The Lesser One Arc 2 Chapter 30: I hope so

 

I Hope So

Anderson web swings through the city with me under his arm. I try and fight him, struggling as hard as I can, but he wraps me in silk to the point where I can’t move anything except my head.

Chris is in hot pursuit, surfing on her lava board.

The civilians on the street look up as we pass. Anderson takes a sharp turn towards the Gherkin. He shoots a web to the top of the skyscraper and lands on the pinnacle. He pulls out a gun and holds it to my head.

“If you get any closer, I’ll shoot!” Anderson’s hand is shaking, I can tell.

So he isn’t emotionless. “Why are you doing this?”

“I would have gotten away with it if it weren’t for you!” He grips me tighter and holds the gun closer to my head. “No spirit can save you from a point blank bullet to the temple.”

Maybe mine can. I do something that I haven’t even thought of before. I reinforce my skull with an organic superalloy of Rearden Metal. I think it is strong enough to deflect a bullet, but I’d rather not find out. The metal flows through my scalp and I get an intense itching feeling where the metal bonds with my skull. I do my best to keep it subdermal so that Anderson doesn’t notice what I’m doing.

Jirgrar communicates with me telepathically. We have a sniper on point. But the government wants to send in the negotiator. When you give the command we’ll shoot, however, be aware of the consequences.

I continue to struggle against the webs that surround me. Using my last bit of motion, I press the Fallen Angels HUD: Challenge.

Chris is teleported to the tag team bench. The game separates Anderson and I, putting us on opposite ends of the egg-like roof of the Gherkin. I immediately activate <Invisibility.>

Anderson activates <Counterspell.> My invisibility shatters. I activate <Confusion.>

Anderson activates <Sudden Dodge.> He performs a Matrix-style duck underneath the effect of <Confusion.>

I activate <Giant Space Hamster.> A gigantic hamster rises out of a portal in the ground. It screams with terrifyingly loud resonance. Anderson grips his hand and two cards separate from his casting device. The giant space hamster charges at Anderson.

Anderson activates the card <Flying Dragon.> I know by looking at its effect that it is an uber rare. One that you can’t buy. I think it may be his trump card. Anderson then shoots several strands of web my way. I know from the Angels’ Fallen Empire forums that you can’t bring any modern weapons into a challenge, which lines up with the dungeon rules. Maybe the two run on the same software?

I dodge two strands of silk and conjure a bow. Rolling to avoid a third thread, I fire off two arrows at once.

Both of them get caught in a web, thrown together at the last minute by Anderson.

Anderson’s dragon tussles with my giant space hamster. They crash through the glass of the Gherkin and fall onto the floor below.

I charge at Anderson with a conjured dagger. Anderson casts <Switcharoo>, which switches his place with me. I am now running straight off the building. I use the trick Chris taught me and form a platform beneath my feet using the glass of the building.

“You coward!” Anderson is standing at the building’s apex. “You can manipulate glass too?”

“It’s just silica!” I form a bow and fire two arrows at him.

Anderson dodges both arrows with form. He then forms his web into a whip and cracks it over my head.

I duck underneath the whip as it flies above me. I form a smaller, more compact bow and fire it at Anderson. It hits, dealing one hundred and fifty points of damage.

<FIRST BLOOD!>

The giant space hamster and dragon continue to tussle underneath the rooftop, tearing through rooms and sending shard of glass flying everywhere.

I summon <Unbeing.> A mist rises in front of me and darts towards Anderson. The creature inside the mist stabs Anderson in the side. Anderson loses another two hundred life points.

Anderson lands a hit with his web on my shoulder. He begins to reel me in. The web is acidic and is eating through my flesh.

<-50>

<-50>

<-50>

I manage to cut the web and back away from Anderson. “Tag!”

Chris pops into where I was standing and I teleport to the tag team bench. Chris’s life points are the same as mine when we switched.

“No fair!” Anderson backs away. “You can’t do that! I’ve never heard of such a thing!”

“I paid a lot of money for this feature.” I hold my acid-eaten shoulder as I watch Chris and Anderson fight.

Chris can use another four cards, though she has nine in her deck. I know this because of the HUD in the corner of my vision.

Chris uses the card <Dramatic Reversal.> Anderson sees her activate it. If he uses a non-creature spell, it will go right back to sender.

Anderson pulls out a card and grins. <Enchant Break.>

Chris’s <Dramatic Reversal> effect shatters in a blast of color.

Anderson pulls out, by my count, his last usable spell. <Morn of Ash and Dust.>

A swirling typhoon of bones and skulls rises from the ground and surrounds Chris.

“Tag out!”

I switch places with Chris again. I use my last remaining card, which happens to be <Spatial Bubble.> It absorbs all the damage from the bones, with a bit left over. I rush at Anderson and stab him through the gut. The simulation ends and I return to where I was before, wrapped in webs, in his clutches.

And then his head explodes. I fall a few feet, roll on the roof of the skyscraper, and am caught by Chris.

Jirgrar sends me a mental message. Bullseye.

