1Chapter 3: His Heart is far away
The calm ocean water stretching far out into the distance before him seemed to be the only thing calming the restlessness he felt inside his soul. The sounds of the gentle white-capped waves as they washed up upon the sandy beach of the coastline increased the tranquility of the natural environment currently surrounding him. After all the horrors he had seen in his life, especially very recently, any semblance of peace that he could find was a most welcomed occurrence.
He gazed out upon the water as the morning sunshine sparkled along its gently rippling surface. In his peripheral vision, he glanced over at the empty chairs placed around the table he currently sat. He quietly sighed as his heart sunk while he envisioned the people he wanted more than anything to be sitting in those chairs with him.
He was at a café that was within a stone's throw from the ocean's shoreline located directly across the street. It was very early in the morning, so very few people were out walking or driving along the streets, making this part of the city very quiet. He had been the very first customer for the café's staff when they had opened about ten minutes ago. The bright sun was slowly rising from the east behind him, shining through the tall buildings making up the central core of the large city. It was casting long shadows out over the sandy beach and water only making the scene seem even more surreal.
He could see why many people considered this city to be one of the most beautiful locations on Earth, and why thousands of people traveled great distances every year to experience the magic it seemed to radiate. Perhaps one day he would bring Makoto back here for a vacation, he thought to himself as he sipped his cup of green tea. Of course, she would first have to overcome her crippling aerophobia. But Makoto was a strong spirited young woman and he was confident that she would be able to overcome her fear someday.
He sighed again as the image of Makoto and their friends, the Sailor Soldiers, flashed again in his mind. He was still in Cape Town, South Africa awaiting his next destination in his seemingly endless battle against the demonic species known as the War-Wolves. For the past year and a half, this had become routine. He would be sent to a specific geographical location or city, find the den of demon wolves, and proceed to destroy them and return any survivors he found to their families. Afterwards, he would then wait for his contact to tell him where to go next.
In the beginning, his contact would give him several locations of confirmed sightings of the wolves and then meet up with him once those identified areas were cleansed of the un-holy infection. Lately, he had been noticing that the number of affected areas had been getting smaller and smaller. It gave him hope that he could be nearing the end of his final mission at long last. It strengthened his belief that perhaps he would be back in Japan soon and be reunited with what he considered to be his new family: Tuxedo Mask and the Sailor Soldiers.
His time in South Africa had been surprisingly longer than in any of the previous locations he had traveled to. The wolves' den here in Cape Town had been relatively easy to find. The natural geography of the area had limited the number of locations they could have used to set up a lair.
War-Wolves were huge creatures, standing approximately seven feet tall with heavily muscled bodies that made them look like American Football linebackers. They walked on two legs when fully grown which gave them the appearance of a humanoid. They were covered from head to toe in thick bristly black fur, their fingers and toes ending with razor-sharp claws. Their heads were dog-like with pointed ears that stood straight, like a German Shepherd, and a long snout with large pointed teeth and a pair of medium sized pitch black eyes. They were nocturnal creatures who broke into people's houses when they could smell young children inside. Their acute sense of smell was able to detect the presence of younger humans because of the different scents they give off. The beasts were completely savage and did not have a shred of humanity in them.
Almost always in their attacks, the entire family was either completely slaughtered or brutally mauled to the point of near death while the young children were taken to the den. Sean had never personally seen any survivors in any of his investigations of the locations where War-Wolf attacks occurred but he had heard stories from other Illuminati operatives or natives that he encountered during his brief stays in the different countries. The stories from previous Illuminati agents usually described how they had found people that had managed to live through the wolves' initial attack only to die from their injuries later on in the hospitals. The captured children were taken back to the wolves' home where the pack would tear them apart and eat them in a disgusting and horrific feeding frenzy. The wolves only seemed to eat children under the age of seven and preferred to kill anything that was considered too old for them for sport.
Most of the packs he had encountered had consisted of only five members: three males and two females. The group that had been terrorizing Cape Town had been significantly larger having twelve adults: six males, six females and three cubs. The females, like most other animal species in nature, were noticeably larger than the males due to its duty of producing new offspring for the pack. However, the males were much more aggressive making them especially dangerous when in large numbers.
Carnage's chosen battle strategy had usually been to take out the male wolves first, since the females tended to either protect any offspring or defend their food source if any captured children were still alive when he arrived.
