Back to GatefoldIssue #15 by John Cheese
December 2017 |
“Lines Once Crossed”
The walls of the temple shook as Lodestone slammed the RAID Gunship into the stone and ice façade, before bringing back her massive battering ram back and bringing it in for another assault. Standing further back, the others finished tying the hands of the opposing mercenaries before bundling them into what remained of the C21. The cargo plane was barely skeletal with not enough bulk to be an effective ram, making the use of the gunship even more desperate. In short once the temple walls came down there would be no escape from the icy wasteland they stood in.
“One more should do it!” Lodestone groaned as she brought the gunship back and slammed it into the rock, the stone cracking to reveal the inside of the temple.
“We move fast and hit hard.” Gillette stated, as Chemistro removed the safety of Firefight’s assault rifle and Makro slipped into a winter coat. “Secure Cross and take out the other guy.” She ordered as the villains surged through the crack in the stone and into the temple. Making it across the remains of the atrium, they came to a stop as they saw Crossfire, his arm merged with the alter, strangling a perfect doppelganger with his free hand.
“New plan, boss?” Spear asked.
“Get him, he’s the mole!” Both Crossfire’s snapped as Shockwave cocked his head and looked over to Makro.
“Stereo Crossfires…great.” Gillette sighed. “Separate them.” She ordered, as Shockwave surged forward and threw the strangled Crossfire to one side before picking up the other one and throwing him in the opposite direction.
“Okay, done, so how do we find the mole?” Shockwave asked as the villains split up with Spear and Chemisto restraining one of the men and Lodestone and Makro did likewise with his facsimile.
“First, we need to restrain them, and then…I don’t know, maybe my hypnosis and Makro’s living lie detector routine.” Gillette suggested as Lodestone reached out with her powers and stapled the Crossfire she was restraining with one of the gunship’s engine covers before doing the same with the other one.
“Problem with that is they both know how to lie.” Chemistro grunted as the Crossfire next to him tried to grab the assault rifle he was holding. “Can you guarantee that you can get the truth out of either of them?” He asked, as Lodestone pulled more debris to further restrain the Crossfires. As she did Spear grabbed something as it slid past and brought it to chest level before letting out a snort as he realised what he held.
“Hey, this is the thing we snagged for Bain.” He stated as he showed the canon like device to the others. “Isn’t this thing a teleporter or something?”
“Among other things, can’t believe Razorfist and I fought you over this thing back at the beginning Shockwave snorted. “Hell if I knew it would end like this I would have let him gut you boss.” He said to Crossfire.
“I’m glad you didn’t let him kill me all things considered.” The Crossfire by Spear and Chemistro stated as the others looked down at him, evil grins and sneers on their face. “What?”
“You’ve revealed yourself.” Gillette stated as Spear delivered a kick to the faux Crossfire’s head, his face sparking out to reveal a featureless green mask.
“With the mole dealt with, can you please release me.” Crossfire hissed angrily, only for his cybernetic eye to shoot out of its socket and land gently in Lodestone’s hand. Seconds later Makro’s fingers were round his eyes, forcing it to remain open as Gillette’s eyes flashed red. Almost immediately he felt the blood vessels in his nose burst as a psychic onslaught slammed into his memory centre, Gillette was going for a brute force option, a blunt but effective tactic against any mental defences he could erect to protect his brain.
“What the hell is happening here!?” Gillette asked.
“The plan.” Crossfire replied, as he realised that despite the power behind the psychic attack he had been left enough wiggle room to evade any real answers.
“What is the plan?” Gillette asked, as Crossfire’s real eye popped slightly.
“Blackmail the world with ecological terrorism.” Crossfire grunted, as he began to feel psychic tentacles being to snake round the edges of his mental barricade.
“Tell me how to stop it!?” Gillette hissed, as she sent a second psychic probe in, this one low and sneaking as it used the destruction of the first onslaught to mask its presence.
“It already is.” Crossfire replied as he let the psychic onslaught blow through his initial defences only for it to slam into a second more well prepared wall of mental resilience.
