McCall put the phone away but felt puzzled. She looked up to find Tooms had the same look of confusion.
“What’s wrong with you two?” asked Brant.
Tooms looked around them. “Why does Steel need our help?” he asked.
Tony seemed confused by the question, but the Captain then had a spark of insight. “He doesn’t need our help,” Brant told them. “Hell, the guy did this sort of thing for a living—oops.”
McCall and the others looked at him in surprise. “Did what for a living?” she asked.
Brant realized his slip and tried to cover up his gaff. “Ask me if we live, hell, ask him if we live.”
McCall and the others now had a really bad feeling. “Okay, my question is why does he want us on the ship?” she said.
Tooms was now feeling even less happy.
“Well my question is why you are getting texts from me when I didn’t send any.”
They all looked round, amazed to see Steel standing behind them holding the massive sniper rifle. “Steel, what the hell is going on?” McCall asked.
Steel walked up to her. “Hi, can I get your phone please?” She gave it to him with a puzzled look. “They are tracking you through your phone. All of you have to get off right now.”
Brant walked up to Steel, asking him: “Where is everybody?”
Steel put McCall’s cell phone away. “The teams are downstairs, and the sergeant and his second are back at the van, so everyone get off, right now.”
McCall shot him an angry look.
“Sorry, Sam, but no you can’t help, you’ll slow me down.” Steel’s words were cruel but also accurate. He had to move quickly and someone alongside him would get in the way, she realized that. Steel swapped weapons with Tooms. “Sure you can handle that?” he asked, grinning as Tooms shot him a sarcastic look. Reluctantly they obeyed the Englishman and headed for the side. As they moved off, Steel grabbed the Captain’s arm. “Sir, this boat cannot leave these waters.” He shoved a manifest into the Captain’s hands, a list detailing all kinds of weapons.
“This ship is heading for the middle east,” Brant was so angry he was practically foaming at the mouth. “So this whole thing was about arms smuggling?”
“No,” replied Steel. “It was about money.”
Steel made his way down the metal stairs, the darkness shattered by the dimly lit red lights. He had to find the teams and fast, but first, he had to even up the numbers. Soon he found a room full of crates, and he smiled at the irony of the situation. Making his way inside he took out McCall’s cell phone and hid it deep within the room. He found a spot in the shadows at the end of the corridor and waited.
He did not have to be there long before red beams of light cut through the dimness of the corridor. They were here, at least twelve heavily armed men. He smiled as he watched them go into the room one by one.
“Where are they?” screamed one of them.
A short man took out an electronic tablet and watched the display turn into a map of the boat. Touching the screen it zoomed in on the room.
“They are here,” he said, “Or at least her cell phone is.”
“You dumb ass,” said another man, who came round the corner of boxes holding McCall’s cell phone. At that moment the door slammed shut and there was a creak of metal as the brace went on.The imprisoned men rushed forwards, firing as they went, hoping to wound or kill whoever had locked them in.
“Great,” said the man with the cell phone, throwing it into the corner, and hearing it disintegrate against the wall.
SIXTY-NINE
Inside the Operations Room Brant and the others watched as the ship gave a bellow of smoke in preparation to disembark. Brant picked up his phone, looked at it for a brief moment and then shoved it back into his pocket.
“Find me a secure line,” he ordered.
Everyone looked for a landline phone that was still functioning had not been ripped out.
“Will this do?” asked Sergeant North. They all turned to see him and his second-in-command. He was holding his cell phone in an outstretched hand and looked guilty and ashamed.
Brant took the phone from him. “This was nobody’s fault but theirs, so let’s have no guilt or recriminations, let’s just get our people off there, and get these sons-of-bitches.”
The Captain then called the commissioner and told him of the situation. He also fulfilled his promise to Detective Steel, grimly explaining that it was vital to stop the ship by any means necessary. They all looked at Brant, fully understanding what that meant.
