The Reynolds/Bradshaw Connection - Chapter 15: The Four Horsemen
The Reynolds/Bradshaw Connection
Ready for some action?
Most of the technology introduced in this chapter is at least based in truth. Most is factual and government-sponsored.
There is a slight tribute/allusion to Ghost Brigade by Visitor in one of the first scenes. Hope you don't mind Vis.
Much thanks to Sigrid (EternalDefiance) who has volunteered to beta the remaing chapters here, as well as the sequel(s)
Opening lyrics come from U2’s Sunday, Bloody Sunday; end lyrics belong to The Verve’s Bitter Sweet Symphony
Chapter 15: The Four Horsemen
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And the battle's just begun
There's many lost, but tell me who has won
The trench is dug within our hearts
And mothers, children, brothers, sisters
Torn apart
Sunday, Bloody Sunday
Sunday, Bloody Sunday
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Lucy’s POV
The morning of the impending action, there was a silent, intense severity shared between Amy, Scud, Janet, and myself. Not much-besides food and coffee-passed our lips during breakfast. No words were needed; we all knew the odds we faced, and we were ready.
Our only hopes centered around the fact that we were hoping to surprise Chastity, but even then, she had an entire criminal outfit at her disposal, while we had four people, albeit four highly-trained people. If we couldn’t spring the ambush, we had a minimal chance of making it out of that warehouse alive.
Still, even against the odds, this was something that needed to be done, not just for Amy and my sakes, but for the sake of the world. Chastity was crazy, criminally insane, and psychotic-pick a word to describe evil or insanity, and she’d fit the bill. There was no telling what horrors she was capable of unleashing upon the world if she was left unchecked. This was a necessary risk.
Amy and I were upstairs in our room, changing into our “business attire” that Scud had so generously provided: lightweight, spider-silk body armor. I must admit that I had been skeptical at first-I mean, think about it: wearing a vest made out of the material that made up spider webs did not seem like an idea conducive to survival. Only when Scud showed me the vest’s imperviousness when a bullet fired from a gun failed to penetrate it had I believed it. Who knew that the spider webs you could so easily knock down with your hands could stop a bullet? Nature’s simply amazing sometimes.
Anyway, Scud had then gone on a half-hour sleep-inducing lecture about how strong spider-silk was. Apparently, its tensile strength was about the same as high-grade steel and its ratio of tensile strength to density was about five times better than steel-whatever that meant. Nexia, a Canadian bio-technology company, had been given a grant to manufacture these suits for the DEBS and various other military agencies. These were just four prototypes, but they were serviceable.
Amy was pulling on her black slacks when, whether it was induced by the gravity of the situation, or the fact that death may have been looming over my head, it just struck me once again how beautiful she was. I walked around the bed to Amy, who stopped pulling her pants on, stood up, and slung two arms over my shoulders. Our heads inched forward and our lips met, sharing an intimate, tender kiss. Sometimes physical expressions outweighed verbal, and this was one of those times. My lips parted and my tongue came forward, brushing against Amy’s lips. Her lips didn’t part, though.
Reluctantly, Amy broke the kiss. Bringing our heads apart, she stared into my eyes, allowing me to see into the depths of her soul through the pools in her eyes. “Lucy…I know these have been a rough couple of weeks, but if something happens to either one of us, I want you to know that I love you. I always have and I always will. Never will there be anyone who could possibly replace what you are to me. Married couples sometimes introduce the other as their ‘better half,’ whether it’s true or not. But with you…with me, it’s true-you are my other, better half, and if I lose you, I’ll never be complete again.”
Amy’s eyes gleamed with heartbreak, and she cutely bit her lip, one of her actions I absolutely adored. I moved my forehead into hers gently and looked at her with a loving gaze. “Amy, don’t say stuff like that. You’ll never lose me,” I paused. “I love you, too.”
“I know.”
And that was when I knew I couldn’t let Amy go through with the plan.
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Chastity’s POV
Wait…this is it? I looked around at the “Four Horsemen” defense system that Corleone had designed and laid plans out for. It was a joke…at least for Corleone. That man could once outsmart a fox, now he was designing junk like this. With a name like “Four Horsemen,” and the allusion to Revelations, you’d think this would be the end all, be all of security systems. Seriously, with names like Pestilence, Famine, War, and Death, were locusts, killer insects, and devices that emitted brainwave modifications to artificially inseminate someone with the feeling of starvation really too much to ask for?
Granted, parts of it were a good idea, but the totality was not fearsome, nor would it be enough to prevent Lucy Diamond from getting through it. Lucy was good…in many things, and she was more than the match for this idiotic trap system. I needed more.
At my side, Heidi could seemingly sense a problem and put what she meant to be a calming hand on my shoulder. I shook it off. “Is there a problem boss?”
“Lucy’s too good for this. What the hell was Corleone thinking when he designed this piece of shit? Lucy’s trained; she’s going to get through this…”
“Damn it, Chast, must everything be about Lucy this, Lucy that? I swear, you care more about her than you do me!”
Even though there could have been a bit of validity there, I laughed it off. “The only thing I care about Lucy Diamond is her death. I will kill her.”
I took the opportunity to prove that I cared more about Heidi than Lucy by engaging her in a torrid kiss. Still, it was always better with Lucy.
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Lucy’s POV
“So could you go over the plan again, Scud?” I asked. Amy, Janet, Scud and I were all huddled in the living room, outlining the plan and making every last-minute adjustment that we needed to. Amy, Janet and I all had glasses full of various liquids: I had a Dr. Pepper, Amy had an orange juice, and Janet had Coke Zero, which, as she had pointed out, would not make her as fat as Dr. Pepper would make me; it had less calories.
“So basically, we drive to the warehouse, secure the perimeter, and make sure no one’s around outside first. Then we go inside…” Scud paused, collecting his thoughts.
My impatience was weighing on me, however, and Scud’s pausing grated on my nerves. “AND…”
“And then we storm the place.”
“What?!” cried Amy incredulously.
I tried my best not to do a spit-take. “Exactly my thoughts,” I echoed, shooting a glare at Scud. We probably shouldn’t have left the planning to Scud. When had he ever come up with a one-hundred percent foolproof plan? In fact, many of his plans were pretty childish.
“Well, I happen to think that my teddy bear has a GREAT idea,” Janet gushed as Scud cringed at the ‘teddy bear’ reference. “It’s not like you two are coming up with any ideas. Who died and made you two Siskel and Ebert?”
Amy and I exchanged looks of exasperation before looking back at Scud. “Alright, we’ll go with your plans, on one condition: Amy stays here.” Amy whipped her head around to look at me, betrayal obvious on her face. I turned to her, “Amy, I love you. I know you want to go, but you’re not recovered yet. The doctors told you not to engage in physical activity, and you’re not going to risk yourself,” Amy shook her head in protestation, and attempted to say something before I cut her off. “You said you don’t know what would happen if you lost me…well, that got me thinking, and I don’t know what I would do if I lost you. Like it or not, the best thing for you to do is to stay here.”
“But…” Amy trailed off.
I smiled and answered her, “I’ll be careful. These two here will make sure nothing happens to me, right guys?” Janet and Scud nodded their heads like the good bobblehead dolls I wanted them to be. “I’ll come back here and we’ll be together, living our lives like this never happened in a couple days, I swear.”
I walked over to Amy, drew her into a sweet embrace and kissed her lightly. “Alright,” Amy said, resignation clear in her voice but a smile on her face, “if you swear.”
“I do.” Amy and I brought our faces together once again in a more aggressive, passionate kiss.
“Jesus Christ! Enough with the PDA’s! There’s only so much mushy stuff someone can take!” Janet exclaimed exasperatedly. “I love Scud, but you don’t see me doing that with him all the time! Get a room…actually, don’t, because if you did, we’d be late here.”
