“Marx, you there?” he asked via the communications channel. There was a lot of static.
“Yeah, I’m here. Is everything okay?” Marx replied through the static.
“There’s a jamming device somewhere nearby. I need only powerline TxV1.1 activated,” Rez said.
“On it!” Marx replied.
The message was clear despite the interference. Rez took the elevator up to the executive levels. He was one step closer to reaching his goal.
***
General Cain was in a hover tank in the Sun Desert on Neon District’s city-state border. It was almost ten past eleven and he was sick of waiting around.
“General Cain, please, come in, sir!” a soldier said over the hover tank command center communications line.
“What is it?” Cain growled.
“Sir, I apologize for bothering you.”
“Just get on with it!” Cain interrupted.
“Sir, we’ve received word that the first COGLIM frequency generator is beyond repair. We also just received word that TEAR special agents Romi, Kena, and Mox are down. We’ve also lost communication with Lieutenant Daav, sir. What are your orders?” the soldier asked.
“What? Damnit!” Cain yelled. “How many men do we have available on site?”
“Sir, we have twenty-four Psi-Corp security officers on site searching for the intruder right now,” The soldier said.
“Shit! Send in an additional twenty-five Psi-Corp officers to the building. I’m turning back and heading to HQ now,” Cain replied.
“Right away, sir,” the soldier replied, before Cain ended the conversation.
“Ensign Merrick, connect me to Dr. Stein when I enter the commander’s quarters,” Cain ordered.
“Right away, sir,” Ensign Merrick replied. Cain stood up and stormed off to the commander’s quarters in the hover tank. Upon entering Stein was already waiting via holo-call.
“Yes, Mr. Cain,” Stein asked.
“We have a problem. It may concern the Fayte boy. I may need you to send in the white knight,” Cain said.
“Oh? Are you certain that the Fayte boy is behind this?” Stein excitedly asked.
“Yes, I’m sure! If you had followed the plan in the first place, he would have been in our custody by now!” Cain yelled.
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that. If he is anything like his mother, I bet he is defiant. Stubborn like a mule, and will sacrifice himself before allowing me to work on him, or you to question him. Hmm, I digress. I will get Michael ready,” Stein said.
***
The elevator door opened on the seventy-seventh floor. Without pausing to see who was in it, Lt. Daav fired an RPG. The explosion rocked the elevator car so violently, that the thick metal cables supporting it snapped. The elevator car plummeted toward the seventy-fifth floor ablaze in all its destructive glory. “Yeah!! What a fuckin' wet snatch of a light show!” Daav laughed hysterically.
He continued to display his unique gift for interpolating unrelated curse words into regular sentences. The sounds of twisting, clanking metal metal along with the crisp peal of flames flickering in the distance reverberated through the elevator column. A loud thud came after Lt. Daav dropped the bulky RPG. Dust, smoke, and steam filled the elevator column and flowed outward into the seventy-seventh floor en masse. It didn’t matter much, since the entire building was still suffering a severe blackout. But Lt. Daav’s augmented eyes were able to make out where he could walk.
He went to inspect the inside of the elevator column. His body, being specially trained and enhanced with the Scion serum, was virtually immune to the effects of severe smoke inhalation among other incredible things.
“Looks like I fried the cupcake this time!” Daav said laughing hysterically at his own joke.
Daav briefly opened his eyes from his laughter to suddenly find two feet planted in his chest from a powerful double kick. The force of the kick sent him flying backwards into a glass framed painting! Sensing an ambush on his way up to the seventy-seventh floor, Rez had preemptively climbed through a ceiling panel of the elevator car. He rode up to the floor and secured his E-Grap to ensure he wouldn’t fall. Before Daav had fired the RPG and before the elevator car broke off from the support cables, Rez had shot them off so he could safely climb up to the higher floors.
“Ow! Shit, man! Is that any way to treat an officer of the law, Cupcake?” Daav said. He was slow to get up, but still sported that crazy grin on his face.
“You’re in my way,” Rez said.
“I can’t believe you’re actually standing there. Huh! Who would’ve ever thought that Amiko’s son was still alive?” Daav said mockingly.
Rez sent his fist toward Daav’s head. He felt the wall crumble as Daav dodged the punch. He tried for an open palm strike toward Rez’s jaw. Rez blocked him, but Daav grabbed the shoulders of Rez’s jacket. Gripping him tightly he tried to knee Rez in the stomach. As he looked down he saw Rez’s left arm stave off the powerful blow. Rez pushed himself away, putting space between him and Daav.
“You’re a lot tougher than I thought,” Daav said. Rez attacked Daav once more, feigning a punch with his right hand. “Oh, man. You sure are predictable, kid.” Daav said. Rez’s right hand was a diversion, and Daav lifted his hands to block the punch.
Rez’s took a half step back and sent a powerful kick to Daav’s exposed stomach. Daav was winded and brought his hands down to clutch at his torso. Rez connected with a powerful left hook that sent Daav landing head first into the floor. Rez was merciless, picking up Daav by the throat and holding him up with one arm. Daav’s feet were dangling; his opponent’s strength was far more monstrous than his own.
“My name isn’t ‘Cupcake’. It’s Rez Fayte. You can tell your boss that I’m coming for him next!” Rez said.
“You really are a tough mother fucker,”
