How did I not realise that there was a second nuke?
It makes so much sense, but of course I'm such a freakin' idiot, with my freaking supercomputer brain that couldn't figure out--
Ugh.
"What's the drill, Jason?" Nijah asks, leaning on the console.
All eyes are on me, but mine are on Detective Q. "They're coming here aren't they?"
Circe holds my arm. "Who?"
I point at the old man's uniform. "He isn't a regular foot soldier, he's one of the up tops. People will notice he's gone AWOL. So who were you with? You said the other groups spread out to other parts of the Tenth Kingdom, and that blip at the warehouse is obviously Jakkar. If you slipped away, they'll likely be on your trail."
He nods. "I was part of a small caravan of the General's men. Oh, along with a young fellow, tall, and an upcoming detective himself."
I sigh. "Slicked black hair? About my height, but not nearly as handsome?"
"I believe so. I think his name was Dante."
I rub my face. "Oh for Christ's sake, why must everything be so difficult."
Sam looks at me. "Dante? You mean the hunk you took under your wing and trained until he surpassed you in skill, then made it his life long goal to one up you?"
"Thank you for that. Seriously, that was totally needed right now."
"Damn, he's coming here? Heh, send me out to meet him. I'm sure I can persuade him." Nijah says, biting her lip.
I cock back my pistol. "As entertaining as that would be, I have to be the one to face him. I taught him everything he knows, so he's my responsibility." I look at Sam. "How long will it take for your virus to wipe the servers?"
She looks at the loading bar on her arm. "10 minutes."
"Alright. Nijah and Circe, you two take Detective Q back to his car, I'm sure it's somewhere on the castle grounds. Sam you're with me." I look at each person in turn. "We'll decide our next step after we deal with this. But right now, try not to die."
* * *
I squat down and touch the scorch marks on the roof.
"So you really used your arm to redirect the lightning?"
"Shocking, right?"
I groan at the pun. "Just let me know when-"
"The caravan shows up? It's here."
I walk up beside her and look over the edge of the castle.
The rain has let up, but lightning still flashes here and there in the black clouds overhead. About 500 yards away from the edge of the river I see a line of SUVs heading our way.
"Alright, take out the drawbridge, we don't want them getting into the castle."
Sam fires up her Plasma Cannon. "It's not like they're gonna get past you, Jason."
I shrug. "Just covering all our bases."
Sam blasts her beam of plasma down onto the wooden bridge, the initial contact looking like an explosion, then the entire thing breaks apart and crumbles into the Pishon River. "Huh. That worked out better than expected. Ready for part two?"
I nod, giving her my arm as we step into the edge. "As soon as you throw me, meet up with the others, this shouldn't take too long. And for fucks sake, throw me at a windshield, not a freakin' sunroof."
"You got it, boss." With that, Sam grabs my arm and plants the palm of her bionic arm square on my back. As soon as the cars are pulling up to the riverbank, she pushes with all her might, launching me far away from the castle.
"INCOMING!" Air surges past my ears as I dove, arms by my sides. The first car grows larger and larger as I near, thunder cracking overhead. Just before I hit the windshield, I bend at the waist and do a flip, slamming into the glass feet first.
I tear through the window like it was wet paper, crushing the sternum of the driver, along with the entire front seat, the impact causing the front of the vehicle to crunch against the dirt. Maybe I didn't break my legs because of the incline, or the fact that the soldier was my airbag, but they still functioned, so I stick to the plan. I recover and lean back against the steering wheel, blasting the passenger's brains out with my pistol. With a groan I sit up and dive into the large back section, 6 soldiers with AK-47s in their laps sitting across from each other on facing seats. I grab the barrel of the rifle of the guy on my right and hold his finger down on the trigger, blasting holes into the three guys on the left. I crush the soldier's temple with my knee, tossing his body aside. The remaining two are on me in a flash, one pulling a knife from his vest. I hold back the wrist of the one with knife back, his momentum pushes me against the wall of the SUV. The other soldier throws a punch but I move my head and dodge it, then kick him back into the opposite seat. With a grunt, I let go of the first one's wrist and grin as his blade shatters against my jacket. He looks surprised when I headbutt him right in the teeth, then press the barrel of my pistol into his gut, and fire. He slumps to the floor, and before the last one could get up, I empty the rest of my clip into his chest.