“He will get those men and himself off that ship before anything happens,” assured Brant. “I know he will.”
They all nodded and sat down on whatever they could find. The situation was out of their hands now and there was not a damned thing they could do to help. They watched helplessly as the ship got underway. “God speed, Steel,” the Captain spoke under his breath.
Steel raced down corridor after corridor until he heard the sound of banging. At first he thought he was close to the engine room but this sound wasn’t that of mechanical discord, this was an almost purposeful tapping. As he got closer he could hear the yells of trapped men. Knowing it wasn’t the room he had trapped the morons in earlier, he knew it must be the SWAT teams. Wrenching open the door, the men drew back seeing only a shadow, until one man put on his flashlight, and there stood Steel.
“Any one order room service?” Steel joked.
The men rushed forwards to greet him. “Daniels,” someone called out. “They took him somewhere.”
Next to their room was a broom closet with no handle, and with a huge kick the team leader of Alpha had found his man, who was still unconscious.
“We have to go now.” Steel told them. He could feel the engines getting stronger, and He knew Captain Brant being a man of his word, would do as Steel had asked, meaning that very soon all manner of hell would be raining down on this ship.
Looking through his binoculars Tooms saw men in the water. Adjusting the focus to zoom in, he identified them as the missing SWAT men.
“Well I’ll be damned, he got them off, the bastard did it,” Tooms declared.
Everyone cheered, and Brant turned to the room full of people. “We’ve got to get them out of the water.”
Leaving their equipment, they all rushed down to the dock to assist the half-drowned men. Finding several small boats they set off to get as many as they could, leaving McCall and Tony on the bank.
Steel was last to leave the cabin. He could see the city lights sparkling brightly in front of him, and as he broke out of the doorway two powerful hands grabbed him and tossed him like a doll. Hitting the deck, he rolled and ended in a crouched alert position. In front of him was a large man with blond greased-back hair.
“So, Mr Steel, it appears my men didn’t find you after all.”
Steel Smiled smugly and tilted his head in a defiant gesture. “No, I guess they didn’t.”
The two men sized one another up. “You are full of surprises, Mr Steel,” began the blonde-haired mercenary. “I must say, my employer finds you most interesting.”
This was a new piece of information for Steel. It seemed that these were not just mercenaries making a quick buck, this was an entire organization: the organization his father was trying to root out. The people who had killed his family all those years ago. He glared at his enemy. Even with his eyes covered by the sunglasses, Mr Jones could sense the clear cold hatred.
“Oh, you’ll never guess just how many surprises I’ve got lined up.” As the Englishman spoke there was a rumble from down below. Then a massive explosion ripped a hole in the side of the vessel.
“Oops,” said Steel. “You’re not the only one who can play with explosives.”
Jones lunged for Steel, who simply rolled out of the way. Another explosion rocked the ship knocking both men off their feet. But Jones was quick and he forward-rolled to Steel’s position and smashed down with one punch to the face and then an
upper cut to the stomach.
Detective Steel spat blood just as the large man grabbed him by the collar and lifted him off the ground.
“Well, Mr Steel let us see how un-killable you really are,” Jones snarled.
Just then another explosion rocked the ship, knocking them off balance. Steel head-butted his adversary then, as Jones dropped, Steel brought his knee up to Jones’s groin. The large man bent forwards in agony, only to be met by Steel’s knee to his jaw. Jones spat teeth and bloody saliva. Quickly snatching a blade from behind his back, he swept forwards, slicing a nick into Steel’s torso.
Steel looked down at the rip in his top, and saw the faint line of red that stretched across his muscular stomach.
“So, Mr Steel, to the test, who is the better man?” Jones shouted.
The Englishman looked around in amazement: this man wanted to have a knife fight as the ship was being ripped apart. Steel rushed for the side. Suddenly instinct told him to drop down, just as a twelve-inch blade whizzed past his head.
“I knew you were a coward.” Jones said.
