“Is that right?” he asked as he took a slow and deliberate step toward me. “And how, might I ask, do you plan on liberating these hostages, sir? What makes you think that my men won’t reduce you to nothing more than a bullet riddled pile of flesh should you but take another step forward?”
“I don’t think you understand who you’re dealing with,” I grumbled as he and the army of more than 800 Strangers tightened their circle around me.
“Oh, I know exactly who I’m dealing with,” Alias replied as he placed his left hand on the pistol holstered on his hip.
“You pull that gun and you’re a dead man,” I threatened as I quickly clenched my fists. The entire crowd suddenly backed away and froze out of fear as I crouched and prepared to attack.
“I think it’s really him,” someone whispered from the crowd as my fists trembled with rage and my eyes darted from face to face, daring any one of them to advance toward me. Alias tilted his head again as he studied me with his hand still resting on the pistol at his waist.
“I disagree. There’s no way this clown is the real deal. Even he wouldn’t be stupid enough to set foot in Manhattan,” Alias arrogantly declared.
“Then why don’t you go ahead and pull that peashooter?” I snarled. “I’ll show you how real I am when I take it and cram it up your—”
“What do you want?” Alias snapped.
“The hostages,” I shot back.
“Well that’s just not gonna happen.”
“We’ll see about that,” I growled.
“Man, screw this guy!” one of them yelled from behind me just as I felt the barrel of a rifle suddenly press against my back. “Just say the word, Boss, and I’ll waste this foo—”
Before he could finish his sentence, I had already turned quicker than the blink of an eye and grabbed the barrel of the foolishly bold Stranger’s gun, crushing it in my right hand as if it were nothing more than a wad of paper. Before the others could react, I sent the foolish Stranger flying with a powerful shove to the chest and lunged toward Alias just as a rush of adrenaline poured into my veins and sent the world around me into slow motion. As I zoomed toward him with my right fist cocked behind my head; I was moving so fast that, by comparison, they all seemed to be barely moving at all. I was inches away from delivering a massive hook to Alias’ midsection when a vibrating sensation at my waist caused me to stop dead in my tracks.
The vibrating continued as I came out of hyper speed and froze with my fist inches away from Alias’ rib cage. Unable to keep up with my blazing speed, the rest of the Strangers were still aiming their guns fifteen feet away at the spot where I had been standing a half second ago. The vibrating at my hip continued as the crowd of Strangers finally located me and began to clamor with anxiety and fear as they realized just how quickly I had moved. Alias was frozen stiff but he did his best to seem calm as he focused his attention on my gloved fist which was still dangerously close to smashing into his torso.
“Looks like I have an unexpected call,” I said as I wrapped my hand tightly around his throat. “You mind if I take it?” I asked as the vibrating continued.
“Be my guest,” Alias choked out.
I heard a bit of commotion behind me but the noise instantly ceased as I tightened my grip around Alias’ neck and he quickly raised his right hand and signaled for his men to stand down. They all watched me in silence as I used my left hand to patch my cell phone into the earpiece inside of my mask.
“Hello?” I said as I glanced over my shoulders at the crowd of anxious Strangers. They continued to watch on in silence but I could tell that they desperately wanted to attack me.
“Hey Reaper, what’s going on bro?” my friend Howard “Howie” Vargas chimed at the other end of the call.
“Um… nothing much. I was just about to start a workout,” I lied as the hoard of armed Strangers stared back at me.
“Oh yeah? What are you doing later? Jason and I were thinking about going out to grab a bite and I wanted to make sure you didn’t have any plans—”
“Hey, Echo, do you mind if I give you a call back after I’m done here?” I interrupted. An unnerving feeling suddenly boiled up in the pit of my stomach after Howie didn’t immediately respond. As I waited for him to reply, I could tell that something I said or did must have tipped him off to the fact that I wasn’t exactly being truthful about my current situation. He was unbelievably perceptive, therefore very few things ever made it past him.
“Is everything okay?” he finally asked after several moments of uneasy silence.
“Yeah, yeah everything’s fine,” I replied, unconvincingly. “I told you I was just about to start a workout. I’m just ready to get this thing over with, you know?”
