Enhanced

by Ben Brown

  Zac took the opportunity to put himself between the two.

  She threw a punch at his face with her right hand. He dodged the blow and as her fist went past his face, he grabbed it with his right hand. Zac twisted her arm straight, then hit the back of her elbow with his free hand. A sickening crack resonated through the air as her arm snapped.

  She screamed and recoiled around. Her left hand slashed across his right cheek, her nails opening four long ragged wounds. The blow was enough to make Zac lose his balance — he stumbled backwards.

  In that moment, as Zac struggled to regain his balance, they both spotted his gun. It sat on a table by the window they had just smashed through. Both of them had missed it.

  The two moved in unison, as both went for the gun.

  Chi was a step or two closer. She reached it first, grabbing it clumsily with her left hand. Her right arm now hung limp at her side. She twisted around, smashing the pistol butt into Zac’s left temple.

  Once again, she had managed to bring him to his knees. Zac’s head spun as he knelt in the broken glass from the window.

  She coolly leveled the gun at his head.

  Zac needed to move fast! He grabbed a large shard of glass in his left hand and drove it through her right thigh. Her muscle and flesh ripped apart with gruesome ease.

  She screamed as she fired, and the shot went wide. Zac grabbed her wrist and squeezed with all his strength. Her tiny wrist snapped as she dropped the gun.

  His left hand shot up to her throat. He had her! Zac got to his feet, lifting her off hers.

  The two stood there like some strange dance couple — her feet were off the ground, her legs thrashed wildly.

  Zac squeezed the life from the tiny woman. He watched her eyes roll back in her head. A small amount of vomit oozed from her mouth. Her legs slowed to a few weak kicks. He squeezed for a few seconds more, and then dropped her like a rag doll. She fell at his feet.

  Her small body was battered and broken and it had been Zac’s hands that took her life. He felt tears forming in his eyes as he mourned her loss.

  He mourned the fact she was dead, he mourned that he had taken her life. Her death was a waste — he knew he had no other choice, yet he hated himself.

  Zac wondered what Dominic had done to turn this young woman into such a destructive creature. He wondered if she had always had a predatory side, or had Dominic made her that way? Why had she taken such pleasure in the things she had done, the pain she inflicted? Lastly, Zac wondered how many more like her were out there, and if he had the strength to stop them.

  In that moment, he decided to trace where the young woman had come from. He promised himself Dominic would pay for creating her. He felt a hand touch his shoulder. Suddenly, he was back in the moment. Zac’s head jerked around to see who was touching him. The Captain instantly pulled away, raising both hands high above his head.

  “Easy, I’m not trying anything. It’s just you seemed to — go into shock or something. I wouldn’t blame you, that was — intense.

  “Thank you. I think she would have killed me if you hadn’t stopped her.”

  Zac stared down at her.

  “I think she would have killed everyone on this boat. How many men are aboard?”

  “Including me, six; the only one left is down in the engine room. I doubt he even knows anything has happened.”

  “I’m not in the engine room anymore!” a voice yelled from behind them. “What the hell is going on? I figured something was wrong when we started to gain speed. So I headed up here as quick as I could.”

  Zac turned in the direction of the voice. A large man with tattooed arms stood in the hatch that led to the lower decks. He had a gun leveled at Zac’s head.

  “It’s okay Gus, he works for the Brits. He’s over here with the Secret Service,” explained the captain. “The radio call I got when she took a pot shot at me, was to let me know you were trying to bring her in for murder.”

  He looked in Zac’s direction. “She was the shooter, wasn’t she?”

  Zac nodded. “What now?”

  “My orders are to take you and the prisoner anywhere you want to go.”

  The captain looked worried.

  Zac reached for the implant in his neck. “Lea, are you there?”

  “Yes, Zac, I’m at the mainland dock where we caught the ferry. Have you managed to secure the target?”

  He felt a lump forming in his throat.

