<Episode 6>
Rachel stood just inside the fence watching as Jack changed back. He just stood there watching the remains of the frog. She had called the command center and followed them into the lot. Rachel caught most of the fight and reported it to Heather. She didn’t say it out loud but Rachel heard it in her voice, there could be hell to pay for this one. She turned off the phone and walked toward him. Jack looked startled when he saw her, like he didn’t even know she was there.
“This day just went to hell,” he said.
“We better get back to World Inc.”, she told him, “there’s going be some questions about what just happened. I’m not sure what Mr. Anderson is going to say about this.”
“What’s he gonna do, take me to the woodshed?”
“We better go.”
“Yeah you don’t know when I’m going to set another one off.” He started to walk out there but he stopped at the fence. “I gave him a chance to walk away.”
“I heard. I wish he took it.”
“So do I.” they exited the lot and hurried across the street.
“I didn’t think you take on a green that quickly,” she told him.
“What, none of the greens are that violent or something?”
“Some are.”
Jack stopped as soon as they reached the sidewalk. “You’re leaving something out.”
“It’s a rumor I heard, nothing that’s been confirmed.” He just stood there waiting for an answer. “I heard something about the green being trained to fight along with the reds. In some case they’re actually better than the reds.”
“So there’re some warrior kings walking around?”
“Possibly,” she admitted.
“Oy,” Jack said while turning around. “This day just keeps getting better and better.”
“I’ll see what I can dig up when we get back.”
Before going on he turned just enough to look at her. “Is there anything else I should be knowing at this point?”
“No,” she said quickly. Something about the way he looked at her said he didn’t believe her. Jack apparently decided to let it drop walked off. Lucky for her, but now she was wondering when he was going to bring it back up.
***
Jack found himself back in Anderson’s office. They just sat there staring at each other. Rachel, Heather and Allen sat there with a couple of others he didn’t recognize. Outside of Allen’s ramblings nobody said anything, not that he was paying him any attention. There was something in Anderson gaze that was making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.
The effect, whatever it was, ended when Allen slammed his hand on top of the desk. Everybody but Anderson reacted in some way. “What the hell were you thinking?!”, he yelled. “Going out hunting and killing Drakan on your own.”
“We didn’t go hunting Drakan,” Rachel answered. “The Drakan found us.”
“So that gave you the right to take it out without authorization?”
“Jack was worried about our description floating around the Drakan community.”
“Why aren’t you answering anything Davidson?”
“Why?”, he asked innocently. “She’s doing a good job of it.”
“You think you’re funny don’t you?” Allen leaned foreword and got in his face. “Does it look like I’m laughing? Does it look like I’m happy? Do any of us here look happy? In fact I want you to tell me one thing you did today that made anybody even remotely happy.”
“The guy at the bank looked pretty happy when I gave him the checks.” The look on Allen face was priceless as he stammered for a response. Jack gave him a slight smirk as Rachel put a hand over her mouth. He wasn’t sure but he thought he saw a small smile on Anderson that quickly went away.
Allen recovered his composure after a moment, “Let’s see how funny you think you are after we cancel those checks.”
“We are not going to be doing that,” Anderson finally said.
“What else can we do to make him learn?”, Allen complained.
“He earned that money,” Anderson told him. Jack felt uneasy at that thought. “There’s no point in denying him that.”
“Well he’s not getting paid for this one,” Allen insisted.
“Of course not, it wasn’t an official assignment.” Oh yeah, like that really hurt. “But we still need to address this situation.”
“We can’t let this guy be a loose cannon on the streets.”
“With this crap again.” Jack leaned foreword this time. “Alright smart guy, let me ask you something. What are the chances that I’ll pass a Drakan in disguise and he doesn’t get a whiff of me?” Allen didn’t look at him. “That’s what I thought.”
“This does put us in a difficult situation,” Anderson said.
“What do you mean ‘us’?”, he demanded.
“Jack…,” Rachel started.
“No. I’m the one who has to walk down the street wondering if somebody is going to get pissed off and turn into a monster.”
“Mr. Davidson, please relax. I understand your dilemma. I have R&D working on something counteract the Drakan blood as we speak.”
“Really?”, that was a little out of the blue
“After your encounter with the spider I thought it could present a problem.”
Jack looked at Rachel, “You knew about this?”
“I never informed Miss Haily of the project. I didn’t want to disappoint you if we couldn’t find anything to counteract it.”
“I’m sure you didn’t,” Jack said. Anderson cocked an eyebrow at his statement. Jack glanced over to Allen, hoping he would say something. He didn’t.
“Well,†Anderson said, “I for one consider the matter closed. I’m sure you have things to do to get ready for your move.”
“Yeah, the few pieces of clothing I own are going to take hours to pack.” Anderson did smile this time. Those hairs started to stand again. He and Rachel stood up and left the office and headed for the elevator. “Interesting meeting.”
“It went better than I thought it was going to,†she said. “I was positive both our butts were going to be in a sling in there. We got lucky this time.”
