Ryan glanced at his immobilised left arm that his watch was attached to. If only he could reach it and activate the A.A.E.E. suit. Another blow struck his stomach, one more and his dinner was going to come up. There must be a way out?
The Rings of Karn!
A single thought passed through the electro-chemical circuitry of his brain and the invisible bracelets picked up the signal. Immediately his body was charged with an impenetrable field that expelled all intruders at close proximity. Dark clad bodies flew in all directions and the leader that assaulted his forefront was catapulted through the opposite wall. His whole form was a light display that illuminated the alley like a bonfire. Without mental control, the bracelets sought the primary thought as their command and the only thing that passed through Ryan's mind was the destruction of his opponents. His fury was amplified tenfold by the Bracelets, the emotion engulfed his whole mind smothering all other feelings. The Rings of Karn channelled their titanic power in response. Ryan extended his right index finger and pointed at one of the retaliating henchmen. A beam of light engulfed the dark cloaked figure and his body vaporised as if it were struck by a nuclear explosion. Ryan pointed to another and another, both followed their comrade's fiery fate. The others pulled laser weapons from their cloaks and fired upon the prisoner-come-aggressor, but the weapons had no effect. The bracelet's response was a cluster of light beams that incinerated their futuristic weapons.
Ryan had to control his emotions or he would destroy all that stood about him. He took a deep breath and calmed himself as best as he could. The Rings were like a wild beast that was unleashed as a massive amount of power and energy was channelled through to his mind. The white light that emanated from his body retracted to the bracelets so only they glowed, then he extended his mind to engulf minds of the remaining eleven and applied his vice like will upon them. They all stood up like robots, then obediently formed a ring around him. Ryan spoke to them through his thoughts.
"There is no point it struggling, you are totally under my control. When I inducted you all into Intersect, it came with a price. Total allegiance or death. You have rebelled against me and therefore you must pay the price...." Ryan's mind was a conflict of anger and remorse. Anger, for what they had done and for what he now was forced to do. Remorse, for who they were before their rebellion; friends and comrades in arms. "....and so it shall be - your damnation!" He drew in a breath and pushed aside his emotions, then let loose the beast within him. A ring of fire erupted from his body and struck the henchmen surrounding him, each were engulfed in flames and incinerated until only a blackened skeleton remained.
Motion in the corner of his eye caught his attention. The Leader emerged from the broken wall minus the robe and sunglasses. He wore dark grey coloured body armour that resembled the material of Ryan's own A.A.E.E.V. suit. Ryan looked at the unconcealed face and recognised it instantly.
"Joshua?!"
"Yes, you remember me."
"How could you turn against me like this? I gave you life and a new beginning."
"Professor Bane gave me wealth and power."
"Bane is a madman. I pulled him from an inferno that devoured most of his body. He once was a brilliant scientist, but now he is a twisted, irrational psychopath...." Ryan's mind went back to when he first saved Bane from the fire that destroyed his laboratory. Ryan had difficulty in beaming him to the Eagle and by the time Bane's body was successfully transported, very little was left. Ryan utilised all the technology that was available to him to keep Bane alive and he constructed a mechanical body so he could live a fairly normal life. The cyborging of Bane was successful and the professor became a prominent figure in Intersect, then he began to deteriorate. Not his body, but his mind. Ryan felt it was something to do with the unusual fire he was subjected too or the cyborging process that had deformed his brain. Bane turned against Ryan and formed a rebellion then fled the confines of Intersect. Despite highly sophisticated tracking devices, Bane and his rebel clan had remained concealed while performing daring raids on Intersect's supply depots. "....Your relationship with him will only lead to your death. What I gave you, wealth and power could never provide - meaning to live. The greatest responsibility one could ever undertake, saving the entire Earth. Your wealth and power will mean nothing if all this is destroyed."
"Do you think for one minute that your little army can stop the entire Warrian fleet. The Federation Army was many times the size of yours and they were crushed in a matter of weeks, You won't last the first day. Besides, Bane has a plan to save his followers from the Warrians."
"What's he going to do, bargain with them? If the Warrians don't kill him straight away, they will use him and when they have finished, Zardon will have you all tortured and killed. I've been there, I've seen what they can do. You have no hope, much less than me."
"No. To stand with you will mean certain death, with him, a chance for life."
"Bane has confused you with his lies."
