by Bryan Tann
“Everything we have thrown at him. Now this Mila Hunter can make anyone into a fucking bomb. We know this. If his ability to heal is correct, she would cause him a fuck ton of pain, but the nano-whatsits can withstand it right?”
“In theory yes,” the doctor begrudgingly admitted.
“Alright then, Doc! You fucking did it! You have developed the ultimate weapon that is going to fucking stop an enemy to this nation! Stop being such a goddamn baby about it and just go with it! Take some pride in it!” Matheson chuckled as he slapped a rough hand on the older doctor’s shoulder.
“You’re right, Commander. Alright. I will sign off that he is ready.”
“Good! Damn good! Now we have intelligence that says that Hunter and her band of shit bags are going to be making a supply run somewhere in South Carolina tomorrow night. We will fly Baker there, he will parachute in and finish her off and then all of this is over. He will be back inside of forty eight hours.”
“You seem to have this well scouted, Commander.”
“It’s why I’m among the best at what I do. A small platoon will go in once he makes contact with the girl to deal with the rest of the trash.”
“We will be able to monitor him from here as well to test his capabilities in a true combat situation,” Newton replied.
“Absolutely. President King will want to start production on more of those Hive things for our boys in uniform so we can protect our boarders. Smile, Doc. You’ve ensured this country’s security for generations to come!”
“What are we going to do, Queen? They want us to kill her.”
“I know, John. I know.”
“We have to get out of here.”
“Now is not the right time. I have a plan.”
“I’m all thoughts, Queenie.”
Queen scoffed. He’d begun using the nickname a week into the training, and despite her dislike of it, he used it. Her adaptive nature on human behavior told her this was a term of endearment. Despite her annoyance, she became the forbearer.
“We will go to where they drop us. Perhaps if we explain to her that we want to get away, she will help us. Or we can simply escape. You are faster and stronger than anyone that we know of. Pull off the monitor and run.”
“Sounds like a plan to me.”
“Baker! Front and center!” Matheson barked.
John was up in less than a blink at attention. He wore full tactical gear; black slip resistant boots with a compartment in the soles. The left boot had a small charge of C4 with the electric charge hidden in the heel, and the right sole a single shot zip gun. Matheson had said old did not mean dead.
The pants were BDU style with tear resistant fabric, insulated and water proof. His belt held extra ammunition mags. The areas where flashlights or first aid would be housed were modified to hold more ammunition. At the small of his back housed his jagdkommando knife; said to be the most dangerous knife in the world due to its ‘twist’ style blade that, when insert into the body, the victim bleeds out in minutes and requires an entire team of surgeons to close.
The shirt, skin tight, was tear resistant and water proof. The sleeves stopped at the center of his biceps that threatened to test the resistance of the fabric.
The overcoat hung down to his thighs. Black, tactical with internal pockets for two Glock .45 pistols, the fingerprint scanners active in full display.
“Alright, son, this is for real. No more simulations or holding back. Are you ready to unleash the beast, son?”
“Sir, aye aye I am ready to bring the death, sir!” John sounded off.
“Out-fucking-standing, Baker! You are a finely trained killing machine! Reborn and rebuilt to dance the dance with the enemies of this great nation! Now you go out there and you make a statement!”
“Sir, yes, sir!” John roared.
“Good! Now you will also be on communication. So make sure your ear piece is in at all times, is that understood?”
“Sir, I understand, sir,” John replied as he put the ear piece in. “Are Dr. Newton and Nurse Denton going to be monitoring this as well, sir?”
“Excited to have your exploits for the egg heads to see, Baker?”
“I am just curious is all, sir,” he replied.
“Don’t you worry about that, son, you got yourself a terrorist cum chugger that’s probably more of a rug muncher to take out, there is no time for your goddamn curiosity! Do you get me?”
“Aye, aye I get you, sir.”
