The Prospects

by Daniel Halayko

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  “If I pull the trigger, Trista, it ends for you,” said Alex. “You’ll never be back with your family.”

  “And if you don’t pull that trigger, your wife and son will be my slaves,” said Mind Dame.

  “I’m ready to die. Are you ready to kill?”

  The shotgun’s barrel trembled.

  “Let me explain this in a way even a goon like you can understand,” said Mind Dame. “Kill me and the Idea Man is yours. I’m not attached to bombs or anything. Nothing will stop you from arresting him. You’ll keep the world in its pathetic backwards state. You’ll remain a man in love with a woman who doesn’t love him, a father who abandoned his son to serve those who want him to die, and a man who murdered someone he promised not to hurt. You’ll have to live with that.”

  “And if I don’t shoot?”

  Mind Dame giggled the same way she did two years ago when she made Alex kiss her butt. “You won’t have a mind left to regret anything.”

  Alex lowered the shotgun.

  “What about your family, Trista? What’s their place in your new world?”

  “They don’t matter to me.”

  “I talked to Vincent.” Alex took off the rosary and held it out. “He told me how you and your grandmother spent hours staring into each other’s eyes. Do you do that with the Idea Man?”

  Her smirk twitched. “She’s long gone.”

  “Vincent says your family loves you, no matter what you’ve done.”

  “So?”

  “Can you say the Idea Man does?”

  The lights flickered. A loud hum emanated from Doctor Von Pyme’s lab.

  “The neurotransmitter is almost fully charged. Time is running out, Loser Lexy. Do you remember how the boys on the bus called you Loser Lexy before they punched you? We never forget these things, do we? Love and happiness are fleeting, but pain is the force that gives our life meaning.”

  “Love made you the person you were, the one willing to endure cruelty to be back with her family. That was the person I came to respect. You’re not her.”

  “Please. You think I’m a simpering weakling who can’t defend herself. And you’re right, I am. That’s why Sergeant Hammer had his way with me.”

  “I wasn’t around to stop that. I will bring him to justice.”

  “Only out of your own selfishness, to reinforce the lie that you’re a hero. Saying you would help me made you feel stronger.”

  “If I wasn’t willing to do anything for you, would I have fought through a skyscraper full of villains to be here now? All the Idea Man did was follow them in.”

  Mind Dame’s smirk softened.

  Alex said, “You’re a good Catholic, Trista. You know what he’s doing is wrong.”

  “Religion is merely thought control. How could I believe in a God that keeps me so far below him? The Idea Man showed me that I’m the one who deserves to be worshipped.”

  “Really? Because you said you worshipped the Idea Man. He’s going to rule the new world, right? What’s your place in it going to be?”

  “At his side.”

  “To be a pawn for a man who makes you want to die, you’re giving up your family, your faith, your …”

  Before Alex could finish, Ujimushi tackled Alex from behind. In an instant his knife at Alex’s throat. Alex dropped the shotgun and the rosary and caught Gokigburi’s hand as the knife touched his skin, grabbed Ujimushi’s leg with his other arm, and fell straight back. He slammed the back of his head into the ninja’s chin when they landed.

  Mind Dame’s smirk faltered. She blinked quickly and looked at the rosary on the floor.

  Ujimushi pulled Alex’s head back by the psionic nullifier. Alex released the unlocked strap. The helmet came off.

  The Idea Man came out of the lab. “Finish him off, my dear. We have a world to conquer.”

  Mind Dame remembered Alex shattering the rosary as he explained how nothing can be truly defined. She was so sad when she thought it was shattered, but then when Alex returned it to her later … and the feeling of a white light spread inside her.

  She thought of the black glass beads of the rosary and how they looked like the heads on pawns.

  Without turning, Mind Dame said, “I’m only a pawn to you, aren’t I?”

  The Idea Man held her from behind and put his hand on her hips. “You started as one, a weak and powerless thing only useful in certain circumstances. You got past the knights and bishops of our enemies to their own castles. You made it to the other side and turned back to me.” His hand slid up her body to her breasts. “Now you are a queen.”

