At that moment, a single drone came suddenly out of the cloud right at Wolfe’s right eye. It was a drone modeled to fly like an insect, so its speed was limited. Nick swatted it away so hard it shattered against the wall.
“Predictable,” Nick teased, “Maybe you should go back to your rock before you tell me all your secrets, assuming you have any left.”
You won’t have the benefit of a face-to-face confrontation next time.
By now, Nick had found the remote for the drones, which included a self-destruct function, which sent a small charge to a tiny firecracker-sized bomb located inside each drone. It was meant to destroy the units in the event of detection or capture, so it could not be traced back to the user, or reverse-engineered by an enemy or a competitor.
“There you go, spilling your secrets again. Is there anything else you would like to tell me?”
The drone-cloud presence dispersed and started to swirl around Nick. He didn’t wait to see what would happen next. The detonation sequence was a series of short and long presses of the button: short-short-short, long-long-long, short-long-short-short…
After a loud series of bangs, the drones fell simultaneously.
Nick played it cool, as he usually did in the face of danger, but inside he was concerned that the nanos, the presence, whatever it was, whatever they were, could use his drones against him. They were able to extend themselves through it enough to partially read his mind, and speak to him telepathically. Not to mention their complete control of the drones. They could control each one independently, as each if one had its own pilot, who was linked in to its master, waiting for instructions.
There was no question: this thing had to be stopped immediately. It had to be destroyed. If Tristan Evans was going to reverse engineer any of this technology for his own profit, he would have to sift through the rubble to do it.
There was also no question that Nick Wolfe would not be able to sleep until he knew the job was done.
Chapter 10
It felt like every one of Wolfe’s drones were in that hotel room, but since they were all destroyed, he had no way to account for all of them. He needed to go after the source of the power, but he also knew that if he were captured with no hope of escape, he did not want to be a puppet for the presence he just dealt with. He switched out a fake molar for another from the briefcase. The new implant was secured magnetically with the metal in that part of Wolfe’s mouth.
The new tooth had a neurotoxin sealed within it that would kill Wolfe almost instantly if he pulled it out with his hand and bit it between his upper and lower teeth three times, making it explode. This could not be done while the molar was in place, avoiding accidental leakage.
He got his leather jacket on his way out the door, went down the sidewalk, and through the center walkway leading to the opposite side of the hotel, got in his car, and left for Heath Chesterfield’s apartment.
On the way he was able to account for the rest of the drones when Heath called him. “Nick, you’d better come over.”
“I’m on my way. What happened?”
“I think I may have been followed.”
“What makes you think so?”
“I heard a few bang-type noises, like small firecrackers going off. I followed the smoke and found bits of what looked like drone parts.”
“You’re okay for now, but grab your things. I’ll be there in five minutes. I’ll explain when I get there. Be ready to leave.”
***
Newton and Maynard met with Beverly Beckett at a dive bar called Aces Over Eights, on the south side of town. It was mid-afternoon, but the place was already getting crowded. The three of them had changed, inside and out. They were more aggressive and moved with a swagger, even Beverly. In addition, they were all a little taller and more muscular, the glow of the nanobots visible as they worked under their skin, tearing and repairing muscle, adding bone mass, and sending little shock waves to work muscles that otherwise would be at rest. Other bots worked on the pituitary gland, releasing growth hormones to further accelerate the process.
Still more of the tiny machines were hard at work adding mechanical enhancements to bones, joints, eyes, and to the brain itself. Some of these additions had no apparent purpose for the time being. They were either still in development or their purpose was not yet apparent. The young mutants themselves had no idea of all the changes they were going through, but they knew they would never be the same. Once they had a taste of it, Newton and Beverly wanted power more than anything else, and if it meant their DNA had to be changed to gain this power, then so be it.
The biggest part of their humanity was lost willingly before any significant changes had been made in their bodies, but for now they looked like the epitome of human development, except their skin had turned a very unnatural bluish gray color.
“Looky here, the circus is in town,” exclaimed one patron, a tall man with leathery skin and slicked-back black hair. He wore blue jeans with biker boots, and a leather vest with no shirt. His arms were muscular and covered with tattoos.
“Look who’s talking,” replied Maynard, drawing a slight chuckle from Beverly.
“Be nice and remember why we’re here,” scolded Newton. “We’re here to win converts and build an army, not to upset a club full of bikers.”
“Right. Sorry.”
“Did you say something, blue boy?”
“No, nothing. Just a mistake.”
“You’re right about that, Freakshow. I’m gonna mess you up.”
Halifax started to stand as Paxson interrupted, “No, you’re not.”
“Why not?”
“Because we’re not here to hurt you or to let you hurt us.”
“Is that right?”
“Yes. If you’d like, we can settle this more peacefully. Would you like to arm wrestle?”
“Against you? Are you serious? What are the stakes?”
“If you win, we will leave. If we win, you will give us five minutes of your time right here. Once you hear what we have to offer, you will see this is a no-lose situation for you.”
