by J Gaines
He’d only run a few paces when he stopped suddenly, sensing a new danger, and instinctively he turned. A man raised his arm and Amias saw a gun barrel rise to his eyeline. In a split second Amias flung open his coat and brought his sword up simultaneously as a loud bang rang out. There was a flash of metal hitting metal as he blocked the bullet with the blade, before he ploughed forward to engage the gunman. In the moment it took to reach the man, he’d replaced the sword within his coat and reached out to grab the gun. He twisted the man’s arm upwards as another bullet left its chamber, this time shooting harmlessly into the night. He continued to twist; there was a snap accompanied by a scream as the man fell to the ground, cradling his arm. Amias placed the gun in his jeans and burst through the crowd in pursuit of Max.
“Amias, Amias, we need you. Stop the pursuit…” He ignored the urgent voices in his ear.
“Amias, we need your help. Where are you?”
He was quickly and intuitively weaving his way between people as he sped towards the bright lights of the fast-food vans, now only a short distance away. Suddenly he was sensing things in a way that had to be more than just luck or intuition. Somehow, he’d known that a gun was about to be drawn. He shook his head and tried to concentrate on his surroundings.
A female voice was pleading with him through his earpiece. “Amias, you need to speak to us, we need your help.” He could hear the desperation in her voice and something else, something more than concern, and it surprised him how easily he ignored her. It was then he spotted Max again, his hood now drawn and resting on his large shoulders. He was wearing a long overcoat; did he, too, have a concealed weapon? He was twenty feet away and walking quickly, still seemingly unaware of Amias’s presence. His pace was increasing and his once fluid path was becoming hurried and erratic. He frequently collided with crowd members and was now having to fight his way through.
“Amias, where are you? Security have been alerted to gunshots. Are you okay? Please respond.”
The band were now playing a new song and their guitars roared against the voices of the singers. Lights suddenly lit up the stage as the tempo increased again; the crowd cheered and Amias turned his face away from the lights, trying to keep sight of Max. As the blinding flashes illuminated the faces around him he saw Max turn, and for a brief instant their eyes met. In another moment, Max was on the move again. Amias’s hands clenched into fists; if Max hadn’t been aware he was being followed, he was now. The arena floor began to rise steeply into a slope and Amias turned quickly to look back into the crowd. It was dark, but the lights from the stage and around the arena allowed him to see there was a commotion near to where he’d fought Kaden’s men. Police and festival security staff mingled with the crowd and more flocked to join them. Amias continued his pursuit, readying himself for an attack from Max, expecting him to turn at any moment.
His mind raced through the possibilities. There were too many people around for him to begin a fight with someone as powerful as Max, especially if he needed to use his sword. Suddenly a group of men and women burst from the crowd in front of him, cutting across his path. One of the men smelled strongly of alcohol; he shouted angrily and tried to grab Amias’s arm as he wriggled between them. He looked for the back of Max’s head in the crowd, but it was gone again, and he stopped. Overwhelmed with unease, he felt someone approaching him from behind and he spun around to face them. Max was now standing opposite him and a grim smile stretched slowly across his face.
“It’s good to finally meet you, Amias,” he shouted above the music. “Well done back there. You didn’t let us down. You were as impressive as I expected.”
Amias nodded, his eyes fixed on Max’s dark brown eyes. “I’m surprised you hung around.”
“Curiosity killed the cat and all that. I wanted to see you in action. I’ve heard so much but I’ve never seen it with my own eyes.” Max was slightly taller than Amias, and much broader. His shoulders filled the jacket which fell past his waist and almost to his knees; the hood rested against his muscular back. His dark skin glistened with sweat and beads rolled down his face.
“What are you doing here, Max?”
“I could ask you the same, Amias.” He paused. “But we know why, don’t we. You were told I’d be here and you couldn’t resist the opportunity to capture one of Kaden’s captains.”
“It’s my guess you’re here to meet a contact to discuss buying more weapons?” Amias growled. “Which you’ll use to murder more of your kind.”
Max’s eyes met Amias’s and he shook his head defiantly. “I’m no murderer, Amias, I’m a fighter like you. If what Kaden has told me about you is true, we’re not so different, you and me. I saw what you did in there… with the bullet. I’ve only ever seen one other person who’s that quick, and even he isn’t aware of how far you’ve developed your abilities. Why waste them fighting against us?”
Amias couldn’t hide his anger. “Kaden was foolish if he believed that was enough men to kill me.”
Max laughed loudly. “They were never meant to kill you, surely you’ve realised that.”
Amias suddenly felt his chest tighten. This was all a ruse to keep him and his team busy! His eyes dropped to the ground as he desperately tried to understand why.
“There it is,” Max said, almost sympathetically.
Amias raised his eyes to meet Max’s. “Who?”
Max paused and scratched his head as if giving thought to whether he should tell him.
“Who?” Amias’s voice rang out and some of the crowd turned nervously towards them. There wasn’t much time. The fight had alerted all the security and police in the arena and he could see a group of policemen making their way through the crowd towards them.
“It’s too late, Amias. You can’t help him now.”
