Chapter Fifteen
Armageddon
If they were going to walk into the trap David Saeran had set for them, Bryan Miller was determined to return the favour with a surprise of his own.
After all the chaos created following the destruction of the laboratory in their bid to escape the Nine earlier, Bryan and Eve had ensured that the premises beneath Saeran's castle was more or less devoid of people except for the Uruk Hai who were hunting them. Despite Gandalf's desire to continue their journey to Saeran, Bryan had convinced the wizard to give him an hour while he took a detour to one of the unattended labs that had not been damaged by the explosion. Even Eve was a little confused by his request but Bryan's reasons for delaying their advance to Saeran was for a good reason.
It was more or less a foregone conclusion that Saeran was expecting them to rescue Aaron and the others. They were all realistic about that. However, Bryan was not averse to delivering a swift kick in Saeran's complacent hide if it meant that he could reach the others without endangering the lives of all his companions. Fortunately, the laboratory environment ensured that he would have all the supplies he needed and some of which he had discovered were an unexpected surprise. The nature of the research being undertaken on these premises saw the need for some rather unorthodox and volatile substances for testing that had ensured Bryan could still give David Saeran a surprise even if the man was expecting him.
During his time in the service one of his responsibilities had been in the area of munitions and demolition, which meant a working knowledge of explosives and their construction. Although he did not look it, Bryan had a strong background in chemistry during his academic years and one of the reasons he had been chosen for the duty was because of his natural aptitude for them. It had been a while since he had been called on to do what he was now undertaking within the abandoned laboratory with Eve's assistance, but Bryan was surprised at how easily it had all come back to him. Meanwhile, Gandalf and Haldir watched with growing interest what he was doing, despite their eagerness to rescue the others.
They watched as Bryan and Eve worked diligently at the workbench, moving back and forth from the concoction they had been making for the last half hour. At first the elf had been contented to watch while the two humans put together the ingredients of their potion, which included water, salt and what appeared to some kind of washing soap. The care in which Bryan was taking as he handled the ingredients gave Haldir some idea that what the human was making was extremely dangerous and the beads of sweat running down Eve's brow as she helped him was similarly telling. What was more intriguing was that the entire thing had to be mixed in receptacle of water that contained ice as if keeping the temperature low was tantamount to the process.
Finally, Haldir could bear it no more and had to ask, "what are you making?"
"A whole lot of distraction," Eve remarked as she stepping back as she saw Bryan draining the acid water solution as gently as possible. After she took the step back she wondered why she bothered, the quantities that Bryan was handling would ensure that if it unexpectedly detonated, none of them would leave the room alive.
"That's it," Bryan said to Eve's utmost relief when he was finally done. "That should be enough to take out this entire floor."
The MI6 agent had stepped away from the contents of the large beaker, staring a moment at the solution as if sight alone could help him determine the stability of the substance he had created. In truth, he had intended to make some simple plastic explosives but the discovery of sulphuric acid for whatever reason a laboratory would need such dangerous chemicals, had set his mind hurtling towards a grander plan.
"What do you intend to do with it now?" Gandalf asked him. The wizard
could sense the danger of the substance but was uncertain how it could be used
to help them.
"Leave it the bloody hell alone and get out of here," Bryan replied, "I'm lucky I didn't kill us all playing with this but when it works, Saeran will definitely be caught off guard."
"Can we go now?" Eve asked, not wanting to be in the room with the stuff any longer than she had to be.
"Good idea," Bryan nodded and looked up at the others, "we
should get a move on."
"We are just going to leave that here?" Haldir stared at him in confusion, unable to believe that was their course after the time spent producing the solution.
"We're certainly not taking it with us," Bryan said adding the finishing touch to the makeshift explosive. He had built the small device with a 9 volt battery from one of their torches, circuit board from a piece of equipment he had taken apart in the lab and his digital watch. Setting it quickly, he retreated from the bench a moment later and joined Eve, who was prompted the others out of the room, after he had retrieved his gun.
"I do not understand," Haldir shook his head in genuine confusion.
Bryan did not answer and continued the exodus out of the room. Haldir would have explanation enough when the time came and Bryan had no wish to begin an in depth explanation of modern explosive. Besides, he had a feeling it would only earn him another disapproving stare from the elf about the destructive nature of men. Considering that he had given them exactly twenty-five minutes to put suitable distance between themselves and this the contents of the beaker, he supposed Haldir was not far wrong.
Still, nitroglycerine was a great surprise.
************
In the wilderness of North Dakota, Walter Green ignored the flaring light on the panel that indicated that the telephone was ringing.
When he had first seized control of the LCC after the deaths of the two men left in charge of the underground bunker, the phone had rang constantly until Green's patience had worn away and he had activated the mute function to dull the noise. However, in place of the ringing he was now tormented by the constant pulsing of light as upper echelons of the military tried desperately to contact him. He knew what they wanted of course but he was unable to oblige him. They could not possibly understand what he was going through, the humiliation he had suffered at the hands of the Chinese bastards who turned his love for Elizabeth into a spy room joke. They would try and tell him that he needed to be reasonable but Green did not want to be reasonable. He wanted to make them pay with a lesson that would never be forgotten.
Besides, he had work to do and if he stopped to answer the phone, he would not be able to finish it in time. While it was necessary to kill the two man crew that had be in command of the LCC when he had first arrived, Walter was painfully aware that it required both of them to conduct a launch. The keys he had liberated from there useless unless he was able to use them simultaneously. Fortunately, he knew this installation intimately and he had the skills necessary to run an effective bypass that would delay the response of the first key for approximately five seconds and give him enough time to reach the second so that both activations would coincide simultaneously.
It was time for the Chinese to receive his vengeance and with the arsenal that was now in his power; it would be a lasting lesson indeed.
**************
Dawn was fast approaching.
It had been distant earlier but now it was making it way over the mountains, fraying the blanket of twilight with more strands of light. He knew the coming of the new day meant very little in the scheme of things but if the world was doomed to descend into a new dark age then Aaron wanted to see the sun rise one last time before that terrible ending. He also knew that if the world were ignited by the cataclysm of nuclear fire, then it would also be the last sunrise for almost everyone else in the room. Considering the aftermath, Aaron was not entirely certain that was such a bad thing. He did not want to see the vision of Galadriel's mirror become a reality, no more than he wished to live knowing he had failed to prevent any of it.
David Saeran had retreated to his throne once more, taking up position like the dark entity he was. The woman Irina was watching them closely while Saeran's attention was elsewhere. The former Lord of Mordor appeared to be meditating and it took no clairvoyance on Aaron's part to know that he was communing with his agents in the real world, whispering words of malice that had turned them into his puppets, with no idea what they were doing. Aaron wondered if they were Saeran's permanently or would there be freedom once the terrible deed was done. He pitied them if that was the case because he could not imagine waking up from a nightmare where he was the monster.
"How are you doing?" Aaron asked, having crawled to Legolas since Saeran had forgotten him for the moment
"I am well," Legolas managed a weak reply but his pallor was turning grey and Aaron knew that his punctured lung was filling up with blood again. This time, a thoracentesis would not help him. Legolas needed a hospital.
"You are a terrible liar," Aaron pointed out with a smile before his expression sobered. "Try and hang on. The others are on their way, I know it."
"I hope so," Tory said in a low voice. When she had regained consciousness
after Saeran's attack, she had been allowed to wait for the others since Saeran
could not allow control over his pawns to waver for long periods. She was
seated on the floor next to Legolas, hugging her knees beneath her chin as she
kept watch over Fred, wishing she could do something to alleviate the terrible
fear haunting the child's eyes.
"Poor kid is terrified out of her mind," Aaron remarked, following her gaze. He was not blind to the relationship the two had formed since Bryan had entrusted Fred to her care. Although Tory and Stuart had never spoken about children, Bryan knew she had wanted them. Fortunately, Tory was sensible enough to recognise that a child did not solve the problems of a troubled marriage and so motherhood was something that she had yet to experience. However, seeing her with Fred convinced Aaron that she would make a good parent when she was ready.
"If he hurts her…" Tory warned and the gleam of menace in her eyes was very reminiscent of the primeval she wolf protecting her cubs.
"It won't come to that," Aaron stated firmly because Tory needed to believe that.
Tory did not answer and Aaron supposed that there would be no assurance he could make that would rest her fears for the child, not until Fred was within reach again. He tried to focus on their present predicament and found that once again, his attention drifted to the sword that was leaning against Saeran's throne, catching the dawn in the smooth polish of its blade. There was something about it being at Saeran's side that disturbed him to no end, like a small thorn burrowing it way into the skin.
"It looks familiar does it not?" Legolas asked with a knowing smile.
"What?" Aaron replied not really listening.
"The sword," his old friend gestured towards the blade.
"I suppose," Aaron shrugged, feeling a little foolish that his mind lingered on a sword considering their dire situation at present.
"I can't imagine why he would need the thing," Tory remarked, "he was able to knock us both out without raising a hand and since his girlfriend is armed, it seems a little redundant."
"He does not wield it for protection," Legolas sighed. "He wields it as an insult to you Aaron."
