Madman's Monster

  Timberland just stared a the doctor for a time before saying nervously, "You're insane. You know who he represents!"

  The doctor just smiled wider, "I do and I am telling you it's nothing to worry about."

  Timberland stared at the doctor and again he couldn't perceive any deception in the doctor's words.

  "So what is it you want?"

  The doctor looked mortified, "Want? Me?"

  Timberland screwed up his face in a "Be serious" look."

  "Well, I suppose our newfound friendship could benefit from a certain return of the favor."

  Timberland nodded, "And what would that be?"

  "Isn't it obvious? I said, like you, I have my own "Alpha" that needs handling. I want you to 'handle' him."

  "Me?"

  "Why not? It isn't as though I am unaware of your abilities. You're pretty competent most of the time and I am guessing that when your life is on the line you'll be even better."

  Timberland tensed, "Is that a threat?"

  "What?" the doctor was clearly shocked, and then he understood, "Oh, no I'm not threatening you. I meant that by going after my 'Alpha' you will either be successful and kill him or he'll kill you. There really won't be any other possible outcome, so it should serve to properly motivate you."

  "One man? You need me to kill one man?"

  "Don't be overconfident! He, like you, is far more than he appears to be."

  Timberland almost laughed out loud, "If I'm prepared, then no one man is more than I can handle."

  The doctor shrugged, "Okay then, we have a deal?"

  Timberland thought about it and couldn't really find a downside. All he needed was the courage and conviction to take on the leader of his group...and betray him.

  "Tell you what," Timberland walked over to the desk where Whelan had been sitting and picked up a pen and notepad, "I'll do your little favor for you and, when I get back," Timberland wrote something on the notepad and tore the sheet free, "You will either have one of your little devices ready for me or a briefcase filled with this sum."

  Timberland handed the paper to the doctor who then read the number on the paper before saying, "Thinking a little highly of ourselves are we?"

  "It's a fair amount, given how much you are going to be taking in on your deal with Pollard. Besides, what is it worth to you to have me solve your little problem?"

  "And what about you and YOUR little problem?"

  "I need more time to think about what I want to do. After all, my real loyalties have always been to money, because no matter whatever else I may be, first and foremost, I'm a mercenary."

  Chapter 50

  I wasn't trying to be quiet as I ran, hopped and crawled through the dense foliage as I followed the tracks from where they had started. I lost sight of them a couple times and had to back track in order to reacquire them, but for the most part it didn't seem as though whoever had made them had been concerned about anyone following them. Certainly they had made no attempts to conceal their presence, which made my efforts easier.

  I had only been on their trail for about an hour, when I began to hear the rumblings of machinery and engines. The sound wasn't particularly loud, in fact it was barely audible, but due to the noise being so starkly artificial and out of place within the jungle surroundings, it was easier to recognize than it would have been otherwise.

  I abandoned the tracks and followed my ears toward the sounds until the smell of campfire and cooking food wafted in on the breeze. I had gotten close, but still couldn't make out any visual sign of the camp, so I slowed my pace to a creeping stalk and kept my footfalls as silent as possible as I pushed forward.

  The camp appeared all at once as I pushed a tangle of vines to the side revealing the clearing beyond. Unfortunately, I realized in less than a second, I had completely exposed my presence to anyone who might have been looking in my direction. I let the vines drop back into place and dove to the jungle floor as fast as I could. I waited and listened for any raised voices or sirens that might indicate whether anyone had seen me, but after a minute went by, then two and even three, without any change in the natural sound and rhythm of the camp, I guessed that I hadn't been seen.

  I sighed and tried to convince myself that I had gotten lucky, before I slowly raised myself from the jungle floor, carefully peered through the vines and took in as many details of the camp as I could.

  The first thing that registered was just how many people were moving around. It was like watching an ant farm with too many insects moving at too quick a pace to be properly counted. I guessed over thirty people, who were clad in black uniforms and well armed, watching over a couple dozen more, as they hauled crates from the only building in the camp that wasn't made of canvas.

  That had to be the lab and, by default, Dr. Whelan had to be inside. As the realization hit me I could feel the adrenaline shooting through my system and sending butterflies into my stomach. My breath was growing erratic and my thoughts turned to how I could get into the building without being seen.

  I studied the rest of the camp, which looked a lot like that Army M.A.S.H. unit that used to be on television, with the large tents spread apart unevenly throughout the length of the area cleared of jungle foliage.

  None of the tents mattered. The only thing that they represented were obstacles to be avoided, in order to get into that one building constructed of, I thought, concrete. I watched and waited, until I thought I saw a flaw that I could exploit. There appeared to be one tent with only three soldiers inside. Each of them moved slowly as if weary and ready to go off duty for a while. It also happened that they were in a tent at the edge of the clearing. I guessed that two of the three soldiers would be close to my size, and a plan hatched in my head.

  Admittedly, as plans go, it was a pretty basic one. I would sneak up to the tent using the jungle for cover and hit the three men inside. Afterward, I could dress in their uniforms and make my way to the lab with a little "on the go" camouflage. I'd have to move quickly as the headgear they wore would only partially cover my face, but it might be enough to keep from drawing attention to myself.

