Chapter Fourteen: Reunion
Tange woke up, hearing faint talking, as his vision cleared. He sat up in bed rubbing his forehead, as he looked around, seeing a man in a long overcoat, and a woman sitting next to his bed talking. God, what the hell happened. His head throbbed like hell, felt like he was hit over the head with frying pan, maybe I'm having a hangover. "Uh god."
The talking stopped and the two people turned around looking at him.
"Mr. Roland, I'm terribly sorry for what I did yesterday," the man said standing up, "My name is Cypher, and welcome to the South Pole. Caitlyn's told me all about you."
Tange got up and looked at the lady standing next to Cypher. "Who are you? And where am I" he asked.
The woman stood up, "Charice Smith, former Blue Umbrella employee."
"Where's Caitlyn?" he said. "Is she-"
"Okay? Yes." Cypher interrupted, "And as I said, your in the South Pole, in a top secret military facility of HFC. But I must tell you something about your condition, because you're not really human."
"What do you mean?"
"After recovering your body from the train, we found traces of the T- Veronica virus in your body." Cypher said. "With that, we believe your, body has enhanced, more like upgraded."
"Really?" Tange said, "So uh, let me guess, since Corin has the virus also, you're saying I'm like him, like he gave part of the virus to me?"
"That is correct." Cypher replied. "Anyways, you should get some new clothes on. Charice will escort you to the gym."
Tange was left in the room, as he went to the bathroom. He turned the sink on and doused his face in water and looked in the mirror. His face was extremely pale and a skinny, long scar on his left cheek. He lifted his shirt, looking at his chest, seeing a stitches going down his torso, and remembering what had happened a few months ago.
Tange ran for the next car onto the railway and looked a joint sticking out of two holes. He pulled at it as hard as he can and the joint slid out. The cars behind him began to lengthen away from him. The cars were twenty feet apart when the doors crashed open. Corin came through looking at him.
His fresh wounds were already healed. Tange waved at him knowing that Corin couldn't make a jump that far.
Corin laughed and leaped off the car landing in front of Tange and punched him in the chest. Tange flew through the metal door, sliding down the aisle. Corin stepped up to him and picked him up by his neck with one hand.
Tange punched at his arms trying to free himself. He punched Corin's face and he was thrown into the wall. Tange tried getting up on all fours when something made its way through his back. He looked down seeing a tentacle sticking through the right side of his stomach. He felt it pull away from him as he fell to the floor. His vision became blurry as he heard Corin's sudden talking go low and slow.
That bastard. After tampering with his memory and killing innocent bystanders, he had sworn revenge on stopping Corin, no matter what the cost. He left the bathroom, and began digging through the drawers, for a clean shirt. It was strange, the clothes weren't like regular working clothes, they were the clothes of his style, thank you Cypher for not dressing like those idiots out there.
He put on a Billabong hoody, and put a pair of cargo pants. He sat on the bed and turned the TV on while putting on his boots. He turned looking at the set and stopped what he was doing.
"Welcome back to the World News, I'm Amanda Minton. After four months, from the shocking news which occurred in the once thriving city of Scrapeson, we bring you even more shocking news. About two-hundred miles west of the city, a military weapons base in Hilton City was attacked, and robbed of its helicopters. There were no reports of survivors, as when reinforcements came, it was described as a slaughter house, everyone there was brutally killed, being ripped limb from limb. The death rose to a shocking, one- hundred-seventy-five. The only reported evidence was a radio transmission just minutes after the attack started.
'Help Us! Their tearing us apart! Giant people! My God, It's a mess out there. A sniper on the roof- Oh, please no, don't kill us-NO!'
"That was the only source of evidence. Investigators then found a blown up train, and that all of the sixty helicopters have been confiscated.
I'm Amanda Minton, we'll be right back."
That was some pretty fucked up shit. Tange finished putting his boots on and headed out the door. Charice stood outside waiting, leaning against the wall.
"Shall we?" she said.
"Fine." he said shutting the door. He followed her down the hall, passing more rooms on the way. The tiled floor was clean enough were he could see his reflection. Charice made a left at the end of the humongous hall turning right and opening a pair of doors.
"After you." she said holding the door.
"Sure" he said, walking into a big metal chamber with hanging flourescent lights. For a gym it was pretty big. In big, more like the habitat chambers in the Blue Umbrella, but no glass dome. And empty, except a woman, practicing with a sword, all the way in the back.