Aaron did not speak for a moment because he was thinking deeply about the feelings engendered in him when he saw Saeran with the blade in his hands. Something inside him balked at the idea that so elegant a weapon should be in the possession of a dark lord and then there was the way Saeran had held it to his neck. Aaron had seen a flicker in the man's eyes as if he was challenging more than just Aaron's beliefs about himself and his life, as if there was something else that he had wanted Aaron to see. Now that Legolas had brought it up, Aaron understood what Saeran had been trying to do.
"It was once mine wasn't it?" Aaron met his gaze.
"Yes," Legolas nodded, "he wields Anduril, the sword of Aragorn Elessar. It was forged from the shards of Narsil, the blade that cut the One Ring from his finger. That is the sword of Aragorn's kingship. It is your sword."
"When he's ready," Aaron met their eyes, "he's going to kill us
with it."
Unfortunately, Legolas could say nothing to disagree with that assertion because Aaron was right.
"Then what's he waiting for?" Tory hissed, she was never one who could play the waiting game for too long.
The answer for her question coincided with a burst of gunfire that made everyone in the room jump, everyone that is Saeran. He was still deep in meditation when the familiar rat-tat-tat of a gunfight penetrated the room beyond the doors and returned him from whatever psychic limbo he was currently manipulating. At the sound, Saeran raised his head and opened his eyes.
"That," Aaron said grimly. "He was waiting for that."
************
Time was pressing heavily against Bryan as they made their way up the spiral staircase, leaving behind at last the network of tunnels that they had lingered too long already. Their journey to the main heart of Saeran's castle after leaving behind the laboratory had seen encounters with Uruk Hai that ended in a blaze of gunfire and arrows. The Uruks as Bryan had suspected were largely undisciplined thugs with guns and despite the danger of being outgunned, Bryan, Eve and Haldir were able to push through the obstacles intent on making their advance to Saeran as difficult as possible.
Bryan knew that their lives depended on getting out of the corridors as quickly as possible. Even now, the countdown he had set on the timer attached to the nitroglycerine bomb he and Eve had built was ticking away their margin of safety. It would not be long before the entire floor went up in a fiery explosion and while he was certain that would effectively destroy Saeran's genetic projects once and for all, he was uncertain of what effect the detonation would have on the rest of the structure.
Thus he was actually relieved when they reached the staircase that Tory had mentioned taking earlier when she had first emerged from her hiding place to seek out Fred. Thoughts of how she was inadvertently brought here led quickly to his worries about how she fared in Saeran's hand. After what the man had done to Fred and how callously he had killed the child's parents, Bryan prayed that he did not make Tory pay for rescuing Fred from her prison. Earlier, he had asked Gandalf whether or not the wizard could tell if the others was still alive to reassure Eve about Aaron's safety but in truth, he had needed a little reassurance.
Bryan was not a man who could admit easily that he was in love. He knew he
cared for Tory and that when she had kissed him, that veneer of cynicism,
bravado and all the layers he used to keep his emotions under tight control had
been stripped away and exposed. He was not a romantic and he never would be but
when her lips met his, he could very well believe what Frank used to say about
there being someone for everyone because Bryan believed Tory was meant for him.
Perhaps it was all this talk about reincarnation, about his being Boromir of
Gondor, which he no longer bothered to deny, to himself or anyone else. Tory
had felt warm and familiar and the emptiness he never knew was there was filled
with her scent, her smile and he could not begin to imagine losing her.
Christ, she was definitely going to get him killed.
"There's another staircase," Eve pointed out when they reached the top of the spiral staircase and saw that the hallway they found themselves was part of the original construction of the castle.
"Tory spoke of two," Haldir reminded as his gaze swept across the less expansive corridor and saw a door at the end of it. "Shall we investigate?"
"No," Gandalf shook his head. "There is no time and I sense that there is nothing here of use to us."
"He's right," Bryan said as he strode towards the next staircase and gazed upwards. There was light emanating from the end of it and knew immediately, that was their ultimate destination. "Tory said she came through here when she got out of the boot of the car. It's probably what passes for their basement."
"Well that's handy to know," Eve remarked. "Considering our own car is hours away, we might need to make a quick exit when this is over."
Bryan was not listening because he was more intent on completing the last part of their plan, which was in all truth the riskiest part of it. However, time was of the essence, not only because of Saeran's plans for the world but also because they needed to reach minimum safe distance from the blast about to tear through the place from below ground. Taking the first few steps up the staircase that would lead them closer to Saeran, Bryan made a cursory of examination of the path overhead before meeting the gaze of his companions.
"He wants us to come to him so there won't be much be much trouble once we get above. If we do see any signs of trouble, we should make a fight of it. Give him the impression that we haven't guessed it's a trap. The bastard's arrogant enough to think that so we might as well used it as much as we can. It will help to make our own surprise all the more effective."
"We understand," Haldir replied, his bow already armed and ready.
Having seen Haldir use it, Bryan was not about to question its effectiveness in
a fight. "Let us proceed," he said impatiently.
"Alright then, let's do this," Bryan nodded and took the lead and scaled the spiral staircase quickly.
The corkscrew path of the staircase did not rise as high as when they had ascended from the corridor network but what distance it did put between them and the lower levels, gave Bryan some comfort. It did not take long for him to reach the top of the steps and the staircase emptied into the hallway of what appeared to be the main foyer of the castle. He emerged into the same room that Tory had done earlier, sweeping his gaze over the luxurious surroundings and wondered where the others were in this place. As of yet, there was no sign of Saeran but Gandalf had a strong sense of where the dark lord was so it would not be difficult to find him. At the moment, Bryan was more concerned on whether or not they would soon have company.
Scouting the immediate area, he turned back to the others and saw that they were approaching stealthily. Eve had taken the rear flank with Gandalf and Haldir in between. He was about to give the signal that all was clear when suddenly, an eruption of gunfire drove him against the wall. A curved line of bullet holes appeared in the wall above him and Bryan fired instinctively in the direction the barrage had come. One of Saeran's human agents, the ones had accosted him at his apartment back in London was standing at the top of the sweeping staircase, firing at him through the ornate banister.
The bullets from Bryan's gun ripped through the wooden banister, spraying the floor with splinters before the path of gunfire ran into the brick walls. The enemy was driven backwards by the barrage and Bryan emboldened by this retreat emerged from his refuge and continued to drive him further back up the staircase. By the time, Bryan reached the carpeted steps; the enemy had disappeared all together and for the moment at least, the way seemed clear.
"Come on," he gestured to the others as he saw them reach the foot of the steps. "It looks safe for now."
"I doubt that he is alone," Haldir remarked as the elf stepped onto the staircase, his eyes surveying their new surrounding with caution. "Not that I wish to sound like Legolas but I sense there is danger afoot and it is more than just prevalent as it has been since we entered Sauron's domain but rather looming."
"Can you sense where he is Gandalf?" Eve asked the wizard as her eyes
scanned the area.
"Oh yes," Gandalf nodded walking past her along the steps, leading up the sweeping staircase. The old man joined Bryan as they continued up the stairs, "he is waiting for us up there."
"Well we knew that," Bryan said not about to be discouraged by hearing again what they all already aware. He looked at their immediate surroundings and realized it would have been difficult to believe that they were about to face some ancient dark lord when the placed looked like a proper manor house, with expensive draperies and chandeliers. The network of corridors containing twisted genetic experiments, a cavern of giant spiders and unimaginable monsters seemed almost a lifetime away in comparison to where they were now.
Haldir paused in mid step. He could feel danger closing in on them. It felt like cold tendrils creeping up his shoulder and he turned slowly around.
"What is it?" Eve asked when she saw the expression on his face and her question halted the others in their steps as well.
"We are not alone," Haldir met her gaze and as he spoke those words, a door creaked abruptly open.
Emerging from the room where Saeran had enjoyed his audience with Fred, a number of armed men hurried through the doorway and halted at the foot of the steps, their guns trained on the intruders. They were armed with laser sights and as Haldir moved to fire, Eve who saw how many of them they were and knew that if a fire fight ensued while they were in this vulnerable position, not even Gandalf would walk away unscathed.
"No," she said moving to stop him as he prepared to shoot, "don't."
Bryan would have done the same thing himself were he in arm's reach of the march warden but coinciding with the enemy's emergence from the lower room, was another body of armed men who paused at the top of the stairs and quickly took aim with their weapons. Crimson beans of light from their laser gun sights rested on Bryan's chest in multiple points. He looked at Gandalf and saw the same on the old man's chest though a gunshot would not be as nearly as fatal for the old man as it would be for the rest of them. His eyes touched Gandalf's own briefly and saw the old man nod in understanding that this was how it had to be. They were almost at the end now and from here on, they would have to relinquish the control that had kept them alive this far.
It was hardest for Bryan who did not know how to surrender easily but this time, he would have to be the first one to lower his weapon. The turn of events was not unexpected. Bryan knew it was only a matter of time before Saeran sprung his trap and now that he had, now that they were caught in the kill zone, he had to follow it through no matter how unpalatable it was to him personally. He had told Eve that he needed her to be strong, that despite her fears for Aaron, they still had to follow the doctor's plan. Now he needed the same resolve. He needed it because it was the only way he would see Fred and Tory again.
Bryan swallowed down the lump in his throat that was his ingrained need to resist, to fight to the death no matter what the cost, he wondered if they truly knew how damn difficult it was for him to yield. However, if he wanted to win, he would have to lose first.