It's quiet in the car now, except for my light panting. I grab my assault rifle off my back and scoop up a grenade off one of the soldier's vests and kick open the back doors of the vehicle. I see the two men in the front seats of the next car flinch as I hop out and unload on them, peppering them with gunfire. I run up and jump onto the hood, lighting up the back as well. I put my rifle back on my back and pull the pin out of the grenade. Counting in my head, I sprint up the back and toss it at the next SUV, the explosive rolling under the vehicle. Using my sleeve to block my face, I peek and witness the car explode and flip backwards onto the next one, causing another explosion.
One car left.
Speak of the devil, the remaining SUV powers around the wreck and heads straight for me. I scoff, unsheathing my sword and sidestepping it at the last second, spinning around and slashing my katana horizontally as it passes, tearing the top half clean off. The vehicle swerves and flips into the river, along with anyone in it.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
"Always a pleasure watching you work, Jason."
I spin around and see Dante waltzing around the wreckage on the road, a broadsword holstered on his hip. I walk over to him. "How is your suit not on fire right now?"
He looks down at his immaculate outfit. "You like it? Custom made."
I shake my head. "Well, it was nice catching up, but. . ." I raise my sidearm and fire three shots into his chest. The bullets crumple against the fabric and fall to the ground. Dante smirks.
"You're not the only one who's bulletproof."
I brandish my katana. "Well let's see if you're sword proof."
I sprint at Dante, who pulls out his broadsword last second and parrys my swing. He stabs at my side but I spin and dodge, bringing my blade down on his shoulder, but the bulletproof fabric softens the strike.
"How the hell did you get Sam's bulletproof clothing?"
"I have just as many connections as you, Jason." He says, slicing at my midsection. My jacket fronts the blow and I parry the next, looking for an opening. I just have to keep him talking.
"You know, if you're going for rugged and handsome one man army, near miss. I thought after knowing me for this long you'd understand that it's my niche."
Dante delivers a triplet of savage blows, my katana redirecting each one. "I'm not trying to be you, Jason. I merely got what I needed out of you, and now I'm better in everyway. That's. How. It. Works!" He swings three more times between each of those words. I duck under each one.
"You got it backwards, Dante. Two years ago I saw a young man in the gutter, a guy who needed a pick me up and someone to put him back on track, so I helped. But I was too naive to realize how power hungry you were, and still are." I deliver a quick strike to his head that he dodges, but makes him step back for a second. "I taught you everything you know. Everything." I step forward, swinging wide arcs that make him step back each time. "And to be honest, it was fun at first, to catch up with all the enemies of my past. But now, I'm getting pissed. And if you know me as well as you claim, you know how I get, WHEN I'M PISSED." His back hits the side of one of the wrecked SUVs, so I take my shotgun off my back and unload all 8 rounds into his chest. The suit absorbs the pain, but the kinetic force still pushes him into the vehicle, warping the already twisted frame. I drop my shotty and give Dante a high kick, my foot slamming into the side of his head. He reels, sliding against the car, but I grab him by the shirt before he falls, and hold his upper body down against the hood of the car, and bring my wrist down on his neck, once, twice, three times. He gurgles and holds his neck as he slumps to the ground, back against the front tire of the car. I spot a dead soldier a few feet away and walk over to him, plucking a grenade from his vest, and walk back.
I crouch beside Dante. "You're the first one. The others will see you in Hell soon." With that, I smack the side of Dante's head with my fist, dazing him, then I place the grenade in his mouth.
And pull the pin.