  I waited another minute or so, just in case some other plan came to light. Nothing came to me, so I stood and began to work my way around to the edge of the camp.

  Suddenly I felt something big and heavy cave in the left side of my body. I don't know what it was that hit me, but the impact was tremendous and it took me off my feet and carried me several yards before slamming me back down on the uneven earth. My head was spinning from the impact, but I could tell by the pressure around my chest that something had a hold of me. I tried to push myself away, but it's hold shifted itself to tightening around my waist as instinct took over and I twisted my body against the force. I knew that I could gain enough leverage to throw the thing off of me if I just had the time to worm myself around. Just a couple more seconds was all I needed and I'd be free, but a loud rustling in the trees to one side warned me that another something was approaching fast. I pushed with everything I had and, with a jolt I felt the grip around my body break away.

  I tried to stand, but opted instead to roll out of the way and just barely avoided whatever charged me. I came up in a standing position from the roll and turned as the sound of yet another attack came from behind me. This time I saw the body of a man clad in black combat gear as he broke through the jungle foliage and charged at me with incredible speed. I also saw the glint of the blade he was holding and barely maneuvered myself in time to avoid the strike.

  More rustling from my back forced me to turn again as another charge came from another direction. I leapt to the side too late as I felt the white hot pain of a knife's edge bite into my leg just below the meat of my calf. I rolled again and slammed my shoulder into an exposed root as I brought my legs underneath me and stood in a crouch. My leg and foot was still working despite the damage, but it was painful as my mind scrambled to figure out how best to counter these attacks.

  I anticipated the next attack
and spun to face the oncoming charge, only to have that attacker dart back and away once he realized I had changed my stance. Almost instantaneously another attacker charged in at my back from the new angle and again I was forced to dodge to the side without being able to make up any ground on my opponents.

  I was getting frustrated and, admittedly, starting to fatigue as every evasive maneuver I made resulted in an attack by another adversary, from whichever direction my back was facing without giving me a moment of rest. If I spun to face the oncoming attack the charge faltered and a new one began from the new direction that my back was facing. It was almost as if I was being attacked by a pack of wolves.

  My thoughts went back to the man I had fought in the village. I had thought something seemed unusual about my adversary, but what was I up against? It's not like these men were some kind of werewolves; being all fangs, claw and fur; so were they just using wolf tactics as a strategy against me? It seemed crazy, but if they were, then I had to admit that it was working. I had to turn the tables on them, and quickly before I lost what remained of my strength and stamina.

  I rolled again to avoid the latest attack and angled my roll so I would be able to come up to a standing position with my back against the trunk of a wide tree. Now I had an effective barrier between myself and the direct path of attack to my back. I faced out to the foliage as I pressed my back against the wide tree trunk and heard the now familiar sound of the charge coming through the brush. I heard the hesitation and the hard planting of a pivot foot on soft earth and anticipated which side of the tree the attack would come from as I threw my elbow out to the right side of the tree.

  The impact was incredible and the sound was a loud sickening snap and crunch as my elbow caught the charge as the attacker had veered around the tree. I had driven the point of my elbow back hard and caught the man in the face just below and to the right of his nose. I felt it as the bones of his face caved in on themselves as his head was stopped abruptly in place by my strike while the rest of his body was carried forward by his momentum and was lifted from the ground like a counterweight arcs from a pendulum. The man had been moving with enough speed and force to carry his body up and over while the top of his head plummeted toward the ground. He landed headfirst and his neck twisted awkwardly as his bodyweight came down in a near vertical landing.

  For my part I felt that strange funny bone shock shoot through my arm from my elbow followed by a weird heaviness that I only realized later was my arm going numb. The impact had been so tremendous that I had given myself the equivalent of a nerve strike and my arm was going to be useless for a while...time to initiate plan "B."

  I fished my good hand into my pocket and felt for the small two-way radio. I flicked the switch and pushed down on the button that would send my voice to Larson's unit, but never got a word out as I had to spin and shuffle to the side to avoid another attack. Foolishly, I assumed that the oncoming attacker would be trying for another knife strike to my body and I realized too late that the attack had targeted my hand that held the radio. The impact didn't cut my flesh but did send the radio flying off into the jungle. It seemed to float in slow motion as it tumbled through the air as I watched my only form of communication disappear into the tangled web of plant life that the jungle contained.

  Turns out that it didn't really matter anymore because I then felt something strike me in the back that kind of reminded me of being stung by a wasp. It hurt, but not enough to be a gunshot. I was going to ignore it until my entire body seized up in a painful spasm. Imagine getting the world's worst cramp in not just one muscle group but in your whole body and you'll only have an idea of how painful the seizure seemed. I toppled to the ground and flailed around uncontrollably for a bit as I tried to scream from the pain, but couldn't even get my body to respond on that most basic level.

