by Ammar Habib
“Do you think there’s a sniper?”
“Probably more than one. It’s what I would have done. The snipers will also be making sure that the police don’t move in too close, but my man will take him out.”
“You have someone on the outside?”
He nodded.
***
Under the night sky, Adam wore his full navy-colored uniform. Slung across his back was his shortened bō staff. He arrived onto the rooftop undetected by the police or the snipers. All those stealth exercises William repeatedly forced him to run through finally paid off.
Hiding behind a large air-conditioning unit, he peered over its top. Even from here, on the airport’s rooftop, he heard the distant police sirens. They had set up a perimeter and encircled the airport. Within minutes, the military would arrive. But the police and military all knew better than to move in. They would not risk the lives of the hostages, especially without knowing what the situation was inside the airport.
Adam spotted three snipers not far away. They were clad in black from head-to-toe, black ski masks concealing their faces. He did not know if the police knew about them or not. Two of them were armed with high powered sniper rifles. They maintained clear shots at the police officers. The last one held a deadly RPG-29 in his hands.
They were all looking in different directions, concealed behind their cover. Adam knew better than to attack them directly. Starting a firefight up here risked alerting Jaing that his snipers were under fire.
Adam pulled his head back behind his cover. From his belt, he pulled out three silver balls that were only slightly heavier and larger than marbles. He took a deep breath as he clenched his weapons tightly in his closed fist. He needed to throw them just right.
Without wasting another moment, he stepped up and let loose his fury.
***
The Guardian and Princess Amelia walked down the deserted corridor. Their light footsteps softly echoed down the terminal. William walked only a step ahead of her. They had not spotted any hint of their foes yet. The odds were that they would be able to make it out unnoticed. There were numerous exits, making it impossible for Jaing to cover them all.
“How are you holding up?” William knew that he needed to talk to her. Otherwise, her mind would drift back to the shooting.
She kept looking right and left, as if expecting somebody to leap out of the shadows. Her heart raced with excitement and traces of it showed in her voice. “I’m… fine.”
“It’ll be over soon. Just keep yourself as calm as you can. You’ll be at the embassy before midnight.”
“How can you be so calm?”
“Call it experience.”
“How many—how many times have you been like this?”
“You mean in the danger of dying?”
She slightly nodded.
“I stopped counting a long time ago. In the army we used to say that it was bad luck to keep count of how many times people tried to kill you.”
“You were in the army?”
“Special Forces.” His voice showed how proud he was of his service. “I used to lead a squad of ten men. Best of the best. Only a handful of people I’ve met were braver than them.”
Her reply came after a few moments, clearly showing that she did not know what to say. Obviously, his mask made this conversation difficult for her, along with their present circumstances. “…oh.”
“I hear that you’ll be taking the crown soon.”
“Yes. In—in less than a year now.”
“Are you up for it?”
“I—I don’t know. People are expecting so much from me. They’re expecting me to set so many things right.”
“It comes with the job.”
“How do you do it? How do you look after everyone in your care?”
The entire time they spoke, The Guardian kept his eyes trained straight ahead. “I’m not the one to ask. My predecessor, he’s the one who really had to do it. Compared to what he went through, I have a walk in the park. He carried the duty during wartime. I’ve only held it during peacetime.”
“You mean Ethan Daniels?”
The Guardian nodded.
“I heard he was ruthless.”
“He wasn’t as nice as me.”
Amelia quickened her pace to keep up with her protector. “I can’t understand why I’ve been given this burden… this responsibility. Why me of all people? I don’t deserve it any more than anybody else.”
“Maybe that’s why you’ll be such a good leader. Because you look at it as a responsibility and not a right. That’s how Ethan always looked at it.”
The princess was silent. She sensed his reverence for Ethan. Every ounce of his voice was filled with respect for his forerunner. A part of her still could not fathom that she was speaking to the figure who was the stuff of legends. “Was Ethan a hero?”
“He was the greatest hero I know—with and without the mask. I don’t know a soul that has done even a tenth of what he’s done for the betterment of the world.”
Amelia did not reply.
Even as William spoke, he kept his ears sharp and instincts focused on the task at hand as they continued down the terminal. “And what about your uncle? Is he enthusiastic about you taking the crown?”
“…I suppose. We haven’t spoken about it much.”
“Why’s that?”
“He and I… well, we don’t see each other much.”
They turned a corner as he continued to keep his eyes, ears, and instincts on high alert. “How close were he and your father?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did they grow up together?”
She slightly shook her head. “No. My father was several years older. They hardly ever saw each other. They went to separate boarding schools and when my father was twenty-two, he became king. He was always a busy man. He had to run a country that was spiraling downwards after the economy almost collapsed. He spent ten years getting the country back on its feet. And five more bringing it back to prominence. That was when he and my mother died in a plane crash.”
He finally looked back at her. “How old were you when it happened?”
“It happened six years ago when I was ten-years-old.”
