Rise of the Fallen: Ascensionis

by Danny R Negron

  Frank is all too familiar with this pain of loss having suffered the estrangement of his daughter. All he did was confess the truth to her and everything just went to shit.

  Meanwhile, thousands of miles away, a black CIA van arrives at a heavily protected military installation. Inside of the vehicle, Rikki says to both Adam and Melanie, “We're here.”

  Adam replies, “Where is here?”

  She replies while grinning, “We're at a military base that doesn't exist on any map. Doesn't show up in Google Earth, either.”

  Melanie sits down and asks gloomily, “That means you're not telling us where we are exactly, right?”

  Rikki nods and replies, “You got it.”

  The van comes to a stop and the side door slides open. Rikki is the first to exit followed by Adam and then Melanie. The door closes and the van's tires are heard screeching as it drives away. Rikki takes a quick glance at her watch and says, “Good. We're right on schedule.”

  Adam folds his arms nervously and says, “You said earlier that you were going to change our identities. How?”

  Rikki finds Adam's curiosity very familiar. He's always looking for answers. She was the same way when she was about his age. She replies while walking toward an elevator, “Follow me and I'll explain along the way.”

  Adam starts following but notices that Melanie is not moving. He walks back, stands in front of her and asks, “Hey. What's up?”

  She gazes into his hazel eyes and whispers, “I don't like this, Adam. I'm scared.”

  “We don't have much a choice.”

  The elevator doors open and Rikki shouts at them, “Sorry but there’s not much time!”

  Adam takes Melanie's hand and the both of them proceed to walk towards the elevator. He takes this time to cherish every moment with her. To remember the softness of her warm skin and the sweet scent of her perfume. Life is truly unfair.

  Rikki waits until they are inside of the elevator and pushes the empty space between numbers twelve and fourteen thirteen times. Adam and Melanie give each other a puzzled stare. The doors slide shut and they feel the sensation of moving upward. Adam cannot resist and asks, “Uh, Agent Hillman? Are we going to....?”

  Rikki interrupts him by saying, “Yup. The thirteenth floor.”

  Melanie succumbs to curiosity as well and asks, “Does every building have a thirteenth floor?”

  Rikki waits until the doors slide open and replies in a low voice, “Only the major ones.”

  Rikki quickly exits before either of the two inquisitive teenagers have a chance to ask another question. The less they know the better. These secrets exist for a reason and if she reveals too much, it may jeopardize her career...and her life. Adam and Melanie slowly exit the elevator and marvel at their fascinating surroundings. The floors are a shiny, porcelain white and the walls are made of what looks like transparent glass. Embedded in the glass are pulsating, neon-light blue colored circuitry which gives the feeling of being a cast member of a science fiction movie. They become startled when Rikki shouts while standing next to a glass doorway, “Over here! Come on, you two!”

  Melanie gives Adam a worried look and she tightens her grip on his hand. He nods his head to give her encouragement and makes the first move. His lips meet hers and they both share a very passionate kiss. After that, she grins and whispers, “If anything happens, promise you'll come for me.”

  Adam replies softly, “Yeah, Mel. Of course.”

  “Good. She looks pissed. We should go.”

  They begin to cautiously make their way toward Rikki while pondering this awkward reality. Adam thinks about how his life could not possibly get any worse. With any luck, he'll have for once a normal family that celebrate holidays, like Thanksgiving, with warmth and acceptance. Melanie, on the other hand, will be losing all of that. The uncertainty of her future makes her slightly quiver with apprehension. The worst of all is the possible end of something that had barely even started for them. Their true love for each other.

  In the township of North Brunswick, Indrid's ship arrives at its destination and hovers above the clouds of the night sky. Indrid looks up at Dr. Frankenstein and says, “Mr. Garrison has company, Ludwig.”

  He strokes his white goatee and asks, “How many are with him?”

  “Three others are currently inside of the home.”

  Frank hands two glasses of whiskey with ice to Harold and Edna. He sits down, takes a sip of his own and, while gazing at the ice cubes, says, “You're going to be visited by the CIA later on tonight. I highly advise that you do as they request. For Adam's sake.”

