by M. K. Gibson
“And I’m getting tired,” Kyle grunted as flipped over one of Buddha’s kicks.
“Helicopter’s inbound,” Deek said. “ETA three minutes.”
“Those are your parameters,” Jessie said. “So, what do we do?”
Cross closed her eyes. “Okay, here’s what we do.”
Chapter Forty-Five
15 May - 11:31 pm
The roof of Body by Buddha, District of New Dorado
Despite the pain to his body, the dire situation, and the impending doom that awaited the city, Messer couldn’t stop smiling. The team, his team, worked just as he’d hoped they would.
Ito jumped over one of Buddha’s attacks just as DeLeon tossed her spare taser to the man. Ito caught it in midair, turned, and released the full charge directly into the god’s lower back. On cue, Deacon charged in like a freight train, knocking Buddha to the ground while DeLeon ran in and grabbed the bag full of Vitae. When the god saw what she was doing, he reached for her, only to be hit by waves of concussive force from Freeman’s and Gabby’s wands.
And from beside him, Cross stood back, watching and orchestrating it all.
“Jessie, get those out of there!”
“I’m trying!” DeLeon yelled as she tossed the bag off the side of the building.
“Deek, what’s the ETA on that chopper?”
“Ninety seconds,” Doc Deacon said over the comm link.
“I see it,” Freeman said, pointing to the sky. “It’s coming in fast.”
“We’re running out of time,” Jessie said, running back from the edge of the building.
“I know, damn it,” Cross swore. “Gabby, you swear to me that you can take care of the chopper on your own?”
Gabby gave her a thumbs-up and an affirmative nod.
“Good. Deek, I assume that drone of yours has some kind of weapons on it?”
“Some,” Doc Deacon said. “But I was saving them for the chopper. If we can’t stop him here, then our last shot is when he’s airborne.”
“We have to stop him here and now,” Cross said. “Okay folks, clear the area. Deek, rain down hell.”
“Roger that,” Doc Deacon said. “In three . . . two . . . one. Weapons hot!”
The team dove for cover as a long octo-rotor drone the size of a walrus fired its entire complement of 7.62mm rounds down on Buddha. The deity threw his arms up, shielding his eyes. But the bullets didn’t penetrate his empowered skin. They did, however, drive the angry god to his knees. Sparks flared up, and Buddha screamed as more and more of his power was drained.
It was just as DeLeon had noticed—the more punishment they poured into him, the more power he lost. They just had to make him burn enough of it to bring him in.
“Great work with the guns, Deek, but I hope you have some more. That prick is still in one piece.”
“I’m out of rounds,” Doc Deacon said. “So I’m switching to rockets.”
“Rockets? Oh, I owe you a drink.”
A cluster of micro-rockets screamed through the night and impacted the target. When the smoke cleared, Buddha was on his knees. His clothing had been torn to shreds. The drone ducked below the edge of the building as the rooftop underneath Buddha threatened to collapse.
But the god was still smiling.
“Those were not rockets!” Cross yelled.
“Mini cluster projectiles,” Doc Deacon said. “They packed a punch.”
“They knocked his clothes off. Now all I see green vegan penis. I can’t unsee that, Deek! I’m canceling that drink. In fact, you owe me one.”
“Not bad, agents, not bad,” Buddha said, examining his body as he stood. “Now let’s see if my gun is bigger than yours.”
“It isn’t!” Arby called out. “Just saying, I’ve seen better. Like . . . my own. Or . . . Thor’s.”
Gabby nodded in agreement.
Buddha closed his fists and his eyes. Power welled within him. Casting his hands wide, most of his remaining power was released as a massive shockwave. The thunderous blast knocked all of the agents off their feet, scattering them towards the edge of the building.
Time slowed. To his right, Messer saw Ito, Cross, and Deacon.
“Cassy!” Ito yelled. He scrambled and dove for the edge of the building, grabbing his ex-wife before she tumbled off.
“Kyle!”
“I got you,” he said, then began to fall over. “Oh shit, don’t got you, don’t got you!”