  Alex straddled Ujimushi’s chest and pounded his face. Ujimushi brought his legs up and hooked Alex’s jaw with his foot to pull Alex’s head back. He swung the knife at Alex’s exposed throat.

  Mind Dame clenched her fists. “I’m not going to be a piece in your game.” She swung her arms and hit the Idea Man's nose.

  As the Idea Man stumbled back Alex drew his pistol. Ujimushi stabbed his forearm. Alex dropped the gun and jerked his arm back so quickly the knife stayed in it.

  The Idea Man stepped back, stunned. “You insignificant fool.” He locked eyes with Mind Dame. “I would have made you a goddess.”

  “You’d keep me below you,” said Mind Dame. “You made me feel inferior because your dreams weren’t mine. You made me miserable until I wanted you to take control.”

  Alex kicked Ujimushi away and grabbed the pistol.

  “You would rather be in a crowded house in a poor neighborhood than at the side of the ruler of the world?”

  “If that ruler is you, yes.”

  Ujimushi grabbed the shotgun’s handle. Alex dropped his pistol, grabbed the shotgun’s barrel, and pointed it away from himself.

  The Idea Man furrowed his brow. “I made you, and now I will destroy you.”

  The onslaught of psychic energy literally would have made Trista’s head explode if the energy she imagined as white light didn’t disperse it.

  “Interesting,” said the Idea Man, “you learned to defend yourself. But can you fight back?”

  The Idea Man focused more energy within his mind. He bombarded Trista with discordant thoughts to destroy her ideas. He imagined the veins and arteries in her brain constricting as blood flowed through them faster than ever. He targeted her hypothalamus to make her body’s essential functions begin to shut down.

  Trista allowed her sense of mind and body to fall away. Inside she shrouded her will to live in the white light inside her. More than an idea, this warm place protected her like the center of the sun, where she could not be hurt. Whatever else happened, her true self would survive in there.

  She collapsed barely an instant before Ujimushi pulled the shotgun’s trigger.

  The slug went to the left of Alex, over Mind Dame, and into the Idea Man’s chest.

  The Idea Man flew backwards as blood exploded out of his back.

  Alex sidekicked Ujimushi’s stomach and ripped the shotgun from his hands. He pushed Mind Dame aside and shot the Idea Man’s head. Twice. Three times. Four times.

  The sensation in Alex’s head was like tar – a thick and slow liquid – pouring out of his brain and evaporating. The feeling of relief made him giddier than someone who recently killed someone should be.

  He crouched and rolled Mind Dame over.

  Her skin was clammy and her eyes were closed. Her glossy red lips wore a serene smile.

  Alex took off her mask and put her head on his lap. “Trista, please be okay.”

  She said nothing.

  Alex patted her cheeks. “Do not die on me.” He tilted her head back.

  He leaned forward to give her mouth-to-mouth. She pushed his chin away. Her eyes slowly opened.

  “He’s gone,” she said. “He’s really gone.”

  Alex looked back at the headless body against the wall. “They don’t get much more gone.”

  She picked up the rosary and put it around her neck. “I k
now this is weird after what happened, but I feel great. It’s like I was half of myself for so long I forgot what it was like to be whole.”

  Alex looked the other way. Ujimushi stumbled in a daze.

  Alex grabbed his pistol and pointed it at the ninja. “You. Out. Now.”

  Ujimushi raised his hands and ran away.

  The lights flickered. The machine in Doctor Von Pyme’s lab hummed loudly.

  Alex asked, “Should we be worried about that?”

  Mind Dame – now Trista without the mask – pulled herself up using Alex’s shoulders. “All we have to do is pull the plug.”

  Alex picked up the shotgun. Together they went into Doctor Von Pyme’s lab.

  “I watched Vijay set this up,” said Trista. “I think everything will power down when I unscrew this big cable.”

  Trista took a wrench and turned her back to Alex.

  Alex realized he trusted a former villainess to disable a machine that could make her the ruler of the world. He silently slipped a round into the shotgun. If he felt the slightest hint of psychic intrusion, he was ready to pull the trigger.

  Trista turned the wrench a few times. The thick cable fell from the wall. The neurotransmitter stopped humming.

  Alex pointed his shotgun at the neurotransmitter.

