The Measure of a Man [The Exceptionals Book 1]

by Jerry Kokich, Teel James Glenn

  Lastshot tried to defend himself with a series of arm-locks, but Winters was just too strong and the warrior that he had been in life somehow survived in the shadowed depths of his cells. The zombie moved forward, trying to club Lastshot with his flailing arms. Lastshot tried every non-lethal move in his extensive ju-jitsu arsenal, but none were successful. The golem seemed to sense and counter all the locks.

  Lastshot found his mind going back to the jungle of twenty years before, saw the face before him as young and vital again: Lastshot and Winters ran again through the jungle. A mortar round landed again, just feet from them. Winters again sprawled over the log apparently lifeless....

  At one point, Lastshot locked eyes with the thing that had been Winters. He saw, or at least sensed there might be some part of his friend still there. The golem kept moving forward at Lastshot, clubbing and striking at the Exceptional as relentless as a glacier.

  Lastshot couldn't bring himself to hit back. He merely blocked the zombie's attacks.

  "I'm sorry, Eddie, please!"

  Winters landed blow after blow. Lastshot soon tired and engaged none of his implants, his mind numbed by the reality of the situation. Instead of blocking, he got hit again and again. His ribs cracked. Blood began to flow from cuts on his face and arms. One of the clubbing arms broke his left forearm.

  Susan couldn't tear her eyes away from the spectacle. Tears ran down her cheeks. The zombie drove Lastshot to his knees.

  "Eddie ... I'm so sorry.” He looked into the zombie's eyes as the creature's arms pounded him mercilessly. Tears flowed down The Exceptional's cheeks and his body seemed to collapse inward with years of guilt and self-loathing.

  Finally, Lastshot fell face first into the dirt.

  "I think he's had enough, my friend,” Briejer said, clapping his hands to stop the spectacle. “I need him alive for my work."

  "Pull him out!” Tamok commanded his men.

  Two soldiers jumped into the pit, beat Winters back with the butts of their rifles, and dragged Lastshot out, throwing him at the foot of the platform in front of Susan.

  "Take them to the workroom!” Briejer commanded indicating Firststrike as well. He shoved Susan forward. “Her, too!” He pointed to Firststrike. “Bring your friend."

  The one-eyed Exceptional helped Lastshot to his feet and started to half drag, half carry him away.

  "I've got you, Conner,” he whispered. “We'll get through this."

  * * * *

  Skorpion, less than twenty yards from the gladiatorial pit edge, saw Lastshot being dragged from the arena through the throng of Khmer Rouge. The odds were insanely mismatched, but they were the kind she liked.

  "This is our best chance!” She looked at her Russian counterpart with a questioning expression. He grinned with the genetic mad enthusiasm for action that defeated the Teutonic Knights, Napoleon and Hitler.

  "Da! Stinging bug, my darling. We go!"

  They leapt to their feet and charged, opening fire.

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  Chapter 24

  Gunfire erupted from outside the circle of Cambodian tribesmen/guards standing at the gladiatorial pit. At first, everyone seemed to think it was celebratory gunfire. Briejer knew it was not immediately and jumped to his feet.

  "Who dares?” the Dutchman yelled.

  Ursa Major blanketed the area with microwave heat pulses. Many of the guards’ guns malfunctioned from overheating, as if they had fired hundreds of rounds, before even a single round had been loosed.

  Skorpion zigzagged toward the pit, cut and downed several guards with devastatingly accurate small arms fire before anyone could return a shot.

  Briejer and Tamok ran for cover, their personal Bodyguard with them. Susan broke away from her ‘chaperones’ and ran toward Firststrike and Lastshot.

  "Stay with Lastshot!” Firststrike called to Susan.

  Firststrike caught a guard in the back of the head with an elbow, knocking him out. He grabbed the guard's rifle and opened fire from the inside of the circle of Khmer Rouge adding to the confusion.

  Caught in the crossfire between Firststrike, Skorpion and Ursa Major, the guards fell in large numbers. The Russian sent burst after burst of microwave energy into the guards, making their weapons useless and burning many.

  Soon, the only ones standing at the pit's edge were The Exceptionals, Susan, and some confused zombies.