Bryan turned slightly and saw Haldir and Eve looking to him for guidance in what they should do. It was one thing to talk of surrender but it was another thing entirely to do it. Eve and Haldir were very much like him in that respect and Bryan knew instinctively that if they could fight to the death, they would because it was not in their nature to give up either.
"Alright you bastards," Bryan said lowering his gun, a bitter taste in his mouth as the Uzi fell against the carpet, "we surrender."
**********
For once, everything was unfolding as it should.
Saeran emerged from his meditation and cast his gaze over his private sanctum and found immense pleasure in the knowledge that everything had fallen into place. Irina was keeping close watch upon his enemies with the gun in her hand and he derived a surge of warmth that felt somewhat alien inside him, knowing that if he asked, she would happily kill them just to show him her undying love. The Ringbearer in turn was far from happy but the child had not moved an inch from her place at his feet and Saeran was confident that while she believed that he would not harm any of her friends, she would remain obedient.
It would give him great satisfaction to see her face when she learnt the folly of that belief.
In the meantime, he was savouring deeply the sight of Aaron Stone, formerly Aragorn Elessar, coming to the terms with the fact that very soon his pet elf, the offspring of King Thranduil would reach the end of his long existence. He was uncertain of what he would do with Tory Harding but it seemed to him, that she might provide the emotional leverage he needed to keep Fred pliant. Perhaps he would keep her alive for a while once he had dealt with the others being marched to this room, even as the thought crossed his mind.
"We're almost at the end Aaron," Saeran declared as he stepped off his throne and went to the doctor who was looking worriedly at the elf. "Soon, a new age will begin."
"It's not over yet," Aaron returned once Saeran was standing over him, aware that the dark lord had a penchant for theatrics.
"Of course not," Saeran said smugly. "You're expecting Olorin to pull a proverbial rabbit out of his hat."
Aaron did not reply and simply turned his gaze to Legolas and Tory, showing them with his eyes that hope was not lost and they still had one card to play, no matter how bleak things may appear at the moment.
"It's not over until it's over, you should know all about that," Aaron turned to Saeran with challenge in his eyes. "If I recall correctly, you amassed a great army the last time round. You had Middle earth reeling from war on two fronts. You should have won. You planned it long enough and yet you still ended up spending a hundred thousand years in the Void. I wonder what that is?"
Saeran stiffened at the reminder of his earlier failure, "I was not what I am now. This time, it will be different."
"Oh come on," Aaron stood up, feeling the need to do this face to face, even though it could get him killed but he had to keep Saeran from thinking too deeply of what alternative they had to stop him.
"From what I've been told, you being incorporeal had nothing to do with it. Your mind was still intact even if your body wasn't. Maybe its simply because when the time came, you were outsmarted. You know what they say, wearing a Yankees cap don't make you DiMaggio. So maybe calling yourself a dark lord doesn't mean you're good enough to play Melkor's game."
Saeran was still holding Anduril in his hand and he raised it to Aaron's neck quickly, holding the blade poised over his flesh. "Do not tempt me Aaron," Saeran said in a low voice. "You are nothing to me in the scheme of things, I could kill you now and it would make little difference to how my plans unfold. You would take caution how you address me."
"Temptation is at the heart of what I do too, Saeran," Aaron replied coldly. "If you kill me, I'll be spared seeing the radioactive hell you're going to turn the world into and I'm not afraid to die. The question is do you want to kill me and spoil your fun? What's a great triumph without someone's face to rub it in and who better to rub it into than Isildur's heir, the man who beat you the last time?"
For a second, the room became as still as a tomb. Tory's heart was pounding in her chest as she saw the stalemate between Aaron and David Saeran. Even Legolas who was drifting in and out of consciousness was fully alert, holding his strained breath in anticipation of the dark lord's reaction.
"You must have been one hell of an analyst," Saeran said breaking the silence when he lowered the weapon from Aaron's neck.
"You have no idea," Aaron returned, giving Saeran no sign that he was relieved to be still alive.
"You're right, I don't want to kill you just yet." Saeran said with a cocky smile, "I supposed I do have a little of the showman in me because I want you to see what I'm going to do this world. I want it be to be the very last thing that you ever see."
Suddenly, they heard the approach of footsteps nearing the door to the chamber. Saeran's grin became wider as he glanced briefly at it and then at Aaron again. "It do believe your party has arrived," he said, still smirking.
Saeran bid his minions entry when the door knocked a split second later. As it widened, Aaron saw a number of Saeran's men escorting Bryan, Gandalf, Haldir and Eve into the room. The circumstances of their arrival became painfully clear when Aaron saw the weapons belonging to Haldir, Legolas and Gandalf in the possession of the dark lord's agents. Bryan and Eve were similarly disarmed and the only one who was allowed to carry anything at all was Gandalf. Apparently they did not believe his staff/walking still posed too much threat. For the first time since his capture, Aaron began to worry whether or not it was possible to carry out the plan he and Bryan devised when the MI6 agent was being brought into Saeran's presence in this way.
However, seeing Eve again infused him with some sense of hope that despite the darkness of the hour, there was some light he could cling to. Eve's sapphire colored eyes touched his across the room and he saw her face brighten considerably at seeing that he was safe. No doubt, she was just as concerned for his well being as he had been about hers during their absence from each other. His gratitude at seeing her alive and unhurt was soon forgotten because he noticed something in her eyes that gave him reason to pause.
Though she appeared clearly unimpressed by their capture, he could tell by her body language that Eve poised to react. Her posture, the way she walked, all signalled a readiness to spring into action. She reminded him the way in which a jaguar pulled back on its haunches and prepared to pounce. In the last year, he had become acquainted with every aspect of her. He knew that she tossed her hair when she was particularly annoyed. He knew the wistful smile she wore when she decided that she loved him despite the fact that he was trying her patience and he knew the way she coped with dangerous situations and at this moment, Eve's manner was telling him that something was happening.
Something that was not in the plan.
He shifted his gaze toward Bryan and saw that MI6 agent was in a similar state of preparation. Bryan shifted his gaze across the room in the fraction of a second, taking in the sight of everything with ruthless precision. Aaron knew that this was a trait common to hunters. Eve and Legolas were the same way. Aaron had no doubt that upon entering, Bryan had taken stock of everyone in the room and filed it away for future reference. The only time this methodical observation paused was when he laid his eyes upon Fred. Only then, did the tough mask waver and only briefly. Bryan's gaze rested on Fred and Tory in quick succession and then moved on.
Bryan's presence in the room inspired the first sign of life in Fred's eyes since Saeran had captured them. The despair in her expressive eyes was replaced by a little smile and even though Bryan could do little more than return it with one of his own, Fred's demeanour seemed to undertake a remarkable transformation. Tory was a little more sedate in her reaction to his arrival, perhaps not wishing to compromise him by letting Saeran know that there was more between them than simple friendship. Considering the pleasure Saeran intended to derive from torturing his enemies, it was probably the most sensible course.
Once the doors were sealed and the prisoners were marched to Saeran, the dark lord emerged from his throne like a king receiving an audience. It was apparent to his captives that Saeran had been awaiting this moment for a long time and was relishing the illusion of his supposed victory. He stepped down from the raised platform, upon which the throne was situated, holding Anduril in his hand. Meanwhile Irina watched from her place, her lord and master savoured the encounter like a tasty morsel.
Aaron, Tory and Legolas were forced to join the others. Legolas was so weak by this point that he needed Aaron's support to stand, a burden that Haldir shared as soon as he was close enough. Aaron found Eve next to him and expressed his joy at being with her again, even under these circumstances, by entwining the fingers of his free through hers. Bryan would have done the same but like Tory, did not want to give Saeran any more power over them than necessary. His eyes softened but a moment when she met his gaze and it was more than enough for Tory to know how grateful he was to see her unhurt.
However, he soon returned his attention to Aaron. The doctor was watching him closely, trying to decide whether or not the plan they had conceived together was still achievable. Unfortunately, Bryan could offer him no assurance.
"Well Olorin," Saeran said pausing before Gandalf, "it has been a long time."
"Not long enough I am afraid," Gandalf returned shortly. "I had thought we were done with you."
"As it has happened on numerous occasions in the past," Saeran smiled, brandishing Anduril as it were a sceptre of his power, "the reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated. I am back and this time, I have planned my offensive well."
"That may be," Gandalf returned, "but your offensives are usually flawed."
Saeran laughed shortly and remarked, "stubborn to the last. You were
always so implacable in the Timeless Halls, I wonder why you took the form of
flesh when you were suited to be an Ent. At least as a tree, you would have an
excuse for being so inflexible."
"And you were always too free to bend to the will of Melkor. Even when you were Aule's servant, you were too eager to embrace the music of chaos."
"Means to an end old boy," Saeran replied shrugging off the insult and could not deny that in some part, Gandalf was right, "I suppose that it would be a redundant gesture to offer you the chance to join me?"
Gandalf stiffened, affronted by Saeran's audacity to even ask such a question of him. His blue eyes became dark like the sky that had been suddenly shadowed by clouds.
"I didn't think so," Saeran shrugged not waiting for an answer as he turned away and set his eyes upon Eve. Aaron tensed as the dark lord stared at his fiancée with altogether too much interest for his liking. There was an expression of curiosity and wonder on his face as he studied Eve closely that left Aaron bewildered as well as increasingly alarmed.
"Something I can do for you?" Eve stated in typical character because she was beginning to feel decidedly uncomfortable by his scrutiny.
