest. She jumped down and sliced one of her swords across its neck, and it screamed in agony before she took its head clean off its shoulders. Her sword was doing its job so far. When they had finished with that group, both ran back over and joined the others, carefully stepping over the dust and bodies that had been left behind. Katie jogged forward up next to Korbin, looking at the large doors in front of them. They could hear shrieks and growls echoing in the halls, so they knew they were in for a fight ahead.“Here,” Katie said, pulling out a long, wide knife and handing it to Korbin.In the fight, Korbin’s knife slid seamlessly through the smaller demons and their shrieks echoed through the room. It never got dull, and every cut was more accurate than the last. Korbin looked around and nodded his head as the others finished up the hordes of Damned and demons. When he turned to the left he didn’t watch his corners, and slammed right into something hard and warm. He fell backward on his ass and shook his head, then looked up at the twelve-foot-tall demon in front of him, who was staring down at him with deep-red eyes and sharp teeth.The demon was attacked with an automatic weapon (full magazine), three knives (didn't care) a machine gun (so what), until they decided to use the new weapons on it - knives (Korbin and Jeremy), and short sword to cut off its head (Katie) It worked.

The Rehash: There had been too many possessed humans, bodies to look at/clean up after. Preferred full demons, who exploded when killed. “I can’t believe in all that I didn’t have the opportunity to become infected,” Eric said. "This wasn’t the place for you," Katie explained. ”Most of these demons were insignificant useless bitches. The big ones? Well, they would have been too much for your body to handle anyway." “This body can’t do what you Damned can, and I need that boost to get me through the tougher times." Korbin shook his head, not knowing how to feel about a team member wanting to be Damned.The team walked away, and DEA and locals cleaned up.

PBTD02/13 On the flight back to Las Vegas, it was realized that Eric, the new medic, had left the med kit back in Vegas, because he was so concerned about gaining an infection of his own that he hadn't thought through what was needed for others.Korbin had overheard, and said, Your mistake could have meant someone else’s life.” Korbin allowed a bit of the anger to seep into his voice. “You aren’t thinking about anyone but yourself right now. I don’t know if you came here to find a demon or to be part of this team, but you better get your head on straight before someone dies. Do you really want that on your conscience?”“Of course not,” Eric admitted, irritation in his voice. “I made a mistake, and it won’t happen again.” “It better not,” Korbin finished.

PBTD 02/14 Katie ans Pandora Katie begins training again, and has a talk with Pandora as to why. Katie wants to be in shape whenever Pandora goes after T'Chezz, whomever that was, and Pandora agrees, and will be putting Katie through, not boot camp, but Hell camp, training.

ARMANI'S LEGACY PBTD 02/16 Katie's visit : Katie decides to take some money to the girls at the brothel, as Armani wold have done if he were there. On the way, she and Pandora get into a fight with some street toughs, and Pandora takes them out in ten seconds, leaving Katie to proceed to the brothel.

LOS ANGELES CALL PBTD 02/18 Strategic Hit: The new action is supposed to be well-planned, and a hit where humans will feel it the most. No specific intel, but right now we are gaming the odds on the West Coast, possibly California. That being said, I want you guys to continue training, but keep the beat-downs to a minimum.” Three potential strategies for the hits: First we might have one big incursion like the last one, for those of us who were here. Something centered in one spot, lots of demons, some leaders, and only God knows what else.” “Option two is the possibility of two large incursions, both smaller than the one large option, but both large enough to need some really powerful fighters and a whole lot of luck.” “The last option is multiple spots and multiple strikes carried out simultaneously.” So what do we do? Well, if it’s one strike, we go,” Katie said. If it’s two, we split up and hope we are enough, but if it is multiple we are going to need help from other spots.”“Other teams, you mean?” Jeremy asked.“Yes,” Korbin said. Pandora told Katie, "I’d say they will launch multiple incursions at the same time, same location, trying to get a major infestation." “That means we need to have more teams and people in different areas, focused on California. I think that if we can come up with a timeline—something as close to when we think it will happen as possible—we have a chance to get inside their operations curve.” Katie chewed on her lip. “We should pre-deploy, and see if anyone from the East Coast has surplus help for us. Call in the extras—the people in outlying areas willing to help—and don’t forget about our contacts in the civilian government.” “I’ll call in help and place them in Los Angeles, but they have to stay at their own home base. We can’t have a bunch of people mucking up our space, especially with everything we have going on.“Right but they all have the same reason to do this that we do,” Katie said. “They all have people they want to keep safe, and they all have reasons for being part of this. It shouldn’t matter what the location is.”“You’re right,” Korbin replied. “We just have to get them to see it in that perspective.”

PBTD 02/20 In Between Thought eh alert had been given, there was no action yet, so the team decided to go out for dinner, to Jessie Rae's BBQ, the best BBQ in Las Vegas! (Really exists!) Derek, Damian, Eric and Katie. Katie questions Eric about his desire for a demon - what kind he wanted, as some of the team might be able to help him pin it down. Would you be happy with a succubus? Katie gave Damian the cross. He was hesitant about unwrapping it (he didnt get many gifts), finally did, and thought the cross was stunning. Seems so silly to waste something so beautiful on demon flesh. Really from Jules, at the Brothel, so that what had happened to Armani would not happen to him. Joshua had made it. He began to get excited about it. It would up his game tenfold. His job had come from God, and this weapon renewed his faith in the possibility that he would do it well. "We protect the ones we love and you were the first person we all thought of.”

