6 Fate of the War on my Hands

Walking inside I notice how RPK is lifting the equivalent to half a car, using the heaviest weights I own, her face looks like its struggling which is odd with the sweat and the fact that she's a T-Doll.

"Good morning." She loses focus and looks at me. 

"Oh, Sir, good morning. Pardon my intrusion to your time." Her face is struggling to keep staring at my face and falls onto the scar on my chest which looks like something blew up.

"What happened?" She walks up to me. 

"Aliens, they shot at me and I got hit when I was getting out of LA and turned back to save Colt Walker." She gasped as her eyes widened.

"You risked getting killed for a Doll? Sir, that is unforgivable, that damn obsolete handgun! She should've been decommissioned the second that happened. How dare she still stand beside you when she didn't protect you? SIR HOW IS SHE STILL ALIVE." Her scowl is present as she seems genuinely pissed off.

"She was giving her life for me, I reached the chopper and she stayed back and gave me enough cover for me to get away. But I went back for her but got hit twice." I said I turned around and showed her the scar on my back which has the same shape which is like a burn mark and spot that looks like a bullet.

"Twice... I'm surprised she didn't get scrapped." The scowl seems to remain. 

"Meh, almost dying is in the profession I was in, no problem." I said as I hopped in the treadmill and began to jog. RPK joined me on the treadmill beside me.

"You almost died and you're cool with it?"

"Not really cool with it, more like... used to it. When I was a merc death was common."

"If I was sent there to rescue you, you would've gotten away safely."

"Yes, but that's a big if. But how are you so sure?"

"Well, contrary to those sex bots, wolf pack does know how to shoot."

"Sex bots?"

"You know the rest of the TDolls?"

"Wait, you're saying most are sold as sex dolls?"

"Yes, I'm surprised IOP didn't tell you. It's one of their main income, well there are other companies and the other big one is SF and they are trash."

"So you're saying that most dolls are used for sex instead of war?"

"Yes, but contrary to them Wolf Pack only does active field missions under the masquerade."

"Right, such as a mission that had the entire squad dead."

"Not dead, TDolls can't die."

"But you should always aim to live, or else you'll only find sadness." I said as I increased the speed ending the conversation after a few minutes I got interrupted as the speed of the treadmill slowed down, before I could protest I saw how RPK is sweating but looking worried at me.

"Sir, you're bleeding." I didn't notice, but the scar is still not closed in some areas and looks like running top speed for a few minutes opened them. 

"It's okay, it's just a-"

"No, please. Let me help you." She said with care in her voice, she took one of the medkits in the bathroom and took out cotton soaked in alcohol and began to swab at it. "Hey, that hurts."

"It should, you dummy. You're not clear for exercise."

"Psh, you're not my doctor."

"No, I'm not but, you should take care of yourself. Now that should clean the wounds, are you going to keep working out?"

"Yes."

"No, you're not. Let's do yoga." She said as she motioned towards the end.

"I'm not sure I can do yoga." I said as I have never done Yoga in my life.

"You'll never know if you don't do it." She said with a teasing smile.

"Fine." I say as she stretches over the soft mat that I used to practice several martial arts. 

"Then follow my movements." She said as she stood straighter making her assets bounce. I followed her movements fairly easily. I mean it was a surprisingly easy given how I was able to keep up fairly easily.

"Whoah, I didn't expect you to be able to keep up and at least this workout isn't too taxing unlike lifting weights." RPK said as she stretched while caked in sweat. 

"It was surprisingly fun, now I just need a shower and see what's next, then we should be getting to HQ by night time." RPK smirks. 

"Is that an invitation?" Her eyes flutter as she bites her lip, I know she's flirting but its empty.

"No, you still owe me for the shirt and the wine you spilled." That banter seemed to take her out of that expression. 

"I-" 

"None of that take a shower in the room you're using and get to the kitchen." I said as I exited the gym and went to my room which no longer holds Colt sleeping in the bed. Instead the bed is made perfectly. "Thank you, whoever did this." I mutter to myself,0 taking a quick shower, I'm ready to make breakfast, looking at the clock it says 8 am. This is really late compared to most of the times I wake up at. "Oh well, I'll make enough for everyone." Calculating if it's enough I begin to make eggs with different ingredients a few with ham, others with bacon and others with mushrooms. 

RPK shows up in uniform. "RPK, could you please let everyone know that breakfast is ready?" She nods and closes her eyes.

"Umm, aren't you going to look for them?"

"We dolls don't really need to speak; we communicate through the Neural Cloud."

"That sounds extremely useful." I said as I sit down and serve myself some water. Usually my chef

would do this, but he ran away alongside everyone in the staff.

"It is, but its part of us dolls."

