by Jan Domagala
Before he knew what was happening Taylor was in the air over the balcony falling to the ground. The knowledge that he was about to die wasn’t as bad as knowing he would never see Tanya again. He hit the floor without uttering a sound and died instantly.
Hawk saw his friend thrown to his certain death as casually as someone would toss away a soiled tissue and knew that he had a real fight on his hands, not only with someone who was incredibly strong and fast but completely ruthless and devoid of any moral compass. Having lost his weapon when he’d launched himself at the giant, he realised that he’d possibly lost his advantage and, until he regained the Sig, he would have to handle this the old fashioned way.
The Rover turned to Tanya and gave her a smile, “You’re coming with me or you die here too,” he said.
Unable to move through sheer terror, all Tanya could do was stare up at the giant killer standing before her with an evil grin on his face.
Rover reached for her, his hand appearing impossibly huge to her and she stepped back away from him until she was backed up against the balcony railing.
Hawk lashed out with his right leg in a mawashi geri, a roundhouse kick to Rover’s ribs, which felt like kicking a slab of plascrete.
Rover just turned to look at Hawk and said, “That was a mistake,” then backhanded Hawk across the face sending him staggering away a few paces.
“I can see I’m going to have to deal with you first,” Rover said and turned to face Hawk.
“Bring it,” Hawk said not showing the trepidation he felt at the upcoming battle. He had to find a way to hurt this guy and so far nothing he’d done seemed to have any effect on him.
“You’ll live to regret saying that, but don’t worry, it won’t be for long,” Rover said coldly as he advanced on Hawk.
“Say, haven’t I seen you before?” Hawk said, as the realisation dawned on him that the man before him was almost the twin of the clone he’d captured at the chamber.
Rover stopped momentarily, the thought that he’d be recognised never occurred to him but now that he had he knew that he would have to deal with all leads, and quickly.
“You saw my brother, but I will be the last thing you see,” Rover said with menace.
“Wow, that was really bad, did you mean it to come out like that, you know, like it was from a comic book?” joked Hawk as he prepared for what was going to happen. If he could rattle the giant then perhaps he could find a weakness.
Rover snarled at the insult and swung a tremendous right hook at Hawk’s face. Hawk ducked beneath the punch at the very last second, actually feeling the wind go through his hair above him, and then delivered two very fast punches to Rover’s midriff. Hawk moved out of range before Rover could react. The punches would have doubled a normal man in half but the giant simply grunted and shrugged off the effects coming after Hawk once more.
Rover swung another punch at Hawk as his fury built up inside and again Hawk ducked beneath and smashed another salvo of punches into the giant’s stomach and ribs. Rover bellowed his rage as this time he felt the blows.
“I’m going to crush you,” Rover snarled and came at him again. This time though he threw a punch at Hawk’s head then an uppercut, hoping to catch him as he went low to avoid the first attack.
Hawk’s reflexes were on an almost hyper level by this time. He saw the first punch, then almost as if he knew what the giant had planned, stepped back out of range then back in to jab Rover full in the face with a left that smashed his nose. When Rover tried an uppercut, Hawk hit him with a tremendous right cross, rocking his head so viciously sideways that he almost went down.
“So he can be hurt,” thought Hawk, then went in for the attack again. Rover tried to hit him again and again but Hawk was too fast for him.
Hawk started to get too confident though and as he punched Rover repeatedly in the face opening up cuts with every blow, Rover began to accustom himself to the pattern of attack and he blocked the last blow and countered with a punch of his own that rocked Hawk back on his heels. As he staggered back he looked at the clone and knew then that somehow the clone would fight until he died without allowing whatever pain he felt to encumber him or slow him down. Hawk would have to end this fight quickly and decisively if he wanted to come out of it alive and intact.
Rover smiled at Hawk. He’d taken everything the man could throw at him and he was still standing. He knew how that would intimidate most men and, thinking Hawk was like most men, he came forward once more.
Punch after punch he threw at Hawk who blocked or ducked every one without showing any signs that he was troubled by the attack.
A slashing right cross opened up a cut on Hawk’s left cheek, the only blow to connect, but he didn’t allow it to slow him down or affect his response.
Rover knew it was just a matter of time before his attacks got through and did some real damage so he continued his onslaught.
They were still close to the balcony railing that led to the floor and certain death should either of them fall over, the same fate to which Rover had assigned Taylor. Rover was trying to force Hawk closer to the railing in the hope he could throw him over as well. Rushing at Hawk he tackled him around the waist and slammed him into the railing with such a bone-crunching impact that Hawk felt it right down to his toes. He cried out in pain as his back was slammed into the railing and his breath was forced out of his lungs.
For once Rover had the advantage and this time he would not squander it.
Slamming his forehead into Hawk’s face to further weaken his resistance he then rammed a slab-like fist into Hawk’s stomach to expel any air that was left in his lungs.