Amias felt the throbbing grow stronger inside him, but his anger was as much at himself as it was with the man in front of him. He’d allowed his eagerness at the chance to capture one of Kaden’s captains cloud his instincts. Too often lately anger had taken control of his emotions and he’d let it obscure his judgement. He heard voices again through his earpiece and he raised his hand to his ear, removing the device and throwing it to the ground.
“You know, Kaden was sure you’d fall for it. I didn’t believe him though. I half expected you not to be here. He told me the chance that you could get close to him through me would be too much for you. Do you really think I’d arrange a weapons deal here?” Max paused. “He was right, wasn’t he, Amias.”
“I’m going to kill you, Max.”
Max smiled. “I thought I was the murderer?”
As Amias watched Max he suddenly saw the boy again, this time standing next to Max and watching him. He tried to ignore him, but he could feel his eyes boring into him. He knew his mind was playing tricks on him, but he felt tears building behind his eyes. Max was watching him intently; he looked to the side as he tried to understand what Amias was looking at. Amias clenched his jaw as he glanced up to see the policemen coming closer through the crowd. Suddenly the music erupted again, and the lights blazed out from the stage once more. The crowd jumped in unison as the singer stood at the edge of the stage, his hands outstretched as if inviting the audience to join him on the stage.
“We can’t fight here, Amias, you know that?”
“Tell me who it is and I’ll let you live.”
Max curled his lip and smiled. “Kaden is the only person who can give me my life back, not you. I told you anyway, you’re too late. He’s already dead.” Amias’s mind raced: who had their target been? If they had gone to the trouble to create this deception for him then it had to be someone he was close to. They wouldn’t be able to get close to John and there weren’t many others he cared about. Most of them were with him in his team tonight. Suddenly the realisation hit him, and he almost dropped to one knee. There was one member of his team who wasn’t with them, a memb
er who had wanted out, and one of the few people he considered a friend. An image of Reuben flashed into his mind.
He struggled to swallow as his anger took control of him. “Are you ready, Max?”
Max shrugged, and Amias thought he saw a sadness flash in his face and something else, possibly a conflict. “Soon, Amias, soon.”
At that moment, a group of women burst between them and one of them fell drunkenly against Amias. He caught her, and as he looked across the heads of the women he saw Max watching him. They looked at each other for a moment before Max took a couple of steps backwards and then turned and ran into the crowd, disappearing into their midst. Amias let go of the woman but hesitated before giving chase. He looked back to see if the boy was still there, but he was gone. He searched the nearby crowd for a moment before turning and following Max.
Chapter 2
The crowd was becoming thicker with every step. He could see Max pushing his way through people twenty feet in front of him and he quickened his pace. Max was heading for the perimeter fence and would soon be there. It was impossible to run within the crowd, but he and Max were still moving at a considerable pace. The feeling of claustrophobia was growing as the crowd almost came to a standstill and for an alarming moment he thought he would be caught and Max would be free to escape. He doubled his efforts and the crowd around him became angry, shouting at him as he dropped his head and physically pulled people out of his path. A fist fell heavily against his back, but he ignored it and grunted as he looked up to see Max arrive at the foot of the fence. The area which Max had targeted was deliberate; it was the lowest part of the perimeter and probably the only part it would be possible to climb.
He was now only twenty feet away as Max launched himself towards the barrier, placing a foot on it and pushing himself upwards. He hung there for a few seconds before swinging his legs over and disappearing from Amias’s sight. Moments later Amias broke free of the crowd and he ran at the fence, placing his foot on it as Max had and vaulting over it in one motion. As he landed on the other side and fell into a crouched position he realised how costly his over-confidence could have been. Luckily for him, Max was already racing across a large green towards a busy road.
Amias was up and pursuing him in an instant, his legs pumping as he crossed the grass. Max turned to check whether he was being followed before running across the road, ignoring the cars which sped in both directions. Miraculously he managed to reach the other side unscathed. Amias didn’t check his pace and ran onto the road, also ignoring the cars which beeped and swerved as he dashed towards the pavement on the other side. Suddenly a car screeched to a stop in front of him and blocked his path, the headlights shining directly into his eyes, momentarily dazzling him. He leapt onto the bonnet and ran across the roof, leaping off the back end and hitting the concrete hard. He stumbled slightly but quickly regained his footing and followed Max towards the heart of London.
Max was quick, but so was Amias, and he was gaining on him slowly. Max sprinted ahead, avoiding pedestrians and occasionally throwing a glance back at Amias. Soon Amias would have him. As he approached, he readied himself to launch into a tackle, but suddenly Max veered right and smashed through the door of a restaurant. He knocked over two people who were leaving and disappeared into the crowded waiting area. His sudden change of direction took Amias by surprise and he nearly ran past the entrance before slamming his feet into the pavement and tottering, almost losing his balance. He jumped over the couple who were pulling themselves off the ground and crashed through the glass door, which swung back in his face. There was a loud smash; glass flew across the tiles and showered over the customers waiting inside. Amias slid across the hard, polished floor and the broken glass, and crashed into the customers who shouted in surprise and anger. A few of the braver customers tried to hold onto him, but he pushed them aside, jumped over a small staircase leading to the dining area and ran in the direction he’d seen Max heading.
