The Genesis Group

by Mike Dagons

  Ice hit the big man in his throat while he was still in the doorway, and when he reflexively grabbed it with both hands. Ice stepped to him. Shoving his arms under his armpits, and hugging him close, he moved into the room using him like a riot shield while firing both guns at the unsuspecting men inside.

  Chow’s men returned fire, and the Sumo’s wide girth absorbed the volley of bullets. Not relying on Chan to cover his back. Ice dropped the dead weight, and hit the floor rolling, and firing with both guns.

  He was spot on. Rapidly targeting one threat, and then another, and not missing a single shot. He stayed on the move, springing up off the floor and diving over a sofa back.

  He had picked off ten men in ten seconds, and he was surprised when Chan hit one who had managed to sneak up behind him.

  They needed to move quickly, now. Not everyone had been using silencers, and he was sure the noise would make some of the guest notify management, or worst, the authorities.

  All the guards in the parlor were down, so they moved through the suite to the bedroom swiftly. Ice fired three shots into the closed door as they approached, and then he heard the body fall. Not slowing, he put his shoulder to the door and forced the fallen body that was blocking it out of the way, so he could open it.

  They found Madame Chow sitting in the middle of the king size bed wearing only a thong. Her age was recorded as forty, but her body said that was a lie. She was hot, and Ice couldn’t help thinking it was a shame he had to kill her.

  “So you have come to kill me?” her voice was calm and sexy.

  Ice cut a glance at Chan, and given that she had the kind of body most men only got the chance to see naked in their dreams. He knew exactly what he was thinking.

  A hardcore porn movie was playing on the television. Looking at her while listening to the love sounds playing in the background made it hard to concentrate on the job at hand.

  She laid back on the bed, and started grunting and gyrating like the sweaty bodies on screen. “This is one of my movies,” she moaned sexily. “As you can see, I do not use children. Mr. Valance is an ex-lover who wants revenge. He has ordered my death, not because of his granddaughter’s association with my porn company. He has done it because of his jealousy. He is angry because he can no longer have this.” She parted her thighs just enough to be inviting instead of vulgar. “You can have this. Both of you can have this,” she cooed.

  Chan was completely mesmerized by her lasciviousness, and the promise of pleasure her sexy body offered, but Ice had his eyes on her hands. When her fingertips moved up under the pillows, he shot her in her head.

  Chan jumped in surprise. “What the fuck?!” he exclaimed.

  Ice walked closer to the bed and took a picture of her dead body, and then he reached under the pillows and pulled out the gun she had been sneakily trying to get. “Man, not all pussy is good for you,” he slapped Chan on his shoulder. “Let’s get out of here.”

  They dropped their guns, removed their gloves, and then headed out the door. “She was a succubus. It’s how she killed her men,” Chan mused.

  “You damn straight. You were so busy looking at her boobs that you didn’t see her going for the piece. She was a sexy bitch. It was hard not to get caught up in the daydream.”

  “But…we were supposed to torture her first,” he said as he followed Ice inside the stairwell.

  They ran down two floors, and then took the elevator the rest of the way down.

  “Valance fucked that up by making us move the time up. The muthafucka hired another contractor, and he made the shit public knowledge. That’s three reasons I should kill his ass, but I’ll restrain myself if he honors the contract and pays me all my damn money without mentioning the torture.” He sent the photo and the money transfer information to Valance. “If my money is not in the account in an hour, I’m going to kill him before I leave Japan.”

  They took the train out of Osaka, and Ice got confirmation of the ten million dollar deposit before they got to Tokyo. He transferred half of it to Chan’s account, and then he moved the balance to another one of his accounts. They rented a suite at the Hilton, and Ice planned to fly home the next morning.

  After he showered and changed into clean clothes. Ice sat down on the sofa to check his messages. The first was a video message from Monique. He opened it, and her smiling face appeared on the small screen. “Hi, guess what you missed?” she paused.

  “What?” he answered like he was actually talking to her.

  “The news that you’re going to be a daddy!” she squealed. “That’s right, nigga! We having a baby,” she sang. “I know I should have waited until you got back home to tell you, but I am too fucking excited to wait. Call me…and I love you,” she smiled, and the play arrow appeared onscreen covering her face.

  “Oh damn!” he shouted. “Chan, Chan!”

  “What is it?” he came running from the next room.

  “Look at this!” he showed him the video.

  “Congratulations, man!” he slapped him on his back. “Your wife is beautiful. No wonder Madame Chow’s magic didn’t work on you,” he laughed.

  “You damn straight. Shit, I am going to be a daddy,” he beamed with excitement.

  “I’m ordering champagne,” Chan walked over to the house phone sitting on the table, and happened to glance into the other room at the TV. “Ethan, you need to see this,” he said, and then put the phone down.

  “What?” Ice was still grinning from ear to ear.

  The call from Monique had come in twenty hours ago, and he wondered if his father and Melvin had been told. Probably, he thought. Monique couldn’t keep a secret, and he guessed that was what all the messages were about.

  “Hurry up, man!”

  The stress in Chan’s voice made him look up from the video he was replaying. Ice walked over to where he was standing, and followed his eyes to the TV. “That looks like your wife.”

