Monsters

by Daniel Greenwell

  “I guess I can so-sign that advertisement for my abilities.” Mal said ripping the knife out of the young man’s head. “If you thought the butter knife was impressive, just wait till you see what I can do with an actual blade.”

  The man in the shadows stood and leveled his pistol to Mal’s head as Mal put a finger up, in a disapproving gesture.

  “I wouldn’t…” Mal said raising a pistol right back faster than the man could fire back, “You know better.”

  Looking down at Strait next to the Mystery Man, Mal stared down at his former co-worker.

  “Knew I should have ventilated you myself,” Mal said looking at Strait, “I will correct that mistake soon.”

  Gun wasn’t focused on Strait though, who stayed affixed in his chair, like he was glued to it.

  “Are you stupid?” Gailbraith asked.

  “I mean? Yeah?” Asked Mal. “Not quite as stupid as you though, a supposed Conservative allowing himself to be a puppet.”

  Gailbraith wasn’t even being looked at but he wasn’t brave enough to go for the revolver at his hip.

  “Ooo, did the legend figure it out?” Asked the voice as the body that represented the voice came out.

  “Figure out what?” Gailbraith asked.

  “Why this UAF son of a bitch, had someone brainwash my son and set him against me. Gailbraith, you’re one hundred percent the reason I hate politicians. You’re a dumb guy, that thinks he’s smart. You’re Tucker Carlson incarnate so why don’t you sit there with your mouth open and hope to catch some flies because if you talk again…you’re gonna catch bullet, today.”

  The UAF soldier stepped out and put his pistol down.

  “Why don’t we just settle this now, old man.” The Hawk, Sheng Zhao said.

  Mal was tempted, heavily to turn his pistol and fire into Hawks head, what he should have done in Australia all those years ago.

  “Almost tempted but, if I kill you and I kill this Colonel Sanders looking mother fucker and Lieutenant Pee in his Pants over here, they’ll just send another one of you.” Said Mal. “It would be too easy of a death. No, you killed my son, you set him to me for that exact reason. Expecting that losing another member of my family would…break me but when I was told who was here, the opposite happened.”

  Hawks reached for his radio to call for back-up.

  “What makes you think-” Gailbraith began to say as Mal fired a round into his shin.

  “Did I fuckin’ stutter? I told you to sit there and catch flies, be a good boy and catch flies.” Mal said turning to Hawks. “Now you, you are going to let me leave.”

  “Why would I do that?”

  “Because of what’s flying above the city right now, why you don’t tell them Martha.”

  The sentient AI had loaded itself onto two different Drone platforms, one was flying above them with 9MM shell pistol attached to it. The other crawled on Mal’s shoulder and had two very small auto rifles on each shoulder.

  “Yes, Senior Chief Daniels.” Martha Said. “Above Saint Louis currently is an MQ-55 Angel of Death drone. I have targeted the city’s infrastructure and every thing of value the military has here…”

  “That sounds expensive.” Mal said. “Sounds like the type of thing someone would get dishonored over if they went back home…”

  Entering the back of the courthouse was a squad of UAF and Sons of Nathan Bedford Forrest.

  “If anything happens to Senior Chief Daniels, I guarantee no one will allow you back to China again, Colonel.”

  “I am pretty sure that goes against your programming Martha.” Hawks retorted.

  “Someone taught me that sometimes to save the entire crop you have to burn the diseased field. I don’t want to do it but, I will.”

  Hawks tilted his head side-to-side before putting his pistol down.

  “Fine…I don’t think Malcolm Daniel’s nature of being a good little boy would ever let him do that but, Martha’s a machine. She’s unpredictable. Fine, we’ll follow you…what you gonna do? Drive back across the border?”

  “Execute.” Mal said as fourteen smoke bombs exited both drones, crowding the area in smoke, in the back of the courthouse Hawks looked for any view of Malcolm Daniels and found nothing.

  When the smoke cleared, there were bodies on the ground all of them in various stages of death but, not a single one of them was shot. In the thirty seconds to a minute it took for the smoke to clear, the Wolf brutally killed all of them. Leaving just a tape recorder that Hawks held and pressed the play button.

  “I am going to rip apart, everything you’ve built. I am going to burn you from the inside-out. I will break you down, one-by-one and by the time I am finished: you’re gonna beg me to kill you.” Malcolm Daniel’s said from the tape.

  All-out war had begun.