“Maybe, but it does make you wonder how much they’re keeping from you doesn’t it?” Rachel looked at him and quickly turned away. Yup, it really made you wonder.
***
It wasn’t long before Allen and Anderson were the only ones in the office. Allen had quickly opened a window and was breathing deep the moment the last person had left. Anderson was slightly amused watching him. Finally Allen said, “How can you stand being in the same room as him?”
“With some of the people I’ve dealt with I’ve grown somewhat accustomed to it. I’ll admit it’s still somewhat maddening at times.”
“I’m just glad you have R&D working on the smell.”
“I’ve had Drakan and human scientists working on it for the past year.” Allen stepped away from the window looking confused. “Our assassins would be more effective against Drakan targets if, as Davidson would put it, they didn’t smell them coming. I only mentioned it to get him to calm down.”
“Either way it’ll make dealing with him easier.” Allen sat back down in his seat.
“True, but it’s not our primary concern.”
“It’s not?”
“No, the frog is. I am familiar with every green in this city. A frog was not one of them. I want to know who this Drakan was and what he was doing in my city.”
“I’ll get people on it right away,” Allen said.
“You better,” Anderson told him. He spun his chair around to look out the window. “It’s bad enough the rebels have made their base here. I will not tolerate another pack coming into my territory.”
***
It had been a week since there had been a Drakan sighting. Jack wasn’t complaining, he had some time to try to get his head straight. The feeling, or lack of feeling, he had about the frog was still bothering him. Why would the frog be any different than the other Drakan. In fact it should have been worse, there was no proof the frog was part of the rebels. As far as he knew the thing was just on his way to work or headed home. Wrong place, wrong time, for both of them.
The only person who could possibly understand what he was going through was Mitchell. Too bad he was usually busy or on some assignment, and Jack didn’t trust any of his men at the moment. Of course today Mitchell was busy too, flipping him to the training mat for the tenth time. Not the best time to ask a soul searching question, particularly when Jack wanted to punch his face in. Mitchell leaned down to look at him, “Come on Jack concentrate.” That nose was such an inviting target at the moment.
He got to his feet, pushing those thoughts down. It was just a training session, not a real fight. He probably wouldn’t be standing if this was a real fight. “You’re enjoying this a little too much, you know that?”
“Got to keep you sharp man.”
“I survived a Kung Fu rabbit, how sharp do I need to be?”
“I have seen a lot of nasty Drakan in my time. There were a few times I barely made it out in one piece.”
“Gone hand to hand with a few Drakan have we?”, Jack smirked.
Mitchell snorted, “Only with an armed squad right behind me. Lost a lot of good men. “Mitchell launched another attack. Jack was able to block or dodge most of them this time, “Better.”
“And here I was thinking you were having a moment.”
“You have to expect an attack at any time.” He walked to a wall and picked up two fighting staffs that were leaning against it. Tossing one to Jack he said, “Let’s upgrade a bit. Rachel said you needed some practice with this.”
Jack looked at the staff in his hands. “That got around pretty quick,” he muttered. He saw Mitchell’s attack coming and blocked it. He was able to get a few swings in but he was mainly avoiding. Mitchell kept up the pressure until he knocked the staff out of his hands. He smiled wickedly and swung the staff. Jack grabbed it and pulled. Mitchell stumbled foreword and Jack clotheslined him to the ground. Jack used a knee to pin the staff to the other man’s chest. “Just for the record, the rabbit feel for the same trick.”
“Noted. And I think it’s break time.”
Jack nodded and got off the man. He quickly backed away from the man in case it was another trick. In the moment he had he shook his hands, “Ow.” Mitchell tossed him a water bottle and sat against the wall. It looked safe enough so Jack joined him, but far enough away in case Mitchell tried something. He looked back at the session in his mind, ten to one wasn’t that impressive. But damn did that one feel good.
***
Just like she thought Rachel found Jack in the cafeteria. It was almost a regular hang out spot for him. Sitting across from him Jack put two fingers to his forehead and saluted. “I see you still in one piece, so I’m assuming things with Mitchell went well.”
“I held my own.”
She seen Mitchell train his men before, “He threw you around a bit didn’t he?”
“That’s one way of looking at it.”
“And how would you look at it?”
“I was keeping the mat warm,” he said with a straight face. Then he rolled his shoulder and grimaced a bit “So what’s on the agenda now?”
“I’m not really sure, according to Heather the Drakan have never been this quiet. I think word about you is getting around.”
“If word getting around, then this place has got a leak.”
“Not necessarily,” she said a little too defensively. “You battled a couple of Drakan in some open areas. Who know who saw what. There could have been some other Drakan around we didn’t know about.”
“I still say there’s another mole in here somewhere.”
“Whatever.” Too bad she couldn’t say she didn’t the same thought. So she couldn’t really argue the point. Her cell phone went off, saved by the ring. “Hello? Yeah we’re both still in the building.”
“Quiet was nice while it lasted.” She hushed him.
