MASK Legacy Saga 3: The Fallen Part 2
Chapter 13
Author's Notes: Seems like we have some heated battle going on the review board over what's going to happen next and who's really in charge here. Well those answers will be answered eventually for now back to the action. There's still more mayhem in store. Please contribute a review afterwards...it's most appreciated. Enjoy!
At this point, revenge was the only thing fueling Dusty's need to pursue the ever-cunning Sly Rax. The massive explosion of Raven on the calm oasis waters continued to replay in his mind over and over. Part of him regretted listening to his daughter's request to chase after the varmint and not help, yet the other part was determine to bring Rax to justice. He could only hope and prayed that Gloria and Jessenia were able to save Calhoun in time. The overwhelming of emotions seemed to get the better of him every time he fired the roll bar cannon in Piranha direction. Each electrical shot seem to narrowly miss Piranha, as it swerved all over the desert to avoid the oncoming fire.
"Your one scared chicken ain't ya. Ok for you to be sneaky and fire while somebody has their back turn to ya, but you're not man enough to face me one on one. Well guess what," Dusty hollered, "I ain't letting ya get away no sir'e!" Dusty fiddled with Gators controls as he stayed on Piranha's trail, "One good shot a'ta shut ya down for good. Better up the voltage on the cannon to…" He paused as he thought he noticed something in this passenger side mirror. The image was there for just a split second, and he could only speculate what he assumed he saw. That had to be Chameleon. Either that or my mind is playing tricks on me. He ignored his gut feeling, as he noticed Piranha driving up a sand hill. "Just what I needed to slow your weasely butt down…system lock on target…"
Before he had a chance to fire, a look of 'oh shit' spread out over his face. A rocket zoomed from behind in his rearview mirror, from a visible VENOM motorcycle Chameleon. The rocket nailed the right rear tire causing the whole jeep to fly thought the air in a 360-degree summersault. After spinning in midair, Gator slammed right into the ground on its driver side and skidded a few feet before coming to a complete halted.
Dusty opened his dazed eyes with is head resting against the sand and his body still connected to Gator's seat. Pain soured thought is body from the sudden jolt, but nothing hurt any worst then his head. Even with the mask on for protection, his head took such a beating from being slammed so hard into the ground. Dusty found it increasingly difficult to focus and stay awake, but he wasn't ready to throw in towel. Not while the danger was still lurking around. He released the seat belt and slowly crawled out of Gator ignoring any aching muscles. Dusty pulled himself up on his two feet and glanced around expecting to find his attacker before his eyes. Yet all he could see for miles was nothing but sand. "I saw you sneak up on me you spawn of the devil. I ain't gonna let you do that twice. Backlash fire!" A shockwave of energy erupted from the mask hitting nothing but open sand. He turned his head to the right and again shouted "Backlash fire." Yet again it failed to reveal his enemy. He turned his head straightforward, "I know you're here! Backlash fire!" With success the shock wave bounced off an invisible object 30 feet away. He knew his mask wouldn't cause any damage to a bike with protection greater then Fort Knots. Yet knowing the location of his attacker wasn't enough to save him. Seconds before he found himself face down in the sand unconscious, the motorcycle speed towards him and slammed on the breaks. His body flew backwards into the barrel shape depth charge in Gators back seat and then straight into the sand. The sudden violent force against his body and previous head injury were enough to knock him out cold. Roxanne finally choose to reveal herself on Chameleon, once she was satisfied that driver of Gator would no longer be a problem.
"You could of done that sooner!" Sly Rax voiced in anger, as he pulled up in Piranha, "I've been…"
She ignored any words that were flapping from his mouth and gave her full-undivided attention to the fallen MASK agent before her. With every step closer towards him, her veins seem to burst on fire. Here before her was the one man who always made her life a living hell. He was always constantly trying to find ways to get her thrown out of MASK and behind bars. Nothing was ever good enough to please him. She spoke softly for only herself to hear, "Always kicking me while I'm…DOWN!" She screamed in frustration as she repeatedly kicked Dusty into his gut. The fact that he was already out cold denied her any true satisfaction of hearing him beg for his life.