"You do bear a striking resemblance to her," Saeran said with a quiet voice that could almost have harboured awe.
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Eve returned, reminded of how Malcolm had taken an interest in her and was secretly afraid that Saeran might have the same predilections as his master. "I look like Arwen Evenstar."
"No actually," Saeran returned, his eyes still fixed upon her, enjoying in part her discomfiture but also by her startling resemblance to the lady in question. "I was thinking how much you resembled the lady Luthien."
"She is not Luthien," Gandalf stated quickly and firmly, remembering all too well how Luthien had driven Sauron from Tol Sirion during the First Age. In her day, the Evenstar was considered to be the image of Luthien, perhaps even the reincarnation of Melian's daughter. If Sauron saw her as such, he may wish to enact his vengeance of that humiliating defeat on Eve.
"Leave her alone," Aaron found himself saying before he could stop himself. If Saeran put one hand on Eve, not even the fate of the entire world was going to stop him from killing the son of a bitch.
Saeran's gaze lingered upon Eve a moment longer. His eyes were drained of his arrogance and he spoke to her with what was akin to thoughtful admiration. "I would have you sing for me again my lady but I sense that you are not her whose voice filled Tol Sirion with the only music I have ever wished to hear again."
He stepped away from her then and Eve could not deny that she was surprised by his words. For a minute, he had almost seemed sad by the fact that she was not Luthien, an emotion she did not credit a dark lord of being capable of possessing especially when it was not borne out of vengeance. Nevertheless, his departure relaxed not only Aaron and Bryan but also Eve herself. While Aaron had not bothered to hide his outrage at Saeran's interest in Eve, Bryan had managed it rather well though his reaction had the man attempted to harm the New York policewoman would have been no less incendiary.
"Bryan Miller," Saeran finally reached him and raised the sword to Bryan's chest, "you have caused me a great deal of trouble. Thanks to you, the Nine are at this moment somewhere in the shadow world, pulling their collectives selves back together after you blew them to pieces. You have been the wild card who has caused me to expended more resources than I cared to spare at this time. I should kill you now and rid myself of the trouble but I have a feeling the Nine will want that pleasure when they finally restore themselves to me."
"When you plan to destroy this world!" Haldir snapped, "what hindrance he has been to you would be worth its weight in gold."
"You are of no consequence to me," Saeran retorted, not even deigning to look at Haldir because his attention was still fixed on Bryan. "I have better things to do then to spar with one Galadriel's footmen."
Haldir opened his mouth to speak but was silenced by a sharp look from Gandalf, who did not want to provoke the dark lord into acting hastily. At the moment, Saeran's tirade was serving them well but it could easily escalate if the Sauron lost his temper. Haldir frowned, not liking the fact that he had to submit but Gandalf seldom impressed himself so strongly unless it was needed and as Bryan had said earlier, they had to at least feign the illusion of defeat if not surrender.
"But I think I will kill you Bryan," Saeran continued speaking, unaware of he was in part playing into their hands. "I should have taken Caldwell's advice and done it when you refused to let go of your investigation into Black Serpent. However, I always had a weakness for you. You could have so easily been one of mine Bryan. Do you know that?"
Bryan glared back at him and said nothing. If Saeran expected a response, he was going to be disappointed.
"Oh you can try to hide it," Saeran goaded, "but you know its true. Boromir of Gondor was almost mine. I whispered in his ear, I told him that all he had to do was take the One Ring and he could have ruled Gondor as its king, not as a mere steward. He could save his people if he just killed the Ringbearer."
"He did not," Legolas hissed, the elf was so weak he could barely stand but he would not sit by and let Saeran drag his friend's name through the dirt. Boromir had died valiantly and they had all shed tears for him when he had passed. He would not allow Saeran taint Boromir's sacrifice with his venom. "You influenced him but briefly. In the end, he died with honour."
"Honour? Is that what you call it?" Saeran sneered derisively. "You were not there elf and I was, as much as I could be that is. He was ready to tear the Ringbearer apart with his blade, to steal the One Ring like a thief. If it was not for the fact that the hobbit had more spine than I gave him credit, Boromir would have become King of Gondor. The rest of your kind who had not already fled to Valinor like frightened children, would have joined the pyre of bones I would have built in every corner of Middle Earth to celebrate his coronation."
Bloody hell, Bryan thought to himself as he glanced at his watch and realised that it was time, did the bastard ever get tired of hearing himself speak?
Apparently not, because he turned to Bryan once more, "so tell me Son of Gondor, what do you have to say for yourself?"
"Not much," Bryan surprised Saeran by finally responding. "Just two things really."
"Two things?"
Bryan nodded glancing at Fred and offered her a silent assurance that everything was going to be all right before facing Saeran again "Firstly, Boromir is dead and gone, his mistakes are not mine. If anything, I'm doing what he should have; I'm going to protect the Ringbearer. You will never get your hands on her and secondly," he directed this at Aaron, "hold on."
"Hold on?" Saeran asked with an arched brow
"Yeah," Bryan grinned as the entire building shuddered with a tremendous roar and everything went to complete hell. "It gets bumpy from here."
**********
The force of the explosion buckled the floor beneath them. There was no way to describe the sound that ripped through the air as the nitroglycerine did its worst, tearing the bowels of Saeran's castle with devastating efficiency. It was like being in the centre of a hurricane, where forces too great to be tamed, danced around them in fury. The polished floor of Saeran's chamber lifted up in places, great fissures appearing through the marble. Around them, the structure of the building shuddered violently; support beams snapped and hit the floor, splitting the polished stone even further. There was smoke rushing through the cracks as mortar and brick, shook loose and shattered.
Bryan spun around as this confusion threw everyone off balance. The armed gunman whose weapon had been aimed at his back had been similarly disorientated and raised his hand to fire in a vain effort to stop the captive coming at him. Bryan had the advantage however, having planned how he was going to acquire a weapon the moment he became aware of who was standing where in the room. He pushed aside the outstretched arm and shoved the barrel of the gun away from him, before slamming his elbow in mid forearm and snapping the bone cleanly. Through the fallout of noise around them, the man scream was sharp and clear as Bryan took the Uzi from him and without pausing emptied an entire round of bullets into the other men present. The first recipient of this deadly hail of bullets had barely hit the debris-covered floor before Eve took his gun.
When she heard gunfire around her, Tory sprinted forward, her only concern at this time was reaching Fred. The child was clutching the base of Saeran's chair, frightened by the destruction around her. Tory wasted no time because she saw Irina scrambling towards the little girl. Determined that Fred was going to be no one's prisoner again, Tory slammed her body against the woman and sent her sprawling across the uneven floor. Irina tumbled over the edge of the platform as Tory hurried past her. The little girl bolted forward without hesitation into Tory's outstretched arms.
"Come on," Tory said picking her up and racing away from the throne, which was now covered in dust. "Let's find a shady spot and sit this out," she smiled warmly, planting a comforting kiss on the little girl's fore head after her ordeal.
Aaron was also in the process of helping a friend to safety. With all the gunfire that was exploding around them, he helped Legolas to the far corner of the room. Haldir was presently introducing one of Saeran's henchman to the finer points of elvish hand-to-hand combat. The source of his apparent instruction was the thug who had confiscated his and Legolas' bows during their surrender. After sending the man to the floor with streak of blood across his face, Haldir took up his ancient weapon and began helping Bryan and Eve polish off the rest of Saeran's thugs in the room.
Aaron looked over his shoulder and found David Saeran exactly where he had anticipated this moment would have him – facing Gandalf the Grey in battle.
"Your plans are about to come to ruin Sauron," Gandalf spoke though no one was capable of hearing his word in the cacophony of gunfire and fighting.
"This is a minor setback," Saeran replied, not about to admit defeat.
"Oh really?" Gandalf stared at him. "You and I were cut from the same cloth, I know you exert control over three who are not here. You cannot fight me and control them."
"You over estimate yourself considerably Olorin," Saeran replied, "I was able to command an army without a body, do you think you pose that much of a challenge?"
"Shall we find out?" Gandalf dared him.
"You are a fool Olorin," Saeran shook his head almost in disgust. "Even if my control wavers today, it changes nothing. There are new pawns to be used every day. When you and the Valar left man to his own, you allowed him to forget that there are powers in this world greater than he, that there is reason to fear the consequences of his actions. He has new gods now but they are silent and impotent. When it serves him, you should see the utter beauty of what cruelty he is capable of doing in the name of his god. It makes my Orcs appear positively tame. If I do not have my kingdom today, I will have it tomorrow because men make it so easy for me to take it. They cannot stop me, no one can."
"Do not be so certain that you are completely untouchable Sauron," Gandalf replied, unaffected by his posturing. "Thanks to you and the presence of your master in this world, my lord has been forced to re-evaluate his position regarding the fate of men. Against Manwe, even you are vulnerable."
"You are lying," Saeran hissed, refusing to believe him. "The Valar have been hiding like children for the past one hundred thousand years. If Iluvutar had a plan for man, the Valar's indifference has ensured that none of it came to pass. Manwe and the rest of those elitists are weak and complacent. The only thing they know how to do is keep a menagerie of pet elves. They would not know how to deal with men and their complexities, where else I do. You tell a good story old man but you have achieved nothing but shown me your desperation. All that will be accomplished today is that you; Olorin will end for all time. I will destroy you."
