Jason looked at the building for a few moments, imprinting everything to memory. Shouldering his way past Jake, he took the lead. He rolled his neck from side to side and seemed to grow right before their eyes. Looking over his shoulders, he glanced at his brothers. They, too, were ready. Jason stepped out of the narrow pathway and started walking, his eyes focused on the building before him. With each step, he picked up speed, first to a slow jog then he was running full out. His brothers kept pace with him, stride for stride, as he began to move faster and faster, heading directly toward the front door of the building.
Jason reached down into the pockets of his combat pants and withdrew a couple of the throwing stars. Two steps away from the huge door, he took a flying leap and broke through it, landing in a crouched position inside the building, his eyes darting quickly around the space. It wasn't what he expected. The outside of the building belied the interior which looked as though quite a bit of money had been spent on its renovation.
He took all this in within moments, even as he focused on the three stunned men staring at them in disbelief at their sudden appearance. Jason rushed them, unwilling to waste the element of surprise, his long legs eating up the distance that separated them. He dropped the throwing stars back into his pockets and grabbed two of the stunned men by their shirt collars and slammed their heads together. They were out cold. The third man, now recovered from his stupor, threw a punch at Jason's jaw. He caught the man's fist in one of his huge hands and in a continuous motion, twisted it downwards until he heard a snap. He then followed up with an uppercut of such force the man rose off the ground before landing in a heap at his feet.
The breaking in of the door as well as the man's scream of pain at his broken arm caused more men to run into the room. A quick glance around showed Jason that their information had been incorrect.
“Ten guards, Jake…really, your guy needs some math lessons!”
“Yeah, gonna have to have a word with him about that,” Jake said with a smile, his eyes darting around the room.
“Come on, guys. By the looks of it, Jason could take out ten on his own. Where's the fun in that?”
As the brothers bantered, they moved until they were standing back to back, protecting each other. They were surrounded by at least fifteen men of varying sizes and descriptions.
“Let them come to us,” Jason whispered.
“Hey, fucknuts, whicha you English pussies is gonna be first to come and get some?” Josh taunted as he beckoned the men he was facing towards him.
“You just can't help yourself, can you, Joshua!” Jake snapped at his brother.
“I'm not the tall silent type. I'll leave that shit up to you two,” Josh shot back, enjoying himself.
Jason didn't utter a word. He was focused and already in a fighting stance with flexed knees, his arms bent at the elbows, and fists clenched. These guys didn't appear to be armed with guns but he couldn't be sure at that stage. There was his answer. One of the men in his peripheral vision was pulling a firearm from a holster at his side. Jason's hands shot into his pockets, removing two throwing stars, releasing them through the air with incredible speed, force and accuracy. Both stars arrived at the same time, embedded in the hand that held the gun. The man cried out in pain as he dropped the firearm and tried to remove the metal stars. Jason took him completely out of the fight by sending two more stars in his direction, one to his uninjured hand and another that lodged in his hip bone.
Then it was on. His sudden movements triggered the other guards into motion. Jason felt his brothers’ movements as they removed their weapons.
It became clear to Jason that these British boys’ weapon of choice were knives. The five men coming at him all had blades extending from their hands. He now knew what they were up against, so he moved out. Five men rushed towards him with deadly intent written across their faces. He was ready for them.
Jason always fought in silence, his visage expressionless and cold. One man tried to end the fight before it had even begun by throwing his blade. Jason watched it shoot towards him and at the last moment, he dodged it and sent a star on a direct path back towards its owner. He found his mark, a direct hit to the leg, the star buried so deeply only one point was still visible.
~~~~~~~~~~
Jake pulled out a couple of fighting stars and loosened them at two of the men who were rushing towards him. They were the closest and he only had time to slow them down. His mark was their shin bone and be made sure he buried the stars deep.