“Then tell me what this was all a cover for!?” Gillette hissed, as her second psychic probe slithered under Crossfire’s mental guard and coiled off to one side as her initial mental onslaught was reinforced and began to tear away the mental resilience apart mental brick by brick.
“Now why would I tell you that?” Crossfire asked, his mental defences sprouting spikes and impaling her psychic onslaught. Grunting slightly, Gillette sprung her serpentine probe directly at Crossfire, only for a cerebral hand to grab the tentacle and crush it with ease. “You’ll need more power then that.” Crossfire stated calmly as the psychic backlash caused Gillette to stumble, blood rushing from her nose and ears. “You’re suffering aren’t you? Return to my service and maybe I’ll tell you.”
“Never!!” Gillette snapped as she shook off the backlash. “I’ll never serve you again!!”
“Make that we’ll never serve you again.” Shockwave replied as he walked over to Crossfire and placed a gauntleted hand on the mercenary’s face. “Now tell me what Gillette wants to know and add in how to release your slaves.”
“Brute force is not going to help you.” Crossfire replied before he received an electrical shock that left a hand shaped burn across his face. Drawing his hand back Shockwave landed a heavy blow to his victims chest, the blow causing Crossfire to black out for a few moments before a sharp pain brought him round as Spear joined the attack and slammed one of his projectiles through the ligaments between his knee and tibia.
“Tell me!” Shockwave ordered, as Crossfire held back a scream of pain. Pushing past the others Lodestone held out her hand and removed the spear before pushing his attackers with a small magnetic pulse.
“That’s enough, we won’t get an answer from him like this.” Lodestone stated as Crossfire sneered at his former underlings. “And we have a problem no one else thought about. This alter,” She said gesturing at the alter Crossfire had been using, “is not something we want to leave for everyone else to use.”
“She’s right.” Chemistro sighed. “Just a shame we have no explosive left.”
“So let’s get some, we have the portal gun.” Spear replied.
“It’s called a Quantum Destabilizer Canon.” Gillette announced before cursing out loud and took the Quantum Destabilizer Canon from Spear and aimed it at the alter before pulling the trigger, the singularity it fired vaporising the alter and the rock around it. “Let’s go, there’s no reason to stay here any longer.” She added as Spear slipped a bag over Crossfires head and stepped back as Lodestone dragged Crossfire to his feet. “Anyone have a destination in mind” Gillette asked as she adjusted the settings of the canon.
“I know a place.” Shockwave stated as Gillette pulled the trigger and the villains were swallowed up by a singularity before it imploded in on itself.
# # # # #
Volos, Greece
Crossfire felt the hard seat of a chain and the tug of ropes being tied round his hands before with a dim flash, the bag placed over his head was removed to reveal a small room, dimly lit by a naked bulb with barely enough wattage to light the room let alone dispel the shadows that clung to the corners of the room. Blinking slightly from the adjustment to the brightness, he heard a finger click and glowered up into the burning red eyes of Gillette.
“Okay let’s try this again.” Gillette hissed, as she bent down to be at eyelevel with her prisoner. “What was this all about?”
“What did it look like it was all about.” Crossfire replied a grim smile on his face as he stared down the Headhunter. “Money, fame and recognition. That’s what all these villainous groupings are about is it not?”
“And your words meant to be believable?” Gillette asked. “The blackmail, that was a bonus or a cover or something, but none of us believe that was the ultimate objective of our trip to Antarctica. Now tell me, tell us what you needed us for!”
“My amusement mostly.” Crossfire replied as he looked past Gillette to where Lodestone was standing, his gaze causing her to shift uncomfortably. “I would be more concerned with what you do next. You aided and abetted me, you and your families are practically dead men walking. And while I know you don’t particularly care about anyone outside of this building, there are those among you who still have ties outside.” He stated as he turned his gaze onto Spear, the marksman shaking his head, his hand gripping his sidearm tightly.
