by Eric Burney
“I’m almost positive it is,” I said. “But we can’t just stand by and do nothing. Evolution will tear any type of response the government sends at them in half.
He nodded and I followed suit as a sign of mutual respect. The hatchet was good and buried between us. It had to be, for the sake of us all.
“We have another problem, Charlie,” Jasmine said with a frown, tapping on her electronic notepad. A new image showed up on the hologram. “I finally have a location on Kara.”
“That’s good, right?” Nick asked.
“It’s in the opposite direction from where Cain’s transmission with the vice-president originated.
“Oh, so… not so good, then.”
“Not unless you can be in two places at once,” Michael remarked.
“Is that a challenge?”
“Calm down,” Robert said. “Let cooler heads prevail. I agree with Michael that this is probably a trap. But, as you suggested, Charlie, we don’t have any other option.”
“So now what?” Nick asked.
“We’re going to have to split up,” I answered. “Attack them simultaneously on both fronts.”
“It’s risky, but we don’t really have a choice,” Robert agreed.
“Michael, you and Nick go for the Vice President. I’m going to get Kara.”
“By yourself?” Nick asked, a bit skeptical about the decision.
“Yes. I think that’s our best play.” I was convinced it was our only option considering the situation.
“Suit up, Charlie. I’ll get some men together and provide you as much support as I can,” Robert added. “And you two better get a move on. The clock’s ticking.”
Chapter 66
Nick hunkered down behind a large dumpster next to Michael, who seemed to be having a hard time keeping his lunch down. He still wasn’t used to traveling at super speed, but time wasn’t on their side. Evolution’s deadline was fast approaching, and if they were to rescue the Vice President, Nick had to be the one to get them here.
Nick peered around the dumpster to the junkyard across the street. His helmet retracted into the neckline of his suit like a turtle’s head in its shell. If Michael hadn’t been distracted by the nausea, he would have expressed further admiration for the new look.
Bright security lights illuminated the outer perimeter. A hail of gunfire rang out from within, followed by an explosion.
“I guess we’re in the right place,” Nick piped.
“Yeah. Sounds like the party already started.”
“Did you bring your invitation?”
Michael stood up and stepped out in the open. There was no need to hide now. Both hands sparked, creating bright blue flames.
“I got it right here.”
“Well, let’s go knock on the door.”
Nick sped off in the direction of the gated front entrance to the junkyard. The helmet extended up and over his head. As he approached, he noticed the way ahead was blocked by the crushed remnants of three vehicles stacked on top of each other. Nick didn’t slow down. He actually increased his speed.
A large fireball impacted the pile of rusted cars and blew them backwards through the gate and out of the speedster’s path. He quickly surveyed the scene. A squad of Special Forces was pinned down behind an armored Suburban to his right. Another vehicle was rolled on its side and covered in flames nearby. The poor soldiers inside never had a chance.
Nick caught sight of the two Evolution thugs who were keeping the squad pinned down. One of them was using telekinesis to control an aerial array of automatic weapons to barrage the overwhelmed soldiers. The other one appeared to have much more powerful abilities. As soon as he caught sight of Nick, he ran up to a colossal electromagnetic crane and touched the side of the machine, transferring some form of energy force into it. The large machine sputtered and rattled to life.
Nick frowned. “Are you seeing this? Jasmine, will my suit hold up against a large industrial magnet?”
“Your suit is made from materials found only on Etheus. They should be impervious to the polarity of the magnet.”
“Should be? So, in other words, you have no idea. I could be a pancake in a few seconds, but hey, at least I’ll look good doing it.”
“Let’s take out Guns McGee over there first,” Michael said.
“Good idea.”
Nick ran in front of the downed Suburban to make sure he was seen by the Evolutionite and his many guns. The Special Forces operatives were in such slack-jawed awe at the futuristic suit Nick was wearing and the fact that he seemed to be on their side, they froze in place. One, however, did manage to fumble in his pants pocket and retrieve a camera phone.
“Are you serious?” Nick asked over his shoulder in a slightly annoyed tone. “Picture time is after we take care of the bad guys. Have you no sense of decency, sir?”
The man conceded shamefully and placed the phone back in his pocket. Nick grinned.
“I’m just messing with you, man. Snap away. Heck, I’ll shoot you my email later. I’d like copies of ‘em too. I look totally awesome in this suit!”
Then he sped off in what was fast becoming his new trademark silver streak. Bullets danced and played at his feet, but Nick was too fast, dodging the onslaught with ease. He raced out to his left in a wide arc as the bullets nipped at his heels. The man controlling the weapons through telekinesis was perched on top of an old burned-out bus.
“Yeah! Come on!” he yelled, holding both hands out in front of him to control the weapons. Magazine clips fell to the ground and new ones took their place in the feed ports. He was trying to paint Nick into a corner using a relentless hail of bullets as his brush. But Nick easily stayed ahead, ducking behind an old wreck or pile of metal every so often.
