After spending a treacherous night in the belly of the beast, otherwise known as Kylie Naysmith, Alex was thrilled to be on his way with a copious amount of classified information. He was, however, terrified to think that Riley had everyone he cared about in his grasp.
If only I had been more careful, he thought. Maybe Riley would have never found my home had I not installed SCOT. Maybe if I had spent more time developing the AI, he would have never been able to hack into it. I should have never gotten everyone together in the first place. Next time, we'll split up, but hopefully, there won't be a next time. We'll take Riley down for good.
As thoughts raced through Alex's mind, Gary the super soldier horse carried his rider through the streets of Baltimore. After squeezing all of the information he could out of Kylie, Alex felt as if sleeping with her was for a noble cause. Now that he knew the location of Riley's secret laboratory, he had no time to waste.
Alex leaned forward, closer to Gary's ears. "Good job, boy. You know where to go."
But when the stallion turned the corner onto another city street, he came to a halt.
A giant super soldier blocked their path. This creature differed from the others. He was half man, half robot, with a mechanical arm, and a robotic eye. Parts of his torso were replaced with machinery. No doubt about it, blocking their path was a cyborg super soldier.
"Alex Ambrose!" The super soldier yelled while pointing at Alex. "Your fun ends here."
As the creature taunted Alex, a few civilians gathered on the street to watch what would inevitably turn into an entertaining showdown.
Alex dismounted Gary. "Stay back, boy. I can handle this one on my own."
As the horse backed away, the super soldier chuckled. "You think you have what it takes to fight me? I'm the strongest of them all."
Alex laughed, sporting a smug look on his face. "Listen, buddy, if you're trying to intimidate me, you'll have to do better than that. I don't get scared that easily."
"Oh, yeah?" The half-cyborg asked. He held up the palm of his metallic hand. "What about this?"
Bullets shot out of the super soldier's hand. As the projectiles whizzed toward Alex, something came over him. He dodged the bullets with perfect accuracy. It was almost as if he were moving in slow motion. Not a single one hit him. He didn't have time, though, to wonder how that could be.
Alex's ability to dodge the bullets only angered the super soldier hybrid. His robot-eye glowed bright red. "That's not fair! You weren't supposed to dodge them! Now I'm all out of bullets. You'll pay for this. Get over here, you coward!"
When Alex charged toward the creature, he found himself in a headlock. Taking care not to move his head and choke himself, Alex used his free hand to strike his opponent in the gut.
"Gah!" The super soldier cried out as he let go of Alex. "You won't win! I was built to destroy you!"
That was the real difference. Everything was on the line for the super soldier, but for Alex, this was just another Tuesday.
Alex showed no mercy. He delivered a fierce elbow strike to the soldier's jugular. The half-cyborg tried to regain his footing. He threw a sloppy punch that Alex ducked.
When he swung his robotic arm, Alex seized the opportunity. Using all of his strength, he ripped the robotic arm right out of the socket. The soldier howled in pain.
Alex wielded the huge metallic arm as if it were a battering ram. He bashed the creature relentlessly.
When Alex finally threw the arm to the side, the super soldier was left bloodied and beaten.
"You won't win. We will defeat you," the super soldier said, uttering the words with his dying breath.
Alex had barely broken a sweat during that fight. He sneered at the pathetic creature and turned back to Gary. "Guess we should add him to the list of super soldiers we have defeated."
The horse whinnied, as if with delight.
The circle of people surrounding Alex had grown larger in the midst of the fight. Countless bystanders watched, cell phones in hand, recording the whole fight.
Someone in the crowd called his name. "Alex, what's going on?"
"Is this related to the previous attacks?" asked another voice.
A third person chimed in. "Alex, what are those things?"
Alex faced the rowdy group of civilians. In moments like this, he hated being the most famous person in the city of Baltimore.
He waved to the crowd. "Don't worry, everyone. I've got it under control. But the citizens of Baltimore need to be alert, keeping an eye on their surroundings at all times. Be cautious and take care. I promise, I will keep this city safe."
The crowd erupted into thunderous applause.
"Alex, marry me!" That shout came from an older woman
Another, much younger woman shoved the old lady. "You know, he's with Debbie Clifton. They're going to get married! Deblex forever! I'm definitely going to post this video all over my social media. Alex Ambrose, total stud, fights a monster and saves me!"
