by R J Johnson
Ash wrapped up his conversation and put his phone away. He turned, walking back into the room where Emily and Christina were conspiring.
Emily glanced at Christina, “Last chance to get away…”
Christina licked her lips and, but quickly shook her head, slurping up some leftover gravy that was on her lip. “Let’s see what he has to say first.”
He opened a file and turned the computer around for Emily’s inspection.
“Took me some doing, but I got them to declassify the rest of McCray’s file,” Ash said, handing them his iPad. “Here, I called up some more stuff for you to see.”
Emily reached for the tablet, but found Ash unwilling to release it to her at first. “Understand that these files are classified…” he said, his voice taking on a not-so-gentle tone.
“Please don’t patronize me…” Emily said crossly. She pushed aside her food and began scrolling through the files, trying to absorb the last six years of Alex’s life.
Next to his photo was a brief list of everything he’d done. Kline had shown much of this to her in Joshua Tree, so most of it wasn’t coming as a surprise. She’d known Alex had been playing super spy over the last six years during his mysterious death and disappearance. She’d even known all about he’d been a part of the biggest heist in recorded history.
But what she didn’t know and what this file made clear, was how much Alex had enjoyed playing superspy Jason McCray.
She read over every action report. She learned how Alex had killed nearly a dozen men in one village hoping to get a wanted terrorist. She learned that Alex was the one who’d personally killed several major figures in Al Qaeda. She learned that Alex had become one of the greatest assassins in history. No target was too difficult for him. Whenever an operation was about to go wrong, somehow, he would somehow pull it off at the last second.
She was discovering that Alex had become incredibly good at killing people.
She felt the tears come on strong as she read about a particularly brutal engagement on the borders between Pakistan and Afghanistan. He had shown no mercy to anyone who’d gotten in his way.
She also learned about his repeated exploits stealing more and more of the money meant for the Oil for Food program. By the time the sixth shipment of money had been stolen, Alex’s death count was up to thirty different men and women, spread across two continents.
But it was Alex’s last mission that had her crying out in rage and pain. She looked up at Ash who watched her read the file impassively. He nodded, confirming what was in the report.
“Is it true?” Emily asked, her voice hoarse.
“All of it,” Ash said. “He’s dangerous ma’am. That’s why they sent me.”
“Sent you?” Emily asked, confused. Ash nodded.
“They sent me to stop him. The Government wants the stones Ms. Harper. No, that’s not right…” He crouched down next to her. “They want to prevent him from going crazy like Collier did.”
“Wait, the FEDS knows about the stones?” Christina asked, sounding suspicious. “Why haven’t they tried to stop Kline?”
“Kline is on our list…” Ash said. “But, after San Diego, the higher-ups believe Mr. McCray to be the more dangerous person holding one of those stones.
“Besides,” he added. “If our action reports are accurate, Alex’s stone can allow our people to remain injury free. We’ll need something like that if we want any hope of taking on Kline.”
“You know that bastard has three of those stones now right?” Christina added, her voice filled with disgust.
“We know,” Ash replied, his eyes not leaving Emily. “Which is why we need Alex’s stone now more than ever.”
Emily glanced at Christina and then back at Ash. “What if Alex isn’t as crazy as you think he is?”
Ash pointed to the screen, “You tell me. If you didn’t know that man in the file would YOU want him holding onto an artifact as powerful as that?”
Emily swallowed and looked down at the image on the screen. The problem with that was she DID know Alex and she didn’t think him capable of the kind of destruction Collier or Kline had caused.
But what if she was wrong? Six years was a long time and his file showed he wasn’t exactly the kind of Boy Scout she had known her Alex to be.
“All I’m asking for is you to get him to meet you somewhere safe. Somewhere public.” Ash said softly. “We’ll take care of it from there. After we recover the stones he’s collected, I promise you, we’ll take Kline out and use them to work together on stopping whatever cataclysm you say is headed for our planet.”