“Alright, what’s going on Reaper?” Howie asked suspiciously.
“I’m just… I told you, man—”
“Oh I get it! You’ve got company, don’t you? You finally took my advice!” Howie suddenly chimed. Even though I couldn’t see his face I could tell from the sound of his voice that he was grinning.
“Yeah, Echo. I-I've got company. Do you mind if I hit you back?” I stammered as I glanced at the army of 800 Strangers that were ready to try to tear my head off at a moment’s notice.
“Okay! I get it. I know the drill. Just give me a ring when you’re done, alright? Jason and I really wanted to… wait a second…”
Dammit! I thought. Just when I thought I was off the hook. “What’s up, bro?” I finally asked, still trying in vain to sound convincing.
“Where are you?” Howie demanded.
“I told you I—”
“You called me Echo, just now. You never call me Echo unless we’re on an op. Reaper, where are you?!”
“I… I’m in Cleveland—”
“Jesus H. Christ, Reaper! You’re in Manhattan?!” Howie exclaimed.
“No I’m not—wait, how did you know that?”
“I just hacked the GPS in your phone, you idiot! What the hell are you doing in Manhattan?! Are you out of your freaking mind?!” Howie barked.
“Just wait a second and hear me out, okay?! You were right, Echo. Alias is here and I literally have my hand around his neck as we speak. I just—”
“Hello? Howie what’s up?” a third voice suddenly interrupted.
“Jason? How did you get on the line?” I asked, surprised to hear him suddenly join the call.
“I just patched him in. Ace, how close are you to Manhattan?” Howie anxiously asked.
“Manhattan? What exactly is going on here?” Ace asked, obviously confused.
“Reaper is in Manhattan!” Howie snapped before I had a chance to respond.
“What is he—” Ace started.
“It doesn’t matter what he’s doing!—Probably something stupid! How soon can you get there?” Howie demanded.
“I’m in New Haven right now. That’s um… 80 miles away. What do you think?” Ace asked.
“How fast can your bike go?” Howie questioned.
“Just over 360.”
“Good. You should be able to get there in around twenty-five minutes. I’ll take care of the cops and the green lights. Just make sure you get there as soon as you can!”
“Guys this isn’t necessary!” I insisted.
“Shut up, Reaper!” Howie snapped, then abruptly ended the call.
I stood there for a second, wondering if I should be pissed or thankful for Howie’s interference. I had never attempted to take on so many foes at once, so I certainly understood Howie’s concern but I couldn’t help but feel a bit disrespected by the amount of alarm that he had shown. So what if they had me outnumbered 800 to 1? What’s the worst that could happen? It’s not like they can actually kill me, I thought as I reassured myself that Howie was simply overreacting.
“Sorry about that. My buddy can be a bit overprotective,” I said as I turned my attention back to Alias. The Strangers that surrounded me withdrew electrified batons and tightened their circle around me as I easily lif
ted their leader into the air with one hand.
“Now… where were we?” I asked, grinning beneath my mask as they all lunged toward me with their weapons thrust before them. In a flash, I tucked Alias’ body beneath my arm against his will then took one deep breath before zooming headfirst into the fray.
2. ROAD RAGE
ACE:
MY JET-BLACK BODY ARMOR CONSISTED OF QUITE A FEW Kevlar armor plates, however I had gotten used to gearing up in a hurry over the last two years therefore I was fully suited and ready to roll in less than five minutes.
“How’s the freeway looking, Echo?” I asked as I tied my long black headband around my tactical combat mask and switched on its internal heads-up display. Reaper and Howie always said my combat gear made me resemble the ninja version of a Navy SEAL and, to be honest, I couldn’t agree more. I had several versions of my basic gear but the “ninja” look was best suited for my skill set and consequently it was always my favorite.
“The freeway should be fairly clear, Ace,” Howie advised over the radio. “I’m extending the red lights leading to most of the entrance ramps but I left the one nearest to you green for now. Are you already on the way?” he continued as the garage door of my New Haven safe house retracted upward.
“I’m taking off now. Can you close the door for me?” I asked as I revved the engine of my supercharged black sports motorcycle and zipped out of the garage.
