Chapter 26: The final confrontation
D'Jok was tired. Being the father of a newborn, was certainly no easy task. It took it's toll on both him and Mei. Mei had her career as a photomodel too, so this was no easy thing for her to do either. Thank heavens, Sonny had filled in. He was used to going without sleep for days. And D'Jok suspected he loved the new role as a grandparent way more than he would like to admit. D'Jok had seen the bonding between grandfather and granddoughter. It was something special.
D'Jok felt how the need for sleep was overpowering him. He hadn't slept good in days. The fear for his newborn doughter was one thing that made him loose sleep. It affected his mood, his work, everything. Now, D'Jok gently lay Hope in her crib, and lay down on his bed, just five short minutes, and he'd feel better...
They were too late. Corso already knew when they landed in Akillian. And the enemy they were up against, was about as unstabile as they got. He would force Sonny and Clamp to do his bidding. And if one of them refused to...Better not even think that thought. Corso knew that oposing this enemy was equall to signing your own deathwarrant. He could only hope Sonny would remain cool. The enemy was sure to put pressure on the pirate chief, with the past they had, it was unavoidable. Corso could only hope D'Jok, Mei and Hope remained safe in all this. He tried to call D'Jok. No response. It sent cold chills down Corso's back. First Sonny, now D'Jok. Had the enemy already gotten to the both of them? Corso didn't want to call Mei, he didn't want to upset her if it could be avoided.
«I need two teams, one to look for D'Jok and one to look for Clamp and Sonny. The latter is a code red».
The pirates realised how serious this was.
«Should we inform Dame Simbai and Aarch?» asked Artie.
«I'll take care of it, you two gather the teams, then, find Sonny and Clamp, and fast!»...
His head was pounding. The old man had no clue as to what had hit him. He tried to move his arms. He couldn't. They were tied on his back. Where was his glases? As he reached out, he found them, smashed into a million pieces. But, he wasn't alone. Someone else was lying on the floor. A flashlight shone against the wall, it was embedded with the pirates emblem. A pirate? In here? Only one of the pirates would make his way here, and he needed to stay out of this, to stay safe. Clamp tried to get a better look at the person lying next to him on the floor. As his eyes slowly got used to the dim light, he could make out his features.
Sonny!
the pirate chief appeared to be unconcious. His arms too was tied to the back, other than that, he seemed unharmed. Clamp knew this was bad. Sonny being captured too, would only give the villain what he wanted. Clamp had thanked his lucky star he didn't know how to manufacture Metaflux alone. But, Sonny knew the entire process. If the villain could put pressure on him, they would have no other choise. And giving metaflux to this madman, was a bad idea. It would mean the end of the galaxy as they knew it.
«Sonny, wake up! Can you hear me?» he whispered to his seemingly unconcious friend.
Sonny didn't move.
Was he even alive? Or had the villain already killed him? Clamp didn't know, and now, fear was gripping him.
He heard the door open, and footsteps enter the room. The walking was slow, and it sounded like someone was breathing through a mask. Clamp felt cold sweat drip down his back when he realised who had taken them prisoner. It could not possibly be..
Sonny slowly opened his eyes. He had regained conciousness minutes ago. Now, he wanted to know who the villain was. His sixth sense told him he already knew his enemy. Sonny managed to place his arms in a position that would allow him to defend himself should it come to that.
«So, you're both awake? Good» hissed a voice, a voice that made cold chills run down Sonny's spine. He couldn't hold back a surprised, and shocked comment.
«Bleylock! This can't be.. you're dead, years ago, your ship exploded».
Sonny could not make himself believe this. They had watched Bleylock's ship blow up, harris had turned it into a bomb, a multiflux bomb, Metaflux, stage two.
But here he was, standing before the two former Technoid employees, who realised they were dealing with a mad man.
«Well, Sonny, I thought you'd be glad to see me again» hissed the former Technoid general, and drilled his yellow eyes into the pirate chief.
Sonny wasn't going to show fear.
«You weren't my «friend» last time we met, Bleylock, and I am not going to change my mind on what I think of you now» Sonny bit back.
«Be careful Sonny, he's as dangerous as they come».
