Replica (Original Work)

Chapter 12 - Poking the Bear

I slipped out of the building around one. Discreet, but not so much that I was invisible. I didn't want any obvious red flags, but I did want to be pursued. At that hour, walkers crowded the uptown streets. This presented a difficulty, the bigger the crowd, the easier it was for my target to blend in. Nonetheless I decided to follow through with my plan, and honed my every sense to a level of alertness that would have been exhausting had I wished to maintain it for long.

A somewhat shabby little chinese takeout place stood not four blocks from headquarters. I headed for that first, for two reasons. First, despite all outward appearances, the food was quite good, and I was hungry. Second, it offered me a distinct advantage. From my usual corner booth, I could see everyone in the place. Most people naturally shied away from the table, it was away from the bright lights and windows, so as expected it sat vacant when I walked in. I ordered my usual entree of sweet and sour pork, then waited.

I was halfway into my meal when the man walked in. No old hat or brown coat, but this was the giant Reggie had described to me and sure enough he possessed that tell tale scar down the side of his face. He took a table on the opposite side of the small dining area from my booth, ordered only water, and slipped frequent but subtle glances in my direction. It was time to get to work.

I left my half finished plate at the table, made for the register, and paid my due. Making my way out of the restaurant, I headed probably a hundred paces down the street, and waited again. Tall, dark, and ugly appeared at the restaurant's door maybe two minutes after I had left. He spotted me down the street as I pretended to fiddle with my phone.

I started walking again, and ducked into the first alley I passed by. I positioned myself around the corner and tensed my prosthetic arm. When that guy, whoever he was, came around it, he was going to get an artificial fist to the gut with all the force I could squeeze out of my synthetic muscle packs. If that failed, I didn't really have a plan B.

In the interim, my head filled itself with self doubt. This idea really was crazy, wasn't it? No use thinking over it, I supposed. All in. That's what I'd planned and that's what I did. When the man rounded the corner, I loosed my fist with such force that it almost dislocated my still (relatively) natural shoulder.

To say that I had miscalculated would be an understatement. The giant of a man absorbed the blow to his gut like it was nothing. For a moment, we just stood there like that. Me, rather stunned that my assault had proven ineffectual, and him very likely processing both surprise and anger.

Before I could withdraw my arm he grabbed it and tossed me one handed a good eight feet across the alley, right into a brick wall. Winded, but still very much alive, I looked up at him as he charged me. I'd initiated combat and he aimed to finish it.

"Yep, you're enhanced alright. Okay big guy, let's see what you've got." I popped to my feet, coping with the lingering pain of impacting the brick wall as best I could. He didn't even acknowledge my statement.

He got within striking distance, adopted a fighting stance I marked as that of a seasoned professional rather than a brawler, and swung at me again. It was all I could do to get my arms in front of my face before his fist struck me with what felt like all the force of a train. My arm, my real one, let out a sickening crack as it absorbed the blow. Somehow, "painful" just doesn't do the feeling justice. It wasn't broken though. Good, because I still needed it.

I retaliated with a blow of my own, again with my prosthetic. This time I went for his face. He ducked to the side, grabbed my arm, and slammed me into the wall again. Things were not going to plan, so I did exactly what I was trained to do. I narrowly avoided another fist to the face, and ran.

Rule number one of street fights: if the other guy is better than you, find something else to your advantage. Of course, he was just as fast as I was, and I barely had time to pull my gun before he flew into me and tackled me to the ground.