Enhanced

by Ben Brown

  * * *

  Zac opened his eyes, expecting to see the giant Russian standing over him. Instead, he saw the smiling face of Doc.

  He felt all the strength drain from him as the realization of his situation sunk in. He slumped back into the chair feeling weak and lost.

  “I’m sorry, my boy, this is entirely my fault. Now you and Lea are at the mercy of my son and there’s nothing I can do.”

  “Lea — where is she? Have you seen her?”

  The old man looked confused. “Of course I’ve seen her, she’s just there.” Doc pointed over Zac’s head.

  “Dr Hien, please turn our guest around,” Dominic said.

  Hien pressed a button and the chair began to rotate slowly.

  Doc stood back, allowing the chair to turn. Then, like remembering a bad dream for the first time since waking, Zac saw her. His heart sank, and all the hope in him died.

  Dominic began to laugh.

  His laughter drove into Zac, drilling into his very soul. It tore at him with such savageness; it was like taking a beating all over again. The worst beating he had ever endured. A rage and hatred like he had never felt before replaced his despondency. He vowed to himself, there and then, that he would stop Dominic at all costs, even if it meant his own life.

  “This is so satisfying, having all my most hated enemies in one room — helpless. It’s a real treat, it makes every sacrifice worthwhile.” Dominic wiped tears of laughter from his eyes.

  He composed himself and redirected his attention to his father. “I have a question for you, and I think a demonstration would complement the query.

  “Hien, pass me that knife please.” He pointed to the large butcher’s knife laid on his desk.

  Hein hurried to fetch the knife.

  Doc had a look of concern on his face as Hein handed the blade to his son.

  Zac watched as a man who he didn’t recognize positioned himself next to Doc. He had a feeling that whoever he was, he intended to protect Doc; he shook the feeling off. It made no sense — why would one of Dominic’s men feel that way? Then his gaze fell on the blade in Dominic’s hand.

  “How did you achieve this, Father?”

  In one swift motion, he drove the knife deep into Zac’s chest. An intense burning sensation built at the point of the wound, then, just as quickly as he had attacked, he ripped the knife out.

  As blood began to pump from the wound, Zac gritted his teeth to stifle a scream.

  Doc lunged forward with outstretched arms. The man next to him blocked his way.

  “What are you doing, Dominic? He’s defenseless.” The old man stared at Zac’s chest. Then his face changed from panic, to disbelief.

  “Release him, Michael,” Dominic hissed. “He clearly didn’t know of Zac’s abilities.”

  Michael stepped to one side, allowing the old man to fall to his knees beside Zac.

  Doc examined his young friend’s chest; the wound had already healed. He looked Zac in the eyes. “This is beyond anything I have ever seen — this is amazing! I knew your potential was well beyond any other, but this …

  “Have you had any other examples of extraordinary abilities?” Doc seemed to forget what was going on, so intrigued was he by Zac’s healing.

  Zac decided to tell him about the monkey; he wanted to see how Dominic would react.

  “One other thing did take me by surprise. On our way here, we encountered some of your son’s men. I needed to get closer to them to hear what they were saying, but I would have alerted them. Somehow, my consciousness moved into a small monkey up in the trees. Through him, I could hear and see everything I needed.

  “As soon as I had what I wanted, my mind moved back into me.”

  The old man stood, his eyes drifted to the distance as he whispered, “Fascinating.”

  Dominic charged at Zac, knocking his father aside. He grabbed him by the hair and yanked his head back as he screamed, “You’re lying — that’s impossible!”

  Zac remained calm as he looked him square in the face. “I’m not lying! I dare say I will discover I have more abilities than you can only dream of, and I’m going to use every single one of them to hunt you down and kill you!”

  Dominic released his hair and stumbled back; he seemed dazed and disorientated. He looked at Sinclair; at the sight of her he seemed to reclaim his composure.

  He straightened himself. “Michael, take my father back to your quarters and stay there until you get further orders. Jane, you’re with me. We need to prepare for the next part of the plan.