  Edna does not drink alcohol but decides to make an exception in this case. After all that has happened tonight, she certainly deserves a bit of this strong beverage. She shuts her eyes tightly and takes a big sip which results in several coughs. After taking a sip from his glass, Harold asks Frank, “What do they want from us?”

  Frank takes a deep breath and replies, “You both are gonna have to play along with this. It may be possible that you have to pretend he's dead.”

  Edna cannot believe what she is hearing. She has to pretend that her own son is dead? Unintentionally, she drops the glass of whiskey causing the contents to spill all over the carpet. She becomes ashamed and says, “Oh, God. I'm sorry, Frank. I'll....”

  Frank slightly raises his hand and gently replies, “No, Edna. Don't worry about that. I'll take care of it. You two need some time to prepare yourselves. Go home. I'll keep you posted.”

  The devastated couple nervously rise to their feet and follow Frank to the front door. He opens it, and Harold says, while shaking his hand firmly, “Look after him, Frank.”

  “You bet, Harold.”

  He keeps a watchful eye on them until they enter their home and close the door. He steps back inside and closes the door behind him. Retired but can't seem to pull himself away from this case. He'll check up on Adam in a few minutes after cleaning up the spilled whiskey. As he makes his way toward the living room, the faint sound of an exhale captures his attention.

  Indrid is studying the thermal imaging screen and finds something peculiar. The third individual is still inside of the home but in the very same position as before. As if he were hiding. Without looking at Dr. Frankenstein, she says in a concerned manner, “Ludwig. I need for you to see this.”

  He looks over her shoulder and asks, “What is it, Indrid?”

  She points at the person on the screen and replies, “That individual has remained in that same position from the moment the couple entered Mr. Garrison's home up until the moment they departed.”

  “An assassin. There's not much time.”

  Frank is pretty much convinced that he is not alone but remains calm and continues to walk casually. He kneels down to retrieve the glass and then walks toward the kitchen. A short figure of a man dressed in black appears from the shadows holding a handgun with a silencer attached to it. The mask hides his face with the exception of his beady eyes. While approaching the kitchen, the sound of the water faucet turning on is heard. The assassin tightly grips his weapon and prepares for the kill.

  He lunges forward into the kitchen and aims his gun but Frank is nowhere to be seen. Water continues to pour out of the faucet and a pair of shoes are seen on the floor beside the sink. Before he even has a chance to react, Frank wraps his muscular arm around his neck and he begins grunting. They both are now aggressively wrestling for possession of the handgun. Frank is somewhat amazed at the amount of strength that the short man possesses. Suddenly the assassin drops his weapon and pulls on his mask until his mouth is shown. He then grabs a hold of Frank's hand, takes a bite of his fingers and rips three of them off. Frank screams in pain and loses his grasp. The assassin quickly picks up the handgun, lowers his mask and, while pointing the gun at a wounded Frank, says, “I'll give it to you. You're tough, Frank. See you in the next life.”

  An unseen force pulls on his hand just as the gun fires and the bullet makes a hole in a nearby wall. Barbara
grabs the short man by the throat while the invisible force takes the gun away. She raises him in the air with ease and he yells frantically, “Fucking puta!”

  Barbara feels a sharp sting in her throat which confuses her. The assassin has stabbed her with a sharp knife which causes blood to spew out of her neck and she coughs up even more of it. She wants to see his face before she loses consciousness. Barbara removes the assassin's mask and tries her very best to focus on his face. Henry materializes and shouts as he stands beside her, “Barbara!”

  He notices her shocked expression and looks up at the face of the same man who attempted to kill them at Bohemian Grove! He shakes his head in denial and whispers, “No. You're dead.”

  Barbara coughs up more blood and loses her grip on the assassin. She then pulls the knife out of her throat and slashes the short man's throat with it before passing out from tremendous blood loss. She falls to the floor and hears the faint voice of Henry screaming her name. Her vision fades until there is nothing but total darkness.