Bleylock approached Sonny, and pulled him on his feets.
«Once, we were friends Sonny, you put an end to that, over a girl».
Clamp could only watch the unbelievable scene that unfolded before him. Sonny, who he knew to be strong enough to throw a technodroid into a wall and smash it, with just the use of one arm, was helpless in Bleylock's grasp. Bleylock grabbed his throat, and lifted him.
«please, let him go, you're choking him» yelled the terrified Clamp, as he saw how Sonny was struggling to breathe.
Bleylock threw him in the ground, Sonny tried to prepare for the attack, but Bleylock moved too fast. His foot hit Sonny's ribs. Clamp could hear them break.
«Sonny!»
The pirate chief spat blood.
Bleylock untied them.
«Now, Clamp, take care of your friend, Afterwards, I have an assignment for the two of you. You better not let me down Sonny, if you do, it will cost the life of your granddoughter»...
D'Jok came too. That sure was a long 5 minutes. Then, he looked at the time. It had gone 3 hours. Sonny was supposed to be back by now, as he had promised. D'Jok went to the crib, and lifted Hope. Mei would be home soon too. But where was Sonny? The door went.
«Dad, is that you?» D'Jok called out.
«No D'Jok, it's me, Mei, your wife, remember?» she called out, then she took the baby.
«How is my little princess today?» she asked and cuddled the little baby.
«Dad said to come over, so we get some rest, but he's not here yet» said D'Jok concered.
Mei looked at him.
«Do you know where he was supposed to go?» she asked.
No one knew better than Mei, how D'Jok felt about his father.
«He'll be here D'Jok, he probobly is just running a bit late. You know, Sonny has a lot of things to catch up on, I'm sure he's just running late».
D'Jok wanted to believe her, he really did. But he had developed a sixth sense himself, just like his father. And now, that sense told him something was wrong.
«I don't know Mei, he always calls me to let me know if he's late».
Mei looked at him.
«Then you call him D'Jok, I'm sure everything is just fine».
D'Jok picked up his holophone.
«Just the same, I'll give him a call, just to be on the safe side»...
Clamp and Sonny was tense, where they stood in their old lab, before the same instruments they had once used to create Metaflux for Droids. Now, here they were, again. Doing the same operations, but for a madman, who wanted to rule supreme in the galaxy. A man with no concience, a man who wouldn't hessitate to kill either of them, if he saw that as the best solution. Clamp was worried. One thing that troubled him, was that Bleylock armed with the metaflux, would be unstopable. He looked over at Sonny.
Sonny was standing up, on what seemed to be sheer willpower. Clamp had bandaged his broken ribs tightly, but Sonny was still in pain. Clamp could only imagine how he felt like. When he looked closer, he could see tiny drops of sweat on Sonny's forehead. The only reason they didn't drip into his eyes, was the googles Sonny was wearing to protect his eyes. Clamp couldn't take it anymore. He knew it was just a matter of time before Sonny couldn't take it anymore. The pirate chief was already stretching his treshhold of pains to the very limit. Clamp grabbed a chair and pulled it over to his friend.
«Sonny, please, sit down»
Sonny looked at him. In spite of the pain, he could see the worry in his friends eyes.
«Thanks Clamp» he simply said, and sat down.
It took some of the pressure on his ribs away, and Sonny could breathe easier.
He was accessing his options. In his current condition, there was no way he could go into a fistfight with Bleylock. Infact, it would be dangerous for him to do so. If only he could somehow reach Corso...
Then, his holowatch rang. The sound wasn't audible, but Sonny felt the tiny vibration. Careful, to avoid the securitycamera Bleylock had aimed on them, he replied without bringing up the image.
«This is Sonny!»
«Dad, where are you? I was getting worried».
D'Jok! The second best option. Sonny knew he had to be carefull.
«D'Jok, find Corso, tell him to trace the coordinates for this call».
«But why Dad...»
«No questions, just do as I tell you!»
Sonny quickly ended the call. Bleylock would look for any signs that he tried to call for help.
