Chapter 8
City Hall is a beautiful glass building in Wood Oak City shaped like a dome and looking out onto the river beyond the financial district. At any one time there are over 500 staff working in this large complex representing each district in the city. Any major political decisions are addressed and made in this building. It's a big day today for Axel where so far this morning he has met many of the senior leaders of the city including City Chief Inspector Clark, Green District's DC Bailey and a handful of attorneys and councillors, all holding a major influence over Wood Oak. Everyone knows why DC O'Neil has sent a representative and they are understandably concerned by last week's catastrophe at Wood Oak City's Central Police Department.
Its lunchtime and DC Bailey and Chief Clark are sat with Axel outside of the conference room.
DC Bailey: "Well that went well this morning, what did you make of it Captain?"
Axel: "I'm honoured that DC O'Neil has sent me to address and make a start on resolving all of the issues and changes needed at our department. It's a great experience and I know that with like minds we can work together".
Clark: "I'm usually a sceptic but I got to be honest with you son. O'Neil has fulfilled this role for the best part of 15 years now but change is coming and he will be retiring shortly. From what I gather so far, he has made a good choice if you choose to replace him as you are clearly a hard working individual with a lot of potential that can make a difference. You will find an extended invite to the commissioner's dinner next week for you and your partner Captain Hunter."
Axel: "Thank you, I know Adam would be honoured also to attend".
Clark smiles and pats him around the shoulder. "You and your team are exactly what we need right now and have the drive to bring justice to our city. Between the three of us here, I would suggest keeping your eyes peeled for anyone in your office that believes otherwise especially those who are close with the attorneys. Red District DC Ramos was murdered during the attacks there because he trusted the wrong people".
Axel's expression turns into concern. He trusts no one anymore anyway apart from his partner Adam and he knows he is about to enter the lion's den in that room. Staying one step ahead with your eyes open, predicting their moves is always the way in defeating those who are superior to you.
DC Bailey: "Ten minutes until we resume, we'd better get back inside there".
Axel: "Would you excuse me, I just need to return a call I will be back to join you in a few minutes".
Axel steps outside into one of the halls to make a phone call.
"Hey it's me, what's the update on this morning?"
A male's voice is on the other line, deep with a slightly Asian accent: "The syndicate have stored $15 million dollar's at the central bank in aid of Mr X's campaign starting next month"
Axel: "Shit! This son of a bitch isn't fucking around, was he there?"
Voice: "No, my agent said he wasn't present, just his associates. We will talk more later on. I need you to stop by at 8pm tonight as there is something even more urgent that we need to discuss in person. In the meantime, that meeting you are going into, you will see ten councillors from the city around the table announcing the start of their campaigns next month. One of them is the syndicate boss Mr X using another name. Observe with caution, you are new in that room so he will be on his guard trying to read you".
#Hangs up#
Having worked for criminals when he was a fighter and crooked sergeants in the military, Axel has a good idea of what to look out for in terms of talk and body language in a corrupt individual but politicians… this is a completely different ball game. They all chat shit anyway. He takes a deep breath before walking back into the conference room.
Things are running later than expected surprisingly. The chair of the committee starts "Apologies members, we have had a slight delay. Unfortunately our Mayor Ellison Rhys will be absent again this afternoon due to an emergency. We will proceed without him".
The next two hours are a drag with talk of info structure, restoration projects and the policing of the upcoming campaigns and events around the city next month which Chief Clark brief's the committee on. The ten councillors are dispersed around the table, with the odd few debating and questioning some of the decisions. Axel takes the opportunity to closely monitor each of their body languages in turn but he can never be too sure who it is. The ten councillors consist of seven men and three women, all over the age of 45. Although the syndicate boss is known as 'Mr X' on the streets, how can we still be so sure that it isn't just a cover up for one of the women? Axel is asking himself many logical questions, not ruling out any possibilities but this is proving to be difficult.
Very few can understand how Axel's mind works, why he is so composed and what makes him tick. He holds many burdens, secrets and demons locked away and is as complicated to read as an individual gets. The strong, reliable, ex-military, MMA champion is all on the surface that others are allowed to see.
August 2003, Tikrit, Iraq.
The war has been declared as effectively over with no more major conflicts and regiments are being moved around every so often to maintain this and deal with smaller- scale incidents and individual militants still in hiding. Axel is barely an adult but he has experienced trauma that most will never see in their lifetime. He is one of the most skilled and bravest fighters on his team.
One night he hears a scream inside an abandoned building. It's dark, in the early hours of the morning. He opens the front door, walking inside with caution on the lookout for any potential bombs or traps. His assault rifle is fully loaded and ready in case there are any surprises. He approaches a lit room where he can hear heavy breathing. As he enters, to his shock he witnesses his sergeant raping a young woman on the floor. Axel points his rifle at the sergeant, "get off of her!" he orders.
The sergeant in his forties stops, zips up his trousers and starts walking over.