"Well, I'm eating ahead of all of you." I said as I began to eat eggs and bacon. Soon after I began to eat RPK sat down with her plate filled with eggs and ham. "Where's Colt?" I asked as I noticed that only Wolf Pack is here.

"Oh slipped my mind, sorry sir." RPK said with a nonchalant playful tone. "She's coming." Lo and behold, Colt appeared a few minutes after. 

"Sorry Sir, I was doing the laundry, or struggling to do laundry." Colt said as she took a seat after she grabbed a plate of eggs and bacon, but it looks emptier compared to the others. Her eyes not meeting yours. 

"Colt, is that enough food for you?"

"Yes, thank you." She looks like she's not telling me the full story, but oh well. She's using that same smile that's hard to read. The breakfast felt mostly awkward, as no conversation was made, as if someone did something wrong.

"Well, time to work. RPK-15, AN-94 clean up the plates and the table and finish laundry. Twelve and Fifteen, go do your usual rounds add Colt to the roster of patrols. We should be ready to leave by tonight and head back to base." I ordered but it seems like I did something wrong. "What is it?"

"It's just, we can obey sir. But-" RPK said.

"You are not our commander." AK12 says in a serious tone. 

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Everything." AN94 says.

"Then, do whatever you want to do." That seemed to be the signal for my phone to ring. "Give me a minute, Koval here, what is it Kryuger?" 

"You have a problem in your hands."

"What kind of problem?"

"LA city is officially lost, only thing left there are aliens and scavengers, the army backed off and bordered the area. I got a report that news of this is going live in a few days, you are no longer safe there." Kyuger sounds worried, and if he's worried then I'm in deep shit.

"Well... shit. Can I get a safe exfill?" 

"No, XCOM at the moment has their hands full the problem in the UK is bigger than we thought as well as many terror attacks across Asia. They're spread too thin, they need the information you have. I can only help if you reach Europe."

"Shit, then I scratch myself with my own nails... well as least sounds easy enough get to European soil… sure I can get out of the country. How long until the announcement goes live?"

"48 hours." 

"That's not a lot of time, to get out of here."

"No, but you've gotten out of worse situations and you were younger and alone. You got a squad now."

"Not my squad, apparently I can't give orders to them, or more like they won't fully accept my commands."

"But they should listen to you."

"They do, but don't want to, I honestly don't care if they listen or not. I'm getting out of here tonight; they're Angelia's team, not mine to begin with. So I'll bring them back."

"Angelia, pass command to Alex." He handed the phone to who I assume is Angelia.

"Sir, please put me on speaker." She said as I obeyed.

"AK-12." Angelia's voice is firm.

"Commander!"

"Girls, I'm sorry about not being able to be there. I never really appreciated all of you for who you were… I know you are ready for action, but I can't be what I used to be." Angelia's words seem to shock everyone as RPK and Twelve seem to look away in shame.

"Yes you can, maybe we can give you prosthetics, maybe you can use one of those fancy legs that move on their own, and maybe an arm and we would be back together!" RPK almost yelled her voice pleading.

"RPK, those are a lot of maybes. Right now I'm nothing but a cripple, but we will be working with XCOM." Her voice is weak, as Twelve speaks out, her eyes open and tears on the edge of her eyes.

"What if- You Mr. Money, please can you do anything for her?" Twelve grabbed my hands in a tight embrace.

"Don't listen to her Sir. She thinks she's guilty, but right now that doesn't matter. Twelve and the rest of the pack, from this moment on. You must obey Alexander Koval as your commander. This is a direct and final order. I'm sorry we never connected how I wanted, I'm not a good commander and don't blame yourselves. I made my choice then, and I don't regret anything." I hear a light sniff from her.

"Understood, Angelia..."AK-15 says. "Thank you everything." Her voice is monotone but she looks conflicted as her eyes are a glassy, her lip twitches, micro expression I can't really read. Need to get better at that.

"Thank you Wolf Pack, bring Mister Koval to HQ in one piece, you hear? That takes priority over everything." She says as she hands Kryuger the phone "You heard the lady get ready and bring a copy blueprint of the thing in your safe; you know the one on the third level. We need it if we are to win this war and also bring your other shit here. Mainly the blueprints for weapons."

"Yeah, yeah I know, but you mean the thing IOP left on the super vault? What's inside?" I pry as I notice how dodgy he's acting.

"Wouldn't you want to know? You'll find out when you check just know you will have the fate of the world on your hands. No big deal, get moving contact me again when you find a way back." He says as the call ended abruptly.

"Did you just hung up! You fucking... AH! FINE!" I turn to see all dolls looking at me. "Something on my face?"

"No sir, orders?" AK 15 says her stoic face is betrayed by the slight angle in her eyes.