“You’re going to die tonight! Then I’m going to take that shiny armor of yours and crush it down like a can of soup right over there,” he said with a wild gesture to the car crusher, an industrial machine used to reduce the dimensions of junk cars for recycling. The overly zealous man laughed with a victorious smile plastered across his despicable mug. But, due to all the bravado and posturing, he failed to notice Michael and his glowing suit behind him. The light array along the edges of his uniform grew brighter as he took a deep breath and focused. Both palms were covered in flames. He was about to send the little man on the bus for quite a ride.
“Michael, look out!” Nick shouted. But Michael looked to his right when he should have been looking to his left. The large circular magnet of the towering crane was headed straight for him. By the time he realized his mistake, it was too late.
The crane’s magnet was within spitting distance and bearing down hard. His first thought, his only thought, was of Allison and how he didn’t want to leave her this way. Then, just as the magnet and certain death drew closer, he felt two strong arms like tree trunks grab him by the shoulders and yank him out of harm’s way. He tumbled over Nick, who grunted a little from the impact, but seemed to be just fine.
“Are you alright?” he asked, staring at Michael as though he was performing an NFL concussion exam.
“I’m fine.”
Michael stood and dusted himself off.
“Well, you didn’t seem fine. You looked like a baby deer in headlights. That was one nasty hood you were about to be mounted on, Bambi.”
“I’m a little upset about that.”
“So, what are you going to do about it?”
“I’m gonna do a little hunting of my own.”
Guns McGee had repositioned himself and was back at it, showering rounds of ammo with renewed vigor. Nick was able to pry loose a car door from a vehicle nearby and used it as a shield and cover for Michael.
“You ready!?” he yelled over the gunfire.
“I’m ready.”
Nick tossed the door to the ground and ran as fast as he could towards the bus. He was running so fast, he continued right up the side. The telekinetic gunman was flabbergasted, and could only watch as Nick zoomed pa
st, snatching each and every one of the guns from the air along the way. He tried to regain control of his arsenal, but the silver blur was already gone.
Then, he watched in absolute horror as a massive firebomb struck just below him near the center of the bus. His face went ashen as he realized he was doomed. The bus exploded upwards in a fiery blast before crashing back to the ground in several smoldering pieces.
“Now that’s how you take out the trash!” Nick shouted from a few feet away. He dropped the huge stack of confiscated weapons to the ground.
“What are we going to do about that thing?” Michael jerked a thumb at the giant crane that was preparing to make another pass.
“My men and I can take care of that, if you don’t mind.”
They were surprised by the Special Forces leader, who had finally come out of hiding from behind his vehicle. He looked a little wary of the two of them, but Michael could see past the camouflage and perceived goodness in the man’s eyes. He was just a soldier following orders. And up until a few minutes ago, they had been on opposite sides of a conflict that none of them fully understood.
“Captain James Dillon, U.S. Navy Seals. We owe you gentlemen our lives. I want to be the first to shake your hands. You’re both American heroes in my book.”
Michael and Nick both stared at each other a moment before tentatively offering their hand in greeting. They hadn’t expected that.
“I’m Michael and this is Nick. We’re here to help you rescue the Vice President.”
“Well, we appreciate the assist. That guy had us pinned down pretty good.”
“Happy to help you boys in uniform,” Nick said with an overly enthusiastic salute.
“Our intel puts the VP less than half a klick in that direction,” Captain Dillon said.
“I’m tapping into their satellite imagery feed,” Jasmine said. “He’s right. There’s a structure that looks like a railway boxcar in that direction, and as far as I can tell, there’s only a few scattered opposition forces. But they’ve taken up a defensive position around it.”
“I have to agree with your assessment, captain,” Michael said. “The way ahead is straight through there.”
Chapter 67
Captain Dillon followed Michael’s hand to where the towering electromagnetic crane had repositioned itself into the pathway, acting as a sort of robotic junkyard dog, ready to attack anyone or anything bold enough to approach it.
“What are you thinking?” he asked Captain Dillon. The seasoned officer motioned for another operative to step forward.
“This is Petty Officer Harrop. He’s our explosives expert.”
“Nice to meet you,” the young man said. He was thinly built, but in excellent shape. “I’ve got a few blocks of C4, but two should do the trick if I can get close enough to place them properly.”
“OK, you heard him, men,” said Captain Dillon. “We provide cover fire while Harrop advances to the target to rig up the explosives. We’re going to blow that thing sky high. Johnson, you go with him.”
“Yes, sir,” answered another young operative, a black male. He didn’t look a day over twenty.
“Wait, wait, wait,” Nick said, throwing up his hand in protest. “Do you really think this is the best plan?”
“We don’t really have a lot of time for anything else,” the Captain asserted. “According to the imposed deadline, we have approximately six minutes and counting.”
“Then let me do this. This is what I was born to do.”
He wasn’t kidding. He wasn’t joking around. Nick was being sincere. He knew he had what it took to get the job done without placing further lives in danger.
He looked to Michael, who didn’t hesitate to give his support.
“He’s right, Captain Dillon. If you really want to save the Vice President, he’s the best shot we have.”
Captain Dillon walked off a ways and huddled with his men. When he finally turned back around, he was holding two blocks of plastic explosives. He offered them to Nick.
