by Will Wallner
"Right here! It's just down there." Simon looked at his satellite location device. The same coordinates were used for the Overlords meeting location with MAW. Viper followed his instructions, and after a few minutes, the wreckage of the MAW military vehicle came into sight. "That's it!" Simon yelled triumphantly. As if he was trying to convey that he had been telling the truth all along.
"I'll be damned…" Viper looked at the wreckage. Part of him was genuinely surprised. He drove a bit further then stopped. Using his vehicles head lamps, he lit up the area and scanned the area visually for any signs of life. He could see the outline of two bodies in the darkness, but according Simon, there should have been three. "I can’t see the third body?"
"He must be there!" Simon wiped the sweat from his fat forehead. "There's no way he could have survived."
"I guess we should get out and see." Viper motioned to Simon to exit the vehicle. He wanted to keep a constant eye over him. He didn’t trust him and still doubted much of what his story. For all Viper knew, this could be some sort of trap setup by the Overlords to lure him alone. Maybe they were stupid enough to take him prisoner and hold him as ransom against Nexus. Simon followed his orders and left the vehicle. Viper followed and stepped out onto the harsh desert terrain. At night, the temperature was very cold. He slowly walked towards the body of one of the MAW soldiers, this was the one killed by Simon when he ran Hunter over with the truck.
"He was here, I'm telling you! I looked right into his eyes when I hit him with the truck." Simon stood next to Viper.
"Interesting, it looks like this MAW soldier died from being struck with a very large heavy object." Viper gazed into Simon's eyes. "Almost like a truck hit him…"
"No, no, no! It was that guy. I promise you I'm telling the truth. He used his special powers to kill him. It wasn't me!" Simon's high-pitched squealing gave him away. He practically burst into tears. Before answering, Viper noticed something on the ground.
"Look, can you see these tracks? It looks like someone crawled away from here." There was the faint outline left in the desert sand.
"Yeah! He must have crawled away after I hit him!" Simon believed there was a sliver of hope he might get away with it.
"That's why you should have made sure he was dead after you hit him. The tracks lead behind that vehicle." By this point, Viper was extremely agitated. He had run out of patience. "Well don't just stand there! Go check it out!" Viper order Simon to look behind the vehicle. There was something aggravating Viper. He couldn’t quite figure out what it was. While Simon nervously went behind the overturned MAW vehicle, Viper went to inspect the other body of the MAW soldier. He noticed a large mark left on the soldier's clothes, almost like the residue from an explosion. That same incessant feeling was gnawing away at what was left of Viper's patience. He ground his teeth.
"Is he there!" He yelled to Simon.
"No! I'm terribly sorry but he's not here! He's vanished" Simon's voice trembled as Viper walked behind the vehicle to see with his own eyes. Viper inspected the vehicle up close to try and determine what weapon was used to cause this type of destruction. That constant grinding feeling kept him right at the edge of staying in control of his emotions.
"I'm gonna give you one chance to come clean and tell me the truth. What the hell happened here? Viper motioned with his hand that he was reaching for his gun. All of Simon's hope sank and he fell to his knees. He said nothing "Do you honestly expect me to believe that a single person managed to kill these two soldiers and destroy this vehicle? It's impossible. Frankly, I'm embarrassed I believed your pathetic story, even for a moment. Now tell me the truth." Viper raised his weapon to Simon's fat head.
"Please Mr. Viper! It's the truth. I would never lie to you or betray you. Why!!!??? Why does this always happen to me?!" Simon burst into tears of sorrow. He knew his life would most likely end tonight. Viper couldn’t concentrate on what Simon was saying. He rubbed the area of his forehead, right between his eyes, trying to stop the constant, monotonous sensation from driving him insane. He couldn’t take it anymore.
"What the hell is this!?" He reached into his pockets to try and find the source of his irritation. "What is this vibration?!" He pulled out the electronic device that was inside is coat pocket. When he looked at it, he went pale. "How could this be?" Viper looked at the device. It was the sensor which he had used to detect the unique radiation aboard the crashed ship in Berlin. He must have left it on by mistake. When he looked at the reading, a mixture of fear and confusion came over his face. It was showing a reading so high, that there was only one possible explanation. But that was impossible. There was no way the weapon could have been used here. Viper held it over the destroyed MAW vehicle. As he waived over the area where Hunter had made impact, the reading spiked even higher. He ran over to the bodies of the dead soldiers. The sensor spiked again when held over their corpses. Viper let out a long sigh and held his head. What did this all mean? He went back to the only person who might be able to answer his questions.
Viper approached Simon, who was still on his knees waiting for his judgement. Viper looked at him, evaluating him and the short time they'd spent together. Perhaps Simon really was telling the truth. As Viper thought about it more, he realized that, as pathetic as he was, Simon was too much of a coward to construct some elaborate lie to deceive him. All of sudden, someone with 'super powers' didn’t seem outside of the realm of possibility.
"Simon, stand up." Viper ordered him to his feet. "I need you to tell me everything about the man who you claim did all this. We need to find him immediately. It's extremely important to the people I represent."
"Well, ugh." Simon scratched his fat balding head. "I don't know too much about him. I definitely hit him with the truck, but I guess he somehow survived. I'm being completely honest with you. He has super powers or something. He did all this with his bare hands." Viper looked at the reading of his sensor again. Simon's words did have some truth to them.
"I think I believe you. Where would he go if he survived? Back to Tech City?" Viper softened his voice. In his mind, he was already thinking of what he would report to General Ryuu about this unforeseen revelation. Is it possible Nexus has been developing other weapons which he didn’t know about? It was too much for him to process right now.
"It would make sense that he would go back to Tech City to be with his friends?" Simon had no clue where Hunter would go but he tried to sound useful.
"He had friends?" In Viper's mind he wanted to scold Simon for not mentioning this sooner, but he needed this vital information. He tried to remain calm.
"That's right, I heard from the boss's girl that he was traveling with a young kid and a dog."
"The boss? You mean Alex?" Viper wanted to make sure he was understood everything crystal clear. His mind was so fatigued he needed to reconfirm all the details.
"Yeah, Alex is the boss, or was the boss, anyway, his girl said she had seen this guy hanging out with a young kid and dog. Oh yeah, he also calls himself 'Hunter'."
"Hunter?" Viper thought to himself why that name sounded familiar.
"Nakita said he was just like a normal guy who was looking for that missing kid."
All of a sudden, even with only a fraction of his normal brain power, Viper put the pieces together. A young kid, a dog, and a girl called Nakita. It was the most unlikely of coincidences, but Viper had already met these people.
"Nakita…that's the boss' girl? She's an attractive brunette, in her early twenties, right? Viper already knew the answer to this question.
"Yeah that's her, do you know her or something?"
"Yes, I believe I do." Viper strategized in his fragile mind what he should do next.
About The Author
WILL WALLNER
Will Wallner is a musician, entrepreneur, and author. He grew up in South West England and spent many years living in Los Angeles as a rock musician. He loves nothing more than to spend time with his animals or to plug a Les Paul into a loud
Marshall amplifier. Whether he’s recording new music, starting a new business, or writing a new book, he is always in the process of creating something new. That is what inspires him. For more information visit www.willwallner.com