  Barbara is dreaming about the same wilderness as before. She is barefoot and is knee deep in a river firmly holding a staff. Some fish swim past her and she rapidly shoves the long, sharpened weapon into the water. When she pulls out the staff, she sees that she managed to successfully stab one of them clean through the head.

  Barbara wakes up to find herself on Indrid's ship. She touches her neck to feel for a nasty wound...but she finds that her neck has completely healed. She gets startled when Dr. Frankenstein's face appears just inches away from hers. He says with a grin, “You are awake. Good! The knife wound has healed quite nicely. Not even a scar.”

  Barbara's attention shifts to Frank Garrison who is sleeping on a bed next to hers. Dr. Frankenstein confirms his condition by saying, “Mr. Garrison is alive thanks to you, Barbara. I've given him something to ease the pain.”

  “That assassin, doctor. I saw him when we were on the Bohemian Grove mission but...there's no way he could've survived that crash. His body was all mangled up.”

  Dr. Frankenstein takes a step back and puts his hands into his pockets. He gives her a serious glance and replies, “Yes. His neck wound has healed as well. This assassin may be a result of some sort of super soldier experiment. I will need to thoroughly examine him at our research facility in Area 51 before I can arrive to that conclusion, however.”

  “Where is he now?”

  “He's currently inside one of the cryogenic chambers in suspended animation.”

  “And after you study him? If he heals quickly like me, I doubt he's going to tell us anything useful. We don't exactly have a lot of time either.”

  “What exactly are you suggesting?”

  Barbara knows deep in her heart that this type of scum will never confess anything to anyone...unless properly motivated. Barbara understands how this world works. Nothing is black and white. It's all about living in the gray area...”You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours.” She used to be naive and think that there was right and wrong; no such thing as in between. She clears her throat and says in response, “Okay. I have an idea but I need you to hear me out.”

  Thirty minutes later, Dr. Frankenstein arrives at the cockpit and places his hand on Indrid's shoulder. While observing the beautiful scenery, he tells her, “We'll be taking a detour, Indrid.”

  She looks up at him and replies, “Japan?”

  “Yes. Kabuki-cho in Shinjuku, to be precise. Barbara needs to say hello to a friend.”

  “Understood.”

  Barbara ties the shoelaces of her boots while looking at Frank. She takes a quick glance at his bandaged hand and then at her own hand. Maybe the doctor can attach prosthetic fingers for him. She stands up, puts on her jacket and makes her way out of the room. Frank is suddenly heard saying wearily, “Thank you.”

  Barbara turns her head to look at him and says, “No problem, sir.”

  She exits the room and makes her way toward the cockpit. Tokyo can now be seen coming into view and she explains to both Dr. Frankenstein and Indrid, “Listen, these guys are not too friendly with outsiders. So I need to do this on my own without any interference.”

  Indrid understands and nods in agreement. It's been two years since last she came to this city. Barbara hopes to find the female Japanese-American CIA agent that helped her during that time. She just can't remember her name. All that she does remember was that she was one of the most lethal to ever get recruited by the CIA. Dr. Frankenstein steps closer to Barbara and says with a fatherly concern, “You had better be sure about this, Barbara. The Yakuza are not to be taken lightly.”

  “I know. It'll work out.”

  “And remember to change your skin tone like I showed you.”

  A bright light surrounds Barbara and, in a matter of seconds, she vanishes into thin air. Moments later, she finds herself in an abandoned van that still smells of charred human remains. She adjusts her skin tone and steps out of the burned vehicle to observe the familiar streets of Kabuki-cho. What was the name of that popular restaurant? Kiyomi? No. Kyoko? Damn...Barbara would need to ask the locals, in this case. She just hopes to not arouse suspicion. A fight with the Yakuza bodyguards is not something to look forward to. Although, it was early in the morning in New York, it is late night here in Japan. She stops a nearby pedestrian and asks him in a rusty Japanese, “Kind sir. Where is good place to eat Japanese food?”

  After giving her a stare, he replies in poor English, “You're American?”

