📌 Tags: Psychological Thriller, Urban Noir, Vigilante, Mature Themes, Serial Killer, Crime Drama
⚠️Authors Note - Mature Content
"This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, nations, corporations and events are products of the author's imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to real events or persons is coincidental."
Taking place immediately after the previous Chapter...
Near ascended up the abandoned elevator shaft. Using his grappler gun he swung from banister to banister, the tunnel was dark, dusty and smelled of damp. By now he was fifty stories tall. He had bypassed entire security formations, listened in on meetings deciding the fate of America and slid bugs on or under databanks he found. With each press of his gauntlet, data streamed to AI-N.
(The original building was 100 floors. BlueJet expanded it with a vertical Megastructure in 2010.)
(These databases have untold millions of terabytes of data. I wonder what's on them. Sunohara will crack these open.)
Near climbed up the shafts main pipeline. His extra grip on his gauntlets aided his climb. The grates on each storey revealed what was happening within the tower. Two Directors had a secret meeting.
"What has Julian tied us up in?!"
"Gene Seed? The child? For what?!"
One of the directors threw a glass in anger.
"Well…apparently it has something to do with our Special relationship with the government..."
"Correction. Contract."
The other corrected smugly, they both sniggered with amusement.
The two directors were in highly pressed black suits. Expensive watches sat on their wrists. Gold around their necks, rings on their fat fingers, BlueJet company pins sat on their collars. The businessmen are within the top percent of the Megacorporation hierarchy.
"I was told a whole security team was killed?"
"No, the vigilante does not kill."
"What the hell… how long do we have before he's here?..."
"Minutes… hours…. No one can ever time his arrival… he could even be listening right now…"
"The boss would kill us if the vigilante heard of THAT project…"
Near continued to sneak past, he learned everything he could from them.
(That must be the Owl's son.)
His blue eyes narrowed.
And continued up the elevator shaft.
Top of the Tower...
The Mega Tower was quiet at night, its lights off. Christmas decorations hung ominously in the wintery wind. The bows on each of the windows on the 118th floor shifted, one security soldier stood his arms folded, he observed the holiday rush-hour roads below that trailed around the city and over its bridges. In the sky the moon lit up the city below, snow slowly fell outside.
Lining the ruthlessly cold office ground, a red carpet leads to the Head Directors Office. A large brown mahogany door, with a medium sized red bow, and two small miniature Christmas trees flanking it.
["Hey Nygen! The vigilante could be heading upstairs to Mr Asanta!"
"Bullshit! NO WAY one man pushed through the guys at the entrance!"
["Well trust me, one did! And were not even sure he is a man!"]
"Well I will stop him."
["Don't be cocky."]
WHAM
Thud
The trooper was slammed into the frosted glass window. His face slid slowly down the ice plated window.
Swiiissshhhhhhh
He was out-cold.
["Hey! Nygen! Control strongly thinks the vigilante is near you, just a heads up…"]
His radio crackled.
Thud thud thud thud-
Nears boots walked past with purpose.
"Nygen! You didn't report in!"
A group of five soldiers appeared from an operation elevator further down the hall, wielding metal bats and knives, they ran to their fallen comrade.
"Nygen! F*CK! HE GOT HIM!"
"YOU TWO FIND HIM!"
(I should act fast)
Near turned and as he did his cape flowed behind him. His neck snapped in their direction, his hood draped over his masked face.
By now one of the troopers had charged toward Near, their bat raised.
FFWWOOSHHH
DING
The vigilante caught the bat mid-air. Blood ran down his forearm. His own from his shoulder.
SMASH
He struck back, and with a thunderous strike dropped his opponent.
Next a pair attempted to strike the Angel. One knife in each side, they thrusted only to be caught and thrown into one another. Near, bent one arm and- SNAP. The next, his leg was kicked the opposite direction with a deafening CRACK.
Now only two remained.
"HOLY CRAP HE IS FAST!" One of the remaining two exclaimed.
"FAST?! HE'S MAXXSPEEED FAST!"
"But at least he isn't invulnerable like Star-Patriot!"
"Well… we hope…."
Thud thud thud thud
Nears boots pounded the ground, sprinting towards the pair.
SMACKKKKKK
"OOOooooofffffff pppppppfffftttttt!"