  “No!” Trista shouted. “Don’t shoot.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because my ears are still ringing from those last shots. There are tools all around you. Use something quieter to disable the neurotransmitter.”

  Alex grabbed a pair of pliers and ripped out every loose wire he could find on the machine. “You could have used that machine to complete the Idea Man’s plan and send out the psychic shockwave.”

  “I thought of that.”

  “Why didn’t you?”

  “If you sell your soul to gain the world, you don’t profit. That’s in the book of Mark. I forget the chapter and verse.”

  “All the same, it was noble of you not to enslave humanity.”

  “The Idea Man controlled me more than I realized. I don’t want to do that to anyone else. I just want to be back with my family again. You said you’d help me do that, Agent O’Farrell.”

  “I’ll do all I can, even after I resign from the agency.” He took a white lab coat from the computer chair. “Take off your cape and put this on. Let’s get out of here.”

  Trista complied as they left the lab. “I understand, this costume brings back bad memories for both of us.”

  “Yeah, it doesn’t suit you.”

  “I can’t believe you came back for me. Did you really talk to Vincent?”

  “You haven’t spoken to him in two weeks. He misses you.”

  “I didn’t know what to say. I can’t tell him what happened. He’s a big fan of …” Trista froze. “Sergeant Hammer.”

  Sergeant Hammer stood in front of the stairway with his hammer in his hands and fire in his eyes.

  She looked at Alex with a betrayed expression.

  Alex stepped in front of Trista. “I told you to stay away, Sarge. This is a MAB operation.”

  “No one held me back,” he said. “They saw me and saluted. I’m the original American hero.”

  “You’re breaking the law by being here.”

  “I fight for honor and justice, not laws. I won’t let that little slut slander my good name.” Sergeant Hammer pointed his hammer’s head at Trista. “I see you squinting. My helmet is more psychic-proof than that nullifier you wore.”

  “If you’re innocent,” said Alex, “you have nothing to fear from her accusation. We’ll keep it confidential to protect your reputation. But I won’t let you near her.”

  “Your mind is clearly compromised, agent,” said Sergeant Hammer. “You’re under her complete control.”

  Alex visualized the sand mandala being created and destroyed with no trouble. “No, I’m not, and if I am the investigation will reveal that. Stand aside.”

  Trista’s shivering hands clutched Alex’s shoulders when Sergeant Hammer stepped towards them. “You’re too far gone.”

  “Trista, there are stairs by the elevator.” Alex raised the shotgun. “Sarge, you are under arrest.”

  Trista ran as Sergeant Hammer swung his hammer. Alex stepped out of its range and fired. The slug harmlessly bounded off Sergeant Hammer’s shoulder pad but the impact was enough to make him spin. Instead of falling, he launched a spinning kick that destroyed Alex’s shotgun.

  As Sergeant Hammer regained his balance, Alex remembered Sergeant Hammer’s words from long ago: “If you’re lucky enough to make him stumble, go for the takedown.”

  Alex launched a jumping kick at Sergeant Hammer’s chest. Sergeant Hammer dropped the hammer, grabbed Alex’s foot in mid-air, slammed him against the wall, and sent an uppercut into his chest.

  “I taught you everything you know,” said Sergeant Hammer. “I know your every move.”

  Alex reflexively remembered Sergeant Hammer saying, “Even a giant has knees. A grandma can win if she kicks them.” He threw a low kick. Sergeant Hammer shifted out of range and grabbed Alex’s vest. With one quick motion he yanked it enough force to make Alex stumble.

  Alex barely dodged Sergeant Hammer’s straight punch. He rolled to the side and drew his pistol. In his memory Sergeant Hammer said, “Use a gun if you got it, idiot.”

  Before he could aim Sergeant Hammer ripped the pistol out of his hand. “I saved your life a hundred times, and you pull a gun on me?”

  Alex stepped back. “I can’t forgive what you’ve done.”

  “She’s a villainess. She deserved it.”

  “How many others did you rape?”

  “Hundreds!”

  The admission shocked Alex enough that he didn’t block Sergeant’s Hammer roundhouse kick to his chest. His super-strength shattered Alex’s ribs. Before Alex could recover Sergeant Hammer followed up with an overhand punch that sent Alex to the ground.