Deacon scrambled to them and clamped a big hand down on Ito’s tail.
“Ow!”
“Shut up and hang on,” Deacon yelled. “Flex your ass muscles or something!”
“It doesn’t work like that! OW!” Ito screamed.
“Quit being a baby. Nature gave you something to grab onto and that’s what I’m doing,” Deacon said as he began to pull them both back from the edge.
“You know that a tail is not a rope?!”
“If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck,” Deacon said.
“Will you two motherduckers stop arguing and just pull me up!” Cross yelled.
To his left, Messer saw DeLeon, Freeman, and Gabby.
They weren’t so lucky.
“DeLeon!” Freeman yelled as she and Gabby dove for the edge. But the young officer rolled off the roof before they reached her.
Ito, Deacon, and Cross all called her name, but it was too late. She was gone. Gabby hissed and rounded on Buddha. Messer narrowed his eyes and looked at the green deity.
“You asshole!” Deacon yelled. “She was the best of us!”
The god, still smiling, shrugged. “Oops.”
Freeman began yelling a string of curses but was drowned out by the sound of the inbound helicopter.
“That’s my ride. I’d like to say it’s been fun, but, well . . . you all suck.”
The inbound chopper banked and began its approach to land on the roof. The sleek all-black craft drifted towards them. But before it reached the roof, the copter suddenly exploded in a ball of magical blue fire.
“My chopper!” Buddha yelled. “Do you know how expensive that was?!”
The burning wreckage crashed into the gym’s empty parking with a horrible sound of screeching metal. Messer looked over to see Gabby holding her largest wand. She blew on the end of the spent but still smoking three-foot-long rod of enchanted hickory.
“Way to go, Gabby,” Deek said. “How’d you know the helicopter was a drone? You . . . you did know it was a drone, didn’t you?”
Gabby shrugged. The god’s smile turned to a tight-lipped sneer of seething anger.
“Yeah, I can do it,” Messer said, waving away Gabby’s wand and forcing himself to stand. His knife was glowing in his hand. “Buddha, you’re under arrest—”
“No!” he roared. “I am not some rutting monkey to be subjugated. I am a god!”
Buddha slammed his foot down and another wave of raw power exploded outward. The blast stunned all of them, dropping them to the rooftop.
All save one.
Messer remained standing, his knife in his hand.
“Just die already!” Buddha yelled as he swung a wild fist, all sense of style and poise gone. The blow connected with Messer’s jaw and spun his head around, knocking him to the ground.
“S-sarge!” Cross grunted out.
Messer slowly rose to his feet and spit blood. “You have the right to remain silent—”
Another punch hit Messer. His knees buckled and he dropped once more.
“Stay! Down!”
“You have the right to an attorney,” Messer continued, getting back up to his knees.
“Shut up!” Buddha screamed and kicked Messer in the chest, knocking him flat on his back. Buddha got into the top mount position and began throwing alternating left and right punches.
“If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you!” Messer screamed between the punches.
“Shut! Up!” Buddha gasped between labored breaths. “I . . . beat you! I win�
�”
Messer slammed his forehead into Buddha’s nose, breaking it. “That’s a matter of perspective and positioning, asshole.”
With a heave, Messer shoved the exhausted deity off him and painfully got to his feet. Blood covered his coat and he could barely see through his swollen eyes. But he focused on Buddha, who had also gotten to his feet. Messer launched for him with his knife, but Buddha grabbed his wrist with one hand and clamped the other down on Messer’s throat. Messer grabbed Buddha’s wrist and the two tired men held each other there, seeking an advantage.
“F-for manufacturing and trafficking of narcotics,” Messer gasped, continuing the list of charges. “F-for murder, and conspiracy to commit murder—”
“Just die!” Buddha roared back.
“Y-you are under arrest—” Messer tried to say, but Buddha shook him so violently with the last of the godly power that the knife fell from Messer’s hands and clanged against the rooftop.
“You . . . can’t . . . beat me,” Buddha snarled.