  “Dr Hien, sedate this man, I’m sick of listening to him.” Dominic headed for the door.

  Dr Hien began to object. “But, Dominic, as I say earlier …”

  Dominic shot him a glare — Hien stopped talking instantly.

  Michael grabbed Doc by the arm and followed Dominic and Sinclair from the room. Doc’s eyes never left Zac.

  Hien closed the door behind them.

  The Asian doctor headed for the drug cabinet. Zac followed him with his eyes. He was clearly nervous.

  “I’m going to kill Dominic, you know. I will kill anyone who tries to stop me,” he said.

  Hien’s hands were shaking wildly as he fumbled with the sedative. He held a small glass ampoule in one hand and struggled with the syringe in the other. As the tip of the needle touched the metal seal of the ampoule, it slipped from his hand. The sedative dropped to the floor, smashing at his feet.

  “What’s the matter? You’re not worried, are you?” He wanted Hien rattled. He needed him nervous and careless. Zac started to concentrate on his own heart rate; he had to slow it if he was to take control of the situation.

  “I no worried. You chained, and I sedate you. I nothing worry ‘bout.” Hien’s voice trembled as he prepared the syringe.

  Once the syringe was full, he walked over and jammed the needle into his prisoner’s arm.

  Zac could feel the drugs coursing into his body. He needed to fight it, but at the same time he needed Hien to think it was working. As he fought the effects of the drug, he began to lower his heart rate. He allowed his head to bob down, and then slump to his chest; his eyes were barely open.

  Hien watched the readouts. Heart rate and brain activity began to drop. He glanced back at the chained body, which now sat slumped in the chair. He was completely unaware that Zac could feel and sense everything that he did, and that, in a matter of moments, he would have him.

  “Not so tough now,” Hien sneered as he reached into his pocket and pulled out an Ophthalmoscope; he strolled over and lifted Zac’s head. A small amount of drool ran from his patient’s mouth as Hien opened one eyelid and shone the light into his eye. He watched the pupil dilate.

  Zac could feel the fear washing over Hien as he realized it would be the last thing he ever saw.

  He drove his head towards Hien’s as hard as he could. Their heads collided with a sickening cracking sound. His forehead shattered the bridge of Hien’s nose, killing him instantly.

  Zac had no idea how much time he had, but he knew it wouldn’t be long. He needed to get Lea out of Dominic’s grasp before he could finally deal with him.

  “Lea, Lea, can you hear me?”

  He waited a few seconds but there was no response. He had to free himself; that was his only option. He decided to start by freeing his wrists, which were clamped to the arms of the chair. He closed his eyes and focused all of his strength into his arms. He began to pull against the restraints, the chair creaked as the metal resisted his efforts. He gritted his teeth and persisted, but the clamps held tight.

  Zac relaxed as he regained his breath. It wasn’t working; the metal was just too strong.

  His left wrist was slightly looser than the right; this meant he could pull backwards against the restraint. He only had an inch of movement, but it might be enough to slide his hand out.

  Zac tried to make his hand as small as possible, then he pulled with all his might. Blood appeared around the top of his hand as the skin
started to peel back. It was working, but his hand was still too large.

  He looked around franticly for something to help. Then he looked up and spotted the large surgical lamp suspended above him — it was in line with his left hand. He examined the lighting rig all the way down to the floor; large bolts attached the main part of the lever assembly to the floorboards. It looked like a giant spring-loaded desk lamp; however, Zac had no idea how to get to it — let alone cause it to fall.

  He shook violently back and forth in the chair out of sheer desperation.

  The light began to sway as it pulled against the floor bracket. The timber creaked under the strain and then there was a small cracking sound.

  He froze and looked closely at the floor bracket — it was then he noticed cracks in the floorboards.

  He started shaking the chair with all his strength. The lighting rig started to sway like an old tree in a strong storm.

  The chair and its entire motorized turntable started to slam back and forth. The floorboards started cracking, and then, with one loud snapping sound, the light began to topple.