Alex ignored the crowd and climbed atop his steed. "Okay, Gary. I'm through with this nonsense. We're going straight to Naysmith Pharmacy, and we aren't making any more pit stops. What do you say?"
The horse neighed in response, and, with that, they were off, racing through the city streets at a lightning pace.
When Gary reached their destination, Alex did not recognize the building. He knew every location of every Naysmith pharmacy in Baltimore, or so he thought. The pharmacy was located in a tall, red brick building. The windows of the store were blacked out. A plain, black and white sign sat atop the door reading, "Naysmith."
"That's odd," Alex said. "This building had to be a recent acquisition. I guess that makes sense. It wouldn't be a place I suspected." He hopped off the horse. "Alright, Gary. You know the drill. Stand guard. Wish me luck."
Alex left his stallion behind, and he entered the pharmacy. When he opened the door, he was taken aback by how barren the room was. With the exception of a counter and a cash register, the place was empty.
Only one flickering light was on, illuminating the figure of none other than Dr. Ozzy McManace. He had a feral look in his eyes. "Ah, Alex Ambrose. I've waited for this day my whole life."
Alex scowled at the scientist. "What's going on here?"
A sly grin formed across McManace's face. "I think you know exactly what's going on. You denounced me, stabbed me in the back. You ruined my career and my life. Now, I get to take my revenge."
Alex squinted at the man. He had no idea who he was. "And, you are?"
Dr. McManace scoffed. "What, are you trying to rub salt in the wound? Don't pretend like you don't know me, Ambrose. You're merely wasting our time."
Alex raised his shoulders. "Sorry, man. Guess I've ruined a lot of lives."
When Dr. McManace realized Alex was telling the truth, he gritted his teeth. "Maybe this will jog your memory. A new, fresh-faced scientist walks into your office for an interview. You act like you're the big shot nice guy. You ask him what he would change about your company. But, you don't want change. You laugh in the face of innovation. You want another cog in the wheel. Well, Dr. Ozzy McManace is no cog."
Alex held up his finger as he remembered the man. "You're that lunatic who wanted to use human test subjects. God, you look so different."
McManace sneered at his words. "Well, that's what a diet of pure, unadulterated hatred will do to you. You threw me out like a piece of garbage, but Riley took me in. He cared about me and listened to me. He believed in my vision. Riley and I wanted to forge a scientific empire. Because he believed in me, I've created a whole new form of life."
It was all coming together for Alex. "You made the super soldiers."
The scientist beamed with pride. "And so much more. Now, Riley and I are something you will never be."
"Failures? Losers? Psychopaths?" Alex guessed.
Ozzy shot Alex a harsh squint. "No, Ambrose. We're gods amongst men."
Those words gave Alex a sense of deja vu. "I swear I've heard this all before. Are you the one who programmed the super soldiers to spew all this nonsense? Did you feed them the line that their divine purpose was to kill me, or whatever?"
Menacingly, the crazed doctor stepped toward Alex. "It is their divine purpose. It's mine, too. I realized something the day you threw me out of that office. I was born to destroy you."
Alex pointed toward the door behind him. "The cyborg super soldier down the street just said the same thing to me."
"I may have infused the super soldiers with a little piece of my psyche," Ozzy explained. "But they were very obedient and willing to serve, grateful that I pulled them apart and made them stronger when I stitched them back together again. And now, you won't be able to stand up to them for much longer."
"What do you mean?" Alex asked, alarmed.
Ozzy could barely contain his joy. "You may be able to beat them now, but what about when there are hundreds, no, thousands of them?"
Alex assumed he was bluffing. "How are you going to steal and transform a thousand people when you barely got away with fifty-three?"
"No stealing involved," The scientist explained. "I developed a way to transform babies into men at a rapid pace. We could have an army of super soldiers like that." He snapped his fingers. "All we need to do is fertilize an egg, and then I can age up the fetus to my heart's desire. We have all the sperm we need between myself, Dangles, and Naysmith. The only thing we need are the eggs. Luckily, we have our first two test subjects."
Alex's vision went red. "Don't say it."
Ozzy grinned like a madman. "Debbie and the other girl whose name I don't remember."