"You can try," Gandalf said sharply and thrust his staff at Saeran. The dark lord flew backwards into the wall, slamming so hard against the stone that his body left impression in the brick.
"DAVID!" Irina screamed as she watched her lover flung away.
Saeran groaned slightly as he lay against the wall, the indentation caused by the impact holding him in place. "Is that the best you can do Olorin?"
With that Gandalf found himself being flung upwards towards the ceiling. Still clutching his staff, he tried to brace himself for the impact but felt the air forced out of his lungs when he hit the stone hard. The wizard felt his vision blur as every bone in his body shuddered with pain. No sooner than he had felt that crushing agony, he was plummeting to the floor again. This time, he recovered himself enough to gain some control over his descent but it was still not enough to prevent a fresh bout of agony when he hit the floor again.
Saeran was on his feet preparing to attack again but this time, Gandalf was capable of defending himself. The throne behind the dark lord shifted precariously and Saeran turned around just in time to see it flying at him. Dropping to his feet, the bottom of the ornate chair missed him by a narrow margin. It shattered against the floor, sending fragments of wood in all direction. Jumping to his feet again, he faced Gandalf and this time the wizard felt himself spinning in mid air and hurtling towards the open balcony.
"Goodbye Olorin," Saeran called out after him as he flew uncontrollably towards the window.
"Don't say your farewells just yet," Aaron suddenly appeared behind Saeran and swung the hilt of Anduril against the dark lord's body. The ornate iron grip struck Saeran's body hard and drove him to the floor, breaking his concentration enough so that Gandalf's journey to his death was abruptly halted. Gandalf dropped like a stone and landed mere inches away from the open balcony doors.
Saeran uttered a little groan of pain but his mind was already preparing his
retaliatory attack. Aaron's feet were suddenly swept from under him when the dark
lord stood up shakily. Aaron felt the back of his head hit the polished floor
and reeled with disorientation from the pain. When his vision cleared as he saw
Saeran standing over him, Anduril in his hand, raising the weapon in readiness
to strike.
"I had planned to keep you alive but I suppose I will have to be content with your lady," Saeran said softly. "She really is a vision of Luthien and perhaps in time, she will sing for me."
"Like hell you will!" Aaron scrambled to his feet just as Saeran brought down the blade. He felt Anduril slash past him by the barest fraction and the blade cracked the floor with a loud clang of metal. Aaron kicked out his foot and planted it in Saeran's knee, bringing the man down. Hopefully that would give Aaron enough time to get away. Aaron had not planned to fight Saeran but when he saw what the man was about to do to Gandalf, Aaron was throwing himself into their battle without second thought.
Meanwhile, Eve and Haldir were at the doorway, preventing any more of Saeran's men from invading the room. The explosion had unhinged one of the doors and left an opening that was vulnerable to penetrated by more of Saeran's men. Both were barricading the door with a wall of bullets and arrows. Haldir was had not only his own quiver slung over his shoulder but Legolas' store as well. Eve was firing with two Uzis, her eyes squinting in reaction to deafening roar of discharging bullets that was escaping the barrel of the machine gun. Gandalf was still recuperating from the battle and knew that the only chance they had of stopping Saeran from destroying Arda in a inferno of destruction was if he stood up and went to face the lord of Mordor again.
Aaron had not taken more than a few steps when he felt the same force sweeping his legs from under him. He slammed onto the floor hard and felt more blood escaping from his earlier wounds. He tried to move but found himself being pulled across the floor towards Saeran. He tried to turn around but his efforts resulted in his being spun around again and this time he landed on his chest, feeling his ribs ache at the hard landing. He came to a halt at Saeran's feet, too much in pain to be able to do anything but to lie there helplessly as he was pulled upright like a marionette with strings attached to skilled puppeteer.
"What were you thinking?" Saeran asked him as he dangled inches over the floor before Saeran. "Did you think that having Aragorn Elessar's soul would make you equal to me? I could have killed you a dozen times over and considered it only a slight exertion. How dare you presume to think that because I am wearing this shell of flesh that I am one of you? I am nowhere that weak!"
Aaron could watch only helplessly as Saeran held him in his grip, preparing to plunge the sword into his body when suddenly, salvation came with a familiar Yorkshire accent.
"Let's see about that, shall we?" Bryan stated as he slipped his arm across Saeran's neck and enclosed the dark lord's throat in a powerful neck lock.
"What is it this!" Saeran choked out indignantly, as Bryan dragged him backwards, away from Aaron.
Free of Saeran's hold, Aaron tumbled to the floor, landing on his knees as he saw Bryan keeping a firm grip around Saeran's throat, holding on for dear life. The enemy stumbled backwards and tried to slam Bryan into the wall in order to be free of the chokehold but the M16 agent was not about to relinquish his grip for anything. Aaron watched as both of them were hurtling towards the wall, with Bryan bearing the brunt of the impact. However, Bryan did not let go.
"Release me!" Saeran shouted, trying to exert his power to dislodge Bryan but the human would not yield. If anything, his efforts made Bryan more determined.
"Not a chance mate," Bryan grunted struggling to maintain his whole against Saeran's own formidable strength. "Its safer where I am."
Suddenly, Bryan was hurtling across the room. Saeran became more determined to
remove Bryan's vise like grip from his throat and flung him clear across the
chamber. Unfortunately, Saeran had not counted on the tenaciousness of the man
in maintaining his grip because he was soon making the journey with Bryan. As
they rushed towards the wall, Bryan's eyes widened at the realization that
Saeran intended for him to be point of impact. He closed his eyes and braced
himself for the collision. However, shutting out the sight of what coming at
him did little to lessen the pain. He felt a shoulder pop as he slammed against
the stone, causing a pain so intense that Bryan almost cried out but sheer
stubbornness kept him from he relinquishing his grip.
"LET ME GO!" Saeran screamed hoarsely as the pressure on his windpipe continued, turning the air in his lungs, stale, with no hope of replenishment.
"Like bloody hell, I will," Bryan retorted, feeling his eyes water from agony. He could feel bone grinding against bone as he moved his shoulder and the sensation was enough to induce a surge of nausea from someone with as strong sensibilities as he.
After slamming against the wall, both Bryan and Saeran dropped to the ground, landing hard on their sides. Bryan kept the pressure against Saeran's throat, compelling the dark lord to fight for every breath of air. However, Saeran was strong and it was taking all of Bryan's strength to keep maintain his chokehold. The former lord of Mordor struggled desperately against the strangulating arm across his throat and reacted violently, sending Bryan against the ceiling this time.
If he could not shake the human free, then he would break every bone in Bryan's body until he was released. Once again, he became an unwilling passenger as Bryan was borne into the air once more. This time, Saeran intended to split his skull open against the stone ceiling and crush what was left of his body into pulp. Bryan saw what Saeran had planned for him and steeled himself for the impact but knew if he could not bear the brunt of it; he was going to die. Unfortunately, it made little difference whether or not he released Saeran to save himself.
Saeran would kill him the moment he was free.
From the floor of the chamber, Aaron saw Bryan speeding towards the ceiling and realised what Saeran intended. If Bryan did not release Saeran, he was going to be killed.
"Gandalf!" Aaron turned to the wizard who was on his feet now, recovering from the battering he had received at Saeran's hand. "If he hits that wall, it will kill him."
"I know," Gandalf agreed and quickly raised his staff towards them two men.
Instead of colliding into the ceiling, Bryan found himself being dragged downwards. Fortunately, the angle of his descent was not steep and it appeared as if he was being brought to a gradual landing. Saeran was still struggling hard to be free of him but Bryan could sense a weakening in his efforts. No doubt, the dark lord would be finding it incredibly hard to breathe by now. As the floor rushed towards them both, Bryan braced himself for the rough landing and was rewarded for his efforts with a return to the ground that was not quite as fatal as he had feared. Both men were dragged across the debris-covered floor and Bryan grit his teeth as shards of rock tore past the fabric of his jacket to break skin.
"Release me!" Saeran demanded again and it gave Bryan some measure of hope that his efforts were beginning to wear upon the ancient spirit because there was just a hint of desperation in his plea.
"Not a chance mate," Bryan hissed as he continued to pull his arm harder across Saeran's throat. He heart the man gasped as more of the remaining air in his lung was forced out.
They had no more come to a stop when suddenly; Bryan was being thrashed from side to side against the floor. Saeran was flogging his body against the polished marble surface, creating new pains across Bryan's body each time he landed. Bryan felt his injured shoulder flaring in agony; fell bruises forming on his back, felt ribs crack and fresh contusions on his skull when his head hit the floor. He knew he was bleeding, he could feel its warm beneath his hair. Saeran slammed his head backwards in a more physical effort to break free; his skull smashed against Bryan's nose and blood was soon running down the Englishman's face.
Aaron saw the terrible pounding that Bryan was taking and hoped that he could handle it. He watched as Bryan hung on to Saeran for dear life, like the rodeo rider who suddenly discovered that the bull he was riding was too much for him. The effect of the chokehold was starting to show on Saeran however. He was no longer using his powers to dislodge Bryan and was trying desperately to elbow him away. Aaron saw some of these strikes connect but Bryan was a man determined and took this blows without relenting. His determination to hold on no matter what proved to Aaron that Bryan was the only one who could do this.
