by Sean Devney
The guard hesitated and said,
“Wait a moment.”
He went back and a moment later, Walker was waved in. The huge gate swung open and Walker drove to the main building. The young woman stood at the entrance and said angrily,
“My father is very sick! He can’t see anyone right now!”
Walker got out and walked over to the woman and said,
“I’m very sorry but this can’t wait. I won’t be long. Please.”
The woman relented and Walker followed her back to the reading room. Father Johnson sat behind the desk, clearly tired. He asked Walker,
“What is it you want, young man?”
“Sir, I am Detective John Walker from New York City and I am here to arrest both Johnny Rocco and Governor Ryan. I will put them behind bars where they belong!”
Father Johnson suddenly perked up. He cracked a smile and said,
“Finally my prayers have been answered!”
He turned to his daughter and said,
“You see, Alice! He’s here to help! Now, what can I do?”
“Well, sir – there is something you can do for me. I need a distraction. Something to keep Mr Rocco and his men off balance, you might say. I know you have weapons. Lots of them. What if you were to attack Sin City? Not kill anyone – just make some noise. That will keep Rocco and his men busy. Can you do that?”
The old man looked startled. He said,
“How do you know about that? I never told anyone about that! Where did you get this information?”
“Uh, no one told me about your plans but I have this special ability. I read your mind the last time I was here.”
The old man’s face drained of blood. He said,
“What? How did you do this?”
“I am a psychic, father. I’ve had these abilities ever since I was a child. Now, will you help me or not?”
The young woman said angrily,
“Detective, your so called abilities are the work of the devil! You – “
Father Johnson put up his hand and said, cutting her off,
“Now, now, my child – everyone has these abilities! I’m sorry, detective. She’s young and she doesn’t understand these things. Yes, I will help you. What do you want me to do?”
“Okay, there’s a big freighter coming this Friday and it’s bringing someone named Max Thorton and also some combat robots. I’m going to arrest Thorton and put Rocco out of business. I want you to send your men to Sin City and make some noise. Blow things up. Can you do that?”
“Yes, detective, I can do that. Will you let me know when to do this?”
“Yes. I’ll call you on Friday and let you know what’s going on. All right?”
“Yes. Now, my son – what else can you do with your abilities?”
“Lots of things, father. Now, I must go. Thank you.”
Walker reached over and shook the old man’s hand. He walked out of the building and back to his car and drove back to the city…..
PART THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
Walker walked into the apartment and saw Edwards sitting on the couch, looking shattered. She was drinking a glass of white wine. The android was sitting by the window looking out into the city. Walker said to Edwards,
“Are you okay?”
Edwards nodded and took another sip of wine. The android looked at Walker and said,
“Detective, I have not been able to break the computer code. Shall I continue?”
“Yes.”
Walker began to pace the room. An idea came to him. He said to the android,
“Joe? Are you connected with the prison computer system?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Now I want you to check something out. There’s going to be a breakout on Friday of prisoners but Rocco needs help on the inside. Can you check and see what prison guards are receiving any large amounts of money?”
Edwards perked up. She asked,
“What’s up?”
“There has to be a guard on the inside who’s helping Rocco.”
“Detective, I found someone.”
“Put the information up on the wall monitor here, Joe.”
The giant wall monitor came to life and it showed a picture of a guard with a beefy face and puffy eyes. He didn’t look too intelligent. The android said,
“His name is Carl Evans. He has been receiving large amounts of money in the past six months and he has been spending his money on gambling and drugs. He lives in a high rise in midtown.”
“Bingo!,” said Walker. “That’s our guy. I’m going to pay him a visit. Is he at home?”
“Checking. Yes, he is at home. His address is 225 Jefferson St, #12A.”
“Okay. Sam, call Hernandez. Tell him what’s going on. Joe, I want you to monitor his phone. I’m going to shake him up. Let’s see what he does.”
Walker ran out of the apartment and took an elevator down to the garage where his car was waiting for him. He jumped in and told the computer where to go. He also said,
“Computer, connect me with the android.”
The android’s face appeared on the screen. Walker said,
“Joe, watch my back.”
“Yes, detective.”
The car drove through the city and came upon a very tall apartment building in the middle of the city. The car parked itself and Walker got out and walked over to the entrance to the building. There was a robot doorman wearing an expensive black suit and tie and a top hat. The robot opened the door and asked politely,
“Yes, sir? Can I help you?”
“Yes, I’m a friend of Carl Evans. Is he in?”
“Yes, I believe he is. Shall I let him know you’re coming?”
“No. I want this to be a surprise.”
Walker walked over to a bank of elevators and took an elevator up to the 12th floor and walked down a long hallway. He found the door and took out his gun and knocked on the door. A man’s rough voice asked,
“Yeah? Who is it?”
