Hunting Nora Stone

by Colin Weldon

  Williams was an old hat though. From the old school of deflect and react, it was like talking to a preprogramed politician android.

  “Well, like I said before Alex, our primary concern is making sure that the American people get a congress that acts for their best interests. That’s why we get elected Alex, to make the tough decisions that the people who put us in office have entrusted us to do, while I agree it is not without its pitfalls, I believe that, on the whole, congress has always made the best decisions on behalf of the constituents so as to not allow any bill to pass that may threaten the safety and security of this great nation,” replied the senator.

  Alex sighed and decided to give up, he was tired and wanted to get home to his family, it had been a long day and he was getting nowhere. He was thinking he might give it one more push when his producer announced a breaking story in his ear.

  “Holy shit.”

  Alex was no stranger to breaking news but he had never heard his producer sound so animated.

  “Break in, Alex we’ve got an attack on the president in Paris; stand by for graphics,” said Scott.

  Alex paused for a moment before the transmission from the senator’s interview was suddenly cut off.

  “Eh, we have to terminate the interview with the senator at this time, we have a breaking news report coming in from Paris, France where early reports indicate that President Royo’s motorcade is under some sort of attack,” said Alex as the news was fed directly into his ear.

  He flicked his eyes to the teleprompter, which had stopped moving and was showing a standby notice. The monitor to the left of the camera was showing a square info graphic above his right shoulder, which said in large red letters, BREAKING NEWS. The ticker on the bottom of the screen had also changed to a rolling red banner stating PRESIDENT UNDER ATTACK IN PARIS.

  “Ok, we have video, holy shit, stand by Alex; we’re running through in six seconds,” said Scott.

  Alex held his earpiece and winced as Scott was now shouting in his ear.

  “We have some amateur video coming out of what appears to be a gun fight. Let’s take a look,” Alex said as the screen cut away to footage that seemed to have been filmed on a mobile phone.

  The shakey video was poor quality but it definitely showed Secret Service agents with their guns drawn and shooting at someone.

  “We’re looping it Alex, get me some damn commentary,” shouted Scott in his ear.

  Alex was stunned. While live coverage of terrorist attacks was becoming a day-to-day occurrence he had never seen anything like this.

  “Eh, well as we can see from the footage there seems to be something very serious going on. We can confirm at this stage that there has been an incident involving the president’s motorcade in Paris. As to the identity of the assailants or what the current situation on the ground is right now, we can’t confirm anything, but as we can see it appears that Secret Service agents are currently engaging in some sort of fire fight. By the looks of it, the president is still in the state car. The vehicle, as we know, is heavily fortified and well able to withstand most ground-based assaults but at this moment in time we do not have any information as to the president’s welfare. Please stay tuned for more details as they come in,” Alex said.

  “Oh my god,” said Scott quietly in his ear.

  Alex knew he was not going anywhere anytime soon.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Eddie headed swiftly to towards the sounds of the gunfire. He had to deal with two gendarmes who tried to block his entrance over a wooden barrier. Eddie was very careful in his handling of the situation, as he really didn’t want to kill them. Each of the police officers received a well-placed punch to the side of the jaw, knocking them both unconscious. Eddie was pretty sure that he had broken the jaw of the second officer. He apologised and told him is was nothing personal as he stepped over the two men and raced to the bottom of the alley.

  A row of Black SUVs lined the street where the motorcade was stopped. Eddie’s first thought as he peered through the smoke, was why Holt hadn’t tried to ram the president’s car past the lead cars and attempt to escape. The smoke drifted upwards and Eddie got his first proper glimpse of the scene. There were bodies everywhere, some in black suits, some in standard assault gear. In the distance, he saw flickering blue lights and overhead he heard aircraft. To his right was the president’s car. He tapped his ear.

  “Hiran, get me that damn….” he started

  “Got it, Eddie, patching you through,” Hiran replied.

  “Holt?” he said.

  He suddenly heard a crashing sound. The SUV in front of him lifted and was sent rolling sideways in Eddie’s direction.

