Madman's Monster

by Michael Louis Weinberger

  I tried to move but Lei was in total control now, so I relaxed my body until my mind came back to me. In the end Lei was still sitting on top of me looking sorry as she said, "Sorry lover, but you lost it there for a second."

  I looked around and couldn't see the soldiers. "Did I hurt anyone?" I asked sheepishly.

  "Nope," Lei responded, "but Larson is a bit upset."

  I groaned, "Crap, how upset."

  "I convinced him to wait outside, but he put on a bunch of his gear...and he's holding a rifle."

  "Oh terrific," I sighed as Lei helped me up from off the ground, "Well, I guess I better start apologizing."

  "Mmmm, might be a good idea," Lei laughed, "But I think he has something else in mind."

  We walked through the door and were greeted by several soldiers in the same workout clothes that we were wearing. Larson was the only one clad head to toe in combat gear, including a helmet and semi-automatic rifle.

  He walked over to me, "You got your head back on straight?"

  "Yes and," I started to say more but Larson cut me off as he announced, "we have been graced today with the presence of a new martial arts instructor. I want you all to watch his style and keep your training in mind." He turned back to me, "I hope you won't mind demonstrating your skills to the men. Any chance for them to see different styles in action can only benefit them in the field."

  I looked around wondering what kind of "demonstration" was about to happen.

  To me Larson said, "Don't hold back. It won't help anyone learn if you do."

  I nodded and Larson instantly raised the rifle and pointed it at my head. I dodged to the side and slapped the barrel in the opposite direction before kicking Larson in the abdomen. My foot thumped into whatever body armor he was wearing and Larson let out a chuff of breath before backing off a step.

  The men let out a "HOOAH" and clapped.

  Larson walked behind me and raised the rifle again. Again I spun, disarmed him and incapacitated his arm in what could have been a bone breaking hold. The men cheered and clapped again. The look on their faces was respectful but I could tell something was up.

  Larson repeated this from several different positions and I realized he was letting me take him down each time.

  I extended a hand and helped him up after the last counter and asked, "I thought you said not to hold back?"

  "Exactly right," Larson looked to his men, "all right. You all see what kind of fighter this man is. Now let's see how well we work against a new system."

  He walked back up to me, "This is an Airsoft rifle," he indicated the rifle he was holding, "It shoots small plastic pellets that sting, but don't do any real damage."

  The gun looked incredibly realistic, but I did notice that the hole in the barrel was much smaller than I would have otherwise expected.

  Larson looked at me, "Let's try that again," and lowered the rifle to his side before raising it back up again, pointing it at my head.

  I spun and grabbed at the stock, but Larson twisted with me sending me off balance. He shoved me back with his foot and fired a trio of pellets into my chest.

  Sting?!? "Sting" was an understatement! All three pellets were going to leave welts.

  Larson lowered the rifle and said, "Again please."

  He assumed a shooter's stance and approached me with the rifle at the ready. I scrambled to one side and closed the distance between us, this time trying to trap his arm and rifle, but Larson hit me with a quick shoulder block, kicked my feet out from under me and then stepped back and shot me again.

  I yelped as the pellets hit me and I could hear the soldiers around me politely trying to hold back their laughter. I didn't wait this time and jumped to me feet and charged in. Larson fired the Airsoft rifle but I dropped and rolled under the barrage of pellets and grabbed him around the waist taking him to the ground. I felt the butt end of the rifle slam into my back and shoulder but I didn't let go. I worked my way up from Larson's waist until I had one hand on the rifle and another on his throat. I squeezed and listened to him gurgle as I cut off his air supply. The men around us went silent and I could sense a couple of them stepping forward, maybe to break us up. Larson surprised me by letting go of the rifle with one hand and grabbed my hand at his throat and shifted his weight beneath me. Next thing I knew he had one of his legs over my head and across my own throat.

  I'm strong, VERY strong, in fact I am much stronger than just about anyone who isn't a power lifter or "strongman" competitor, but even so my single arm is no match for another person's legs and core strength combined. Larson used his legs and core to extend his body and ripped me off his throat. I came crashing down to the ground with one hand still on Larson's rifle and the other clutching wildly at the leg that was still wrapped around my throat. When my eyes focused I could see Larson holding his combat knife, a particularly wicked looking, spring loaded Gerber Special Forces issue blade, at my throat. It was a double-edged blade and would have cut through my flesh as easily as hot butter but he had his gloved hand pressed tightly against my flesh instead of the blade, protecting me from any accidental injury.

  Neither of us moved and Larson's eyes burned into me. It took a moment to realize he was waiting for me to do something, and then I remembered that this was a training session and what the appropriate thing for me to do would be. I tapped his leg a couple times, surrendering.

  Instantly the blade moved from my neck and the pressure of his leg across my throat disappeared. Larson stood and put his knife away then offered me his hand. I took it and he helped me to my feet.

  The men began applauding and Larson stood back and applauded to me as well.