“I-I’m not trying to,” Messer said, pulling Buddha back a few steps. “I’m just trying to hold you still.”
“What?”
“Now, DeLeon!”
Chapter Forty-Six
15 May - A Few Moments Earlier
The roof of Body by Buddha, District of New Dorado
Buddha’s shockwave launched Jessie across the roof. She hit the gravel top and rolled over the edge. Quickly, she pulled a fall pod from her belt and cracked it. In less than a second, she was encapsulated in the green, spongy, gas-permeable gelatin. The goop bounced once on the pavement and dissolved.
“Always so gross,” she said, pulling herself from the goo.
“DeLeon!” Freeman shouted from the roof.
“I’m okay,” she said over the comm link. “I just fell off the roof. But I have an idea. Buddha thinks I’m out of it. So play it up and act like I’m dead.”
“You asshole!” Arby yelled. “She was the best of us!”
“Dios, you’re laying it on pretty thick. I thought you were an undercover cop,” Jessie said as the big man chuckled under his breath. “Okay, Deek, can your drone haul me back up there?”
“Yeah, hang on. Buddha’s helicopter is inbound.”
A moment later, Jessie heard an explosion and a thunderous crash. “What happened?”
“Gabby happened,” Deek said. “Way to go, Gabby! How’d you know the helicopter was a drone? You . . . you did know it was a drone, didn’t you?”
“Speaking of drones, where’s yours?”
“On its way,” Deek said.
“Messer, can you distract him long enough for me to jump him?”
“Yeah, I can do it,” Messer said.
A moment later, she heard another clap of thunder-like power from the roof. “Deek, what happened?”
“I don’t know. Sensors just went crazy and no one’s responding.”
“Shit, get me up there!”
Jessie got onto the long octo-rotor drone and balanced as best she could as it began to lift off. Deek swung the drone around in a wide arc. Below she saw her friends. They were stunned and unresponsive. Buddha was on top of Messer, and the god was punching the ever-living shit out of him. But through the beating, Messer kept reading him his Miranda rights. With each punch, the god was getting darker.
Suddenly, Messer headbutted Buddha. He shot her a direct look, and then she heard him say over the comm link, “That’s a matter of perspective and positioning, asshole.”
Shit. He was trying to tell her to get into an attack position. But what could she do? She didn’t have a gun, almost all her wands were out of charges, and she doubted that a fall pod would do much besides piss him off.
She watched the two of them begin to wrestle, and a moment later, the knife, Messer’s knife, fell to the ground.
He lost it? How? Messer held on to that knife through an exploding god.
Of course! How could she be so stupid? He didn’t lose it. He dropped it for her.
“Now, DeLeon!”
The next few seconds were like slow motion. Jessie hopped off the drone and rolled across the rooftop. She sprinted towards them just as Buddha tossed Messer aside and took a step forward. Buddha reached for her, but Jessie went into a slide and pulled the snub-nosed wand from her sleeve and released a quick blast of energy.
Buddha yelled in pain and turned his head as the small blast scorched his face. And in that brief moment of distraction, she grabbed the knife.
Her world exploded.
Fragments of memories that were not her own flooded her mind. They were like shards of a broken mirror, reflecting back lives she never lived. There was no time, no direction, only the images of a person who possessed the blade.
Knights.
Pirates.
Conquistadors.
Cowboys.
Celts.
Samurai.
Vikings.
Zulu.
Each of them wielded a weapon that was meant to do one thing and one thing only: to slay the mythological. The blade, passed down through centuries, had taken many forms, each time adapting itself to the owner. A sword, a spear, and even a large knife. It wasn’t Messer that the myths feared. It was the blade.
She felt the knife’s power. She knew that if she held onto it long enough, it would extend her life. Grant her the strength to fight back against the darkest powers. This weapon could kill a god.
Jessie’s mind slammed back into place. With a roar of triumph, she closed her eyes, guided by the power of The Knife. Stabbing upward, she drove the blade home.
“Oh shit, New Girl!” Arby yelled. “Right in the dick!”