  Skorpion ran up to Lastshot.

  "Conner!” she said, shocked by his condition. “Oh, Jesus, you look like hell!"

  "Hello to you, too,” he managed. “Thanks to Regen, I'll be okay in a bit, I just feel like crap."

  Firststrike came running up to the group. “Briejer and Tamok ran for the house. We've got to find Temper and Sunray."

  Susan had the face of a frightened child in the middle of a nightmare. “What about my father?"

  Gunfire cut their conversation short.

  "We move,” Ursa Major said. “Yes?"

  Skorpion used a seized AK47 to lay down suppressive, covering fire, as they headed for the house. The guards had recovered from their initial confusion and were regrouping by the out buildings and returning fire.

  Firststrike led the rest of them into the house. Skorpion came up beside him.

  "We've got to do this fast—” she said. “UniPol fries this place in twenty minutes!"

  "You find Temper and Sunray. We'll get Tamok and Dr. Frankenstein."

  "Who is this doctor?” Ursa Major asked.

  "Never mind,” Firststrike said. “Come on."

  The group split up and moved out rapidly. Lastshot made sure that the still stunned Susan Winters was with him.

  * * * *

  Briejer's laboratory was a collection of tables and computers set up in a room beneath the plantation house that was originally a natural cave. It was cool and dark and had been used for a very long time. On some of the walls, the ancient carvings of the long vanished pre-Khmer cult could still be seen.

  On the tables were various beakers, retorts and test tubes. In the center of the room was a large vat filled with a noxious bubbling liquid. Briejer and Tamok dashed in, followed by two soldiers, and began grabbing various files and disks.

  "It seems we will have to move sooner than we thought,” Briejer said. He picked up and pocketed several computer disks.

  "It's good that all our monies have already been transferred,” Tamok said with a smile.

  "I hear Rio is lovely this time of year,” Briejer said. “And I haven't seen the Fuhrer in quite a while.” He paused for a moment as another thought occurred to him.

  "I must get Evangeline—"

  "Oh, Johann, be realistic—"

  Briejer looked at him with such venom, that Tamok said nothing more.

  * * * *

  Two soldiers held their guns on Temper and Sunray, who were bound hand and foot and were seated on a pink bench against the back wall of the room. Evangeline, dressed in taffeta and lace and a large sun hat wandered about her room, picking things up, and putting them down at random. There seemed to be some remnant of personality left within the girl, but there were connections not being made, thoughts not completing; it was like watching an out of sync tape loop, running over and over again, but not with any real purpose.

  They had been watching the somnambulistic act for some time and listening to the gunfire in the distance. If either had thoughts or conjectures as to what was happening, none were voiced.

  There was a commotion in the hall, and in the second that the guard's eyes looked at the door, both Exceptional women acted.

  Sunray cast a blinding darkness at both men, and Temper, who had freed herself some time before, simply sprang on them and they were dead.

  At that moment, Skorpion, holding a pistol in each hand, kicked the door in.

  She smiled when she saw the way things were. “Shall we go?"

  Temper and Sunray moved towards the door. Skorpion caught sight of Evangeline.

  "What the hell—
” she said. “No ... not again."

  "What are you talking about?” Temper asked.

  "I'll tell you as we go.” Skorpion headed for the door. Temper stopped her.

  "Wait.” She grabbed Evangeline and moved to follow.

  "What are you doing?” Skorpion asked.

  "She could be useful,” Sunray said. She had also taken the guard's rifles.

  "Okay...” Skorpion acquiesced. “Bring the Barbie doll!"

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  Chapter 25

  Firststrike and Ursa Major burst into the underground laboratory. Susan helped the still shaky Lastshot in behind them. Ursa Major has acquired an old M-60 machinegun that looked small in the big Russian's hands. Firststrike was carrying a submachine gun.

  "Dushka, I'm home!"

  The two soldiers on guard opened fire. Ursa Major shot back, blowing both men clean off their feet. Firststrike moved forward, pointing his gun at Briejer and Tamok.

  "Hands up! It's over,” the one-eyed Exceptional said. “Tamok, you're coming with us, dead or alive, it makes no difference to me."

