Carmine explains

“What is all of this? The secret agents, the helicopter.”

Carmine smiles and crosses her legs, giving you a tantalizing flash of her matching black underwear. “This, is my line of work. I suppose I should start with a little about myself – since you were so patient with me all this time. My name is Carmine Carson, that much is true. But I might have lied by omission about what I’ve been doing with myself for the past few years. I assume you already know that I am very wealthy.”

“You’ve got that right,” you mutter, gawking at the interior of the helicopter.

“I’m not just a pretty face. The last time I measured, I have an IQ of around five-hundred points.”

“Bullshit.”

“That’s what they said too. They couldn’t accurately measure how smart I was until they made a new test. Memorization, pattern recognition, they called me a superhuman. But there’s nothing super about it, I was blessed with a wonderful mind by chance, and a little bit of effort.”

“So how did you end up like this?”

“I toiled away in the laboratories of several universities for years, making small breakthroughs, but my restless mind could never settle on one topic of study for long. Physics, genetics, chemistry, I learnt everything there was to learn and then some more.” Carmine taps her head with a finger, “It’s all up here. Needless to say, it was not a challenge for me to apply that knowledge to more… monetary pursuits. I was a millionaire by twenty.”

A dark flame burns beneath her eyes, “I realized how much more there was for us to see. Beyond the current scope of human understanding. A new generation of humans who could think like me. But every lab, every so called ‘expert’ I took my ideas to rejected me. It was too unethical, too ****.

“There was no place for me. So, using my wealth, I made one. My own private laboratory for me to test my theories. It wasn’t long before I realized what we could really do. Chen is just one example of those discoveries.” You glance over at the Chinese girl, who flexes an arm, her face deadpan as usual. “Her metabolism has been enhanced; her muscle density adjusted – Chen can shatter a bone between her fingers with enough pressure.

“That is the true potential of the human body!”

A convenient story, “And how did you end up getting chased by the secret service?”

“Those luddites wouldn’t know a good experiment if it hit them across the face! The war of words escalated into a war of fists and bullets, and I soon found myself in the need of security. Chen and Leah are just two of the many people I employ to that end.”

A voice crackles through the radio, “We’re nearly there Miss Carson.”

“One more thing, why me?”

Carmine smiles, “That would be spoiling the surprise.”

“Come on.”

“If you insist,” she leans back in her seat, “The true extent of our entanglement won’t become clear until later. For now, know that you are one of the rare few that may potentially display incredible adaptability to genetic modification. Your body will not reject the changes I have in mind.”

“And how do you know that?”

“Because I’m the lady with all of the brains. You wouldn’t believe me if I told you, and I know that for a fact. So just play along and enjoy the ride, you’ll find out eventually.”

“…So you just dated me to genetically modify me?”

“No. That’s the reason we met, but it’s not the reason we’ll be working together. Like I said, you’ll understand eventually. I know you and what you can do. You are a member of our team now, and we look after each other.”

You glance out of the window, and beneath a break in the clouds you see an incredible sight. A tropical island with a huge mansion of white marble and glass perched atop it. There’s a pool surrounded by tanning beds, a full marina packed with boats, and even a landing pad.

“This is your new home. The locals call it Arby Island – we call it the Den. The world’s most exclusive and expensive holiday paradise, and a convenient cover operation for what we do in the Red Hand.” The helicopter begins a slow decent towards the island, giving you a good chance to take in the splendour. Sandy beaches, clear blue water, why would you ever refuse?

There’s a loud clunk as the helicopter touches down, your stomach leaving you briefly as a short spike of G-**** announces your arrival. “Let me give you the tour baby.” You unbuckle yourself and follow Chen and Carmine out of the chopper and onto a scorching dock arm. There are men mulling around the place, manning boats, and giving off the impression of a real tourist trap.