He nimbly moved between the tables as people rose to slow him down, unsure of what was happening but eager to help in some way. He avoided them as well as four waiters who had grouped together and were nervously trying to head him off at one end of the restaurant floor. He could no longer see Max; the only viable escape route was a heavy swinging door. He sidestepped a large customer who was standing in his way holding a chair and hurdled a table in one leap. He landed and immediately pushed his way through the door into a hot and steamy kitchen.
As soon as he was through the kitchen door Max was on the attack, swinging a large saucepan with all his strength at Amias’s head. Taken by surprise, Amias raised his arms in front of his face and took the full force in his forearms and elbows. He grimaced in pain, his arms burning from the blow. There was another loud bang as Max swung the heavy-bottomed saucepan towards his head again. This time he managed to duck and moved sideways to try and escape another attack. But Max wasn’t giving him a chance to set his feet into a defensive position and the saucepan whistled under his chin and past his temple. Amias was reeling and as he stumbled through the kitchen to escape the blows he pulled anything he could lay his hands on behind him to slow Max’s advances. He came across a long-handled saucepan which was positioned over a gas flame and grasped the handle, bringing it around in a blind swing. Max was quick, and he avoided the scalding liquid that flew towards him; he used his momentum to roll across the slippery polished floor and rise a few feet from Amias. This was the break Amias needed and as Max brought his saucepan down in a heavy swing Amias raised his own with an arching upwards motion, batting Max’s makeshift weapon away with a loud bell-like sound.
Amias attacked, wielding the pan as if handling a sword. He spun and pirouetted as he attacked Max who was desperately trying to block each attack. The power of Amias’s strikes were reverberating through the iron pan and Max grimaced with each connection. Amias was now completely in control and with his final blow he knocked the pan from Max’s hand, sending it crashing into a pile of stacked white plates. Before he could throw a final swing, he sensed someone approaching from behind. He quickly turned and saw a uniformed police officer with an extended baton raised and ready to strike. Unwilling to hurt the officer, he dropped the pan and caught the baton as it was brought across in a swing intended to connect with his jaw. He then snapped the baton, letting it drop to the floor before tossing the officer over into a metal storage cupboard opposite them. The officer crashed into it and attempted to get up groggily, as Amias pulled the metal sliding door of the cupboard shut. He turned to find Max was no longer there, and he noticed the startled kitchen staff who were standing watching him. He targeted a young man, dressed in chef’s whites. “Where?” he commanded.
The young man raised a shaky hand and extended his finger towards a door in the far corner of the kitchen. Amias instantly leapt across the shiny steel worktops and burst through the door to find himself in an alleyway. He turned in time to see Max disappear around the corner and he sprinted along the road in pursuit. Max raced along the pavement and then darted across the road. Amias followed him doggedly and watched him knock into people as the street became busier. Max turned to check his progress and suddenly a large, overweight man walked in front of him; they crashed into each other and the man fell heavily to the ground. Max lost his balance but somehow managed to keep his footing as he twisted awkwardly. Amias used the opportunity to draw closer and put in a burst of speed; now he was only five feet behind Max, almost within touching distance. He was so close he could hear Max’s laboured breathing as he desperately tried to keep ahead.
As they bashed their way through the busy high street, people shouted at them and a woman stuck out her foot to try and trip Amias. He vaulted her leg without breaking stride and veered suddenly to his left as Max turned sharply. This was Amias’s moment; he was about to leap towards Max’s ankles to trip him when suddenly Max pulled a man by the arm and pushed him forcefully towards Amias. The collision caught him by surpri
se; he knocked the man sideways into a couple walking in the opposite direction, causing them all to fall over onto the pavement in an untidy heap.
Were they okay? Amias turned quickly to check but he didn’t slow his pace. Max had made ground and had doubled the distance between them as he began to pull more and more people into his path. This time Amias was prepared and he sidestepped and zig-zagged his way through the shouting pedestrians. Max’s tactics were working; he was slowly managing to put more space between himself and Amias. Suddenly Max swerved to his right and ran through an open doorway. As Amias approached he could hear loud cheers and he pushed his way through the entrance to find the pub was crammed full with people.
Screams suddenly rang out and he heard angry shouts. Trapped and desperate, Max grabbed the arm of a woman who was standing beside him. He whipped her around so she was facing Amias and raised his hands, so he held her neck and jaw from behind. Her friends screamed, and the woman began to cry. A man rushed towards Max, but without releasing his captive he aimed a well-directed kick at the man’s face. The man fell back heavily and lay groaning on the floor, blood streaming from his nose. People around them suddenly drew back. “I’ll snap her neck, Amias,” warned Max.
Amias walked slowly closer, holding his hands out in front of him. His eyes were fixed on Max’s. People in the pub were either leaving or milling around in half-hearted attempts at helping. He could hear others talking on their phones as they contacted the police. “If you do that yours will be next, Max. There’s no escape for you now, you may as well let her go.” His eyes flicked to the woman quickly and then back to Max. She was young and attractive, and he could feel her eyes on him, silently pleading for help.