  Tamok dove for the bodies of the soldiers, grabbed a rifle and opened fire, rolling behind the vat for cover. Firststrike, Lastshot and Ursa Major returned fire. Susan took cover.

  * * * *

  Temper, Skorpion, Sunray and Evangeline stopped short when they heard Ursa Major's first attack.

  "Come on!” Skorpion called.

  "What did you mean back there about ‘again'?” Temper asked. They moved through the house with speed, but still cautiously, towards the sound of the gunfire.

  "In the chronicles of the Order,” Skorpion said, obviously reluctant to reveal any fact about herself. “The sect that I trained with there had a tale of an elixir developed by an obscure religious sect in the ninth century Christian Era that would animate the dead. The Order eventually sent representatives to eliminate them. Bad for the assassination business, you know."

  They all stopped for a moment. Temper and Sunray considered her words and Temper acknowledged, with a look that this revealed confidence was appreciated.

  "I see your point,” Temper said. “The family scrolls of the ninpo clan I learned from have a vague mention of the same thing—with the same attitude if it were true."

  "Makes sense to me,” Sunray agreed with a nod. Evangeline just stood there, weaving slightly. They moved on, heading down a flight of stairs.

  * * * *

  Gunfire reverberated off the stone walls of the room, filling the space like cannon fire. Briejer and Tamok were behind good cover in a position where none of the Exceptionals could get a clear shot at them. Ursa Major's machinegun opened up several holes in the vat. A greenish liquid began to pour from the perferations, flowing out in a mass around the base of the vat. It covered the floor in a widening pool.

  Suddenly, the door at the top of the stairs burst open. Skorpion and Temper, who had picked up a weapon, joined in the general fusillade.

  Sunray, leading Evangeline, followed them in.

  Firststrike turned to look, and called to Sunray. “Take cover!"

  Sunray pushed Evangeline to the side, but Tamok at that moment, raised his rifle and fired a wild shot intended for the Korean that hit Evangeline in the middle of the forehead. The entire back of her skull exploded.

  Briejer gasped in horror and screamed, “Evangeline!” He turned to a startled Tamok and emptied his pistol into the Cambodian, stitching him across the chest with bullets.

  "Nooo!” He continued to scream incoherently, his mind had snapped. When his gun was empty, Briejer threw it away, and started to pummel the body of the dead terrorist leader.

  Firststrike, Lastshot and Ursa Major stood up and cautiously moved in.

  "Come, comrade,” Ursa Major said to the insane Dutchman. “It is over."

  "No,” Briejer said. His eyes shone with an inner, mad light. “It isn't over—” he dove for the body of one of the soldiers and grabbed two hand grenades, “—until everybody's dead! Everything I ever loved died with her!"

  He pointed to Evangeline's body, which was still twitching in a grisly marionette dance.

  "Please, put down—” Firststrike began.

  "Shut up!” Briejer screamed.

  A groan from the doorway made everyone look up. The undead Winters shuffled into the room, perhaps drawn by the sound of gunfire. The animated corpse began to stumble down the stairs. Susan, on the edge of insanity herself with the intensity of all that had happened, ran to her father and threw her arms around him.

  "Daddy!"

  The golem looked down at her with no light in its eyes, but made no move to break away from her grip. She did not see the desiccated skin, the blank stare, and the rotten teeth. The tears in her eyes blurred his image, too, and she saw only the photos she had grown up loving, the memory of a giant that a five year old had worshipped. She saw only her father.

  "Daddy,” she said. “I missed you so much. I love you so much."

  "Good,” Briejer said. “Now, we're all here as we should be! Strike us down, Lord!"

  He pulled the pins and threw both grenades in two different directions.

  Lastshot, standing next to Susan and his former commander, grabbed the man's tattered shirt and jumped forward.

  "Go Big Wolf, Go!” Lastshot screamed. For the smallest fraction of a second, the two men locked gazes and a dim light briefly glowed in Winters’ eyes. For a second, they were both back in the same jungle of so long ago.

  Firststrike yelled, “Fire in the hole.” He jumped and grabbed Temper throwing her to the corner of the room.

  Lastshot and The undead Winters dove to both sides of the room as everyone else scrambled for cover.