Even though he hardly knew her, a sadness washed over William’s heart as he heard her utter those words. Stopping children from becoming orphans was the reason he did what he did, and every time he heard about a child becoming parentless, it pained him. “My wife and child were taken from me six years ago. Believe me when I say I know how you feel.”
A long, still silence followed his words. Amelia looked down for a few moments before her eyes came back onto him. “I’m sure your family was beautiful.”
William’s gaze aimed straight ahead once again. “Yes—they were.”
The princess was about to say something, but she didn’t receive the chance. The Guardian suddenly stopped and put his hand on her shoulder. Amelia glanced down at his hand and then up at him.
Facing straight ahead, he heard the faint echo of footsteps. Multiple footsteps. She was unable to hear it, but he perceived it perfectly. And he knew that whoever was heading their way was no friend. He lightly pushed her in the direction of some chairs, still not looking down at her. “Take cover. Whatever you do, don’t come out until you hear my voice.”
She followed his orders without any hesitation.
Taking a deep breath, The Guardian touched his weapon-filled belt.
***
From a distance down the terminal, four gunmen were on the move, each man holding a semi-automatic rifle. A large Hispanic man led the pack. Only an hour ago, they had slain their fellow secret service men without a shred of guilt. Some of their clothing remained stained with the still-fresh blood of their victims.
The highly skilled men kept their eyes peered. They knew that alone, none of them could take down The Guardian. But together, they had a chance, especially if he had to protect the princess. All they needed was—
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Suddenly, he appeared.
The Guardian soundlessly dropped straight down from the roof beam and right into the middle of the pack. Landing crouched down as his cloak settled in behind him, he held a long dagger in his right hand. A moment after The Guardian hit the floor, the Hispanic man whipped around and took aim, his finger on the trigger. But The Guardian stepped up and disarmed him by slicing his shooting arm. The wounded man roared as the gun dropped from his hand. Ignoring his cries, The Guardian powerfully kicked him to the side.
Swiftly twirling around, The Guardian sidestepped another barrage of deafening bullets. As he did, he threw his dagger with pinpoint accuracy. It buried itself into the gunman’s heart. As the shooter dropped to the floor, The Guardian dodged his third foe’s gunfire by weaving side-to-side before lunging at him. Moving with precise agility, The Guardian struck the man in his stomach with a powerful blow and then cross faced the goon with his elbow. As the fourth guard took aim, The Guardian roughly grabbed his foe by the collar, threw him into the line of fire, and watched as the man’s body was riddled with bullets.
The fourth foe didn’t hesitate, even after shooting his ally. Roaring, the man pulled the trigger again and again and again. But The Guardian remained undeterred as he charged his foe head on, sidestepping the bullets.
As The Guardian came at the fourth man, the Hispanic man rose back to his feet. Using his good arm, he pulled out a pistol from his belt as he watched The Guardian disarm the last adversary by viciously breaking the man’s arm. With an angry scowl, the Hispanic man took aim. But he never pulled the trigger.
Adam suddenly charged from behind him, extended bō staff in hand. Without wasting a moment, he brought the weapon down, taking out the Hispanic man’s legs and knocking him onto the floor. The pistol went sliding across the floor. Adam followed through by slamming his staff right into the man’s skull, effectively ending the bout.
Finishing off his own foe, William turned around just in time to see Adam take down the final hostile. Adam looked up at The Guardian with a slight smile underneath his mask. “Now would be a good time to say thank you.”
“I had him,” William replied without any gratitude in his voice.
“You can just admit you’re glad to see me.”
“We’re not out yet. Did you take out the snipers?”
“There were five of them in two different spots. One of them had an RPG. But the knock out gas worked like a charm and took three of them out.”
“And the other two?”
Adam shortened his staff as he put it away. “I couldn’t get to them.”
“What happened?”
“I saw them from a distance. They’re well-positioned and I could not get to them without risking being seen. They’re making sure that you and the princess don’t get out. They spotted me when I tried to enter through the rooftop. One of them almost got me and they’ll be watching that spot so we can’t use that way as an exit strategy. I got in touch with Lieutenant Mason—he’s leading the police force around the perimeter—and told him their positions. He’ll have his men take them out.”
“Good work.”
***
They quickly reunited with Amelia, leaving the four defeated goons well out of sight. Amelia looked at her two masked saviors in awe, unable to fathom how quickly they had dispatched their foes.
“How many hostages do they have?” Adam asked.
There was no hesitation in William’s voice. “Nine reporters and two secret service men.”
“How many men does Jaing have left?”
“Six on the ground and the two snipers you saw. That’s assuming that he has not had any reinforcements come in and you did not miss any snipers.”
“I didn’t. So what’s the plan?”
“Sit tight. Once the police get rid of the snipers, you get the princess out and I’ll rescue the hostages.”
“Alone? I can help.”
“I’m not doubting your abilities. But right now, the princess is our priority and I need you to get her out of here.”
“But you can’t take on Jaing alone.”
