Ultimate Sacrifice

by Damien Benoit-Ledoux

  “What do you mean?” the man shrieked.

  “Hanukkah’s coming.”

  The man regarded him with wide eyes until Blake turned and ran toward the broken window. He jumped out of it and flew around the building, noticing the flashing lights and wailing sirens on the ground beneath him. Happy with the surprise he discovered, he headed east toward home.

  11 | Blue Spekter 1; The Order 0

  Quinn

  The day finally arrived for the fake-interview-joint-military-and-DHS operation, and Quinn suited up in one of his new super suits. Before he pulled on the cowl, his phone rang. When he checked the display, he saw it was Ana Maria.

  “Hello, Ana Maria,” he said, wiggling his left foot into the suit boot.

  “Quinn, I have a strange request concerning the mission.”

  “What’s that?” He asked.

  “If you encounter Blake, I need you to do something…different.”

  “Okay…”

  “Let him win.”

  “What? Why?” Quinn asked, surprise at Ana Maria’s request.

  “Hear me out. This will be a deception. Though it will be another chance for you to fight him and learn of his abilities, it is another opportunity to allow his arrogance to become falsely convinced he can beat you in a fight. The more confident he is, the less he’ll expect what’s coming when we enact your other plan.”

  “I understand,” Quinn responded. “If it’s me and him fighting, I can do this. But if other people’s lives are in jeopardy, I may not have that chance.”

  “Of course, Quinn. That goes without saying. Good luck today.”

  “Thanks.”

  Quinn disconnected the call and tucked his phone into the special pocket. Then, he locked the belt in place and went downstairs to show his dads the suit and say goodbye.

  “Wow!” Daddio exclaimed, sitting up on the couch when Quinn walked into the room. His widened eyes and excited face conveyed his enthusiasm. “That suit is freaking awesome. Ron’s brother did a great job with it.”

  Quinn looked down at himself and flexed. “I think so, too.”

  Dad paused the movie they were watching and regarded him with equal amazement. “I know you’re invincible and you can heal from pretty much anything, but please be careful, especially if you have to deal with Blake.”

  Quinn smiled. “I will, Dad.” Then, he hugged his dads goodbye and went out to the backyard patio. Since their yard was surrounded by trees, the neighbors wouldn’t see him take off. Glowing with bright blue light, he launched himself into the air and flew through the cold winter air toward downtown Portsmouth, circling around to check for Blake’s presence until he gave up and flew to the naval shipyard.

  He tightly circled around Seavey Island and examined the unusually heavy military presence covering the snow-covered island. True to his word, Agent Potter had coordinated with the marines and the navy to secure the island. On the grounds near the prison buildings, he didn’t see any Order guards on patrol, but he knew they were inside watching, hopefully confused and overwhelmed at what was going on in the baseball field. Even though several inches of snow covered the island, it didn’t deter them from setting up a convincing scaffolding structure in the outfield of the baseball field for the fake interview.

  Two cameras, portable heaters, and a small fake news crew made preparations as Blue Spekter descended to the platform and powered off his glowing blue light. A third cameraman tracked his descent and when he landed, the disguised marine stood and extended her right hand and introduced herself as Camilla Brenhurst. Her left hand held a large tablet.

  Around him, the armed audience of military personnel applauded, giving the whole charade credibility to one who might be watching the spectacle from the prison buildings.

  “Thank you for coming,” fake-Camilla said, sitting down. Then, she tapped her ear. “Agent Potter is waiting for your go/no-go decision.”

  “My what?” Blue Spekter said, sitting down in the chair opposite the soldier.

  She smiled. “Do you sense Dark Flame nearby?”

  Blue Spekter shook his head. “No, I do not.”

  “Then we’re going to get started right away. We don’t want to give The Order any more time to prepare or react to what’s coming.” She pressed a finger against her ear. “Command, the mission is a go. Repeat, the mission is a go.”

