by Eric Burney
We rounded the corner and came upon our first target. Nick went low, clipping the man at his heels. I went high, throwing a hard elbow into his sternum. I could feel the air rushing out of his body from the blow. If we were playing in the World Cup, we would’ve both been ejected.
We didn't stop, continuing our game of dash and tag through the next section of the facility we came to. A pile of bodies trailed behind us until we came to a large fork that headed off to the left, right into the very teeth of a heavily armed six-man squad. They seemed rather surprised to see us—up until the moment they lifted their large shoulder-fired cannons to cut us to pieces.
Nick darted right and I went left this time, snatching the assault rifle from one guard and throwing a hard kick to his temple. The guard to my left managed to get off a few errant rounds before I was on top of him, utilizing the muzzle of the rifle I'd snagged to sweep his feet out from under him. Then, I brought the butt of the rifle down into his face with a smashing blow. I looked up to realize Nick had taken care of three other guards, making quick work of them.
“That's eight to seven by my count. I believe that one's yours,” he said pointing to the lone remaining guard.
The man looked as though he might have actually soiled himself, staring wide eyed and slack-jawed at the both of us. Then he turned tail and ran, back down the corridor towards the facility's launch control center.
Well that's something you don't see every day. You going to go after him, or should I?”
“No,” I insisted. “Let him go. Let's see if he comes back with reinforcements.”
Nick shrugged.
“Fine by me. I'm just getting warmed up.”
We didn’t have to wait long. The guard was back, and he wasn't alone, bringing no less than a dozen Evolution faithful with him, all armed and angry.
“I think this should warm you up,” I shouted over a hail of gunfire as we retreated back down the corridor. “Let's lead them towards the blast doors. That should give the others the opportunity they need.”
“Sounds like a plan. I'm right behind you!”
Chapter 77
Cain stood in the center of the room, stoic, and watched the black and white monitors, ancient technology compared to today's hardware. The idea to take over the remote and deserted nuclear missile base was a pure stroke of genius. No one could have possibly seen this coming. Yet, Charlie and his super friends had found them. But they would not stop Evolution. The wheels were already in motion. They only needed to be—distracted— for a little while longer.
Two of Evolution’s top lieutenants, Lucian and Rebel stood behind Cain. On-screen, they watched as Charlie and the speedster made mincemeat of their forces. Cain snatched the radio off the console and keyed the mike.
“How much longer until we have launch capability?”
The radio feedback was only static at first, but a haggard voice soon answered.
“I'm working as fast as I can,” the Chemist said, agitated. He had to yell in order to be heard over the sound of the startup sequence for Orion II. “The device should be ready to deploy in fifteen minutes.”
“Make it ten,” Cain said forcibly, and tossed the radio back on the console.
“Let me go and take care of them,” Lucian growled.
“No. I need you here. We’re going to have company soon and I want to be sure you give them a proper welcome,” he said indicating the top right monitor. On screen was the image of three individuals who were slowly making their way toward the launch control center.
“Isn't that the FBI agent you nearly killed, Lucian?”
The lumbering giant leaned in for a closer look, then grunted.
“So, they're all working together now. They think they can come in here and ruin my plans? They've got another thing coming.”
“So what do you want us to do?” Rebel asked, twirling her long brunette hair with her fingers, bored. She, like Lucian, was also itching for a fight.
“We let them walk through the front door. Then, we slam it shut behind them. I don't care what you do to the other two, but the girl is not to be harmed. I've got something special in store for her. And, as for Charlie and the speed freak, I will deal with them personally.”
Chapter 78
Michael and Kara made for the stairs leading to the first tier of the launch control center. Agent Simmons hung back, providing cover as they ascended the spiral metal-grated staircase to the elevated platform.
“We're all clear,” Kara whispered over the railing once topside. Agent Simmons lowered the weapon and hurried up the stairs after them.
“Wow, this place is huge,” Michael said, taking in the dated architecture. The air quality was awful, a sort of briny smell. Dust and grime filled everything in sight. Three of the four chair cushions were torn or missing altogether. The control center’s computer monitors predated the first desktop Apple computer by nearly two decades.
“Yeah, some of these old nuclear launch facilities cover a few city blocks,” Agent Simmons said over the roar of the diesel generators that powered the facility.
He let go of his rifle and let the weapon hang by its tactical sling clipped to his ballistic vest. A panel of lights and buttons along the row of servers drew his attention.
“This is odd,” he said, more to himself than aloud, but Kara heard him anyway.
“What's odd?”
“This panel operates the majority of the facility's systems on this floor. I doubt this room would be left unattended unless it was done on purpose.”
His eyes focused on a trio of printers that were rapidly spitting out reams of information and ripped the paper from one of them. This process was how the computer servers stayed synced to the missiles when the facility was operational.
Agent Simmons studied the printout and frowned. If he understood the data correctly, Orion II was scheduled to launch within minutes.
“So, you're thinking trap,” Michael said. “I was thinking the same thing.”