"There is no confusion in my eyes. Arm yourself Williams....." Joshua reached to a sword hilt that protruded over his right shoulder and withdrew it. As he did so a metre long, broadsword blade of light grew on the end. ".....Or are you going to chicken out and use the same weaponry as you did on the others."
Ryan knew he could crush Joshua with one thought, but still he hoped to turn him for the better. "No. It will be just you and me, sword against sword." He initiated the mental off command for the Rings of Karn and they disappeared from his arms. Then he pressed an unusual sequence of buttons on his wrist watch and an energy sword generated in his hand.
The energy swords clashed in a rage of light and sound. Ryan knew that Joshua was a formidable opponent, his sword expertise was paramount. Ryan would need all his skills to conquer him. Although Joshua possessed an armoured body suit, he was just as vulnerable as Ryan. The energy sword can cut through the armour as easily as bare skin. The battle thundered on with either matching the others strike and neither gaining ground. Ryan somersaulted over Joshua's head and brought the blade across his back to parry a blow. He immediately spun on his heal and cut at Joshua's legs. Joshua somersaulted backwards avoiding the strike, then lunged back at Ryan. Again the battle raged on with blow matched for blow, cut matched for cut in a phenomenal display of skill and swordsmanship. As Ryan clashed swords, he saw the anger and hate in Joshua's eyes and realised he was beyond the point of return. He pushed all thoughts of their past friendship aside and focused on the demise of the twisted man before him. Ryan fought with new and greater ferocity, he became one with the weapon. A pure warrior, dauntless, formidable, a total killing machine. Swordsmanship is not only governed by skill and strength, but also by the discipline of the mind and soul. One who masters all these aspects will be the greatest Samurai. Joshua's soul was corrupt and ragged whereas Ryan was pure and whole. The focus of such a pure mind was like the blade Ryan wielded, sharp, keen, intrepid and ultimately superior.
With all his might, Ryan spun on his heel in a full circle and struck at his opponent’s sword, again spun and cut and again spun and cut. With each turn he increased speed and force and on the forth turn Joshua was unable to parry the blow. Ryan's sword met armour then flesh and continued until it passed right through Joshua's body. Two bloody halves fell to the ground and flooded the alley with red warm fluid. Ryan pressed the same sequence of buttons on his wrist watch and the sword disappeared in a flash of light. His head began to spin from the extreme exertion he put on his mind and body and had to grip the wall to steady himself. He panted deeply as his lungs craved for oxygen. To be the destroying force of his friend cut deeply into his heart. Why did it have to come to this? Why was it he that had to stop him? Will there be an end to all this killing?
Ryan looked up and saw the body of Katie upon the ground. The sight made is heart stop. "KATIE!" He rushed to her side and desperately checked for a pulse. SHE WAS ALIVE! From his brief check of her condition he determined that she was knocked unconscious. In his panic, Ryan ne
ver noticed the gun a few metres away on the ground. He pressed a button on his watch and a face of a woman in her thirties appeared on the screen.
"Endeavour."
"This is Admiral Williams. I need to beam up to the medical centre immediately."
"Sorry Admiral, but the transporters are malfunctioning. All incoming staff have been redirected to the shuttle system."
"Bugger!" He turned off the communicator, then picked her up in his arms and ran back to the car. After carefully placing Katie in the vehicle, he drove with great speed to his home. Fortunately his earthbound home was not far away and the journey only took a few minutes and several violated traffic laws. As the automatic garage door opened he abruptly parked the car and got out. Ryan carefully picked up Katie from the car seat and carried her over to a small cleared space at the end of the garage. While standing in the clearing he said, "Hanger" and a circular section of the floor where he stood, lowered away into the ground. After going down many metres, the floor stopped as a door appeared before him. He struggled with Katie in his arms as he pressed his palm into the door. The door slid aside and revealed a small room that was dimly lit. The room possessed a control panel and a single chair. As Ryan said, "Lights" a large chamber beyond the room lit up revealing an underground hanger. Within the hanger was a smooth, sleek spaceship no larger than a normal twentieth century jet fighter. An unusual motorcycle that possessed a smooth casing that housed the rider and machine and numerous other strange and futuristic devices.