  Fake-Camilla rotated the tablet on her lap and showed it to him. “I have the final plan for you, Blue Spekter. Are you ready?”

  “I am.”

  “Satellite imagery consistently shows heat signatures in and moving around these three buildings. The signatures also move between them in what appears to be two underground tunnels connecting the buildings, here and here.” She pointed as she spoke. “Right now, there are no Order guards outside of the facility.”

  “Okay,” Blue Spekter said. “I can confirm that. I saw no Order personnel outside when I circled around overhead.”

  “The plan is for our troops to storm all three buildings as quickly as possible. They will surround all three buildings and monitor the doors, but you will lead the charge into this building first.” She pointed to the eastern-most building of the compound. “Move through each room and building and disarm the opposition. Let the marines worry about securing the personnel you encounter. Then, make your way through the prison via the underground tunnel, take out the opposition, and let the marines secure the building. Along the way, let the marines in from whatever doors you can open. Do the same with the third building. Is that clear?”

  Blue Spekter nodded. “Did David’s team get control of the security system?”

  “Yes, and when you’re ready to breach the first building, they will disarm all the buildings and disable the alarm. Two members of his team are onsite in my borrowed news van. She reached into her pocket and handed him a earpiece. “Put this in your ear so Agent Potter and military command can communicate with you.”

  Blue Spekter took the ear-comm from her and stared at it. This reminds me too much of the micro bug thing Dr. Madison tried to stick in my ear. I know I’m being paranoid, but any of these people could secretly work for The Order and if they managed to get a control chip in me, who knows what I’d do.

  He shook his head and handed it back to her. “No thanks, I’ll take my chances and stay close to the lead marine.”

  She frowned. “Um, okay.”

  “I’ll explain later, but there’s a really good reason why I’m not sticking that thing in my ear. For starters, I have super hearing and I can hear Agent Potter blowing his nose in the van over there.”

  Fake-Camilla chuckled. “I see. Well, okay then. Let’s go capture a castle.”

  “Sounds good. Camilla, it’s been a great interview, thank you for your time.” He winked at her.

  “You’re welcome, and good luck. When you stand up, give everyone a thumb’s up. That’s the signal to let them know we’re proceeding.”

  “Okay.”

  Blue Spekter stood and slowly turned, looking at the cold, expectant troops around him. He nodded once, lifted his arm, and gave a very visible thumb’s up. They immediately saluted back and started running to their next positions, encircling the entire prison compound with a strong line of blue and gray uniforms. Blue Spekter jumped over the railing of the makeshift news platform and flew over the heads of the marines to the door fake-Camilla had indicated would be the initial breech point.

  As the troops gathered at the door, Blue Spekter landed in their midst, his eyes and body glowing bright blue.

  “Lead the way, Blue Spekter,” one of the marines said with an air of authority.

  “Stay behind me and you won’t get hurt,” Blue Spekter replied. Then, he pulled his fist back and punched the double doors. They immediately yielded to his strength and swung open, slamming into the walls with a bang. A moment later, the red door control changed to green, and Blue Spekter realized Trinity had just unlocked the entire facility.

  Oh, oops. Oh well.r />
  On the other side of the door, six surprised armed men and women in tactical gear hesitated. Remembering his training with Ana Maria, Blue Spekter raised an invisible shield with his mind—not his hands—as the guards raised their weapons and opened fire. The shield deflected the bullets with small flashes of blue light.

  Holding the shield in place, Blue Spekter moved in, fast as lightning, and disarmed the six guards. When their guns and tactical vests mysteriously detached from their torsos and clattered to the floor, they immediately raised their hands and surrendered.

  “Get out!” Blue Spekter said, pointing to the open doorway. They marched through a gauntlet of equally surprised marines until a group took them into custody.

  “Nice work, Blue Spekter” the lead marine said. “The name’s Johnson. Captain Johnson.