  “Jesus…” Eddie leapt out of the way just in time to avoid his legs being torn off. The car crashed into the wall behind him. Eddie hit the ground hard, with his shoulder taking the initial impact. He was surprised at how little pain there was. It was like landing on a hard bed. Gorden’s armour saved the day. Impressive, he thought to himself. He looked back at the SUV, which was now upside down. There was no sign of what had hit it. He was suddenly faced with a pair of legs right in front of him. He followed the legs upwards and saw Nora Stone standing over him. She was breathing heavily and there was blood running down her face. One of the sleeves of her black top was torn off, revealing one of her cybernetic arms.

  “Hello,” he said, and instantly felt stupid.

  There was a large cut just above her right eye and her face was scraped and bruised. It looked like she was about to respond when her eyes flicked past his right shoulder. She pushed Eddie hard to his right, sending him crashing back down to the ground. He tumbled sideways. From his prone position, Eddie looked at Tarsis. His movements had a fluidity about them that didn’t seem human. There was a small gash or tear on his right cheek where there seemed to be something shiny or glowing underneath. There was something familiar about his face. It was a young man’s face. He had dark hair and was wearing combat fatigues. He picked himself up off the ground and watched as Nora approached him. With one graceful leap, Tarsis landed on the ground like a cat jumping off a wall. Nora approached him and the pair simultaneously launched a punch towards each other. Their arms met, fist on fist.

  There was a crunching sound not unlike the sound of cans being crushed. Nora swiftly brought her left arm up and connected with Tarsis’s jaw. There was another hard metallic sound. Tarsis’s head flew back but quickly centred itself as he brought his left hand back and landed a powerful blow to Nora’s chest, lifting her clean off her feet and sending her flying through the air before she hit the ground and tumbled sideways. Eddie heard her moaning as the air was knocked out of her lungs. He turned his head and saw the president’s car. Todd Holt was inside, staring at him.

  Before he had time to think of acting. Tarsis was on him. All Eddie saw was a blur, Tarsis dropped into a crouch and spun around, sweeping his leg out. Eddie hit the ground hard, his legs taken out from under him. Tarsis had a knee on Eddie’s chest before he knew what had hit him. A strong grip latched onto his throat. Eddie grabbed his arm with both of his hands as the air to his lungs was cut off. Gasping for breath, he stared into the young face. He was just a kid. There was something so familiar about it but Eddie still couldn’t figure out what. The strength being applied to his neck was fierce and even with the armour the man kneeling on him felt like a ton weight. Eddie gagged as the grip around his neck tightened. Tarsis was looking at him, with cold brown eyes. He was frowning. Staring at him with curiosity. Eddie heard the sounds of gunshots from somewhere nearby. The sounds of metal hitting metal rang out. Tarsis took the impacts as though they were snowballs. With a surge of energy, what might have been his last, Eddie grabbed the arm that was squeezing the life out him and pushed as hard as he could. Even with the lack of oxygen to his muscles he felt strong. Tarsis’s grip began to give way, but only slightly. Eddie suddenly knew that armour or not he
was still no match for this cybernetic man. He let go of Tarsis’s arms and released one last full force punch directly to his face. It was like hitting a bowling ball. Tarsis’s head snapped back at the impact and he released his grip. Eddie took the momentary lung full of air that his body gasped and used it. He punched again, this time to his chest. Eddie felt something tear in his wrist. He ignored the pain as Tarsis was sent tumbling off him onto his back. Eddie continued to gasp as he rolled onto his side, managing to get onto all fours. His body continued to scramble for the lost oxygen that had been squeezed out of him.