Emily tossed the tablet with the file down on the table and pushed the plate of takeout away from her. After the detailed descriptions of Alex’s last mission, she’d lost her appetite.
This mysterious man had promised her and Christina answers, but this was pretty far from any answers she needed. After Alex’s story to her about stealing the money from the Government, she had seen him as only a man only caught up in circumstances out of his control. But the file told a different story. The file Ash had shown her introduced her to a man who was willing to do whatever it took to get the job done.
How could she have fallen in love with someone that could kill a dozen Afghani children in cold blood, even after being ordered to abort his mission? This Alex had allegedly led a group of men as they blew up a school bus while searching for a suspected Al Queda fighter. This Alex had killed without remorse.
The Alex that stared at her in the photo attached to this file was not the proud, dress blues wearing good soldier. No, this man hadn’t shaved in a week. This man had a bruised and bloodied face. This man had a thousand yard stare that seemed to follow Emily through the photograph no matter how she held the photo.
This was not the Alex she’d loved in college or even come to respect over the last few days.
This was the kind of man who killed without remorse. Someone who would be very dangerous if they held a stone.
She swallowed at looked up at Ash. “How did you know where to find me?”
“You popped up on my radar when Kline came after you at the Allen Telescope Array. We knew you existed of course, but after Kline kidnapped you, it was a simple enough matter connecting the dots. We tracked you at the airport thanks to the higher security protocols in place.”
“But, how did Alex get away with all this?” Emily managed.
“That is a much longer conversation than we have time for,” Ash said pulling the file back and sliding it back into his briefcase. He looked at the pair of women sitting opposite him with concern.
“You two are lucky to have gotten away from him when you did…” Ash said lazily. He leaned forward, cocking his head. “I’m curious to hear about exactly what you saw under that mountain.”
Christina and Emily exchanged a side-long glance as if trying to figure out just how much they should reveal.
“It’s hard to say…” Emily began.
“Tell me what you can,” Ash said hungrily. His meal forgotten, his eyes never stopped moving as he constantly examined Emily. She felt uncomfortable with his gaze, but decided to ignore it and answer the man’s questions. He’d been straight with them so far.
“It’s… it’s unlike anything on this planet I can tell you that much,” she began. “You already know about Kline’s strength, but he’s able to do so much more now. I don’t know how, but when we confronted him at San Ellijo, he had the ability to teleport anywhere he wanted.”
“Teleport?” Ash sat up, looking concerned. “Are you sure?”
“Not only that, but he was able to manipulate objects,” Christina added.
“Telekinesis too?” Ash sat back, exhaling sharply. “That’s not good.”
“He killed Max with it,” Emily said, feeling the tears return to her eyes. She hated how every little thing was making her fall apart right now. Couldn’t her brain let her have even five minutes of peace?
“He’s not going to stop,” Chri
stina said. “He’s out for them all and every minute he’s out there, he’s becoming more powerful. Hell, it was only a day and a half when he reappeared with two more powers.”
“What powers has Alex managed to recover?” Ash asked.
“He can heal,” Emily started, wiping the tears away. “He can control fire and he was able to shapeshift.”
“Was?” Ash’s right eyebrow arched up.
Emily shifted in her chair uncomfortably, “We had a problem with one of our friends. He got ahold of the shapeshifting stone and...”
“And what?” Ash demanded. “Spill it girl! Every little bit helps.”
“And he went bugshit crazy,” Christina answered for her. “We don’t know why, but most people who hold onto one of these stones go nuts.”
“Is that what happened to Collier?” Ash asked Emily. She nodded in the affirmative.
Ash tapped the side of his phone with his fingers as he thought about what he’d learned.
“So that leaves Alex with the ability to heal and control fire?” he asked.
“So far as I know for now,” Emily confirmed, hesitantly. “He went after our friend to recover the shapeshifting stone.”
“And he hasn’t shown any of the same…” Ash hesitated, searching for the right word, “…madness that Collier, Kline or your friend Scott presented?”
