Absolute Power (Book 1): Origins (15 page)

Angie stirred.  Like anyone who had been knocked unconscious she had trouble moving her limbs.  When she tried to talk, her words were slurred.  Robert helped her to sit up, but kept a hand on her shoulder to make sure she stayed down.  After a minute, her eyes refocused and her words were clear.

“Which way did they go?”  She asked.

“Take your time,” Robert told her.  “Henry is tracking them.  We’ll go to the hotel, grab some equipment and meet up on his location.  Can you run?”

Angie shook her head to test her equilibrium and when she didn’t vomit, answered, “Yes.”

The two of them got to their feet and began a paced run back to the hotel.

Night vision and telescopic eyes made it easy to keep the kidnappers in sight.  Henry was nearly a quarter mile behind them.  The group ducked into a stack of run down housing.  He hesitated to follow them in case it was a trap, so went into the buildings across the street.  From there he tracked their heat signatures as they wound their way deeper into the houses.  Confident that he wasn’t being led into an ambush, he started after them paralleling their position.  Slipping into a shadowy alleyway, he dodged the trash and vagrants.

A few yards ahead he came to a dead end, so he climbed a fire escape to the roof for a better view.  The kidnappers were two buildings over.  It appeared the women were tied back to back in a room with one man.  Two other men were watching the front door, with one on the roof and the last in what looked like a kitchen.

In his vision, a red light blinked indicating he was receiving a call.  “I have eyes,” he said.

Robert was on the other end.  “I have your GPS location,” he said.  “We’re coming to you.”

“When are you feeding us?”  Jess asked.  She twisted her head to see the Free Flight who had taken her.  “Seeing as how you interrupted our dinner I think you owe us a meal.”

“No one comes or goes till morning,” the man replied.

“You can’t keep us tied up here all night,” Alison argued.

The man didn’t respond.

“It’s going to be a long night,” Jess said.  “What’s your name?”  She asked the man.

This time the man grumbled and walked across the room to the window.  It had been boarded up, so he peeked through the cracks.

“All right then,” Jess said.  “I’m going to call you... Batista.”

The man looked at her suddenly as if he was going to say something.  He stopped himself and went back to looking out the window.

“So, Batista what do you do for a living?”  Jess asked.

Batista laughed.

“Well, you were bragging about how much money you made, I want to know how,” Jess told him.  “Drugs?  Guns?  Extortion?  …Sex?”

“Cállate,” Batista finally snapped.  “I take what I want and do what I want, because no one can stop me.  I’m God of this island.  Even the policía stay away.”

“That’s what I figured,” Jess said.  “A bully who is too stupid to know any better.”

Enraged Batista crossed the room.  His body transformed into metal, and he raised his fist to hit Jess.  Batista was shaking, hardly able to keep himself from killing her.  Then he managed to gain control of his temper.  “Tell me who to call so I can be rid of you,” he said.

“I don’t know if you want to do that,” Jess said.

“Jess,” Alison hissed.

“I’m just being honest,” Jess replied.  “He hasn’t quite thought this through.  I mean does he really want a One Assault Team at his doorstep?”

“They cannot stop me,” Batista growled.  “I have men, guns and power.”

“So does The One,” Jess retorted.  “Did you know that The One’s Assault Teams have a maximum two-hour response time?  How long have you had us?”

Batista reflexively checked his watch.  “Don’t bother lying,” he said.  “If your people pay, I’ll set you free.  Very simple.”

“No, it’s not,” Jess’s tone became serious.  “I’m telling you that an Assault Team is on the way already.  For your sake and the civilians around us, you should walk away.”

“Give me a phone number,” Batista demanded.

“Twenty soldiers per assault team,” Jess said.  “All trained since they were children.  All with powers specifically geared to combat.”

“Enough,” Batista shouted.

And then the lights went out.

“Ya están aquí,” Jess whispered in the darkness.

“Marcos?”  Batista called out.  “Marcos?”

“Holding for entry,” Robert said into his cellphone.  He was on the side of the building watching the two guards out front.  From his position, he could just make out Henry on the roof of the building across the street.  Angie should have made it to the roof of the target building by now.

“Tango down,” Angie said into their conference call.  “Tossing smoke.”

A smoke grenade dropped from the roof, bouncing in front of the two guards.  The smoke obscured Robert’s approach.

“Breaching,” Robert said, then built up a low yield explosion that knocked the men down.  He followed it up with another blast to the front door.  Quickly, Robert secured their weapons and zip tied their hands and feet.

“Three down, two to go,” Henry’s voice came over the phone.  “Primary target is on the second floor, northern room.  Secondary is on the stairs.”

Robert silently made his way to the staircase.  It was in the center of the building with an open banister.  He could see the feet of the man.

“Hold,” Henry said.

Robert stopped in his tracks and crouched down.

“I’m seeing multiple armed tangos,” Henry told them.  “I think we woke the neighbors.”

Gunshots began to fill the night air.

“Taking fire,” Angie reported.

“Henry, flank them,” Robert ordered.  “I’ll clear the building.”

It sounded like a war had started outside, but Robert trusted that Angie and Henry could take care of themselves.  He had his objective, and he needed to focus on that.  Robert moved to get a better angle, hoping to take the man’s legs out from under him.  As he crossed the hallway, he saw down into the kitchen.  A young girl was standing there watching him.  She couldn’t have been more than fourteen, with delicate white skin and raven hair.  It was obvious she wasn’t a local.  Robert tried to signal her to leave.  The girl stared back at him then came closer.  She peered around the corner and up the stairs.  Becoming more desperate to get the girl to leave, Robert got ready to make a move.  But then she stepped back, disappearing into the shadows.  In the dark, he struggled to see where she went.