Bryan was trained to kill. He knew how to prolong a death and he knew how to end it fast. The chokehold that was slowly suffocating David Saeran had to be applied very specifically. It could not be a typical strangulation, which was over very quickly. More than just the air passages had to be blocked, the carotid artery had to be damaged enough to prevent sufficient oxygen reaching the brain. Bryan was the only one of them who knew how to do this. As much as Aaron hated to see him enduring this terrible punishment by keeping the arm lock around Saeran's throat, Aaron also knew it was the only way they could end the threat of the dark lord.
He prayed that in forcing this upon Saeran, the lord of Mordor did not take Bryan with him.
**********
Xiang put down the telephone attached to the console bench behind which he was seated; feeling somewhat unsettled by the conversation he had concluded abruptly with his superiors.
He had been in the midst of completing the relay that would initiate the launch sequence despite the fact that it required more than one person to complete the task when the telephone had rung. He should have ignored it but the ringing grew more insistent and made it difficult for him to complete the work, so he had answered it. He soon discovered that the person on the other end of the line was General Tien, his immediate superior and a personal friend and mentor. Tien had been his commanding officer for many years and had been responsible for his posting the Luoning facility.
Of course Tien did not understand, even when Xiang tried to explain it to him. He had told his mentor how the Americans had paid his mistress Ming to trick him into revealing vital secrets about the installation. Secrets that China had guarded fiercely ever since it began its nuclear program. Because of the Americans, he was no longer a decorated career officer with a bright future. They had turned him instead into a traitor who would most likely be shot once all knew the truth about what he had done.
Tien tried desperately to convince him that it was all a mistake. Hours after the surveillance report regarding her telephone conversation had reached Beijing; Ming was arrested by local authorities and placed under heavy interrogation. During the sessions, she revealed that she did not at all work for the Americans, but rather for a secret terrorist organization that until now had been the subject of rumour and whispers. She was a creature of the Black Serpent, bought and paid for the span of nearly five years. Her infiltration into his life was so precise that even the powers that be understood that he was not at fault. He had nothing to fear from their retribution.
Xiang absorbed all this information with disbelief because he knew that Tien was desperate to keep him from launching the missiles. The old man would do anything to save the homeland and when Xiang hung up the phone in his ear, there was an instant where it would have been so easy to let Tien convince him that all was forgiven. Unfortunately, whether or not Tien was telling the truth, it made little difference now. His career was still in ruins because he had killed to arrive at this place in time. He had murdered his own people and now he was on the edge of the precipice looking down into a dark abyss from which there was no return.
It did not matter even if he believed Tien that the Americans were not responsible for the oblivion he now faced. He had to salvage what was left of his honour and if the only way to do it was to sacrifice millions, that was a small price to pay was it not? Xiang looked at the keys awaiting him in their respective slots on the control panel. One turn of each key and the world would know that he was China's greatest patriot, a warrior who dared to sacrifice his life to make a bold exclamation of his nation's power.
One turn of the key and everything would change, wouldn't it?
For the first time since he had embarked upon this course, the tiny voice in his head telling him that this was the right thing to do was strangely silent and in its silence, Xiang began to feel doubt creeping in on him.
This was all for the best, wasn't it?
***************
Bryan felt the wall against his back as Saeran slammed them both into it, using him as a shield against injury. The pain was all encompassing and he wanted nothing more than to release this tiger whose tail he was clinging to very precariously. However, he thought of everyone he cared about, the strange group whom had come to mean more to him in the past week than anyone else in his life these years, with the exception of Frank of course. He thought of Fred, the little girl who reminded him for the first time in too long, what it was like to care about someone else other than himself. He would not let Saeran hurt her. He would endure this agony for all time if necessary to see her free of this monster once and for all. Saeran had murdered her parents and ruined any chance Fred would ever have for a normal life and for that he would pay.
"Bryan," Saeran managed to speak, squeezing his voice past his blocked through in hoarse whisper. The dark lord paused in his struggles and Bryan took the moment to catch his breath. "Let me go." Saeran pleaded, "let me go and I will give you anything you want. You can sit at my right hand and rule at my side. I always had a place for you in my kingdom, you only need to release me to take it."
Bryan could feel the weakness in his body, could feel the lack of air beginning to suffocate more than just his lungs. Saeran's words were slurred, his brain was beginning to shut down by the lack of oxygen. It was almost done but all that black malevolence would not allow the dark lord to admit defeat, not without one last effort to save his life. However, Bryan had to respond to Saeran's efforts.
"There is something I want from you," Bryan said, aware that all eyes in the room were now fixed upon him.
"What is it?" Saeran chocked out a reply, his face was turning a shade purple.
"Fred's parents," Bryan said with a cold smile. "If you can bring them back to life, I might consider it."
Saeran let out a hoarse cry of rage and threw Bryan back into the wall once more, his movements becoming desperate and frantic. If Bryan had been able to look at his face, he would have realised that Saeran's eyes were rolling back into his skull that his gasps for air were reaching crescendo. He clawed desperately at Bryan's arm once more, nails digging into flesh in order to prise it loose but the grip was unrelenting.
"You think this will stop me!" Saeran croaked. "Kill me and I will free of this body, nothing more. Then what are you going to do? You think this pathetic effort is going to save the lives of your precious Ringbearer? When I am finished with her, you will be begging me to kill her just to stop her torment but not before I split your belly open!"
Bryan ignored him, knowing that Saeran's rage was borne out of desperation and futility. The dark lord was becoming weaker, the fight in him waning as his efforts to pound Bryan into the wall become less jarring, until he could barely move. When Saeran's knees buckled, Bryan almost tumbled to the floor with him but the MI6 agent managed to stay on his feet as Saeran became limp in his grip. A final croak escaped his mouth before he fell against the marble. Only when he had landed against the hard floor, his face almost violet with discolouration and saliva running down the corner of his lip, only then did Bryan finally release David Saeran.
Aaron and Gandalf raced forward as soon as Saeran was on the floor. Bryan staggered backwards, stopping only when he felt the wall behind his back and letting it support his weight as he slid down to the floor, exhausted. Around him the fighting had stopped. Smoke was rising through the fissures in the floor. Eve and Haldir were keeping watch at the door, to ensure they were not interrupted even though it appeared that Saeran's men were no longer attempting to help their master. Bryan could feel the heat against the floor and knew that the fire would soon reach them here. They had to leave and soon but not before they dealt with Saeran.
"Bryan!" Fred cried out, appearing from the corner where she and Tory had safely taken refuge.
The little girl ran into his arms before Bryan could warn her that he was hurt. However, the plain simple joy in her embrace forced the thought out of his mind and he held her tight, unable to believe how good it felt to know that she was safe. He looked up as he was holding Fred and saw Tory approach. There were tears in her eyes, tears of happiness that he had survived his ordeal with Saeran. She knelt down next to him as he held Fred, taking his hand in hers and squeezed tight.
"You look terrible," she said with a smile but her eyes were worried.
"I feel it too," he replied, reaching for his nose and wiping away the blood with his sleeve.
"Is he dead?" Tory asked, her gaze shifting her gaze to Aaron and Gandalf were looming over the still form of David Saeran.
"Yeah," Aaron nodded, meeting Bryan's gaze. "He's dead."
"Won't he escape his body?" Tory asked.
"Not if I can help it," Gandalf replied and for the first time, Tory noticed that Gandalf was not merely standing over Saeran but was concentrating hard. His bushy grey eyebrows were noted with focus as his eyes clamped shut. "He is yet to emerge from his shell but it will not be long."
"You have to hold him in there for at least eight minutes," Aaron said as the doctor searched the room for his medical bag. He had seen it with one of Saeran's men when they had brought Eve and the others in. No doubt, Eve had been forced to part with it when they had surrendered to the enemy. It did not take him long to spot the worn leather bad and at the sight of it, Aaron was up and running.
"Eight minutes?" Tory looked at Bryan in question as Aaron went to retrieve his bag.
"Eight minutes, no sooner or its all for nothing," Bryan sighed staring at Saeran.
Aaron returned to them with his medical bag and kneeled down next to Saeran. The doctor reached into the bag after opening it and produced a statoscope.
"What happens in eight minutes?" Tory had to ask.
"I resuscitate him," Aaron explained shortly as he pulled open Saeran's eyelids and examined his pupils in quick succession. "His pupils are dilated," he commented to no one in particular as he exposed Saeran's bare chest and held the statoscope against his flesh. Aaron listened for a moment before meeting Bryan's gaze. "There's no pulse, he's dead."
"I'm glad to hear it," Bryan replied slackening his posture against the wall behind him, needing to rest. His shoulder ached and he was certain he was covered with bruises and cuts. "Now what?"
"Now we wait for eight minutes," Aaron replied and reached into his bag once more. "That should be more than enough time for irreversible brain damage. Hypoxia should have well and truly set in. He'll be in a vegetative state but that's what we wanted"
"But he's telepathic," Tory declared trying to wrap her mind around what Aaron and Bryan had devised long before this moment. "If he's controlling those men…"
"He may be telepathic but he still has to use his neural receptors the way we do. Damage those and it doesn't matter how powerful he is, he won't be able to reach them. When I treated Gandalf, John Malcolm had placed some kind of mental block inside his mind that made sure Gandalf would never remember who he was. It was block I couldn't break and because of it, the Valar couldn't sense him. They couldn't sense his power because it was trapped inside a brain that could no longer project it. What we're doing here is virtually the same thing. Saeran may be a powerful dark lord but if the body he is wearing is brain damaged, none of that power can escape him."