His hands instinctively shot out to the sides and burst into flames. Agent Simmons grabbed his rifle and raised it to eye level. He swept the room back and forth with a finger pressed to the trigger.
Kara approached the panel and examined the array of buttons. Then, she calmly pressed two buttons before pulling a small red lever.
“Um, what are you doing?” Michael asked.
“I'm attempting to open the blast doors. That is what we came here to do, right? Either this will open the doors, or we’ve walked into a trap as you suggested. We don't have a lot of time to sit here and discuss it.”
“Oh, I like her, Agent Simmons declared, grinning amusedly.
“Yeah, she's a real firecracker.”
Michael was slightly annoyed.
A sudden motion caught Kara’s eye.
“See, Michael, we didn't have to wait very long to get a response,” Kara said.
They were surrounded by Evolution. Armed men, too numerous to count, encircled them, from above and below, and to the elevated platform. A large man with the girth of a Mack truck lumbered forward. The others parted like the Red Sea, making way for him.
“What's our play, agent man?” Michael mumbled out the side of his mouth.
“If they take even one step closer, light them up,” Agent Simmons said, calm and collective, keeping his weapon trained on the man directly in front of him. He didn't seem fazed at all by the overwhelming odds.
“It will be my pleasure,” Michael said with a smile growing across his face.
Chapter 79
“Take them down,” Lucian ordered. “Bring the girl to me.”
Agent Simmons didn’t wait for them to attack. Already at a major disadvantage, he quickly went on the offensive, squeezing the trigger and striking his target square between the eyes. Before the corpse even hit the floor, Agent Simmons had already honed in on his next target, tagging the man twice in the chest. Wheeling a hundred and eighty degrees, he fired at two men closing in behind Kara, taki
ng them down.
A searing hot stream of flame whizzed by his head, too close for comfort, and he turned just in time to see the assailant directly behind him lifted off his feet and thrown into a gaggle of cohorts. The impact started a chain reaction like a Molotov cocktail, igniting the entire group in a blaze of flames. They screamed and thrashed about, waving their arms like mad men. Agent Simmons offered an appreciative nod in Michael’s direction.
Kara was more than holding her own as well. She dropped and used her legs to skillfully perform a scissors roll up on one Evolutionite. Once she had him on the floor, she drove an elbow hard into his chest with all her might. Then, she placed her palms by her head and brought her knees up to her chest. Pushing forward, she lunged upright and back to her feet. With mind-control, she forced two others to collide headfirst into each other as though they were mindless crash-test dummies.
Kara heard a low rumbling growl, and looked to her right to see a female crouched on all fours. The skin on her lithe body was covered in a bluish-green fur. Kara was initially shocked at the sight of her, but quickly recovered. Reaching into her boot, she removed a six-inch metal pipe. She pressed a switch along the surface and the pipe extended into a staff.
The beast woman leapt in the air, using the shoulders of the man in front of her as a springboard. As agile as a cat, she landed in front of Kara and took a swing with a clawed hand. The extended nails on each finger were at least four inches in length and looked more like razor-sharp kitchen knives.
The woman moved with incredible grace and agility, ducking underneath a swinging blow from the staff. She grabbed Kara by the arm and spun her around, swiping with her deadly claws—a move that could rip the very flesh from the spine. But, Kara instinctively blocked the incoming attack, extending the staff over her shoulder just in time.
She turned quickly to face her opponent who’d made an acrobatic leap to the opposite wall and hung there like a fly on sticky paper, using her elongated claws buried into the masonry to support her weight. She bared her teeth, which were equally as sharp and hissed.
“Come on, kitty, kitty,” Kara taunted, twirling the staff overhead before tucking it underneath her arm, “let’s see if you have nine lives.”
The beast woman roared and pounced.
Activating the stun setting on the staff, Kara ducked just in the nick of time, thrusting the electrically-charged staff upwards, directly into her midsection. Fifty-thousand volts coursed through her body. The beast woman shrieked and convulsed before collapsing to the floor. Kara looked down at her motionless foe and smiled before rejoining the main fight.
But, the numbers were just too much for them to overcome and the trio was eventually overwhelmed. Kara was struck on the back of the neck by an unseen rifle butt and rendered unconscious. Agent Simmons fought valiantly and tried to make his way to her but failed. He too was subdued and delivered to Lucian on his knees.
Only Michael was left standing.
Evolution began to tighten the circle around him like a pack of hyenas stalking a wounded animal.
“Take the girl to Cain,” Lucian instructed his men. “I’ll finish things up here.”
Michael ignited a wall of fire around himself. He vowed to take out as many as he could before he went down.
“Come on! What are you waiting for?”
Lucian smiled at the invitation and stepped through the flames as though they were nonexistent. Michael inhaled deeply, but didn't back down.
“I'm like the bull in a china shop. I'm going to break every bone in your body.”
“Is that your idea of tough talk?” Michael scoffed. “You're going to try and fail miserably.”
