He had a boss, a mysterious boss that funded all his criminal activities. There was no love or respect for his benefactor though. The moment Charles had everything he needed, he wouldn't hesitate to kill the one that was bank rolling his operation. Truthfully, Charles Ortega couldn't stand the man that supplied him with a plethora of resources. He thought of the man as nothing more than a means to an end.
Charles walked over to the small wooden table inside the warehouse and grabbed the black remote. He flipped on the television and turned to the news station. As expected, coverage of his escape was being talked about on every local news channel.
Charles sat down on a chair and listened carefully to every word spoken about him. He was the type that truly admired his own work. Each day he woke up he thought to himself what could he do to raise the bar? What crimes could he commit to become even more feared. He wasn't the least bit concerned about being tracked down. He didn't think too highly of the government's intelligence departments. He did after all avoid capture for eight months. It wasn't until the League of Protectors got involved that Charles felt any sort of pressure.
Once he was in position, he would take the League out. He hated them and everything they stood for. Individually, he was confident he could take any of them alone. He knew taking them all head on wasn't a good idea, so he would have to be calculating with his attack. He would have to take them out one by one. Charles wasn't concerned about Bianca Ramirez, Garrett Blake or Stephanie Morgan at all. Those three were not in his league. Out of those three Bianca was the only one that did battle in the field and her phasing abilities wasn't going to do anything against him. Sure, she had the capabilities to phase just like he did, but he knew she wasn't a murderer. He knew she didn't have it in her to do the sort of things he did.
Then there was Shayne and Jackson. Both young men were loaded with potential and even more dangerous when together. He knew it was highly likely that when he did face them, it would be a package deal. While taking them both on at the same time did give Charles reservations, he was confident they weren't ready for such a confrontation. After watching the two in action, he knew it would be best to split them up. If he did take them both on he knew he had to find a way to quickly neutralize Shayne first.
While both Shayne and Jackson were quite evenly matched, Shayne was smarter and more emotionally stable in the field, well in all aspects to be quite honest. Taking Shayne out first would make Jackson irrational and more likely to make a mistake.
Nevertheless, be it one on one or two on one, Charles was fairly confident he could take those two out the next time he faced them. Then there were the three heavyweights as Charles like to refer to them as. Jason Shaw, Noah Winters and Jessica Prescott.
Each of them individually presented Charles with a different set of challenges for him to overcome. Quite arguably the most skilled fighter in the League, Noah presented a challenge that would be difficult for Charles to handle. Especially considering the fact that Charles faced Noah without Noah using any of his abilities to counter Charles' attacks.
The wild card in Charles' opinion was Jessica Prescott. With the world's most powerful Post Human in Jason Shaw, a skilled martial arts master like Noah Winters and the intriguing fire and ice abilities of Shayne and Jackson, Jessica was often overlooked. People truly didn't realize that as far as strength was concerned, Jessica was the second strongest member of the group. Not to mention her ability to fly and keep a level head made her quite the force to deal with. She wasn't nearly as proficient in the field as Jason or Noah, but her training and her abilities made her quite formidable. Charles couldn't simply overlook her. He had to be smart when battling her. Nevertheless, one on one, Charles was confident he'd drain her life as well.
Then there was Jason Shaw, the one individual in the League Charles wasn't sure he could take one on one. After seeing the heroics Jason has pulled off and being captured once largely in part to Jason's actions, Charles was not looking forward to another altercation with him. He would eliminate the rest of the League first and when the rest were all taken care of, then he would come after Jason. He wouldn't come alone though, no, he would use his gang of criminals to weaken Jason first and once that was accomplished then he would attack the hero from behind.
Charles didn't believe in fights having to be fair. The whole point of a fight was to win. To ensure that, Charles would do whatever necessary to guarantee victory. That was the way in which he was brought up and it was that mentality that added to his overall dangerousness.
As the news reports on Charles continued to play, something from the shadows started moving in his direction. Charles wasn't concerned though, he was expecting company. He had business to discuss, and if for some reason, it wasn't who he was expecting, he'd simply kill the unwanted guest.
The thought brought a sly smile to Charles' face. He suddenly had an urge to drain another human life. Oh how he wished whoever had walked inside the warehouse was someone he wasn't expecting. The guest walked in dressed in black boots, dark blue jeans and a black hoodie. Even with the ridiculous attempt to blend in, Charles recognized the man immediately.
“Plan on robbing a bank?” Charles asked sarcastically.
“Very funny,” Joseph Stockton replied.
The shrewd business man with multiple connections to the underworld of crime took off his hoodie and took a seat in the chair next to Charles.
“Heard of your escape, it's about time. Was beginning to think I was going to have to make plans without you.”
Charles badly wanted to jump out of his chair and drain the life of Joseph, but he refrained from doing so. He still needed Joseph, most importantly, he still needed Joseph's money and resources.
“That vigilante the city keeps talking about is quite the handful isn't he?” Joseph asked, sounding as if he was in admiration.