“Self-adhesive backing, so just stick it on the target and flip this switch. Ten second timer and BOOM—no more walking can opener.”
“Right.”
Nick took the plastic explosives and nodded to Captain Dillon. Michael gripped his shoulder and smiled.
“Do what you do best.”
“Damn straight.”
Nick felt the bio-helmet creeping up the back of his neck and over his face as he started to run. Surprisingly it didn’t distort his view. On the contrary, the visor actually clarified his field of vision. No more wind, dust, or debris to contend with. The suit also had an airtight seal. He couldn’t hear anything besides the rise and fall of his own chest.
Nick was closer to the electromagnetic crane now, looking up at the massive structure that had noticed his approach and wasn’t going to wait for the speedster to get there. The metal rods from its base shook, lifted out of the dirt, and twisted together. With large mechanical hands, the crane reached for a stack of crushed automobiles nearby. It was like watching one of those movies with the alien robotic cars in real life.
“This is going to be fun,” Nick said aloud to himself. He worked his arms up and down faster, increasing in speed. He was nearly there.
“You have incoming, Nick. Watch out!”
Jasmine’s warning was perfectly timed. He saw the crushed car sailing for him and cut a sharp left. Another vehicle followed, hurdling across the night sky toward Nick. He darted to his right and raced between two long rows of highly-stacked junk cars.
The machine was smart. Somehow, the Evolutionite was able to use his unique ability to animate the crane and give it some level of awareness. If he wasn’t busy dodging rusted Fords and old Buicks, Nick might have truly admired the thing. But he had a mission to do. For the first time since he could remember, people were actually depending on him.
Two cars came at him this time. The first one tumbled along the ground. The second was thrown on a rope, just above the first one. Then the animated crane tossed another two in the exact same manner.
Nick slid to a stop. He had to make a split decision. He could run backwards, but that would only burn more time he didn’t have. He had to get to that machine.
He took off running again, this time as fast as he could. It was time to see just how impenetrable his new suit really was.
“What are you doing, Nick? You won’t make it. You need to find another way!”
Nick could hear the stress in Jasmine’s voice.
“Don’t worry about me, Jazz. I’ll be fine. You made this suit for me to do the impossible. This is it.”
Nick clenched his teeth. Then he planted his foot into the ground and leaped into the air. Running fast was one thing, but gliding through the air was another. He twisted his body in an attempt to squeeze between the incoming cars and braced for impact.
The back of his suit scraped against the metal of the first car below him. The helmet began to buckle and crack from the weight of the car above. Nick closed his eyes and could only hope for a miracle. The suit’s structural integrity was dropping fast, but it was still together—for the most part.
Finally, with a bit of luck, he was able to make it through to the other side. He stood gingerly and stared up at the imposing magnetic crane which appeared ready to drop its full weight on top of him.
But this time, Nick struck first. He zigzagged through the crane’s metal beams that now resembled a claw of mangled fingers and set the plastic explosives. He managed to run clear of the metal beast just as the first timer was set to go off. Exhausted and feeling the pain from almost becoming a human pancake, Nick collapsed to the ground. From his back, he gazed up at the animated crane and grinned.
“Let’s see you shake that off, you overgrown garbage disposal,” he muttered, sitting up.
The crane made a loud mechanical grinding noise and took a step in Nick’s direction.
“Oh, crap! You were supposed to go bang! I picked the wrong time
to screw something up!”
He scrambled backwards frantically on his forearms. The crane reared back and swung its giant circular magnet forward like a deadly pendulum. As it crashed down towards the earth, a concussion blast sounded, followed quickly by another.
Nick covered his face from the fiery detonation with the crook of his arm. When he looked up, what remained of the crane was completely covered in plumes of black smoke and flames.
Nick squinted and tried to navigate the smoke. Suddenly, he rolled over several times as fast as he could. The large magnet had severed from the main and was plummeting through the smoke at an amazing rate of speed. When the magnet finally struck the earth, its impact was one of tremendous force, lodging three-quarters deep into the soil.
Nick slowly rose to his feet, spitting loose dirt from his mouth and shaking the stuff from his scalp. He exhaled slowly and observed the landscape as the dust settled.
“How much time left, Jazzy?”
“You’ve got three minutes left until the deadline. Michael and the Seals unit are moving to your position now.”
“Sounds like I have to do it all by my lonesome today,” he said, detaching the badly damaged helmet from his suit. It was barely hanging on by a thread.
“Don’t discard the helmet. I can fix it!” Jasmine insisted.
“You… can see me?” Nick asked. He glanced around, then up at the night sky. He looked like a kid who’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
“Yes, I can see you. Plus, I’m monitoring your vitals as well as the suit, which is at sixty-two percent integrity. Now move, mister! You’ve got a president to save!”
She didn’t have to tell him twice. He streaked off like the Road Runner, straight for the repurposed box car.
Chapter 68
It didn’t take Nick long to find the remainder of Evolution’s fighting forces guarding the entrance to the box car. One by one, he disposed of them. By the time Michael arrived with the Navy Seals, he had everything pretty much under wraps. The Seals unit quickly secured the perimeter.