The Last Hero (12 page)

Desperate, he lunged forward. Trent easily defeated the reckless move with a jab to the forehead. Stunned, the bearded leader barely noticed the clawed hand zip under his view. He felt the fingers digging deep around the windpipe. By the time, his brain sent the signal to scream in pain he couldn’t. The leader, now without a gang, soon discovered the reason why. His wild eyes caught their last sight. Trent stood before him holding his throat.

Trent softly tossed the useless organ to the feet of its previous owner, who collapsed to the ground amid odd gurgling sounds. He paid no more attention to the dying man as he removed his dress shirt to wipe the blood off his hand. In the distance, police sirens announced their approach.

Anna had spent the fight hidden behind a garbage container. She had called the police when the attention of the murderous gang had been diverted. Hearing no more sounds of battle, she peeked her head out in time to see her father drop the blood-stained shirt onto the ground. She ran to him and threw herself into Trent’s arms crying.

“Thank you. I knew you would come. I knew you would.”

Police cars pulled up to the entrance, flashing red lights down the alley reflected off the father and daughter.

“It’s okay, sweet pea. I wasn’t going to let anyone hurt you. That’s what fathers do.”

***

Trent stood at his hotel room window, sipping whiskey. He nearly dropped the glass when someone knocked on the door. He let the curtain fall closed and set the glass down on the nightstand, rattling the ice.

“Coming,” he shouted.

Strolling past an unmade bed, the result of a nap, and a gaping, half-unpacked duffle bag. He opened the door without bothering to ask who it was. Looking beautiful in a pure white sundress, Madison smiled at him. Her red hair flowed to her shoulders. She looked far better than him in his t-shirt and shorts.

“What brings you here?”

“Oh...I was just in the area. I figured I would swing by to see how you were doing. Anna mentioned where you were staying.”

He lost himself for a moment in her brown eyes before stepping aside.

“Please come in. Sorry, the room is a mess. You know how I can be.”

Madison walked in and surveyed the room. Her gaze settled on the bottle of Makers Mark Bourbon sitting on the nightstand by the window.

“Mind if I join you?”

“By all means, let me get you one.” Trent went to the wet bar and filled a rocks glass with ice.

Madison retrieved the bottle and his glass, bringing them over. After pouring herself a healthy drink, she held his up for refreshing. She took hers and hefted it high.

“To your valiant efforts the other night.”

Glasses clanked, and they drank

“Wasn’t that big a deal, I just did what was needed to protect Anna. Those guys weren’t any real threat to me. Tried to warn them, but they wouldn’t take a hint.”

She removed a pile of clothes from a chair to sit down. Placing her forearms on her knees, she leaned forward. The top of her dress fall away from her body, exposing cleavage. Trent took notice.

“You wouldn’t know that from all the buzz on the newsnet. It’s all they can talk about, besides the war. Admiral Andersen’s return has bumped you to second story.”

Madison’s breasts proved difficult to ignore. Their last night together had been the last time he’d had sex. In between poorly concealed glances that bolstered her confidence, he managed to carry on the conversation.

“Thank God, I’m so tired of me. Red Barons this, Red Barons that. It’s all a bunch of bullshit.” He threw his arms into the air.

“It’s not all bullshit...just most of it.”

“One.” He held up an index finger. “That’s the number of successful missions I’ve run in this war. One. And they make me out to be Alexander the Great or Patton.”

Madison walked over to the window to slide the curtains wide open. The setting sun’s final light of the day beamed through. When she turned around, Trent noticed her sundress became partially transparent in the light. She noticed that he’d noticed.

“That’s also the total number of victories in the entire war. You told me many times it’s just as important to win the war on the home front as it is on the battlefield.”

“I know. I’m just tired of me. Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “Sure.”

“Does your husband know where you are?”

“No.” Madison sat on the end of the bed, in front of Trent to redeploy her breasts. “Let’s just say he’s a little insecure when it comes to you. You’re a hard man to follow.”

She stood, kicking back the last of the whiskey, then handed the glass to him.

“Give me a refill while I use the bathroom.”

She flashed a playful smile.

He found it impossible to take his eyes off her as she strutted away, closing the door behind her.

I shouldn’t. I can’t. We’re divorced, and she remarried. I can’t sleep with her, it wouldn’t be right, but I soooo want to...no I can’t. I won’t. Just hold it to together. You can do this. Don’t sleep with her. It’s that easy.

