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JACK'S POV
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Her eyes are motionless as she sleeps like a baby, carefree and fully relaxed. Last night was probably the best night in my whole sexual life. It had felt completely different from all the many times we have fucked. Something about the way she held me as I buried myself inside her made me feel so emotional until now.

Looking at her sleeping face fills my heart with a special kind of warmth.

I caress her forehead before leaning closer to leave a peck there.
"I love you," I whisper rubbing a thumb on the area I've just kissed. "From now on, I won't let you get hurt again, baby."
It's a promise I intend to keep. She carries with her my happiness. Like a heart that walks outside of the body. My heart.

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The day is finally here.
Project Beta is complete.
Only a few modifications will be made if I'm not overly satisfied with the results.
After taking over this delicate project, I had my team work with Annie's team to enhance the laser weapons even further.

With a biometric system to recognize and activate the weapons, the safety of the agents using them is guaranteed to a certain degree.
Now all that is left is for my team to create special microchips for both Annie and me. These will make sure that no user of these laser weapons can harm us.

"Here it is, Sir."
Stan announces halting next to me holding a briefcase.

The closed room is fitted with a safety wall which I stand behind. The engineers stand behind me, all wearing the protective gear I wear except for Stan who chose to watch the testing from another room.

Being that Annie and I will have access to all the weapons via our fingerprints makes it easy for me to pick up the assembled rifle and activate it in an instant with a low buzz sound.
The green bar on the side is full, indicating full power.

I hold my breath, positioning the weapon against the side of my chest and sliding the front into the slot made for it on the thick glass wall.

A dummy target awaits its destruction a few meters on the other side of the wall.

I continue holding my breath while I aim for the target's forehead.
My index finger presses the trigger and a silent laser beam is emitted according to the duration my finger stays on the trigger.
It darts through the air faster than any bullet before blasting through the target's forehead which is made from thick materials to mimic the human skull.

A black hole is left behind, as well as some smoke from the heat of the laser beam.

I lower the rifle and slide off the protective glasses.
Stan hurries to pick up the highly dangerous weapon, just as I start walking towards the door leading to the target side.
He rushes ahead and unlocks the door for me before following me inside

"Damn! The wall too?!" I marvel feeling the hole left behind by the beam of destruction. It made a clean penetration and exit. Going further to penetrate the padded wall.
"What do you think?" I ask, my eyes shifting to a shocked Stan who is trying so hard to remain indifferent.

"This...this is... I don't know how to describe it."

"Revolutionary!" I beam elated.

Annie would be so proud knowing that her parents'  dream is finally a reality.

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The room we occupy is gripped with an awkward silence as the four head engineers stare at me questioningly from the other side of the table.

Stan clears his throat, attracting their attention towards him.
"Mr Raynatt is here on behalf of Miss Raynatt. Whatever remarks, questions or requests you had for-"

"We asked for Miss Raynatt," one of the engineers darts sharply at Stan.
"She is the head of this project and only she can-"

"She's unwell!" I cut in, wearing my cold stoned expression which always helps deal with these kinds of people. "As you all know, Shadows has been overseeing the project for weeks. We have a contract with Black Blood and...your Boss is my life partner."

They exchange glances, debating with their eyes whether to trust me with the project's information from their point of view.

My eyes fall on Mikey, the man who has been leading the entire team during the project's two years.
"Is there something wrong with the weapons?"

"Um..." He shoots a few gazes at his three colleagues, a look of dilemma spreading on his face.
He throws back a loose lock from his long dreadlocks, before finally meeting my gaze once more.

"For now, we can only mass-produce at least a thousand of these rifles. The materials needed have gone over the budget thus the issue-"

"If funds are your greatest obstacle, I'm here. Just do the calculations and let me know how much more is needed," I say boldly.

Being that Black Blood is co-owned by two people, the money under Annie may not be enough to cover the mass production as well as pay her people.
Which is where I step in.

A smile of relief graces Mikey's face as if a whole burden has just rolled off of his shoulders.
"Alright Sir, we'll get back to work." He breathes in relief, flashing a grateful smile at me before turning to his colleagues.

The four of them rise simultaneously, bow, and rush out, their lab coats swaying behind them.

"Well, that was easy."
I take a deep inhale and sink back into the comfortable chair, feeling worn out from the day's work.

"Sir?"

"Mm?" I answer without opening my eyes.

"What about The Order of Lucifer? How do we deal with them since you've changed the initial plan?"

Argh!
More trouble.

Annie had promised to sell them the weapons when they were ready. But since the game has changed, the rules opt to change as well.
"How much did they invest?"

"Um...ten, ten billion Euros."

Two words, bloody bastard!
How have I overlooked such important information?

I frown opening my eyes.
"If they invested that much, why have they given such a low number of the weapons they can produce?"

"We've been investigating Sir, Annie used three billion to settle the families of all who lost their lives during her war, as well as hire new agents under her."

I rub the bridge of my nose to ease the stress building up in there.
Refunding the money may not be an issue. The major problem lies with them demanding a direct meeting with Annie as she is the only one who can break the contract.

"Fuck!" I hit the table angrily. "What about the WSG agents? Have they made any moves yesterday?"

"Yes Sir. They tried hacking Black Blood but our team blocked them. They also attacked one of the warehouses storing the materials for the project though they failed. We managed to get a hold of one of them, but he took the gray pill before we could interrogate him."

"Pf! Does the WSG think that they can intimidate me with these petty tricks? Send more assassins to eliminate any confirmed WSG minions. I want them cleared out of California. And then send a message to all those bloody organizations. We're moving the annual meeting up. Let them decide whether they want to join the WSG or me. Any neutral party will be annexed."

Damn right.
No more playing around.
I do not need any unsure mind around California.
Everything is supposed to flow according to my plan. And California will be the main state in the US, serving as the headquarters for both Shadows and Black Blood.