  Another hail of gunfire flew by his head. He saw Todd Holt standing next to the battered president’s car. He was holding a shotgun. He looked to his right to see what had happened to Nora Stone, but could not locate her. Tarsis was already on his feet. This time Eddie struck first. He placed his right leg back and adopted a defensive posture. Hand-to-hand was one thing Eddie was well trained in. He put his hands up in front of his face and threw his shoulder out, sending a sharp well controlled punch in the direction of Tarsis’s head. Tarsis blocked the punch by grabbing Eddie’s inside forearm with his hand. His reflexes were incredibly fast. He twisted Eddie’s arm, nearly dislocating his shoulder in the process and countered with a punch to Eddie’s chest while at the same time letting go. The force of the impact lifted Eddie and sent him smashing into the passenger door of another one of the secret services SUVs. There was a crunching sound as the force of the impact was absorbed by the armour he was wearing. Without it, Eddie would have been killed, or certainly have had his back broken. His head hit hard, causing everything around him to go dark. Eddie dropped to the ground once again. He had been concussed on more than one occasion and recognised the feeling. He felt warm liquid run down his back. His head was cut, badly. In a combat situation there was no more a vulnerable position to be in than that of having a head injury. He managed to look up at the dark blurry world just in time to see what looked like Nora Stone running towards Tarsis. She hit him hard with a punch from her right arm. Tarsis countered by launching a blow towards hers, which she blocked and countered again, neither landing a hit. For several seconds Eddie watched as the pair exchanged a furious and highly skilled exchange of blows. The speed at which the pair sparred was incredible to watch, even through blurred vision. Eddie took several deep breaths and tried to get as much oxygen to his brain as he could. More gunfire hailed out and Eddie saw Nora Stone suddenly drop to her knees. It looked like she had been hit in her leg. Eddie’s earpiece suddenly crackled.

  “Eddie, I’ve got Holt,” came Hiran’s voice seemingly off in the distance.

  “Todd!” Eddie shouted without responding to Hiran.

  “Who the fuck are you,” Holt spoke to his earpiece as he unloaded another round into Tarsis, who seemed to take the impact without missing a beat.

  “Look to your left. That’s me. Do you have any grenades?” Eddie said forcefully.

  Holt knelt down and reached under the bottom of the car. Eddie pushed off the ground as his vision began to clear. Tarsis was on Nora Stone now and had his hand firmly gripped around her throat. Holt who was now running in Eddie’s direction.

  “Yes,” Holt said in his ear.

  “Toss me one!” Eddie said.

  Without hesitation, probably figuring that whoever Eddie was, at least he was trying to fight a common foe, Holt flung the grenade in the air. Eddie caught it in his right hand and without thinking, screamed as he dived at Tarsis, planting his shoulder straight into his side. The pair landed on the ground, with Eddie on top. He began laying furious punches on Tarsis’s face. His hand gripped firmly over the grenade that Holt had just thrown him. He knew he did not have long as Tarsis was absorbing the punches like a pro boxer. Eddie stopped hitting him and wrapped his arms around him trying to find a pocket, an opening, something. Tarsis grabbed his throat again. A split second later Eddie found his edge. Tarsis was wearing combat fatigues. With a large thrust, the grenade slipped down the back of his trousers. Eddie shoved himself off and punched him again as another shotgun blast rang out.

  Tarsis released his grip. With the little energy he had left, Eddie landed one more blow against Tarsis’s chest. The armour did its job again sending Tarsis crashing against a wall. How many seconds had it been? Eddie had no idea but dropped to the ground and held his head. The grenade exploded, sending bricks and smoke and shrapnel out in all directions. Eddie felt a hail of rock and dust hitting him as his ears popped. He felt a burning sensation in his leg and knew that he had been hit by something.

  The plume of rock and dust began to settle as Eddie raised his head. There was smoke everywhere. He looked back at the wall and saw Tarsis lying there. A human would have been blown apart but he was still intact. He looked unconscious. There was a large gash down the side of his face and Eddie could see a chunk of skin hanging off his skull. Eddie felt a warm breeze and looked in Holt’s direction. As the haze of the explosion settled, Holt’s face finally came into view. He was not alone. Standing behind him, with an arm wrapped around his throat and a gun to his head, was Nora Stone. Eddie reached into his holster and grabbed his gun. He was still feeling dizzy but focused his sights on her head.

