Chapter 17
"Wait! Don't switch on the TV or radio! And be careful with your cell phone!" Blaze panics as Tim reaches for the remote. "It's just, the twins could have attacked anywhere else using the sound waves…" she warns.
He throws the remote onto the coffee table, still annoyed with her.
"Here, drink this and keep your energy up" Lauren says, handing Blaze a large bowl of vegetable soup.
"Thanks," the fighter who is now famished appreciates the gesture, diving straight into her food whilst scoffing down the bread that came with it. "I'll leave as soon as things calm down out there" she promises.
"The sooner the better" Tim remarks, avoiding Blaze's eye contact.
"First I need any weapons you have access to".
"First you come into my house, eat the food I've bought and now you're demanding ammo?! What do you think I am?!" Tim angrily shouts.
Suddenly, their argument is interrupted when they hear glass breaking next door.
"Lauren, go upstairs and stay with your mother!" Tim orders, reaching for a small handgun. Blaze quietly draws the curtain to one side to check out who is there.
"It's Koobo, guns aren't gonna stop that thing!" She whispers to Tim. However, he still decides to ignore her when he decides to stand behind the front door with his gun in hand. A metal pole begins to slowly tap the door from the other side. The ex-commissioner heavily breathes, shaking and uncertain at what trouble lies behind the door.
The two of them feel alarmed when they notice the handle of the door turning.
"He's picking the lock!" Blaze whispers with urgency. Tim then aggressively fires several bullets through the door, hoping that they will stop the half-cyborg intruder behind it. To his relief, there is a brief moment of silence when the door handle stops rotating. But it all feels all too easy.
Tim and Blaze take another peak outside of the downstairs window however Koobo doesn't appear to be anywhere in sight.
"That's so strange…" Tim looks on with concern.
"Oh my God!... Upstairs!" Blaze panics, running past him seconds before they hear Lauren and Fiona screaming.
As soon as Blaze enters the bedroom, she sees the intimidating looking thug with his skull mask on, pressing his body against the upstairs window.
"Get back!" She orders, just before Koobo breaks the glass with his body, forcing himself into the room.
Blaze immediately readies her stance, defending the others whilst he swings two metallic poles. She leans to one side, dodging one of the poles which hits the back wall behind her. She then stands on the bed then jumps off, striking Koobo on the other side with a flying kick to the face before suplexing him backwards until his head hits the floor. Blaze takes every opportunity to kick and punch him once he is down on the ground.
"Watch out!" Lauren shouts as soon as one of the metallic poles starts rotating on its own in the air behind Blaze's head. She manages to grab the weapon just in time before it strikes the back of her skull then she slams it down into Koobo's chest repeatedly until he stops moving. She then drops the blood stained pole, stumbling backwards away from him whilst catching her breath.
"Is everyone ok?" Blaze asks.
"Are you ok?" Lauren looks back at her, concerned.
"Yeah, I'm fine". She glances down at her palms which have started to bleed again.
"Thank you, if you weren't here I don't know what would have happened!" Fiona runs forward feeling grateful.
"Goddamn this pistol!" Tim complains, throwing his gun down on the bed.
"Look, his exterior metal must have blocked or absorbed the bullets you fired" Blaze explains. The two of them examine the body which is now motionless.
"I'll get one of my team to clear this up right away". Tim swallows his pride, knowing that his efforts were not enough to protect his family.
He continues, this time giving Blaze his eye contact. "There's a first aid kit in that bathroom over there. Lauren or Fiona will take a look at the wounds on your hands for you. Also the weapons you need, they're in a safe space at the back of the closet in here. I'll fetch them for you".
"Thanks Tim," Blaze nods as he approaches the walk-in wardrobe.
"It must have been over 10 years since I last saw you?" Fiona innocently smiles, handing Blaze some antiseptic wipes and bandages.
"You're looking better…" she smiles, remembering how badly Mrs Murphy's health deteriorated after Electra shot her.
"You've put a little weight on over the last 10 years… suits you" Fiona smiles.
"I had a…and now I'm…" Blaze holds her tongue.
"So what do you need then?" Tim interrupts. "I got two AK47s, several handguns, revolvers, knives, grenades…"
"Any handgun will do, I already got a knife" Blaze answers.
"Alright then. I can't help but wonder though, what kind of man allows his pregnant woman to fight his battles on the streets like this? Then again, I never expected much from Axel…" Tim remarks, handing over to Blaze a single shot gun.
"Axel and the others are fighting right now to save this city. They'll find the twins sooner or later. He doesn't know I'm here…"
"Did he tell you how he murdered my brother then?" Tim folds his arms.