During one of his regular patrols of the city, he tried to locate a lone wolf to lead him to one of the packs. Instead he managed to save a young family, successfully driving away two male wolves that were attacking them. He had purposely not delivered any death blows to the wolves, despite the terrified family's frequent insistencies as they huddled together in a corner of the master bedroom. Carnage would have much rather preferred to listen to their pleas, and kill the wolves, making him two steps closer to finishing his mission. However, he was aware that is would have been a hollow victory. It made more sense to follow the wolves and kill as many as he could at once.
He managed to keep pace with the retreating wolves as he followed them back to their den located in a cave in the side of Table Mountain. This particular mountain towered over the Cape Peninsula where the city was situated. Once he had entered the cave that he had seen the wolves disappear into, he had been shocked to see the large number of individuals present. His past experiences with them allowed him to quickly identify the males from the females, even in the limited light the wolves' lairs often provided. He observed that the wolves that made up this pack were still juveniles, as they were still walking on four limbs. This was a small advantage as it meant that they weren't at their full physical strength level.
He quickly crouched behind a natural stone formation to allow his symbiote to extend several string thin pseudopods to collecting visual information. He knew he had a few seconds at best before the enhanced sense of smell of the wolves would detect his presence inside their cave.
The symbiote told him that there were seven children that had been captured by the pack of wolves. Carnage gritted his black teeth as that horrible reality washed over him. He had managed to save one family but that meant that several others had been needlessly slaughtered. What troubled him most was that in every recorded encounter, and his own first-hand experiences, the males were the ones that did the killing and capturing and left the females to guard the cubs and the pack's hideaway.
That meant the other four males had been successful in their murderous missions. That accounted for four of the children but where had the other three come from? War Wolves never left children alive for anything longer than a few hours as the concepts of storing food or having 'left-overs' were completely absent to them.
That left only one other explanation: the females were beginning to hunt as well. That marked a very disturbing turn in their overall behaviour and evolution. It now meant that even more children would be in danger if the wolves were allowed to spread beyond the boundaries of Cape Town. He could not, and would not, allow that to happen. He had to stop them here and now.
It was at that point that a loud howl had echoed off the cold stone walls of the cave. Carnage took a deep breath and tensed his body muscles underneath his symbiotic skin. His hands morphed into a sharp scythe and wide square shield. His symbiote spoke to him telepathically to inform him of what he already knew.
Here we go again.
He jumped up to a standing position and revealed his location to the wolves. They swung their bodies around and lowered themselves low to the ground. Their knees and elbows bent like coiled springs, ready to launch themselves forward at the intruder invading their home. Thick foul scented drool dripped from their long snouts as spine chilling growls escape through clenched teeth. This was the youngsters' usual battle position. When they reached full maturity, they attacked much like a bear, swiping with their front paws while trying to bite down on their prey's throat while standing up on hind legs.
In a flash of movement the battle had begun. One of the males launched itself forward and aimed its open maw at Carnage's throat. He had managed to bat the beast away with his shield-shaped hand, sending the creature hard into one of the walls of the cave. The other male wolves followed, lurching forward while snapping their teeth at Carnage's legs, swiping the air with their front claws.
In no time, the six males had encircled Carnage forcing him to take a few steps back to maintain a safe distance from them. The symbiote screamed inside his mind that he was very close to being pinned up against one of the stone walls. Carnage had only one option. He planted one foot behind him and bent both his knees as he got into a lunge position. He waited for the wolves to edge a bit closer to him as his mind replayed the offensive gamble he was about to put into motion.
He pushed forward and ran towards the wolves. They lunged forward as well with their sharp teeth in an attack leap to meet him head on. Carnage swung his scythe bladed hand in a downward arch followed by a horizontal slash. This cut a deep wound across the back of one wolf before slicing the belly of another in mid-jump.
Thick yellow blood splashed across Carnage's body as the eviscerated wolf's body was knocked aside as he finished his charge. He spun around on his heels to re-engage the rest of the unholy creatures. The two wounded wolves hung back behind the other four. War-Wolves, like most demon species, were gifted with accelerated healing abilities. From his past experiences, Carnage knew that in only a matter of minutes the injuries he had just inflicted would account for nothing. He had to start delivering fatal wounds and get the odds back in his favour, or he was going to be overcome by their numbers very quickly.
The smell of the blood from their injured pack members seemed to increase survival instincts. They launched forward again but this time in delayed intervals, two wolves followed by the other two and then the still recovering injured ones.
Carnage aimed his bladed hand at one of the incoming wolves' throat in an attempt to separate the snarling head from its shoulders. War-Wolves may look like the modern version of a werewolf but thankfully did not require the traditional and very specific ways of being killed. Decapitation or burning alive had been the ways Carnage had preferred to use in the past, but he had many other options.