“Enough, he’s not going to tell us anything more than what he wants to.” Shockwave stated as he put a hand on Gillette’s shoulder. “He was CIA and likely trained to resist any kind of interrogation over short periods, and like he says we are enemies with the entire world and allies with none of it.”
“I guess,” Gillette sighed, “Makro can you watch him for a bit, I don’t trust him not to try and wiggle his way out of this.” She stated, the Japanese assassin nodding as she drew the kama strapped to her left leg and crossed it across her chest. Leading the others into the next room, the boarded shutters letting in one a few daggers of the light outside, and shining a prison bar like pattern against the backwall. “Andrea, Daniels, as much as I loathe to admit it, Cross is right, the pair of you still have families. You need to protect them, and whatever that is I support it.”
“I think being near Jimmy is the last thing I need. Hopefully that will be a good enough defence.” Lodestone stated as she ran her human arm up its black skeletal counterpart, not daring to look at the others. “But my other child, my Oriana, what if the Baron or the Jaguar or that Spider Freak decide to punish her for my mistakes…I have to find her, have to save her.”
(The events that relate to Oriana’s conception and birth are covered in Villains for Hire #4-5 and #9-11)
“I can’t begin to say I know how you feel, but I understand why you feel it.” Gillette replied as she walked over to Andrea and held her hand out. “If you need us, just call no matter what it is.”
“And the same to you.” Lodestone replied as she took Gillette’s hand gripped it in solidarity. “I just wish things could have turned out better but at least Oriana is going to have four really cool aunts and uncles when I find her.” She added as she turned to Chemistro and gave him a hug. “And one kick butt godfather.” She added as he hugged her back. “Thank you for making me realise that being Andrea is just as good as being Lodestone.”
“No problem.” Chemistro replied. “Now get going before we all start crying. I mean we can’t be the ‘Frightful Five’ with six people after all.” He added, as Lodestone smiled before bending down and picked up one of the bags lying against the backwall and headed for the door, pausing slightly before exiting the room and heading out into the night.
“Is it weird that I’m going to miss her despite how mean she was?” Spear asked as he stretched his arms above his head.
“No I don’t think it is.” Gillette replied as she looked into the room where Makro and Crossfire were situated. “I take it that means that your staying?” She asked before Shockwave pushed past her and walked over to Makro. “What is it Sneed?”
“I need to talk to Makro in private.” Shockwave replied as the pair of them headed out the door. Nodding Gillette watched the pair of them leave through the same door that Lodestone had just left through.
# # # # #
Reaching the barrier running along the harbour, Sneed and Makro looked out at the lights on the other side for a minute, the cold costal wind blowing a light mist towards the shore. Neither spoke for a further minute, the sound of the sea the only noise penetrating the quiet.
“You don’t look happy.” Sneed stated bluntly.
“I’m not unhappy, I just feel like I’m looking down another road to the rest of you.” Makro replied as she gripped onto the banister. “I would love to stay, but I would be going in the wrong direction.”
“Well what road do we walk down then?” Sneed asked as he reached out to take her hand only for Makro to withdraw it.
“Not us, just me.” Makro told him as she stared at Sneed, tears in her eyes. “I need to go home, and then back to Japan and finish what we started when we defeated the Nautilus. He may receive justice, but the people who stood behind him, those who lure the girls away from their families are still free.”
“Sounds noble.” Sneed commented as Makro walked forward and ran two fingers along the scars on his face. “I could use a change doing something worthwhile.” He added as the mist rolled in and obscured his vision for a few seconds. In that brief moment of blindness, he felt a woman kiss him on the forehead, but by the time the mist had dissipated Makro was gone. Normally he would have cursed and spat, but this time Sneed remined still and quiet for what felt like an age, before heading back inside to where the others were clustered around the bound form of Crossfire. “Looks like its going to be the Frightful Four.” He announced as went and got his bag from the other room/
“No offence guys but er I don’t think we’re frightful enough.” Spear stated as he looked down at the Yellow Cat T-Shirt he wore. “How about the all new, all awesome Fantastic Four.”