Sonny turned back to the work he was doing. His ribs hurt, and made it difficult to stand up working. The hissing sound indicated the door opened. Sonny felt how he froze for a split second, then, he went about his buisness as if nothing had happened. He could feel Bleylock approach him from behind. It was the most uncomfortable feeling he knew of. But, he had to remain calm.
«How is work progressing Sonny?»
«As normal Bleylock. I can't rush it. Then, it becomes unstabile, and a high risk explosive».
Bleylock placed his robotic hand on Sonny's neck.
«I do hope for your sake, that you're being truthfull Sonny. If I catch you lying to me about this, not only your granddoughter is at risk, but your son as well. I wonder how you would feel if you truly were all alone in this world Sonny. Would you come crawling back then?»
Despite the pain, Sonny managed to respond.
« Never, it's over, and it will remain that way!»
«As you wish, I am merely offering you a few options to save your own life Sonny».
«Argh, what makes you think you got anything to offer that would interrest me, Bleylock?»
Bleylock laughed. With his mask, the laughter sounded unnatural and evil.
«It doesn't matter what you think Blackbones. I've won, you never had what it would take to defeat me. Poor pirate, always a day late, and a standard unit short».
«It beats the alternative on any given day» Sonny hissed behind grinding teeths.
«Careful Sonny, don't anger him» said Clamp carefully.
«You should listen to your friend, Blackbones. It would have saved you a lot of pain».
Then, Bleylock left the room. As soon as the door closed, Sonny let out a sigh.
If only D'Jok could tell Corso that they needed help...
As soon as Sonny had cut him off, D'Jok realised that his suspicions had been right. He looked at Mei, and told her what Sonny had said. Mei looked serious at him.
«D'Jok, call Corso, he'll know what to do.»
D'Jok nodded, and went downstairs, and then called Corso.
It didn't take long before the second in command was on the line.
D'Jok filled him in, and told him how short Sonny had been in the call.
Corso listened attentively. When D'Jok was done, he rubbed his chin.
«I'll be over right away D'Jok. Whatever you do, don't call Sonny back. From the looks of it, both he and Clamp have been taken prisoner. We'll find them».
«Do you know by who?» asked D'Jok.
He knew from experience, that the pirates always withheld information, especially if they wanted to protect them. Corso looked uneasy. Clearly, he knew who he was dealing with.
«Corso, if you know who's taken Dad, I demand you tell me..»
Corso sighed. D'Jok was as stubborn as Sonny, there was no way he would be able to make him listen to reason now.
«It's Bleylock who's taken your father D'Jok, and Clamp».
«That can't be. Dad told me Bleylock was killed years ago!»
«I would have said the same D'Jok, I was there, I saw it happen. But, it's him, D'Jok. And Sonny and Clamp are in grave danger».
«Dad said to tell you to get the coordinates from my holowatch, to track them».
«Good, I'll take care of it. But for now, don't tell Mei D'Jok. I'll have to be able to trust you on this» warned Corso.
«Ok» D'Jok sounded scared.
With Bleylock on the loose, no one was safe..
The pirates was using their skills to get into the building undetected. The security was high. It was obvious that this served as a secret prison.
The pirates had no problems finding their way into the labs. Then, they checked the coordinates. The pirates were tense. They had little to go on, no buildingplans, no watchmenship plans, nothing. All they had, was the coordinates where Sonny and Clamp were held prisoners. Corso had alerted the flux society, who would interviene if necessary, to rescue the two prisoners. Slowly, the pirates moved forwards, towards the coordinates. Hoping they were not too late..
«How are you progressing, Sonny?»
Clamp looked over at his friend. Sonny had been eerily silent for some time now, infact, Clamp was starting to worry his friend had passed out from the pain.
«Almost there, just need to add one more little substance» the pirate chief mumbled.
Clamp, who had worked on creating a safe casing for the sphere, walked up to him.
«This isn't right, you didn't..»
Sonny raised a finger to his lips, to avoid Clamp alerting Bleylock to his last attempt to defuse the situation at hand.
«This way, it zeros out the effect of this flux. It will be harmless, basically, a chemical that smells really bad» he started coughing.
«Lay down Sonny, you pushed yourself too hard this time old Buddy» said Clamp, and helped him down.
When Sonny stretched out on the floor, Bleylock walked in.
