“I’ve got a target,” he said into the comms.
“I see it,” said Zukov. “I’m en route.”
The eyepiece directed Jim from the T-junction down into another corridor and here he found a man sitting on the ground, dressed in a form-fitting red and yellow suit, his head completely bald without a single speck of hair. Once Jim spotted him, he aimed the weapons at the target.
The man looked up at Jim. There was something familiar about him, but Jim couldn’t quite place it. The man squinted, studying the Gunsmith armor. “You’re one of them. One of the Khagan’s.”
“No, you got it all wrong,” said Jim. “Who are you?”
The man’s body erupted in flames and Jim suddenly realized why he was familiar. He shot from his spot, taking to the air and blazing past Jim, flying into the main chamber.
“I won’t be anyone’s puppet again!” he shouted.
Jim cringed from the heat, his suit quickly working to cool his body temperature down. “Abram, it’s Pyre!”
Pyre had worked with the Red Fist but as far as Jim knew, they were all taken captive. All except for a select few who helped take down the Khagan. How the pyrokinetic was free, let alone in Tora Bora, was a mystery the man once called Gunsmith intended to see solved.
Jim ran out from the corridor and saw Pyre streaking towards the exit. He raised his blasters, the scanner interfacing with his guns and locking onto the target. Once it was a lock, the scanner beeped, the crosshairs flashed red, and Jim pulled the trigger.
Energy blasts flew from the barrels of the weapons, striking their target in the back. Pyre arched his chest forward upon impact and spun in the air, glowering at the attacker. He dove for Jim, arms extended out in front of him and jet-streams of flame shooting from his closed fists.
Jim sprung to the side to avoid the attack, firing blindly as he hit the ground, blasts that Pyre easily dodged. Pyre’s arm flung out in front of him as if throwing a ball. And indeed he did—balls constructed of fire that shot at his target.
Jim jumped over the railing to avoid the strike, falling towards the ground. He held out his arm and a grappling hook shot from his gauntlet, hooking onto the opposite railing and allowing him to swing from it. He released the grapple and landed on the catwalk of a lower level.
Pyre spun to keep up with his enemy, flying after him and throwing out more fireballs. Jim rolled to avoid them, returning fire whenever he found an opening. But as Pyre concentrated on Jim, he didn’t realize there was another to worry about.
Zukov approached the railing of the catwalk and fired a teleforce blaster of his own, striking Pyre in the back several times. That gave Jim an opening to release several blasts of his own and the special plummeted.
Jim fired his grapple at Pyre, the cable wrapping around his ankle. Jim braced his leg against the catwalk railing and held firm as the cable tightened, breaking Pyre’s fall just before he struck the ground.
Both Jim and Zukov raced to the bottom of the chamber where Pyre lay, winded from his injuries and exertion. The flames had died out and just to be safe, Zukov affixed an inhibitor against Pyre’s chest. When the special looked up and saw the symbol on Zukov’s uniform, his eyes went wide in fear.
“No! Not you, not again!”
Jim blinked and stared at his partner. “What’s he talking about? You met him before?”
Zukov shook his head. “I only know about him from the Cerberus files.”
“I’ve had enough, do you hear me? I’m tired of being used! Just kill me and get it over with!” screamed Pyre.
Jim knelt down by Pyre’s side. “You’re not making a lick of sense. What are you being used for, and who’s responsible?”
“You’re here to take me back, I know,” said Pyre. “Wasn’t enough for that silver-haired freak to manipulate me, but then you turned me into your personal hitman!”
“Hitman?” asked Zukov. “You killed someone?”
Pyre scoffed. “Like you don’t know. Back in DC a few months ago, you had me fry some military muckity-muck. I managed to get away and thought I could find some remnants of what was here, get some protection. But the Red Fist is all gone now, isn’t it?”
Jim held up his hand. “Wait, slow down. Are you saying the Khagan sent you to kill someone in the military?”