“I can get behind that.” Gillette stated as she placed Crossfire’s cybernetic eye on the floor. “Lost chance Cross, tell us what we need to know.”
“I’m sure you’ll figure it out.” Crossfire replied.
“Let’s go, this isn’t worth it anymore.” Gillette announced as she picked up her bag. “He isn’t worth it anymore.”
As the others left the room, their shoulders sagging and their egos deflated, Gillette stole one last glance at Crossfire and shook her head. The man she had so willingly followed to that RAID base all that time ago was unrecognisable, besides the bruising and scars he had received something about that now unoccupied hollow eye-socket staring back at her made him seem pathetic, almost a figure of fun and hardly a danger. Coughing slightly, she took her glasses off and made to speak only to be cut off by the bound villain.
“I have no regrets.” Crossfire coughed, a few drops of blood leaking out of the side of his mouth.
“Goodbye, William.” Gillette stated coldly as she turned and walked away, not daring to look back least a moment of weakness wash over her and force her hands to removed the bindings and help the stricken man out of what would likely become his tomb. Closing the door the room was quiet for a minute before the door handled twisted and opened a shadowy figure standing just out of the illumination of the dim bulb.
“You’re late.” Crossfire stated. “Still I suppose I should be glad you came all things considered. As you can see my plan worked perfectly and we’re ready to proceed with part two.” He added, the figure in the doorway unmoving. “First I need to know, did you secure the data?”
A green light flashed somewhere where the figures face would be and Crossfire smiled. “Good, and do you know your part in all this?”
Another flash of green light.
“And you are willing to do it?”
A further flash of light confirmed his suspicions.
“And do you have any reserves on the first step that needs to be taken?”
This time the response was a flash of red light and Crossfire’s smile faded away. “No I thought you wouldn’t.” He sighed as the bulb above him began to flicker and the figure in the doorway took a step forward, the flickering light revealing a white hand moving towards a holster on his or her waist.
“Any words to mark this occasion?” Crossfire asked as the light finally faded, plunging the room into darkness.
“Justice is Served!!” The figure stated in a voice filtered by high tech computerised software, the words accompanied by a single gunshot and then the sound of feet retreating into the darkness.
“One more should do it!” Lodestone groaned as she brought the gunship back and slammed it into the rock, the stone cracking to reveal the inside of the temple.
“We move fast and hit hard.” Gillette stated, as Chemistro removed the safety of Firefight’s assault rifle and Makro slipped into a winter coat. “Secure Cross and take out the other guy.” She ordered as the villains surged through the crack in the stone and into the temple. Making it across the remains of the atrium, they came to a stop as they saw Crossfire, his arm merged with the alter, strangling a perfect doppelganger with his free hand.
“New plan, boss?” Spear asked.
“Get him, he’s the mole!” Both Crossfire’s snapped as Shockwave cocked his head and looked over to Makro.
“Stereo Crossfires…great.” Gillette sighed. “Separate them.” She ordered, as Shockwave surged forward and threw the strangled Crossfire to one side before picking up the other one and throwing him in the opposite direction.
“Okay, done, so how do we find the mole?” Shockwave asked as the villains split up with Spear and Chemisto restraining one of the men and Lodestone and Makro did likewise with his facsimile.
“First, we need to restrain them, and then…I don’t know, maybe my hypnosis and Makro’s living lie detector routine.” Gillette suggested as Lodestone reached out with her powers and stapled the Crossfire she was restraining with one of the gunship’s engine covers before doing the same with the other one.
“Problem with that is they both know how to lie.” Chemistro grunted as the Crossfire next to him tried to grab the assault rifle he was holding. “Can you guarantee that you can get the truth out of either of them?” He asked, as Lodestone pulled more debris to further restrain the Crossfires. As she did Spear grabbed something as it slid past and brought it to chest level before letting out a snort as he realised what he held.