Pulling his Tonfa from his waistband, he met his opponents head on, his arms crossed protectively before his chest, ready to deflect any weapons aimed at his areas of vulnerabilities. Taking in each of their faces at a glance, Jake assessed which of the men were most unsure of themselves. Honing in on one man, who looked to be no more than twenty, he knew he would be the one to throw his knife, not wanting to engage in close combat. Nearly as soon as the thought entered his head, the young man threw his knife.
With at least one of his brothers somewhere behind him, Jake could take no chances in allowing the blade to fly past him and endanger one of them. He made the quick decision to take his eyes of the other four men to concentrate on the potentially deadly missile. He knew his timing was crucial. Swirling the Tonfa, he watched until the blade was nearly upon him. Shifting to the side, he extended his hand and knocked the knife to the ground. Snapping his attention forwards and not a moment too soon. His opponents were almost upon him. With a loud cry, Jake rushed in, meeting them head on.
~~~~~~~~~~
Josh, unlike his brothers, fought with a running commentary. He had withdrawn his staff, snapped it open and was twirling it before him at lightning speed, running his mouth as quickly as the ‘Rod of Correction.’
“Okay, you pussies, who wants a taste first? I hear you like messing with little boys and women? Let’s see how you deal with men…real men!”
His opponents all stood back, eyes transfixed at the speed at which the staff was spinning. This had been Josh’s intent. Distract them with his words and movement. While they watched his actions, he had them off guard. He was moving in and they didn’t even realize it. Reaching the first of the men, he struck so hard, the man went down with a thud. Josh cried, “Okay, now that had to hurt…so who’s next?”
Not expecting or waiting for a reply, Josh kept moving forward, deadly intent imprinted in his eyes. He saw a glance pass between the four remaining men and readied himself for their onslaught. He knew they were going to rush him as a single force and threw the thought back at them before it had even been fully realized by the last man.
“That’s it. I’m ready. You all want some…come get some!”
His opponents took up the formation of standing side to side. That was their error. It gave him room to differentiate between them. Rushing him as a mass would have put the R.O.C. at a disadvantage. But they were too stupid to figure that out, and Josh used their lack of thought against them. Dropping to his knees, and so shifting his center of gravity, Josh reached out and swiped at their feet. They all went down, arms and legs flaying in the air.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Jason arched his back as a blade whooshed past his face. Repositioning his body, he grabbed hold of the man's arm, pulled him in and delivered an uppercut to the underside of his chin, dropping him with the force of the blow. At the same time, he extended his right leg, kicking another man in the arm, snapping it. With a fast retraction and flick with the same leg, Jason kicked him in the face, shattering his nose in the process. His legs folded beneath him.
Spinning, he saw five men sizing him up. They had obviously decided not to take the chance at rushing him. Jason was amused at their action and laughed out loud.
“Come on…come and piss on me, you sons of bitches.” He couldn’t help but to taunt them.
The five men remained where they were, glancing surreptitiously at each other, waiting to see who would be brave enough to make the first move.
A big
bald headed man, who was only a few inches shorter than Jason but way fatter, moved first, the other four followed a split second later. Dropping to the ground, Jason balanced his weight on his palms, swept out his leg and took down two of the men. They landed hard on their backs, their heads banging loudly against the concrete floor. Jason saw that they had both lost consciousness. The fools hadn't even had enough sense to attempt to break their fall.
Jumping onto his feet, he again took up his fighting stance, facing off against his three remaining opponents. He wanted this to be over. These men weren't even giving him a good workout, and he was through toying with them. Spinning around, Jason offloaded a roundhouse kick to the face the man closest to him, and shattered his jaw. Feigning backwards, he avoided a punch to the side of his head and spun, grabbing his opponent by the back of his neck, and pulled him down. Raising his knee, Jason connected with the man's chin, shattering it then he flung him away. One remained.
The room had gone eerily quiet. The sounds of his brothers fighting was at an end. Jason knew this last man had some form of training. He could see it in the way he stood, his weight balanced and equally distributed.
