When Jack came to, the first thing he noticed was that he was behind several dull grey metal bars. Michael stood there, a great big smirk on his face while he smoked a lit cigarette, exhaling clouds of nicotine laced vapour with each breath.

There were a few other guards in army green uniforms there but none of them paid attention to him.

 “Where am I?” He asked, his brain flooded with cries of pain from all over his body; his knees and face in particular shouted the loudest.

 Michael took his cigarette out, tapping it as hot ash fell to the floor, clasping it between his thumb and index finger.

“Your new home,” Michael gestured with his arm behind Jack.

Jack turned and saw...well it was better than the previous room they shacked him up in. It had a metallic toilet bowl with no privacy whatsoever. With a window that was at best a rectangular hole in the concrete with metal grills crisscrossing it. Still, it wasn’t the dust capital of the world.

“I ought to sue your arse off,” He threatened but it didn’t seem to scare Michael, it only made him laugh his arse off.

 “ Really? Way I see it, you attacked my men here. We’re just holding you until a trial date can be set,” Michael stepped closer to the cell, stopping with his nose inches from the bars.

 “ When will that be? When can I see my lawyer?” Jack did not believe that, the whole thing stank of lies and deceit.

Michael shrugged his shoulders lightly, “ I don’t know, you committed a crime against the military, there is no lawyer for that, little boy. You should know better,” He said it with force, enough to demoralise Jack.

 He held up his hands, hoping Michael would throw him a lifeline. He didn’t dare look at Michael, he could feel the latter’s  eyes burning a hole in his skull.

 “ Look mate, I don’t know anything about Jessica. I don’t even remember what happened. I think I have amnesia, the last few days are like a blank canvas, there’s nothing there,” He said hysterically.

Michael placed the cigarette in his mouth and inhaled sharply, the lit end glowing brighter as Michael’s lungs pushed oxygen through it. Out came smoke, straight into Jack’s face, the latter coughing as he tried to expel the irritant from his lungs.

“Well MATE, I can’t help you there. You’ll have to wait. How long, I don’t know? Don’t really care either,” He said as he walked out.

Jack slumped against the wall, eavesdropping on the other guards in the room. He didn’t even have a cellmate although that thought became more appealing when he realised the upside of being the only person to relieve himself on that toilet seat.

Still, he looked out at the window and felt regret,that it was all of his own doing that got him here. What exactly did he do to deserve all this? He rapped himself on the head, hoping it was all a bad dream. His worst run in with the law before this was going sixty miles in a fifty five mile zone, that was it.

 Surely, the cavalry would come in and save him. His parents would bail him? Maybe, by some miracle Jessica would do it. He could imagine her standing over the cell, pulling off the roof with her otherworldly strength.

A tear ran down his eye when he realised how that was impossible, Jessica would never save him. He had treated her like dirt, after she saved his sorry ass twice. Crushing those dogs was easy but he had insulted her even more after that. His apology, sincere as it was, didn’t seem to register on any level to her, her face emotionless.

“ Ah what the hell, she probably forgot about me already. I’m nothing to her,” He muttered to himself.

Outside, Michael stepped into an empty storeroom and dialled his phone.

“Come on , pick up you Yankie twit,” He said to himself as the dialtone  played.

“Michael? What is it?” Lauren asked , sounding bothered.

“Well Jack is safe and he’s up, already mouthing off about suing me.”

“Good, just keep him there until the deal is done, I can’t risk him ruining everything.” Michael rolled his eyes, of course she’d ignore the mouthing off part, it was always about her.

“ The money has already been transferred to a private Venezuelan account for us to access. You’ll come over when I give you the signal.”

 “Right boss but…” He scratched the back of his neck worryingly, he hadn’t mentioned it to her but something bugged him.

“What is it?” Lauren said, trying to yank the question out.

“ It seems a bit harsh to have her killed, that’s all. She’s a sweet girl, kind of sheltered and uneducated about the world out there but nothing awful,” He said.

Lauren laughed, laughing as if Michael had cracked joke of the year. Michael didn’t get it, Jessica was dead and she was laughing?