Carnage's arm blade successfully connected with the lead wolf's jugular vein and cut deep into the flesh as the forward momentum of its jump pushed it across the full length of the blade's sharp edge. The wolf continued past Carnage but it was clear that the wolf's head was barely attached to its body. It landed on the ground and collapsed into a heap as a yellow puddle of liquid slowly oozed out from underneath it. Carnage knew that it would be out for a while but would eventually heal if left alive long enough.
His hand shield shrunk back into its normal humanoid form before quickly transforming into a long broad sword. Extending his arms out to the sides he began to spin around in a wild and deadly circle. He bent and straightened his knees which lowered and raised the cutting edges of his blades as they spun with him. The wolves did not back up from him during the attack as their physical hunger and basic animal instincts kept them on the offensive. The symbiotic blades cut into their flesh, sliced through muscle, ligaments, and tendons. A few of their limbs were cleaved off which made some of the wolves unable to stand.
Without fully stopping, Carnage changed from spinning to hacking and thrusting with pointed lances erupting from the symbiotic skin of his chest and back into the bodies of the wounded wolves around him. He finished off the nearly decapitated wolf with a powerful downward swipe from his sword limb easily cutting through the thin piece of muscle keeping its head attached. He turned around and continued on as he sliced through another two wolves' throats before being knocked forward to the ground by a tackle from another wolf.
He felt the claws of its paws pierce his red alien skin as it bore its full body weight down on him. Carnage turned his head as far as he could and looked up at his attacker. He could see its snarling mouth inches from the side of his head, and felt the foul smelling salvia drip down onto his back and the rocky ground by his shoulder. His look of surprise at the sudden attack quickly changed to one of complete shock. The symbiote screamed inside his brain that the wolf on him was not a male but actually a female. The female wolves had never attacked in an offensive manner before. They only turned aggressive when in defense of their food or cubs. This confirmed to him that the wolves were indeed evolving and had become an even more dangerous threat to the Earth's people than ever before.
Without any more hesitation he mentally willed a large organic spike to appear out of the middle of his back. He sent the spear upwards pierced the tough skin of the female wolf. The spike continued its way through the demon's body until it broke through at the top of its back. The upward momentum of the spike caused the wolf to be lifted off of Carnage which effectively impaled it on the spike's shaft. The wolf struggled in vain as it tried to wiggle and shake itself free.
Carnage was deaf to its howls of pain as the memories of its species' many atrocities were firmly engraved into his brain. Despite his complete lack of sympathy for the beast, he decided to give it a single act of compassion. He rolled on to his back as the symbiotic spike migrated with his movement so that it was now sprouting from his chest. He then morphed his left hand into a pair of long-bladed scissors. He thrusted his arm upwards and placed the thrashing throat of the wolf between the twin pieces of sharp organic matter. In an instant, it was over as the blades came together and the wolf's head bounced to the ground a few inches to the right of Carnage's face. Several splashes of yellow arterial blood rained down on him as the wolf's heart continued to beat.
He retracted the spike back into his chest causing the headless corpse to fall down upon him. He pushed it off and stood up. He risked a second to pause and look around at his current situation so he could take in the remaining numbers of the pack. So far he had killed three of the male wolves and one female which meant he still had another eight wolves to go. However the females were now taking battle positions beside the remaining males while the cubs remained behind them against the far wall of the cave.
This made the odds even worse than when he had started. The new found aggressiveness of the females effectively made it eight against one. Carnage had successfully taken on three wolves at the same time in previous battles but never eight and certainly not mostly females. This was uncharted territory for him and he was unsure if his usual battle strategies would work against the presumably different attack patterns of the female wolves.
Inside his brain, the symbiote began to plead to let it take total control of their shared body. It was something that Sean had done only a couple of times before, and only in extreme circumstances. To allow the symbiote to have full control of his body and, in a sense, shut his brain down like a mental blackout was a very dangerous gamble. It was true that the symbiote was a sentient being and was capable of its own independent thoughts, but it was still an animal though a highly evolved and intelligent one. It was those animalistic instincts that caused the greatest concern for Sean. If the symbiote acted purely on its primordial tendencies it could make mistakes that could be avoided through the higher cognitive thinking that humans possessed. It was this mixture of animalistic instinct and cognitive thinking that had made them such a success warrior and defender of Earth. To take away one of those key components meant taking a severe risk that could perhaps lead to their mutual death.