  “I had to kill her. She was extremely violent. She killed three of the crew before I could stop her. We’ll head to your location.”

  Lea sounded concerned. “Okay, we’ll have her body sent to Doc for an autopsy. I’m sure you did everything you could. I’ll see you soon.”

  Zac looked at the two men. Both looked as if they were watching a mad man. He explained about the implant.

  The Captain set course for Battery Park, picking up the floundering Spencer on the way. He was cold, but relieved to see them. After a hot drink, he was as good as new.

  Spencer pulled out his wallet and handed Zac a card. “Look pal, I had you all wrong. I’d like to make it up to ya. Give me a call; maybe we can have a beer or something,” he said apologetically.

  Zac took the card, “Sure. But next time try not to punch me in the face quite as much.”

  6

  As the boat pulled into the dock, Zac spotted Lea standing with a group of men in suits. She waved and smiled as the boat approached.

  Spencer came over to him. “Wow that broad is a looker! Is she a friend of yours?”

  He looked at the giant man and nodded. Zac had decided that he was an okay guy, they had just gotten off on the wrong foot. Trying to beat someone to death will tinge a friendship.

  Spencer smiled and nodded his approval. “Nice work, you got the hots for her don’t ya?”

  Zac felt himself going red as he looked back to Lea and the men. Spencer walked away laughing.

  As the boat came to a stop, Spencer threw the mooring ropes out to the dockworkers. Once the boat was secured, Zac headed for the waiting group. Lea made the introduction.

  “Zac, these are agents Baker, Long, and Martinez. They represent the Department of Homeland Security. Baker and Long will take the remaining crew from the boat with them for a full debrief. You will come with me and Martinez.”

  Martinez stepped forward and shook his hand.

  “Hello, Zac, I hope I will be able to assist you in your mission here in the States.”

  Victor Martinez was a fit looking man. At least six foot one with brown eyes, and dark, short-cropped hair. His posture showed the discipline of a military background. A well-fitted charcoal grey suit, complimented his physique. He exuded confidence and professionalism. Zac could tell that he was a no-nonsense kind of man.

  “I’m pleased to meet you Agent Martinez. Could you tell me, who will be removing the girl’s body from the boat?”

  “Please it’s just Martinez. Homeland Security will be handling the body. We’ll use the Air Force to fly her to England. We’ve been ordered not to examine the body ourselves.” He stood almost to attention, as if he were talking to a superior officer.

  Zac nodded then looked at Lea.

  She smiled back and said, “You look like you’ve been through hell.”

  He felt a large hand slap him on the back. It was Spencer.

  “You don’t know the half of it, little lady. If it weren’t for this guy here, that bitch would have killed us all. She wouldn’t have even broken a sweat doing it,” Spencer said trying his best to show how impressed he was.

  “I need to get cleaned up. Do we have a hotel room yet?” Zac asked, but before Lea could reply, Spencer was talking again.

  “He’ll need a medic too, that bitch opened up his face pretty good.” Spencer grabbed Zac’s chin to point to the wound. He noticed that the slashes had almost healed. “I’ll be a son of a bitch. I could’ve sworn she ripped you up.” Spencer looked at Zac’s face intently.

  “Spence
r, that’s enough!” barked his Captain. Spencer had clearly overstepped his mark.

  Zac pulled his face out of the huge hand as Spencer moved back in line with his colleagues.

  “Martinez, can one of your men take Zac and me to our hotel please?”

  He nodded, and then spoke into his cuff.

  Minutes later, the two were on their way to the hotel. Neither said a word until they were inside their room.

  After a shower and a good room-service meal, they began to talk about what had happened, and what their next step would be.

  “Do you think that whole thing was a set-up?” Lea asked.

  Zac thought for a while, as he stared at his empty plate. The bodies of the dead subjects and crew members flashed through his mind. Why would Dominic risk so much for such a poor outcome? Then it came to him.