We must have distracted him just long enough so that he couldn’t use his web to deflect or block the sniper’s round. My chest, which still hasn’t completely healed, is hurting bad. I cough and cringing pain courses through my body.

Chris lowers me to the sidewalk. She disembarks from her magma surfboard and kneels beside me.

“Are you okay?”

I rub my wound. “Yeah. I am. You did great out there.”

“So did you.”

I grip her hand and pull myself to my feet. I am a bit wobbly but am able to stand.

The police negotiator arrives right about then, accompanied by some London Spirit Patrol members. A helicopter hovers over the top of the building, presumably collecting the body.

Jorge pushes his way through the crowd. He is holding a half-eaten crepe in his hand. “You did it.” He hugs me, smushing the crepe into my shirt. “You avenged my friends.”

“It wasn’t really me who took the shot.”

The police negotiator gets a phone call and pulls away. I look up at the Gherkin. There is no sign of the intense battle that was fought up there.

Jorge pulls away. “Look. I’ll treat you to dinner if you want. You and your friend.” He looks at Chris as if he’s seeing her for the first time. “Strange.” He shakes his head. “Anyways. Tomorrow night I’ll be free from my obligations. Meet me at five in the afternoon at the Bark Tree.”

“Bark Tree?” I look at Chris.

Chris shrugs.

“You can look up the address.” Jorge slaps me on the back, turns and then leaves.

I cough. His slap really set off my broken rib. But I can’t blame him. He probably didn’t know I had a broken rib.

Sure. Tomorrow at the Bark Tree.

The police negotiator returns. “Markus Red. I’m sorry, but we’re going to have to ask you some more questions.”

I sigh.

Sebastian pushes through the crowd. “Sir. You didn’t tell me you were leaving.”

“I was abducted. I didn’t choose to leave.”

Sebastian looks horrified. “But …” He looks at Chris, bowing. “Thank you for taking care of him.”

Chris’s ice cold visage cracks a bit. “Yeah.”

Sebastian talks to the police and gets them to agree to let him drive me to the police station. This is going to be difficult, I can tell. Being kidnapped from an upper floor of a skyscraper is a pretty rare thing. I imagine I’m going to be all over the news. After all, there was a man killed with a sniper round right on top of one of London’s most famous buildings. There has to be footage of it all over the internet.

We arrive at the police station. I get out, and, escorted by Chris and Sebastian, I enter the building.

Two hours, loads of paperwork, and two intense interrogations later, I leave the station. My chest is really starting to hurt. I do my best to endure the pain on my return to the Esmex building. I am in no mood to do anything other than sleep.

My dreams that night are nightmares. I keep finding myself in the clutches of Anderson, and every time he shoots me in the head and I wake up with a cold sweat. It’s getting difficult to not be affected by all the action and death that I’ve experienced. This isn’t the first time I’ve woken up with nightmares.

PTSD. That word comes up in my mind.

No, I don’t have it. I can’t have it. I’m too mentally stable for it. PTSD is for soldiers who come home from war. I’ve never been in a war before.

I count as high as I can and fall asleep before I hit a hundred.

The next morning I wake up feeling horrible, as if I was run over by a truck. My broken rib throbs. My neck has a kink in it. Yeah, I was kidnapped by an evil wannabe Spider Man and saw his head get done in by a high power sniper rifle. Yeah, it sucks.

But I have to push through. I get up, put my suit on, and go into the living room. I don’t see Chris anywhere. I look for her for a moment, and then decide that she’s probably doing something important. Like sleeping in.

This morning, I go down to the lobby to get some of the breakfast bar’s free coffee. I eat a plate of bangers and mash—which is better than I thought it would be—and finish it with a cup of orange juice.

Sebastian comes down from his room. When he sees me, he raises an eyebrow. “You are awake early.”

“I couldn’t sleep.”

“If you wish we can get you prescribed some sleeping pills.”

I think for a minute. “No. I don’t want to have to rely on those.”

Sebastian grabs some breakfast and sits down across from me. “Esmex is good to its employees.” He starts eating. “In lawhell the continental breakfasts are pretty bland.”

“Like the ones at those motels.”

“Exactly.” Sebastian continues to eat. He motions with his fork. “You’ve earned a few Angel Points.”

“Yeah. I think I even got one when I defeated Anderson.” I take a bite of egg. “Was that a sniper from Wagner’s Right of Way who took him down?”

“Yes.”

“Which group? Devils, or fairies?”

“It was a very talented elf sniper named Hendora. You may get to meet her soon.” Sebastian puts his fork down and wipes his mouth with a handkerchief. “In fact, you probably should meet her at some point.” He starts eating a muffin. “You should meet as many of your employees as you can. It’s good practice to do so.”

“Yeah. I’ll do that.” I also take a bite of muffin. “In any case, I’m just glad that it’s over. I can finish my internship, go home, and see my family again. No nonsense, no kidnapping, no blackmailing.”

“Indeed.” Sebastian stands up, clearing his plate. “I believe nothing else will happen during the duration of your stay.”

“I hope so. I sure do hope so.”