All three other sets of eyes focused on Janet. “What?” she asked as if she hadn’t gone off on that tirade only a moment earlier.
I turned my attention back to the beautiful blonde in my arms. “I guess I have to let you go now,” I said, a bit disappointed, as Scud and Janet beckoned for me to wrap it up and get going.
“I’ll be thinking of you,” Amy cooed, giving me one last peck on the lips.
“You two make me sick.”
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Chastity’s POV
I listened to the lovesick monologue Lucy was delivering, and my stomach turned. Love was for fools, and fools did not make good spies or criminals. I had learned from experience that the best way to gain the upper hand was to use love against an opponent-which explains why the idea I had been waiting for suddenly switched on the light bulb in my mind.
“I’ve got it!” I exclaimed, startling Heidi who was standing a short distance away from me.
“What do you have?”
“The idea I need. I’m going to rally the men, and you can take it from there. I’m going to need to slip out and take care of some unfinished business.”
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Lucy’s POV
Scud, Janet and I set off in the car headed towards the warehouse, and possibly our graves. The graveness shared in the morning continued here, as everyone knew the odds we could be facing, and mentally prepared themselves for those odds.
During the drive, the clouds set ominously in the sky, casting a dark, foreboding shadow over the ground. Just as we arrived in the general area of the warehouse the skies opened up, suddenly pouring rain down without warning. Unfortunately, since we couldn’t very well park in too close a proximity to the warehouse, we still had a good half mile to walk.
By the time we had reached the building, we were soaked to the bone and the sky showed no signs of letting up. At times like these, my fashion sense really comes in handy-we were all wearing black, and try as he might, Scud was having trouble glancing through an oblivious Janet’s shirt. Now, if she had been wearing the white DEBS uniform, well… Although, I must admit, if Amy was in that schoolgirl uniform out in the rain, it would have been a sight to behold.
Outside the back of the warehouse, we huddled together; heads leaned in close to each other. “So Scud, I’m going to go around the left side of the building, you and Janet take the right side. If everything goes correctly and no one’s there, we’ll meet back at the doors. Got it?”
“Yeah. You got your two-way on?”
“Yep,” I answered, putting a finger on the earpiece. “See you guys in a bit.” I turned and I was off. Running in a bowed position, I turned the corner and slowed down; I was a lion stalking nonexistent prey. By the time I reached the front entrance, I had not seen anyone, and a part of me was a bit disappointed. Scud and Janet had not reached the entrance of the building yet, though. “You two alright?” I asked.
- Yeah, Janet was distracted for a bit by something -
- I was not -
- But no one’s out here, you find anyone? -
“No. Either it’s going to be a surprise like we planned, or they’re all inside, waiting for us.”
I guess we’ll have to find out the hard way, Scud said as he and Janet came into view. I waited for them to meet me at the door. Putting our backs to the wall, we exhaled deeply as I put up three fingers successively before turning and kicking down the door.
Once inside, my surroundings shocked me. Either this was the wrong place or someone had done some work here. I stared around at the maze-like plastic makeshift walls. The walls looked like what you might find in a high school gym, and I had no idea where they had come from. A sense of fear and dread came over me as we walked around, noticing the lack of any cubicles and the ever-present maze. Someone was waiting here, someone was planning, and I’d bet even odds that it was Chastity. This just screamed trap.
We continued walking, and we turned down a corridor. About five steps into the corridor, a mechanical whirring sound broke the tense silence and behind us a metal door quickly protruded and blocked our way. I guess it could get worse.
I took one step forward and a menacing hiss seemed to come from the walls themselves. It was an unnerving sound, and although it sounded familiar, I couldn’t place my finger on it.
“What is that?” Janet asked, frightened.
Much to my chagrin, my fears turned out to be valid as an opaque, dense cloud began to form ahead of us.
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Amy’s POV
I couldn’t help being a little annoyed with Lucy. I know why she had made me stay back, but I desperately wanted to be there with her. Nerves played on my emotions as I sat back from the action, alone in the house. In an attempt to calm my nerves, I poured myself a Kahlúa and Cream. I then sat back in the living room and finished off the drink in about five minutes.
I stood, feeling a little woozy as I did so-the medication I was on had said not to drink, but I figured that one drink wouldn’t hurt. Walking through the dining room to get back to the kitchen, the glass slipped out of my hand and shattered on the tiled floor. Agitated with myself, I walked to the pantry, put on a pair of rubber gloves, grabbed a brush and a pan, and returned to the glass. I deftly swept up the glass, feeling less out of it as I did so. I was about to throw out the glass shards when I noticed one that I had not picked up under the table. As I dove under the table to get it, I noticed something strange on the underside of the table. At first glance it looked like an insect, so I smacked it and winced in pain as an electrical shock coursed through my body.
The crushed bug came away in my hand, and looking at the smashed mechanical pieces, I realized just what it was. My face paled and fear flew through me. Lucy and the others had just walked into a trap. Chastity would know everything, if the feeling that told me this was hers was correct.
I jumped up from under the table, running to the door, frantic to jump in my car and drive to the warehouse as the sound of shattering glass from the living room startled me. I ran into the living room and found an ever-growing cloud of gas being emitted from a small smoke bomb that must have been tossed through the window. Without thinking, I unbolted the front door and ran outside. Just as I cleared the door, a strong, feminine hand grabbed my arm. I turned to my aggressor and saw just enough of my captor to recognize her as she jabbed a needle into my neck. I barely had time to think before I passed out, but I was able to manage one coherent thought: Why was Chastity here?
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Lucy’s POV
“Quick, put in the nose plugs!” Scud instructed hastily. I reached into my small pack in which I was storing Scud’s contraptions and drew out the small gas masks. Janet and I followed directions and Scud put his in as well. I had never really thought that we would need Scud’s gadgets, but we’d have to rely on these for just a bit.
“Don’t even think about opening your mouths, though,” I said, authoritatively. “The gas is lethal and tinted with LSD. Make sure your sleeves are down too. In fact, cover up as much as you can. The LSD is absorbed by the skin.” I drew up the neck of the black turtleneck I was wearing, Janet tightened her sweater around her neck, and Scud rolled down his sleeves.
Once sufficiently bundled up the three of us began to bolt towards the other side of the corridor, eager to get out of this gas. Just as we reached the corner, the next part of the maze, the corridor perpendicular to the one we were just in, began to spray the gas as well.
Just as I was thinking that things could not get worse, three women in white suits with gas masks and automatic pistols began to walk down the pathway towards us. A shot reverberated around the walls, missing all of us, and we grabbed our guns, unlocked the safety and attempted to aim through the thick fog that covered the room.
I let loose a wild shot, unable to aim in the least due to the heavy fog of gas around me. I couldn’t see the women anymore, but by the sound of the bullet colliding with metal, I figured I may have hit something.
“Damn it!” a woman shouted, followed by the sound of the thud of metal landing on the ground. She must have been forced to take off her gas mask. Well, that’s one down, I thought preemptively. Sure enough, after a few seconds spent trying to find positions, the room was filled with petrified screams.
“Oh, my GOD! The bugs, they’re all over me! Someone get them off! Someone!” the woman frantically screamed. Pestilence, I should have guessed-Corleone always had an affinity for the book of Revelations, which was funny for a Communist who didn’t believe in religions.
Another shot echoed in the room and the screaming stopped. Euthanasia was never pleasant, but I guess it had been a better death for her than the slow and painful death the gas would have provided.
Suddenly, the gas turned itself off, and as the fog cleared, I shot towards the first shapes I saw, as did Janet and Scud, judging by the two shots that rang out next to me. The remaining two females fell without getting a shot off, staining the floor with pools of their own blood.
“Come on!” I sibilantly hissed. Scud, Janet and I ran through the remaining corridor and took the left turn at the end of the hall. I was quickly losing sense of direction and had no idea where the hell I was in this death trap.