Hawk felt his strength leaving him as the punch forced him into paroxysms of coughing; he was already seeing stars before his eyes from the head butt. His legs threatened to no longer support him; he felt them begin to give way as he began to think that he would lose this fight after all. Doubt filled his mind and he was thinking that perhaps it would be better after all to just give in and let the clone throw him to his death. The only thought that kept him going was that he would be letting down thousands, maybe millions of fellow humans. He knew that should OMEGA win this then it would leave many lives at risk and Hawk realised that no matter what he couldn’t let that happen. He couldn’t give in.
Allowing his legs to sag he bent at the waist slightly, taking the weight fully onto his legs.
Rover smiled a confident smile thinking he had won and that the girl would be his to do with as he wished, to return to her father or to kill if he thought fit.
Reaching back with his right hand in readiness to strike the final stunning blow before hurling the intruder to his death, Rover was caught unawares by what happened next.
Hawk grabbed the clone by the legs, slammed his shoulder into his midriff causing him to double over, then picked him up and tossed him over his shoulder into the air past the railing and to the floor. As with Taylor there was no way he could survive that fall.
In fact, Rover never uttered a single sound as he flew to his death, the only sound being the sickening thud when his body hit the floor below, killing him instantly.
Hawk looked over the railing to see the outcome of his action. When he saw the blood pooling around Rover’s head he knew he was dead and that, for the moment, the girl was safe.
“Phew!” he said as he wiped blood away from his cheek with his left hand. Looking around there were only a few people who had remained behind to watch the struggle, not realising just how deadly the conflict was, and of course, Tanya Wilde. She had been rooted to the spot by sheer terror at what was happening. Never in all her short life had she been witness to such brutality and she found it terribly fascinating in some perverse way.
“Is he dead?” she asked hesitatingly.
“Yes, quite dead, which means that you are safe,” replied Hawk. Offering her his hand he said, “Come on, let’s get out of here and back to Earth.”
12
Tanis Rygar and his
team had returned to Cordoba fully expecting to be debriefed then tasked again to go after the marines who had escaped the chamber on Canto, wherever they may be, to tie up all loose ends. He had no idea what Wilde had in store for him and, if he had, he probably would have run for the nearest starship, jumped to hyperspace and kept going as far away as his engines would take him.
As it was, his demise was postponed by the recent actions of the man he’d been sent to kill, an irony he would never see.
As Wilde waited for the return of his daughter he monitored the progress of the Rover 5 he had sent to bring her back. When the signal was terminated with the death of the Rover he was furious. A delay to his plans was something he just would not tolerate. Using his NI he called another Rover 5. He would have to clean up what had happened and rectify what had gone wrong, and perhaps use this to his advantage by implicating Eisenhower and getting rid of Rygar at the same time. He had planned to do that anyway but this way he could utilise what was already at hand and adapt the present situation to his demands, rather than create a new situation.
“WHAT ABOUT THE LOCAL Constabulary, won’t they want to investigate what happened here?” asked Tanya as Hawk beckoned her to follow him out of the mall.
“They will but I’ve got a feeling that we’d be safer leaving before they get here,” replied Hawk.
“Where’re we going?” she asked again, a little of the shock of witnessing the brutal fight and the two deaths beginning to settle on her.
“Back to Earth, I’ve got friends who’ll assist us in getting there and I can assure you it’s where you’ll be safest,” Hawk said grabbing her hand and gently urging her on. “But we have to leave right now, okay?”
“My father’s responsible for this you know, my own father. How could he send someone to kill me, his own daughter?” she said and Hawk could see the shock beginning to take effect. She was unravelling before his eyes and if he didn’t act soon to try and bring her around, to snap out of it, she would be a gibbering wreck.
“Look Tanya, we have to move now. I’ve got some people who will meet us and help us get away to Earth where you’ll be safe and then we can work out what all this means, okay, but we have to move now,” he said and he added a slight pull on her arm to get her moving.
She responded slowly and as she began to walk with him he called Colonel De Boer through a sub space battle com. channel via his NI. “Colonel, can you give me your status please, am in need of immediate evac.”
The Colonel’s voice came through loud and clear to his ears alone, it being a battle com. channel. One marine had likened it to telepathy after using it for the first time. “We are in orbit awaiting your coordinates, latching onto your tracker code now. We have your location and are on our way to pick you up,” he said.
“Have encountered a hostile who is no longer a threat but the local Constabulary will be en route so we must try to avoid all contact with them. We don’t know just yet how deep any infiltration has gone so best to stay away from them,” Hawk warned.
“Understood. Will contact when we’re in the vicinity,” De Boer said then broke the contact.
They increased their pace as they went down the escalator to the ground floor and the exit. Hawk was pulling Tanya with him to some extent as they pushed their way through the thinning crowd. The entrance loomed before them and as they burst through into the cool night air he searched for an available sky-cab. There were always some parked outside the mall entrance ready for their next fare and he was banking on getting into the nearest one to escape from the scene as quickly as he could, taking Tanya with him.
Hailing one, he dragged Tanya inside with him after it had pulled up by the curb. Once inside he told the driver to take them to the Imperial Hotel. It was as good a place as any and it was purely random and away from the mall so it couldn’t be anticipated by OMEGA.