  "All right guys," Larson turned to the men, "remember that, our goal isn't to win a competition. It isn't even to play fair. We are here to learn how to survive and complete our objective by any means."

  Then he threw me a "bone," which I'm sure was just to repair any fractures that may have occurred to my ego.

  "In a fair fight, this man could take any of us, myself included, but you have to remember we aren't here for that. When on mission our job is to achieve our objective, not to be sensitive to the feelings of the enemy and you should expect no less from the enemy. They will do whatever they have to in order to survive and there is no referee to cry foul when they kill you."

  Larson waited and made sure his words sank in, "Understood?" Every soldier replied in unison, "HOOOAH."

  "Questions?" Larson asked, but the group remained silent, "All right then, dismissed."

  When the men had dispersed I walked over to Larson, who had retrieved his Airsoft rifle from where it was lying on the ground, and held out my hand. He looked at my hand and then up to my eyes, before extending his own hand and shaking mine.

  "Thank you for the lesson," I said sincerely.

  Larson kept shaking my hand and staring at my face until he finally said, "I don't know what kind of weird world you two are from, or what the hell that spectacle you performed, I assume for my benefit, was supposed to prove; however, I will say that we are going to be entering the field and the people we may have to deal with are not going to be the usual civilians you two are apparently used to."

  Lei and I kept silent as Larson continued, "Soldiers are well equipped with the tools of war and we only resort to hand to hand combat when there are no other options. Everything we train for is designed to work along with our tools and you can be sure that the people we come across are not going to put their guns down if you are unarmed."

  I politely said, "I'll remember," and left it at that. Larson was venting and now wasn't the time to tell him that Lei and I had taken on elite soldiers before, or to mention that he had taken me on fully geared up, while I was unarmed. I was more interested in building bridges then pointing out inconsistencies...for the moment anyway.

  He nodded and sighed, "Okay, I suppose I should also say that in all my years of military service I never even heard, much less witnessed, what the two of you were able to do today
. Maybe someday you'll tell me how you managed what you showed me on the course, but for the time being I think it's safe to say you have the ability to take care of yourselves as opposed to my needing to play bodyguard the entire time."

  I smiled and Lei thanked him. "Tomorrow then?"

  "Tomorrow," I said, after all, sometimes partnerships can come from unexpected places. I was suddenly feeling a lot more optimistic about the entire endeavor than I had been a few hours ago.

  Chapter 15

  Dr. Whelan walked over the dead body that laid half in and half out of the cell where he had kept his prize. The creature that had been strapped down in that room was the success he had been working so hard to achieve for the last two years and now it was gone.

  Suffice it to say, he was not happy.

  "How many are dead?" he asked as he entered the large cell and approached the body of the dead guard lying next to the metal gurney that had stored the creature.

  "Six," a raspy voice said from the darkness of the cell. "It looked as though he was trying to sneak out but ran into four guards stationed on the other side of one of the security doors."

  "So alone, unarmed and naked, it managed to kill four of your best men?"

  "They were there to keep intruders out," the voice replied, "they weren't jailers tasked to be on watch to keep people in. They were taken by surprise."

  The doctor chuckled, "Frankly, I don't really think it would have mattered if they had known it was coming. My experiment, my monster, is far more capable than any of you." A growl rose in response from the shadows, but, if a growl was supposed to have any intimidating effect on the doctor, he responded to it in a way that was the opposite of its intended effect.

  With derision he asked, "Do you have any idea what we have lost here today?!" The doctor spun in the direction the voice had come from, "Do you have half a clue?! No, of course you don't, you simple minded idiot."

  The growl quieted.

  "That man was the only one to ever have survived the process!" The doctor repeated each word separately for emphasis, "The...Only...One! And it is entirely possible that we won't ever find another candidate that can withstand the physical and mental torture that we put this subject through."

  Silence followed as the doctor kicked the body of the dead guard lying at his feet.

  A form walked from the shadows of the room and into the aura of light that emanated from the one lamp near the broken computer terminals, "Why is he so important?"

  "It!" the doctor emphasized the word with a pause before continuing, "It is of crucial importance to me. It was my instrument of surgical precision that would cut the one festering canker from my life."

  The figure stepped completely from the shadows. He was a large man but no giant, perhaps an inch or so over six feet and he sported a hard, lean build under his all black security gear. He cut the kind of figure that many soldiers who were part of elite groups had, including the scars of experience, but despite the confidence of his posture and demeanor, his hands were shaking slightly. It might not have been fear exactly, and perhaps the effect was a result of uncertainty for a man who relished being in command of every given situation. Nearly every part of his body was covered with some body-hugging garment with the exception of his face, which had the complexion of someone born in the Scandinavian regions of the world.

  "If he's gone," the man shrugged, "he's gone. Who cares? He won't survive out there in the jungle for lon..."

  "You know nothing!" The doctor interrupted and pointed to the dead man on the floor, "Your man's failure may well be the end for all of us."

  "Why?"