  A woman was on the ground, grotesquely posed in death. The reporter was talking about the violence on the streets in America. The woman had been badly beaten, but he could see that it was Monique.

  “She was shot in the Evanston shopping district,” Chan interpreted like Ice didn’t understand the language.

  Ice was still staring at the screen when the story changed to the bombings, three total in the Chicago area. He recognized what had been the Genesis building, and the safe house in Joliet.

  Now he understood the excessive messages. He threw his head back and screamed, and screamed, and screamed until everything went black.

  Chapter 29

  When Ice opened his eyes, he was flat on his back in bed, and Chan was standing over him. “I’m sorry I had to hit you, but you were hysterical,” he explained hurriedly.

  With consciousness, the memory of what caused his incredible sadness came rushing back, and he wished the bump on the back of his head hurt more.

  Monique was dead, and with her their child, and their future hopes. He couldn’t wrap his mind around it, and the grief felt like an elephant was sitting on his chest. He curled up in a ball, grabbed handfuls of his hair, and cried.

  “I’m sorry, man. I’m so sorry,” Chan said. “What can I do to help?” he asked when Ice finally stopped crying.

  He didn’t speak. He got up and went into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. A tear streaked face with empty eyes looked back at him. He knew that whoever killed her did it to hurt him, and they had accomplished their goal. They had carved out his soul with a spoon, and fed it to him.

  Circles, he thought. What goes around comes back around. You plant a seed. You reap a harvest. This bounty was on him, and he swore it was coming back on whoever collected it.

  Ice turned on the cold water and filled the sink. He held his breath, and dunked his head in the icy coldness. He stayed submerged until the freezing water numbed his face, and his lungs burned for air.

  The water and its bitter cold represented the cruelty. For him, it symbolized the pain that had
suddenly taken over his existence. He had to harness the power of the incredible guilt; make it let him breathe. He was baptizing himself in the hatred so he’d be able to satisfy his persistent thirst for blood without conscience or remorse.

  After three minutes, Ice pulled his head out the water, and looked into the mirror at a man reborn with purpose. And that purpose was not just to kill them, but to make them regret killing her.

  Ice turned his back to the mirror, and leaned back against the vanity. Chan was standing in the doorway quietly watching him. “I’m cool, buddy,” he pulled his wet shirt off over his head. He grabbed a towel and dried his face and hair, and then hung the towel around his neck. Ice walked away from the sink and over to the doorway, and stood face to face with Chan.

  Chan studied his eyes for a beat. Reading the deadly determination in them, he stepped back and let him exit. “What do you need? I will help,” he followed Ice back into the parlor.

  “I need you to distance yourself from me.”

  “No, I want to help you avenge this evil.”

  Chan was an arms dealer. He had come through for him back at the Ritz Carlton, but he was no operator. They were hunting him and clearly going after his friends. He didn’t want Chan to appear on their radar. He hadn’t been able to spare Monique a horrible death, but he could spare Chan.

  “I appreciate it, Chan, but no. These people are ruthless. The best way to help me is to stay out of the line of fire. Not having to worry about your safety will make my job easier. I want you to get out of Tokyo for a bit. If you need help getting a passport, I’ll get it for you.”

  “I have the necessary documents, and now thanks to you. I have the money. I will leave Tokyo tonight,” he extended his hand.

  “Don’t go home,” Ice shook it, and then slapped him on his shoulder. “Goodbye, my friend, and thanks for everything.”

  “Goodbye Ethan,” he opened the door, and then he looked back at Ice a final time before he walked out.

  Ice picked up his cell, and scrolled through the messages, reading them all.

  He didn’t recognize the number that sent the last text, and he thought it might be from whoever had killed Monique calling to take credit for making him suffer.

  He opened the message, and was surprised to see only binary numbers, and instantly knew it was from Anakin. Most people needed a computer to write or read code, but Anakin was smarter than most people, and so was he. His mind photographed everything he saw, and he had the unique ability to recall any of it at will. Like his friend, he had been classified a genius. They had both had advance studies in computer programming, and although Anakin didn’t have the ability to retain as much information as him, he could read and write code.

  Ice studied the screen, and his mind turned the numbers into text. “Luther Scott is the hunter, and his motive is revenge. Jeff Basin hired for strategic support, provided the list. Guard tortured and killed to name you. Monique abduction failed; plucked me from home. I escaped. They’re still looking for you. Torturer, aka the Doctor, R.I.P., will contact ASAP.

  Anakin had given him enough pieces of the puzzle for him to put the back story together. Now he needed to find out if anyone at home survived the bombings.

  Ice dialed Melvin’s cell. He wanted to talk to him first because he wouldn’t be as emotional as his father would be about Monique’s death. Melvin would respect his decision to handle it himself, and his father would question it. He wasn’t in the mood to be questioned, or lectured.

  Melvin’s phone rang twice, and then he heard the voice he’d been hoping to avoid. “Hello, son,” his father’s voice was low and consoling.

  Ice braced himself, and then asked what he feared most. “Is he dead?”