Ryan walked down a ramp and went to a single bed that was cut into the wall. He placed Katie on the bed and pressed a button on the control panel that was mounted on the wall next to the bed. A glass shield projected down from the top of the bed to create a sealed chamber. A voice came from a speaker on the wall.
"Auto medical centre. How may I help you?"
"Diagnose patient." Ryan answered.
A beam of blue light travelled from her head to her toes and back again. The electronic nurse spoke again. "Scan complete. Minor head injuries and concussion. Patient currently in comatose."
"Can you provide treatment?" He asked anxiously.
"Yes."
"Commence treatment."
This time a beam of red light projected to her forehead and began to pulse in a rhythmical fashion. "Reconstructing damaged neurones....Dispersing minor haemorrhaging.....Stabilising alpha waves.....treatment complete. Recommend minimum two hours at subconscious mental state for reducing headache after effects. For maximum recovery twelve hours rest is required."
"Administer medication for full recovery."
A small rod appeared from the side of the chamber and pressed on her upper arm. A whooshing sound was omitted, then the rod retracted to the wall. The glass shield retracted leaving a peacefully sleeping Katie on the bed. Ryan decided it would be best to take her home. He doubted if he would ever see her again, the demands of Intersect would require his full attention until the arrival of the Warrians. Besides, a relationship between them however wonderful, would be impossible. He had already effected history by just taking her out and any further intervention could be dangerous. He carried her back to the car and drove to her home.
While he weaved through the inner city streets Ryan remembered he had no key to Katie's apartment. Her key must be in her handbag, but where is her handbag - the alley. He changed direction and headed back to the location of the earlier battle. Ryan stopped outside the entrance to the alley and left his sleeping passenger in the car. As he walked down the dark alley, he saw the charred remains of the henchmen and the gory body of Joshua still laying on the ground undiscovered. The stench of death, stifled his sense of smell. Ryan covered his face with a handkerchief to reduce the nauseating odour. He would have to be quick, if he were to be found in the vicinity of the body, the incident could be linked to himself. Questions would be asked he could not answer, then an investigation could be instigated that may uncover the whole operation. He had the notion to destroy the remains of the body, then he considered his grieving family who had no idea of their whereabouts, whether they were alive or dead. At least if he left them there it would end their family's torment. Ryan quickly spotted the handbag and went over and picked it up.
As he did so he noticed a pistol laying on the ground. Ryan picked it up and examined the weapon. Such a primitive gun would not have been used by Bane's men, then whose was it? There was only one answer to this question - Katie.
Ryan began to ponder over the possible scenarios to explain Katie's possession of a gun. Suddenly, footsteps coming from the far end of the alley broke the silence and Ryan's train of thought. He rushed back to the car and sped off down the road. He arrived at her apartment then carried her to the front door. He felt uncomfortable searching the bag for the key, so he did so without looking. He rummaged around until he felt a key shaped object, then pulled it out. Fortunately it was the key to the front door. He unlocked the door and carried Katie to the bedroom. As Ryan carefully laid her on the bed and drew a sheet over her. He couldn't help to think how innocent and angelic Katie looked as she peacefully slept. His urge to kiss her became overwhelming. He bent down and gently kissed her soft, full lips. "Thank you for a wonderful and rather eventful night out. Sweet dreams." He whispered to her.
When Ryan was leaving, he put his hand in his pocket and pulled out the service revolver. He looked at the gun as his baffled mind tried to decipher its existence. No solution came to mind. So he finally decided that whatever the reason, as soon as he walked out the door it wouldn't matter. He put the gun on the coffee table, locked the front door and left.
CHAPTER SIX - BANE'S DEVISE
DATE - APRIL 11TH 1995 TIME - 11.50 AM
LOCATION - SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
The fire-engine siren assaulted the silence of her sleep. As the noise faded into the distance, her subconscious relinquished the grip on her mind and consciousness returned. Katie opened her eyes and beheld the familiar surroundings of her bedroom. Quickly, the events of last night flooded back into her mind - The dinner with Ryan, the gang that attacked them and the blow that knocked her out. Carefully she touched the back of her head in searched of a lump, but none was to be found. Katie expected at least a throbbing headache from the blow but this also was missing, she then looked about for Ryan and like the remanence of the blow he was nowhere to be seen. How did she get here? How did Ryan and herself get away from the gang when there was at least a dozen left when she fell? How could he defeat so many when they were armed as well? Maybe the whole evening never happened, maybe she dreamt the whole thing? But it all seemed so real!