“Hey, this is the thing we snagged for Bain.” He stated as he showed the canon like device to the others. “Isn’t this thing a teleporter or something?”
“Among other things, can’t believe Razorfist and I fought you over this thing back at the beginning Shockwave snorted. “Hell if I knew it would end like this I would have let him gut you boss.” He said to Crossfire.
“I’m glad you didn’t let him kill me all things considered.” The Crossfire by Spear and Chemistro stated as the others looked down at him, evil grins and sneers on their face. “What?”
“You’ve revealed yourself.” Gillette stated as Spear delivered a kick to the faux Crossfire’s head, his face sparking out to reveal a featureless green mask.
“With the mole dealt with, can you please release me.” Crossfire hissed angrily, only for his cybernetic eye to shoot out of its socket and land gently in Lodestone’s hand. Seconds later Makro’s fingers were round his eyes, forcing it to remain open as Gillette’s eyes flashed red. Almost immediately he felt the blood vessels in his nose burst as a psychic onslaught slammed into his memory centre, Gillette was going for a brute force option, a blunt but effective tactic against any mental defences he could erect to protect his brain.
“What the hell is happening here!?” Gillette asked.
“The plan.” Crossfire replied, as he realised that despite the power behind the psychic attack he had been left enough wiggle room to evade any real answers.
“What is the plan?” Gillette asked, as Crossfire’s real eye popped slightly.
“Blackmail the world with ecological terrorism.” Crossfire grunted, as he began to feel psychic tentacles being to snake round the edges of his mental barricade.
“Tell me how to stop it!?” Gillette hissed, as she sent a second psychic probe in, this one low and sneaking as it used the destruction of the first onslaught to mask its presence.
“It already is.” Crossfire replied as he let the psychic onslaught blow through his initial defences only for it to slam into a second more well prepared wall of mental resilience.
“Then tell me what this was all a cover for!?” Gillette hissed, as her second psychic probe slithered under Crossfire’s mental guard and coiled off to one side as her initial mental onslaught was reinforced and began to tear away the mental resilience apart mental brick by brick.
“Now why would I tell you that?” Crossfire asked, his mental defences sprouting spikes and impaling her psychic onslaught. Grunting slightly, Gillette sprung her serpentine probe directly at Crossfire, only for a cerebral hand to grab the tentacle and crush it with ease. “You’ll need more power then that.” Crossfire stated calmly as the psychic backlash caused Gillette to stumble, blood rushing from her nose and ears. “You’re suffering aren’t you? Return to my service and maybe I’ll tell you.”
“Never!!” Gillette snapped as she shook off the backlash. “I’ll never serve you again!!”
“Make that we’ll never serve you again.” Shockwave replied as he walked over to Crossfire and placed a gauntleted hand on the mercenary’s face. “Now tell me what Gillette wants to know and add in how to release your slaves.”
“Brute force is not going to help you.” Crossfire replied before he received an electrical shock that left a hand shaped burn across his face. Drawing his hand back Shockwave landed a heavy blow to his victims chest, the blow causing Crossfire to black out for a few moments before a sharp pain brought him round as Spear joined the attack and slammed one of his projectiles through the ligaments between his knee and tibia.
“Tell me!” Shockwave ordered, as Crossfire held back a scream of pain. Pushing past the others Lodestone held out her hand and removed the spear before pushing his attackers with a small magnetic pulse.
“That’s enough, we won’t get an answer from him like this.” Lodestone stated as Crossfire sneered at his former underlings. “And we have a problem no one else thought about. This alter,” She said gesturing at the alter Crossfire had been using, “is not something we want to leave for everyone else to use.”
“She’s right.” Chemistro sighed. “Just a shame we have no explosive left.”
“So let’s get some, we have the portal gun.” Spear replied.
“It’s called a Quantum Destabilizer Canon.” Gillette announced before cursing out loud and took the Quantum Destabilizer Canon from Spear and aimed it at the alter before pulling the trigger, the singularity it fired vaporising the alter and the rock around it. “Let’s go, there’s no reason to stay here any longer.” She added as Spear slipped a bag over Crossfires head and stepped back as Lodestone dragged Crossfire to his feet. “Anyone have a destination in mind” Gillette asked as she adjusted the settings of the canon.