Steel stood up and faced the man. “There is a difference between bravery and stupidity. At this moment staying on board an exploding ship is going into the realms of being friggin nuts.”
Jones gave an evil grin. “Don’t you want to find out who is the better man?”
Steel shook his head. “Not really.” He moved away
“Or to find out who killed your parents? You never did find that out, did you?”
Steel turned, this time slowly, his teeth bared.
“Now we shall see.” Jones produced a boot knife. “Come, my Lord. let us do battle.”
McCall looked through the binoculars to see the two men fighting. “My God,” she called out. “It’s Steel and some monster of a man. They’re fighting.”
Tony looked at her, confused, and took the binoculars from her. “Is he nuts? Don’t he realize that thing’s going to go blow up any minute?”
In front of them the boats were being filled with members of the SWAT teams, while others clung to the sides.
Explosion after explosion ripped the ship to pieces, shards of metal being sent flying with each eruption, but the men battled on. Jones was surprised by the sheer power and anger that drove this beast. Now he realized that what had left the mansion all those years ago was no longer a man. Jones knew for the sake of the organization that Steel had to be put down.
The two men faced each other. Jones saw that Steel had scars all over his body, but it was not fazing him. For the first time in his life he felt fear. He now understood all the stories he had heard about the wrath of the Phoenix and now he knew just what it meant.
“Come on, Steel,” he taunted. “If you still have the strength.”
He gripped the knife tighter. After seeing him attack again and again he knew Steel would rush headlong and try to dodge the knife and get in a couple of punches, but now he was ready for him. With anticipation, he watched Steel start his run up. Jones gripped the knife tightly and braced himself: this time he would leave the knife strike for last.
As Steel grew near, he hit the deck and slid, knocking Jones to the ground. As the blond man’s back slammed against the deck, Steel knelt on his arms and gave him six massive right hooks to the face. Blood flowed freely and the sound of crunching bone filled his ears.
Detective Steel stood up, panting and breathless. “Come on, you gutless wonder, come and get me if you’re able. I’ll make you bleed for my family, I’ll make you all bleed.”
Then Steel was knocked backwards by a massive explosion. Once the smoke had cleared he saw pieces of metal had pierced the deck and something had decapitated his enemy. Steel smiled at the irony that the man’s own weapons had caused his death. Turning, he jumped into the water, just as the ship was vaporized by a final, incredibly powerful explosion.
From the vehicles everyone cheered. They had made it, and it was all over. However, McCall and the others didn’t cheer, instead they ran down towards the dock, intent on knowing Steel’s fate. McCall ran, her heart pounding as she picked up speed. Her arms pounded like an old locomotive, and her eyes were transfixed on the harbor, hoping to catch a glimpse of him coming out of the water.
A loud cracking sound filled the air, and then something hit her. At first, it did not register until she found herself falling down. The others hit the deck, taking cover behind crates and machinery.
“Sniper” Tooms shouted as he watched McCall spin and hit the ground hard.
“Sam, are you okay?” called out the Captain with tears in his eyes as he looked over to where she lay motionless and feared the worst.
Two badly injured hands broke the surface of the water and grabbed the sides of the harbour wall. Pulling himself out of the sea, Steel rolled onto his back and gasped for air. His head fell to the side as the rest of the ship continued to erupt, reminding him of the Fourth of July celebrations
He sat up and saw someone lying on the jetty. Standing up, he slowly moved forwards, and his heart began to pound frantically in his chest. The closer he got the more he could see of the woman on the jetty, and memories of all the women from his past merged together in his mind. Just a couple of feet away he dropped to his knees as the strength left his legs. Brant and the others helpless to do anything in fear of joining their colleague. McCall was bait and Steel was the prize and they couldn’t do a damn thing to help either of them.
On his hands and knees the battle scarred man crawled towards McCall’s limp body, leaving bloody trails of battle on the ground.