On top of all of this, the wolves had numbers on their side. Sean had seen more than enough documentaries and nature shows about packs of wild animals and dinosaurs taking down much larger or better protected prey just by using multiple bodies as a distraction, and the hit-and-run strategy to tire out their intended target. He knew that he had to remain standing at all costs. He had been lucky just now that the other wolves had not attacked while he was dealing with the female wolf. If the wolves were successful in getting him to his knees or back again he was sure it would be over this time.
Carnage took in a deep breath and filled his lungs with oxygen that reeked of the deaths of numerous innocent people. He gritted his black needle-like teeth as he realized that he had no choice now. He had to end this quickly or the wolves' plague would spread beyond this cave. If he failed to stop them here the wolves would eventually reach Japan. That meant that they would face the Sailor Soldiers. He was sure that they would be able to handle them, but the countless deaths that would occur before reaching them would be totally unacceptable.
Please Sean! I can do this. Please trust me. Let me have control of our body so I can destroy these monsters once and for all!
Alright! We don't have any more options so go ahead but remember, do not harm any of the children in any of your attacks!
Ok.
Carnage stood straighter and put his arms down at his sides before tilting his head slightly upwards. His large white eyes closed and his breathing slowed down. He felt his brain activity slowing down as if his body was rapidly giving in to the effects of physical exhaustion. The last clear sound his brain registered before going dark was the scrapping of the wolves' claws on the stone floor of the cave as they charged at him.
An indescribable feeling of intense pain rocked his eyes open. He was unsure how much time had passed since he had allowed the symbiote to take their body completely over. Had it been minutes or only seconds? He could not be sure. The burning sensation of pain that he was feeling flared up again immediately focusing his mind on the situation. It took him a few more seconds to realize what was going on.
One of the female wolves had managed to leap onto his back. Its front limbs and paws were draped over the front of his shoulders and its claws were deeply imbedded into the flesh of his chest. The sharp barbs of the claws had managed to pierce the symbiotic skin and make their way into the underlying muscle and tissue that made up his human body. The wolf's back legs were still firmly on the ground, giving some leverage to pull Carnage backwards. Its jaws and teeth were biting down hard on his neck as they tried to desperately get at his carotid artery. So far the teeth hadn't be able to connect to it, but every second that passed as they continued to snap and bite at any piece of him that they could get at was only getting them closer to being able to strike the fatal blow.
Get it off… us.
Carnage didn't stop to acknowledge that he had heard his partner's desperate plea. Since the wolf was dangerously close to his head a wild swipe or swing from a tendril might cause unnecessary injury to him. Carnage rapidly began to prepare himself for the intense pain he knew was coming next.
He reached up and back with both of his arms and felt his shoulder muscles begin to rip and tear. The jagged edges of the wolf's teeth and claws tore through the dense muscle tissue as his arms rotated backwards. He grabbed the wolf by the scruff of its neck as he elongated his fingers so they wrapped tightly around it like a noose.
He took a quick breath in and pulled the wolf forward using all of his remaining physical strength. The wolf, like any other predatory animals, would not let go easily. It was going to wait until its prey became too weak from blood loss or finally suffocated allowing it to finish its prey without further resistance.
Underneath the symbiotic skin, Carnage could feel his own blood flowing from the wounds in his upper chest. He knew that he was going to start succumbing to the physical effects of exsanguination in a matter of minutes. He shot a symbiotic dart from his mid-back into the wolf's body. It was not meant to be a fatal blow but was successful in its real purpose. The sudden shot of pain caused the wolf to yelp. Its jaws temporarily loosened their grip on him. Carnage used the momentary distraction to pull the wolf forward again until he managed to finally pry it off of his back. He dangled it in front him. The wolf's six foot long body made it impossible to completely hold it away from his body. Its hind legs still draped over Carnage's shoulders and were kicking and scratching with its claws as it tried to physically right itself. The wolf snapped its jaws and tried to curl its upper body upwards to get at the arms holding it in this awkward position. Carnage wasted no more time as a sharp blade erupted from his abdomen and, with a quick swipe, ended the wolf's struggle.
He dropped the wolf's body and surveyed the area around him. It turned out that had been the last of the War-Wolves. The other eleven bodies of the pack were scattered around the open space of the cave. The bodies of the three wolf cubs lay eviscerated where he had last remembered seeing them. The captured children had taken refuge behind the stone wall formation, remaining unharmed.
He dropped to his knees as he allowed himself to finally relax, grateful the danger was now over. He felt the wounds in his chest and neck as they flared up with each breath and beat of his heart. It would take his symbiote hours to repair the damage caused by the battle, but he had managed to survive and rescue the children. He could endure a few hours of intense pain for such a result. A quick inspection of his neck with his right hand let him know just how close he had come to actually having his throat ripped out.