Charles shrugged, “Nothing I can't handle.”
Joseph looked at Charles and snickered. He didn't quite believe that.
“I'm glad you didn't kill him, I could certainly use someone like that on my side.”
Charles huffed. “You need second best? I mean I did beat him. Why would you need someone like him when you already have someone like me?”
Joseph seemed surprised by Charles tone. Charles almost sounded jealous of Joseph's admiration towards the vigilante. “Now now, no one is denying your skills. I'm simply saying it would be nice to have more men like you on the payroll. The more we have under are service, the easier it will be to handle anyone that tries to get in our way.”
Joseph was doing his best to make it sound like a team effort but in actuality, he thought very little of Charles. While Charles was using him for his money and resources, Joseph was using Charles for his abilities. Neither men had any loyalty towards one another. They were both using each other for personal gain and it was really just a matter of which one would betray the other first.
“What about that project you got going on?” Charles asked.
Joseph looked at Charles and smiled.
“The project is going well. Very shortly events will unfold and this country will be reformed.”
Charles had no idea what the full scope of Joseph's plans were and he really could care less. He had his own plans. His own agenda for world domination.
“So what's next?” Charles asked.
Joseph got up out of the chair and began whistling.
“Nothing is next, at least not for now. I need you to continue recruiting people like yourself to the cause and lay low while I reveal my plans for the world. Once my plan is in play, you will hold very high position in the new reality of the world.” Joseph replied.
It took everything within Charles not to roll his eyes. He didn't believe a word of what Joseph was saying. Joseph Stockton had no plans for Charles in his future; and Charles had no plans for Joseph in his. Whatever Joseph was planning, Charles knew it would draw the attention of the League. That would give Charles a great opportunity to continue rec
ruiting and take the League out one by one. Being patient was his best chance of eliminating the entire League of Protectors.
“You know what, that sounds like an excellent idea. I look forward to seeing your plan come to fruition.” Charles said completely lying to Joseph.
Joseph gave Charles a smile back. “We will change the world Mr. Ortega.”
“And the League of Protectors won't know what hit them!” Charles added.
“Indeed.” Joseph replied.
With that, the two men shook hands and Joseph headed out of the warehouse. Charles plopped back down on the couch and continued listening to the coverage of his escape. Things were about to change!
13
Intrusion at the White House
Shortly after the prison escape on Stone Ridge Island
He sat behind his desk inside his oval office. He was hoping this was all some sort of joke. Some sick rib his staff was playing on him just for giggles. He would reprimand every single one of them for the sick joke, but he prayed to God, a joke was all it was. Page after page he read completely baffled by the reading. There would be without question a detailed investigation into the situation. Someone knew something of that he was sure. Trying his best to remain calm, he closed the report and picked up his office phone. He took the phone, pressed one of the numbers and waited for his secretary to pick up.
“Gather all essential personnel and meet me in the situation room. We have a code red PH event on our hands. Do it now.”
He hung up the phone, adjusted his tie and proceeded out the door. Around twenty five men and women all dressed in fine pressed suits stood immediately when he walked in.
“Mr. President,” the Vice President said. The two men shook hands and gave each other a look that spoke volumes. Everyone inside the room knew this was a bad situation. They understood this was a situation that could potentially have lasting affects.
“Please, be seated,” the President said warmly.
There wasn’t a sound in the room. Everyone sat down quietly and waited to hear what the President had to say.
“Approximately one hour ago there was a massive blackout on Stone Rock Island.”
The room was immediately filled with gasps and concerned faces.
“The backup generators were unable to kick on and as a result the Ironium shields and the inhibitor fields failed. This led to every prisoner on the island escaping their cells. A battle between the prisoners, G.U.A.R.D personnel and members of the League of Protectors followed.”
The members in the room were preparing themselves for an early number death total.
“Luckily, no one was killed during the battle. One of the agents was banged up pretty bad, but I’m being told he’ll be back to work in no time.”
There was a momentary feeling of relief coming from the room. Considering the death toll that could’ve been, this news was quite pleasant.
“Boots on the ground have confirmed that all two hundred fourteen prisoners have escaped the island.”
And there it was, the other shoe dropping. That was the bad news the President had to report. The news that after all the hard work the government put into tracking and containing criminals was down the drain. The President paused for a moment to let the information sink in. One two hundred fourteen dangerous criminals back on the loose. He dreaded thinking about the chaos these criminals would be able to cause.
“Mr. President I don’t understand, how did this happen? Was the blackout a natural cause of some sort or was this deliberate?”one of his cabinet members asked.
The president looked around at his frightened cabinet. “I don’t believe in coincidences Ron, this blackout was created by one of the inmates. Somehow one of the inmates was able to resist the effects of the inhibitor field.”
The vice president raised his eyebrow. He was certain the sedatives pumping through the inmates' bodies should have been enough to repress them from using their abilities. He wasn’t so sure that it was an inmate that caused the breakout.