Rax forced himself to intervene and pulled her away from him, "I think he's down. So knock it off."
"Don't you EVER!" She looked him directly in the eye, as she shook him off, "Touch me again!" He sneered at her threat, but knew not to take it lightly.
"It's time for a change in plan. We're going to use this as bate for agent Hunter."
"What exactly do you want me to do?"
"What you do best." She smiled wickedly as she grabbed a flare from Gator glove compartment.
"I hate this," Vanessa Warfield muttered under her breath.
She was currently grounded in Manta, unable to fly because of the loss of one turbine. Not only that, but she was stuck with Mayhem's Sludge of a nephew, and to top it all off, she was feeling an uncharacteristic twinge of real emotion. Part of her wanted to investigate the wreckage of Brad and Annie's bikes for signs of her lover and child, but the more sensible part of her mind was screaming at her to get the hell out while she still could. So she simply sat in Manta's driver's seat, running the limited options over and over in her mind and hoping Lester would say something stupid so she had an excuse to release her frustration.
"I think it's time to go, Vanessa," Lester said with his usual sense of self-preservation.
He started to step out of the passenger's side door just as a bullet zoomed past, missing his foot by mere inches. Unable to make the mental connection of danger, he stupidly stuck his head out the door and nearly had that taken out by a second bullet. He looked up to see Annie a few yards away, reloading another shot from her rifle. He scooted back inside Manta, slamming the door and exclaiming, "The little bitch is crazy! She tried to kill me!"
"If you don't SHUT UP, I'm going to push you out the door and let her shoot you!" Vanessa snapped back, glaring over at Lester purposefully.
Four more shots rang out from Annie's rifle, and without even looking, Vanessa knew she had just taken out Manta's tires. For a moment, there was an air of growing anticipation, of unspoken challenge…although neither opponent moved. Vanessa sighed and hissed once more, "I HATE this!" Then she turned back to Lester and again reiterated, "Let me handle this, or I swear to God, I'll pull you out of this car and leave you here!"
Vanessa opened Manta's driver's side door, hearing the obvious sound of ammunition hitting the chambers of Annie's long rifle. By the time she leisurely swung herself out of the car and shut the door, her daughter had cocked the rifle and had it targeted on her unwaveringly. Vanessa was rather glad Annie's mask hid the look of unadulterated hatred she knew lurked in her eyes, but she didn't let the sudden rush of emotion stop her from stalling long enough to figure a way out of this mess. Instead, she folded her arms across her chest, adopting a pose not unlike Annie's, and began baiting her with words.
"You going to shoot me with that pop gun, Little Orphan Annie?"
"If I become an orphan," growled her daughter's obviously agitated voice from under her mask, "it'll be your fault. But that's not going to happen, because you're going to help fix the damage you've done, so let's go."
Annie motioned with her gun for emphasis, while Vanessa stood unmoving in total defiance of the order. Vanessa couldn't help a dark chuckle, then became serious as she emphasized, "This isn't the Wild West, sweetheart, and you aren't Annie Oakley."
"That's right. I'm not Annie Oakley. I'm the Lone-Fucking-Ranger, and this," Annie tapped the long rifle against an open palm before aiming it straight at Vanessa's heart, "is my trusted Kemosabe, and you and Sludge for Brains are under arrest."
Out of the corner of her eye, Annie saw Lester scurry out of Manta toward the safety of the car's back bumper, but she ignored him and kept the immediate threat of Vanessa literally in her sights. "So unless you want to meet my friend Mr. Henry," she again indicated the rifle in her hands, "up close and personal, I'd do what I'm told."
"Or you'll what, shoot me?"
"Don't tempt me. I'm in a bad mood and my trigger finger is itchy."
"Oh please!" In spite of the immediate danger, Vanessa threw her head back and laughed. "As much as you hate me, Annie darling," She twisted the term of endearment into a sneer, "you don't have the nerve. You don't have what it takes … "
Dust flew up into Vanessa's face, shutting off her cutting remarks as two more bullets landed right in front of her feet. She heard Lester muttering cowardly from somewhere behind her as she looked back over to Annie.
