by Bryan Tann
“For what?” Velka asked in annoyance.
“Sergeant, understanding isn’t a requirement of cooperation,” Bravo stated. “We were assured that your precinct would cooperate with us fully and make available whatever we need to bring these people in.”
“Of course. Whatever you need,” Velka snarled. “I’ll make the call. Should we call Dr. Singer to let him know?”
“No,” Delta replied. “We will take care of that. You just get your teams available and have them in place. Ensure they do not get involved with us while we are apprehending the fugitive.”
“Copy that,” Sergeant Velka replied.
The Nanos, satisfied, turned and walked from the office shutting the door behind them.
Velka reached into his desk and removed his second cell phone and held the number five button, keeping his eyes on the door.
“Hello?”
“R it’s V. I just had two ice shits exit my office looking for their fugitive.”
“Roger that,” Ruckus replied ending the call.
“John,” Karen said cautiously as he pulled the bike to the stop at the traffic light.
“What?”
“I just got a message from Ruckus,” Karen said looking over her phone. “It says that his contact here in Chicago says he had two soldiers in his office looking for fugitives.”
“We knew Matheson would have people waiting for us. So he sent two Nanos. Great. That means there’s only five options that I have to worry about. Hopefully Alpha isn’t with them.”
When the light changed he gave the bike gas and continued on down the city streets, a small smile spreading across his face.
“You ready, Queen?”
“Of course I am. The lifeless won’t be able to stand up to us.”
“Goddamn right they won’t!”
John gripped the throttle a little harder as he urged the bike on, keeping his eyes vigilant for the upcoming attack.
“John. Turn left. Now.”
Not taking the time to question her, John quickly took the upcoming left smoothly.
“What was that all about?”
“When we looked at the map I made it a point to calculate multiple routes to the Doctor’s condo. This route should get us there much faster and give us time to speak with him before any attacks commence.”
“What would I do without you, Queen?”
“Become a zombie of a science experiment and be a boring individual.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re always welcome.”
“Holy hell. Look at this place.” Karen marveled at the twenty story tall behemoth of steel and glass known as the ‘Crane Condominium Estates’.
“Being a top scientist for Fuji-O’Hara and the Government means you get to live high on the East Side, or in this case the North Side, in a deluxe apartment in the sky,” John muttered.
He rode the bike to the street level entrance of the building’s parking complex and pulled into a spot on the street level and killed the engine.
“Is it good to be on this level, John? What if they block us in?” Karen asked.
“If we go lower, it will be harder to get out. Higher and I risk killing you getting away. At least on this level, I can clear a path and you can ride the bike out of here,” John replied going into the saddle bag and pulling out the duty belt that held his collapsible batons and hunting knives. He strapped the belt on, then pulled his t-shirt down to cover the weaponry.
“Makes sense.” Karen relented as they made their way to the elevator.
“Top floor?” John asked.
“The one and only,” Karen replied as she pressed the P for penthouse.
“Karen I know you’re afraid. Don’t worry. We are going to get information from this doctor and we’re going to get that bomb out of you. I promise you that,” John said with ferocity in his eyes.
“Thank you, John.” Karen smiled, wiping building tears from her eyes.
When the elevator rang to indicate they had reached their destination, John stepped out first, cautiously scanning the hallway for any potential threats. When he saw nothing, he stepped into the hallway and gestured for Karen to follow.
When they got to the doctor’s door, John knocked harshly. After a minute, he knocked again, harder.
“He’s in there,” John growled. “I can hear someone.”
John snarled and kicked the door, sending it flying open. Splintered wood flew in all directions while the metal of the door jamb clanged as he bounced on the hard wood floor until it settled.
“John!” Karen admonished as she moved into the condo in front of him. “Dr. Singer?” she asked curiously.
“Someone is here,” John replied stepped into the apartment after her.
“You probably scared him half to death, John!” Karen hissed.
The finished dark hardwood flooring was complimented by off white walls, a black leather couch with a matching easy chair, a massive flat screen television mounted on the far side wall, with a solid wood coffee table that matched the floor’s color that completed the sitting room ensemble.
Off to the far end of the massive main room, a black piano with ‘Steinway’ on a brass plate above the ivory keys. Just past the piano, a full kitchen with a black marble counter top with matching appliances.
“Okay, Doc, we don’t have time for this bullshit,” John growled. “We’re here because you’re a Fuji-O’Hara Industries scientist and we need you. My friend is an FOI herself and they implanted a bomb in her.
“Now you’re going to bring your yellow ass out here and quit hiding in a closet or the shitter or wherever you are. If I have to find you I will kick the information out of your ass. Come out now and I’ll save you the agony.”
“John…” Karen started.
“No! We do not have time for this bullshit.” John’s eyes narrowed, rage fueling him. “Come the fuck out right now or so fucking help me!” he roared.
“You know where he’s hiding, John. Get him.”
“I want to give him the chance to do it on his own.”
“Keep your temper, John.”
“Finding it hard to.”
“Last chance, Doc!” John roared.