Katie looked down at her black evening dress and saw the torn material and scratch marks on her arm. Dreams don't tear dresses! She got out of bed and wondered into the lounge room. The wall clock pointed to 11.55 a.m., she had almost slept through the morning. Katie sat down on her lounge and turned on the T.V. with her remote control. She remembered that one of the stations had a news broadcast at eleven o'clock and if it really did happen, it would make the news.
A slightly balding man in his forties appeared on the screen with the scene of an office in the background. "The weather today will be mostly fine, twenty two degrees maximum and light to moderate, south easterly breeze. Forecast for tomorrow, mainly fine but a chance of a shower in the evening. Recapping this morning's main story on Eleven A.M. Fifteen people died in what is now dubbed - the Hill Lane massacre. Among the deaths, one man was severed in half and twelve others were totally incinerated in what is believed to be the results some gruesome cult ritual. Any further news will be highlighted in the six o'clock edition. This is Geoff Goldberg for Eleven A.M."
Katie turned off the T.V. and sat in silence as the reality of last night struck her dumb. Her mind turned to Ryan, was he still alive or was he one of the dead? She picked up the phone and began to dial the local police station, then she hung up. Katie realised that she would get no assistance from the local police. This is Australia and being an F.B.I. Agent h
eld little weight in this country. It would take days through the proper channels to get anywhere, but how could she find out what happened? In frustration she threw the phone across the room.
Then Katie noticed her service revolver laying on the coffee table. While picking it up, she realised how she got back to her apartment - Ryan must have brought me here, it's the only explanation. Therefore, HE'S ALIVE! She looked at the gun again, he must have found it on the ground next to her. If Ryan brought it back here, then he would know it was hers and if so, he would have put two and two together and came up with Katherine Mathews! But why did he leave, why isn't he interrogating her right now? There were too many loose ends now, to many unanswered questions. If Ryan hasn't realised who she is yet, then he would very soon. Katie had blown her cover and lost the chance of unravelling this case. Not only that, she had fallen head over heels in love with him. She fell back into the lounge and rested her now aching head in her hands. Her mind was filled with the loss and the previous evening's events playing back through her head. Why did she fall in love with him so quickly, so easily, so deeply? It never happened like this before with her past loves, it was always a slow and cautious relationship where guard against foolish emotions was never broken. This was one of the reasons why she was such a good F.B.I. Agent, totally devoted and untouchable. Somehow, Ryan conquered her defences and left her heart weak, vulnerable and unprotected. Maybe there is some truth in the phrase "love at first sight", but why did it have to be a suspect in a case? A man she could never see again, never love again. Two tears escaped from her reddening eyes and ran down her soft cheeks.
A thought popped into her mind - the map.
She had forgotten about it. It was the last lead Katie had and she wasn't going to stuff this one up. After wiping her tears away, she went to her bedroom and opened the top draw of her bed-side chest of drawers. She pulled out a small folded piece of paper and examined it. It looked like a road map with directions to a place marked by an "X". There was only one word written on it where directions started from - Toronto. Five weeks ago, Katie studied Canada's Toronto city thoroughly for a connection with the map, but found none. As far as she could determine, Toronto had no such road pattern. Her detective mind began to dissect the problem, what is there to say that this map is of Canada? It could be of any part of the world! Katie went to the lounge room bookshelf and extracted a copy of the Atlas. Searching through the index she found the reference to Toronto, Canada and one other - Toronto, Australia. Katie flicked through the pages to the appropriate map of Australia and projected the page reference with her index finger. She stopped at a point just above Sydney where she found the small town of Toronto. As the adrenalin began to pump from the anticipation, Katie grabbed her street directory and rapidly turned the pages. Finally, she came to the detailed street map of Toronto. Katie stuck the rough map next to street directory and compared the two. The main streets of Toronto town matched the lines on the rough map, BINGO! She slammed the directory shut, squashing the map inside and went to the bedroom closet. In great haste, Katie changed into a pair of black lycra pants and top, black jacket, shoes and a black cap, then stuffed her silky blond hair in the cap to finalise her stealthy ensemble. From her luggage she removed her standard issue, compact infra-red binoculars, then grabbing her I.D., gun, and street directory, she dashed out the front door.
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