  Barbara bows slightly and says, “Yes, sir.” He then points behind him and tells her, “Kuriya.” and continues walking. Of course! Kuriya! Barbara walks toward the direction of the restaurant in a much faster pace. The pedestrian takes out his cell phone and makes a call. He says in Japanese, “Haruka? We have an American heading toward Kuriya. She does not look like a tourist.”

  As Barbara walks across a street, she hears the sound of motorcycles approaching. The first Honda to arrive almost hits her if not for her walking backward at just the right moment. The others soon follow the lead rider who seems to be female judging from her black dress. She's also wearing black military boots and a leather jacket. Barbara can't get a good look at her face because of the helmet. They all begin to ride in a circle around her. This is bad. The pedestrian earlier may have given the Yakuza information about her.

  After several minutes of circling, they finally come to a stop. A bead of sweat rolls down Barbara's cheek as she looks at all of the riders. The woman in the black dress says in Japanese, “Gaijin. You seem to have lost your way.”

  Barbara does not respond. The woman asks in Japanese, “Do you understand me?”

  Barbara replies in the same language, “Yes. I am looking for Kuriya.”

  The gang begins to mumble to each other angrily. The woman shouts, [J]”Enough!”[J] which causes everyone to become silent. She unmounts from her Honda and the leather glove can be heard as she makes a tight fist. She then tells Barbara, [J]”No room for you at Kuriya tonight, gaijin. Try Kizuna.”[J]

  Barbara decides to take a risk and ask, [J]”I need to speak with Ryu Miyazaki.”[J]

  This makes one of them yell, [J]”You're dead!”[J] The woman begins to slowly walk toward Barbara until her helmet is merely inches away from her face. She says to Barbara in a low voice, [J]”I will give you five seconds. If you do not leave from here after that, I will take your hand as a souvenir.”[J]

  The woman begins counting down. There is no avoiding a fight now. Barbara will need to exercise caution while engaging in hand to hand combat with her. She does possess enhanced strength and the last thing she wants is to kill her. Barbara takes a quick glance at the woman's katana hiding underneath her leather jacket and prepares to dodge the strike. The countdown is over and Barbara is shocked at the woman's ability to swing the sword at such a high rate of speed. The edge of it manages to make a scratch on her palm. Barbara counter-strikes with a lightning fast jab to her face. Her fist makes contact with the helmet shattering the visor int
o pieces.

  The woman's blue eyes can now be seen. Barbara is taken aback by the fierceness of them...the ice cold gaze of a killer. The woman steps back and raises her hand to stop the gang from shooting their guns. She removes her helmet and slams it hard to the street. The woman looks quite young. Maybe in her late twenties or early thirties. Her hair is jet black and is styled after Betty Paige. She says to Barbara in a deep rage while showing the whites of her teeth, [J]”Big mistake, gaijin.”[J]

  The woman takes her sword in both hands and goes into her battle stance. She lunges at Barbara and swings the blade toward her neck. Barbara dodges and takes another jab at her face...but misses! How is this possible? She feels the tearing of her flesh as the katana makes a huge slice around her abdomen. Shit. She should have known better than to think she would fall for that again. Barbara proceeds to dodge the woman's numerous attempts to cut her again. This surprises the woman and she says, [J]”You are fast. Good. I haven't had a worthy opponent in months. I will take your hand now.”[J]

  The woman makes her move and Barbara times her defense perfectly. She elbows her on the back of her neck which causes her to fall down hard. Damn it...she may have hit her too hard. The gang looks at Barbara in utter disbelief. She asks the woman, [J]”Are you conscious?”[J]

  Her body remains motionless on the street and Barbara can see that she is not breathing. She begins to gradually kneel down and extend her hand to try and move her. In the blink of an eye, Barbara's hand gets sliced off at the wrist. She shrieks in pain and collapses to the street while blood gushes out of her stump. The Yakuza around her laugh hysterically at how Barbara curls up into a fetal position. The woman stands above her and places the tip of the katana onto her throat. With a sadistic grin, she tells her, [J]“I always keep my promises.”[J] Then in English, she says, “Go home and watch reality television.”

  Barbara remembers her voice! She asks her, “Gina? Is that you?”