  Winters dove forward on top of one of the grenades that had fallen almost at his daughter's feet. The other grenade rolled further away into the pool of zombie elixir.

  Without hesitation, Lastshot dove across the room on top of the second grenade.

  That moment became a strange ‘slowed time’ moment for Conner Le'Schott as he landed heavily on the grenade. He felt the hard shape of it jam against his sternum and felt the sticky green goo of the ‘zombie’ formula seeping into all his clothes. He felt the cold stone of the cave floor against his left cheek as he hit. He could see the golem Eddie Winters land on the other grenade and the two looked at each other. For the smallest moment, Lastshot thought he saw something in those eyes ... perhaps forgiveness?

  The two grenades exploded at the same moment, making horrible, muffled sounds. Winters’ emaciated and ill clothed body was virtually vaporized by the blast.

  Lastshot's body jerked upward, as the explosion punched a hole through his mesh armor vest, tearing into his flesh and making an ugly hump in the back of the vest.

  Sudden, unbearable silence descended on the room after the deafening eruption of the explosion. Then the sound of the debris and flesh that seemed to rain everywhere.

  Firststrike, Temper, and Skorpion looked on, stunned. Ursa Major had grabbed Susan Winters and was taking her up the stairs while her body was wracked with uncontrolled sobs.

  Only Sunray could speak. “We should—” Before she could finish, or any of them could run to their fallen comrade, a muffled explosion rocked the cave.

  "Holy Gods,” Skorpion said. “It's UniPol!"

  Another rumbling explosion sounded and part of the roof caved in. The fall buried Briejer beneath tons of rock and earth, and all but cut them off from Lastshot's body.

  Firststrike dashed forward and began tearing at the debris with his bare hands. His hands were bleeding in seconds, but he continued to frantically pull at the stone and earth.

  The sounds of men yelling, and more explosions drifted down to them through the open door and soon filled the air.

  Temper ran to Firststrike and began to pull him away. “Jason! Come on!"

  "We're not leaving Conner!” More of the roof came down, almost sealing the exit.

  "Let's move, guys,” Skorpi
on ordered.

  "Nooo!” Firststrike yelled. Tears were running down his face from his good eye, leaving a trail in the soot that covered him. Temper literally dragged him towards the door. He shrugged her off just as the entire ceiling fell, totally cutting them off from Lastshot's body. Temper held on to Firststrike's resisting arm, and they all followed Skorpion up the stairs.

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  Chapter 26

  The manor house was fully ablaze when the team emerged from the cave laboratory. They had to shoot it out with a few diehard guards in the mansion itself, but overcame the resistance in a few chaotic moments to make it outside.

  The whole of the poppy fields were aflame, so that the night was almost as bright as day. The sound of aircraft high overhead reached their ears. Khmer Rouge soldiers were running madly back and forth across the plantation, mostly headed into the jungle.

  Sunray ran up to Skorpion, Temper, and Firststrike. “The UniPol planes are coming around for another pass!” she yelled.

  "Where are Konstantin and Susan?” Skorpion asked.

  Just then, a Khmer Rouge jeep screeched up to them. Ursa Major was in the driver's seat and Susan was sitting beside him.

  "Taxicab, anyone?” he yelled.

  They all piled in, and Ursa Major gunned the engine. As they hit the road leading from the plantation, the UniPol planes made their second pass. They dropped another load of bombs directly on target, obliterating the compound in an apocalyptic conflagration.

  "Comrade Lastshot?” Ursa Major asked over his shoulder. Firststrike just looked into the distance. No one spoke. No words seemed adequet.

  The team drove in silence all the way out of the plantation, alert all the way for Khmer guards or traps. They waited until they were several miles from the plantation before they parked off the road. All stood around the jeep while Ursa Major used his communications glove.

  "The helicopter should be at the rendezvous point in thirty minutes. I ... I told them about Lastshot.” He put a hand on Skorpion's shoulder and squeezed gently. “I am truly sorry, my friends."

  * * * *

  Only five hours later, the team was seated in the briefing room at Guam again. They were all physically and emotionally spent. Susan Winters had been taken to a hospital, having had a complete nervous breakdown on the flight back. No one felt much like talking.