“Come on then, ya wanker. Did ya little black bitch tell ya it was me who pissed on'er? It was the funniest thing I ever done!”
Jason didn't know if he spoke the truth nor did he care. For just allowing the words to leave his mouth, he was going to make sure he would be pissing through a bag for the rest of his life.
Jason stood up straight, dropping his arms to his sides as he stared at the man, his eyes black with fury. He realized the man goaded him in the hopes of him losing his temper. That was playground shit, and he had no time for it.
“This is your lucky day and I'm gonna tell you why. I made a promise to the woman you disrespected which I intend to keep. Otherwise...I'd cut off your dick and make you suck on it. Then I'd kill you...slowly.”
“Piss off, ya tossa. When ya ready, come and get some!”
“You got a mama, little boy? Of course, you’ve got a mama, and I bet she's a street whore who gets down on her knees for a dollar, or should I say pound?”
“Don't talk about my mavva!” The cockney man shouted, his agitation showing.
“Ah, a mama's boy. Well, boy...I'm about to make you cry for your mama...so why don't you come and get some.”
Jason’s younger opponent fell into a dismissive fighting stance, his arms down by his sides, walking back and forth in front of him. Then he started bouncing from side to side on his toes. Jason folded his arms, widened his stance and watched the shorter man and his antics. As soon as the man came within his reach, Jason offloaded four quick jabs to his stomach. The idiot, who had moments before been so filled with bravado, crumpled like a paper bag. As he landed, Jason had already dismissed him.
“Is he here?” Jason asked his brothers.
“He's here,” Jake replied
“Where?”
“Hiding inside that room,” Jake said, nodding to the second of two doors at the far end of the room.
“Is he alone?”
“Don't know.” Was Jake's honest answer.
“Okay. We don't know if he's armed, and I don't want any guns going off in this quiet neighborhood.”
His brothers nodded their understanding as they all moved on silent feet towards the door. Jake and Josh took up positions on one side of the door, Jason on the other. Using a fist, Jason thumped on the door. Immediately, shots rang out, passing through the wooden structure.
Jason readied himself to kick in the door but Jake beat him to it. The lock shattered and the door hung from its hinges. Jake dropped, prone on the floor and Josh released two throwing stars exactly as Jason had done earlier. They both embedded themselves in the man's gun hand.
A sweeping glance around the room assured Jason the room had only two occupants, the disabled man, and Malcolm Alexander.
Chapter 15
“It’s been a while, Malcolm,” Jason said, looking the older man up and down. He was dressed in an immaculate three piece suit, a crisp white shirt, a dark silver tie and a pair of lace up oxfords.
Jason laughed in Alexander’s face. “What, you going to a business meeting or something?”
“What are you going to do to me?”
“Now that's a question unbecoming to you, Mr. Alexander. The last time we spoke I told you that if you hurt one hair on my woman's head, you were a dead man. Now you answer a question for me. Do you think I came all this way because I've changed my mind?”
“We can talk about this. Tell me what you want and it's yours.”
“The only thing you have that I want is your life.”
“Jason, be reasonable. Let’s talk about this.”
“You're an opportunistic predator who preys on the young and anyone weaker than you. You hurt the woman I love, even though I warned you not to. Now you want to bargain with me?” Jason finished with a backhanded slap to his face, splitting Alexander's lip.
“Catch,” Jake said as he tossed two objects in Jason's direction.
~~~~~~~~~~
Malcolm Alexander was in no doubt about what was going to happen. He watched as Jason reached out his hand, catching a lighter and a cylindrical tube from the air.
“I believe this make is your cigar of choice. I remember how much you used to like them when I was a child. I'm not sure if your tastes have changed, well in cigars anyway, but I deduced that men like you are creatures of habit, so I took a chance. You used my woman's palm to extinguish one of these,” Jason said, indicating the cigar he held in his hand. “I believe, at the time, your actions were for my benefit. Well, everything I'm about to do is entirely for your benefit. I hope you appreciate my reciprocation in the vein in which it’s intended.”