“I know a place.” Shockwave stated as Gillette pulled the trigger and the villains were swallowed up by a singularity before it imploded in on itself.
# # # # #
Volos, Greece
Crossfire felt the hard seat of a chain and the tug of ropes being tied round his hands before with a dim flash, the bag placed over his head was removed to reveal a small room, dimly lit by a naked bulb with barely enough wattage to light the room let alone dispel the shadows that clung to the corners of the room. Blinking slightly from the adjustment to the brightness, he heard a finger click and glowered up into the burning red eyes of Gillette.
“Okay let’s try this again.” Gillette hissed, as she bent down to be at eyelevel with her prisoner. “What was this all about?”
“What did it look like it was all about.” Crossfire replied a grim smile on his face as he stared down the Headhunter. “Money, fame and recognition. That’s what all these villainous groupings are about is it not?”
“And your words meant to be believable?” Gillette asked. “The blackmail, that was a bonus or a cover or something, but none of us believe that was the ultimate objective of our trip to Antarctica. Now tell me, tell us what you needed us for!”
“My amusement mostly.” Crossfire replied as he looked past Gillette to where Lodestone was standing, his gaze causing her to shift uncomfortably. “I would be more concerned with what you do next. You aided and abetted me, you and your families are practically dead men walking. And while I know you don’t particularly care about anyone outside of this building, there are those among you who still have ties outside.” He stated as he turned his gaze onto Spear, the marksman shaking his head, his hand gripping his sidearm tightly.
“Enough, he’s not going to tell us anything more than what he wants to.” Shockwave stated as he put a hand on Gillette’s shoulder. “He was CIA and likely trained to resist any kind of interrogation over short periods, and like he says we are enemies with the entire world and allies with none of it.”
“I guess,” Gillette sighed, “Makro can you watch him for a bit, I don’t trust him not to try and wiggle his way out of this.” She stated, the Japanese assassin nodding as she drew the kama strapped to her left leg and crossed it across her chest. Leading the others into the next room, the boarded shutters letting in one a few daggers of the light outside, and shining a prison bar like pattern against the backwall. “Andrea, Daniels, as much as I loathe to admit it, Cross is right, the pair of you still have families. You need to protect them, and whatever that is I support it.”
“I think being near Jimmy is the last thing I need. Hopefully that will be a good enough defence.” Lodestone stated as she ran her human arm up its black skeletal counterpart, not daring to look at the others. “But my other child, my Oriana, what if the Baron or the Jaguar or that Spider Freak decide to punish her for my mistakes…I have to find her, have to save her.”
(The events that relate to Oriana’s conception and birth are covered in Villains for Hire #4-5 and #9-11)
“I can’t begin to say I know how you feel, but I understand why you feel it.” Gillette replied as she walked over to Andrea and held her hand out. “If you need us, just call no matter what it is.”
“And the same to you.” Lodestone replied as she took Gillette’s hand gripped it in solidarity. “I just wish things could have turned out better but at least Oriana is going to have four really cool aunts and uncles when I find her.” She added as she turned to Chemistro and gave him a hug. “And one kick butt godfather.” She added as he hugged her back. “Thank you for making me realise that being Andrea is just as good as being Lodestone.”
“No problem.” Chemistro replied. “Now get going before we all start crying. I mean we can’t be the ‘Frightful Five’ with six people after all.” He added, as Lodestone smiled before bending down and picked up one of the bags lying against the backwall and headed for the door, pausing slightly before exiting the room and heading out into the night.
“Is it weird that I’m going to miss her despite how mean she was?” Spear asked as he stretched his arms above his head.
“No I don’t think it is.” Gillette replied as she looked into the room where Makro and Crossfire were situated. “I take it that means that your staying?” She asked before Shockwave pushed past her and walked over to Makro. “What is it Sneed?”