  Sergeant Hammer crouched and grabbed Alex’s throat. Alex grabbed Sergeant Hammer’s pinky finger and twisted but even his weakest joints were as hard as steel.

  “Too bad it has to end like this.” He raised his fist. “You really were one of the finest men I’ve ever met.”

  Time slowed to a crawl. Alex saw every wrinkle in Sergeant Hammer’s glove, every wrinkle on his ageless face, every glint of malice in his raging eyes. The man who inspired him and trained him to become a superhero was going to kill him. And there was nothing he could do about it.

  The clang of a hammer hitting steel seemed far away.

  Sergeant Hammer slumped forward and released his grip as his helmet flew across the room.

  Alex gasped and blinked furiously. Trista stood behind Sergeant Hammer with his hammer in her hands.

  “Get off of him,” she said.

  Sergeant Hammer spun around and shook his head.

  Trista swung the hammer again. Sergeant Hammer grabbed Trista’s wrist, pulled her down, and wrapped his hands around her head.

  Alex kicked Sergeant Hammer’s elbow. The shock slackened Sergeant Hammer’s grip just enough for Trista to face him and make eye contact with him.

  Sergeant Hammer raised his fist but didn’t bring it down. His eyes became wide. His cheeks sunk. His body trembled.

  “No … no!” His voice quavered with fear.

  Trista’s lips tightened as she stared into his eyes.

  Sergeant Hammer tried to turn his head but couldn’t. He breathed in short painful bursts. His eyes watered.

  “Don’t do this to me!” he screamed in terror.

  Trista’s lips got tighter as she leaned in closer.

  Sergeant Hammer bawled. “Stop it!”

  Alex coughed. Blood rolled down his chin.

  Sergeant Hammer’s words became terrified gibberish. Tears streamed down his face. He grabbed the pistol and put it under his chin.

  “No,” Trista said calmly. “I won’t let you do that.”

  Sergeant Hammer’s finger twitched
but wouldn’t tighten on the trigger.

  In a blink Sergeant Hammer flicked his wrist and pointed the gun at Trista.

  Alex grabbed Trista’s lab coat collar and yanked her down as Sergeant Hammer opened fire.

  A burst of white fabric flew out of Trista’s left shoulder. Sergeant Hammer dropped the gun and ran down the hallway. His cries echoed through the building.

  Tristas put her hand on the wound and screamed as blood poured out.

  Alex shook her. Every breath hurt. “Get … first aid … kit … thigh.”

  Alex lifted his leg so Trista could grab the kit. He coughed up more blood.

  “Take … off … coat.”

  Trista took off the coat. Alex pressed gauze into the wound.

  Trista winced. “It hurts so much.”

  “Clavicle … not broken. Subclavian artery … not much blood … it’s a graze. You’ll live.”

  She pressed the gauze into her wound. “How are you?”

  Alex coughed up more blood. “Broken ribs. Punctured lung. Need … hospital.”

  “Can you walk?”

  Alex shook his head. “Call medics. Phone … in …” he coughed more blood, “belt.”

  Trista bunched the lab coat under Alex’s head and took the smartphone from his belt. Alex entered the code to turn it on between coughs.

  The drone of thousands of tiny swirling robots went from barely noticeable to deafening within seconds. Tiny silver specks poured through the ventilation ducts and formed a rough swirling humanoid shape.

  Trista grabbed Alex’s hand as the Micro-Sapiens glided towards them.

  “Trista,” said Alex, “run.”

  She put her good arm around him and said, “I’m not leaving you.”

  “Those things … indes …” he coughed up more blood, “can’t be killed … wants to kill everything.”

  The Micro-Sapiens slowly flowed towards them.

  Trista tried to drag him back. Her wounded shoulder kept her from putting strain on her left arm. “Kick the ground. Roll. Help me!”

  “Can’t. Go. Tell Emily I love her.” He managed to get the words out before coughing more blood. “Tell Calvin … sorry … missed his birthday.”

  Alex’s vision darkened. It became too hard for him to breathe. He slipped from consciousness.