“That sounds lovely, Mary Sue,” the biker snorted, “but how ‘bout we arm wrestle first?”
Paxson put his elbow on the table and waited for his opponent to join him. The two clasped hands with Beverly putting her hands on top while they established their grip. She counted to three and removed her hands, and the match started. Neither side budged for the first ten seconds as both men put forth all their effort.
After that a whitish glow came from under Newton’s shirt and he started winning. He let his hand move and be moved back and forth an inch or so as he toyed with his opponent for a few seconds. Then he brought his hand down slowly so as not to hurt his opponent, until the top of the biker’s hand touched the table in defeat.
“Okay, you win. Anyone can be enhanced, or you may even be naturally strong. I doubt that, but a bet is a bet. You have five minutes. Let’s talk.”
Paxson began, “What do you want more than anything?”
“Come on, man. What are you trying to sell?”
Beverly was starting to get impatient, “For this to work you need to relax and trust us. Newton could have broken your arm, but he chose to be gentle with you, even though it would have been easier and more impressive to the rest of the room to slam your wrist down. If we wanted to hurt you, you would know. Now please, give us the five minutes you promised and relax.”
She put her hand on his back, exhaled softly near his face, and he calmed down. Newton leaned in and started again. The man heard him speak but did not see his lips move. He gave the answers as he heard them stated as facts inside his own head.
You’ve been angry for a while. You want to be respected again. Respect you feel like you lost when you lost your job. You want control.
“Yeah, I never know what’s coming next.”
You have skills and many good qualities. You’re a warrior, but it’s been peacetime so long you have nothing to do. You d
on’t know what to do. You can be a part of something larger than yourself and do important things again. You can have the control and sense of stability you seek. We need you to help us create that world. It will be a world you will help to rule.
Then came the question.
Would you like that?
“Yes.”
There was a glow that went largely unnoticed by the rest of the bar. Another patron came by and asked his friend, “Wayne, are you okay?”
Wayne nodded affirmatively and smiled.
“Milton, I think you should talk with my friends for a minute. You might appreciate what they have to say.”
Chapter 11
Heath was outside when Nick pulled up. He guessed Nick was in a rush to catch up with Newton and Maynard, and he was a little spooked at knowing there were drones in his own home. The blue sedan slowed to a brief stop in front of the apartment building as Heath got in.
“So, where are we headed?”
“The last sat photo of the town showed Newton’s beat-up truck in front of some dump on the corner of Harris and 8th.”
“Aces Over Eights. Yeah, that’s a bad place. What are they doing there?”
“My guess is they’re recruiting.”
***
Nick and Heath pulled into a parking space across the street from the bar and walked across. It was loud, but not with the usual sounds of a rowdy bar. There was no music, no laughing, no fighting, nothing breaking. Only one voice spoke, and then many voices answered in unison. It was more like a pep rally, but with decidedly more malevolent overtones.
Neither of the latecomers could make out what was being said at first. The voices were audible, but could not be made out from across the street. As they got closer, the words became clearer but the meaning was still a mystery.
“They’re coming! Are you ready?”
“We’re ready!”
“They’re coming! Are you ready?”
“We’re ready!”
“They’re almost here! Are you ready?”
“We’re ready!”
As Nick reached for the metal door, they heard Paxson speak, and everything was made clear.
“They’re here.”
Nick drew his hand back from the door.
Heath whispered, “What are we going to do now?”
“We can’t go in there. The whole place is ready to tear us apart.”
Paxson spoke up, loud enough to be heard outside, and with a distorted voice, noticeably deeper, but with a tinny overtone speaking along with the main voice, “It’s impolite to whisper! What are you two talking about?”
The two said nothing.
“There’s nothing to be afraid of. I’d just like to talk. I have a roomful of men, who are all much better off after having talked with my associates and me. Perhaps you will join us after you hear what I have to say.”
“Is that why you’ve been getting your new friends ready for a fight with us?” Nick answered with a question to the new converts, “What did this young man promise you?”
“In some cases I promised what was wanted. In others I promised what was needed. In most cases those things were one and the same. In fact, I’ve already started delivering on those promises, and these men have never been happier. One thing they all had in common was that they wanted to have a real purpose, something bigger than themselves that they could be a part of. Right now you and your new friend are standing between them and that purpose, but it doesn’t have to be that way.”
Nick knew they would not make it out if they went in, but he also knew this small group would grow exponentially larger if they were allowed to leave. Right now there were about 20 of them, but if each one could find a place like this one with 20 or so new recruits, it would not take long before they started taking over cities.
On the other side of the parking lot where Nick parked, there was a line of five buildings that were all five stories taller or more. They were built close enough together that they included four tight alleys. The alleyway between the nearest two buildings looked the most promising to Nick for what he had in mind.
He whispered to Heath, “Follow me when I go.”
Nick opened the door and all eyes in the bar turned toward him. He gave a smile and slowly closed the door.
“Go!”
“Don’t let him get away!”
Heath flew past Nick until he realized he didn’t fully know where he was supposed to go. He blurted out, “Where are we going?”