“Last year, I took out one of Vixen’s soldiers, and she was just as skilled as Jaing. I’m more than a match for him.”
Adam was silent for a long moment. “Maybe you can, but he has six lackeys with him who are more than your average street thugs. You can’t take all of them down at once.”
“Not in a straight fight. But I’m won’t be going in guns blazing. All I need to do is get the hostages free. After that, military and police will move in. They can take down his six men and I’ll handle Jaing.”
“You—”
William’s voice suddenly changed. “I’m not asking your opinion. I’m ordering you to get the princess out of here and to the embassy.”
“…alright.”
William knew that Adam felt like he was being held back. There was a time when William had felt the same. But before William could say anything else, a voice suddenly spilled from airport’s PA system. Right as the first syllable was uttered, all three of them knew who spoke.
“My… my… you certainly have created a debacle, haven’t you? Had you let the princess die, only a few would have died tonight. But now the body count is just piling up, isn’t it? I know that my snipers are out of the picture. And I know that you’ve taken care of the men I sent to look for you. You’re not nearly as useless as I thought. I can see why Ethan kept you around. And now I suppose you are planning to make it to the exit with her.”
There was a short pause.
“But it won’t get that far.” The voice suddenly changed, swinging from playful to violently menacing. “Because if you do not present yourself and the princess to me in the next ten minutes, I am going to blow out the brains of each and every hostage here. And that’s just the start of what I’ll do. I’ll kill a thousand people by dawn.”
The message ended.
The princess and Adam stared at William’s masked face as they tried to register what they just heard. In an instant, the parameters of the situation had completely changed. William knew that Jaing was not bluffing. If they did not give in to his demands, he would not hesitate to kill every soul in sight.
Princess Amelia’s heart trembled with fear at the thought of having all those deaths on her conscience. A thousand souls. That’s how many Jang swore to kill if she did not turn herself in. How could she live with that? How could she let so many die just so that she could live?
But before she uttered a word, The Guardian spoke. His voice remained as calm as ever and he seemed completely unperturbed by the threat. “Stay calm, Amelia. We have to assess the situation.”
“Asse—assess the situation? What other choice is there? We—we have to do it. There’s no other way.”
“There’s always a way.”
“I can’t let all those people die! Not because of me.”
William would not hear it. “Right now, your life is more valuable than theirs. Do you know what would happen if you died tonight? The implications of you being killed on Tripton soil could spiral this country back to the dirt. You giving yourself up won’t save anyone. It will destroy hundreds of millions of lives in the long run.”
“My life is no more valuable than anybody’s! I won’t let those people die.”
As Amelia’s words echoed in his ears, William’s mind worked quickly. Every possible strategy played through his mind over and over again. “They won’t. We will save everybody.”
“How?” Adam asked.
“We’ll win because that’s what we do. And if you have any doubt in your mind that we won’t succeed, then stay out of my way. You can sit here while I do what Ethan trusted me to do.”
Adam’s grip around his bō staff tightened. “What’s the plan?”
“Alpha Beta 43.”
“Alpha Beta 43,” Adam lowly repeated to himself.
“Ethan and I used it to take down a bank holdup without a single hostage being harmed. I
t’ll work.”
“I’m with you.”
William looked back at Amelia. “You need to stay here.”
She nodded.
He took out a small pistol from his belt and handed it to her. “You know the basics of how to use one of these things?”
Her eyes went from the weapon and back onto her protector as she took off the gun’s safety. “Yes.”
“Good.” The Guardian looked back at Adam. “It’s time to remind everyone who runs this town.”
Chapter 10
Escalation
Panic consumed the presidential mansion.
Everything looked calm from the outside. The off-white, three-story building, a perfect example of colonial architecture, stood in all its magnificence and grandeur. The mansion was surrounded by miles of greenery and perfectly leveled paved roads on every side. Hundreds of windows had their thick curtains pulled back. Like every other night, the building was fully illuminated and every guard stood at their station. Not a thing was out of place.
But inside, all hell had broken loose.
Villanueva was in the war room. Here, there were no windows. There were almost no decorations. There was no grand architecture. There were only solid walls. On the wall behind the president was the nation’s decorative emblem. And on the wall opposite of Villanueva, next to the room’s only entrance, rested a flat television screen that almost stretched the length of the wall. News reports of the terrorists attack at Crown City’s Airport spilled from the screen.
When the attack started, the president was waiting in his high-rise Crown City office. The princess was scheduled to meet him there so the treaty would be signed before the stroke of midnight. But as soon as word of the attack reached them, the secret service had whisked him back to the capital.
Now, President Villanueva stood at the end of a long, auburn table. All of the black leather chairs were either occupied or stood over. Papers and documents remained scattered on the polished table’s surface. Generals, officers, bureaucrats, politicians. Almost every high-ranking official in Villanueva’s administration was present; the ones not here remained on the phone lines. Some of the men and women here were on their mobiles, speaking to their subordinates. Others spoke to one another as all their voices completely engulfed the rectangular room.