“How were they able to shut down the power and the backup generator?” the vice president asked. The president shook his head in disgust; he had very few answers to offer.
“What about the island? How were they able to escape the island? This prison was built on the island specifically to prevent such escapes from happening.” one of the President's cabinet members said.
“There were only a few of them that could fly or had abilities capable of escaping the island. So how did that many prisoners escape?” another cabinet member asked.
“Jason Shaw was on sight and has stated that Erik Masters called out to someone and then the room was filled with a blinding light. When the light disappeared, so too did the inmates. Mr. Shaw believes that someone teleported inside the facility and used the ability of massive teleportation to get all the prisoners out in one attempt.”
The Vice President murmured something under his breath.
“Do you have something to say Hal?” the President asked.
Vice President Hal Martin stood up to address the President. “Sir, I don’t believe in coincidences either. Don’t you find it rather odd that these prisoners escape the same day Jason Shaw and that electronic communicating Post Human arrive? If you ask me, I believe they are responsible for this breakout.”
All eyes were on the President. Vice President Martin brought up a very valid point. Logically thinking, evidence pointed towards The League being responsible. “Both Agent Hardine and Agent Mallory were present at all times. In separate reports they both confirmed that neither Mr. Shaw nor Mr. Blake had anything to do with the breakout. As a matter of fact, Mr. Shaw fought alongside Agent Mallory and Mr. Blake is responsible for getting the power back on.”
The Vice President sat back down. He still wasn’t convinced The League was innocent, but for now he let it go. “Sir, there is no report anywhere in our files that show a Post Human with the capabilities to teleport such a massive amount of people.”
“I agree, but that doesn't mean that we have reports on every Post Human in existence. Nor does it mean that the reports we do have are one hundred percent accurate.” The President and the Vice President were on completely different ends of the spectrum when it came to Post Humans. The President was a bit more trusting where as the Vice President had absolutely no trust in Post Humans at all. If he had it his way, he'd have all the Post Humans locked up. The League constantly worried what would happen if the Vice President, God forbid, became the President someday.
The President felt friendly relations with Post Humans were necessary. He was of the belief that working with them was better than working against them. The President was a firm believer that the majority of Post Humans were not a threat. It didn’t mean he didn’t recognize the potential threat they posed. He understood very well how dangerous they were. His stance on the issue was that they deserved the same rights that any human received.
Vice President Hal Martin’s beliefs were totally different. He believed so passionately that the Post Human presence was part of a conspiracy. He believed that all Post Humans were working together to take control of the world. In his mind, The League of Protectors was nothing more than a foot in the door. They were a way in which to gain the public's trust. A Trojan horse of sorts. There was nothing anyone else could say or do that would change his opinion on the subject.
The president skimmed over some of the files and acquiesced to the possibilities that the information given to them on Post Humans was incorrect. He still didn’t believe that The League was responsible for this, but he was beginning to believe false information was coming from someone.
The President and the rest of the members inside the situation room continued discussing the situation. They engaged in conversation for another fifteen minutes or so when the chief of staff noticed a slight rumble.
“What was that?” he asked. No one inside knew what he was talking about. They were too busy engaging in conversation to hear what he heard. Sud
denly, from outside the situation room, several panicked voices could be heard.
“Code red, we have an intruder approaching the west wing. I repeat code red,” a voice over the loudspeaker said. Startled and panicked looks filled the room. The committee could hear shots being fired and orders being barked, but they had no idea what was going on.
Three of the President’s bodyguards hurried into the room and placed themselves right in front of the President. They didn’t have time to find out what was going on, but that wasn’t their concern at the moment. All they cared about was making sure the President was safe. The men aimed their weapons at the door and stared at it with great intensity. They wouldn’t hesitate, not for one split second. If the President’s life was in danger, they would do whatever was necessary to protect it.
“What’s going on Lucas?” the President asked.
He was forced by his guards to curl up behind them. Everyone else in the room formed a defensive circle, shielding the president from whatever threat seemed imminent.
Lucas, one of the President’s bodyguards listened as one of the servicemen informed him of the situation via headpiece.
“Sir, reports indicate that two Post Humans have breached the perimeter. Whoever they are, they seem determine to make their way towards you.”
Loud gasps resonated from the room. This was one of the worst case scenarios the government had been worried about ever since the existence of Post Humans was discovered.
“How did they bypass security, Mr. Jones?” the Vice President asked.
Without taking his eyes off the door, Lucas Jones answered the Vice President. “Sir, from the little bit of chatter I was able to pick up over the radio, it appears they simply ran through the walls.”
The President met Vice President Martin’s gaze. The President wondered if Vice President Martin was right along. Was The League of Protectors responsible for the attempted security breech last week? Were they somehow responsible for the escape on the island? Thinking about everything that was going on was a lot for the President to take in.
New Age of Heroes 1: The League of Protectors - Dawn of a New Age Page 10