Trent shook his head violently to shake the desire out and turned around to refresh their drinks. He heard the bathroom door open. In the mirror over the wet bar, he saw Madison’s reflection. Standing with her hands grasping the sides of the doorframe, her nakedness, minus high heels, burned into him.

He froze. His suddenly dry mouth made talking impossible.

Madison floated toward him, seductively placing one foot in front of the other. He didn’t move, just watched in the mirror. Nor did he move when she slipped her arms around him, pressing her naked body firmly against his back. Madison raised herself onto her toes, and brought her lips to his ear.

“You know what? I’ve never been able to get our last night together out of my head. I fantasize about it almost every day. I think about you when I touch myself.”

Don’t sleep with her…

“I want to feel you inside me.”

Fuck it.

Trent swirled around and pulled Madison close before passionately kissing her. He picked her up and threw her on the bed. Standing there, he gazed at her naked beauty. Madison slightly lifted herself onto her elbows, smiling from ear to ear.

With predator eyes locked on him, she said, “Don’t be gentle.”

He wasn’t.

They made their night twelve years ago seem like the PG-13 version. Trent noticed that Madison had learned a few new tricks but decided not to inquire where and how she picked them up.

***

A restful sleep gave way to the sound of a door slamming shut. At which time they discovered the night before had failed to fully extinguish their lust.

Following a far tamer sensual session, Trent ordered room service and jumped into the shower. Madison entertained herself by putting on the top of Trent’s officer’s uniform and rummaging through his stuff.

She was carefully examined a photo of his unit when the shower turned off and she hurriedly covered her tracks.

Her attention was so caught up in the men and women he served with that she barely heard a knock on the door.

Trent called out from the bathroom, “Can you get that? I’m still drying off.”

Without replying, she opened the door, expecting to see a bellman delivering their breakfast. Instead, she saw the stupefied expression of utter shock on her daughter’s face.

Who, after picking her jaw up off the floor, managed to mutter, “Gross.”

They were still standing in the doorway, looking at each other silently when Trent walked out of the bathroom. All he wore was a towel wrapped around his waist.

“I’m so hungry. Last night...”

The sight of Anna stopped him in his tracks.

He tried to power through the moment.

“Well ain’t this an awkward family reunion.”

No one laughed.

Chapter 17: Activated

T
he sun burned brightly in the cloudless September sky over Chicago. Anna and Madison reviewed their menus from behind sunglasses at the Open Air Cafe on Millennium Park.

Trent paid no attention to the lunch options, choosing instead to spy on the other tables. Nearly all hosted a family of some type, from a mother and young son to a perfect family of four with one boy and one girl.

I wonder what we look like? I look more like Anna’s older brother than her dad. Strange times.

Returning his eyes to the lovely women making up his family, he gazed with delight.

After recovering from the horror all children suffer having caught their parents in flagrante delicto, Anna happily agreed to keep her mother’s secret. The ongoing deception allowed the three to do their best to make up for lost time.

The past month held some of the best days in Trent’s life. Anna even accompanied him on a ten-day worldwide public relations tour, giving them an unparalleled opportunity to bond.

“What are you going to have, Dad?”

Silence.

“Earth to Dad. Daaad.”

“Ummmm. What?”

“I asked what you were going to order. You’re zoning out.”

“Yeah, guess I was.”

Madison asked, “What were you day dreaming about?”

“Just about how happy I am right now.”

As if destiny conspired against him to ruin the exact moment he achieved pure bliss, two Legion officers stalked Trent from behind. Anna saw them first. Her grin disappeared, letting him know that something terrible was about to descend.

“Colonel,” the black captain said.

Trent’s heart sank. He turned to see the captain and a female lieutenant saluting. He looked back at his menu as if he could simply ignore them and they’d go away.

They didn’t.

“Sir.”

“
Adieu
(goodbye), Captain. What do you want?”

“We’ve had trouble calling you, sir.”

“That’s because I deactivated my comm.”

“Oh. Sir, you’ve been activated. You’re ordered to report to the Pentagon in twenty-four hours to receive new mission orders.”

Anna reverted to the eight-year-old girl who lost her father.

“No!” The defiant word attracted the attention of the cafe. “You can’t go. You just got back. They took you for twelve years and only gave us a month. No!”

Madison placed her palm on top of Anna’s hand, and she started to cry. Trent dismissed the uncomfortable officers.

With a shattered heart, he did the only thing he could. He walked around to the other side of the table and hugged his family.