Attempting to think like Corleone, I reckoned the next trap would be centered around the next horseman of the apocalypse, which, if I remembered what little I actually knew about the Bible, would be War. Shit. War did not sound like a good proposition right now.
Something caught my eye while the three of us were running down the corridor, and I slowed down, holding an extended hand outwards as a signal to Scud and Janet. “Hold on.”
“What’s wrong?” Scud looked at me quizzically.
I withdrew a handful of diamonds from my pocket, where I always kept them on any sort of mission, and rolled them down the hall. Sure enough, various traps set off, a tranquilizer dart firing from a wall, a highly concentrated laser beam firing off just a bit beyond that, and finally a bullet fired seemingly from the wall itself at the end of the corridor.
“Yikes!” exclaimed Janet, wide-eyed. “What’re we going to do here?”
“Ssh,” I hissed. There were sounds coming down the corridor towards us, and if I wasn’t mistaken, the sound was that of running footsteps. I just needed to hear a little bit more to make sure.
“Don’t shush me! Why do you think you’re in charge here?”
“Because I am. Now shut up! Don’t you hear that?”
Janet followed orders this time, albeit with a visibly annoyed look on her face, which faded and gave way to a look of recognition. “Yeah, footsteps, they’re right around the corner.”
I turned around and snuck back behind the corner, motioning for Scud and Janet to follow me. Chances were good that Chastity’s thugs had heard the detonation of the traps and thus expected to find the three of us dead, if not injured. That fact could therefore be used to our advantage.
Just as Janet and Scud turned the corner, four women, recognizable audibly, walked down the corridor. I dared to sneak a peek at the women all dressed in red to find them huddled around the diamonds in wonderment. “Scud, give me the smoke pellet from your gun,” I whispered, turning to Scud. He obliged, pressing the button on his gun to extract the little ball, which he handed to me. I stepped out into the hall with the three goons and threw the pellet in their direction. Quickly thereafter, I used the distraction to extract one of Scud’s exploding pens from my bag, which I hurled in the same area.
Wary of the imminent explosion, I hurriedly took refuge with Scud and Janet behind the adjacent wall. About a second later, the explosion shook the warehouse, and Janet winced as blood flew by, splattering against and staining the wall opposite to the one we were standing behind.
“Hurry,” I told Janet and Scud as I turned the corner and ran towards the end of that corridor. Staying to the outer wall trying to avoid the crater that had surely formed in the floor, I added, “And watch your step.”
Quick-what was after War? I thought, trying to remember my Bible. I had never been entirely religious, even though my mother had taken me to Lutheran churches in my youth. Reaching the end of the corridor, the sight ahead unnerved me and its blackness reminded me of the third horseman: Famine. How Corleone could pull off a trap for Famine was beyond me, but, knowing him, it was all too possible.
“What is that?” Scud asked, apparently wondering the same thing I was.
“No idea,” I replied truthfully. “Guess we’ll just have to find out. I’ve got a bad feeling about this, though.”
Cautiously, Scud, Janet, and I walked towards the enclosed black abyss, as it appeared to us. Just as we cleared the entrance, a glass barrier zoomed up, blocking the exit, only adding to the ominous feeling I was experiencing. Scud and Janet suddenly began bolting to the exit on the other side, obviously sharing in the doomed feeling. Not wanting to wait to see what Corleone had planned for us, I followed them, running as fast as I could. Just as we had almost reached the light on the other side of the tunnel, another glass door flew up, trapping us in. I had no doubt this time that situations could get worse, and true to that belief, a foreboding sound began to reverberate around the room, sounding almost like the sound of a vacuum cleaner, that same kind of sucking sound.
That’s when I realized what was meant by the third horseman here.
“Scud, Janet!” I yelled, my voice already waning in volume. “Put in the rebreathers! Famine’s not about the food! He’s starving us of oxygen!”
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Heidi’s POV
Third defense system-Famine engaged, rang out the monotonous, mechanical voice of the computer.
They were more resourceful than I had given them credit for. I hadn’t expected them to even get past the gas, but now they were on the third horseman. Maybe Chastity had been right about this Lucy Diamond character. She did seem to be quite the adversary. No chance she’d be able to survive the final horseman though. An ambush of quite that magnitude could not be overcome by three people, no matter how trained they were.
I turned to the twenty-three remaining men and women and, being the leader in Chastity’s absence gave them the orders. They were to attack on sight, mercilessly. That was, of course, if the intruders got through Famine.
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Lucy’s POV
Janet, Scud and I quickly put in the mechanical rebreathers, devices that would provide us with oxygen for just about fifteen minutes. Still, they wouldn’t do us any good if we couldn’t get out of this hellhole by that time.
Scud turned the ring on his finger, hoping that the glass-shattering capabilities would work on the door. The door shook, and for a second, I actually thought that it might work. That was, until we realized, as the glass broke and the wall stayed more or less in one piece, that it was shatterproof Plexiglas. Corleone had really thought this all out. Despair and resignation seemed to break out among us as we began to wonder if this would be our grave.
Suddenly, an idea struck me. Not wanting to chance the effects of opening my mouth in an area practically devoid of oxygen, I tapped Scud on the shoulder and pointed to the watches on our wrists. The look of panic and horror that had been present on Scud’s face morphed to a proud look of near-triumph as he drew a box in the air and I nodded, understanding his gesture. He relayed the message to Janet, and we gathered around the glass, aimed our watches, and pulled out the dial to the maximum distance they would go. Three laser beams shot from the watches and hit the glass, melting the glass. Scud stood in the middle between Janet and I, and he aimed his watch at the top of the glass wall, burning a horizontal line in the wall slowly and methodically while Janet and I worked on the two vertical lines connection Scud’s line to the floor.
In about five minutes, the outline of a rectangle had formed in the glass. I stepped up to the wall and gave the glass a kick, losing my balance and nearly falling as the glass toppled to the ground.
Ears popped as air suddenly rushed back into the room, and we removed the rebreathers, able to breath again on our own. The maze ended abruptly, and the rest of the warehouse stood in front of us, with Corleone’s bloody desk still standing as a reminder of the builder of this deathtrap. That wasn’t what caught our collective attentions though. Rather, it was the mass gathering of goons that held our captive attentions. We all drew our Glocks and fired at the goons in green as they surrounded and formed a circle around us. A few fell from the repeated shots, but many did not, their Kevlar vests protecting them. One blonde woman stepped out of the group and stood in front of us. In her hand she held a metal block with a red button protruding from it.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. We can’t have you firing at these guards,” she admonished with a slight German accent as she pressed the button and our guns flew towards an electromagnet above us. So this is it…the final horseman: Death.
“Where’s Chastity?” I demanded.
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” the woman taunted, “especially when she’s got your little playmate.”
My eyes widened with fear as the meaning of her statement was not lost on me. Chastity had Amy. I didn’t know how I was going to get out of here, but I would do anything to get Amy back.
“Alright, Pink Thunder, LeFleurs, draw your weapons, and fire on my count,” the woman commanded, and all around us, the clicks of drawn weapons sounded. Soon we had around twenty or so guns pointed at us. We looked frantically around at one another, but without weapons of our own, we were screwed. “One…two...” She never reached three as an explosion shook the walls around us and smoke poured in from the exit door. All eyes turned towards the newly-formed hole in the wall and an improbable grin formed in my face. I never thought I’d be so glad to see Max Brewer.
“Max?” I asked, “How’d you know?” The answer hit me like a truck, and I turned to Janet, who smiled back at me with a sheepish grin.
“I called her yesterday. Figured we could use the help.”
“Get out of here, Diamond, we’ve got it from here. From aerial surveillance, we found Chastity’s car parked outside the Sagrada Cathedral.” Max was wearing a black combat outfit, and with her stood Dominique and four younger girls. “Danielle, take your squad and let’s take these bitches out! Formation Alpha Chi Omega.”* The circle broke as the goons rushed towards the DEBS and I took my cue to run with them and out the hole unnoticed as they focused on their new adversaries.