The quiet whimpering of the children brought his attention back to them. He lifted his head and looked at them. When he saw the little pairs of eyes looking over at him he slowly gestured with his hand that he was one of the good guys, and not one of the monsters that had kidnapped them. It had understandably taken them a few minutes to realize that he was indeed their saviour. After a couple of minutes, they slowly approached him. Their small innocent faces and eyes were stained red from tears of terror. He gently took two of the children's hands, and made sure the other children were holding hands with each other, before escorting them back to the city.
It took over two hours to get back within the city's limits, as the children needed frequent breaks, and he needed to safely get them down the steep cliff side of Table Mountain. As they continued on towards the city, Carnage had chosen not to revert back to his human persona. He knew that he still hadn't yet fully healed from the last wolf's brutal attack. He wasn't sure of the full extent of the physical damage, but he did not want to further traumatize the children with the potentially gruesome injury. Once they finally reached the outskirts of Cape Town, they walked through the quiet streets together in silence until they reached the city's main police station.
When they arrived at the precinct, he sent the children inside and told them to inform the officers that they had been taken against their will and later released into the wilderness outside the city limits. He had no doubt that the noise of the wolf attacks had drawn their neighbour's attention. It was highly probable that the police could more than likely be out looking for the missing children, since they would not be among the dead of their families.
He knew that the police, and other civil servants, would not believe the children's story about the monstrous wolves. It would only result in wasted time and taxpayer's money as they tried to find the human perpetrators when there weren't any. However, he didn't have a choice. Revealing the bodies of the wolves would only raise unwanted questions about things that were better off remaining unknown to the general public. The other risk was that it could lead to the authorities learning about his involvement, and make him the central focus of all the resulting public attention and investigations. Having the children returned to any surviving family members anonymously was the best decision.
Once the children had gotten safely inside the precinct he had reverted back to his human persona. The wounds on his chest had mostly healed during their long trek from the wolves' lair, but his neck was still visibly scratched and mauled. He left a bit of symbiotic skin in a camouflaged state to match the colour of his skin to completely hide the wound at the base of his neck. He took a deep breath and entered the station with the intention to add some credibility to the children's stories about being found wandering in the forest after being released by their kidnappers. He also wanted to make sure that they were properly taken care of by the police officials.
The children were bright and quickly realized who the newly arrived man standing up for them really was. The police seemed to believe their collective story that he had been a hiker that had stumbled upon them and proceeded to escort them safely to the police station. When the police officers weren't looking, Sean caught a few of them looking up at him with wide smiles and eyes that told him that they knew exactly who he was. He returned every smile they gave with one of his own. After a couple of hours of collecting their statements and personal information the police chief informed Sean that the children were going to remain at the station until family members could be reached, or the local Children's Aid Services appointed each of them a guardian.
Sean visited the children several times over the following days. Once the children had been released into the custody of their court appointed guardians they privately confronted him during his last visit. They told them that they wanted to take a picture of him in his 'other' form so they would never forget the person that had saved them.
He had been hesitant, but ultimately agreed if they allowed him to keep his civilian identity a secret from their guardians. They promised to never reveal it to anyone else. The children concocted a story claiming the actual person that had saved them was coming by to see them, and that the young man that had been visiting him was really this person's best friend. Sean was aware that their story was flimsy and carried a large degree of risk on his part. However, the guardians seemed to buy the story. They were simply grateful to this person for saving the children's lives and wanted to thank him in person.
They arranged to all meet on a private beach a few miles away from downtown Cape Town. The parental guardians had been more than a little surprised and even scared to see the unexpected sight of their charges' rescuer. Their hesitations and nervousness softened when they saw how happy and excited the children were to see him. When they saw the tender hugs the red creature gave each of them, and how careful he was around them, they saw there was nothing to fear.
The kids gathered around him and hugged him tightly with their little arms. Some of even jumped up onto his back with raucous laughter. They did not seem fazed at all by the red alien skin moving on its own against their bodies. The parental guardians gathered around the cute mess of tiny bodies and wiggling organic crimson strands as a Polaroid camera with was set up. It flashed three times as it took their group shots.
"You are losing your edge, my dear boy!"