Caitlyn, Tange jogged toward her, feeling his side start to burn. He clutched his side as he made it to her, noticing that she had not seen him yet.
She stood, with her back toward him, slowly swinging the sword left and right. She was quite good, remembering when he was a kid, he had won state champion in sword fighting. The only thing he didn't like about it was that he had to wear a white tight suit with some netted mask.
"How did you get here?" he said, startling her.
She turned around, looking at him. "Same as you; in a stretcher, hooked to an oxygen tank; can't say hi?"
He let out a sigh, walking to a sword rack by the wall, grabbing a katana, with a silver handle, and a black blade. He walked back, watching her get into position. He got on the mat, remembering what to do. He raised the sword, and so did she.
She jumped forward, bringing the sword down. Tange moved his sword upward at a horizontal angle, feeling her blade hit his, as he blocked the hit. He pushed it forward and swung downward at her feet, missing as she jumped. Slicing through the air, he swung upward, watching her back arch, at a ninety degree angle.
She brought her blade down on top of him, and he crouched down, and rolled to the side. Tange moved his blade across her shoulders, before she landed, cutting a piece of fabric off her shirt, revealing her whole left arm. Landing on the ground she walked fast toward him, slashing the sword forward like a windmill, moving it left to right, as Tange jumped back, feeling not quite normal, as the virus inside him made him go a few meters back.
Tange jumped forward, rotating a full three-sixty degree angle, cutting through the air, downward at her, feeling her blade, go down his back, ripping the fabric off the hoody. He landed, and removed the hoody, exposing the shirt he wore. He then heard her running from behind him. He dropped on his back, pressing his feet on the mat and pushing off sliding between Caitlyn's leg, looking up, then smiling. He stopped and cart wheeled backwards onto his feet.
He ran forward as she turned around, swinging the katana, at a underhand throw, left to right, repeatedly, hearing and seeing her blade meet with his, and she jumped back, holding the collar of her shirt. She lunged forward with the sword stretched out like a spear, in his direction. He then felt his sleeve loosen up and slide down his arm. He looked up, seeing that he had cut her shirt collar, exposing part of her cleavage.
"Don't look!" she said lowering her sword.
"Make it quick" he remarked, stretching his arms, feeling his side sting. "So how long have you been around this? You know, awake?"
"Ever since I was able to move on my own after we got here. Which is about two months." she said swiftly moving the sword forward.
Tange bent his body left hearing the metallic hum of the blade glide past him. He swung vertically, watching her jump back then lunging forward with the sword out again, lifting one leg back, as she tried to reach him. He ducked and swiped her shirt, hearing the slicing of the fabric, as the slash on her shirt collar split all the way down, revealing her bra, as she shrieked jumping back as her shirt fell. "You're good." he said smirking.
Caitlyn's shirt fell to the floor, exposing her white bra, as she jumped back. She went into position waiting for Tange to perform the first swing. He did, as he stood twenty feet back, he leaped forward, with his sword to his side, swinging horizontally.
She crouched and rolled left, hearing his sword dig into the mat. She jumped to her feet and swung her weapon like a bat, hearing a faint slicing of flesh. She looked at Tange seeing a long clean cut, under his left eye, bleeding mildly. He ignored her and swung at her feet. She jumped knowing it was too late, hearing her pants leg rip, but not were it would fall off.
She grinned and ran to the rack grabbing another sword. She went back on the mat with two blades in each hand. She looked seeing Tange eyes widen, but he did not go to fetch another blade. She raised the two blades and ran at him, and bent forward, bringing the blades together like a pair of scissors, he hsot the blade forward getting it caught in her move. They stood face to face for a few seconds staring at each other, "Guess what?" she said.
"What"
"This is the first thing we've done together, without any mutants around us."
"I've figured that out already." he grunted.
Tange backed up and lunged forward. She reeled back and leapt into the air, and brought the swords down like axes, impacting with his single sword, as he held it forward horizontally. She swung both the blades straight at his chest, like a chopper blade, twirling many times.
Stopping, she then slashed the swords forward at him toward his feet as she moved forward, timing the swing as each foot hit the mat. He then twirled the sword and she crouched rolling behind him, and brought the blade up on his shirt, ripping the material. She cart wheeled out of his reach and stopped with the swords pointing forward. Tange shirt slid off his broad chest as he grinned holding the sword up above his head.