  Dr. Whelan turned to the gurney and placed his hands palm down on the metal platform.

  Quietly, the doctor said, "I needed him to kill someone."

  "But that's something you pay me and my men a large sum of money to do. Just tell me who..."

  "No," the doctor spun and started to walk from the room, "You may be something of a legend in your circles Mr. Timberland, but this...this beautiful beast that I made is an absolute force of nature."

  The doctor stopped at the door, "I take it you have already sent men out to recover my wayward experiment?"

  The man called Timberland nodded as he spoke, "Yes, and I take it you want him brought back unharmed?"

  The doctor seemed to consider that for a moment, and then he said, "No, although that would be preferable. The important thing now is to simply bring him back in any way possible. Dead or alive."

  Chapter 16

  We lost an entire day traveling to Bangkok and, by the time we reached our hotel, Lei and I were both in a heavy need for the serum. The pain of our condition can be moderately uncomfortable in the early stages, but combined that with a seemingly endless plane flight and it is relative torture. Still, we managed to keep it together as we made our way to the room. Once we reached the room and the well-tipped bellman went away, we immediately rushed the cooler and took the serum before promptly passing out from both relief and exhaustion on the king bed while still in our travel clothes.

  It was the phone that woke me up. For my part I felt like I had just closed my eyes, but a quick glance out the window told me that the sun had set and the clock on the wall indicated I had been out for almost six hours.

  Groggily, I lifted the receiver, "Hello?"

  "You better?" It was Larson's voice on the other end. "The two of you looked pretty wasted from the flight. You know, the jet lag isn’t supposed to set in until after you get to your destination, not during the travel."

  I rolled off the bed and looked at the mirror that was part of the vanity on one wall of the room. I looked tired, and had a serious case of "bed head," but there were no tell tale signs that I had waited too long to take the serum.

  "Yeah, we're okay. What's up?"

  "Nothing really. I just thought we might get started checking out Zach's place."

  "Tonight?"

  "That a problem?"

  "Might not look good if we go sneaking around his neighborhood, breaking and entering in the middle of the night."

  Larson laughed, "I don't think that will be an issue." He didn't explain and instead said, "If you and the girl are too out of it I can go on my own. Let you know what I find when I get back."

  I sighed, "No, we'll come along. Like you said, we're the detectives."

  "True enough. See you in the lobby in...?"

  I looked to the bathroom, the shower was running and steam was wafting up from under the door.

  "Call it twenty minutes."

  "In twenty then."

  I heard Larson hang up and I did the same as the sound of the shower ceased. I walked to the bathroom door and pushed it open as the cloud of steam that the hot water had generated mixed with the refrigerated air of the room. Lei was standing there toweling herself off in front of the mirror and, as was usual when I saw her like this, my breath caught in my throat.

  Lei looked into the mirror and saw me standing there watching her. She smiled a genuine, pleased smile that changed to something more wicked as my eyes tracked down the length of her naked back. My eyes weren't strangers to the curves of her body, but that didn't mean I couldn’t get momentarily dumbstruck by the sight of her.

  She turned to face me, the hotel towel strategically placed so that her breasts and center pelvis were covered without hiding a single inch of flesh otherwise.

  I needed to say something to keep my head from spinning. "Save any hot water for me?"

  Lei didn't speak, she simply nodded once and then lowered the towel bringing her breasts fully into view, and she playfully made an erotic spectacle of herself by drying her inner thighs with the end of the towel.

  My body was reacting..., which, of course, had been her intent, still I pretended to ignore my own response, and removed my shirt as I began to undress. Her eyes roved over my chest, widening slightly in silent approval.

  I turned the water back on and, in the moment I had taken my eyes off of Lei, she moved
from her perch against the sink to directly behind me. I could feel her arms wrap around me and the strength of her hands as they slid over my stomach and chest. She raked her fingernails lightly across my skin and it sent electric impulses from my core to the tips of my fingers and toes.

  Her body felt warm and her skin was deliciously soft as she pressed herself against me. I closed my eyes and let my other senses take over as I felt her hands work their way down to my waist and then to the button on my jeans.

  "Lei," I said quietly, "we're supposed to be in the lobby in less than twenty minutes." The zipper on the jeans yielded without complaint as Lei manipulated it. I felt her lips press against the back of my neck as one arm came back up to my chest and pulled me back against her while the other hand disappeared under the fabric of my pants. She adjusted me gently until I came free of the now highly restrictive garments and let them fall to the floor, stopping around my ankles. Lei pressed every inch of herself against the back of my body and softly began to rock up and down so I could feel how smooth her skin was as it slid over mine. The water had become hot again and steam once again began to fill the bathroom.

  "Lei, we need to meet..." She cut me off.

  "We're going to be a little late," she whispered as her hands continued to send irresistible impulses through every part of me.

  Something like panic filled me and I started to protest, but as my body tensed Lei pushed me forward into the stream of the shower. I spun to face her and found her mouth on mine, her arms around my neck and her body against me.