  “Thanks. Nice to meet you. Let’s go, Captain.” Blue Spekter pushed forward and entered a large space that looked similar to the workroom he woke up in at Rangeley when he and Blake tried to destroy the reactor core. It was full of medical equipment, computer stations, and other terminals that served unknown purposes. Inside, a number of white-coat clad technicians were huddled against the back wall as Order guards in tactical gear aimed weapons at him.

  Blue Spekter stood tall, placed his fists on his hips, and addressed the occupants of the workroom. “Listen up, people. This facility has been commandeered by the U.S. Marine Corps and me, Blue Spekter. I suggest you put your weapons down and come quietly, or there will be trouble.”

  The guards looked at one another and hesitated. “Do as he says,” one of the technicians instructed. “We’re outnumbered here, but we can live to fight another day.”

  “I don’t get paid enough to fight superheroes,” one of the guards said, and Blue Spekter recognized him from Rangeley. One by one, the guards put their weapons on the floor and raised their hands above their heads as more Marines poured into the room.

  Several of the Marines were tasked with taking the guards into custody, while others made sure the technicians didn’t do anything. Blue Spekter walked around the control room and spotted the futuristic looking canister of micro bugs.

  Not this time…

  He approached and steadied his hands on the metal corners of the container.

  “What are you doing?” Captain Johnson asked.

  “Taking care of unfinished business.”

  Blue Spekter unleashed a fury of electricity and heat inside the container and didn’t stop until the nasty critters were reduced to tiny piles of ash. He set the container down and looked at Captain Johnson. “One of those things is malfunctioning in Dark Flame’s head. That’s why he’s so evil right now.”

  “No shit.” The captain stared at the container with wonderment.

  “Come on, there’s still a lot of facility to clear out.”

  Blue Spekter led the Marines to the lower level, but it was a storage area that seemed unoccupied. After zipping around the room to confirm it was empty, Blue Spekter and the marines walked through the underground tunnel and made their way into the naval prison.

  The massive cargo elevator they boarded had three levels, the tunnel, a mid level, and an upper level. Blue Spekter looked at Captain Johnson. “Where do you want to go first?”

  “We start at the top and work our way down. This way here, they can’t loop around and flank us.”

  Blue Spekter nodded and pressed the button for the upper level. The elevator, ascended, carrying him and fifteen marines into the prison. The elevator dinged and slowed. A moment later, the large door slid open and Blue Spekter heard someone yell, “open fire.” He stepped out and projected a shield across the front of the elevator, protecting the marines behind him.

  Bullets from the rifles of six guards harmlessly bounced off his shield with small flashes of blue light. Two of the guards charged at him, but they bounced off the invisible shield. One of the guards dropped his rifle, pulled a taser from his belt, aimed, and fired. Blue Spekter reached out, put his hand through his shield, and grabbed the taser darts with his hand. He easily absorbed the electrical shocks the stun gun created.

  This gives me an idea…

  Blue Spekter stepped through the invisible shield and extended his right hand and electrified the air in front of him, then zapped the six guards with a flash of electricity that arced away from his hand. Mildly stunned, they fell to the floor.

  He dropped the taser darts and the marines disarmed and handcuffed the stunned guards. Two minutes later, the elevator returned to the upper level with fifteen more marines. A smaller contingent of marines dragged the six guards back down so they could be put into a makeshift holding area.

  Pushing through the small security center, Blue Spekter led his Marines through the control room, which he remembered was next to the reactor. At each location, two marines posted guard in each room they passed through. He opened the door to the reactor and stepped inside, immediately feeling the intoxicating orgone energy. He jumped over the railing and hovered across while the marines circled around the gangway. The reactor was empty, but Blue Spekter could hear people excitedly talking on the other side of the door they were headed to.

  Blue Spekter turned to Captain Johnson and the squad of marines. “On the other side of that door is another one of those big workrooms, but I hear lots of voices in there, so be ready. I’ll take point,” he said, hoping they didn’t make fun of him for using language he learned from a military style video game.

  “Go ahead,” Captain Johnson replied, stone faced.