Suddenly, Gandalf gasped and everyone turned to the old man whose eyes were clamped shut. He was holding his staff in his hands so tightly that his knuckles were turning white from the exertion.
With a strained voice, he uttered two short words, "it begins."
**************
There was a battle raging, one that none of those in the chamber of David Saeran could see with their eyes but had no doubt of its existence.
The elves could sense the stirring of great powers in their midst, could feel the slight tremors in the physical world of the battle taking place in a more incorporeal realm. It was a contest as old as time, of wills that had lived long before Ea had become a reality. In a place that none could see, Olorin, known throughout the ages, as the Grey Pilgrim, Mithrandir, Gandalf the Grey and more recently Moses, found himself facing perhaps the greatest test of his powers in his long existence. In that shadow realm where none save the Maiar and the Valar could see, Olorin pitted himself against the power of Sauron, chief agent of Melkor and former Lord of Mordor,
To those who lived their lives in their confinement of flesh, the battle was beyond physical world, beyond their ability to comprehend. Sheer will hurled itself against one another, a thrust and parry of power where the wounds did not bleed but diminished the whole nonetheless. It tore open the fabric of space and time, slashed to ribbons the fragile boundaries of the soul and the world, though unable to see the battle, sensed the destruction and groaned in protest.
"How long?" A distant voice asked.
"Six minutes," came the reply.
It felt like the echo from the bottom of a deep well and Olorin could only acknowledge its existence in passing. His attention was too fixated on the task at hand.
"What is the point of all this?" Sauron's voice eclipsed all others in his hearing. "You cannot hold me here."
The form of Sauron was a great lidless eye, breathed in flame. Olorin stared at the angry tongues of flame, burning with intensity and felt himself reeling at the power of the enemy. After a hundred thousand years, he had almost forgotten what it was like to see Sauron in this form. It seemed so much more potent that the bright orb of light that was he in this place
It had been a long time since Olorin had felt this freedom, since the days of before the Second Age when he had first been charged by Manwe to make the crossing from Valinor to Middle earth. So long since he had assumed the shape of Gandalf the Grey. Power surged through him for the first time too long and he knew that in his earthly confinement, he could never truly be all himself. And yet even as the thought crossed his mind, Olorin missed the simple joy of feeling air in one's lungs, of tasting fine wine and having to squint because the sun's rays were too bright for his eyes. These sensations he craved even now and knew he would miss if it were taken from him.
"I will hold you until the end of all if need be!" Olorin bellowed back as his form spread out wide, refusing to allow Sauron to escape him.
"Gandalf, can you hold him?" The voice spoke again "We're almost there!"
Olorin recognised the voice as being that of Aaron's and took courage from the assurance in that voice, hurtling more power at Sauron, driving him back into the darkness. The threshold was within sight, a more fragile layer than most knew. It kept the physical world and the realms beyond it apart. If Sauron reached that barrier, he would escape the confines of his body and that would effectively end Aaron's efforts to trap the dark lord. Sauron roared indignantly as Olorin's strength forced him into retreat. The shock of being repelled so forcibly had stoked a fire of rage within the enemy.
"You do not have the power to defeat me!" Sauron shouted and in this place, his voice was like thunder. "Curunir knew his to be true! Why do you think he was willing to serve me?"
"Curunir was destroyed by his own arrogance!" Olorin replied, using
his own anger to empower his attacks against Sauron. "It had little to do
with you!"
"He was my pawn!" Sauron sneered triumphantly, "I used him by whispering to him in dark, of offering him possibilities that he could be more than just a servant of the Valar, that he could be master himself. It was so easy because he hated you so much!"
"You lie!" Olorin shouted in despair. For years, he believed the study of evil had made Curunir vulnerable to its trappings. It was a terrible road of self-destruction that Curunir had taken because of the One Ring. Curunir was always so confident in himself, he had simply miscalculated his vulnerability to Sauron's master ring. Yet, deep inside, Olorin knew that there was some kernel of truth to Sauron's words that Curunir had envied him. From the debate as to who should be in charge of the order to Cirdan's gift of the Narya, the Red Ring or Fire, Curunir had reason to detest him.
Knowing that he had played some part in Curunir's destruction wounded him and gave Sauron the advantage. The dark lord attacked once again, spewing forth waves and waves of power at Olorin, until he was driven himself to the edge of the threshold. The eye breathed in flame was surging forward, fire and heat radiating in all directions. Olorin knew that if Sauron escaped, everyone he cared for, whose lives even now hung in the balance, would die. Sauron would kill them and those he did not kill would suffer a far greater agony that death.
"Hold on Gandalf!" The voice pleaded through the distance, "just a little longer!"
"NO!" Olorin threw himself into the fray, using every pounce of strength he could muster to prevent Sauron from crossing that gulf. Their forms collided like exploding suns, with such intensity that there was no one corner of that realm that was unfilled with the brilliance of their titanic struggle.
"You cannot stop me!" Sauron shouted as he was hurled back from the edge. "You are not strong enough! You were never strong enough!"
The flaming eye was advancing again, more black power flowing through its form, building into a burst of strength Olorin was uncertain he could withstand. It absorbed all other light around, nourishing itself, until the eye breathed in the fires of all darkness was all Olorin could see. It loomed over him, terrible and awesome, until he was nothing more than a speck in its presence. Olorin saw it and knew that he would end because he could not fight it.
"Let me pass or prepare to end for all time Olorin," Sauron thundered in warning.
Olorin felt fear but he would not stand aside, he could not stand aside. If he died here, if his existence vanished into nothingness, he would go into the afterlife, whatever it may be, knowing that he had done was so for the best of causes.
To save his friends.
"NO," Olorin shouted defiantly. "YOU WILL NOT PASS!"
Sauron reeled with fury and then exploded towards Olorin, preparing to obliterate the servant of Manwe. Olorin held himself firm, ready for the assault and whatever consequences came with it. He saw Sauron coming towards him, until it became his whole world, until nothing else could be seen but his impending death in the fires of that terrible, lidless eye. He could feel the heat against him, could feel the strands of his life being cut. It was a strange disconcerting sensation but there was also great clarity of knowing that one's future was no longer a mystery.
A loud scream of indignation tore through his consciousness and forced Olorin to cast his gaze upon Sauron. The eye was no longer advancing. In fact it was retreating. A force greater than Sauron was forcing him back into the darkness, pulling the boundary out of his reach forever. Sauron struggled hard against the tide but its power could not be denied and he was actually screaming to be free of the dark tendrils snaking over the crimson flames of his form. It was as if the shadows had risen up and were claiming the vengeful spirit for its own, dragging him screaming into the black.
"NO!" Sauron howled in despair. "I will not go!"
Olorin stared for a moment, uncertain of what was happening. He had been prepared to die but it appeared that salvation had come from an unexpected quarter.
"I've given him 50 cc's of adrenaline!" The disembodied voice shouted excitedly.
"Olorin!" Sauron continued to scream as the black continued to swallow him whole, "you cannot do this! You cannot imprison me like this! I am the Lord of Mordor! I am one of you! The Void is better than this! OLORIN, HELP ME!"
"You chose Melkor's fate for yourself," Olorin found himself saying as he saw the terrible blackness snuffing out the crimson flames, until only the slit of an iris could be seen through the dark, "now you must follow him into utter ruin."
And with that, the great eye of Sauron disappeared into oblivion.
***********
It felt like someone had emptied a bucket of cold water over him.
For an instant, Major Andrei Nikolaevich did not know where he was. He stared at his fingers, poised on the activation key in readiness to begin the launch sequence that would send the entire complement of thirty Class 204 SS-18s ICBMs to multiple targets across the globe from the Aleysk base. Beijing, Shanghai, London, Paris, New York, Washington, Los Angeles, Geneva, Berlin, Singapore and Sydney, the targets named themselves in his head like the memory of a bad dream that would not fade away with awakening. Every missile had been assigned a target and to his growing horror, Andrei realized how close he had come to launching all of them upon an unsuspecting world.
A kaleidoscope of images swirled around his head as the memory of the past few hours returned to him with every terrible detail intact. Nothing was spared him as he saw himself embark upon a course that would have made him nothing less than the worst mass murderer in history and for the life of him, he could not understand why. There was some residue of being wronged left in his mind, a sense that he had been angry for something that should not have driven him to this present situation. He could deny resenting his banishment to the Aleysk base when he should have been in Moscow but Andrei was a soldier first and foremost. He had always believed that no matter how much he disagreed with the present regime, his duty to his country came first, not any selfish desires provoked by ambition.
He loved his wife and his family who lived in Moscow and would suffer dearly for the crime he had almost committed. If his actions did not precipitate a full-scale nuclear strike from either the Americans or the Chinese and doomed his family to death, they would have suffered no better a fate at the hands of Russian authorities once his culpability was discovered. Tears ran down his face when he realized that he could have been responsible for the death of his wife whom he loved more than anything in the world. He had been willing to endure the Aleysk posting so that he could keep her in the manner to which she was accustomed.