“Not that I’ve seen,” Emily replied. “Christina?”
“He seemed normal enough to me,” Christina confirmed. “Alex kept his head whereas when the other people handled the stones they went crazy pretty much instantly.”
Ash frowned.
“What is it?” Emily asked.
“That’s not consistent with our intel on the stones,” Ash said. He leaned forward placing his weight on his elbows. “This is why we need to take control of the stones. We simply don’t know what can happen when people get their hands on ‘em. Especially people like Kline and…” he hesitated, but she knew he meant Alex.
Emily stared at the image on the screen and was at a loss. What should she do? Her life hadn’t exactly been filled with easy answers, but this one ranked as one of the worst she’d faced. A wrong choice here could mean the end of humanity as they knew it.
On the other hand, the government did have a whole ton of resources Alex didn’t, billionaire or no.
“What can I do to help?” she whispered.
Ash smiled.
Chapter Thirty-One
Scott fluttered his wings and the massive dragon came in for an awkward landing on top of the Hollywood Hills. Alex slide off his back and looked at the dragon, his eyes accusing.
“Okay, Scott. That’s enough of that.”
The dragon snorted and made a move as if to take off again. Alex shook his head.
“Nuh uh…” Alex threw a fireball across Scott’s dragon nose as a warning shot. The dragon snorted and roared in anger, stomping his feet.
“Knock it off,” Alex said irritated. “Whatever you’re doing, I’m betting you’ll find it a lot easier if I’m helping you.”
He walked closer to his transformed friend and softened his approach, “You’ve gone through hell and back with me. I promise, if you just tell me what’s going on, I swear, I’ll help you put to bed whatever this problem of yours is.”
The dragon grumbled, raked its massive claws against a nearby boulder and then sighed.
Scott transformed back into his regular form, looking away from Alex.
“Hey buddy…” Alex said softly. “How you doing?”
Scott swallowed and muttered something.
“What?” Alex asked.
“I said I was shot, so if you don’t mind…” Scott said in a low voice.
Alex looked over his friend and saw the blood seeping from a jagged bullet wound that skimmed the edge of his ribcage.
“Jesus dude…” Alex cried out. He extended a palm and healed his friend. The blue light played over Scott’s wound as the healing stone quickly healed Scott’s gunshot wound.
“Thanks…” Scott said. He turned and moved toward the Hollywood sign, staring at the blue, brown and red carpet of blinking lights coming from Los Angeles below them.
“What I don’t get is what you were trying to accomplish back there.” Alex said, trying to keep his cool. He wanted to give Scott the benefit of the doubt, but his patience was wearing thin.
“You wouldn’t…”
“Understand, yes, you’ve mentioned that.” Alex said sarcastically. “But, I dunno, let’s say I might know a thing or two about revenge and making bad choices. Let’s say I know what that’s like… why don’t you tell me what’s going on and treat me as if I’m not an idiot.”
“Shut up Alex!” Scott roared at his friend. HE was angrier than he’d ever felt before. What right did Alex have treating him like this? He was trying to do something good with the stone. Wasn’t that the whole point?
“You couldn’t possibly know what it’s like...” Scott said, his voice low and throaty. He could feel the tears coming back, and decided to let them come this time. “You couldn’t know. I lost Molly because of what I did. I lived for her. I should’ve been the one to die!”
He whirled back, facing Alex. “You were gone. She was gone. There was nothing left but finding my revenge. It consumed me, and I’m sorry if I disappointed you, but I needed to know what happened to her.”
“You think I don’t know about doing what needs to be done?” Alex got angry. He didn’t care if Scott was enthralled by the stone. He was acting like an asshole and he needed to be called out. You didn’t steal from your friends and keep them in the dark. “I know so much more about sacrifice and how hard knowing what the right thing is, I’m not sure if I know about anything else anymore.”