  Ethan noted that Ice’s voice was hard, and figured he was masking his pain with anger. “No, he’s hurt, but he’s alive. I know that you’re angry, son. Anger is not a bad thing as long as you don’t allow it to cripple you.”

  Here it comes; the lecture that I wanted so desperately to avoid, he thought. Ice closed his eyes, and dug deep for patience. He prayed that his father would spare him the thirty minute version just this one time.

  “You are not to blame for anything that happened, Isaak.”

  “Are you and the family safe?” he asked, not only because he wanted to know. He wanted to change the subject. They had been looking for him, and it’s why they’d killed Monique. He knew it, and so did his father. He did not want to be spared the guilt. It was his burden to bear. He needed to own it.

  “We’re on my plane; me, your mother, Sam, and the children. Melvin and Bender, and the Doc are here with us, and Blue is piloting. Choc and Rayce are the only ones Bender felt it was safe to contact. He has advised them to stay put until he finds out who we’re up against. Chanay reported an attack on them at home. Anakin made her run with the baby. We’re on the ground waiting to pick her up now. We don’t know if he’s alive. They’re hitting us from all sides. You’re the first to check in. It’s always darkest before the light. Bender is working on finding out who is behind this attack. When he does, we will handle it.”

  “Dad, I don’t want you involved; any of you.”

  “They are after you! You can’t expect me to just sit on the sideline and watch! You don’t even know who they are.”

  “I know who they are, dad. It’s Luther Scott and Jeff Basin. They had Anakin, but he escaped. They tortured and killed Melvin’s contact at the federal lockup to get my name. They are looking for me, and I’m going to make sure they find me.”

  “Isaak, you cannot take these people on alone—”

  “THEY KILLED MY FUCKING WIFE!” he shouted, the words sounding like gravel in his throat. “Did you know that she was pregnant?” he asked, the calm returning to his voice when he remembered he was talking to a man that he loved and respected.

  “Yes, son, I knew.”

  “She wanted that bond for us. She wanted us to be like you and mom. Did you know that? They robbed Monique of the life that she wanted. They made her pay for my sins.”

  “I know, but you can’t reverse any of it by letting them kill you, too. Your death won’t change it, but it will change me. It will change all of us. I’m not telling you not to go after them. I’m telling you to solve the problem in a way that will make sure nobody else will ever attempt to do this shit again. Do you understand?”

  He understood that his father didn’t think he was capable of anything other than a straight kill. He couldn’t argue that he didn’t have the natural talent for making death unbearably unpleasant like his father did, but dammit, he was motivated.

  “Yes, I do, and I will. I need you to stay with the family. I need the peace of mind of knowing that you all are safe from this. Can you do that for me, dad?”

  “Yes, I can, and I will. Will Anakin be providing you with back up? I’ll feel better knowing that he is with you.”

  “I don’t know what was done to him, so I’m not certain he can. Tell Chanay that he is alive. I’m sure he will make contact when he can. I love you. Can I talk to Bender, please?”

  “Love you too, son.”

  “What you need?” Bender took over the call, and he was all business.

  “Everything you can find out about Luther Scott. I also need the layout of Tyler Basin’s plantation, and a way inside without being seen. They’re tracking and hurting everyone close to me. I need you and Blue to protect my family.”

  “We got it covered. I’ll send the info to your phone ASAP. I took pictures of what they did to Monique in case you needed to see it for yourself.”

  “Send them to me. I’m on the move.”

  Ice went directly to the airport, and bought a ticket for the first flight to Kentucky. He boarded the plane at 8pm and was scheduled to arrive in Louisville at 6am.

  He planned to rest on the plane, and then be ready to go to war as soon as it touched down.

  Chapter 30

  Ice was eight hours in the air when his phone rang. The
number calling was unknown, but he didn’t hesitate to answer. “I’m sorry about Monique. I’m in Oregon. Where you need me?” Anakin spoke quickly.

  “You check with Bender?”

  “Yeah, I’m up to speed.”

  “Pick me up in Kentucky after midnight on something with wings.”

  “I’ll be there.”

  When Ice got off the plane in Louisville, he rented a car and picked up supplies before he drove to Big Foot, where the Basin family home was located.

  The three story old slave tobacco plantation was impressive in size and beauty. It was bigger than the white house, and hosted a grand party every year on its twenty five acres of land. It was sixty miles north of the town, and surrounded by a forest of dense vegetation, and towering trees.

  Big Foot was a small town, but strangers were not uncommon. Much of the land was uncultivated forest that was right on the Mississippi River. It was good camping ground, and used by fishermen and hunters. There were a large number of rental cabins located on the river a few miles from the woods in back of the plantation, so it wasn’t unusual to see campers set up in the area.

  Ice rented one of the cabins, and then he waited until it was late enough for most of the locals to be in bed asleep. Then he took one of the motorboats up the river to the back path that led to the house.

  Ice wore night vision goggles, so he wouldn’t have to use a flashlight to see his way through the pitch black woods.

  They had put an electric fence up since Genesis was there last year, but the property map had been updated to include it, so Ice knew about it before he got there.

  He signaled Bender, and then waited ten minutes for him to cut the power to the twelve foot fence remotely before he scaled it.