Without thought and ignoring both the pounding rain and the sounds of the battle that raged behind me, I ran the half mile to my car and got in, single-mindedly focused on one thing.
Chastity’s messed with the wrong girl. I’m coming Amy, and Chastity’s dead.
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La Sagadra Familia was one of the most brilliant structures both in Barcelona and in all of Spain. It was also the subject of one of the longest construction periods in the world, having begun construction under the famous Catalan architect, Antoni Gaudí in the late 1800’s. It was still incomplete, but that fact only stood to heighten the magnificence of the structure. With eighteen high-rising spires, various sculptures, and three grand façades, the cathedral served both as a magnificent piece of art and architechture as well as a place of worship.
Now, it would be used for the final showdown with Chastity. She would pay dearly if she harmed one hair on Amy’s head.
I reached the cathedral, and, like I had the first time I had viewed the awesome structure, took in the breathtaking height of the building. Knowing Chastity, she would be on the roof of the structure, which immediately gave her an advantage. By the time I had reached the top via the stairs (there was no elevator), she would already have me tired. I was definitely going to have to form a counter-plan, I realized, as I exited my car, and ran through the rain into the cathedral. Once inside, I began my long ascent of the stairs, just trying to think of something…anything that would allow me to get Amy and me out of here in one piece.
Fifteen minutes later, with labored breath, I ran up the final set of stairs to the flat ceiling surrounded by the multiple steeples. There, in the middle of the area stood Chastity, gun drawn and triumph on her face, to her right, tied in ropes, sat Amy. As I stepped out onto the roof, I was once again pelted with the pouring rain, the water soaking through my skin.
“Lucy, something told me you’d find your way here,” Chastity taunted. “As you can see, your girlfriend was eager to make my acquaintance again, so I’ll give you one more chance. Join me, or your DEB here gets it.” Chastity motioned with her gun towards her prisoner. I tore my eyes away from Chastity only for a second and made eye contact with Amy. I winked, in an attempt to silently convey that I had a plan.
If Chastity had two weaknesses, it was her overconfidence and her inability to improvise, and that was what I had decided to prey on as I ran towards her, rage gleaming in my eyes. Halfway to my destination, Chastity brought the gun away from Amy and fixed it on me, instead. Just as she pulled the trigger, I dropped into a baseball-type slide and stuck my leg out, tripping Chastity, and knocking the gun from her hand to just a couple feet from Amy. Before she was able to recover I aimed the watch and the laser at Amy’s ropes. Even in the pouring rain, the laser cut through the ropes and in a few seconds, she was free.
Amy shook off the ropes and, just as Chastity stood up, her nose bloody, and searched for her gun, reached out and snagged the gun. With one deft move she emptied the clip. That's my girl.
“How’re you doing?” I asked Amy.
“Not so good,” she replied, visibly wincing from the pain that stemmed from her recent surgery. “Do you have your gun?”
I knew I forgot something! My gun was still in the warehouse, attached to the magnet and I hadn’t thought of bringing another one. “No, I guess we’re going to have to settle this old-school then. No weapons.”
Chastity wiped blood away from her mouth. “You two really think you can handle me? I murdered the greatest criminal in the last twenty years and you think you can kill me?” she laughed mockingly.
Amy and I didn’t answer her, letting our actions do the talking as we dropped down into our martial arts stances. I had been taught various martial arts styles during childhood because my father had wanted to ensure that I could protect myself. During training with Amy, Kenpo, the Americanized style of Kung-Fu, had really surpassed any other style, mainly because Amy was the most proficient at that style. Amy and I stood, knees bent, our right legs a step behind our lefts, arms bent and fists up in guard in front of our faces. The rain continued to pour, and water was dripping off our faces, making it difficult to see too far in front of us.
“Alright, I guess you’ll both have to learn the hard way,” Chastity dropped down into a similar stance. If I remembered right, Chastity was a big advocate of Judo, and we had to be wary, Judo was a style with very few weaknesses if executed correctly.
Amy and I began an almost rhythmic circling around Chastity, waiting for someone to make the first move. The first rule they teach you about fighting two people is to always keep both of them in front of you, so then the opposite would have to be true if you were fighting with a partner against someone, right?
Eventually, with Chastity pivoting every now and then, I decided to make the first move, stepping forward and jabbing with my left hand, which I followed up with a right-handed punch. Chastity parried the jab with her right hand and turned her body to the side, avoiding the punch. That was when I noticed her left arm, which was staying motionless beside her body. Remembering hearing Amy mention breaking the arm, I recognized it now as Chastity’s biggest weakness.
With an uncanny ability to seemingly read my thoughts, Chastity countered, “Nice battle scar huh? Your bitch gave it to me, and she’ll pay for it. I CAN still beat you with one hand, though.”
She took the initiative to fire a back kick into Amy’s sternum, knocking her off-balance. Before I had time to fully react, Chastity snaked out her right arm to Amy’s stomach and swept Amy’s legs with her leg, knocking Amy onto the concrete. The back of Amy’s head slammed hard against the floor, and as I watched in horror, she lay on the ground, motionless, but breathing.
“Amy!” I called out, hoping she could hear me. “AMY!”
“Don’t worry, Lucy, you won’t need her after I’m done with you. Once I’m finished, your girlfriend will be joining you in hell.”
“Not if I can help it,” I replied, and began to fire a flurry of strikes at Chastity. Punches, roundhouse kicks, arcing crescent kicks and backhands flew, and were brushed or parried aside. Damn, this girl could fight without the use of her arm? She’s playing with me…I know it.
Out of desperation, I grabbed hold of Chastity’s shoulders, attempting to grapple with her. She returned the favor, and soon her hands were upon my shoulders. I pushed with all my might, contorting my face with the effort. Looking at Chastity, the same look of hatred and lunacy that was present earlier was still there. She was just toying with me. Suddenly, she pivoted to her right and pushed hard against my neck with her right arm, using her hip to knock me off balance and throw me to the ground-the Tsuri Goshi throw.
Before I could even think about getting up and onto my feet Chastity pounced on top of me, pinning my arms down with her knees. As the rain continued its torrid descent she began a no-holds barred assault on my face, slapping me with the back of her hand to start. She punched my face into the concrete a few times, busting my lip and making me feel a bit woozy and light-headed. This would be the end.
She grabbed my head by the hair, and pulled up my head into the air. I spat into her face and she slammed my head down onto the concrete.
“Sorry to do this, but I never fight fair,” Chastity said, reaching into a sheath around her waist and pulling out a long machete. She grabbed hold of my forehead and forcibly turned my head sideways against the ground, exposing my neck and jugular vein, above which she held the knife. “It’s such a shame to kill you. We could have ruled the world together.”
My vision was beginning to get blurry, and I lay on the verge of consciousness. I shut my eyes tight, waiting for the sting of metal tearing through my skin. To my surprise, the sound of a gunshot pierced the air, I felt wet blood and tissue splatter onto my face, and Chastity’s pressure on me suddenly decreased. Daring to open my eyes for a second, I saw a sight that confounded me. Who had pulled the trigger? Chastity lay on the ground, still half on top of me, a hole in the side of her head.
Smelling the fresh carnage, my stomach turned, and I threw up, heaving to the side, vomit seeping through my hair as I passed out, fading into blackness.
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Well I never pray
But tonight I'm on my knees, yeah
I need to hear some sounds that recognize the pain in me, yeah
I let the melody shine, let it cleanse my mind, I feel free now
But the airways are clean and there's nobody singing to me now
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So, now…just who shot Chastity? Was Amy awake and if so, how did she get a gun? If it wasn’t her…who could it possibly have been?
Oh, and in case you were wondering, La Sagrada Familia is a real cathedral, that has been in construction since the late 1800's. Here's a picture.
