Return : Book One in the Return series

Part 13 - Capture and Escape

  Groaning, Vulture opened his eyes. He was greeted by a blank concrete roof. Shaking his head, his memory came back, and he remembered what had happened. He sat up. Turning, he could see that he was in a cell. He strained to poke his head out of the bars, and could make out Juggernaut in the cell to the left, Kunai in the one to the right. Cursing, he sat himself back down, and tried to think of a way out of this. He had to get out, hopefully the whole crew out, and then figure out where the hell Matthew actually is.

A buzzer sounded. After a few minutes, a guard walked up to his cell. Deadbeat, he spoke. "Hands. Up on the wall. No funny business."

The cell clanked open, the guard walking inside. Snatching Vulture's wrists, he clamped on a pair of cuffs, making sure that it hurt. Smacking him on the back, the guard led him out , where three other guards stood with Juggernaut, Big Sister, and Kunai.

In a line, they lead the four down flights upon flights of stairs, finally leading them down a hallway into a small room. Sledge sat on one side of a table. There were four chairs on the other, and each person sat.

Sledge didn't say anything for a while. He simply stared, as if he were a small child, fascinated with these creatures before him. Finally, he leaned forward and said, "Well, we haven't been properly introduced yet, have we? The name is Argent Sledge. Now, no matter what you think of me, let me tell you this."

"Matthew Stone is a dangerous convict. I applaud you for having enough courage to come and try to break him out, but as you can see that plan is in utter ruins now. Just know, if you had managed to find him, our planet as we know it would be in massive jeopardy, so it's a relief I'm just this much smarter than you."

He gestured a mockery of an inch, stretching the space between his fingers.

"Now, you have two options."

His face turned into a mask of emotionlessness, pure nothing.

"Either I can give you the 50 million credits to split between you, you walk out, and this never happened, or we can do this the hard way. You stay, life sentence, and you fade away, not a single person will notice."

  The crew looked at each other, each persons mind in turmoil. Juggernaut stayed stone silent. Kunai looked down and didn't do anything. Big Sister scoffed and slumped down in her seat. Vulture spat at the guards and sat defiantly.

  "Well, seems like you all have some foolish sense of camaraderie within or maybe some misplaced sense of duty. No matter, you'll all be dealt with shortly. In the meantime, have some time to think about what you could've achieved by taking this offer, and everything you've now given up for a stupid sense of loyalty, even as paid mercenaries, no less."

The guards grabbed the four of them and hoisted them to their feet, then shoved them out of the room. Although it took a bit to get Juggernaut out, they managed to squeeze them back into their cells, and with a resounding clank, the cell doors shut. Vulture sat back down on the mattress and tried to start thinking of a way out. Just as he had sat down, klaxons blared. Argent Sledge was a genius, yet still not smart enough to know just how strong Juggernaut was. He'd kicked down the cell door. After pulling the door of their cells down with a massive rumble, Juggernaut started slowly trundling towards the nearest flight of stairs, the rest of the crew hastily following.

During the daytime, the more elite guards were rotated out for standard ones, only equipped with batons and rubber bullets. Juggernaut soaked up their attacks like it was nothing, then smacked them into the wall, where they fell limp, unmoving. The path of carnage and chaos he made shredded through the prisons weak daytime security. He slammed down the doors to the first level, and spotting a large metal gate, went for it.

It was, in Kunai's words after the event, "Pure and utter wreckage."

  Unconscious and maybe even dead bodies were strewn all over, like pieces of litter on a seashore. Juggernaut stood at the front entrance, breathing heavily. He gestured for the rest of the crew to follow him, and nimbly went through the doorway. Vulture grabbed a gun, hoping it would fool anybody who encountered them. He scanned the area outside the prison, looking for a way out, when suddenly a vehicle appeared in the distance, blazing towards them. It was Hellfire.

  He pulled up in something that looked straight out of a cartoon. It had an eye piercing yellow paint job, bent and snapped fenders, and puttered along - or more accurately, screamed along - like a cat on its deathbed.

  The crew clambered in, except for Juggernaut. Out of his pants pocket, he handed Vulture a small Walkie-Talkie and pulled out a similar one, then with a slight nod, slowly trundled away, humming a strange tune. It was a odd sight, a giant of a man happily walking away from a supermax blaring alarms and unconscious guards everywhere.

   Vulture quickly climbed back into the car, and said , "Floor it."

  Hellfire obliged, and in mere seconds, the prison was only a speck on the horizon, as they headed towards safety.