Pyre shook his head. “What are you, dense?” He pointed at the symbol on Zukov’s uniform. “You sent me!”
Jim sighed and rose to his feet. Zukov and him stepped back from Pyre, turning away from him and keeping their voices low.
“He’s talking about Cerberus,” said Zukov.
“Yeah, starting to get that feeling, too,” said Jim. “If Callus or someone inside Cerberus is using specials for assassinations, assassinations of military officials no less…”
“It would be in direct violation of the treaty. Could compromise everything the organization was created for.” Zukov looked over his shoulder at Pyre. “Do you think he’s telling the truth?”
“Hard to say. If the Analyst did mess with his mind, he might just be paranoid. Or maybe the Analyst made him think he was working for Cerberus.”
“Could also be a trick. The Red Fist’s way of exacting vengeance after the fall of their master.”
“Could be.” Jim stared at Pyre, studying the man’s face. “I’m not so sure, though. He seems legitimately terrified.”
“That doesn’t rule out potential manipulation, as you said.”
“True. I just don’t think we should take anything on faith,” said Jim. “After all, what if he’s telling the truth?”
CHAPTER 4
High above the planet Earth was the orbital space station called Olympus. Constructed as a means of international cooperation between several countries, after it was co-opted by the Khagan, the United Nations Security Council agreed to approve its use for another endeavor. That of the group called Cerberus, an international peace-keeping agency designed to monitor potential threats from specials.
General Nathan Callus was chosen as director of Cerberus and he now stood in his office before an array of large monitors. He wore the black and red dress uniform of his organization, the Cerberus logo emblazoned on his shoulder patches. His once-brown hair was now graying with age and his blue eyes fixed on the man whose face appeared on each of the monitors.
United States Secretary of Defense Joseph Ramsey was older than Callus, with his white hairline receding and thick glasses over his eyes as he hunched over his desk in front of the camera.
“Word has come back from the strike force,” said Callus. “We’ve got a few dozen new arrivals being held in the facility.”
“A few dozen? The intelligence you showed me indicated there were a few hundred living on that island,” said Ramsey.
“It appears they were using a teleporter to transport there. He smuggled most of them away before we could get to them. We did manage to capture him, though. But not before…”
Callus’ voice trailed off and Ramsey narrowed his eyes. “Not before what, Director?”
Callus cleared his throat. “Not before he opened a portal that facilitated Callum King’s escape.”
“The Exemplar is still free?” The volume of Ramsey’s voice shot through the roof. “The entire point of this operation was to capture him! Do you have any idea how dangerous that man is?”
“I’m well aware of the threat he poses, Mr. Secretary,” said Callus. “But I should also remind you that this is not an exact science. These specials are crafty. They managed to keep their little island hidden for months. If not for our monitoring of Asano and Hastings, we never would have been led to them.”
Ramsey fumed. “If he talks about Cerberus rounding up specials, it’s all over, Nathan.”
Callus stood firm. “With all due respect, sir, just who exactly is going to believe him? The man went on a rampage in Chicago last year. And Americans have very long memories when it comes to the destruction of their cities. No one’s going to trust him after that. As fa
r as the rest of the world is concerned, the Exemplar is a supervillain, not to be trusted. And he knows it, too.”
Ramsey gave a sigh of acceptance. “Fine, I’ll defer to you for now. But I want your people scouring the planet for King. We can’t take the risk that he won’t try to act. Last thing we need is him tearing apart Olympus with his bare hands to try and get to you.”
“He’s certainly welcome to try, sir.”
“And what about the monitoring of Vanguard?”
“Obviously it paid off with Asano and Hastings, albeit in an unexpected way. We weren’t expecting them to lead us to Arcadia. Other than that, not much worth mentioning. McCabe has returned to his work at the Human Genome Project. Vaughn has spent a lot of time traveling, but we keep tabs on him. And Jordan is working as an EMT in New York.”
“What about Lee Parker? He wasn’t officially part of the team, but he was last seen with them.”