  “He was testing us, or more likely testing me. He knew his father would send the strongest subject he could. Dominic knew that you had just recruited me; you only just got to me before his people did. So he wanted to see what his competition was like. I don’t think Dominic is even in New York, or ever had any intentions of coming here.

  “When we were talking to Chinwe and Chinwendu, I kept getting flashes of what looked like a manor house. But it wasn’t like a British manor it was — I don’t know.” He started to rub his forehead. Everything was blurring into one, and he was having a job focusing.

  “Is Dominic even in the States, or do you think he is overseas still? If he is testing you, then how would he know the results of the test? Three out of four of his people are dead, and we have the other one.”

  Zac sat bolt upright. He had forgotten about Chinwendu, and that she might be able to tell them where Dominic was.

  “Lea, where is Chinwendu? We need to talk to her. She is our only link to Dominic. Even if she doesn’t tell us anything directly, like where he is, I might sense something more detailed. We need to go see her right now!” Zac headed for the clean clothes hanging on a rack in the corner of the room.

  “Martinez has her sedated at a safe location. He has orders not to revive her until we give the okay. She’s still very dangerous, Zac, so we need to tread carefully. I’ll call Martinez to pick us up.” Lea reached for her iPhone.

  As he dressed Zac hit the implant in his neck. “Doc, I need some info.”

  “What do you need?”

  “I need all the background you can find on an African national called Chinwendu. I don’t know if that is her first or last name. Plus background on Chinwendu’s mother Chinwe. She was the subject killed by the shooter on the Island. I also need as much info as you can get on the Chinese girl I killed. Her name was Chi. Again, I don’t know if that is her first or last name. In addition, cross-reference all three. See if there is a common link of any kind. No matter how small the link is, I want to know about it, if it exists.

  “One last thing, are all the dead subjects’ bodies being sent to you?” A thousand things raced through his mind. It was hard to make sense of it all.

  “Yes, all the bodies are being sent to me. I want to see what modifications have been made to their D.N.A. When I have those results, I will let you know. However, the results to those tests are approximately forty-eight hours away. The bodies won’t get here for at least another eighteen hours. In the meantime, I will gather as much information on them as I can.

  “I have already started running their faces through the face recognition databases of Interpol, the CIA and MI6. Once I have anything I will send it to your iPhones.” Doc’s voice sounded tired but determined.

  There was a knock at the door. Lea opened it, revealing a man waiting to take them to their ride.

  The doors to the lift opened on the lobby. Martinez got up from one of the large leather chairs scattered around the foyer. He was no longer wearing a suit; instead he was wearing blue jeans, sneakers, and a T-shirt.

  “Zac, Lea, if you would like to follow me, we have a car waiting. The journey to our facility will take no more than half an hour. We will be dropped about one block away from the facility and from there we will walk.” He gestured towards the doors that led to the street.

  “Why do we have to walk the last block?” Zac asked as they got in the car.

  “The facility is in Brooklyn. If we turn up in a government car wearing suits, then most certainly we will draw attention. That’s why I’m dressed this way. I’m just another Mexican, bumming around.”

  He still looked like a government agent. A pair of jeans and a T-shirt wouldn’t change that.

  The car dropped them on the corner of Bedford and Flushing Ave. They headed off down Bedford. After a short walk they came to an abandoned building. It stood next to a church or refuge of some kind. The number on the old church was 984 and on a canopy above two small windows, it read: “Mount Zion Congregation”.

  Martinez looked around to make sure they weren’t being watched. Then he led the way into the old abandoned building.

  Once inside Martinez locked the door. He held his forefinger to his lips, indicating the need for silence. He turned towards the back of the building and headed towards a small door. The door opened to a small toilet which stank of urine.

  Martinez got out his mobile phone and dialed a number. A second later the back wall of the toilet opened to reveal a lift; he gestured to them to enter. Once the group was inside the lift he dialed another number. The door closed and the lift descended rapidly.