“I need to talk to Makro in private.” Shockwave replied as the pair of them headed out the door. Nodding Gillette watched the pair of them leave through the same door that Lodestone had just left through.
# # # # #
Reaching the barrier running along the harbour, Sneed and Makro looked out at the lights on the other side for a minute, the cold costal wind blowing a light mist towards the shore. Neither spoke for a further minute, the sound of the sea the only noise penetrating the quiet.
“You don’t look happy.” Sneed stated bluntly.
“I’m not unhappy, I just feel like I’m looking down another road to the rest of you.” Makro replied as she gripped onto the banister. “I would love to stay, but I would be going in the wrong direction.”
“Well what road do we walk down then?” Sneed asked as he reached out to take her hand only for Makro to withdraw it.
“Not us, just me.” Makro told him as she stared at Sneed, tears in her eyes. “I need to go home, and then back to Japan and finish what we started when we defeated the Nautilus. He may receive justice, but the people who stood behind him, those who lure the girls away from their families are still free.”
“Sounds noble.” Sneed commented as Makro walked forward and ran two fingers along the scars on his face. “I could use a change doing something worthwhile.” He added as the mist rolled in and obscured his vision for a few seconds. In that brief moment of blindness, he felt a woman kiss him on the forehead, but by the time the mist had dissipated Makro was gone. Normally he would have cursed and spat, but this time Sneed remined still and quiet for what felt like an age, before heading back inside to where the others were clustered around the bound form of Crossfire. “Looks like its going to be the Frightful Four.” He announced as went and got his bag from the other room/
“No offence guys but er I don’t think we’re frightful enough.” Spear stated as he looked down at the Yellow Cat T-Shirt he wore. “How about the all new, all awesome Fantastic Four.”
“I can get behind that.” Gillette stated as she placed Crossfire’s cybernetic eye on the floor. “Lost chance Cross, tell us what we need to know.”
“I’m sure you’ll figure it out.” Crossfire replied.
“Let’s go, this isn’t worth it anymore.” Gillette announced as she picked up her bag. “He isn’t worth it anymore.”
As the others left the room, their shoulders sagging and their egos deflated, Gillette stole one last glance at Crossfire and shook her head. The man she had so willingly followed to that RAID base all that time ago was unrecognisable, besides the bruising and scars he had received something about that now unoccupied hollow eye-socket staring back at her made him seem pathetic, almost a figure of fun and hardly a danger. Coughing slightly, she took her glasses off and made to speak only to be cut off by the bound villain.
“I have no regrets.” Crossfire coughed, a few drops of blood leaking out of the side of his mouth.
“Goodbye, William.” Gillette stated coldly as she turned and walked away, not daring to look back least a moment of weakness wash over her and force her hands to removed the bindings and help the stricken man out of what would likely become his tomb. Closing the door the room was quiet for a minute before the door handled twisted and opened a shadowy figure standing just out of the illumination of the dim bulb.
“You’re late.” Crossfire stated. “Still I suppose I should be glad you came all things considered. As you can see my plan worked perfectly and we’re ready to proceed with part two.” He added, the figure in the doorway unmoving. “First I need to know, did you secure the data?”
A green light flashed somewhere where the figures face would be and Crossfire smiled. “Good, and do you know your part in all this?”
Another flash of green light.
“And you are willing to do it?”
A further flash of light confirmed his suspicions.
“And do you have any reserves on the first step that needs to be taken?”
This time the response was a flash of red light and Crossfire’s smile faded away. “No I thought you wouldn’t.” He sighed as the bulb above him began to flicker and the figure in the doorway took a step forward, the flickering light revealing a white hand moving towards a holster on his or her waist.
“Any words to mark this occasion?” Crossfire asked as the light finally faded, plunging the room into darkness.
“Justice is Served!!” The figure stated in a voice filtered by high tech computerised software, the words accompanied by a single gunshot and then the sound of feet retreating into the darkness.