“John! Stop it! He won’t help us if you…”
“How did you find me?” came a timid, trembling voice from the nearby closet. The man stood shorter than Karen’s five feet six inches. He was thin to the point of being frail looking with pale blond hair with the skin to match with black horn rimmed glasses sliding down his nose that he pushed back up nervously.
“Long story short; some dick named Matheson injected her with a bomb that he says only a FOI scientist can remove. He told us to come to you,” John answered coldly.
“He…he sent you here?” Dr. Singer took a step back.
“He’s playing a game, Doctor,” Karen interrupted his pending panic attack. “He’s using you as bait to get to us. He probably has people after us. Do you know how to do it? I would like to not be blown to bits.”
“I don’t know how to do it,” Singer said with a nervous chuckle.
“What?” John asked, his temper rising.
“Hey, hey!” Singer held his hands up in surrender. “I helped come up with the explosive end of it. How to implant it, that was all Doctor Miles Teller.”
“Where can we find him?” Karen asked anxiously.
“About thirty miles outside of Pittsburgh, place called Monongahela. He’s a recluse, an angry hermit really. He took a psychological pension. He is paranoid and will probably shoot you on sight if he doesn’t have a minefield in his front yard.”
“So we have to drive another seven hundred plus miles to get to this asshole?” John growled. “Is there anything we can do to slow the explosion?”
“It’s tamper proof I’m afraid. I would suggest keeping your hand iced. If it is anything like my initial design, then keeping the main area iced down will help keep it calm,” Singer replied.
“What’s the b
last on it?” John asked.
“It’s napalm. The jelly is super concentrated to fit in a tiny space. When it detonates it is going to have a lot of force.”
“Since the inside of the human body is a vacuum, the explosion is even more massive,” Karen said in a flat tone.
“That was the idea,” Singer replied.
“What’s the radius?” John asked.
“Hard to say. Depends on where you are. It will be massive in a small area. It will be the carry of the wind that will make it worse. Ton of force short term, exploding outward and sticking to anything it can being blown to wherever it can go.”
“You son-of-a-bitch,” John growled.
“What? You’re some moral authority on any of this? Are you, big tough soldier?” Singer growled. “Each of us in this room has the same employer. I’m sorry I don’t have all of the training to make meals out of vermin and can kill in my sleep! I’m a scientist. I’m good at making things work. I designed something that would serve me well by allowing me a comfortable living. I want to live the old American Dream. Don’t you judge me, you bastard!”
“Well. Aren’t we ballsy?” John took a step toward the doctor, reaching under his shirt for his collapsible.
“John! Stop it!” Karen roared. “It is what it is. We get to this place in Pennsylvania and talk to the guy that made it and we get it out of me! We’ve wasted enough time already! Matheson probably has someone after us.”
“Oh. You’re right about that,” came a voice from the front door.
The three of them turned to see Bravo and Delta standing in front of them. Their eyes dancing with anticipation. Bravo stepped forward, the dim light of the room accenting his smooth, brown skin.
“John Baker. Karen Denton. Time for you to die.”
30
“Oh no…it’s Kid and Play,” Karen said with a small grin.
The Nanos looked to her, their eyes narrowing as anger began to cut through their impassive facades.
“Who?” John asked keeping his eyes on the Nanos in front of him.
“You’re serious?” Karen asked incredulously. “They got it and you don’t get it? One of the greatest hip hop duo acts of the nineteen nineties!”
John’s body stiffened and Karen nodded lightly.
“Right. Not the time. You were dead.”
“Dr. Singer. Leave. Now,” Delta ordered, taking a step to his left to clear the door way.
The sickly scientist looked between the two groups before taking the exit that the Nano offered without another word.
“He’s smart,” Bravo said coldly.
“The man is a scientist,” Delta agreed.
“So they sent the B team after us, huh?” John asked coldly, his adrenalin beginning to pump in buckets.
“B team?” Delta chuckled. “Boy, when we’re done with you there isn’t going to be enough to digest.” He began to slowly remove his field knife from its sheath, as did Bravo.
“Karen. Get to the bike,” John growled, pulling his collapsible batons from his belt.
“’Get to the bike?’ Baker when we’re done, she’s going to look worse than you. And that’s saying something,” Bravo said coldly.
“You two fucks won’t lay a finger on her. I can promise you that.”
Bravo and Delta exploded toward John faster than Karen could see.
John sneered as the two came at him. Using each baton, John deflected both initial knife swipes at him effortlessly stepping between the two to stand behind them.
“If that’s the best you two have, you may as well go back to Matheson and tell him you can’t get the job done. I’ll even let you leave alive.” John smirked.
“Don’t worry about us.” Delta attacked again, his knife cutting the air dangerously. John ducked and weaved past the attacks. Ducking and stepping through the final strike, Bravo threw a kick toward his face that John dodged at the last minute and took up a stance facing off with the two again.
“You should be more worried about you, Baker.” Bravo took a few steps forward and attacked with his knife again.
John stepped to his right into the attack smashing his baton into Bravo’s wrist causing a loud crack as metal defeated bone, forcing the Nano to drop the wielded blade and followed through with the assault with a back elbow to Bravo’s jaw sending the Nano scrambling.