He immideately checked Sonny's work.
«Excellent work, my dear Sonny. I knew you could do it».
Sonny tried to get up, but the pain was too much.
«Now, you got what you want, Bleylock. Let us go!»
«Ha ha haha, you're still naive, Blackbones, you always were. I'll bring you with me, as an insurance that your pirates won't follow me».
«You can't take him, he's injured» yelled Clamp.
Bleylock approached Sonny, who was lying terrified on the ground, when the pirates stormed the lab. All was over in a matter of minutes. Corso made a shot towards Bleylock. This time, he made sure Bleylock couldn't survive. The energybeam from Corso's eye, went straight through Bleylocks body, tearing his heart to shreds.
Clamp was terrified. He had never seen this side to the pirates before. Sure, he knew they would defend themselves if in need, but this was killing a man, none the less.
«Bennett, take care of Clamp, he's had a shock» ordered Corso.
Then, he kneeled down beside Sonny.
«Are you hurt?» he asked the pirate chief.
« A few broken ribs» said Sonny.
«Bleylock did this to you?» asked Artie, as he proceeded to administer first aid to his boss.
«We'll take care of it Sonny, you'll be good as new in a matter of days» Corso assured him.
«What do we do about him?» said Bennet, and looked at Bleylock's dismembered remains.
«Send down Stevens and the gang to clean it up!» Corso said, before he and Artie supported Sonny out of there.
«What about the metaflux?» Corso asked Sonny.
He had noticed the sphere.
«It's harmless, Corso. All it will do, is make the place stink like rotten fish for a long time» Sonny grinned.
Corso brought Sonny to D'Jok and Mei's house, so they could take care of him.
It hurt to lift the baby, but Sonny couldn't care less about that. His granddoughter meant the world to him, and he would go through hell itself, if it would ensure her safety. Finally, the parents could rest, and Sonny spent the night looking after little Hope. To him, those nights were golden, and he wouldn't trade them for anything...
Sonny had to return to his duty as CEO in SecTech the following day. Both D'Jok and Mei were busy, so Sonny agreed to take Hope with him. Mei made ready bottles and all necessary stuff. She knew her doughter would be safe with her grandfather. Her own mother had asked to babysit, but for some reason, Mei didn't trust her. When Hope was with Sonny, she was in safe hands. As Sonny was feeding the baby, he had a call. Despite how it would look, he responded.
«Sonny Blackbones office, This is Sonny!»
«Sonny, this is Calleigh!»
Oh man, he had forgotten all about her. And with Hope, this was about the worst timing possible. Sonny thought about things quickly. He had already answered her, he couldn't hang up now.
She had surprised him, and cornered him. He had to improvise.
«Calleigh, this is a surprise» he smiled, leaning little Hope to his chest, trying to make her fall asleep.
«Why, Sonny! You look like you love your new role as a grandfather» she smiled when she saw the two of them on the cam.
«What can I say? I feel younger, not older, when around her» he smiled sheepishly. Why couldn't she just get down to buisness?
As if she had read his mind, Calleigh laughed.
«Sonny, you're really something else. But that's not the reason I'm calling».
Finally, Hope fell asleep, and Sonny gently put her down in her crib, wich he had placed in his office. He had his suspicions she would spend a lot of time here.
«Then Calleigh, what can I do for you?»
His hazels looked at her. Some would feel his gaze as uncomfortable, but not Calleigh.
«Sonny, we got off on the wrong foot the last time we met. I feel like I pushed you into a corner. And I'd like to show you that this was the reporter Calleigh, not the real me».
«Really? And how do you plan to do that?» Sonny was amused by her insecurity. He had a feeling not many got to see this side to Calleigh Mystic. She was a professional to the fingertips.
Calleigh looked down for a sec, as if she dreaded what he would say.
«This may sound a bit strange, Sonny. But, I'd like to ask you out for a dinner, movie and dance night»...
Wow, this could be interresting. Is Sonny gonna turn Calleigh's offer down, or will the pirate chief actually prove to have fun for once? And will finally all the pieces tie together to make the puzzle whole? Keep reading the next chapter, wich will be the last of this story, and tell me what you think.