  When the spasm stopped I was completely spent. I had no strength and couldn’t feel any part of my body with certainty, as at least three of the attackers piled on top of me raining punches and kicks anywhere they could. It was only then that I dimly realized I had been hit with a taser, which mercifully explained why I couldn't feel most of the blows as they struck. I only hoped that they weren't breaking bones as I was eventually rolled onto my stomach, my arms placed behind my back and my wrists and ankles were bound and immobilized by heavy duty zip ties.

  I forced my head to look up only to see the heel of a boot coming rapidly toward my face. Instinctively I pushed my head down into the earth to protect my eyes, but the impact of the kick still made everything go black.

  Chapter 51

  Lei and Chris had been walking for nearly three hours by the time the tracks ended and left them spinning in circles, wondering which way they should turn.

  "All this time spent and we lost the trail," Chris was shaking his head as he sat to give his legs a rest.

  Lei was pushing leaves and scrub brush aside as she studied the ground, "We just have to find the trail again."

  Chris chuffed at her, "Oh really? Is that all? Well, can you see any sign of their tracks?"

  "No."

  Chris rolled his eyes, "Well, that's just great."

  Lei lifted her head and smiled at him smugly, "But I do see how they tried to cover their tracks."

  Chris grew attentive, "What's that mean?"

  Lei looked back down and pointed to a spot on the ground, "Their tracks are gone, but that's only because they tried to conceal them." She knelt down and lifted a couple of leaves away from where she was looking. "See how the dirt here is so even?"

  Chris walked over and knelt beside her. He dropped his gaze, but it all just looked like dirt to him.

  "No, sorry, but I can’t see anything."

  "Okay, take my word for it then. Someone has moved the earth around here to erase the footprints, probably with a branch of," Lei held up a couple of the leaves that she had been brushing aside, "leaves."

  "Why do you say that? Beyond the dirt thing I mean?"

  "Look at these leaves," Chris did so, still uncomprehending. "They're quite green. They didn't fall off their branches naturally."

  Chris looked all around at the jungle floor and noticed that, although other types of leaves were spread haphazardly in different places, there were almost no other leaves like the one Lei was holding except where she was kneeling. When he looked past her he could see the odd collection of leaves leading away and deeper into the jungle.

  Chris whistled, "Damn, they were trying to be so careful and they practically left a trail of breadcrumbs to follow."

  Lei nodded, "Be careful. The fact that they suddenly started covering their tracks probably means they realized someone was following them. "

  Chris' face grew serious as he nodded his understanding. Carefully the pair started to follow the obscure trail of leaves as it wound around the jungle floor. They had only covered about fifty yards when Lei suddenly stopped in her tracks and knelt.

  Chris did the best he could to move quietly to her side and whispered, "What's up."

  Lei didn't answer, but instead kept her head down, as her eyes darted from one side to the other. Slowly she pivoted and turned her head around to look behind her and then let out a quiet sigh of frustration.

  "What?" Chris asked.

  Lei took a tighter grip on the rifle she carried, "Don't make any sudden moves, but we're surrounded."

  Chris' whole body shook as he physically fought to control himself from bolting upright, "What? How? I didn't hear anything."

  "They were waiting for us. The trail must have been bait and, when they heard us coming, they took up positions along the trail and just let us walk right into the snare. I only heard them when they moved to block the path we came in on."

  Chris flicked the safety switch off of his rifle, "Who are they?"

  "No clue, but we're not dead yet, so they must either be interested or friendly."

  Chris scanned the jungle, but couldn't see any sign of a human being, "So how do we keep it that way
? Us being "not dead yet" I mean."

  Lei seemed to think for a second and then said, "We stop playing games."

  Lei slowly stood up with her hands held out to the sides. She made a show of extending the rifle away from her body before dropping it on the ground next to her and then held her hands in the air. Chris blinked a couple times in disbelief and then understood what Lei was doing and mimicked her every move. Almost as soon as he had dropped his own gun on the ground and had his hands in the air the sound of people approaching rapidly became loud and clear.

  They broke through the jungle and stopped as soon as they were clear of the foliage, bringing their rifles to bear on the duo. They were all men. Small, wiry, dirty and wearing clothes that looked like homespun. At first there were only a few that emerged from the surrounding bushes and trees, but in a matter of seconds that number quadrupled, and every pair of their hands carried old bolt-action rifles. Each gun seemed to be in greater disarray than the one next to it, and were crafted to be best suited for hunting at over one hundred yards. They would be particularly clumsy at the close ranges they were now being used, not to mention the fact that rifle bullets would probably pass right through them, and then through the people standing on the opposite side, so the danger to themselves was likely to be greater than anything Lei or Chris might do to them.. Still the bullets would more than do the trick to kill or incapacitate both Lei and Chris, if the men decided to fire.

  Lei and Chris just stood their ground passively and waited while the men closed in on them. Then something large moved through the jungle toward them and the men parted to let it through. An enormous man standing nearly seven feet tall moved into the open. It was Zach. He had removed his shirt and was standing with every inch of his exposed skin caked in mud that had dried and gave him a monstrous appearance.

  Chris craned his neck upward to look into Zach's face, "Lemme guess," he said to Lei without facing her, "This is the guy we're looking for, right?"