15. K O K O : Return

EPILOGUE.

OLD ENEMY

Koko yawned and stretched as he "stood at attention" next to the other cadets at the City District XXM Training Facility, waiting for their commanding officer to enter the barracks.

"TEN-HUT!" Lieutenant Noah Phillips suddenly shouted, walking into the room and standing next to the door.

The cadets immediately straightened up, staring straight ahead.

Well, that's what they were supposed to be doing, anyway. Most of their eyes drifted to the right as they watched their commanding officer—a tall, bulky Latino man with way too much facial hair—storm into the barrack. "Buenos dias, chicas!" he thundered, glaring at the cadets. "Isn't it a lovely day?"

"SIR, YES, SIR!" the cadets replied loudly.

"NO IT IS NOT!" the commander shouted back, making some of the cadets jump. "Today, mis amigos, is going to be the WORST DAY OF YOUR LIFE!" He put his hands behind his back and began walking down the line of cadets, glaring at each of them in turn. "If you joined the XXM for a quick cash grab, you're going to be sorely disappointed! This is the military, niños—not your sixth-grade summer camp!"

The commander came to a sudden stop in front of Koko. His eyes narrowed as he scanned the werewolf's face. Then he leaned forward and growled, "What is your name, cadet?"

"KORY KOHL, SIR!" Koko declared, keeping his eyes forward.

"NOT TODAY, IT ISN'T!" the commander barked in his face, making him wince. "Today, your name is 'CADET', just like everyone else in these barracks! And if you've got a problem with that, you can scrub toilets from dawn 'til dusk, DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"

"SIR, YES, SIR!" Koko cried.

"Hmph." The commander clamped a hand on Koko's shoulder and ordered, "Drop and give me fifty."

Koko quickly did as he was told, and the commander placed a foot on Koko's back as he did the push-ups. "My name is Commander Enrrrrrrrrique Gonzales," he announced.

Koko froze in the middle of a push-up. "Crap," he whispered, looking up with wide eyes.

Cdr. Gonzales leered down at him, a cruel grin on his face. "And I am your worst nightmare."

-

OLD FRIEND

"...and that's not even the worst part!" Koko complained into his phone as he drove down the street. "The worst part is—you remember that guy from that night?"

"Which night?"

"That night!"

"...in the Safespace District?"

"Yeah! Enrique Gonzales, remember?"

"Ah, yes. I believe I had a brief altercation with him, didn't I?"

"Yeah, but get this: he's my commander."

-

P.O.V. – D'kala

D'kala stopped spinning in his chair at Xirxine International. "Are you serious?" he asked, surprised. "Enrique Gonzales is your commander?"

"I am DEAD serious," Koko replied from the other end. "It's the worst, man."

"I'm sure it's not as bad as you say," D'kala remarked with a smirk.

"Oh, you're right. It's probably worse."