Sean shook his head and blinked as he snapped out of the memories of his latest battle. He turned his head to look at the man sitting across the table to his left. Like himself, the newcomer had positioned his chair so that his body was facing towards the water. It was still very early in the morning, but a hot, sticky level of humidity hung in the air. Sean's unexpected guest did not seem to notice the rising heat, he was dressed in an expensive looking grey suit with shiny black dress shoes. On the table beside the man was a black bowler hat. His outfit was clearly not made for the climate of South Africa, but Sean would not expect anything less from his this particular individual. Sean's eyes narrowed a little as he prepared himself for what he knew was coming. His time in South Africa had finally come to an end.
"I never would have been able to get this close to you without you knowing long in advance."
"Perhaps I allowed you to this time, because I know you are no threat to me Alistair."
"No need to be rude my boy! Especially not when I have come to give you praise for your most recent victory in the name of the people of Earth."
"I am not your boy Alistair and it's not a victory yet. We just won another battle. That is all."
"Ohhhh… but that is where you are wrong. You have finally done it! You have completed your mission at long last."
Sean turned to give Alistair an intense stare, his eyes asking if what he said was indeed true. He did not trust Alistair for a second, recalling how he had misled him into accepting the mission that had taken almost two years to complete. He leaned his head forward towards Alistair as a signal to him that he was in no mood for any of his games.
"You mean?"
"There have been no more reports of children and families being killed with the War-Wolf's signatures. It has been declared by the Inner Council of the Illuminati that the species known as the War-Wolf has been rendered completely extinct!"
Alistair turned to look at Sean with a delighted smile stretched across his middle-aged face. His left index finger and thumb rubbed the glass surface of the head of the black cane in his hand. In his right he held a cup of earl grey tea. He took a small sip of the hot liquid to prolong the special moment between them. After what seemed like an eternity, he put the cup back down onto the saucer on the table and turned his head again to look back at Sean.
"You have completed all the objectives outlined in your initial assignment's description. As per what was promised to you when you undertook this mission you are now off the international operative list and permanently assigned to the protection and defense of the country of Japan. Congratulations Sean on a job well done!"
Alistair's words took a few seconds to fully sink. Sean had been waiting for this day for so long now that he had no idea how to react. His mind became a fury of thoughts and emotions. He would finally being able to see Makoto and his friends again. There was a sense of relief, he would no longer have to travel and would only have the responsibly of Japan to think about. Alistair must have sensed the whirlwind that Sean's mind was experiencing, because his next series of comments snapped his brain back into focus.
"The Inner Council has requested that you report back to London for the final de-briefing and the official and formal reassignment of your job title and position. There is a private plane waiting for you at Cape Town International Airport. Terminal 92. The gate attendee will need you to say the password: Monkey, before he allows you to board the airplane."
Sean was still not completely convinced that Alistair was being truthful. His distrust for the man was still strong despite the good news. He trusted the Illuminati Council even less, since their motives were not always clear when it came to Earth's overall protection. On more than one occasion, he had gone against their orders to ensure that civilian casualties were either kept at zero or significantly reduced. Those past incidents had made him very cautious about what was going to happen when he stood before the Inner Council in London when he arrived. He couldn't ignore the sinking feeling inside. There was one last string they were going to pull to keep him firmly in their grasp a little while longer.
"You better get going. If you hurry, you can make it back to Tokyo before your latest gifts to the sailors arrive. I am sure you will want to be there when Minako gets her designer bag, Usagi opens her slip-on shoes, and Rei receives her expensive willow-weave gown!"
"How did you?" Sean decided against finishing his question.
He knew Alistair had been watching him for some time, and had made it his business to know everything that the operatives under his watch did. It wouldn't have been that hard to see the pattern of buying unusual gifts from stores that catered to the female population and then directly to the local postal office. He knew for certain that Alistair had someone watching the girls back in Japan and informing him the received the packages.
Alistair stood from his chair and finished his cup of tea with a slight backwards jerk of the head. He gently placed the cup back on its saucer before using his hands to smooth out the wrinkles in his expensive suit. When he was satisfied that his physical appearance was as close to immaculate as he was going to get, given his current situation, he turned to regard Sean one last time. A pleasant-looking smile appeared on his face as he extended his hand in a gesture that signaled that he wanted Sean to shake it.
"It has been a pleasure working with you, Carnage. I hope that we don't have to see each other again after today."
Sean stood up and firmly grasped Alistair's hand. Despite the age difference between them the elder of the two men was able to put some significant strength into his grip. They pumped their joined hands three times before releasing, eyes never breaking contact.
"I hope so too!"