“No word on him, I’m afraid. We’ve been scouring every source we can find, but given his technopathic abilities, it’s little surprise he’s able to stay off the grid.”
“That’s not exactly good news,” said Ramsey.
“Agreed. I’ve got surveillance on his family, but they haven’t heard anything, either. Unfortunately, unless he contacts someone, there’s not much we can do to locate him.”
“And what about Jim Ellis?”
“I’m keeping a close eye on him. Right now he’s investigating the Red Fist’s former stronghold, but he won’t find much of anything there.”
“Any unauthorized communications with his former teammates?”
Callus shook his head. “He’s stayed clean. The only person he interacts with outside of Cerberus is his father and we have his room at the retirement home bugged.”
Ramsey scoffed. “In other words, we have no idea what happened to Thorne.”
“Nothing,” said Callus. “He hasn’t made contact with anyone from his former team.”
Ramsey slammed his fist against his desk. “Dammit! We wouldn’t be in this situation if you hadn’t botched the job!”
“Hey!” Callus pointed at the monitor. “Don’t put this on me! You were onboard with the idea of killing Thorne!”
“I never said we had to use a special, especially not one as unstable as Clarence Black!” said Ramsey. “That was your idea!”
“If we used a bomb or some other device, evidence would be left behind and we couldn’t account for potential collateral damage,” said Callus. “Using Pyre meant we avoided that problem. There’s no reason he should have failed.”
“And yet he did. Even worse, he’s also gone missing,” said Ramsey. “What if Thorne made him a better offer? Convinced him to turn against you?”
“Pyre was well aware of those consequences,” said Callus. “Even if Thorne survived the attack, it’s been months and he hasn’t surfaced. It’s likely he’s realized how futile it is to try and stand against us.”
Ramsey shook his head as he leaned back in his chair. “If you really believe that, then you don’t know Leonard Thorne. He’s alive and he’s in possession of very damaging evidence. As are the rest of Vanguard. It could undo everything we’ve worked so hard to build with Cerberus. The only way we can get Thorne to surface is by forcing his hand.”
Callus clasped his hands behind his back. “I want to be sure we’re on the same page, Mr. Secretary. Are you saying that you want the Hellhounds to go after the remainder of Vanguard?”
Ramsey smiled. “That is exactly what I’m saying.”
“We have to be careful about something like that,” said Callus. “Asano and Hastings both have family and connections. If we take them, people will ask questions. And Vaughn’s family is far too high-profile to risk capturing him.”
“Are you saying it can’t be done?”
“I’m saying we have to be careful about it,” said Callus. “We can go after Anita Jordan, but the others will have to wait for the time being. She might even have some of the information we need.”
“Then take her. One is better than nothing.”
“Understood, sir.”
CHAPTER 5
The hi-tech aircraft touched down on a carrier ship located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. Jim Ellis and Abram Zukov disembarked from the rear ramp once it lowered. Between the two was Pyre, who was shackled. Jim and Zukov each held him by the arm and escorted him down the ramp where a woman with red hair approached them, clad in a Cerberus uniform. She gave a salute to the two operatives and they returned it.
“Agents Zukov and Ellis, it’s a pleasure,” she said.
“And you are…?” asked Jim.
“Agent April Roque.” She made a gesture with her head to the prisoner. “Who do you have for me?”
“Clarence Black, a.k.a. Pyre,” said Zukov. “Located him in the remains of the Red Fist base in Tora Bora.”
Roque gave a nod. “Anything else worth noting out there?”
Jim shook his head. “The place was stripped. Not a thing left.”
“Then we’ll take Mr. Black off your hands,” said Roque.
Jim took hold of Pyre’s arm. “We still have some questions for him. Some things he said that we need to get to the bottom of.”
“We’ll handle that as well.”
“You can’t…you can’t let them take me!” said Pyre.