 “ Oh Michael, I never intended for her to die. Order 66 was conceived by Zoltan when he feared Jessica would grow out of control. However, that was made for a one hundred and forty foot tall Jessica, two hundred feet Jessica is made of much sturdier stuff.”

“Why do it?”

“ Why?” Lauren blurted, “ Because I cannot move without Zoltan breathing down my neck every time Jessica so much as farts without his permission. I need a distraction. When Jessica wakes up, she’ll be mad. She’ll want answers and she will find them; but not without inciting chaos and panic. The world isn’t and will never be ready for a girl like her, she doesn’t truly get it but it doesn’t matter, she’s served her purpose. Got it?”

“Got it, over and out,” Michael said. He didn’t feel remorse but this one was different, he’d attended Jessica’s sixteenth birthday; he had watched her grow up, he never knew any of his previous targets. You haven’t truly seen everything until you watch a giant teenager cut into a cake the size of two classrooms, plus all the poignant stuff she had with her father.

 He pushed back any tears that tried to form ,this was the job; this was his career and he’d finish the job he was hired to do. His ability to carry out tasks deemed squeamish to others was exactly why he was in demand; not that it made for happy memories afterwards.

********

Jessica woke up, the sun hanging lower as blue sky began to turn orange. She guessed it to be the late afternoon and confirmed it  after spotting the sun hanging low in the sky, stripped by horizontal lumps of clouds. Jessica didn’t know how long she was out, it could have been anything from hours to months.

 However she could spot a sunset when she saw it, she’d been on this island for so long she could point to the exact spot on the horizon where the sun would sink into and also the spot it would make its daily ascension into the heavens.

Jessica began to notice a tight pain around her shoulders and waist. As she stood up, causing various oddly shaped tree trunks to fall off her, she identified the problem. Her bra and panties were too small. Strange since all of her clothes fit her to a T.

 “God, did I put on weight?” She stood up and looked down, her breasts pushing out from all sides as they tried to break free. She considered tearing her bra off and letting her jugs hang free but the thought of nudity was an abhorrent idea to her.

Jessica remembered she had been bombed to within an inch of her life so she chose her next step carefully, her body although healed probably needed some careful handling.

Her first step said no; there was no muscle strain or any shot of pain that told her to stop what was doing and rethink her next move.

 That in itself was a surprise, was her body that good at healing? All those bullet holes in her back, the feeling of her body being used as a human pinata , all of it was good.

She took more careful steps but the lack of pain, Jessica took bigger steps until she felt safe to resume her normal walk. The first thing she did ? Head for home.

 It would have been a good idea, if home was still standing. Jessica arrived to see her house totally destroyed, not even a pillar was left standing. Jessica’s face contorted itself into anger, the only building she could normal now lay in ruins!

 “ F-fu-screw you pilots! My couch is gone, my wonderful velvet couch!” Jessica waded into the pile of concrete and wood, hoping to find something she could salvage from it. Her tablet would have been nice.

She did find it , broken into two with the glass shattered into thousands of minute shards. Jessica tossed it aside as she grunted in frustration. So they destroyed her home but more importantly, why had they done it?

 She hadn’t figured it out an answer while running and now when all was quiet amongst the ruins of her home, none came to her. What was clear though, was that she could not stay here anymore. They had taken her home.

 Looking out at the setting sun, she knew only one option: Find them and get her answers. Jessica smiled hopefully as she looked at horizon; she knew where the planes went once they left her island, their contrails painting a giant arrow in the sky for her to follow. The boats were no different, they tended to follow the trail left behind by the planes.

 She wasted no time in stepping into the water, it felt cool under the influence of the waning sun. As it rose up and engulfed her body, she began to wonder one thing: How would the world react to her? She had never been out there since was twelve so it would be at the very least, a novel experience. Whether she was ready didn’t matter, that had long since been decided by powers beyond her control.

*******

“ Michael, why am I hearing reports of Order 66?”  Zoltan asked. Michael wished he hadn’t called, this was not the right moment.  