“For God sake, Jason, what are you going to do? Please, don't do this, I beg you!”
“Shut up, and sit down,” Jason said, disgust dripping from his voice.
Alexander didn't move. Jason could see he was visibly shaking with fear, his body making odd, jerky movements. The very sight of him turned Jason's stomach. The man was one of the biggest cowards he ever had the misfortune to meet. He was an abuser of children and women; who had stayed hidden in a room while he paid others to do his dirty work, too frightened to carry out the threat of his pompous words himself.
Jason looked at his brothers and almost imperceptibly moved his head toward Alexander. Josh strolled in the shaking man’s direction and grabbed him by the lapels of his suit, lifting him clean off his feet. He then slammed him down in a chair and held him in place by his hair.
His movements slow and deliberate. Jason opened the tube containing the cigar and slipped the empty cylinder into his pocket. He then placed the cigar to his lips, flicked open the lighter and held it to the tip, puffing until it glowed red with smoke bellowing up around him. Removing the offensive object from his lips, he looked at it and then lifted his eyes to meet Alexander’s.
~~~~~~~~~~
Malcolm Alexander knew all about the mighty Kingdoms. He had even gone to school with Jackson. He was two years older than Jackson, but because of his extreme intellect, Jackson had been moved up a couple of grades. In the beginning, Alexander tried to befriend him, as Jackson had been a good looking kid. Even back then, he liked a good looking boy. But Jackson, for some reason, disliked him almost on sight and had dismissed him, refusing to have anything to do with him. From then on, he had made it his personal quest to make Jackson’s school life a living hell.
He applied every underhanded stroke he possessed in his young armory to punish the young Jackson. Yet nothing he did phased him. He would sometimes find Jackson watching him with a small smile lifting the corners of his mouth. It was as though he knew a secret Malcolm wasn't privy to, and it angered him.
His father had also hated Jackson Sr. because he married the woman he'd wanted for himself. Suzette had been a statuesque, red haired beauty that was the catch of the season. All the young men had been vying for he
r attention, and Jackson Sr. emerged victorious over all the others.
When Malcolm first met Jason all those years ago, his looks had pulled at something buried deep in his memory. Clarity of thought came when another of his fellow trustees had shown him photographs of two little boys they had invited to attend their school. Their father was Jackson Kingdom, his long ago school mate and nemesis, and now those two little boys stood before him, having grown into two of the most powerful looking men he had ever seen.
He remembered his feelings of euphoria when he had first seen the images of those boys, with their identities written below. He was also glad he was a newly appointed trustee, and his name had yet to be added to the school's letterhead and official documentation. Over the preceding months, he had visited the school often, and it had taken months for him to pass all the clearances the other trustees had insisted on. It was during this time that he first met the young Jason.
Their familial attachment was obvious, yet Jackson obviously knew nothing of Jason's existence and he had immediately seen the situation for what it was; the perfect opportunity to exact his revenge. It had all fallen into place wonderfully, or so he had thought. With Jason looming over him, he now realized he had miscalculated.
He had an idea of how Aviva had managed to escape his clutches, but her accomplice had also disappeared. The men he sent out to look for them all returned without the information he sought. His survival instincts had told him to run once Aviva escaped him, but he ignored that inner voice, wrongly thinking that his guards would be protection enough. How very wrong he had been. Now it would seem his time was up.
~~~~~~~~~~
Jason looked down at the pathetic looking man sitting before him. He felt a hatred boiling up inside of him that he had difficulty suppressing. Throughout his childhood, this man had literally been his nightmare. He had visited him in his dreams only for him to realize that he wasn't asleep. It was real, very, very real and that Alexander was actually sitting beside him in the dark. He couldn't even escape him during his waking moments.
For Love and Vengeance Page 12