"What are you going to do boy? Shoot me?" He starts to pull out a pistol, but before he can fire Axel shoots him in the forehead. He pauses, shocked from this moment of madness while the woman lays crying on the floor. The penalty for shooting a major is death. The gun shot has quickly drawn in at least eight officers from his regiment who are in shock but are standing silent behind Axel pointing their rifles at his head.
One of his friends, horrified speaks out. "Ax, what the fuck?" Another also pointing a rifle says "Were taking you back to base where you will be sentenced and killed for this". As the officers draw in closer, Axel rapidly emits an inferno from his hands and arms, instantly setting the soldiers on fire screaming to their deaths. Some who are struggling to breathe are firing random shots or shooting themselves and the fire is quickly spreading. Axel reacts immediately, helping the crying woman up off the floor and handing her his jacket. "Come on, we need to get out of here!" She speaks very little English and is shaking her head in fear. He looks her in the eye "Come with me, I will make sure we get you back to your village where you will be safe". As they start to walk out, she quickly picks up the pistol next to the dead Sargent's body.
Axel barely has enough time to shout "NO, NO! Don't…" she holds the gun to her head before firing one bullet. The fire continues to spread as the woman lays there in a pool of blood. The stain on her honour is too much for her to deal with. Axel will never forget that look in her eyes before she pulled the trigger. Still to this day he has nightmares about this and he has never spoken to anyone, not even Adam about that night.
In the end Axel got away, all of the evidence burnt. Following this, three days later he quit the military. One of his superiors who owed him his life dismissed Axel on medical grounds for burns to his arms and back as well as post-traumatic stress from the loss of those closest to him in the regiment. One of the things he always regrets is burning his friends alive. He only uses his chi if he chooses to now. He mastered it from a young age, bearing the pain and intensity. He has the tools and remedies to heal any deep burns quickly and has covered the most prominent areas of his arms and back in tattoos. This is also how he came to kill his old boss Stefan Visser and his men with all of the evidence burnt to a crisp. Shiva is the only human who has been known in the Syndicate and to the Yamato Clan to have power of this intensity, making them two of the deadliest fighters living today.
The only thing left to rely on is instinct. Mastering ones chi is not just about the power you are able to radiate from your body, it's about using your gut feeling to sense another individual's energy. One of the councillors, Javier Williams speaks out for the first time in the meeting. He catches Axel's attention straight away, looking him in the eye from a distance. Axel can sense the blood on this man's hands as well as his dark energy but if this man is Mr X, he is certainly good at covering his body language and he has the popularity of many of the senior officials present in the room.
He is a broad man in his late 40s dressed in a dark grey suit, white shirt and black tie. His brown shoes are immaculately polished and he is wearing what appears to be a million dollar Rolex watch. His receding hair is a mix of black and grey, slicked back unveiling his rough tanned skin with a clean shaven face, dark eyebrows and dark brown eyes.
Councillor Williams speaks with confidence and authority: "Next month, I too will be putting myself forward for senate and as council leader. I am grateful to all the council advisors, attorneys, police personnel and press who will be supporting or assisting with the campaign over the coming weeks. For those who don't know me as well, my aims are to make Wood Oak a vibrant powerhouse where all have the opportunity to learn and make careers for themselves by boosting technology, medical science and industry. I believe that Wood Oak has not yet unlocked its potential and we are capable, together of making it the most prosperous city on Earth." He receives an applause from the other associates in the room but feels slightly uneasy when he notices Axel reading him from across the room.
5pm and finally the meeting is over and the room is emptying.
Chief Inspector Clark shakes Axel's hand and thanks him for covering for DC O'Neil. Today has been a real eye opener with a room full of many innocent professionals and many corrupt leaders of the city. In time, they will be dealt with and bought to justice but it will be far from easy, more complicated than any assassination job. But they will catch their karma one way or another.
Blaze is stationed with two other members of her team patrolling the harbour and neighbouring areas. It's late in the afternoon and the last hour has been a long one. In the distance she suddenly spots a fisherman running towards her shouting "Help, please!"
Blaze calms him down, "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"
He responds, "Please come with me, we think we have found someone in the water by the canal".
Blaze and the other officers rush to the scene. To their horror, a rotting body of a young boy is lifted from the water. The smell of the body is strong as it must have been there for at least a week.
Blaze reaches for her radio "This is Central Agent Fielding 620 over…. We are stationed by Maylands Canal where a body has been discovered in the water. It appears to be a young black male, between the ages of 14-16, one gunshot wound to the face, black jeans…." It quickly dawns on her as she puts her hands around her mouth. "Oh my God. This could well be the case I was given for the missing boy, Kadeem Saunders. Nadine, please contact his mother as soon as you can, we will need the body to be identified and the forensics here fast".
Axel decides to go straight home after the exhausting day at City Hall. He finds Adam with his stuff dispersed around the front room of his top floor penthouse apartment taking full advantage of his games console but looking well.