"I've got plenty of bullets left mother dear," Annie imitated her mother's tone perfectly, "so you just keep pushing me toward the edge, and we'll see just how long it takes before I fall off…"
Vanessa heard the solution to her immediate problem in her daughter's own words. Always the great manipulator, she decided to take Annie's suggestion to heart, but not in the way she anticipated.
"How do you think your father would feel if you shot me?" Vanessa asked calmly.
"Don't you DARE bring him into this after what you just did!"
"I still think about him."
"What?"
Vanessa's mild statement wasn't really a lie, but it was such an unbelievable truth in Annie's eyes that it had exactly the same shock effect. And just to drive the stake further into her daughter's heart, she added, "Believe it or not, I might even regret some of the things I've done."
The atmosphere between mother and daughter changed dramatically. Even Lester, still cowering behind Manta, took notice and inched forward to get a closer look at the conflict going on before him. If anything, it would give him a better vantage point of which way to run.
Vanessa unfolded her arms and leaned nonchalantly against Manta's front end, waiting for everything she had just said to sink in. She could almost feel the ripples of confusion running through Annie's mind. She'd unbalanced the girl so well that she couldn't even make a suitable reply.
The long rifle Annie held wavered ever so slightly off target, and she failed to keep her voice from cracking, "Then why didn't you DO something about it!"
"I did."
"No you didn't! You LEFT!"
Vanessa almost thought Annie's hard resolve was coming back, but her tone of voice said otherwise. Vanessa realized she was breaking down the adult and bringing forth the lonely, insecure little girl who had only wanted a mother. She continued to play her daughter like a prize violin, watching and waiting for the best opening to escape.
"I did what I thought was best at the time. Maybe I was wrong."
"You could have…"
"MUDSLINGER ON!"
For once in his pathetic and miserable existence, Lester Sludge saw an opportunity passing by and took it. The ball of mud hit its target dead on, clogging up Annie's rifle barrel and rendering it useless.
"WHIP ON!"
Vanessa's follow through brought Annie literally to her knees. The laser whip coiled around her ankles, taking her unbalanced state from the mental to the physical. Vanessa didn't waste any time, knowing her daughter's reaction would be fast and furious. Within seconds, she had grabbed Lester's arm, muttered something about "finally doing something right", and dragged him along as fast as she could sprint.
"YOU BITCH!"
Annie leapt to her feet and threw the now useless rifle at the retreating pair, hoping it might do some physical damage. She was ready to run through the desert and murder her backstabbing mother with her own bare hands until a voice boomed out behind her.
"WHAT IN THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?"
Her father's projection was only holographic, but the voice did its job of scaring her back into reality. By the time the image faded, Jacques had pulled up beside her in Volcano, along with Hondo and Julio. From inside the van, she could hear what sounded like Brad's weakened voice…
"Where…is…she…?"
Annie took one last glance at an immobile Manta and climbed up into the van. "She got away."
"Not…Vanessa……..you…"
Annie knelt down beside Brad's half-conscious body, noting with relief that Julio managed to set the breaks with what little he had available. She gasped in surprise as Brad grabbed the front of her uniform and pulled her close with what little strength he seemed to have in his good arm.
"Listen…to…me. We are in one hell of a mess, and you…better pony…up…stop chasing…ghosts…and lead…us…out…of…this…! Do…you…hear…me…."
Brad faded out cold again mid-lecture, his grip on his daughter finally loosening as his arm fell across his chest. Annie removed Firewall, setting it on Volcano's floor and resisting the urge to curl up in a ball and cry.
"Annie, he's right."
Hondo's soft agreement didn't do much for her self-esteem, but Annie somehow managed to pull herself off the floor and set her face into a determined mask.
"Julio, keep an eye on your patient. Hondo, I'll take any tactical advice you have at the moment. Jacques, keep us moving. We've got one hell of a desert to comb and snakes could be around any corner."