“And what could that mean?” Scott demanded. “You disappeared. You didn’t care what happened to me, or Emily, or anyone. Not even your father.”
“Fuck you!” Alex roared and he felt the rage over boil within him. How DARE Scott talk to him like this? Scott had no idea the kind of things he had to go through. Scott just stared at him, daring him to do something. Alex hauled back and pushed his friend back, knocking him to the ground.
Scott fell back, and roared, using his stone to change into a rhino.
“Scott!” Alex warned his friend, “Don’t do anything you’ll regret.”
“No chance of that,” Scott growled back. He charged at Alex, intent on running down his friend. Alex scrambled out of the way as Scott moved past him, the two thousand pound beast knocking him aside.
Scott transformed back, running out the rest of the momentum. Alex got up, and his eyes narrowed. He stood and planted his feet, raising his hand. A series of fireballs flew out the palm of his hand toward Scott.
Scott’s eyes went wide and he shifted into his dragon form, the fireballs playing out harmlessly across his green and black scales. Scott drew back and blew a firestorm of dragon fire down on Alex.
Alex’s eyes went wide and he darted out of the way. The dry scrub brush scattered across the hillside caught quickly and began to spread. Alex glanced back and with a flick of his fingers, the fire extinguished itself. He wasn’t about to let his tiff with Scott burn down a Hollywood landmark.
Scott wasn’t done with him yet though. He was already flying high above Alex, who spotted his friend. He held out a palm, willing out a series of fireballs toward Scott’s dragon form. The dragon swooped through them, easily avoiding the fire as it burst dangerously close around his vulnerable head. Scott went into a dive bomb and flaring his wings at the last minute to capture Alex in his claws.
Alex shouted out in surprise and began struggling against the massive beast’s strength. Unfortunately, he couldn’t move, trapped as he was within Scott’s claws. Alex noticed the yellowing nail on the Dragon’s claw was cracked. He closed his eyes and focused his will on the crack.
A tiny fire began flaring up within the nail and the Dragon screeched out in pain. The fire was feeding itself into the s
mall crack, the burning nail beginning to open up.
Scott drew up, flapping his wings frantically as he released Alex out into the blue sky high above Los Angeles. Alex felt himself become freed by the Dragon as his body floated out into the great beyond.
Unfortunately, he didn’t have much time to appreciate the view when the Dragon’s heavy tail slammed into him, throwing him with incredible speed back into the Hollywood Hills.
Alex landed with an exaggerated ‘oof’ and felt his body nearly flatten out as several bones broke and healed in an instant. Alex groaned and turned over, hoping to spot Scott before he got the drop on him like that again.
Scott moved quickly to grab him again, but this time Alex was ready. He turned, and faced Scott, and whirled his hands around in the air, as if conducting an invisible orchestra.
That’s when the fireworks began. Thousands of explosions began erupting everywhere around the Dragon. Scott reacted negatively. The sound and force of the explosions were everywhere, and incredibly powerful. His armored skin protected him from any injury, but after one fireball thrown by Alex exploded particularly close to his head, the world went fuzzy and he fell out of the sky, unable to keep himself aloft any longer.
He fell from the sky, floating down, helpless to prevent the sudden stop at the end. Scott screwed his eyes shut and prepared for the end.
A blue light surrounded him as he fell into the tall palm trees that lined the road leading up the famous sign above Los Angeles. He tumbled through the leaves of the trees as the branches scratched at his skin that was arresting his momentum.
He came to a halt at the base of a tree and Alex ran up to him, holding the fire stone at the ready in case Scott wanted to continue their fight.
But the fight had gone out of him. His friend was weeping. Alex stopped short, and swallowed deeply feeling bad. He didn’t want to hurt his friend. Just keep them from getting everyone killed.
“It was my fault Alex…” Scott said miserably. “I’m sorry…”
He looked up at his best friend. “I made a mistake Alex. It was my fault that Molly got killed. I just wanted to use the stone to find out what happened and make sure it never happens again.”