She licked her upper lip, tasting the bitter, salty taste of sweat. She ran forward seeing Tange do the same, and felt both of their blades impact together, stopping them in their tracks.
"Had enough?" he said breathing heavily on her shoulder.
She felt the swords grinding feeling specks of metal glide on her face. "Yeah." she said releasing her grip, "besides you've seen too much." she walked to the bench and opened it and put a clean shirt over her.
Clap, clap, clap. Both of them looked forward seeing Cypher walk toward them smiling as he applauded. "Great show." he said, "you two are very, experienced. Wow, I'm quite impressed." He held up a white shirt and threw it at Tange, "Thought you might need it."
Tange put the shirt on and wiped his forehead. "God, you just pop up out of nowhere."
"Yes quite right, Mr. Roland." Cypher said. "You two haven't watched the news lately have you?"
"What news," Caitlyn said breathing in deep, then exhaling.
"Walk with me." he said turning around.
They both caught up exiting the room into the great massive hallway as Cypher began to speak.
"As we all know, our feared enemy, Corin Pearson is alive." he said, "We believe he has struck again, robbing a military base."
"How do you know?" Caitlyn said.
Cypher ignored her, "The following months after the Scrapeson incident, he formed a group. These people don't have any idea what is going on, or so we think."
"That sounds like Corin." Tange said, "So he got lonely and he needs some friends."
"Patience, Mr. Roland. We also know that he robbed the Red Umbrella, the world's leading tyrant supplier, and we have detected the stolen choppers over the Pacific Ocean. We just have to stay and watch to see what he strikes."
They entered a giant conference room, and sat down in leather seats. "Where?" she said.
Cypher motioned them to look at a screen and he picked up a remote controller, and pressed a button, revealing a huge ship, more like a military battle ship. "Here, the Renegade, the world's largest ship, controlled and operated by the Umbrella Corporation. This is disguised as a military transport ship, but it's actually a moving armed laboratory. And when I meaned armed, it has radar that can get a turret to hit a fly with the most direct accuracy twenty miles away"
"My god," she said, "more like a moving plague. But wouldn't they spot him and shoot him down."
Cypher turned away from the screen, turning it off, and folded his arms together, "No, the ship is suspected a shipment of supplies as it sails for New York, and if they then find out, it will be too late."
The doors opened and Charice walked in, with a bunch of files in her hands, "Sorry I'm late, we have a situation, sir." she said dropping the files on the table making a loud slap as it hit the top."
"Wait," Tange said, "You people hired Corin."
"In a matter of speaking, yes," Cypher said, "We did hire him. But we had no idea what his past was."
"He was very mysterious," Charice said opening one of the folders and pulling a couple of pictures out, "These pictures were just taken via satellite minutes ago. This picture shows the stolen choppers. This next picture shows the Renegade, just a little over fifty miles south- west from the choppers."
"Oh, no. This is bad, "Caitlyn said glancing at the photos, "He's going to hit the ship. Is there something we can do?"
"No we just sit and wait," Cypher said, "and then we form a stragedy."
Tange said getting up, "I say we warn the ship and then strike Corin with full power."
Charice looked at him, "Evasive action is what we need, but not now. Corin has over three-hundred tyrants. If we go in there with a bunch of people, we'll be wiped out."
Caitlyn looked at her, "She's right. We should send in a team of two or three. Plant explosives, and get the hell out of there."
"That is highly unlikely," Cypher retorted, "The Umbrella will then send a team to the ship when it is attacked to conceal the incident. And if you all go up against Umbrella; you too will be knocked into the obituaries."
"So we wait." Tange said, "and then we go when the team blow the ship."
Cypher shot a glance at him, "Tange, Umbrella is capable of occupying all of Europe and Asia if they decided one day to conquer the world. But a team of five or six going in to blow a ship against the most powerful Umbrella creation; there is a slim chance that, that will all happen."
"Fuck that."
"Tange!" He shouted, "we will have our turn, we first must get permission if you know what I mean."
"You mean go to the head man of Umbrella?" Caitlyn questioned, "him? Why go to him, if he's the one who destroyed a city?"
Everyone was then quiet for a few seconds when Cypher stood up and smiled, "Because I know exactly know what we have to do, to obtain our objective."