A boot to the face. And then in a swift painful motion a precise deflection of another knife thrust. And then, BANG-
The last was headbutted and casually dropped like a broken toy.
The corridor was now covered in unconscious bloody bodies.
Before proceeding he checked their pulse.
Near stood powerfully. His stance was for fighting. His body ached, he was tired, but his target, his prey, was behind one final door.
WHAM!
The door exploded off its hinges. And what Near found beyond it - would change his night.
Inside Director Julian Asanta's Office…
The mahogany doors laid across the extravagant black marble floor, the hinges stone thrown into the lone desk in the centre of the room. Behind the desk was a huge landscape window that faced Kodoma and LawGroups own towers. Reeling along the walls were the latest numbers of the company, its stock, incoming and outgoings.
Sitting at the desk was Julian.
He was slim, dressed in a grey suit. A white collar and gloves. His face was narrow, his nose like a knife. Perfect slick back black hair and light blue eyes contrasting his predatory aura. He laid on his hand, casually leaning forward. His fingertips pressed together.
"So… Vigilante… what can I do for YOU… this very merry Christmas?..."
"You kidnapped a child."
"Pfft, come on. One child. You treat me like an amateur… I was ordered by BlueJet.."
Julian leaned in.
"But it isn't the first time."
Near stepped forward.
"Now, hang on there sonny!..."
Julian leaned backwards.
"I only brought them to the company lab… THAT'S it."
Near continued to move forward.
Eventually he stood above the long desk. Staring down on the smug director.
And then with little to no effort, with one hand he flipped the desk aside. With a crash.
"Oh come on, you don't sca-"
SMACK
Near struck the Director, he then grabbed him by his expensive collar, the aroma of indulgence was potent.
"WHAT THE F-"
Julian exclaimed only for the vigilante to powerbomb him to the hard black marble ground, cracking the surface-
"Oooooffffff!"
The wind rushed out of the lungs of Julian who laid his arms spread wide.
"SPEAK! I DON'T HAVE PATIENCE FOR GAMES!"
"F-FINE!.... Look…. BlueJet has an agreement with the federal government…."
Pant pant
"WHAT AGREEMENT?!"
Julian's smile glinted.
"A big one…. Lucrative…-"
He leaned in, spitefully leering.
"We're protected."
WHAM
Near's fist impacted Julian's pristine, pretty boy face. It rocked Julian's world. Dazing him. Blood trickled down his cheek.
"OK! FINE!- Look… we… have… the offspring… in the lab!....It's in a vault under a warehouse!"
"WHAT WAREHOUSE?!"
"Warehouse 21…EASTERN DOCKS!... Old Promise City…."
"Thank you."
WAH-BANG
Near's armoured knee landed square on Julian's chest. And a swift strike to the jaw knocking him out.
SMASH
Near kicked the wide office window wide open, sending glass down the skyscraper.
He was immediately hit by the cold air.
Near pressed his gauntlet. And immediately the small devices he placed on the databanks he passed, the power grid and lines.
And then there was a sharp-
ZZZZZuuuuusssshhhhuuummmm
The entire building was then pitch black.
"Sunohara. I have the location."
Near leaned out of the hole, and he took a leap.
Head first he dropped in seconds. Plummeting entire stories in a flash. His blue furred cape wrapped around his broad frame. As he swiftly approached the frozen ground, he opened his cape, turning abruptly into the garage.
Near was on his knee, the snow crunched under his weight. He stood. He could hear the soldiers from earlier stumbling, some still unconscious.
(They won't be a problem. Time to leave.)
Then…
Then the ground shook. The garage around him creaked, the metal beams rattled.
(An explosion?) Near thought.
Then the distant crackle of small arms gunshots.
"Sunohara. What is that?"
["Oh your back? Hang on."]
CRACK CRACK SNAP SNAP
["It's a live feed. Seems Kodoma Corp are taking advantage of the black out."]
"What?"
Near fired his grapple gun, and propelled himself out of the garage's wide open entrance. He knelt on a building ledge opposite the BlueJet building and below, amongst the crowd of cars and screaming people…
They were there, Kodoma backed mercenaries. Hooded, wearing Oni masks and wielding automatic rifles. Opposing them, BlueJet clad blue security forces; heavily armed and well armoured.
Led by a very familiar face. One Eddie knew all too well.