  Blue Spekter pushed open the door and the guards on the other side didn’t hesitate to fire. “You’ve gone far enough, Blue Spekter,” one of the guards shouted over the gunfire.

  Walking into the room, he reached out with both hands and zapped the guards, stunning most of them with the first blast. For the guards who didn’t fall, Blue Spekter lunged at them. One by one, he ripped their rifles from their hands while the remaining guards fired at him, but his new bulletproof suit and body took no damage.

  One of the men pulled a knife and jumped at Blue Spekter with surprising speed and agility. The knife pressed hard against his stomach, but that was it. Blue Spekter smiled and turned around. “Nice try,” he said, then pushed the man in the chest with an open hand, sending him flailing into two other guards. The momentary confusion resembled a comedic, uncoordinated scene in a cheesy movie.

  Marines flooded into the room and aimed their rifles at the mostly incapacitated guards, and several minutes later, they took the guards into custody. Captain Johnson shook his head as they waited for his troops to finish up. “Man, if only we had you on other missions overseas, you would have saved a lot of lives.”

  Blue Spekter nodded. “Going overseas isn’t off the table, given this organization exists there as well.”

  “I meant places like Afghanistan.”

  “I know. I’m just not sure that’s the best for me.”

  “I understand. What’s behind that door?” he asked, pointing at the opposite side of the room.

  “That’s where they keep the batteries that store all the energy this place produces. They’re pretty big and it’s pretty tight, so it’s highly unlikely there’s anyone taking a stand in there, but I should still check through it.

  Captain Johnson nodded. “Check it out, then come back here. We still have another level to clear,” he ordered.

  “I’m on it,” Blue Spekter responded. He zipped through the battery storage levels and found two nervous technicians monitoring the power readings. He ordered them to march upstairs and they complied, surrendering to Captain Johnson’s marines.

  Then, Blue Spekter and the marines made their way to the mid-level and cleared through the administrative offices, most of which were empty. Blue Spekter dashed to the front entrance and opened the doors, allowing more marines to enter and search the facility. After clearing the server room, they made their way to the last building via the underground tunnel, but they only found off-duty o
r sleeping guards and technicians in their bunks. After rousing them and letting them get dressed for the cold weather, they were marched out of the facility to the waiting busses that would take them to the makeshift holding area for processing.

  Blue Spekter, Captain Johnson, and several small teams of marines explored the unfinished parts of the facility. They found themselves walking the old prison rows and turning through old, moldy corridors. Rat droppings, lichen, and other unknown substances mixed with small pools of rusty, stagnant water that filled the old concrete and metal-bar hallway with an unpleasant smell.

  No Victor, no Dr. Madison, and no Blake. Where are you guys?

  “Something troubling you?” Captain Johnson said, regarding him with interest. So far, they hadn’t met any resistance in the abandoned areas of the prison—probably because of the smell.

  Blue Spekter nodded. “The key players I expected to find aren’t here. They can’t have escaped because they didn’t know we were coming.”

  Or did they?

  “They might not have escaped at all, they simply might not have been here,” Captain Johnson offered. “Not every mission runs smoothly or guarantees the expected outcome. Though I have to say, this mission went exceptionally well because of you. No one got hurt or died.”

  “You’re welcome,” Blue Spekter quipped. At least, not yet…Blake will return and who knows what will happen then.

  Captain Johnson tapped his ear. “Don’t worry, now that we have complete access to the building, your cyber force will quickly gain access to the information we need to apprehend the rest The Order. Captain Prett and his team are setting up shop in the control room.”

  “They won’t be safe if Dark Flame comes back and I’m not here.”

  “True. We’ll deal with that when the time comes. Hopefully it won’t take you long to return from wherever you are and provide support.”

  They approached an old, metal and wood door that was cracked open. Blue Spekter pushed the door open and twisted his face at the fetid order of feces and urine. His stomach churned and he dry heaved, but he forced his way into the room regardless.