In a daze, he removed his hand from the key and looked around him to see the bodies of the men he had killed for no good reason, simply because they stood between him and his insane goal to bring about nuclear Armageddon. He had murdered them. Men, he had served with, with whom he had shared coffee with in the mess, who had looked to him for leadership and guidance. He had killed them without even knowing why.
A sob threatened to escape him but Andrei was too proud for that. He stifled it with a thick swallow and then noticed the light flashing on the telephone near him. Blinking back the tears, he picked up the gun he had used to murder his comrades while at the same time answering the phone. Holding the receiver to his ear, he listened almost numb as a superior demanded to know what he was doing and more importantly, why he was embarking upon this course to destroy the world.
"I don't know," he answered vaguely, unable to say much else and it was the truth, he did not know. He did not know what madness had driven him to this moment, he wished he did because at least then he would know why this had happened to him.
"I am sorry," he apologised softly, no longer listening to the voice on the other end of the receiver as he reached into his pocket after relinquishing his hold the gun temporarily. Removing his wallet, he flipped it open with one hand and saw his wife smiling back at him, her eyes filled with love. His own spilled with tears as he kept his gaze upon that picture taken some years before and reached for the gun once again. It was ironic that the only trace of comfort in this installation came from the cold steel of a gun rather than the photograph of his wife.
"Please tell Elena that I love her and I am sorry," he said blinking once more and causing an errant tear to roll down his cheek.
Then without another word, Major Andrei Nikolaevich of the Army of the Russian Federation promptly blew out his brains across the console.
*************
"I've got a pulse!" Aaron announced to everyone after the labours of his resuscitation efforts on David Saeran began to show fruit.
He had injected the man with an adrenaline needle and then went through the motions of CPR and every other procedure he could think of that would ensure that Saeran's heart started beating again. For a moment, Aaron had thought that they had left it too late, that Saeran was too far across the threshold to keep his death from becoming a permanent one but after minutes of using every skill at his disposal, he had managed to coax that elusive heartbeat out of Saeran's clinically dead heart.
"Gandalf!" Haldir said with concern when the old man collapsed to the floor next to them. Of all of them in present company, only Haldir had some sense of the titanic battle Gandalf had fought to keep Sauron contained within his human husk after his heart had stopped beating. The wizard fell against the floor, his body slack with exhaustion as Haldir went to his side.
"Is he alright?" Aaron asked, not able to leave Saeran just yet to check on him.
"Yes, yes," Haldir nodded as he made Gandalf comfortable," he is merely weary after his struggle with Sauron."
Gandalf was still coherent enough to speak and muttered softly, "Did it succeed?"
"He's breathing," Aaron answered meeting the old man's eyes briefly before examining Saeran once more. "His left pupil is still dilated. That's an indication of brain damage."
"How long will he stay like this?" Bryan asked as Aaron returned to his comatose patient. Saeran's eyes had opened during the resuscitation procedure in a purely reflective gesture but they saw nothing. Considering how this man had almost killed all of them and brought the world to a fiery end, his harmlessness was disconcerting.
"If he is in a persistent vegetative state and depending on the severity of the brain damage, it's hard to say. I'm hoping months at least, that way we can get him back to Valinor and the Valar can deal with him themselves," Aaron answered.
"Look this is all very well and good," Eve declared wrinkling her nose at the scent of thickening smoke. "But we need to get out of here. Leggy needs a hospital and this place is already going up like a roman candle."
"She's right," Aaron agreed, flinching at the use of her hated nickname Legolas before staring at Saeran's unconscious form. He would need more sophisticated equipment, the kind found only in a proper medical facility, to treat Legolas. "I want Legolas in a hospital as soon as possible."
"What about Saeran's pawns?" Tory asked. "Can they still go through with his plans?"
"No," Gandalf shook his head, managing to sit up now without Haldir's assistance. "Whatever hold Sauron had upon them is over. He can no more influence them than he can escape his prison."
"So he's in there?" Tory asked, shuddering as she saw the catatonic expression on the dark lord's face.
"For as long as we can keep him there," Aaron replied grimly.
"Well let's get a move on then," Bryan said rising to his feet, eager to get out of this place. He had no more than straightened up when suddenly gunshots were heard and two bullets were pumped into his body.
"BRYAN!" Tory shouted in horror as she saw him go down.
The expression on his face was one of surprise as he dropped heavily to his knees and then to the floor, a sickly patch of wet expanding across his chest through his clothes. His collapse preceded a sharp squeal of despair from Fred, who immediately scrambled to his side.
The shots had come from behind the raised platform where Saeran's throne had been and standing there, with a gun in her hand, after everyone had forgotten about her was Irina Sadko. The weapon was still trained on them and though Eve swung into action, targeting the woman with just as much ruthless efficiency as she had gunned down Bryan.
"Drop the gun or I'll kill you!" Eve warned.
However, Irina was not about to give in, not when her purpose was so important. "No, you lower your weapon or I shoot some else," she glared at Eve. "Can you keep me from killing another one of your friends?"
"I can try," Eve retorted but she knew that she could not guarantee that.
Aaron, Haldir, Tory and Gandalf remained frozen for the moment, unwilling to act even though Aaron was fighting the compulsion to go to Bryan. While Irina may have permitted Fred to go to him without firing again, he doubted that she would grant him the same courtesy.
"Put the gun down Eve," Aaron told Eve after a moment.
"Aaron, she'll kill us all," Eve warned.
"I don't think so," Aaron replied, having some idea of what she wanted. "Its
not us she wants."
"What?" Eve glanced at him.
"I'm afraid he is right," Irina replied before her expression became stone. "Step away from him!" Irina ordered, waving the gun at Aaron. "You're not taking him anywhere!"
"We're not leaving him behind," Aaron replied, his jaw clenching because he really wanted to hurt her right this moment despite asking Eve to stand down. "He goes back with us!"
"You have larger concerns then David at this moment," Irina hissed gesturing at Bryan's prone form. "I am a doctor as well and I know for a fact that you have an hour maybe less to get that English bastard to a hospital before he dies. A life for life Doctor Stone, you leave David here or you can let your friend bleed all over the floor."
"You will do nothing of the kind," Gandalf stepped forward hoping he could trick her. In truth, he was very weak after his battle with Sauron and a bluff was as much as he could muster.
"What will you do?" Irina glared at him. "You think you have
power enough to stop me from shooting, say her?" She aimed her gun at
Fred, "after fighting David? The only reason you're still alive is because
your friends managed to trap him before he could finish you."
"You'd kill a little girl?" Tory asked, unable to believe how insane this woman was.
"She's not a little girl," Irina hissed glaring at Fred. "She's the Ringbearer and killing her is the least I could do for David. Now step away from him!" She shouted.
Aaron had no choice but to obey, unwilling to risk Irina shooting Fred as callously as she had done to Bryan. He was thinking furiously as to how to resolve this situation since leaving Saeran here was not an option under any circumstances when suddenly an arrow sailed through the air and speared into the woman's wrist. Irina released an agonized scream as the shaft impaled her flesh, the gun falling harmlessly to the ground.
"I think not," Legolas Greenleaf said wearily, lowering the bow in his hand as he sunk to his knees.
"That was a most impressive shot," Haldir commented as he hurried towards the prince who was exhausted after retrieving his bow and saving them in his condition.
"Terrible actually," Legolas returned, wincing in pain, "I was going to kill her."
************
Tory hurried towards Bryan as soon as Irina had been dealt with. Fred was at Bryan's side, weeping, probably convinced that like her parents, Bryan was dead. Tory felt her insides hollow at the thought and when she saw the terrible wounds across his body, it took all her strength not to crumble completely. His clothes were saturated with blood and he was breathing hard, panting almost, as he struggled to draw breath. He was not going to die, Tory told herself as she skidded to the floor next to him, she refused to accept it. Not now. Not after they had come so far together.
"Bryan!" Tory knelt down beside him and tried to remain composed. She pulled his head gently unto her lap, not caring that her clothes were becoming equally damp with his blood. He was starting to drift and the thought that he may never open his eyes again, filled Tory with cold fear.
"Stay with me Bryan," she ordered through gritted teeth, jarring him out of his near lapse into unconsciousness.
"I'm fine," his eyes fluttered open as Aaron reached them both and muttered in a barely audible voice, "its just a flesh wound."
Tory almost laughed but instead it escaped her as a sob, "how can you joke at a time like this?" She exclaimed in frustration, trying hard not to cry. "You always think you're invincible but you're not! You have people who care about you! People who love you!"
"I'm not dead yet," he raised his head weakly to look at her and then at Aaron who was going through the process of stabilizing him before he went into shock, "I'm just shot to bloody hell. It's happened before you know?"
"Well its not all right!" she burst out, her effort at control wavering, "I love you, you twit! I love you and Fred loves you. We need you Bryan. We need you in one piece. So you keep your eyes open and stay with me."
"I really can't go anywhere like this," he met her gaze with the barest hint of smirk.
Well, Aaron thought silently as he worked to keep his friend alive, if Bryan did die, it would be utterly in character.
But somehow, Aaron did think he would. Irina Sadko had not lied when she claimed the wounds she inflicted upon him were not fatal. They were perilous indeed and without swift medical attention, he would die but Aaron was not about to let that happen. Bryan was too stubborn to shirk off the mortal coil without a fight and Galadriel's riddle had been right about one thing.
After a hundred thousand years, Boromir of Gondor had finally found redemption.
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