“Done,” Howie confirmed as I zoomed down the street, already approaching 100 miles per hour.
“I’m getting on the freeway now. Any cops up ahead?” I asked as I stormed up the entrance ramp.
“All clear for now.”
“Good,” I said as I hit the throttle and accelerated to over 200 miles per hour as I rocketed onto the freeway.
Usually all eight lanes would have still been completely packed at this time but Howie had done well to manipulate the traffic lights so luckily the streets were relatively clear.
What in the hell is Reaper thinking? I thought as I squeezed the throttle once more and accelerated past 250 miles per hour, weaving between the few cars that were still left on the highway. I hugged my bike closer and accelerated to over 300 miles per hour as I left the rest of the civilian vehicles in my dust. I was moving so fast by that point that a single miscalculated move could have easily spelled the end of me, but luckily my reflexes and reaction times were about twenty times quicker than the average man’s due to the intense training that I had received since the age of four, as well as a few other factors that Howie and Reaper were completely unaware of.
“How’s the situation in Manhattan?” I asked.
“I’ve noticed quite a few explosions but at least not the big one. Not yet anyway,” Howie replied.
“Any word from Reap?”
“Negative. They started jamming his comms so I can’t get through to him anymore, but I can still see him on the satellite footage. He’s zooming around right now so it’s tough for them to get the drop on him but I’m afraid he’s going to burn himself out if he keeps that up for too long. He usually takes his opponents down rather quickly so he’s never had to push himself to that speed for more than a few minutes at a time. Even I don’t know if his heart can hold up if he maintains that speed for too long. That’s why you have to get there, Ace. You’ve got to get there as soon as you can!”
What do you think I’m doing? I thought sarcastically as I glanced at my speedometer, which now teetered between 310 and 315 miles per hour.
“What’s gotten in to Reaper? Did he tell you anything about this before hand?” I asked.
“No. Of course he didn’t.”
“It just seems odd that he would suddenly decide to single-handedly attack the most fortified Stranger stronghold in the country. Something doesn’t smell right about this, Echo,” I continued, and I immediately became suspicious when Howie didn’t respond right away.
“Echo?” I repeated.
“I might have mentioned a theory of mine… but I didn’t think he would run off and storm Manhattan by himself!” Howie griped.
“You’ve got to be kidding me, Howie! You know he thinks he’s invincible! What did you think would happen?!” I barked. “What did you say to him anyway?”
“I’ve been using our satellites to monitor most of the larger Stranger controlled areas and I noticed that The Strangers nearly tripled their presence in Manhattan last week.”
“That doesn’t explain why Reaper would charge in head first.”
“Well, I kind of mentioned to him that I thought they were beefing up security because Alias might have temporarily relocated to Manhattan. The Strangers have been able to maintain control over the cities they captured due to the threat of detonating their bombs and killing themselves along with their civilian hostages but that’s not an option if their leader is present. Usually their regular foot soldiers would gladly make martyrs of themselves in order to further the Stranger agenda but none of them would do so if it meant blowing up their leader as well. That’s why they increased their troops so drastically. They know that if it comes down to it they’ll have to fight because they can’t rely on the threat of killing the hostages with Alias present.”
“So your plan was to call their bluff? Are you out of your mind, Howie?! You’re gonna get Reaper killed!” I growled.
“They won’t detonate the bomb, Ace. I know it,” Howie insisted.
“There’s no way for you to know that for sure! I can’t believe you would be so irresponsible!” I snapped.
“I know for a fact that Alias is there, Ace! Reaper confirmed it! There’s no way they’ll detonate the bomb and kill their leader.”
“Well, I hope your little plan works,” I grumbled.
Because if we lose Reaper we can kiss this planet goodbye, I thought to myself as I raced down the highway with my long headband flickering wildly in the wind behind me.
“It wasn’t a plan. It was a theory. I hadn’t even run it by Wells yet—Holy crap Ace you’ve got incoming!” Howie suddenly shouted.
“What do you mean incoming? Cops?” I demanded as I looked behind me.