“Hi. I’m John. I have a message from Rocco.”
“Uh, hang on a minute.”
Someone walked over and unlocked the door. The door swung open and Evans stood in front of Walker and said,
“Who are you? I never saw you before.”
Walker pointed his gun at Evans’s thick face and said,
“Inside.”
Evans put up his hands and walked backwards. Walker closed the door behind him. The apartment was very well furnished. Evans asked,
“What is this? Who are you?”
“I’m Detective John Walker of the NYPD and I’m here to give you a message. The deal’s off. We know what you’re doing this Friday. You’re not going to let any prisoners loose – you hear me? You keep them in their little cages – got that? You tell Rocco that I said this! If you don’t do as I say, I’m coming after you! Got that?”
Evans’s face was wet with sweat. He said thickly,
“But – but Rocco said – “
“Fuck Rocco! I’m calling the shots now! Tell him the Feds are arriving tomorrow with the Marines! He and Governor Ryan are going down! You know, this is a really nice apartment! How can someone like you afford something like this? I think you’ve been a very naughty boy! Maybe I should run you in right now! You’ll be skinned alive! Nah – I’m not going to do that. Just call Rocco and give him my message! I”ll be back later for you, okay?”
Evans was shaking. He nodded
weakly. Walker left the apartment and went back down to the car. He said,
“Computer, connect me with the android. Well, Joe – anything happen?”
The android said,
“Yes, detective. Evans just called Rocco and Rocco was very upset.”
“Good. It’s time I paid him a visit. I’ll check in with you later.”
He gave the computer an address and the car put itself into gear….
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
The car approached a tall building in the middle of the city. He stopped the car and leaned back in his seat. He closed his eyes and focused his mind upon Rocco’s apartment. Rocco was sitting on a couch, drinking a martini. He was wearing a black suit with gray stripes and a red tie. Across the room was Governor Ryan, who was standing behind a bar and mixing drinks. Walker also saw a man with white hair standing by the window. The man was wearing a black suit and a blue tie. Walker decided to go upstairs and pay Rocco a visit. He said to the computer,
“Computer, put me through to the android.”
The image of the android appeared on the monitor. Walker said,
“Look, Joe, I’m going upstairs to Rocco’s apartment. Can you connect with the building security?”
“Yes, detective. I have accessed the security system. I am looking at Rocco’s apartment right now.”
“Okay. Keep your eyes open. If anything happens, notify both Chief Hernandez and Detective Edwards. Got that?”
“Yes, detective.”
“Okay, I’m going.”
Walker took out his gun and placed it in the glove compartment. He got out of the car and walked across the street to the building entrance. There was a robot doorman. It stopped him and asked,
“Excuse me, sir. Who are you visiting?”
“Johnny Rocco. I’m a police detective. I have to talk to him in person. It’s very important.”
The robot walked over to a wall monitor and pressed a button. A moment later, Rocco appeared on the screen. The robot asked him,
“I’m very sorry to bother you, sir but there is a police detective here to see you. Shall I send him up?”
“Yes.”
The robot turned to Walker and said,
“You may go up. He’s on the 9th floor, apartment #9D.”
“Thanks,” said Walker and he walked over to an elevator and took it up. When the doors opened, he was met by a giant bodyguard who frisked him. The bodyguard said,
“Follow me.”
Walker followed the man down a long hallway to a half opened door. The bodyguard walked in and said,
“Boss, he’s clean.”
“Okay, show him in, Ace.”
The bodyguard stepped aside and Walker walked into a well furnished apartment. Rocco said, sitting on the couch,
“Well, well, well! The famous Detective Walker! It’s about time we met in person! Ace, you can leave us now. Close the door behind you. So, detective, you’ve proven yourself to be a real pain in the ass! You’re scaring people and that’s not good for business! They’re coming to me and asking me, what’s he doing on Mars? Is he going to shut everything down? And look what happened to my good friend, the DA Robert Anderson! He was my lawyer! He was so stressed out when you arrived – I thought he was going to piss in his pants! But he was always weak.”
Rocco leaned back and sipped his martini. He said,
“So, what to do about you? I can’t buy you off, I know that. Now look at Boris Petrov! He’s a survivor! He knows what to do to protect himself! He approached me – you know that? He offered his services to me! And I couldn’t turn him down! He provides really good intelligence and he kept me up to date about what you were doing! So, you went to see Father Johnson, eh? What did you talk about? Never mind. I’ll ask Boris. He’ll tell me. No, I’ve got a real problem on my hands. The freighter is arriving this Friday and you contacted the government. I knew you would. That little rat bastard Clemons told you what was on that ship, right? It has about twenty combat robots. Did you ever see them in real life? They’re huge mechanical monsters – they’re the ultimate weapons! Except for of course those commando robots. They’re even bigger! God, the military has such great toys, doesn’t it? They can even teleport weapons! Well, look, just to let you know, I’m going to have to kill you now. You’ll be dropped off in the desert without any water and you won’t last a day out there. Do you have any last speeches to make?”