~Dan
Next Chapter - ( Chapter 16: Loose Ends )
Ready for some action?
Most of the technology introduced in this chapter is at least based in truth. Most is factual and government-sponsored.
There is a slight tribute/allusion to Ghost Brigade by Visitor in one of the first scenes. Hope you don't mind Vis.
Much thanks to Sigrid (EternalDefiance) who has volunteered to beta the remaing chapters here, as well as the sequel(s)
Opening lyrics come from U2’s Sunday, Bloody Sunday; end lyrics belong to The Verve’s Bitter Sweet Symphony
Chapter 15: The Four Horsemen
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And the battle's just begun
There's many lost, but tell me who has won
The trench is dug within our hearts
And mothers, children, brothers, sisters
Torn apart
Sunday, Bloody Sunday
Sunday, Bloody Sunday
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Lucy’s POV
The morning of the impending action, there was a silent, intense severity shared between Amy, Scud, Janet, and myself. Not much-besides food and coffee-passed our lips during breakfast. No words were needed; we all knew the odds we faced, and we were ready.
Our only hopes centered around the fact that we were hoping to surprise Chastity, but even then, she had an entire criminal outfit at her disposal, while we had four people, albeit four highly-trained people. If we couldn’t spring the ambush, we had a minimal chance of making it out of that warehouse alive.
Still, even against the odds, this was something that needed to be done, not just for Amy and my sakes, but for the sake of the world. Chastity was crazy, criminally insane, and psychotic-pick a word to describe evil or insanity, and she’d fit the bill. There was no telling what horrors she was capable of unleashing upon the world if she was left unchecked. This was a necessary risk.
Amy and I were upstairs in our room, changing into our “business attire” that Scud had so generously provided: lightweight, spider-silk body armor. I must admit that I had been skeptical at first-I mean, think about it: wearing a vest made out of the material that made up spider webs did not seem like an idea conducive to survival. Only when Scud showed me the vest’s imperviousness when a bullet fired from a gun failed to penetrate it had I believed it. Who knew that the spider webs you could so easily knock down with your hands could stop a bullet? Nature’s simply amazing sometimes.
Anyway, Scud had then gone on a half-hour sleep-inducing lecture about how strong spider-silk was. Apparently, its tensile strength was about the same as high-grade steel and its ratio of tensile strength to density was about five times better than steel-whatever that meant. Nexia, a Canadian bio-technology company, had been given a grant to manufacture these suits for the DEBS and various other military agencies. These were just four prototypes, but they were serviceable.
Amy was pulling on her black slacks when, whether it was induced by the gravity of the situation, or the fact that death may have been looming over my head, it just struck me once again how beautiful she was. I walked around the bed to Amy, who stopped pulling her pants on, stood up, and slung two arms over my shoulders. Our heads inched forward and our lips met, sharing an intimate, tender kiss. Sometimes physical expressions outweighed verbal, and this was one of those times. My lips parted and my tongue came forward, brushing against Amy’s lips. Her lips didn’t part, though.
Reluctantly, Amy broke the kiss. Bringing our heads apart, she stared into my eyes, allowing me to see into the depths of her soul through the pools in her eyes. “Lucy…I know these have been a rough couple of weeks, but if something happens to either one of us, I want you to know that I love you. I always have and I always will. Never will there be anyone who could possibly replace what you are to me. Married couples sometimes introduce the other as their ‘better half,’ whether it’s true or not. But with you…with me, it’s true-you are my other, better half, and if I lose you, I’ll never be complete again.”
Amy’s eyes gleamed with heartbreak, and she cutely bit her lip, one of her actions I absolutely adored. I moved my forehead into hers gently and looked at her with a loving gaze. “Amy, don’t say stuff like that. You’ll never lose me,” I paused. “I love you, too.”
“I know.”
And that was when I knew I couldn’t let Amy go through with the plan.
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Chastity’s POV
Wait…this is it? I looked around at the “Four Horsemen” defense system that Corleone had designed and laid plans out for. It was a joke…at least for Corleone. That man could once outsmart a fox, now he was designing junk like this. With a name like “Four Horsemen,” and the allusion to Revelations, you’d think this would be the end all, be all of security systems. Seriously, with names like Pestilence, Famine, War, and Death, were locusts, killer insects, and devices that emitted brainwave modifications to artificially inseminate someone with the feeling of starvation really too much to ask for?
Granted, parts of it were a good idea, but the totality was not fearsome, nor would it be enough to prevent Lucy Diamond from getting through it. Lucy was good…in many things, and she was more than the match for this idiotic trap system. I needed more.
At my side, Heidi could seemingly sense a problem and put what she meant to be a calming hand on my shoulder. I shook it off. “Is there a problem boss?”
“Lucy’s too good for this. What the hell was Corleone thinking when he designed this piece of shit? Lucy’s trained; she’s going to get through this…”
“Damn it, Chast, must everything be about Lucy this, Lucy that? I swear, you care more about her than you do me!”
Even though there could have been a bit of validity there, I laughed it off. “The only thing I care about Lucy Diamond is her death. I will kill her.”
I took the opportunity to prove that I cared more about Heidi than Lucy by engaging her in a torrid kiss. Still, it was always better with Lucy.
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Lucy’s POV
“So could you go over the plan again, Scud?” I asked. Amy, Janet, Scud and I were all huddled in the living room, outlining the plan and making every last-minute adjustment that we needed to. Amy, Janet and I all had glasses full of various liquids: I had a Dr. Pepper, Amy had an orange juice, and Janet had Coke Zero, which, as she had pointed out, would not make her as fat as Dr. Pepper would make me; it had less calories.
“So basically, we drive to the warehouse, secure the perimeter, and make sure no one’s around outside first. Then we go inside…” Scud paused, collecting his thoughts.
My impatience was weighing on me, however, and Scud’s pausing grated on my nerves. “AND…”
“And then we storm the place.”
“What?!” cried Amy incredulously.
I tried my best not to do a spit-take. “Exactly my thoughts,” I echoed, shooting a glare at Scud. We probably shouldn’t have left the planning to Scud. When had he ever come up with a one-hundred percent foolproof plan? In fact, many of his plans were pretty childish.
“Well, I happen to think that my teddy bear has a GREAT idea,” Janet gushed as Scud cringed at the ‘teddy bear’ reference. “It’s not like you two are coming up with any ideas. Who died and made you two Siskel and Ebert?”
Amy and I exchanged looks of exasperation before looking back at Scud. “Alright, we’ll go with your plans, on one condition: Amy stays here.” Amy whipped her head around to look at me, betrayal obvious on her face. I turned to her, “Amy, I love you. I know you want to go, but you’re not recovered yet. The doctors told you not to engage in physical activity, and you’re not going to risk yourself,” Amy shook her head in protestation, and attempted to say something before I cut her off. “You said you don’t know what would happen if you lost me…well, that got me thinking, and I don’t know what I would do if I lost you. Like it or not, the best thing for you to do is to stay here.”
“But…” Amy trailed off.
I smiled and answered her, “I’ll be careful. These two here will make sure nothing happens to me, right guys?” Janet and Scud nodded their heads like the good bobblehead dolls I wanted them to be. “I’ll come back here and we’ll be together, living our lives like this never happened in a couple days, I swear.”
I walked over to Amy, drew her into a sweet embrace and kissed her lightly. “Alright,” Amy said, resignation clear in her voice but a smile on her face, “if you swear.”
“I do.” Amy and I brought our faces together once again in a more aggressive, passionate kiss.
“Jesus Christ! Enough with the PDA’s! There’s only so much mushy stuff someone can take!” Janet exclaimed exasperatedly. “I love Scud, but you don’t see me doing that with him all the time! Get a room…actually, don’t, because if you did, we’d be late here.”
All three other sets of eyes focused on Janet. “What?” she asked as if she hadn’t gone off on that tirade only a moment earlier.