Suddenly from behind him there was a small voice, “Come.”

Robert turned to see the girl.  She reached out and took him by the hand.  He let her lead him away hoping he could get the girl out of the building.  Instead, he found himself walking blindly into the shadows.  A second later he was looking at the back of a man’s head.  Robert had somehow arrived at the top of the stairs.  He didn’t hesitate though, using the edge of his hand to strike.  The blow hit the man at the base of the skull, knocking him unconscious.  His body crumpled and rolled down the stairs.

“Marcos?”  Someone called out.  A figure appeared in the doorway and when it saw them started shooting.

Robert grabbed the girl around the waist and pulled her into the nearest room.  He tumbled to the ground narrowly escaping the bullets.  Still the shooting continued blasting through the wall and kicking plaster everywhere.  Robert held the girl down covering her head. It went quiet for a second then Robert heard the telltale sound of a grenade as it bounced into the room.  There wasn’t much he could do but cover the girl with his body.

His ears were ringing making it hard to keep his balance.  First he checked the girl, who stared at him blinking the dust from her eyes.  She looked unscathed.  Robert didn’t expect much for himself, but when he felt his body, there was nothing.  A few bruises, but no blood.  Then he noticed he was downstairs again.  The gunfire outside became more apparent as his ears adjusted.  Getting to his feet, he went to the staircase and made his ascent, checking the rooms as he went.  In the last room, he found Jess leaning over a large furry creature with massive claws.  Fugen was bleeding from several bullet wounds.

“Jess,” he said, “Where’s Alison?”

“Batista took her,” she answered.  Jess looked back at Robert with tears in her eyes.

“Are you okay?”  Robert asked.

Jess nodded.  “Fugen saved the day.  He’s in pain, but it’ll heal.  Go.  Go get them, he has a forty-five second lead.”

Robert turned to go and ran into the girl.

“I can help,” she said simply.

She had already, so there was no reason to doubt her.  Robert took her hand and once again let her lead him.  They slipped into darkness and came out on the street behind the building.  Batista was only a dozen yards away and headed towards a car.  He had Alison at gun point.

“Destroy the vehicle,” the girl said to Robert.

It was the most obvious and basic of ideas.  Robert raised his hand to blast it then thought better.  The explosion could endanger Alison or any civilians nearby.  He couldn’t risk that, no matter how much he wanted to.  Robert started to run, and the girl followed.  They were too far behind; Batista got in the car and sped off.

The girl grabbed Robert’s hand and said, “Keep running.”  She veered them off into an alley and a second later they were on the roof of a building.

Below and to their left, Robert spotted Batista’s car as it took a turn.  The girl led them into the shadows, and they reappeared on another building.  The car was still below them, and they were still too far behind.

“Be ready,” the girl said as they disappeared into a dark corner.

Robert emerged alone and in the street.  Batista’s car was charging straight at him.  He couldn’t fire and risk killing both Alison and Batista.  But it was too late, Batista had panicked and tried to swerve.  The car fishtailed almost hitting Robert.  Its momentum caught up with it and the car flipped.  The first time it seemed to move in slow motion, rolling onto its roof.  Then it bounced up into the air and rolled a second time.  The car came to a sudden stop as it wrapped itself around a light pole.

“Alison,” Robert cried, he was already moving toward the car.  “Alison,” he called again.  The windows of the car had all been smashed out.  Robert went around to the front and climbed inside.  Batista was dangling from his seat belt unconscious.  The man had changed into metal form before the crash, and it was the only reason he was still alive.  But Alison wasn’t in the car.  Robert circled around fearful that Alison had been thrown out during the crash.

“Robert,” Alison said as she walked out of a nearby alley.  There wasn’t a scratch on her.

Without thinking, Robert ran to her grabbing her in his arms.  He kissed her as though it was natural.  Alison didn’t stop him.  It wasn’t until they pulled away that it occurred to either of them what they had just done.

Alison’s face turned red.  “Sir…,” she tried to come up with something to say.

The girl emerged from the shadows, giving them something to turn their attention to.  “Hello,” he said.  “Thank you for your help.”

“You’re welcome,” the girl bowed.  “I am, Of Levitas Comes the Eve of Terminus.”

“She’s a Lost One,” Alison whispered to Robert.  Then she said to the girl, “My name is Alison, and this is Robert.  May we call you Eve?”  The girl nodded her assent.  “Thank you for saving my life, Eve.”

“I had been watching this man for some time,” Eve said stoically.  “His moral decision making was less than agreeable.”

“Do you live around here?”  Robert asked.

“I’m not from this world,” Eve answered.  “I live nowhere.”

Robert’s cellphone vibrated, and he answered.  It was Angie, so he stepped away to talk.

“If you don’t have a home where do you sleep?”  Alison asked Eve.

“Where ever there is no one,” the girl replied.  “I have been trying to assimilate.”

“Where are your parents?”  Alison continued her questions.

“In my home dimension,” Eve answered frankly

Robert returned to the conversation.  “Angie and Henry have the buildings secured and contacted the authorities.  Your friend here,” he gestured to the car, “appears to be the only Free Flight.  We need to get him secured before he wakes.”

“Why didn’t you kill him?”  Eve asked.  “That was the plan when I placed you in his path.”

“What?”  Robert said startled.  “Killing isn’t an option.”

“Then what is the option?”  Eve asked.

“We take him to the Complex in Colorado,” Robert replied.

“Then I will take you,” Eve said as a matter of fact and went to the car.

“You can do that?  Like you transported us earlier?  You can travel that far?”  Robert questioned her.

“All I need is to see a map of where you would like to go,” Eve replied.