The Englishman reached out a hand to grasp her pale flesh but the few feet between them seemed like a chasm. Tears cascaded down his face making his facial wounds sting, as he crawled closer and closer, his body numb from memories of past conflicts. From here, he could smell the mix of sweet perfume and the metallic tang of fresh blood. Brant and the others watch in trepidation as Steel picked up her limp body and held it close, doing all he could to squeeze life back into her shattered form.
Steel kissed her forehead, and as he rocked her back and forth he spoke softly in to her ear. “It’s going to be okay, you will see.”
This was a broken man the police officers saw before them. Never could they have imagined that after all this he would crumble. Only the Captain knew that he wasn’t there with McCall. He was back in the attic of his ancestral home with his wife as she lay dying .
A smell wafted onto the breeze, a smell of bad deodorant and body odour. And a laugh that he had not heard for so long suddenly pierced his ears. Steel faced forward, and as he listened, he heard the click of a revolver’s hammer being drawn back. A blink of an eye was all it took.
Brant and the others never even saw him toss the blade. But in that blink of an eye the large bald man was on the floor, holding the gushing mess where his trigger finger used to be. The chromed weapon had tumbled from his grip. Steel didn’t really know if someone or something had guided the knife or it had just been blind luck, but there was an added bonus, as the .50 calibre revolver span towards the ground, firing as it fell, and blowing off the man’s left foot.
Steel stood up and walked towards the bleeding man. He was almost in a trance, unable to hear the others calling him. He reached down, grabbed the man by the collar, and started to drag him towards a tool shed.
“Steel, what the hell are you doing?” yelled the Captain. “You’re a cop for God’s sake!”
They watched him turn round and for the first time they saw him without his glasses. His emerald green eyes stared back at them looking lifeless, soulless, sending a chill down their spines.
The Captain saw something hit the ground in front of them and, in horror, he saw Steel’s badge lying there.
“I’m not a cop anymore,” he yelled.
And they watched, frozen in fear as he dragged the screaming man into the shed. There was a loud bang as the door shut and locked, followed by a bone-chilling scream.
SEVENTY
As she lay in the hospital bed listening to the sounds of people walking up and down the corridors, the squeak of safety shoes on non-slip floors, ringing phones answered by loud-voiced nurses, Sam felt safe but disappointed. All of her colleagues had been to visit and her room looked more like a flower store, and Get-Well cards littered a small table next to the door, a testimony to her colleagues’ affection for her.
However, John Steel had not been in. After all the times he had just appeared from the shadows, why couldn’t he turn up now? The one time she needed him and he was not there.
Sam turned as Tina entered, holding a bowl of cherries and a card.
“Hi, honey, how you feeling?” Tina asked as she watched McCall trying to sit up.
“Uh uh, you lay right where you are,” Tina told her, seeing the pain in her friend’s face.
“So, any word from you know who?”
Sam McCall shook her head, even though it hurt to do so.
“So what’s the last thing you remember?”
McCall closed her eyes for a moment. “Steel dragging some bleeding guy into a shed. They say that he killed Steel’s family, he never mentioned anything.”
Tina smiled. “Well, he never really gave anything up. Now I know why.”
The silence was broken by Tina’s cell phone vibrating in her bag. Taking it out she saw it was from the precinct.
“What happened to Steel after that?” Sam asked.
Tina put the phone away. “He threw the guy to the Captain, nobody knows why, hell if it had been me I would have killed the bastard!”
They both laughed, a breeze blew the curtains and Tina walked over and closed the window. “You need anything, babe?”
McCall shook her head and smiled painfully. Tina kissed Sam on the forehead and left.
“I couldn’t do it.”
A voice from the shadows at the other end of the room startled her.
“Steel?” she called out.
He walked out of the shadow and there he was, larger than life. Her expression ranged from pure joy to astonishment.
Rise of a Phoenix: Rise of a Phoenix Page 28