I turned my attention back to the beautiful blonde in my arms. “I guess I have to let you go now,” I said, a bit disappointed, as Scud and Janet beckoned for me to wrap it up and get going.
“I’ll be thinking of you,” Amy cooed, giving me one last peck on the lips.
“You two make me sick.”
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Chastity’s POV
I listened to the lovesick monologue Lucy was delivering, and my stomach turned. Love was for fools, and fools did not make good spies or criminals. I had learned from experience that the best way to gain the upper hand was to use love against an opponent-which explains why the idea I had been waiting for suddenly switched on the light bulb in my mind.
“I’ve got it!” I exclaimed, startling Heidi who was standing a short distance away from me.
“What do you have?”
“The idea I need. I’m going to rally the men, and you can take it from there. I’m going to need to slip out and take care of some unfinished business.”
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Lucy’s POV
Scud, Janet and I set off in the car headed towards the warehouse, and possibly our graves. The graveness shared in the morning continued here, as everyone knew the odds we could be facing, and mentally prepared themselves for those odds.
During the drive, the clouds set ominously in the sky, casting a dark, foreboding shadow over the ground. Just as we arrived in the general area of the warehouse the skies opened up, suddenly pouring rain down without warning. Unfortunately, since we couldn’t very well park in too close a proximity to the warehouse, we still had a good half mile to walk.
By the time we had reached the building, we were soaked to the bone and the sky showed no signs of letting up. At times like these, my fashion sense really comes in handy-we were all wearing black, and try as he might, Scud was having trouble glancing through an oblivious Janet’s shirt. Now, if she had been wearing the white DEBS uniform, well… Although, I must admit, if Amy was in that schoolgirl uniform out in the rain, it would have been a sight to behold.
Outside the back of the warehouse, we huddled together; heads leaned in close to each other. “So Scud, I’m going to go around the left side of the building, you and Janet take the right side. If everything goes correctly and no one’s there, we’ll meet back at the doors. Got it?”
“Yeah. You got your two-way on?”
“Yep,” I answered, putting a finger on the earpiece. “See you guys in a bit.” I turned and I was off. Running in a bowed position, I turned the corner and slowed down; I was a lion stalking nonexistent prey. By the time I reached the front entrance, I had not seen anyone, and a part of me was a bit disappointed. Scud and Janet had not reached the entrance of the building yet, though. “You two alright?” I asked.
- Yeah, Janet was distracted for a bit by something -
- I was not -
- But no one’s out here, you find anyone? -
“No. Either it’s going to be a surprise like we planned, or they’re all inside, waiting for us.”
I guess we’ll have to find out the hard way, Scud said as he and Janet came into view. I waited for them to meet me at the door. Putting our backs to the wall, we exhaled deeply as I put up three fingers successively before turning and kicking down the door.
Once inside, my surroundings shocked me. Either this was the wrong place or someone had done some work here. I stared around at the maze-like plastic makeshift walls. The walls looked like what you might find in a high school gym, and I had no idea where they had come from. A sense of fear and dread came over me as we walked around, noticing the lack of any cubicles and the ever-present maze. Someone was waiting here, someone was planning, and I’d bet even odds that it was Chastity. This just screamed trap.
We continued walking, and we turned down a corridor. About five steps into the corridor, a mechanical whirring sound broke the tense silence and behind us a metal door quickly protruded and blocked our way. I guess it could get worse.
I took one step forward and a menacing hiss seemed to come from the walls themselves. It was an unnerving sound, and although it sounded familiar, I couldn’t place my finger on it.
“What is that?” Janet asked, frightened.
Much to my chagrin, my fears turned out to be valid as an opaque, dense cloud began to form ahead of us.
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Amy’s POV
I couldn’t help being a little annoyed with Lucy. I know why she had made me stay back, but I desperately wanted to be there with her. Nerves played on my emotions as I sat back from the action, alone in the house. In an attempt to calm my nerves, I poured myself a Kahlúa and Cream. I then sat back in the living room and finished off the drink in about five minutes.
I stood, feeling a little woozy as I did so-the medication I was on had said not to drink, but I figured that one drink wouldn’t hurt. Walking through the dining room to get back to the kitchen, the glass slipped out of my hand and shattered on the tiled floor. Agitated with myself, I walked to the pantry, put on a pair of rubber gloves, grabbed a brush and a pan, and returned to the glass. I deftly swept up the glass, feeling less out of it as I did so. I was about to throw out the glass shards when I noticed one that I had not picked up under the table. As I dove under the table to get it, I noticed something strange on the underside of the table. At first glance it looked like an insect, so I smacked it and winced in pain as an electrical shock coursed through my body.
The crushed bug came away in my hand, and looking at the smashed mechanical pieces, I realized just what it was. My face paled and fear flew through me. Lucy and the others had just walked into a trap. Chastity would know everything, if the feeling that told me this was hers was correct.
I jumped up from under the table, running to the door, frantic to jump in my car and drive to the warehouse as the sound of shattering glass from the living room startled me. I ran into the living room and found an ever-growing cloud of gas being emitted from a small smoke bomb that must have been tossed through the window. Without thinking, I unbolted the front door and ran outside. Just as I cleared the door, a strong, feminine hand grabbed my arm. I turned to my aggressor and saw just enough of my captor to recognize her as she jabbed a needle into my neck. I barely had time to think before I passed out, but I was able to manage one coherent thought: Why was Chastity here?
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Lucy’s POV
“Quick, put in the nose plugs!” Scud instructed hastily. I reached into my small pack in which I was storing Scud’s contraptions and drew out the small gas masks. Janet and I followed directions and Scud put his in as well. I had never really thought that we would need Scud’s gadgets, but we’d have to rely on these for just a bit.
“Don’t even think about opening your mouths, though,” I said, authoritatively. “The gas is lethal and tinted with LSD. Make sure your sleeves are down too. In fact, cover up as much as you can. The LSD is absorbed by the skin.” I drew up the neck of the black turtleneck I was wearing, Janet tightened her sweater around her neck, and Scud rolled down his sleeves.
Once sufficiently bundled up the three of us began to bolt towards the other side of the corridor, eager to get out of this gas. Just as we reached the corner, the next part of the maze, the corridor perpendicular to the one we were just in, began to spray the gas as well.
Just as I was thinking that things could not get worse, three women in white suits with gas masks and automatic pistols began to walk down the pathway towards us. A shot reverberated around the walls, missing all of us, and we grabbed our guns, unlocked the safety and attempted to aim through the thick fog that covered the room.
I let loose a wild shot, unable to aim in the least due to the heavy fog of gas around me. I couldn’t see the women anymore, but by the sound of the bullet colliding with metal, I figured I may have hit something.
“Damn it!” a woman shouted, followed by the sound of the thud of metal landing on the ground. She must have been forced to take off her gas mask. Well, that’s one down, I thought preemptively. Sure enough, after a few seconds spent trying to find positions, the room was filled with petrified screams.
“Oh, my GOD! The bugs, they’re all over me! Someone get them off! Someone!” the woman frantically screamed. Pestilence, I should have guessed-Corleone always had an affinity for the book of Revelations, which was funny for a Communist who didn’t believe in religions.
Another shot echoed in the room and the screaming stopped. Euthanasia was never pleasant, but I guess it had been a better death for her than the slow and painful death the gas would have provided.
Suddenly, the gas turned itself off, and as the fog cleared, I shot towards the first shapes I saw, as did Janet and Scud, judging by the two shots that rang out next to me. The remaining two females fell without getting a shot off, staining the floor with pools of their own blood.
“Come on!” I sibilantly hissed. Scud, Janet and I ran through the remaining corridor and took the left turn at the end of the hall. I was quickly losing sense of direction and had no idea where the hell I was in this death trap.
Attempting to think like Corleone, I reckoned the next trap would be centered around the next horseman of the apocalypse, which, if I remembered what little I actually knew about the Bible, would be War. Shit. War did not sound like a good proposition right now.