Axel: "Hey Adam, how was the counselling session today?"
Adam pauses his game and puts down the control pad "You know what, it was good! I realise there is still a way to go after the relapse but I'm starting to get my life back together. Everything is beginning to make sense and I think I will be ready to come back to work in a couple of days".
Axel: "Have you spoken to Keri yet?"
Adam: "No but she should be here any minute to drop off some clothes. If she's not here soon I'm raiding your closet".
#Buzzer rings#
Axel: "Thank you Keri that was perfect timing. Now I don't have to worry about my clothes going missing" he jokes as he opens the apartment door. "I'm going to leave and give you both some space to talk. I need to head out anyway to collect a couple of things from the office".
Keri: "Wait, I need to talk to you both first before you leave Ax"
Adam: "What's wrong?"
Keri: "I think Sammy is in trouble" She hands over a piece of the broken skateboard along with the paper left on the porch this morning.
Adam: "Shit, that's a syndicate message! They know where we live, I'm guessing the CCTV at the house was switched off too".
Axel: "Where's Sammy now?"
Keri: "He's picking up Sasha from Friday swimming club then going home".
Adam: "We need to go, now! Keri please stay here we won't be long".
It's a fifteen minute walk home for Sammy and Sasha, "Hey Sasha, you must be hungry after all that swimming today". Sasha in her own cheeky way responds, "hell yeah!"
Sammy: "Your mom said I can either cook you something, or we can get some tacos?"
Sasha replies: "I want tacos!"
Sammy: "Thought so!"
As they walk the last street a couple of minutes from the house, Sammy is cautious. It's still light outside, another orange sunset but the streets are quiet and he notices a couple of the thugs from his school hanging around on the corner.
"Yo Sammy, where you at?" One of them shouts out. He ignores them and continues to walk holding Sasha's hand. Only around 200m left until they are home.
"Sammy I'm talking to you! Where the fuck you been? We need you to shift this stock left!" The three thugs who have bicycles draw closer to the pair.
Sammy: "Yo T, I'm alright. Let me take my niece home and I will come and talk to you"
Tyrone: "Fuck you Sammy"
Sammy kneels down: "Listen Sash, I'm going over there to talk to these guys for ten minutes. Can you do me a favour? Run back to the taco store a couple of doors away as quick as you can, the man in there forgot to give us change. Stay there until I come back. If I'm not back in ten ask the server to call your dad." She quickly runs in the other direction while Sammy walks over to the three boys.
Tyrone: "Where the fuck is my boy Kadeem?"
Sammy: "They shot him T, he's dead! You need to stop dealing with Donovan he's fucked up! I can help you get out of the City…"
Concealed under his jacket, Tyrone charges at Sammy with a knife but he is fast enough to dodge the blade. The other two boys also try to attack him with their knives. It is a struggle with three against one but Sammy is a great fighter and is more than capable of defending himself against street thugs. He manages to stop the three boys who are now injured, laying on the floor. As Sammy looks up, further down the road he can see Donovan who has grabbed Sasha.
Sammy cries out: "Let her go, it's me you want to kill! I'll do anything just don't hurt her!"
Donovan: "Get out your cell phone and call your brother down here now! Don't say anything else, you and the girl are coming with me."
A voice from behind shouts out "I'm already here motherfucker". Donovan has a second of shock as he turns around, "Hunter, if you want her to live get your ass in that car over there with your brother."
Adam: "Tell your connect to go fuck himself! And before you try anything to hurt my daughter you will die first". Donovan glances behind him to find Axel with his hood up and ski mask on, hiding his face with gloves on and holding a handgun to Donovan's head.
Donovan drops his knife and slowly releases Sasha who runs over to her father. He laughs to himself "Got me there! This is not how cops are supposed to operate… Your man here wouldn't seriously shoot me in cold blood in the middle of the street?"
The sight of the gun sends the three young wounded boys running away as fast as possible.
Adam: "Sammy please take Sasha back to the house and make sure she's ok". After they leave, Adam and Axel force Donovan with the gun to walk into an empty alley.
Adam angrily kicks and punches him against the wall over and over again "Ya'l think you can step to me and threaten my family?" He continues to beat the crap out of Donovan who is struggling to respond "when my boss or your feds find my body, you'll be fucked either way. This is war!"
Adam stops the beating for the moment and crouches down as Donovan is bleeding and struggling to stand. Adam: "No, it doesn't work like that. See your about to die slowly and there will be no trace of you left by the time we're finished. The feds won't be able to identify you, even with those ugly teeth that I knocked out!" Axel hands over the gun to Adam before removing his hood and ski mask. Donovan instantly recognises his face as he has seen him fight in the past. Without saying a word, Axel tightly knots a cloth around Donovan's mouth, preventing him making any noise. He then places his hand in front of Donovan's chest and starts emitting a small flame which turns into an intense fire burning him slowly. The pain is unbearable for Donovan.
Adam: "No one fucks with my family, ever".