“Everybody you see on this island works for me,” Carmine explains, striding through them without another glance. “They work to protect the illusion of this island, and also act as our first line of defence.” You struggle to keep up as she powers ahead.

You pass through a small village like settlement, complete with convenience stores and outside restaurants. Men and women of many sizes and faces enjoy themselves, eating and dancing. “It’s also a convenient way for our men to enjoy some R&R, a happy minion is an effective minion.”

You pass through without interruption until you come to a dead end. There’s a large elevator shaft carved into the mountain, up above is the platform that the pool was on earlier. “This is how we get to the main building.”

“That mansion? Is that your house?”

“Not that main building silly,” she chides playfully, “the other one.” Carmine places her hand onto the keypad, which scans her fingerprints and unlocks the sliding glass doors. You file in with Chen and watch as she enters a password into the buttons that would usually be used to ascend or descend.

Contrary to your expectations, the elevator does not go up to the mansion. Instead is starts moving downwards through layers and layers of rock and sand. “You have no idea how much of an ordeal it was to build all of this without anyone finding out.” The rock gives way to an amazing sight. A huge underground hangar filled with helicopters, light planes, and cars. It’s lit in a blinding white by huge fluorescent bulbs that hang from the ceiling. Supercars, APCs and military vehicles are just a few of the things contained within. The reflective marble floor alone must have cost millions and millions. You notice that an elevator is bringing the helicopter down from the landing pad like an aircraft carrier.

“This is where we keep our operational material. Disguises, vehicles, we need ways to get around without too much attention.” Back into the rock bed. You must have hit the point where the ocean level would seep in by now, but the elevator just keeps going and going. It comes to a stop and the doors slide open, revealing a simple checkpoint manned by an armed guard. He’s wearing red digital camouflage and a beret with a red hand logo pinned onto it.

“Oh, Miss Carson – welcome back.”

“Thank you, Adrian. Can you have the Captain organize a print capture for our new guest? He’ll need to get through the doors.”

“Yes ma’am. But I think you might catch him before me, he’s in the command room.”

“Never mind then. Come along John, lots of things to see.”

You nod to the guard as you are buzzed through a pair of thick metal doors. It’s not exactly a sardine can, in fact it reminds you a lot of a multi layered prison. With two tiers separated by stairs and sets of doors on every side. There’s a pleasant atmosphere though – accentuated by couches, warm yellow lighting, wooden detailing, and plant pots. It’s like a hotel lobby.

“Admiring the décor? I wanted to make the place nice since we spend so much time down here. First stop, the command room.”

It’s a dizzying array of corridors, checkpoints and stairwells that eventually lead you to the command room. The doors are not reinforced steel like the others, being made from simple wood. Carmine pulls the handle and opens it. The command room is deceptively large. Dozens and dozens of men and women man computers and monitors with various types of graphs and images on them.

“This is the most important room in our base. The command room. We keep track of our investments, agents, law enforcement responses, all from here.” At the back wall is a huge collection of TV screens that form a pulsating map of the world. Red markers flash every so often in important locations. To the left is a spiral staircase that leads to an elevated balcony area surrounded by a glass wall. “That’s my office. Sometimes I like to sit back and watch my people work.”

“Miss Carson,” a gruff man with greying hair and a burnt face greets Carmine.

“Captain, anything to report?”

“No, not a word. Everything is running smoothly.”

“Perfect. Captain, our new guest needs his prints entering into the system. Be a dear and handle it for me and show him the medical bay while you’re at it. I need a moment. Chen, make sure he doesn’t get lost.”

“Yes Miss Carmine,” Chen bows.

“New man in the house? My name is Glenn, but everybody calls me Captain, since that’s my job around here.” You shake his hand as he pulls you away from your girlfriend for the first time in hours.

“Man, this place is crazy.”

He laughs, “I know. Half the fun of inducting a new recruit is getting to see their mouth drop at the elevator ride! Let’s get your medical done so we can talk business with the boss lady.”