Something caught my eye while the three of us were running down the corridor, and I slowed down, holding an extended hand outwards as a signal to Scud and Janet. “Hold on.”
“What’s wrong?” Scud looked at me quizzically.
I withdrew a handful of diamonds from my pocket, where I always kept them on any sort of mission, and rolled them down the hall. Sure enough, various traps set off, a tranquilizer dart firing from a wall, a highly concentrated laser beam firing off just a bit beyond that, and finally a bullet fired seemingly from the wall itself at the end of the corridor.
“Yikes!” exclaimed Janet, wide-eyed. “What’re we going to do here?”
“Ssh,” I hissed. There were sounds coming down the corridor towards us, and if I wasn’t mistaken, the sound was that of running footsteps. I just needed to hear a little bit more to make sure.
“Don’t shush me! Why do you think you’re in charge here?”
“Because I am. Now shut up! Don’t you hear that?”
Janet followed orders this time, albeit with a visibly annoyed look on her face, which faded and gave way to a look of recognition. “Yeah, footsteps, they’re right around the corner.”
I turned around and snuck back behind the corner, motioning for Scud and Janet to follow me. Chances were good that Chastity’s thugs had heard the detonation of the traps and thus expected to find the three of us dead, if not injured. That fact could therefore be used to our advantage.
Just as Janet and Scud turned the corner, four women, recognizable audibly, walked down the corridor. I dared to sneak a peek at the women all dressed in red to find them huddled around the diamonds in wonderment. “Scud, give me the smoke pellet from your gun,” I whispered, turning to Scud. He obliged, pressing the button on his gun to extract the little ball, which he handed to me. I stepped out into the hall with the three goons and threw the pellet in their direction. Quickly thereafter, I used the distraction to extract one of Scud’s exploding pens from my bag, which I hurled in the same area.
Wary of the imminent explosion, I hurriedly took refuge with Scud and Janet behind the adjacent wall. About a second later, the explosion shook the warehouse, and Janet winced as blood flew by, splattering against and staining the wall opposite to the one we were standing behind.
“Hurry,” I told Janet and Scud as I turned the corner and ran towards the end of that corridor. Staying to the outer wall trying to avoid the crater that had surely formed in the floor, I added, “And watch your step.”
Quick-what was after War? I thought, trying to remember my Bible. I had never been entirely religious, even though my mother had taken me to Lutheran churches in my youth. Reaching the end of the corridor, the sight ahead unnerved me and its blackness reminded me of the third horseman: Famine. How Corleone could pull off a trap for Famine was beyond me, but, knowing him, it was all too possible.
“What is that?” Scud asked, apparently wondering the same thing I was.
“No idea,” I replied truthfully. “Guess we’ll just have to find out. I’ve got a bad feeling about this, though.”
Cautiously, Scud, Janet, and I walked towards the enclosed black abyss, as it appeared to us. Just as we cleared the entrance, a glass barrier zoomed up, blocking the exit, only adding to the ominous feeling I was experiencing. Scud and Janet suddenly began bolting to the exit on the other side, obviously sharing in the doomed feeling. Not wanting to wait to see what Corleone had planned for us, I followed them, running as fast as I could. Just as we had almost reached the light on the other side of the tunnel, another glass door flew up, trapping us in. I had no doubt this time that situations could get worse, and true to that belief, a foreboding sound began to reverberate around the room, sounding almost like the sound of a vacuum cleaner, that same kind of sucking sound.
That’s when I realized what was meant by the third horseman here.
“Scud, Janet!” I yelled, my voice already waning in volume. “Put in the rebreathers! Famine’s not about the food! He’s starving us of oxygen!”
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Heidi’s POV
Third defense system-Famine engaged, rang out the monotonous, mechanical voice of the computer.
They were more resourceful than I had given them credit for. I hadn’t expected them to even get past the gas, but now they were on the third horseman. Maybe Chastity had been right about this Lucy Diamond character. She did seem to be quite the adversary. No chance she’d be able to survive the final horseman though. An ambush of quite that magnitude could not be overcome by three people, no matter how trained they were.
I turned to the twenty-three remaining men and women and, being the leader in Chastity’s absence gave them the orders. They were to attack on sight, mercilessly. That was, of course, if the intruders got through Famine.
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Lucy’s POV
Janet, Scud and I quickly put in the mechanical rebreathers, devices that would provide us with oxygen for just about fifteen minutes. Still, they wouldn’t do us any good if we couldn’t get out of this hellhole by that time.
Scud turned the ring on his finger, hoping that the glass-shattering capabilities would work on the door. The door shook, and for a second, I actually thought that it might work. That was, until we realized, as the glass broke and the wall stayed more or less in one piece, that it was shatterproof Plexiglas. Corleone had really thought this all out. Despair and resignation seemed to break out among us as we began to wonder if this would be our grave.
Suddenly, an idea struck me. Not wanting to chance the effects of opening my mouth in an area practically devoid of oxygen, I tapped Scud on the shoulder and pointed to the watches on our wrists. The look of panic and horror that had been present on Scud’s face morphed to a proud look of near-triumph as he drew a box in the air and I nodded, understanding his gesture. He relayed the message to Janet, and we gathered around the glass, aimed our watches, and pulled out the dial to the maximum distance they would go. Three laser beams shot from the watches and hit the glass, melting the glass. Scud stood in the middle between Janet and I, and he aimed his watch at the top of the glass wall, burning a horizontal line in the wall slowly and methodically while Janet and I worked on the two vertical lines connection Scud’s line to the floor.
In about five minutes, the outline of a rectangle had formed in the glass. I stepped up to the wall and gave the glass a kick, losing my balance and nearly falling as the glass toppled to the ground.
Ears popped as air suddenly rushed back into the room, and we removed the rebreathers, able to breath again on our own. The maze ended abruptly, and the rest of the warehouse stood in front of us, with Corleone’s bloody desk still standing as a reminder of the builder of this deathtrap. That wasn’t what caught our collective attentions though. Rather, it was the mass gathering of goons that held our captive attentions. We all drew our Glocks and fired at the goons in green as they surrounded and formed a circle around us. A few fell from the repeated shots, but many did not, their Kevlar vests protecting them. One blonde woman stepped out of the group and stood in front of us. In her hand she held a metal block with a red button protruding from it.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. We can’t have you firing at these guards,” she admonished with a slight German accent as she pressed the button and our guns flew towards an electromagnet above us. So this is it…the final horseman: Death.
“Where’s Chastity?” I demanded.
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” the woman taunted, “especially when she’s got your little playmate.”
My eyes widened with fear as the meaning of her statement was not lost on me. Chastity had Amy. I didn’t know how I was going to get out of here, but I would do anything to get Amy back.
“Alright, Pink Thunder, LeFleurs, draw your weapons, and fire on my count,” the woman commanded, and all around us, the clicks of drawn weapons sounded. Soon we had around twenty or so guns pointed at us. We looked frantically around at one another, but without weapons of our own, we were screwed. “One…two...” She never reached three as an explosion shook the walls around us and smoke poured in from the exit door. All eyes turned towards the newly-formed hole in the wall and an improbable grin formed in my face. I never thought I’d be so glad to see Max Brewer.
“Max?” I asked, “How’d you know?” The answer hit me like a truck, and I turned to Janet, who smiled back at me with a sheepish grin.
“I called her yesterday. Figured we could use the help.”
“Get out of here, Diamond, we’ve got it from here. From aerial surveillance, we found Chastity’s car parked outside the Sagrada Cathedral.” Max was wearing a black combat outfit, and with her stood Dominique and four younger girls. “Danielle, take your squad and let’s take these bitches out! Formation Alpha Chi Omega.”* The circle broke as the goons rushed towards the DEBS and I took my cue to run with them and out the hole unnoticed as they focused on their new adversaries.
