7 - Deliver Onto Evil
Night. 3am.
The private quarters of Tempest Storm, inside John Dread's underground base in Desert Plains of Arizona, was completely dark. Not an ounce of light penetrated the room, and that's the way he liked it. Being a man of infinite electro-light, able to control even Nature and its power of electricity, he felt most comfortable in the dark.
In the room, Tempest Storm slept soundly in a bed covered with silk sheets and feather pillows, cooled with central air-conditioning. Beside him was the woman he had recently become involved with, whom he had fallen in love with the moment he laid eyes on her, during his first encounter with John Dread in his office on this base. She was leaning against a wall, listening vaguely to John's Dread's scheme, rolling her eyes at every mention of world domination, as the briefing commenced. And during the entire time he could not take his eyes off her, she was so beautiful, and he knew she was looking in his direction as well.
Her name was Annabelle, she was also known as Electrix inside criminal circles, and she was able to manipulate the awesome power of Nature like he could, however with slightly limited ability. With his lightning rods he was Mother Nature, Electrix had no such absorbing technique.
As he slept beside her he dreamt about her, he could not stop thinking about her. Electrix was a strong woman and it was only until last night that she agreed to sleep with him, since being involved with Dread's caper for over a week. But he did not pressure her, he allowed Electrix to make up her own mind and finally she came to his bed late last night.
There came a knock on Tempest Storm's bedroom door, and he moaned half-asleep at the intrusion.
The door opened with a creak, and the darkened silhouette of a man stood in the doorway. His shadow lay across the floor and halfway up the bed comforter. Tempest Storm eyed the man with half an open eye and sleepy vision, and the glow from behind the man from the light in the hall made the man appear almost angelic. But it was Tempest Storm's understanding and from he had been told of the man, he was no angel.
The identity of the man was of no surprise, Tempest Storm could sense the electricity in his joints; and the hairs on his arms rose, like a chill down the back. It was Psycho, the half-man, Cyborg, middle man of John Dread's minions, who's metallic smile looked like it had been crafted by the Devil himself. Smilie is what Max Steel called him, and it suited him; that gigantic grin was off the scale on the creep factor.
"Get up!" Psycho ordered. "John Dread has a mission for you two."
Psycho then left the room, uninterested in anything going on.
Tempest Storm leaned over and shook Electrix awake. "Annabelle, Dread wants to see us," he said.
Electrix moaned, and gave a restless sign. "What does that fossil want now?" she said, turning over and tried to go back to sleep.
3:37am. Sykes Property.
It was a beautiful starry night, a half-crescent moon shone in the sky, and if Max Steel was not on an important mission he would have taken the time to stargaze and enjoy the cloudless night. He was in Stealth Mode so not to be noticed and slowly made his way across the Sykes property.
"You read me, bro.?" Max asked softly.
"Loud and clear, Hermando," Berto said back through Max's earpiece. "I read seven of Dread's foot-soldiers around the house, and they're all armed, judging by the heat signatures. Two are near your position."
"I see them," Max replied. "Preparing to intercept."
"Oh man, I gotta piss like a race horse," one of them said to the other, and then moved to a bush near-by. He unzipped and began to urine like a racehorse. As it was a cool night, steam began to rise from where it dropped on the ground. "Vitriol has us on twenty-four hour guard duty, he won't even let us enter the house to take a piss."
Vitriol's involved in this plan too?
Max moved in and quickly and quietly and incapacitated the other guard as the first one continued to urinate in the bush. Still in Stealth Mode, Max allowed the man to finish. It was the only courteous thing to do, there was nothing worse than having a full batter and no way to relief yourself. But as soon as he finished and turned around, he joined his comrade as Max laid him out. He then dragged the both of them behind the thick bush and undressed one of them, coming out in the first man's uniform.
"A little tight in the crotch, but from what I saw he didn't need alotta room," Max said. "He must really be pissed off."
"Can the humour, Max," Berto voiced.
"Yes dad," Max joked.
Max casually made his way to the front door.
There was a surveillance camera above the arch support and he looked directly at it, as if to announce his presence without actually doing so. He entered and made his way down the front hall to the living room.
He had downloaded blueprints of the house from the internet before coming so he could be prepared and have avenues of escape if need be. But when he got inside, it looked to him that that was not an option. All the windows were barded with nailed shut with boards. Inside the living room four of Dread's foot-soldiers guarded the perimeter. They were armed with assault rifles.
Near an open fireplace were Sykes's daughter and grandson, their wrists, ankles and mouths tied and gagged with silver duct tape. Sad that such a useful invention like duct tape designed to benefit homeowners would be used as the number one tool for home invasion. He would have to send a very strong letter to his Congressman about that.
In the centre of the room was Vitriol, another one of Dread's thugs for hire, relaxing in a chez-lounge and watching a war documentary at an incredibly loud volume, and without their hands, there was no way that the Sykes family could cover their ears from the noise.
Vitriol was evil personified. He did not care who he hurt to get what he wanted. He was the kind of person who would kill his own mother for the inheritance money. He was just that twisted. The world could do without a man like him. But justice would be Max's way, after he made Vitriol tell him where John Dread was, so he could go and rescue Kat, of course.
"Hey you!" Max jerked backwards started, and saw a man coming from the bathroom. "It's free. You said you wanted to use the bathroom outside, right?" This man was probably referring to the guard he got the uniform from. "Uh, right. . ." Max said in response.
Unbeknownst to Max, the shout also attracted the attention of Vitriol, who turned to see a lonely Dread foot-soldier standing halfway in the living room area. Max turned back and shared a comfortable stare with Vitriol. Vitriol did not know it was him, so he had to play it cool.
"What're you doing here, soldier?" Vitriol asked. "You're supposed to be guarding the perimeter and watching out for Max Steel."
"Oh Uh, Max!" Berto shared.
"I've come to use the bathroom, sir," he said, his voice disguised just enough by the breather in the mask so not to be recognized. He felt like Darth Vader, but without the heavy breathing.
"Then use it and get back out there," he said, standing to face him. "We have surveillance cameras and electronic sensors placed throughout the property, but Max Steel is a man of impeccable resourcefulness. Nothing normal moves out there without us seeing it, but Steel has his stealth technology, and could evade our sensors, so we need everyone watching."
"Yes sir," Max said.
"Before you go, check on the prisoners in the basement," Vitriol said. Prisoners in the basement? Max thought.Max went to the stairs that lead to the basement, and looked down. He saw two of Dread's foot-soldiers standing at the bottom, holding rifles. He used his heat sensors and detected seven additional people near the back wall.
Could N-Tek's Swat team have survived? He certainly hoped so.
Suddenly Vitriol appeared behind him and put his arm around his shoulder in a friendly, but awkward manner. Max looked at him strangely, and Vitriol gave him an odd, almost pleased, happy grin. What's he smiling at? "Oh! One more thing," Vitriol started to say. "You didn't actually think you could sneak in here undetected, did you? Like I said, this place has surveillance everywhere." But before Max could react, Vitriol gave him a shove and pushed him. Max tumbled down the stairs and landed with a loud thud at the bottom, he did not get up. Vitriol laughed, and said, "Welcome to the party, Max!"
"MAX!" Berto screamed in horror, as he lost contact with his partner. But Max did not respond.
TBC