Jessie opened her eyes.
Sure as hell, The Knife had stabbed Buddha straight through the middle of his penis. The god looked down in shock, then into her eyes. His eyes asked the silent question: why?
Buddha dropped to his knees and began to scream.
“Shh! Shh shh shh!” Jessie said, putting her fingers to her lips and then to his in a frantic back and forth. “Sorry, oh shit I’m so so sorry. Why the hell didn’t he explode?!”
“What do you mean explode?” Messer said as he slowly got to his feet.
“I felt the power of the knife,” she said. “It can kill a god!”
“Yeah, I can,” Messer said. “But it’s a knife. You have to stab them somewhere vital. What, did you think you just had to puncture him and he’d shatter into a thousand pieces?”
“Yes?”
“What kind of piss-poor storytelling would that be if the big bad guy, who you’ve been hunting the entire time, suddenly dissolved from a single knife stab?” Messer said, helping her to her feet.
“I—I don’t know. I just feel so . . . I mean, look at him. Should I pull it out?”
Buddha fell to his side and shuffled away. “Don’t touch me!”
“Right,” she said with a nod, then looked up at Messer. “So . . . we won?”
“He has to be in custody.”
“We got this,” Freeman said as she and Arby painfully stood and worked out their muscles. Together, they gently turned Buddha over. Ignoring his attempts to keep them away, Freeman and Arby slipped the magical restraints about his hands.
“It’s already been said, but once more for the record, Buddha, you’re under arrest,” Freeman said.
Ito went over to help Cross up. She accepted and when she stood, she wrapped her arms around him. Jessie watched the pair hug one another. But she caught Kyle staring at her.
That’s something that needs to be worked out later, she thought.
“On three. One, two—” Freeman said, then yanked the knife free.
“Ow, you bitch! What happened to three?!” Buddha yelled.
“I just can’t, that’s just next-level nasty.” Arby winced as he looked away and pointed at her. “You nasty, girl.”
“It was an accident?” Jessie said.
“Shut up, all of you,” Freeman said, holding Bu
ddha’s bifurcated penis together, applying pressure. “But this is some nasty-ass bullshit. You owe me a drink, DeLeon.”
“You tried to kill me a few days ago,” Jessie countered.
“If I knew then that I would have to hold a god’s iddity-bitty ditty together with my bare hand, I would have gone ahead and let the vamps kill you.”
“Fair enough,” Jessie said. “I’ll buy you two drinks.”
“Damn right,” Freeman said, then looked over at the elf. “Hey Gabby, you still have a stasis pod? Gabby? Gabby!”
The elf was silently laughing at Buddha while she held the heels of her palms together and let the open hands limply flap together and apart mocking the downed god.
“Gabby!”
Gabby straightened, then reached into her coat and offered Freeman a small caterpillar cocoon. Freeman nodded her thanks.
“Okay Buddha, this works on consent. Do you consent to being placed in a state of medical stasis for transport to—”
“Damn it, yes!” Buddha yelled. “Just save my dick.”
Freeman activated the magical device and the cocoon grew and enveloped Buddha, silencing his scream. Through the wall of the cocoon, Jessie could just make out Buddha’s still form.
He was giving her the finger.
“Well fuck you too, buddy,” Jessie said. Then took the knife from Freeman and passed it back to Messer. As their hands touched, she saw flashes. Certain memories of his.
He winked at her.
Once the blade was in his hand, he immediately stood a little straighter, a touch of vitality returning to his being.
“Doc,” Messer said over the comm link while waving at the drone.
“Here, Sarge.”
“Time check.”
“Eleven forty-seven, Sarge.”
“With minutes to spare,” Messer said, pleased with himself. “Your drone’s camera got everything?”
“Sending the footage to Mother-1 now,” Deek said. “Awaiting confirmation.”
Jessie held her breath, as did the rest of the team. The next few minutes were agonizing. And then they all heard Deek’s voice on the line.
“The elves have called off the attack. The city is safe.”