As the sky-cab left the curb and headed out into the flight lanes designated for sky-cab traffic they saw three Constabulary ground cars pull up outside the mall entrance, their sirens blaring to herald their arrival.
“Something funny going on there, did you guys see anything?” asked the cabbie in a friendly tone.
“No, there was some trouble inside, a fight I think but we didn’t see anything, did we honey,” replied Hawk smiling at the cabbie. Tanya looked at him and simply shook her head in agreement.
“There’s always something happening in this town,” the cabbie added. Hawk closed the screen between the two cabins and sealed it so they would have total privacy in the rear compartment. Accessing a secure sub space com. channel via his NI he called General Sinclair. “Sir, just reporting that I’ve got Miss Wilde with me despite an attempt on her life,” he said once the call was connected.
“How on Earth did anyone get to her so quickly?” asked Sinclair.
“Presumably her father knew where she had gone and he sent the clone to find her using that as a starting point.”
“Clone? Are you saying he sent another of those after her?” asked the General, a little surprised.
“Yes, sir, but this one was different in the respect that he looked bred for battle,” explained Hawk.
“How so?” wondered Sinclair.
“He was built with more muscle than the first one we encountered and his pain threshold was almost through the roof. It was like he almost didn’t feel pain at all; at least he never let it bother him. He was one tough mutha, sir, I’d hate to think of having to face an army of them,” said Hawk.
“That thought had occurred to me after our first encounter here in HQ but it seems more of a threat now that you’ve discovered there are some bred for battle,” said Sinclair.
“I think we ought to move pretty quickly on Jonas Wilde, sir, before he has time to take precautions. No doubt he’ll have an army of legal representatives to defend him if we try and take him to court. We may have to try another route,” said Hawk.
“We’ll discuss that when you arrive back at HQ. Keep me posted on your progress, Matt,” Sinclair replied before closing the connection.
“What are you planning to do to my father?” asked Tanya seeming to come out of her shocked state.
“I won’t lie to you. If he’s responsible for what I think, he’ll be brought to justice, one way or another,” Hawk replied simply.
“What exactly do you mean by that?” she wanted to know.
Hawk looked at her, saw a beautiful young woman who had found herself in the worst position of her life and felt sympathy for her, but he had to put that out of his mind. He had to steel himself for what was inevitable. “It means if he’s guilty, he’ll pay,” and he left it at that, turning to look away from her out of the side window so she couldn’t see the turmoil evident in his ice blue eyes.
Using her NI Tanya accessed a local com. channel and called her father. “Dad, what’s going on, what are you caught up in? Why did you send that man after me?” she said once the call was answered.
Hawk spun around in his seat when he heard her talking to her father, “What the fuck are you doing?” he said angrily.
“Who’s that with you sugar?” said Jonas Wilde not answering her question.
“Dad do you realise they’ll come after you now? Tell me it wasn’t you, tell me it’s all a huge mistake,” she pleaded.
Jonas Wilde was silent as he thought about the implications of this call. She was still his daughter, he remembered all the little things about her childhood, but as they ran through his conscious mind he realised that he didn’t remember too many of them simply because his career in Col Sec had kept him away from his wife and daughter for so many years. The bond that he would have had – should have had – simply wasn’t there. Yes she was his daughter and on some level he was certain he loved her but she may as well have been just another faceless employee as far as he was concerned and that saddened him. It was one more reason why he hated the Confederation.
“I don’t suppose for one moment that you are alone there my sweet a
nd I do regret what you’ve just gone through and what is to come, but it is inevitable I’m afraid,” Jonas Wilde said, then broke the connection.
“No!” Tanya screamed as the call ended. It was like a door slamming on a portion of her life that she had thought so secure. Now, suddenly it had all changed and she had no future, with one simple call her life was over.
“From your reply then I take it that it could’ve gone better,” Hawk said, his anger receding. He saw her world, her reason for living crumble before his very eyes and his heart went out to her, even though he’d tried to keep himself at a distance.
“What am I going to do?” she said in a scared, little girl voice.
“You stay with me and we’ll work this out together,” he said after a pause, which seemed to comfort her a little.
JONAS WILDE SAT BACK in his chair thinking about what he was going to do next. His plans seemed to be changing faster than he could adapt to them. Things were at a stage now where he was swiftly running out of options so the only thing he could think to do was to go on the offensive. He would have to implement Phase Two of his plan and bring events to a head a bit earlier; the result would be the same though, regardless of the time line. He contacted Maxwell Eisenhower through the internal intercom accessed through his NI.
“Sir, could you come to my office please, there’s something here I think you should see,” he said, injecting just enough urgency into his voice to get his boss’s attention.
“Okay Jonas, I’m on my way,” replied the owner and CEO of MaxCorp, one of the ten largest mega corps in the known galaxy.
Using his NI again Wilde contacted a Rover via a secure channel similar to the battle com. that Recon Delta used; a Rover who had been in the building for a while just waiting for the right moment to make his presence known. The right moment, which was to be heralded by a call from his boss. “Get ready, he’s on his way, we’re doing this a bit early but we’re doing it,” Wilde said to the Rover.