  Zac froze again. The chair came to an instant rest as the light started to drop.

  The entire top section of the light, which consisted of three powerful halogen globes, and must have weighed at least two hundred pounds, came crashing down on his hand, squashing it flat!

  The pain was intense but he needed to move fast. He needed to get his hand free before it started healing.

  He pulled against the restraint once again — this time there was no resistance. His flattened hand with its crushed bones simply slid right through the restraint.

  It took only a minute for his hand to heal to the point that he could use it once more.

  Zac grabbed at his right wrist restraint and pulled. Now with the strength of both arms working on it, the restraint soon broke. Thirty seconds later, he was free.

  He rushed to the window. Apparently no one had heard a thing — the coast was clear. He quickly looked around the room and spotted all his weapons on a nearby table. What luck!

  Zac’s attention turned to Lea; he rushed to her bedside. She looked so serene, far more at peace than the last time he had seen her. He gently stroked her hair as he held her hand.

  “Lea, come on — you need to wake up. I know you can hear me; please wake up.”

  She didn’t move. He lowered his lips to her cheek and kissed her, lightly. He placed his lips to her ear. “Lea, it’s time to get back in the game. We need you — I need you. Dominic has Doc and he’s going to kill him. I need your help.”

  Lea’s hand twitched and Zac’s heart began to race.

  “I need you to help me; I can’t do this on my own. We need to get Doc out of here.”

  Her hand gripped his as she let out a slight groan.

  “That’s it, come on, we don’t have much time — we need to move.”

  Zac slid his arm under her back and raised her into a sitting position on the edge of the bed.

  Her head drooped to one side, but only for a split second; she quickly straightened her neck as she regained control of her faculties. Her hands gripped the edge of the bed to steady her weak body, but her strength was returning. She began to move her head from side to side as she arched her back and stretched out her arms. Her eyes were still tightly shut; her right hand went to her head.

  “What happened? I remember a battle, then a truck and a small boy, then nothing,” she whispered, as she felt for Zac’s hand.

  He took it and held it tight. “Dominic captured you and injected you with his nanites, but they failed to control you. We really need to move, Lea.”

  “It’s good to hear your voice,” she said as she turned her head towards him. He smiled, but not for long.

  Lea opened her eyes.

  “Zac, what’s happened? I can’t see — I can’t see anything!” Lea started to panic as she moved her head franticly from side to side.

  For a moment, he couldn’t say a word.

  Lea’s grip tightened on his hand.

  “Lea, please, try to calm down. Now please look at me, let me see your eyes.”

  Lea slowed her breathing as she regained control of herself, then she turned to face him. Zac placed his hands gently on the sides of her face to steady her. She had closed her eyes tightly again.

  “Open your eyes and look straight ahead.”

  She did as he asked.

  The sight of the two black orbs staring back at him caused tears to form in his eyes. For a few moments, he could do nothing but stare.

  “What is it, what do you see?”

  He stared at her eyes as he focused his vision in on their surface. He began to see millions of tiny devices all melded together forming one solid mass.

  “What do you see!” Lea said again with growing fear in her voice.

  “I’m not sure, but it looks like millions of nanites have joined together into one mass. That mass is either completely covering the entire surface of your eyes or …” he paused. He didn’t want to say what the other option was.

  “Or what, come on, please tell me.”

  “Or the nanites have destroyed your eyes and replaced them.” Zac’s head sunk as he said the final words.

  Lea pulled her face free of his grasp. She began to feel her way down her body with her hands. “This thing feels like hospital gown — my clothes, where are they?” she said as she felt her body. “Can you see my clothes anywhere?”

  He didn’t know how to respond to her reaction. Was she in denial? He stood and quickly checked the room for her clothes.

  “I’ve found them,” he said as he opened a small cupboard.

  “Good, now bring them here and help me get dressed. Do we have any weapons?”