“Agent Ellis, my people are well-equipped to handle specials.” Roque signaled to her crew and they came to pull Pyre away from Jim and Zukov. Pyre screamed in protest, but with the inhibitor in place, he could do nothing more than scream. His powers were blocked and Jim could only watch as his prisoner was dragged away.
“Thank you for your assistance in his capture,” said Roque.
“I have a question,” said Zukov. “Clarence Black was working with the Red Fist, alongside other specials like Chloe Grant and Nina Murillo. All three of them were apprehended in the wake of the incident at Tora Bora. But somehow, he managed to escape?”
“You may not be aware of this given that you were working with the FSB at the time, but that was a pretty turbulent time for America,” said Roque. “The inhibitor technology we now use to keep the specials in line was discovered at Tora Bora.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
“Because I don’t have one,” said Roque. “Look, I’m just doing a job here, okay? I didn’t have anything to do with Black’s capture, I’ve never even seen the man before today. I was still in Special Forces when he was picked up.”
“It’s fine, Agent. We’re just a little shaken up at the thought of someone as dangerous as Pyre getting free,” said Jim. The look he gave Zukov told the seasoned operative to hold back.
“You mentioned there were some things he said? Care to elaborate?” asked Roque.
“Probably nothing, just some ramblings of a man driven half-crazy,” said Jim.
“Anything you can tell us will aid in our interrogation, Agent Ellis.”
“It just has to do with the fact that he was at the Red Fist’s base. We were worried that maybe the Khagan had gotten out or that someone else is trying to rebuild the organization,” said Jim.
Roque gave a nod. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about, Agent. The Red Fist is gone and even if someone does try and rebuild, they don’t have the resources to do it.”
“And the Khagan?” asked Jim.
“Still in a coma after his defeat on Olympus, from what I’ve heard.”
“Thank you, Agent Roque. We’ll be getting out of your hair now.”
Roque gave a quick nod and spun on her heel before walking off. Zukov and Jim boarded their craft and after closing the hatch, strapped into the seats with Jim at the flight controls.
“You seemed pretty conciliatory.”
“No, I just know a lost cause when I see one,” said Jim. “Roque wasn’t going to let us talk to Pyre any more than we already had. If we want to figure out the truth behind Pyre’s words, we’ll
have to do it ourselves.”
Jim initiated the take-off procedure and within minutes, the craft’s VTOL jets carried it gently above the carrier’s deck. Once he reached a suitable altitude, he activated the thrusters and shot off into the horizon.
“I don’t think I have to remind you that Cerberus is an international organization with a global reach. And with Vanguard no longer operational, Cerberus is now the only thing standing between rogue specials and innocent people,” said Zukov.
“What would you have me do, Abram? We do need something to stand up to rogue specials, but it’s not worth it if they’re breaking laws,” said Jim.
“We don’t even know if that’s what’s happening here. Clarence Black is hardly the most reliable of witnesses.”
“No, he’s not. But he made you suspicious, didn’t he?”
Zukov couldn’t disagree.
After giving him a few moments to try, Jim added, “That’s what I thought.”
“And how exactly do you expect us to get to the truth?”
“There’s one thing I do know. A few months ago, there was an explosion in DC that resulted in one casualty—a military colonel.”
“You think that was Pyre’s target? Who was it?”
“The man who was in line before Callus to become Cerberus Director.” Jim’s eyes narrowed, the only outward expression of the anger burning inside him he would allow. “Leonard Thorne, the man who oversaw Vanguard when we were a pet project of the Hayworth administration. But when Lawson took the Office of the President after Hayworth’s death, he ended the project. Thorne was then asked to be Cerberus Director.”
“Until he was killed by Pyre,” said Zukov.
Jim nodded. “The very same day he planned to accept the offer. Thorne didn’t exactly trust the idea behind Cerberus, but he felt that if he didn’t take the position, it could go to someone far more dangerous.”
Vanguard: The Complete Second Season: A Superhero Serial (Vanguard: The Collected Seasons Book 2) Page 11