PBTD 02/21 The Call: The call alarm sounded, and all met at the training area for briefing. All were armed, and Damian wore his new cross firmly strapped into a holster on his hip like a gun. We got the call that something is going down in Los Angeles. There are reports that a bus full of children is missing.We knew they would strike where it hurt us the most. That being said, it could be terrorists. We haven’t ruled that out yet.” “Or it could be the beginning of a major incursion,” Calvin said. “Exactly.” Korbin sighed. “So, we are going to lay out the tactical situation for everyone when we get there. There will be two red shirts—guys who are there to help and make the team stronger. They are our responsibility, so try to protect them as much as possible. What I need you to do now is suit up and grab every weapon you think you might use while we are there, including ammo and backup ammo. Pack a bag if you need to—just don’t walk into this shorthanded. Best case scenario, it’s a terrorist act and the police take over. I don’t think I need to go over what the worst-case scenario is. So, heads strong, eyes on the prize, and let’s move out.”

Korbin has split us into three teams. The first team will be Korbin, Derek, and on loan, Sebastian Alexander. The second group will be me, Jeremy, and on loan, Rob Taylor. The third team will be Katie, Damian, and Eric. Now, on Team One, Sebastian will be designated medic if needed, since he has the most experience in that team. On Team Two Rob is the medic, and on Team Three it’s Eric. If anyone is injured on the team, get to your medic. In the meantime, protect the medic. They will be helping anyone in need as well as fighting their asses off.” “Team leads are as follows,” Korbin said, stepping up. “Team One is me, Team Two is Calvin, and Team Three is Katie. Leads have the hardest job. We are responsible for keeping our teams together, as well as orchestrating whatever attack is called in to us in our location. Keep your earpieces tuned in. Damian,” Korbin glanced at his priest, “that means you, too.” “We have decided on three main locations we want you in or around.” He looked up at Calvin. “Team Two, you will be in or near Hollywood.” He glanced at Katie. “Team Three, you will be as close to Disneyland as you can get. My team will be near downtown LA.

The Plan “Now, your team will be called to the nearest incursion spot when things start to pop off, and you will be responsible for getting there as soon as possible. Designate a driver before you are called, and it shouldn’t be your team lead. They need to be assessing and creating a battle plan for your arrival and operational success. The tablets are charged, and you should be able to access all reports so you can access whatever information you need on the spots you will heading to. Remember, these could be schools, churches, hospitals, or elderly homes. They could be packed or vacant; you don’t know what to expect when you walk into the doors.” Treat every demon like a 72. Pandora warned Katie, as well, that "this shit is about to get crazy." Near Disneyland, Katie talks to her team. “Damian knows I am no-bullshit in this thing. My team has to be tight—ready to go, ready to fight. There will be no showboating or playing around, and definitely no searching for a demon while we are out there. Kill as many of those bastards as you can get your hands on. Eric, it is important that you assess any and all injuries innocents might have right off the bat. What is the first thing you do?”“Check their eyes,” he said. And they waited. In North Hollywood, Calvin talked to his team. Jeremy, fight,” Calvin said. “When you get there that is your priority: fight with everything you got. Save whatever people might be there, and kill these motherfucking demons. Rob, you know your role, so I don’t need to explain. Heal everyone you find, and we will have your back as much as humanly possible. If you get into a bad situation, yell out for us." " Got it,” he said, nodding his head. “And the same for you guys. If you need me, yell. I’ll come running”Korbin's Korbin's team waited near the Tar Pits. “You boys know what your job is. All I ask is, stay alive to see another day.” You got it, Boss. The same goes for you."“You got it, boss,” Derek said. “The same goes for you.” I'll do my damndest. and hoefully a Higher Being is up there looking out for all of us."

PBTD 02/22 The Battles Begin Bus with the kids was found, near LAX. One dead child. Different than a dead adult. Worse. Be prepared. Cannot let it shock you. Shoot to kill. Demons appeared as they were tending to the children. Sebastian killed by a demon. (One of the red-shirt helpers). Katie and her team were called to an older major Catholic church. will enter from the rear. do so, find almost all dead inside. Wounded priest directed them down steps to basement. They go. Find seven demons, one large one, with dead humans. Katie and team accost them with special weapons, kill them. Katie captures a demon, makes it stay in her body until battle over, then transfers it to Eric. A Level Four. 02/24 PBTD 02/23 Calvin and team go nto empty warehouse, find three suspended (hung up) humans, one dead, and six demons, all medium size. All killed, including Rob, one of red shirts. team.

AFTERWARD PBTD 02/24 Korbin and the LAPD: DEA agent and Korbin review losses , children, adults, two team members, etc. Flew back to base on helicopter Damian had sent, good to get home. Korbin gives Joshua and company $5 million for anything he needs. ANYTHING ! One week later: The Ceremony to the dead and the event was about to take place, Katie, speaker, about to begin. Speech was before dinner, to allow rest of evening to be lighter in mood. Rob Taylor and Sebastian Alexander, assigned team members, lost, will be missed. Katie again read her Ode, and speech was concluded.

After the Ceremony: Katie and Pandora talk. Pandora was supposed to have been part of the Los Angeles event, but was pulled out by her brother, T'Chezz, to the coven calling from Earth. T'Chezz thought that if he couldn't kill her in Hell, he would get her killed on Earth. Being killed in human form puts the demon deeper into Hell, harder to escape from, more miserable to be there. He's eventually going to make sure I'm dead, so he'll be coming for Katie.

Katie thought that she could surely make her own fate. How hard could it really be? You made a decision, you stuck with it, and you moved forward. Katie smiled at the thought of creating her own destiny. If Pandora’s brother coming after her was part of her destiny, then she needed to have control over that. She couldn’t be caught off-guard. Well, fuck," Katie said, " Fuck him, then. I guess it’s time I try a bit harder, too."

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