Start at the Beginning Pt 3

"And *Snicker* Goldilocks?"

Yang looked at Rally and then shook her fist at Neo who grinned. "Present."

Rally nodded. "And Merida?"

"Aye!" Merida said raising her hand.

Rally checked her off as present. "Alright ladies. Welcome back for those of you returning and to the new trainees... Welcome to basic firearms instruction. First off any questions?"

Merida raised her hand and when Rally pointed at her she spoke up. "Th' ithers explained it weel enough 'n' a'm excited tae learn even though ah hae na experience. A'm an braw archer though. Ah wis wondering if ony o' they skills wid carry ower?"

Everyone stares. Rally cleared her throat. They'd had the same problem earlier during driving. "I'm sorry, Merida. Was there a question in there or...?"

Merida tries not to let her frustration show and starts over slower and pointing at herself and beginning to pantomime. "Ah... wis asking if... any o' my... archery skills... would carry over... tae firearms?"

Rally nodded. She'd got it that time. "A good question Merida. A bit. Your hand ete coordination will benefit you but they're very different skills. Thankfully we have an assistant today who should be able to help with that. The refulars will note Instructor Givens isn't with us today. He has an assignment. However it worked out well for Merida as assisting today will be Instructor Clint Barton here."

Clint raised his hand. "Hello ladies and thanks for the introduction Rally. I'm going to be an assistant Instructor for today but mainly to help you Merida. I'm something of an archer myself."

"You are?" She asked surprised.

"I am," he smiled. "I'm somethimg of a weapons expert. If you have the talents I've been told about you might be a prodigy. Later I'll try to assess that."

Merida lifted her eyebrow. "Is 'at so? Are ye any guid?"

Clint looked to make sure the range was clear and Rally nodded. He pulled out his bow and taling hardly any time at all he proceeded to bullseye every target. He looked at her and smiled. "I do alright."

"Cracking!" She said.

Rally shook her head. "Ok "Hawkeye" don't show off now. You're here to assist. Got it?"

Clint smiled at Rally. "Yes, ma'am."

Walt was glad that was over. He started pouring coffee for some of the others while they were taking a break. "That took longer than expected."

Mrs. Camilla Fairmont of Chicago smiled as he passed a few cups. "Thank you Walt. Actually it's to be expected. We have a breech of an agents "protected" case worlds. That's not only a violation of security but yours as well."

Ms Victoria Belanger of Toronto nodded. "It's means the company is at fault. You and any similarly affected agents will be due compensation and considerations."

Walt blinked. He hadn't considered that. "I honestly hadn't thought about that..."

Mr Buck Washington of Houston slapped him on the back. "That's just like you, Walt! Some of the others are afraid you'll use that opportunity to try to maneuver your way onto the board. You're well known and generally well liked enough. You could be a contender at the next general election. They're afraid about another American on the board is all."

Walt shook his head. "That's nonsense. I don't want that even if it were offered. I got enough problems with my own business as it is. Besides there aren't any open positions." He nodded at the newest elected member, Mr Salado from Los Angeles. "Miguel took the last election. He's young but he's done alright so far. You all don't need some old war horse and I maybe somewhat popular but my politics ain't."

Mr Akshay Keer who'd flown in from Mumbai smiled. "Ah, that is where you are wrong, my friend. You're open about your views and ideas and don't let your politics get in the way. A rare blend of qualities. The fact you are a... hmm... whats the word?"

"Deckhengst," suggested Ms Nachtnebel softly causing Walt to nearly spit his coffee. She gave him a look as Walt covered his mouth and coughed and Ms Schneider giggled.

"Radical moderate?" Ms Schneider suggested giving him a wink as she accepted a glass of tea. "Which is an attractive prospect for consideration. Your unique views and position on characters is something the board lacks."

Walt covered up his embarrassment taking a sip. He couldn't help it. He remembered some of these folks as children.