“You won’t get away with this!”
Rocco laughed and said,
“Is that it? Well, anyway, I knew you were coming tonight. Boris told me. So, I had Boris go to your apartment and take your girlfriend hostage! Boris explained to me that he can block your thoughts and vise versa. It’s really quite interesting! Uh, Pat, would you mind?”
“No problem.”
Governor Ryan walked over to a wall monitor and pressed a button. It came to life and it showed Edwards tied up in a chair with Petrov pointing a gun at her head. Rocco said,
“So, what do you think? If you do anything stupid and she gets it! Understand?”
Walker seethed with anger. He said,
“Yeah, okay, Johnny. I’ll play along. What do you have in mind?”
“Well, this man over there is a doctor and he’s going to give you something to knock you out. Then, Ace and another bodyguard will put you into a helicopter and drop you off into the desert. When the sun comes up, it’ll get hot really quickly! And after you’re dropped off, I’ll let your girlfriend go! Such a pretty girl! Maybe I can do something with her. I haven’t decided yet. What do you think, governor?”
“It doesn’t matter to me, Johnny. Well, let’s get this going. I have to get up early. I have a busy day ahead of me tomorrow.”
“Yes, you are certainly a busy man. Okay, doc – let him have it!”
The white haired man walked over to Walker and took out a syringe. He put the syringe against Walker’s neck and pressed. Compressed air pushed a drug into Walker’s bloodstream and almost immediately, Walker felt weak. As he was passing out, he heard Rocco say,
“Okay, Ace – take him to the roof.”
Then darkness closed in and he fell asleep….
.
CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT
He awoke with a start. He was sitting before the giant red crystal. He looked around the dark room and saw he was alone. He focused his energies at the crystal and it began to glow a dull red but soon the color intensified. The whole room was a bright red and Walker felt a presence. He looked to his left and saw Ka’al sitting next to him. Ka’al said,
Everything will be all right, John. Help is coming. You will meet a young boy who is human but with a Martian soul. He is very powerful. He will help you. We have heard you. We will not allow Mars to die a second death. Have faith. Everything will be fine. Just be patient.
Ka’al smiled and said,
It is time. He is the future.
But my body has been drugged! I can’t wake up!
Yes but we will help you. The drug is now gone from your system. Open your eyes, my friend. It is time to fight back!
Walker suddenly woke up. He opened his eyes and saw that he was tied up in the back of a helicopter. It was dawn. There were two men sitting in front and they were unaware of him. All around him was the vast red desert. The pilot sitting in the left front seat said,
“Let’s drop him off here. It’s far enough.”
“Okay,” said the other man.
The helicopter began its descent and soon it landed softly on the desert floor. The two men got out and carried Walker’s body out and put it on the ground.
The helicopter took off and Walker tried to loosen his hands but the ropes were too tightly bound. The sun was slowly rising and it would soon be very hot. Suddenly, without warning, a young boy appeared in front of him out of thin air. Walker was startled. The boy was of medium height, with black eyes and long black hair. He wore a tan outfit and sandals. The boy looked to be about 15 years old. He said to Walker,
“You are Detective John Walker. I was told to help you. They tied you up but I can fix that. Hold still.”
The boy waved his hands in front of Walker and the ropes mysteriously came loose and dropped from his wrists and feet. Walker said,
“Wow! Thank you! What’s your name?”
“Well, my parents call me John. I like that name. Why did they do this to you?”
Walker stood up and said,
“Well, John, it’s a long story. There are some bad people who want to kill me by leaving me out here in the desert to die. Do you understand?”
The boy looked confused. He said,
“No, not really.”
“Well, how are we going to get back to town? It’s too far to walk.”
“Where do you want to go? Just think and we’ll go there.”
“What do you mean? Just think of my apartment in the city?”
“Yes. I can see it. Okay. Here we go.”
Walker frowned and the next thing he knew, he was standing in the middle of the apartment. Edwards was asleep on the couch and Petrov was sleeping in a chair, with his gun in his hand. The android was sitting by the window, looking out. Walker looked and saw the boy standing next to him. It was so quick it was surreal. Walker walked over to Edwards and kissed her on the cheek. She woke up and said, seeing him smiling down at her,
“John! You’re alive! But how did you get here?”
“It’s a little hard to explain. Sam, this is John. He’s here to help.”
Edwards sat up and rubbed her eyes. She looked at the wide eyed boy and said,