“Good! Now let’s get you to the chopper. Intelligence says that the target will be on the outskirts of Charleston, South Carolina. Intelligence places her with six others. It’s suspected that her mother, Dr. Horatia Hunter, is with them as well. So consider her double points. The bitch is a traitor to everything we hold dear, worse than her spawn! Got it?”
“Aye, aye, sir!” John barked.
“Let’s get to the chopper, son. We have some killing to do.”
9
“Mila, I have a bad feeling about this.” The nervousness in the man’s voice was impossible to hide.
“Stow that shit, Julius,” Ryder barked, the M-16 in his hand pointed downward. “We need to stay sharp.”
“I’m sharp, Ryder, but goddammit something doesn’t feel right!” Julius growled.
“Guys.” Jameson looked to the two of them, his brown eyes narrowed. “It’s enough.”
“He’s right.” Mila gave Julius’ shoulder a gentle squeeze. She could feel the anxiety in her lifelong friend flowing off of him like heat from a fire. “Relax. The faster we do this, the faster we get back and we are away from here. Okay?” She gave him a slight wink and a grin, trying to make him smile just a little.
“Okay. But something doesn’t feel right. I’m just stating that for the record,” Julius replied offering a small smile before walking past Jameson and Ryder to the door to the building where the new guys, Rickson and Daley were waiting.
She shared a look with Ryder and stole a small kiss from his lips, and he returned it gently, breaking the hardened body language for a brief moment before getting his mind back on the task at hand.
“Mom, are you sure you want to come?” Mila asked Horatia as she kept close to them with effort that defied her age. She tried to dismiss the motherly pride being offered.
“Absolutely. It’s good to get out every now and again.” The slight, rare smile warmed Mila as they continued on toward the building.
“Wait. Do you hear something?” Mila asked looking around, hearing a faint mechanical whirring in the distance growing closer.
“It’s a helicopter. Let’s get inside,” Jameson said urgently.
“Okay, son, the platoon is already in position. They will be on standby,” Matheson said through the helicopter’s communication device.
“Yes, sir,” John replied.
The sliding door to the helicopter opened and John leaped. As the wind rushed to his face as he began his free fall.
“Your landing will be splendid on the roof. Too bad no one will see it,” Queen stated.
“You almost sound sad.”
“You have worked so hard.”
“Do you think that they will help us?”
“I truly hope so. Be ready, here we go.”
When he landed, he expected there to be pain. Instead he was able to break into a run and leap the roof tops with as little effort as it took to run three miles in a straight line.
“Alright, Baker, you’re roughly two blocks away. The strike zone is dead ahead. Do you see it?” Matheson asked.
“Yes, sir. I’ll be there in thirty seconds, sir,” John replied as he felt the blood pumping to his legs as he pounded forward. With a final push of minimum effort, he was soaring through the air toward the skylight to his target.
“Did you hear that?” Julius asked pointing the barrel to his assault rifle upward toward the ceiling.
“Damn right I did,” Ryder growled training his barrel upward as well.
Daley and Rickson moved to
stand beside Horatia to protect her as Jameson stood beside Ryder and Julius. Mila balled her hands into fists, preparing for any unseen threat.
As he walked down the stairs to the first floor, where he could hear them, John had to resist the urge to run. His communication wires had strangely been severed as he went through the glass, yet he could still hear the chatter coming through the ear piece. It was garbled thanks to the landing he’d performed. Now, he could feign ignorance if he had to.
As he took his final steps he took a deep breath, not trying to hide that he was coming. He wanted them to know he was there.
“Let’s go make some new friends.” He sighed nervously.
“What in the fuck happened, Drake?” Matheson roared to the communications officer.
“Sir! The coms on Baker are FUBAR, sir. We can’t get anything from him, and our chatter is sounding like shit on toast, sir.”
“Goddammit! Can you get a signal booster out?” Matheson demanded.
“I believe so, sir. I’m thinking that perhaps the free fall was too much for the coms. They weren’t fully tested on a Nano.”