With the hand shake broken, Alistair turned around and began to stroll down the street, lightly tapping the bottom of his cane against the surface of the concrete sidewalk. His body displayed some of the swagger that one would come to expect from someone that thought supremely high of themselves. It always irritated Sean to some degree whenever he saw someone like Alistair walking in that fashion. He was the one almost getting killed every single time while people like him remained safe in their secure locations.
Sean reached down and quickly finished his cup of tea that was rapidly losing its warmth. Putting the cup down, he looked back in the direction where Alistair had been heading in. He was no longer in sight. He smirked, as the last encounter with Alistair firmly took root inside his memory bank. It felt understandably and pleasantly different than his previous encounters with the man. He decided it was merely because this was the final stage of his long awaited journey back to his adoptive home in Japan.
He turned to look out upon the ocean water and white sandy beach one last time. The sun was higher now making the shadows from the tall skyscraper buildings behind him smaller and narrower. The sparkling water was now becoming almost blinding as the sunlight intensely radiated off the water's surface. Soon he turned and headed down the alley next to the café and in the direction of the airport.
As Sean left the café and began to make his way to the private jet anxiously awaiting his arrival, Alistair was in extreme peril in another alley located a few blocks from the café. He had been snatched by a pair of impossibly fast hands in those brief moments when Sean had turned his attention away from his departing figure. A hand clad in a leather like material had immediately covered his mouth to prevent him from vocalizing any sort of verbal protest.
Alistair's eyes stared squarely at the monster that held him up against one of the walls of the alley. His assailant was clad in black body armour and mask, giving it the appearance of a ninja. It had long straight grey hair that fell far below its shoulders with a thick black headband that ran underneath its head. Its hands and feet were wrapped in a material that looked like leather tensor bandages although he suspected that it was something far more sinister. Across its back, a large sword hung in a brown scabbard. Its physical appearance suggested that this monster was attempting to pass itself as a humanoid female and was succeeding in that goal. The creature leaned in close to Alistair's face. A foul smell broke through the fabric covering its mouth.
"Listen to me human, you will tell me everything your organization knows. Right now!" It hissed.
Alistair tried to maintain his calm composure and confidence. As a member of the Illuminati organization, he had been extensively trained to endure incredible amounts of physical pain and resist any mental illusion cast on him in order to prevent the organization's vast secrets from falling into enemy's hands. He was more than prepared to die to ensure that this monster and the leaders it worked for would never gain such valuable information.
"You are an agent of the Dark Kingdom, aren't you? You can tell your Queen that she will never rule Earth while the Illuminati are around!"
"You pitiful flesh bag! We no longer have a Queen. We have someone much greater and more suited to lead our armies. He will lead us to absolute victory over your weak race."
"If you are so confident in your organization's second go at world domination, why do you need me then?" Alistair made sure to emphasize the word 'second' and add a clear tone of mocking sarcasm when he spoke. He was hoping that the monster's pride would overcome its loyalty to its master and it would lash out in anger killing him and foil its primary mission.
The monster's grip tightened around Alistair's neck and collapsed his airway enough that he could feel the beginning effects of asphyxiation set in. His face began to turn blue, and he began to feel lightheaded as his brain struggled to maintain its normal cognitive functions. He silently encouraged the monster to keep squeezing for a couple more minutes until his brain finally died from the lack of oxygen and blood.
The monster suddenly relaxed its grip around his neck. Alistair coughed repeatedly as fresh air once again flooded his lungs. The monster retained its firm hold on him.
"Nice try meat sac! I applaud your efforts but it was all for not. I will not disappoint my master by failing to get the information that he wants from you. I can tell now that I will need to use extreme measures."
The monster flipped Alistair around so that his chest was pressed tightly against the wall. His right cheek was pressed flat and firmly against the stone bricks of the alley. The monster lifted its free hand and extended the index finger. After a second the fingernail on the end of the finger elongated into a nasty looking claw. It re-braced its other arm and body firmly against Alistair's to keep him completely under its control.
In one quick motion the monster thrust the sharp claw into the back of Alistair's neck. A yelp of pain was the only thing he could muster before the monster snapped its other hand back over his mouth. Alistair's mind became a frenzy of emotions and thoughts. He could still feel his arms and legs so that told him that the claw had missed his spinal cord. He could also still feel the monster's claw inside his neck but could do absolutely nothing about it. He managed to remember enough of human anatomy from his school days to know that it wouldn't take much for the sharp edge of the claw to sever his spinal cord and render him completely paralyzed. This made him stop his resistance and remain as still as he physically could.