  “Don’t do it Stone, I’ll put you down,” Eddie shouted.

  “Shoot me!” Holt gurgled at him while struggling to breathe.

  Eddie watched Holt struggle but Nora’s left arm, hooked powerfully around his neck, was too much for him. Nora’s eye looked feral. She was tracking every movement Eddie’s eyes made as they darted from side to side, searching for threats. She brought Holt slowly over to the side of the president’s car and stopped. In the distance, Eddie heard the sound of boots on the ground, a lot of them. Coming their way. There were also more military helicopters in the sky.

  “Fucking shoot!” said Holt again. His eyes looked desperate.

  Eddie couldn’t disagree with Holt’s tactic. Remove himself from the hostage situation and Nora Stone would become an easy target. The soldier in Eddie screamed to take the shot but something held him back. In that moment of hesitation, Nora Stone did something Eddie was not expecting /She ducked behind Holt and slammed her leg into his back sending him forward in Eddie’s direction. She then drew back both her arms and slammed them into the reinforced glass of the passenger side window of the president’s Cadillac. The window smashed and in one smooth motion she flung her body into the car, disappearing from sight.

  “Go, Go, Go!” said Holt shaking Eddie’s arm away from his and urging him to get to the Cadillac,

  “Shoot her!”

  Eddie took the order like any soldier would from a field superior in a battle, without question. He raised his weapon and pointed it at the car window. But before he could get a shot off, a shotgun blast from inside the car sent him straight back to the deck.

  “Stone!” shouted Eddie as he removed his hand from his ear, “You’re gonna be dead in less than a minute if you don’t come out, you hear that? That’s the god damn French army coming up that street!”

  Holt came up beside him. He had a weapon drawn.

  “All remaining agents check in,” Holt said into his transmitter.

  Eddie heard no response.

  “Gentlemen, take a moment will you?” came Nora Stone’s calm voice in Eddie’s ear. . She had obviously taken the radio from the presumably unconscious or dead agent who had been in the driver’s seat. Holt paused.

  “I am going to make this simple. Either you tell the army to back off or I shoot the president; you have ten seconds to comply,” she said calmly.

  Eddie turned to Holt and gave him a signal to stop the advance. “Get them back, right fucking now.”

  Holt hesitated. Eddie could see he wanted to make a dash for the car.

  “Don’t be a fucking hero Holt. Today is not the day to be taking bullets.”

  “Eight seconds,” Nora said calmly.

  “We’r
e doing it, just calm the fuck down,” Eddie said, sounding a little more stressed than he had intended.

  Holt got up and began running past the car in the direction of the oncoming garrison making its way towards them.

  “Eddie, I am taking the President,” she said.

  “You’re what?” Eddie replied looking down the street and seeing Holt speaking to one of the soldiers. The platoon had now spread out into various tactical positions all along the sidewalk. Their machine guns all pointed towards the same spot.

  “And you are coming with me,” Nora replied.

  Eddie watched as Holt began moving back to the rear end of the Cadillac.

  “Nora, now let’s take a breath and think about where we’re going to go from here. You’re surrounded. Augmented or not you’re not getting off this street alive. There is a very real chance that I can help you see your daughter if you do as I say,” Eddie said looking at Holt and motioning him to keep low and move around the back end of the car.

  “Eddie, you still don’t get it, if you are not in this car in the next four seconds I blow Royo’s head off,” Nora said in his ear.

  “You’re gonna do it anyway so what difference does it make,” Eddie replied.

  “Three seconds,” Nora replied.

  “Ok! stop!” Eddie said putting his hands up and holstering his weapon back in its sheath.

  Eddie’s cell phone suddenly rang. It was in his pocket. He thought about not answering but at this stage he was fucked anyway so he picked it up and placed it to his ear.

  “Eddie, remember the phrase?” it was Abigail, “if you get a chance try it again.”

  “Seriously Eddie? Drop the phone and get the fuck into this car,” Nora said quietly.