  Only after the doors had closed did Martinez break his silence, “This facility was built during the Cold War. The building we entered through was once a shop which the CIA ran as a front. Back then, it was much easier to come and go. Now we have to leave it abandoned to match the surroundings. The facility itself was built as a nuclear bomb shelter for government officials. We use it for our New York City control center.”

  “But what if there had been people on the street? Wouldn’t they wonder why so many people went into an abandoned building?” Lea asked.

  “Good question. There are three more points of entry. Each is located in a building within a three block radius. When entering, we have a quick look around, but not too much. That would draw attention. Also, the street is covered by surveillance twenty-four hours a day. Using that surveillance we get directed to the safest entry point before arrival.

  “In case there are street people inside the buildings, we remain silent until we are behind these doors. That happens from time to time. We allow transients to use this building to keep up the illusion.

  “If I dial the phone …” He held it up for emphasis. “ … and I get a busy tone, then I know the entry is compromised. So, I go to the next entry point. If all four are compromised, then we don’t try to enter again for forty-eight hours.”

  The lift stopped and its doors opened onto a corridor that led to a large metal door. They headed towards it.

  “It’s a good system and it seems to work,” Zac said. “If this facility was built in the Cold War, then it must be nearly fifty years old. So, in that time has no one ever realized that this place is here?”

  Martinez looked at him and nodded as he replied. “Not a single breach in security has ever happened.” He dialed another number and the door opened.

  “What if you lose that thing?” Lea said as she pointed at his phone.

  “This isn’t a real mobile. It can receive and make calls but any numbers dialed on it don’t get stored in memory. Plus, unless you use the correct code to unlock its keypad, the electronics inside will burn out. The keypad lock activates after one second, so you would need to be really quick to use it before it locked.” Martinez led the way as he spoke.

  The facility was immense. It was a large office space filled with staff.

  “Most of the people who work here haven’t left in years. That much activity would raise suspicion. Because of this the majority of the admin staff has chosen to reside onsite permanently. It’s hard on them, but they do it for the love of their country. All of them are tru
e patriots.” Martinez had real pride in his voice. It was both inspiring and frightening. What kind of person would willingly live underground, away from family and friends, for years on end?

  Martinez finally stopped next to a small balding man with glasses and a moustache. He introduced him as Alex Kennedy, the director of the facility. He shook both Lea’s and Zac’s hands.

  “I’m no relation to the Kennedy’s,” the small man joked with a snorting laugh.

  Zac smiled politely and thought, That joke must seem much funnier when you’ve lived like a mole for years. It was then he realized how much Kennedy looked like a mole. Zac laughed, which seemed to please the small man. He must have thought that he was a riot. Lea also seemed amused.

  Kennedy headed off at a fast pace, saying, “Please follow me; we have her detained over in one of our restraint cubicles. We’re starting to bring her around now. She should be ready for you to interview, within moments.”

  The group headed for a cubicle in the middle of the large open space.

  “Have you got her restrained?” Lea asked.

  “We weren’t told she was dangerous. We’re under the impression that she is just a witness,” Kennedy replied.

  Lea looked at Zac. Both took off at a full run.

  A second later, a medic flew over the top of the cubicle, closely followed by Chinwendu. She was obviously groggy and disoriented. She was very shaky on her feet, but still more than a match for the guards.

  “Chinwendu!” Zac shouted. Her attention instantly focused on him. He could feel the rage building in her. Zac gestured to Lea to head off to the right, to cut off any exit points.

  “Chinwendu, please listen to me. We want to help you. We want you to be able to leave here in one piece. Violence won’t help you now.” Zac slowed his approach. He wanted to keep his distance. He also wanted to keep the situation under control.

  “My mother is dead because of you! I will kill you for that!” Chinwendu had tears in her eyes as she screamed at him. He could tell she was trying to shake off the haze of the drugs.