“That’s one theory, son,” Matheson growled. “Boost that signal. Now!”
“I mean you no harm,” John said as he stared down range of the three rifles pointed toward him.
“You have exactly two seconds to tell us just why we shouldn’t blow you right to hell!” Julius shouted.
“Take care. They are nervous, as they should be,” Queen advised.
“I’m not here to hurt you. Listen, I need help. I don’t have much time. I disabled my communications so they can’t hear us, but there is a government attack squad in this area! Now I can help you, but you must help me!” John said calmly.
“Who are you?” Horatia asked him.
“My name is John Baker.”
“What?” Horatia asked in shocked realization of the name. “Oh God. Oh God no…” the fear in her voice made John take a step back.
“Mom? What is it?” Mila asked anxiously.
“He did it Mila. The son-of-a-bitch King did it!”
“Did what?” Jameson asked.
“Booster is up, sir!” Drake said. “But it’s only good for another ten seconds.”
“That’s all I need.” Matheson grinned coldly. The look of fear on the stuck up bitch Horatia Hunter’s face brought him a satisfaction he couldn’t describe. He leaned forward and spoke into the microphone. “Quellish.”
“Mom! What do you mean? What did King do?” Mila asked. She looked to John, his eyes quizzical, then suddenly went blank.
“John? John? JOHN!” Queen shouted.
John took a step forward and seemed to blur. His right arm cocked back like a piston and exploded into Jameson’s face sending him flying into a heap.
Daley stepped forward and opened fire into John sending him staggering back from the bullets tearing into his body, leaving him sprawled on the ground among the filth.
“Fuck! Jameson!” Ryder and Julius rushed to his side, blood pouring from the corner of his mouth, his jaw dislodged.
“Oh my God…” Rickson yelped nervously as John’s eyes snapped open and he was on his feet in an instant. Rickson opened fire into his chest again. John’s left hand reached out to effortlessly grip the frightened man’s forehead and twisted his head with a sickening crunch, his vertebrae exploded from his flesh. The head and neck twisted at an unholy angle, the lifeless body slumped to the ground motionless.
Daley’s eyes widened in terror as the bullets fired into the strange soldier were ejected and the holes sealed immediately.
“Daley run!” Mila shouted. The young man turned and then stopped before he could move. Blood pouring from his mouth.
Mila’s eyes widened in terror as she saw the blood covered fist protruding from the eighteen year old’s stomach.
“I’m sorry…” he whimpered. Blood poured from his mouth as he hung lifeless, still standing by the mercy of the mighty paw penetrating him. The fist roughly pulled through the obliterated flesh allowing the boy to finally go to the ground and be at rest.
“Goddamn you!” Julius roared dropping his rifle and leaping forward, screaming in agony as the corrosive acid shot from his hands and into the face and chest of the monster before them.
“John! What are you doing?” Queen screamed in disgust. “Why won’t you answer me? What’s the matter with you?”
Julius continued to shoot the acid into his target and took delight watching it eat away the shirt, coat, and weaponry. His flesh gave way to muscle and sinew, his eyes melting into useless goo and his skull prominent. He staggered back and fell to the ground motionless, and Julius relented the onslaught.
“Goddammit let’s get out of here!” Julius shouted.
“Wait!” Ryder shouted. “We can’t just run out there blind. He said there was a hit squad out there!”
“For all we know he was the fucking hit squad, Ryder! We dropped our guard and now two of us are dead and Jameson is down!” Julius shouted.
“Enough!” Mila shouted. “We need to get out of here! We can clear a path and…”
“That won’t be enough to stop him.” Horatia panted, genuine terror in her eyes.
“I melted him to nothing Horatia how…”
A sound behind them made them all turn to face where the monster had fallen.
John pulled himself to his feet. His eyes regenerated, followed by the flesh of his face, and finally the splotched and corroded upper body muscle and tissue. He stood before them unspoiled.