“Go ahead Heather. Uh-huh, ok I’ll tell him.” Rachel closed the phone and said, “We got a job.”
“Never would have guessed.”
“Heather’s people got word of a meeting between some Drakans high up in the rebel’s command chain. We’re going to check it out and observe them.
“Geez, they’re really making sure I’m not a loose cannon aren’t they.”
“It’s nothing like that. It’s a nice simple easy assignment. After all the stuff that’s been happening lately I’m looking foreword to it, and so should you.” As a second thought she added, “Just make sure you stay down wind.”
***
The meeting place was an area of a nearby park that was rarely used. Thanks to a photo Heather gave them they quickly identified one of the Drakan. He was patiently sitting on a bench sipping a cup of coffee. The spot was relatively close to the parking area so Jack and Rachel stayed by their vehicles. So far they had been able to watch the Drakan without being noticed. Of course it wasn’t long before Jack was bored out of his mind, “Is he here yet?”
“No, ” Rachel said flately. It was the fifth time he said that in the last ten minute. He was surprised she hadn’t snapped at him yet.
“Doesn’t Anderson have teams for this?”
“Yes, but Mitchell retraining all the scout teams. He doesn’t want a repeat of what happened last time. And there are no cameras in the park,” she said cutting off his next question. “Besides being outside will do you some good. You can air out, so to speak.”
“That goes for you too.”
“I know, I know. But I don’t think my smell is as bad as yours.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Well,” she said looking at him, “you’re usually closer to the Drakan when it’s explodes. The closest I’ve been was when you got the elephant. And you took most of that one.”
“Yeah, but how do you know it gets weaker by the time it reaches you,” he countered. “I don’t think Anderson can find some Drakans to volunteer to find out. Not unless he took them by force.”
Rachel looked appalled, “World Inc. would never do that.”
“Who said anything about World Inc.?” Before she could answer a scream grabbed their attention. The guy they were watching suddenly changed into his Drakan form. For a few moments they watched as a red ox tore up the area. Finally Jack said, “The damn thing went nuts.”
Rachel muttered in French as she fumbled with her phone. “Heather this is Rachel, the Drakan we were watching just went crazy. What do you mean where’s Jack?”
He grabbed the phone from her hands. “I am no where near that thing.” Rachel took the phone back. Something told him he had to get down there fast. He got on the bike.
“Heather gave you the green light.”
“Like I was waiting for it,” Jack said as he brought the bike to life. He raised his left arm across his chest and materialized the belt. Moving the arm over he brought up his right, shouted, “Henshin!”, and slammed his right hand on top of the belt. He was soon in the black body suit and blue armor and peeled out toward the ox. Jack flipped the switches that activated the lasers. Two panel on the sides of the headlight opened up and two emitters slide foreword. When he was close enough he pressed the buttons under the switches. Two red beams of light shot out. The ox recoiled from the shots.
Jack swerved the bike to the right and went a few yards before turning the bike around. Racing toward the ox he grabbed the staff from it’s holder and snapped it to extend one end. He moved the bike to the left and swung the staff into the ox’s gut as he passed. Jack turned the bike around and charged again. This time he raised up just high enough to get his right foot on the seat and jumped. Grabbing the staff in both hands he swung on the way down. The staff caught the ox in the head and it went down to a knee.
He quickly extended the other end and whipped it into the side of it’s head this time. The ox’s head snapped to the side but slowly turned back to face him, anger glaring in it’s bloodshot eyes. Why couldn’t he have any luck with this stupid stick? Quicker than he thought was possible the ox wrapped a massive hand around his neck. The ox ran with Jack in his hand and slammed him against a tree. Jack grunted from the pain and was then lifted off the ground. The ox snorted as it snarled in disgust. He twisted the staff, collapsing it to its’ original size, raised it over his head and planted it between it’s eyes. It let go and Jack stomped it’s knee as soon as he landed.
Jack quickly got behind the ox and tried to choke him out with the staff. The ox reached behind him, got to its’ feet and flipped him off. His chest armor scrapped on its’ horn on the way over. Jack rolled out of the way as a fist came hammering down. He got to his feet and jumped up, catching a shoulder under it’s chin. The ox looked dazed. He dropped the staff and charged at it, aiming his shoulder at it’s chest and knocked it back. Jack was never so glad to see that meter start flashing.
He pressed the button under the belt, activating the mini turbines behind the faceplate. The ox suddenly charged knocking him to the ground. The ox came toward him and he kicked out his right leg, his foot catching it around the waist. The ox took a few steps back before exploding.
Jack got to his feet and hit the top of the belt, returning to his street clothes. What the hell was that about?
***
Anderson looked out the window behind his desk. Mitchell stood silently on the other side as his communicator beeped. “Go ahead,” he spoke into the mic. After a few moments he said, “The dart worked as planned Mr. Anderson.”
He was very pleased, “Excellent. We told Davidson there were violent Drakan in the world. It’s about time he was reminded of that.”