“The first alley!”
Heath shuddered at the thought of being trapped in an alley with a group of hypnotized biker-types standing between him and the rest of his life. He hoped Nick Wolfe knew what he was doing.
The group made it outside just in time to see Wolfe at the mouth of the alley. He had waited for them so they could see where he went. They were all muscular and tall. Some were more bluish than others, but they all had these lights going on and off rapidly just under their skin. The girl at the front of the crowd was about five feet, eight inches, but even she looked like she could clear a room.
The alley was tighter than it looked from across the street because of a dumpster stored there; only two men at a time could get through. On the other side of the dumpster the space opened up a bit and Nick was waiting with his weapon drawn. He hadn’t originally intended to bring his gun, but this was a fight for all time. The human race was at stake, and he knew it was going to get messy.
Wolfe cut down two of the thugs while they crossed the street, but waited until the group got closer to shoot any more. He was conservative with his bullets, firing a total of eight rounds. The opening of the alley was narrow, thanks to a large metal dumpster that was situated at the opening. The attackers were coming in a group, and Wolfe was able to line up the targets and get the most out of each shot. In this way, Wolfe killed eight more men with only six bullets. He cut the number in half, and the remaining men had to step over eight dead bodies to get to their intended targets. Heath held his own with a cue stick taken from the dead hand of one of the thugs Paxon brought over. He wasn’t the trained killer that Nick Wolfe was, but he was courageous and resourceful.
There was visible frustration from the Aces Over Eights gang over not being able to get through to Nick and Heath. Then the dumpster was dragged back out of the alley by Paxson and two other men. It had no wheels and made a horrible scraping combined with a creaking, nails-on-a-chalkboard groan. The dumpster was full and probably weighed a ton. Nick had not counted on a few men being able to pull it out. Now the alley was wide open.
The rest of the gang stepped forward. Paxson, Milton, and Wayne stayed near the back to catch their breath after moving the dumpster. Even with the new width of the alley, Nick and Heath were able to keep the group in front of them.
The first of the next wave rushed at Wolfe, who ducked to the side and picked up the man, using his own momentum against him, bringing him up high and then down to the pavement hard. The wind was knocked out of the fighter, an instant before his head snapped back to the pavement. He may not have been dead but he was out for now.
Maynard was the next man rushing in, hoping to catch Nick by surprise. Nick waited until the time was right, raised his left leg into a leap, then brought his right foot up with added momentum into his would-be assailant’s face. He used similar techniques on the rest of the group, and was surprised to see they were adapting very quickly to the techniques it had taken him years to learn. A few even experimented effectively with the offensive moves. The execution of these moves was impressive, especially to Wolfe, who did not learn to fight by watching television.
Despite their ability to learn quickly and their great strength, the group was slower, perhaps due to the growing pains, or a lack of actual real-world practice and the muscle memory that accompanies it. Finally, the group emulated Newton Paxson, who stuck with brute force. It was an inferior style of fighting overall, but it was a style the mutants could master quickly as they learned what they
could now do.
Heath saw an open window above him in the old apartment building that made up half the alley. Wasting no time, he got a running start, leapt up and, leading with one foot, used his momentum to jump an extra few feet up a brick wall in the alley. He then grabbed onto the window sill and used the last of his forward motion to hold on with the other hand and hoist himself up into the second floor apartment. Three of Paxson’s men easily copied the move and followed him as he ran through the apartment.
He had hoped more would follow him and take some heat off Nick, but he also knew three of these mutated beings were all he could handle. He ran through the apartment, making use of the walls to hide, but he was careful not to get too close to a wall. They were thin and made of rotted wood and drywall. If someone knew he was on the other side, he could easily break through the wall. Heath’s plan was to take out as many men as he could and come out the front door of the building, behind Paxson and his remaining force.
The apartment was abandoned, but still had a few potential weapons laying around. Heath picked up a Louisville Slugger while running through the bedroom, barely breaking his stride. He turned around and saw someone coming toward him. He swung the bat in desperation. It was caught in the left hand of his attacker, who easily twisted it out of Heath’s hands. Heath ran into the kitchen, looking for a knife. Finding none, he ran back out the way he came in, leading with a flying kick as close as he could duplicate of what he saw Nick Wolfe do earlier. The kick landed in the chest of another mutant attacker. He was not the one who took his bat. Where was he?
He found out a split-second later, turning just in time to see the huge backswing of the new batter, and was able to duck the blow as he ran by. The blow of the bat went through the hallway wall, sending dust and chunks of drywall everywhere. Roaches poured out of the hole, but no one noticed.
***
Nick gave a slight grin as he saw Heath clamber up the wall to the window. He was impressed with the kid’s athleticism and his courage. He knew Heath was splitting up the group on purpose. He just hoped he hadn’t bitten off more than he could chew. These were not normal men anymore; they were hardened criminals with new weapons and a new purpose—and they were serious.
The God Class: The Third Nick Wolfe Sci Fi Adventure (Nick Wolfe Adventure Series Book 3) Page 4