***

Twelve years ago, the Pentagon lived in a shadow of its former glory. Now it buzzed with activity as the center of a mobilized Earth. With no room in its corridors available for makeshift barracks, Trent found a bunk at the nearby Ft. Myers.

The Spartan room reflected his empty spirit. He stared out the window watching the muddy waters of the Potomac flowing past. Tearing himself away from Anna again proved to be more difficult than the first time.

Just when old wounds of separation had begun to heal, the scab was ripped off by the war effort beckoning him back into service.

Destiny, fate, or some other cruel bitch in the universe put him in this depressing room along with his equally depressing thoughts. Whoever or whatever was responsible for his current state must have taken pity on him as it saw fit to interrupt the melancholy mood with a solitary knock at the door.

Not bothering to take his eyes off the river, he announced, “It’s open.”

The heavy wood door with chipped paint, a relic of the past, creaked as it opened followed by two pairs of footsteps.

A familiar female voice pulled him from his malaise. “Are we disturbing you, Colonel?”

“Not at all, Sergeant Roth.”

Trent turned around with renewed energy. Sergeant Gabriel stood next to Roth, further adding to his lifting sprits. They both dressed in civilian clothing. Roth wore jeans and a plain white t-shirt, which clung to her breasts nicely. Despite the casual outfit, she still arrested her lovely blonde hair in a ponytail. Gabriel, who no long carried a few extra pounds thanks to the nanos and physical training, wore a red shirt with jeans. 

The weathered wood floor moaned under Trent’s boots as he advanced to shake hands.

“Damn glad to see you two.”

As he griped Roth’s right hand, he gave it an extra squeeze, twisting it from side to side for a more thorough examination.

Roth said, “I think it turned out good. It’s even stronger than it used to be.”

“Impressive. Does it feel different?”

“Just a little, I can kinda tell it’s...ummm, sturdier. The tissue and skin grew over a metal framework they implanted. That allowed for a much quicker recovery because the nanos didn’t have to build most of the bone.”

Gabriel said, “Just wait. When we get back from this mission, they’ll probably have a new policy that we have to get all of our limbs replaced.”

Roth said, “Sign me up. Just as long as they don’t rip the other three off while I’m awake.”

“What brings you two by?” Trent asked.

Gabriel said, “Wanted to see if you would like to join us for drinks and dinner. We’re going to Georgetown, maybe find some college kids to screw with.”

Some stuffy officers might not approve of a colonel socializing with sergeants. Given their status as two people from a select few in the world with any understanding of what he was going through, Trent didn’t give a shit. Besides, they’d all soon be fighting a God awful enemy on some hellhole light years away from home. If anyone had a problem with him dining with enlisted men, screw them. What would they do? Tell him that he couldn’t go.

“Give me a couple minutes to change.”

***

The trio eventually found their way to the Nationals Sports Bar & Grill. The restaurant, named in honor of a former local baseball team from a long bankrupt league, arranged their tables in a circular stadium-seating format that climbed higher and higher. At the bottom of the pit lay a massive holo platform that allowed the main sporting event of the moment to be shown in a miniaturized 3D display. The whole setup gave the patrons the illusion of actually being there. Tonight the holo showed a rugby match between the U.S. and India, though Trent paid no attention. He still preferred American football.

The server, dressed in skimpy striped referee’s uniform, set two pitchers of beer on their table. Trent took command of one of the pitchers and poured each of them a glass to the rim.

“Drink up boys and girls. I don’t think we’ll find much beer where we’re going.”

Gabriel paying half attention to the game asked, “Any idea of where that might be?”

“Not a clue. I have the mission briefing tomorrow at eleven hundred. I’m going to venture a guess that it isn’t a vacation destination.”

“I honestly don’t care.” Roth chugged half her beer. “I don’t care where we go as long as we don’t have to live in those damn suits. I have never felt so gross in my entire life.”

Trent said, “I think you might be in luck. I don’t know where we’re going, but I hear we may be getting a nano booster, an upgrade of some type. It’ll allow us to expand the range of environments we can survive outside the suit.”

The U.S. scored in the final second, sending the game into overtime, and causing the place to erupt so loudly even they had to shout to hear each other. Displaying good timing, the sexy, dirty-blonde waitress laid out their food. Gabriel’s eyes intently followed her every move.

With their food devoured and beer depleted, Trent searched for the waitress to bring another set of pitchers. Suddenly the U.S. won in dramatic fashion. Behind Roth, a group of college aged kids jumped to their feet in celebration. One of them did so with a full beer in his hand, treating her to a free shower.