Michael had meant to call but he had to drive down to Leighton all the way from Rockford Camp in the north, a fifty mile journey that took two hours of continuous driving.

 “ Sorry boss, it got awfully crowded every time I tried to make a call,” Michael turned down a corridor, looking for someone. He couldn’t ask for him, that might create a trail of breadcrumbs for people to follow.

 “ You’re right, Lauren sent it through and it seems they pulled it off too. So far no word on if she survived,” He took another turn, miffed at Leighton’s floor planner, the corridors were endless and winding.

 He stopped suddenly, causing a small intern to crash into his back; Michael apologised before answering that annoying buzz from the phone.

 “ Why was I not informed?” Michael took caution at the aggressive tone Zoltan adopted, it was like watching a volcano leak magma. You knew the eruption was close but there was nothing you could do about it.

Michael spotted his target and if he didn’t move now, he’d lose him. Unfortunately that meant hanging up on a ready to explode Colonel. Screw it, he’d do it now and suffer later.

“Not now, I’ll talk to you later, got to see someone about something important,”He hung up just as he heard a yell from the other end.

Michael moved quickly, his steps louder as his boots hit the ground , drawing Wallace’s attention. The latter was packing, ready to head home but had stopped once he heard Michael coming in.

“ Can I help you Michael?” Wallace smiled warmly, twisting the knot in Michael’s gut.

Michael shut the door and advanced on him, looking very guilty.

“ Don’t repeat anything I told you here okay?” Wallace nodded, unsure of where this was going but in a secretive company like Leighton,  it wasn’t unusual to hear this phrase bandied about.

 “ Good because they put in Order 66, Jessica might not be alive but we can’t be sure,” Wallace’s pupils grew at least two sizes. His hand started to tremble as his knees grew weak. He had to lean on his desk for support.

“ Goodness,” He placed a hand on his forehead, had he heard correctly? They used it on his little girl?

 “ Why? Why would you even do that to my girl?” He asked in anguish, tears congealing.

Michael felt terrible, Jessica was nearly family to him. Watching her father take the news of his daughter’s possible passing was terrible to watch; the knot in his stomach now unbearably tight.

“ I didn’t but she might be alive, they never updated the protocol. I know you hated them but the weapons used were designed for a smaller girl, not the Jessica of today.”

Wallace looked at him with barely concealed rage, veins throbbing and fists all balled up, when he spoke it came out as a growl, “What do you want? I know I hated them but Lauren forced me to create them for that impossible scenario: the rogue giantess. So I did it and now I have, they finally use it on her!”

 He fell on to Michael who thought it was an attack but as he held the scientist in his arms, he realised Wallace was crying. Michael , in a rare moment of compassion, patted him on the shoulder.

“ I’m sorry but I have a plan to save her. I will confirm this when I can but for now, lets assume she lives,” Michael said. It was far more comforting than to believe the other scenario.

“ Right. Tell me what do, ” Wallace dried his eyes with his sleeves, tissue nowhere to be found.

“I think she might leave, swim to the nearest city for islands and from there, no matter how the people receive her...you have to find her , tell her to find Jack,” Michael held his tongue. He wished he could reveal more but any more would betray the mission.

“ W-what’s going on with Jack? And how do you know she’ll head for Florida, or even America?”

“She’s a smart girl, she knows which direction to go. Plus we’re storing her on an island a hundred miles from the mainland so it isn’t too hard. Just know that Jack is being held at Rockford Camp , tell her to find him there before something terrible happens. Now go but dry your eyes out first,” Michael reached into his pocket and handed Wallace a tissue.

“What makes you think she’ll want to save him after what you guys did to her?” Wallace wiped his eyes and nose gently as he as replied.

Michael smiled knowingly, “ Because you are the one person in the world she will listen to without question. She loves you and if you tell her to save Jack,she would do it.”

He chuckled slowly, “ Which would make you the most powerful person in the world, not Jessica. I bet she’d give her life for you, do anything to make you proud.”

Wallace listened silently but nodded, “ Okay, I’ll keep an eye out for her.”

“Good.”