“Doubt it! Looks like Strangers. You’ve got two bogies in the air about two miles out and it looks like you’re going to have some company on the freeway as well.”
“How did they know I was coming?” I asked.
“They had to have been tapping Reaper’s comms during our phone call. I should have thought about that. Dammit!” Howie cursed as I checked my side mirrors for Strangers.
“Well that’s just great,” I mumbled sarcastically as the deep chopping sound of helicopter propellers sent my heart into a frenzy.
“Hey, it’s not like I—Ace watch out!” Howie suddenly screamed.
I looked in my side mirror just in time to see a second helicopter descend out of the sky behind me and fire a rocket in my direction. I hugged my bike closer as I triggered the overdrive with my right hand and barely sped out of the way of the rockets path. Rubble and pieces of nearby vehicles that were caught in the ensuing explosion pelted against my armor while I fought to steady my bike as I rocketed forward with the two Stranger helicopters scrambling overhead.
“Ace! Talk to me buddy!” Howie shouted.
“I’m fine, Echo! But I don’t have a lot of options,” I replied as the two helicopters started to gain on me.
“Did you bring any weapons?”
“Just my sword, a 9mm, and five micro grenades,” I confirmed.
“That’s it?!”
“Hey, maybe if I knew we were gonna be storming Manhattan this morning I would have packed a bigger lunch!” I protested.
“Fair enough… Just make sure you make them count.”
“I always do,” I said as I veered sharply to the right just as several black SUVs suddenly swerved into traffic and opened fire at me.
“Looks like the gang’s all here!” I shouted as I pressed myself down further on my bike and accelerated to over 320 mph.
“FYI, Ac
e, I just switched all the entrance ramp lights to green,” Howie said as the SUVs and the two helicopters sped after me.
“Are you serious? They’ll just get in the way!” I groaned.
“That’s exactly what I’m counting on. You’re a sitting duck out there by yourself, Ace.”
He’s got a point, I thought, as a flood of civilian traffic suddenly filled the freeway. As the traffic grew heavier, the helicopters suddenly gained altitude and opened fire at me with their side mounted miniguns. My heart pounded feverishly as I wove in and out of traffic for dear life with the automatic gunfire from their spinning cannons nipping at my heels.
I banked hard to the left and a rocket that had been fired from above zoomed just past me and erupted into a massive fireball as it slammed against a pick-up truck that had been traveling in front of me. Several civilian vehicles were either obliterated upon impact or thrown into the air by the resulting explosion. I lowered my head and zipped through the churning ball of fire that filled the streets as the Stranger SUVs behind me accelerated even more, plowing through the smaller vehicles that separated us as though they were nothing. I continued to weave through traffic, but as the street became more and more crowded, it became much more difficult to maintain enough speed to outrun them.
“Ace, you’ve got trouble!” Howie suddenly shouted, causing me to instinctively check my side mirrors.
“Ya think?!” I yelled back as I saw the passenger an SUV behind me pop up through the sunroof and reach down for an RPG launcher.
“Echo, I need you to take the wheel! I’m giving you remote access right now!” I ordered as we stormed onto a long bridged portion of the freeway.
“Are you crazy?! I can’t drive like you, Ace!” Howie complained.
“Just keep her steady!” I barked as I pressed my feet hard against my bike’s foot pegs and threw myself into the air while still clinging to the handle bars of my speeding bike with my left hand. The RPG-wielding passenger aimed his rocket launcher at me and prepared to fire as I quickly twisted my body backward while the bike continued to race forward. In a flash, I withdrew the automatic pistol at my hip and emptied the clip into the SUV driver’s forehead. I let the empty clip fly from the bottom of my gun and it instantly whipped through the air and smacked the passenger in the face just as he squeezed the trigger of his RPG launcher. The rocket zoomed into the air off course as the passenger was thrown off balance and the SUV swerved out of control and was consumed by a massive pile up that ensued after their vehicle started to flip across the highway. One of the Stranger helicopters overhead suddenly exploded into a brilliant ball of fire and debris as the misfired rocket slammed into it and blasted it out of the sky.
Savior Part 2: Son of Eden (The Savior Series) Page 2