"You bastard!" Alex yelled as he lost his control. He lunged toward McManace.
Ozzy reacted quickly, dodging out of the way. He was hoping this meeting of the minds would result in a fight. He pulled a crowbar out of his lab as Alex regained his balance.
The doctor could barely handle the weapon. He managed to whack Alex on the back. It stung a little, but it wasn't anything Alex couldn't handle, especially when rage fueled his adrenaline.
Eager to fight, Ozzy attempted to take Alex out at the knees. He flicked the crowbar with a limp wrist, and Alex easily stepped out of the way.
Still, McManace was determined to defeat his foe. He lifted the crowbar above his head, but this time, when he forcibly swung down toward his prey, Alex stopped the weapon with his bare hand.
"How did you do that? Your hand should be broken!" Ozzy said. Alex ripped the crowbar out of the scientist's chubby little fingers.
Ozzy knew he was no match for Alex physically. His only option was to bolt toward the door, but it was no use.
Alex picked him up by the collar of his lab coat before the scientist even took his first step. "You tell me, McManace, do you want me to kill you with your crowbar or my fist?"
Ozzy kicked his legs, frantically trying to weasel his way out of Alex's grasp. "Eat shit, Ambrose."
Alex threw Ozzy to the ground. He flung the crowbar to the other side of the room, and knelt down so that his face hovered above Ozzy's. "Let this be a lesson for you and anyone else who has a similar idea. Anyone who touches Debbie Clifton or Yvonne Wheeler is a dead man."
Alex beat Ozzy with his bare hands. His knuckles bled as he pummeled the doctor's sinister face.
When Alex finally stepped away, he wiped off the blood from his hands. "I should have done that the second this creep waltzed into my office all those years ago. That was a long time coming."
Without stopping to catch his breath, Alex frantically searched the empty room, looking for any sign of where Riley could be hiding his friends. The pharmacy was truly empty.
Behind the counter, a door was propped open. Alex hoped that was the answer. He ran through the door that led to a dark, dingy staircase. He ran up the steps only to find four other empty floors.
Nothing. There was nothing in the building.
Alex's heart sank. He realized Riley had tricked him. He couldn't believe he fell for the decoy location. He was no closer to saving his friends than he was before. He felt like a fool.
"Come on, Alex!" He said to himself. "You're smarter than this!"
***
Back in his underground lair, Riley delighted in the knowledge that his plan had actually worked. After torturing Christopher and Lous, he sat in his surveillance room with his eyes glued to the huge monitors that showed Alex scrambling through each empty room.
Riley chuckled to himself, reveling in Alex's struggle. "I can't believe this worked out so well. He fell right into my trap. McManace was such a small price to pay. I knew he would never stand a chance against Ambrose. If I'm being honest, I'm glad he's dead. He was starting to annoy me with the whole new life, divine purpose bullshit. He was an easy sacrifice. Nowadays, mad scientists are a dime a dozen. I'll have him replaced by another psycho before the sun sets."
Riley manically tapped his fingers together. "DANGLES! Get in here Dangles!"
Ever present, Todrick Dangles appeared in the room holding a clipboard. "Yes, sir?"
Riley swiveled around in his giant chair. "He fell for it. He's at the decoy location. Prepare the second wave. Now."
Dangles scribbled on his clipboard. "Decoy location. Got it. I'll send it out immediately." And, just like that, the assistant disappeared.
Riley reached across his control panel to where he kept an old phone with a rotary dial. Something about the old design appealed to him. He dramatically dialed the number and held the phone to his ear. "Oh! I just can't wait! I have to rub it in right now. This is the best day of my life."
***
Alex's cell phone rang. When he looked at the screen, it read "unknown number." Hesitantly, he answered the call.
"Hello?" Alex said, his voice filled with disdain.
"Excuse me, sir, is your refrigerator running?" Riley responded.
Alex clenched his fist, tight. "Naysmith, you better pray to God I never get my hands on you. The second I see you, I'm taking you down."
"Well, then, Ambrose, you better come find me." Before Riley hung up the phone, Alex could have sworn he heard the faint, distant scream, and he was positive it sounded like Yvonne.
Alex threw down his phone, smashing it into pieces. The game was over. Alex needed to know what was happening with his friends.