Before he could form any more thoughts, a burning white hot sensation spread quickly throughout his body. The resulting pain was both excruciating and indescribable as he felt it throughout his entire body. His body convulsed and twitched as it reacted to the unknown stimulus, but the monster managed to keep him firmly against the wall. He tried to scream out but was stopped when the monster tightened its grip over his mouth. He felt his brain swell inside his skull as the cause of his discomfort played havoc.
"You feel that flesh-bag? That is the feeling of intense bio-electricity being pumped directly into your nervous system. I can assure you that you have never felt pain like this ever before."
Alistair knew that what the monster had said was true. In his training to become an senior operative for the Illuminati Council, he had been subjected to various types of stress and physical endurance tests meant to toughen him up both physical and mentally. The ultimate goal was for him to be able to resist many different kinds of torture in the event that he should ever be captured by an enemy. The monster's mention of bio-electricity made him flash back to the electrical shock tests that he had been put through. He had been repeatedly shocked by cattle prods, live wires, and electrical generators of various voltages. However, they were nothing compared to what this monster was currently doing to him.
"Now, will you tell me what I want to know?"
"Go … to hell … you … inhuman creature!"
"As you wish."
For the next hour, Alistair was subjected to repeated surges of bio-electricity as the monster channeled the current from its extended finger into his brain stem. The electricity then spread along his nerves to every part of his body. After half an hour, Alistair could not stand upright and his arms and legs were completely numb as the nerves were internally burned away from the consistent barrages of raw organic power. After forty-five minutes, his breathing became more laboured as his body's natural rhythm became severely interrupted due to damage to the nerves that regulated his lungs.
When the sixty minute mark occurred, he felt his heartbeat become irregular and start to seize up. He knew that if he continued to resist he would not simply pass out but die. The fear of his own impending death rapidly filled him and temporarily overrode the pain that raked the insides of his body. He felt the monster twitch its finger, meaning another electrical surge was about to come. The terror that washed over him as his damaged brain struggled to comprehend this finally caused him to mentally break.
"Alright. No more. You win!"
"Finally, a smart move. It is about time! Tell me everything that your organization currently has on the Dark Kingdom and do not skip anything!"
For several minutes, Alistair gave the monster all the information he knew about the Dark Kingdom. On occasion, he would hesitate as his sense of loyalty to the Council tried to re-establish control. The monster would send a mini-electrical wave into his body to act as a reminder that he was still at its mercy.
Alistair told the monster all about the surveillance the Council had been conducting on objects or monsters that were known to be associated with the Dark Kingdom as well the irrefutable evidence they had gathered that proved the Dark Kingdom's involvement in various world events over the last decade and a half. His last bundle of information gave the monster very specific details such as people's names, locations, and the Council's overall plans to counter-act the Dark Kingdom's suspected upcoming operations.
When he had finally finished devolving everything he knew, he turned his head as far to the side as he could so that he could see the monster. He didn't care if he became paralyzed by his action as the shame he now felt for his betrayal and weakness began to overtake him. From what he could see, the monster seemed to be studying his body language as if deciding whether he had in fact given all the information that he possessed about the Dark Kingdom. The claw which had been the source of his recent misery remained lodged deep inside the back of his neck. After what seemed like an eternity, the monster leaned in so that its masked covered mouth was next to his left ear.
"Thank you human! You have been most helpful!"
The monster leaned back and stood upright as it slowly pulled the claw from Alistair's body. As the last bit of it exited the back of his neck Alistair felt sharp pain, and relief that it was out of his neck at last. He felt the monster let go of him completely and allow him to finally separate from the wall of the alley. He did not immediately turn around as the shame and embarrassment continued to consume him. As the pain inside him began to slowly dissipate the realization of what had happened started to become crystal clear.
What had he done? How could he face the Council now? he thought.
Suddenly a strange sound behind him interrupted his downward spiral into depression. It sounded like metal scrapping against another surface. He quickly turned around to see the monster finish pulling its sword from the scabbard hanging across its back. As his eyes widened with terror, as the sight fully registered, the monster swung the blade in a graceful but deadly downward arch that cut clean through his neck.
Alistair's head remained in place although it was no longer attached to his body. A thin line of blood oozed out from the wound and spilled down onto his expensive jacket and white dress shirt. A second later, he dropped to his knees as his body quickly began to shut down. The jolt of his knees hitting the ground knocked his head from the rest of his body. It bounced on the ground a few times, landing a few feet away before coming to a rest on its side. His eyes were open wide with surprise and his frozen gaze stared off at the monster. The monster sheathed its sword and proceeded to disappear into the warm morning air.