Michael channeled his inner strength and threw a Nolan Ryan fireball at Lucian. The sizzling inferno struck him dead in the chest, knocking the giant back a step. The sleeveless tee he was wearing went up in flames. Unfazed, he ripped the shirt off with one hand and stalked towards Michael with murder in his eyes. For a man of his size, he closed the gap between them with surprising quickness. Michael tried unleashing another blast of fire, but Lucian was having none of it. He knocked Michael’s hand to the side and grabbed him firmly by the throat.
Michael gagged and fought to free himself as he was lifted off his feet and into the air. Lucian slammed his body down hard on the floor. The back of Michael’s head struck even harder.
Michael was dazed. The fight was slowly leaving his body. He couldn’t put up more of a struggle even if he wanted to. Lucian snarled, dragging Michael back to his feet by the throat.
“Not much to say now, huh? I'm going to enjoy choking the life out of you. Then, I'm going to savor killing that pig you brought along with you.”
Lucian tightened the death grip on Michael's throat. The feeble attempts to free himself grew weaker and weaker. His eyes began to roll into the back of his head.
“HEY! SASQUATCH!”
Lucian looked up, startled, and growled.
It was Standeval, and he wasn’t alone. Viktor was at his side.
Chapter 80
Lucian released his hold on Michael and glowered at the new arrivals. They could have easily been mistaken for two Wall Street businessmen with their expensive tailored suits and colorful ties. Michael gasped for air, taking the opportunity to desperately try and refill his lungs.
“Kill them!”
Evolution henchmen, over twenty strong, converged on Standeval and Viktor.
“I’ll take this one,” Standeval said calmly, resting on his trusty cane which, miraculously, was whole once again. Even the injuries he’d suffered earlier appeared to be all but fully healed. He was by all accounts the quintessential picture of health.
With a simple flip of the cane he unleashed the thunder, causing a powerful shockwave that pulsed through the room, leveling the attackers.
“We sort of figured we’d tag along and even the odds a bit,” Standeval said triumphantly. “If you don’t mind, of course.”
“Suit yourself,” Lucian barked. He lowered his head and charged like a battering ram, rapidly gaining momentum. Tremors rippled with the brute’s every step and threatened to cave the walls of the facility down on them all.
Viktor reacted first, sprinting forward to meet him. As the two drew closer, Viktor leapt into the air and took hold of the gargantuan by the shoulders, lifting his huge frame off the floor. With an overhead flip, he launched Lucian across the room. Lucian’s body collided into a monitoring station and tore straight through the metal, finally sliding to a stop in a supply room on the other side among a stack of wooden pallets.
Lucian shook it off and quickly rebounded, rising to his feet. His eyes locked on Viktor.
“Finally! A good fight!”
Lucian made a series of bounds, arcing towards Viktor. The floor cracked on impact where he landed. He threw a heavy right like a blacksmith’s anvil, followed by a sweeping left that Viktor cleverly managed to dodge.
“Play time’s over.”
Viktor unleashed a surge of blinding white energy at Lucian, striking him dead center of his massive chest. The look on his face was pure shock as he was lifted clean off the floor and knocked back more than thirty feet. Yet, he refused to stay down. The giant wobbled, groaned and steadied himself on one knee.
In disbelief at the show of resilience, Viktor glanced over at Standeval who shrugged with an amused smile. He seemed to be enjoying the show. It was going to take more than that to slay the beast.
Viktor unbuttoned his coat and folded it neatly in half before handing the classy threads to Standeval. The encounter with Lucian was taking more out of him than he thought possible. Taking a deep breath, he ran forward and hurled another burst of energy, then another, and another. Each blast seemed to weaken Lucian more and more, but still he refused to stay down.
“Shall I give it a try?” Standeval inquired, seemingly bored with the exchange. He was done being a spectator.
“By all means.” Viktor reclaimed his coat.
Standeval observed the staggering brute for a moment, like a professional golfer studying a difficult putt for birdie at Augusta National. With no small amount of flair, he raised the cane and thrust the point at Lucian. A brilliant construct of thick, red smoke engulfed him. The ground at his feet began to quake and rumble, opening up like the fiery mouth of a volcano. The smoke seemed alive somehow, creeping slowly up Lucian’s body, enveloping him in its dark essence. He struggled mightily against its grip, but this time he was completely immobilized.
Lucian’s lower torso disappeared as the waves of smoke continued to climb higher. With a final defiant roar as the top of his head was submerged, he disappeared into the smoky abyss. And then, in the blink of an eye, the hole was gone. Not a single trace of Lucian was left behind.
Chapter 81
“That was…interesting,” Viktor said. “What did you do to him?”
“I just sent him on an all-expenses paid vacation, somewhere far away from here. We won’t be seeing him for quite a while.”
“Good,” was Viktor’s only response. He approached Michael, squatted next to him, and gave a gentle shake.
“Hey there. You still with us?”
Michael stirred and opened his eyes. Shock set in at the sight of Viktor standing over him, and he reared back like a startled snake preparing to strike.