She quickly rose to her feet with angry eyes. Gabriel and Trent followed suit. The young group consisted of two couples. Both men wore Georgetown University t-shirts. The richly dressed women looked on.

“Pal, I strongly suggest that you apologize to my friend here,” Gabriel said.

“Chill, man,” the black haired, well-muscled young man dismissively replied.

Trent commented, “I recommend that you listen to him.”

“It waaas an acc’dent. Don’t get your panties in a bunch,” a very drunk brunette shot back.

Roth said, “I’m all wet and smell like a frat house.”

“Look,” Trent said hands out and low. “Just apologize, and we can all go about our business. We don’t want any trouble.”

“Listen asshole. I ain’t apologizing for anything. This cunt bumped into me.”

Trent and Gabriel started to move to defend their comrade’s honor when the other man, less jock looking than his friend, attempted to defuse the situation.

“Let’s settle this in the cages.”

“Yes, in the cages. Unless you’re scared.” muscled jerk said with a smirky grin.

“You’re on,” Gabriel said. “What’s the...cages?”

The cages were chain-linked batting cages. Instead of throwing real baseballs, they tossed holo ones. The bat was also a holo projection emanating from a small stick the batter held.

As the trio looked on, the black haired bully released a cocky smile.

“I’ll go first. That way you can see how it’s done. Most home runs out of ten pitches wins. Loser apologizes. Deal?”

“Deal,” Trent answered. “I’ll go for us.”

“Suit yourself. Oh...did I mention I hold the high score, seven out of ten.”

Trent resisted the urge to punch the cocky smile off his face.

Having never held a bat in his hand before, Trent carefully watched the bully take a swing. His stance and where he placed his hands on the stick were all pieces of data he took in. He didn’t even know the result of each swing, he only paid attention to the how.

After the tenth pitch, an on-looking crowd burst into cheers. Trent saw the scoreboard flash, ‘New High Score...Eight Home Runs!’

“Take that, asshole.”

Trent betrayed no emotion as he took the stick from the bully’s hand. He stepped into the cage and ignored the college man’s boastful look.

As Trent readied himself for the first pitch, he looked at Roth. She held onto the cage with both hands and leaned forward. She smiled and winked her right eye. Trent winked back. The bully witnessed this exchange with darting eyes and grew concerned when Trent shot him an “I know something you don’t” smirk.

The first holo ball came flying.

Nano enhanced eyes experienced no trouble following the projectile. His nano enhanced coordination and reflexes easily guided the bat true.

The sound effects system emitted a loud “Wack!” The ball rocketed out of the holo park, getting a roar from the crowd.

“Home run!” the scoreboard announced.

The next ball came faster, but it made no difference. Trent swung and let the ball fly.

‘Home Run!’

Roth jumped up and down, cheering wildly. Gabriel took the opportunity to hit on the hot waitress.

Eight more pitches came, each faster than the last. Trent sent them all soaring.

‘New High Score...Ten Home Runs! Perfect Score!’

The crowd screamed with drunken delight. Trent walked over to the bully. Roth and Gabriel came around the cage, intercepting him. She threw her arms around his neck, kissing him on the cheek. Roth blushed at her beer-fueled breech of protocol.

“You’re my hero!”

Trent smiled at her before turning to the bully.

“I believe that you owe her an apology.”

Not a man accustomed to losing let alone losing on his home turf in front of a large crowd of peers, the bully drew back his shoulder and wound up for a powerful strike. A fist cut through the air at Trent’s chin.

He effortlessly caught the fist with his left hand, stopping it midair. With one twist of his wrist, the bully cried in pain and his knees buckled. Holding onto the fist, Trent stood over the cowering fool in complete control.

The crowd went into stunned silence.

“I said...
You owe the lady an apology
,” Trent said through clenched teeth.

The bully’s face grimaced in agony. “I...I’m sssssoooorrry.”

Roth said, “Apology accepted. Watch your manners next time. Colonel, you can let him go.”

Once freed, the wounded man remained on his knees, cradling the injured appendage as if it were a newborn baby. 

“Colonel? Who the fuck are you people?”

Trent squatted, lowering himself to the bully’s eye level.

“Let’s just say, buddy, that you don’t mess with a Red Baron.”

***

After closing down the bar, Gabriel disappeared with the waitress. Being a member of the Red Barons played significantly in his ability to close the deal. The final shots Roth took during last call hit her hard when the cabby pulled up to Ft. Myers’ gate. First generation military grade nanos could do wonders but fell short in aiding the body’s ability to process booze.