Without thought and ignoring both the pounding rain and the sounds of the battle that raged behind me, I ran the half mile to my car and got in, single-mindedly focused on one thing.
Chastity’s messed with the wrong girl. I’m coming Amy, and Chastity’s dead.
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La Sagadra Familia was one of the most brilliant structures both in Barcelona and in all of Spain. It was also the subject of one of the longest construction periods in the world, having begun construction under the famous Catalan architect, Antoni Gaudí in the late 1800’s. It was still incomplete, but that fact only stood to heighten the magnificence of the structure. With eighteen high-rising spires, various sculptures, and three grand façades, the cathedral served both as a magnificent piece of art and architechture as well as a place of worship.
Now, it would be used for the final showdown with Chastity. She would pay dearly if she harmed one hair on Amy’s head.
I reached the cathedral, and, like I had the first time I had viewed the awesome structure, took in the breathtaking height of the building. Knowing Chastity, she would be on the roof of the structure, which immediately gave her an advantage. By the time I had reached the top via the stairs (there was no elevator), she would already have me tired. I was definitely going to have to form a counter-plan, I realized, as I exited my car, and ran through the rain into the cathedral. Once inside, I began my long ascent of the stairs, just trying to think of something…anything that would allow me to get Amy and me out of here in one piece.
Fifteen minutes later, with labored breath, I ran up the final set of stairs to the flat ceiling surrounded by the multiple steeples. There, in the middle of the area stood Chastity, gun drawn and triumph on her face, to her right, tied in ropes, sat Amy. As I stepped out onto the roof, I was once again pelted with the pouring rain, the water soaking through my skin.
“Lucy, something told me you’d find your way here,” Chastity taunted. “As you can see, your girlfriend was eager to make my acquaintance again, so I’ll give you one more chance. Join me, or your DEB here gets it.” Chastity motioned with her gun towards her prisoner. I tore my eyes away from Chastity only for a second and made eye contact with Amy. I winked, in an attempt to silently convey that I had a plan.
If Chastity had two weaknesses, it was her overconfidence and her inability to improvise, and that was what I had decided to prey on as I ran towards her, rage gleaming in my eyes. Halfway to my destination, Chastity brought the gun away from Amy and fixed it on me, instead. Just as she pulled the trigger, I dropped into a baseball-type slide and stuck my leg out, tripping Chastity, and knocking the gun from her hand to just a couple feet from Amy. Before she was able to recover I aimed the watch and the laser at Amy’s ropes. Even in the pouring rain, the laser cut through the ropes and in a few seconds, she was free.
Amy shook off the ropes and, just as Chastity stood up, her nose bloody, and searched for her gun, reached out and snagged the gun. With one deft move she emptied the clip. That's my girl.
“How’re you doing?” I asked Amy.
“Not so good,” she replied, visibly wincing from the pain that stemmed from her recent surgery. “Do you have your gun?”
I knew I forgot something! My gun was still in the warehouse, attached to the magnet and I hadn’t thought of bringing another one. “No, I guess we’re going to have to settle this old-school then. No weapons.”
Chastity wiped blood away from her mouth. “You two really think you can handle me? I murdered the greatest criminal in the last twenty years and you think you can kill me?” she laughed mockingly.
Amy and I didn’t answer her, letting our actions do the talking as we dropped down into our martial arts stances. I had been taught various martial arts styles during childhood because my father had wanted to ensure that I could protect myself. During training with Amy, Kenpo, the Americanized style of Kung-Fu, had really surpassed any other style, mainly because Amy was the most proficient at that style. Amy and I stood, knees bent, our right legs a step behind our lefts, arms bent and fists up in guard in front of our faces. The rain continued to pour, and water was dripping off our faces, making it difficult to see too far in front of us.
“Alright, I guess you’ll both have to learn the hard way,” Chastity dropped down into a similar stance. If I remembered right, Chastity was a big advocate of Judo, and we had to be wary, Judo was a style with very few weaknesses if executed correctly.
Amy and I began an almost rhythmic circling around Chastity, waiting for someone to make the first move. The first rule they teach you about fighting two people is to always keep both of them in front of you, so then the opposite would have to be true if you were fighting with a partner against someone, right?
Eventually, with Chastity pivoting every now and then, I decided to make the first move, stepping forward and jabbing with my left hand, which I followed up with a right-handed punch. Chastity parried the jab with her right hand and turned her body to the side, avoiding the punch. That was when I noticed her left arm, which was staying motionless beside her body. Remembering hearing Amy mention breaking the arm, I recognized it now as Chastity’s biggest weakness.
With an uncanny ability to seemingly read my thoughts, Chastity countered, “Nice battle scar huh? Your bitch gave it to me, and she’ll pay for it. I CAN still beat you with one hand, though.”
She took the initiative to fire a back kick into Amy’s sternum, knocking her off-balance. Before I had time to fully react, Chastity snaked out her right arm to Amy’s stomach and swept Amy’s legs with her leg, knocking Amy onto the concrete. The back of Amy’s head slammed hard against the floor, and as I watched in horror, she lay on the ground, motionless, but breathing.
“Amy!” I called out, hoping she could hear me. “AMY!”
“Don’t worry, Lucy, you won’t need her after I’m done with you. Once I’m finished, your girlfriend will be joining you in hell.”
“Not if I can help it,” I replied, and began to fire a flurry of strikes at Chastity. Punches, roundhouse kicks, arcing crescent kicks and backhands flew, and were brushed or parried aside. Damn, this girl could fight without the use of her arm? She’s playing with me…I know it.
Out of desperation, I grabbed hold of Chastity’s shoulders, attempting to grapple with her. She returned the favor, and soon her hands were upon my shoulders. I pushed with all my might, contorting my face with the effort. Looking at Chastity, the same look of hatred and lunacy that was present earlier was still there. She was just toying with me. Suddenly, she pivoted to her right and pushed hard against my neck with her right arm, using her hip to knock me off balance and throw me to the ground-the Tsuri Goshi throw.
Before I could even think about getting up and onto my feet Chastity pounced on top of me, pinning my arms down with her knees. As the rain continued its torrid descent she began a no-holds barred assault on my face, slapping me with the back of her hand to start. She punched my face into the concrete a few times, busting my lip and making me feel a bit woozy and light-headed. This would be the end.
She grabbed my head by the hair, and pulled up my head into the air. I spat into her face and she slammed my head down onto the concrete.
“Sorry to do this, but I never fight fair,” Chastity said, reaching into a sheath around her waist and pulling out a long machete. She grabbed hold of my forehead and forcibly turned my head sideways against the ground, exposing my neck and jugular vein, above which she held the knife. “It’s such a shame to kill you. We could have ruled the world together.”
My vision was beginning to get blurry, and I lay on the verge of consciousness. I shut my eyes tight, waiting for the sting of metal tearing through my skin. To my surprise, the sound of a gunshot pierced the air, I felt wet blood and tissue splatter onto my face, and Chastity’s pressure on me suddenly decreased. Daring to open my eyes for a second, I saw a sight that confounded me. Who had pulled the trigger? Chastity lay on the ground, still half on top of me, a hole in the side of her head.
Smelling the fresh carnage, my stomach turned, and I threw up, heaving to the side, vomit seeping through my hair as I passed out, fading into blackness.
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Well I never pray
But tonight I'm on my knees, yeah
I need to hear some sounds that recognize the pain in me, yeah
I let the melody shine, let it cleanse my mind, I feel free now
But the airways are clean and there's nobody singing to me now
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So, now…just who shot Chastity? Was Amy awake and if so, how did she get a gun? If it wasn’t her…who could it possibly have been?
Oh, and in case you were wondering, La Sagrada Familia is a real cathedral, that has been in construction since the late 1800's. Here's a picture.
~Dan
Next Chapter - ( Chapter 16: Loose Ends )