  Zac knelt at her feet, placing each through the legs of her jeans. “Yes, we have one of Doc’s guns. There are two 9mms in the cupboard where I found your clothes, and we have two MP5s and my sword. Lea, are you okay?”

  Lea pulled up her jeans and began to fasten them as she answered, “No, I’m far from being okay. I’m blind, but what can I do about it? Nothing, that’s what. The only chance I have of getting my vision back is finding Doc and getting him out of here. Until then, I need to suck it up and get on with it. Now bring me the two 9mms and an MP5, you can have the rest.”

  “Yes Ma’am, whatever you say.” He smiled. Lea was tough, he knew she would be fine, but only if they could get out of there. He headed for the weapons as she pulled her T-shirt over her head.

  29

  Michael headed for his hut with Doc tightly in his grip. His eyes followed Dominic and Sinclair all the way back to his quarters.

  “Michael, you’re hurting my arm.”

  Michael didn’t talk until Dominic and Sinclair were safely out of sight. Only then did he loosen his hold. “I need to get you out of here — and we can’t wait for dark, we need to move now! I was insane allowing you to come here.”

  The old man stopped in his tracks as he shook off Michael’s hand. “Now you listen here young man; I’m not going anywhere without Zac and Lea.”

  Michael took his arm again, and began to march him towards his quarters.

  “I had already realized that,” Michael said grimly. “I can assure you that I will do all I can to take them with us. However, I can’t allow Dominic to kill you. And the thing is … I can feel him building to it. I think he wants you dead before the end of the day.”

  “Oh I see, in that case, we must get my friends immediately.”

  “I agree. I have some weapons in my room and you need a gun. Things may get a little out of hand, so you need to be prepared.”

  The two hurriedly entered Michael’s quarters. Doc went in first. Michael followed, then turned and locked the door.

  “Hello, Michael. How was breakfast?”

  Michael froze for a second, and then he turned slowly to see O’Brien.

  “What do you want? And what makes you think you will get away with breaking into a subje
ct’s quarters?”

  O’Brien sat in a chair with a gun leveled at Michael’s chest, a 9mm with a silencer. “You know, if there was one thing I learnt while I was with der IRA, it was how to spot a traitor. And do ya know what? I tink I’ve found meself one.”

  Michael looked over at Doc, who now stood midway between the two.

  O’Brien took a quick look in the old man’s direction, and then he smiled.

  “That’s it! This old fool has managed to turn ya somehow — that’s beautiful!” he began to laugh. “Dominic’s going to go nuts; he’ll rip ya to bits.”

  “Okay, what are you after?” Michael locked eyes with him. “Vermin like you are always after something.”

  O’Brien stopped laughing and replied in a cold hard voice, “I want ya dead. Ya see, I’ve taken a mighty big dislike to ya. Things will be easier for me now that I know for sure ya’re a traitor. Dominic will thank me for killing ya, plus, I will move a little further up towards the top of the food chain. That means more money and more power — I can’t lose. It’s a win-win situation, as far as I’m concerned.”

  “You really think you can stop me with that gun? It will take at least three bullets to bring me down. By which time I would have snapped your neck.”

  The Irishman pondered his words for a second. “Ya’re right. Maybe I’ll leave it for Dominic to kill ya. Either way, you’re still dead.

  “Now, ya may survive one bullet, but what ‘bout our friend here?” O’Brien moved his gun in Doc’s direction. His eyes remained on Michael.

  “I doubt my son will reward you for killing me,” the old man said as he eyed the gun. “I rather think that would put you in hot water.”

  O’Brien’s eyes flicked for one second in his direction.

  It was all Michael needed. He moved in one fluid motion. Passing Doc, he knocked him to one side, ensuring his safety.

  Skinner fell sideways onto the bed, well out of harm’s way.

  O’Brien tried to re-aim his gun, but was too slow.

  Michael grabbed the wrist of the gun hand and snapped it with ease. Michael wrapped his free hand around his throat as the gun dropped to the floor. He wrenched the stocky man from the chair and held him dangling by his neck.