“Oh no. They…oh no! I have to stop you, John! Please don’t hate me I have to stop you!”
He exploded forward. Julius held his hands out to fire another blast. As the acid erupted, his target was gone and the acid began to feast upon the wooden floor.
“Where is he?” Ryder shouted.
“Ryder, get Jameson and get to the basement! We’ll use the sewers. Mom you get down there now right a…” Mila’s words were lost as Ryder suddenly disappeared into the shadows. Low thuds from the shadows were followed by Ryder as he came flying from the darkness and into a concrete pillar, and lay still.
Julius stood in front of Horatia and sent a blast of acid to the shadows where Ryder had flown from.
“Do you see him, Mila?” Julius shouted.
“I can’t see him at all!” she shouted, sending debris flying into the shadows in an attempt to get the beast to show itself.
“Where in the fuck…?” Julius suddenly disappeared into the floor, his screams of terror the only sign of him. Two loud cracks rang from the hole followed by his replaced cries of agony and then silence.
“Mila, listen to me—” Horatia shuddered. “King has created a monster and…”
A hand exploded from under Mila, gripping her ankle and pulling her to the floor below.
Mila hit the ground with a loud thud that shook her very core, unable to suppress the groan of pain. The fresh, burning pain from the cuts and gashes couldn’t replace the feeling of her body hitting with such impact.
She looked up to the shirtless monster before her with the blank eyes.
“What are you?” Mila asked pulling herself to her feet.
The fist came faster than she could see, rattling her jaw as the strike came with a force like a freight train sending her flying through the air and to the ground.
She pulled herself up as quickly as she could as it stalked her slowly.
“John stop! Please stop! They are lying to you! To us! She would have destroyed everything by now if she were a terrorist! Why would they use a trigger word on you if they weren’t lying? John stop this madness please!”
“He is goddamn beautiful, isn’t he, boys?” Matheson laughed coldly. “He is everything promised and then some. Send a comm to the President. Let him know the conditioning worked like a charm.”
“Will do, sir!” Drake replied. “And what of our operations report?”
“Free will is not an option. Conditioning must remain p
resent. Prep the team in Oregon for when we get back.”
“Roger wilco, sir.”
“You asked me for help! Did you come to die? Is that the help you want?” Mila shouted, sending the advancing soldier flying into a wall, only to have it step back out from the dust. His wounds healing seemingly instantly.
John leaped at her like a bullet, slamming into her with another heavy blow to her face sending her staggering. His left fist exploded forward to continue the assault only to be blocked and a kick to his ribs sent in retaliation. She held a hand forward and sent him flying again, with a stronger shot of force causing blood to erupt from his mouth as he flew into another concrete pillar. As he made impact, his head jerked backward followed by the sound of a crack and he went limp.
“You got your wish.” Mila growled as she looked around anxiously for Julius. Sending rubble flying in all directions, she finally found his prone body. Both of his hands were shattered and all ten fingers broken and the bones of his wrists protruding from the skin.
“Oh my God…Julius?” she rushed to him, massaging his cheek. “What did he do to you?”
A clatter of debris took her attention away from Julius. The soldier pulled itself to its feet and popped its neck back into place and rolled its shoulders.
With a feral roar it charged into her, drilling its shoulder into her midsection. Looking over her shoulder, Mila could see the brick and mortar waiting to greet her as she flew from the impact.
Calling upon her power as she had done in the past, the wall exploded as she was slammed into the surface sending her body sprawling into the street, the explosion protecting her from serious harm.
She pulled herself to her feet, the soldier stood inside the building still looking to her, tilting its head. Mila held up her hand and sent a massive chunk of concrete back into the hall with all of the force she could command. The sound of concrete meeting itself and flesh rang out into the night.
“Mom?” she cried out as she went back into the hole. She knew that if she could get to her mother, between the two of them they could get Ryder and Jameson awake to help escape with Julius.