Delta stepped forward sending a straight kick into John’s back sending him staggering toward Bravo’s awaiting round house kick that sent him to the ground.
John stepped back to his feet quickly in time to hear the crack of Bravo resetting his wrist.
“That all?” John asked with a grin.
“All? Not even close, cupcake.” Bravo charged forward again.
John kicked at Bravo’s left leg that was beginning to chamber to throw its own strike, released his collapsible baton to throw a knife edge chop to Bravo’s throat, finishing the attack by kicking the falling baton toward Delta.
When Delta ducked, John swung as hard as he could with the baton still in his hand and struck the Nano in the face sending him flying through the air.
“Get out of here and get to the bike, Karen. Now!” John roared.
This time Karen did not hesitate taking off out of the room and through the mangled door.
“You think that’s going to matter, Baker?” Delta charged forward slashing John’s face diagonally upward staggering him back. “We have Chicago PD S.W.A.T just waiting outside. You’re not getting out of here alive!”
“No?” John smirked as the wound healed as soon as it opened.
“Not even a little. The minute you turned on us, you were dead.” Bravo stepped forward.
“Thankfully for me then, I’m already dead.” John took a step and leaped into the air kicking both Nanos sending them staggering. As he landed, he sent a kick to Delta’s midsection pulled his knee back to his chest and sent his foot into Bravo’s face then followed up with a heavy left hand.
Delta charged forward sending his shoulder into John’s midsection tackling him to the ground posting himself onto John’s chest, pinning his arms with his knees and sank his field knife into the center of John’s chest.
Roaring in agony, John arched his back sending Delta sprawling forward and slipped between his legs to stand back up. He began to pull the knife from his chest until he was forced to duck a swinging right from Bravo charging at him stepping backward to keep the two in front of him.
“How’s it feel, tough guy?” Delta chuckled.
“Not bad,” John muttered pulling the field knife from his chest with a grunt as the wound healed. “I’ll be giving this back soon enough.”
John threw the knife at Delta’s leg and exploded forward and was suddenly face down on the ground.
“Nice try, boy.” Bravo smirked still crouched after delivering the leg sweep. “Delta I think it’s time we stop playing around. Don’t you?”
“Yeah. I think so,” Delta replied pulling the knife from the hardwood.
“Goddammit!” Karen growled when she pressed the down button for the elevator and noticed it was still occupied by the retreating Dr. Singer. “Fuck!” she cried out as she went to the nearby door that led to the stairs. “I do not want to run down all of these stairs!” She pulled out her phone as she began to run.
“Karen what is it?” Ruckus asked picking up on the third ring.
“We found the doctor, two of the Nanos are here!”
“Okay, well get the hell out of dodge!” Ruckus grunted.
“I did, I’m running down the stairs. I think I heard one of them tell John that S.W.A.T was here!”
“Alright, keep calm. When you get to the bike, get it started. If John hasn’t made it within the time it takes for you to get to the bike take the fuck off. Either he can catch up to you or he isn’t going to. You got it?”
“Yes. Yes I get it,” Karen said nervously as she made it to the eighteenth floor. “What if…”
“Just listen to me, dammit, girl! No
more than two minutes. Fucking hell, two minutes is even too long. If S.W.A.T is around they are watching the main bit of action so you might be able to get away. Just don’t start flying like a wild idiot. You pull out from where you at about ten miles an hour and then slowly throttle up to twenty. Do not do anything to draw attention to yourself.”
“Okay. But what about John?”
“John can take care of himself. You just get the hell out of there. Now what did you find out from the good doctor?”
“He said that we have to go to this place outside of Pittsburgh called Mono…Monogalaga?”
“Monongahela?”
“Yes! That’s it!”
“Okay good. I have contacts along that way. I’ll send you a list to your phone. I have a friend that has a store in Indiana. Stash the bike there and get another car. Then you drive straight to Monongahela and you don’t stop. Find out what you need to find out. You got it?” Ruckus ordered.
“Yes. I got it,” Karen replied taking a deep breath.
“We’re going to get you through this, kiddo. You just need to keep playing this smart. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, Ruckus. I understand,” Karen said taking another breath trying to calm herself.
“Good kid. Now just calm down. I’ll take care of things for you, see what I can do to get you a bit of an easier road for you.” When Ruckus ended the call, Karen looked up from where she’d come from.
“Come on, John. Kick their fucking asses.”
“How are they moving so much stronger and faster, Queen?”
“Boosters. According to the files we got, there is a booster that is supposed to increase the Nanobot Hive production.”
“So what are we doing about this?”
“Don’t worry. I adapt. Remember? Just fight back. I need a little more time.”
“Easy for you to say,” John muttered. A hard right hand slammed into his jaw sending him sprawling to the floor. As blood poured into his eyes, the cut healed over.
“What’s that, tough guy?” Bravo asked slamming his foot down onto John’s hand shattering it.
John exploded forward throwing a punch toward the Nano’s face only to have him already gone and sending him back down to the ground with a kick to the back.