(("It doesn't hurt that you've personally spent time, helped and even saved some of the people in the room. It seems some of the young ladies still have little crushes, Boss. And now they're grown up! You should leverage that-"))

"No," He said shaking his head. "That's flattering but I don't think so. Being on the board wouldn't be a good fit for me."

"Pity," Nelson Shaw said. "But understandable. Honestly it's a lot more boring and tedious than you'd expect. Case in point. You're a fair and honest chap, Walter. What would you think of as fair compensation?"

Walt stopped to think about it. "Well... if it wasn't me and someone else the prudent thing would be to wait and see how extensive the damage was first. Speculating on it before hand is a bit like putting the cart before the horse. I'd want a comprehensive assessment first, then try to settle the matter in an equally fair manner while trying to minimize losses. Trying to settle that now is a bit like trying to close the barn door after the animals have gotten out already."

Buck slapped Walt on the shoulder again. "See! That's the kind of common sense that is desperately needed, Hoss. Since we're talking plain I'll be the straight shooter. We want you but what some of the others want is 3S for RealDreams."

Walt nodded. "I bet. Which honestly is exactly why I'll never do it," he said. "3S only works the way it does by being independent. The minute it doesn't it loses it's value, efficiency and integrity all at once. It'd literally be worthless in a matter of years. It would cease functioning properly. Working together but separately is key to how both parties grow stronger. That's true of 3S, Rein Corp and RD itself."

Everyone nodded their heads. "That's very true and wise as well," Yamabayashi said joining them. "Fools like Floquet only see the immediate profit in things. They don't understand things like vision. Only greed. Which is good in the short term but longterm isn't so good." She nodded. "We'll be starting momentarily."

Most if the others start following her back to the table but Mieke, Lina and a few of the others hang back. Emanuel grabs Walt's arm. "Walt... what do you know of Kelly's ****? Is all this connected?"

Walt looked at their faces and nodded slightly once. "I can't prove anything yet... but I aim to. I don't know if someone is threatening RealDreams or not... but there's too many coincidences going on. I got one of my feelings about all this and I'm going to get to the bottom of things one way or another."

They nodded too. "You have our support, Walter," Lina said. "Do be careful won't you?"

Walt smiled. "Thanks, I appreciate that... I'll try but I didn't get where I am by being safe. I calculate risks and weigh the outcomes then take them. It's what I do. I got a pretty good track record for beating the odds. When I gamble I'm an honest and fair player... but when lives are at stake I always stack the deck. Life, and **** for that matter, don't play "fair" with anybody and neither do I. Someone, or someones, is targeting me and some of the folks around me as well. I need to get to the bottom of things, find out which and how any of them are connected, why they're doing it and put a stop to it."

"Amerikanischer Cowboy," Mieke smiled at him. She still remembered that horrible, wonderful night. The night 3S and this man in particular saved her life.

Walt simply nodded. "Yep."

It was a similar story for most of them. Saved them, families, businesses. Provided protection or "solutions" to tricky problems. 3S weren't a bunch of saints but they and through them, and sometimes with them, Walt had helped a lot of people. Some of them were in this room.

"Do what you gotta do, Hoss," Buck said.

"We're in your corner, old boy," Nelson nodded. "And so are others."

Walt nodded. "Thanks," he said simply turning back towards the table.

[Walter Stark Penny Polendina F.R.I.D.A.Y Neopolitan Pyrrha Nikos Nora Valkyrie Yang Xiao Long Blake Belladonna Kali Belladonna Sienna Khan Willow Schnee Glynda Goodwitch Zwei Ahnassi Lifts-Her-Tail Senko Sayoko Shinozaki Roberta Cisneros Haruna Sasha Blouse Ilulu Raven Manami Aiba also with Tsuyu Asui Haruhime Sanjouno The Baroness Demona Mystique Pirotess Lydia Aela the Huntress Serana Mission Vao Curie Ada PAM KL-E-O and Merida

Will Return In

Start at the beginning Pt 4

Coming Soon]