"And do you know why he killed Jake? Your brother was a monster. He took away my life and my whole world! I spent 9 years going through medication, therapy, seizures, thoughts of suicide - you name it! Anything to get my memory back after just about surviving that coma while I was pregnant with Leon. My kid lost 9 years with me because of Jake, he put me through hell and almost killed me again…." She coldly replies, revealing the burns on her left shoulder.
"I didn't realise he…"
"You knew Jake was a violent piece of shit! He had it coming…" she snaps whilst checking to make sure that the gun is loaded. "You won't ever have to see me again Tim." Blaze promises as she walks away.
"Blaze, wait!" Lauren runs after her as she walks out of the front door.
"You're safer indoors, get off the streets!" The heroine insists.
"I'm sorry for what my Uncle did to you, you never deserved that."
"It's not your fault Lauren, you were too young to understand…."
"Yeah but dad stood by and did nothing. All those times he hurt you, dad knew Jake was in the wrong."
"It doesn't matter anymore. I'm never letting anybody ruin my family again" Blaze promises, tucking the gun away into her skirt.
"Can I ask a favour?" Lauren queries.
"Sure,"
"Would you give this to Sammy from me when you see him?" She hands over to Blaze a letter.
"What happened to you two anyway? I remember Sammy being so into you."
"I made a huge mistake! We were both only 18 at the time…" Lauren answers with regret.
"What, did you cheat on him or something?"
"No!... I got pregnant. In fact, I was so scared about what my parents would do and neither of us were ready so I had it terminated. I told Sammy a year later, after I couldn't hide it anymore. After that we grew apart, he never trusted me again and eventually we decided to call it quits".
"I'm so sorry, I'll make sure he gets this…" Blaze glances back at her feeling sad.
"I've never regretted lying so much about anything in my life. I just want him to know that".
"I'm sorry you had to go through that. I almost made that same mistake once. You're only human Lauren, remember that" she replies before turning around to walk away.
"Daddy I'm coming with you!" Cherry insists.
"I'm sorry but you remember what we agreed, you've done your part at the concert hall. Now it's time to stay behind, I can't put you in anymore danger" Adam shakes his head, gently applying the antiseptic to her arm which was cut earlier.
"If our group splits up and you leave me here, who's to say that the city is safe at the moment? You've seen the streets outside. We have a better chance of survival and beating our enemies if we stick together for the rest of this!"
"She makes a good point Adam…" Estel interrupts.
"How?! Going after the twins is the most dangerous part of this fight!"
"But Leon is going with you guys!" Cherry complains.
"That's different! Wherever he goes, both Visser and the twins will wanna come after him. If you're in a different place, they won't find you".
"And if Cherry or Sammy or any of the others you intend on leaving behind stay, they're even more vulnerable to attack. What's stopping the twins coming back here and using them in exchange for Leon? We're safer as one large group" Estel explains.
"Ok then, let's take a vote. Raise your hand if you think we should all carry on together…"
The vote is almost unanimous.
"I'm sorry daddy, it's what I want and I feel safer with you and Estel around" Cherry frowns after becoming the last individual to raise her hand.
The team suddenly notices DJ Washi's body moving around on the floor, groaning in pain. "You'd think that all those volts would have him still passed out…" Max remarks.
"Why does he wear that helmet anyway? I wanna know who this asshole really is!" Estel charges forward.
"No! Please!" The man begs.
"What are you trying to hide? You've given us the information we needed, if we wanted to kill you we would have done it by now," Estel replies.
"You're asking the wrong question. It's not what he is trying to hide from, it's who?" Max comments.
"Pal, all syndicate personnel here are dead. I know you've snitched but we're not going to hurt you, they're our enemy" Max explains, crouching down in front of the DJ.
"No! He is the old syndicate!" Washi panics, pointing towards the rest of the team at the back of the stage.
"Shiva, do you recognise this man?" Estel asks, forcefully pulling off his helmet. The DJ does everything possible to cover his face using his hands, whilst turning around.
"I've never seen nor met this man in my life!" The fighter shrugs.
"Onamae wa nan desu ka?" (What is your name?) Shiva asks in Japanese. Only himself and Axel are the ones in the room who can understand.
"Please, I'm not going to hurt you!" Shiva promises, noticing how young the DJ is. It is likely that he is around 25 years old.
"I asked you, what is your name?!" The fighter insists.
The man starts to shake nervously, slowly removing his hands away from his concealed face until he answers.
"My name is Motohiro Shirataka. That man over there is responsible for the death of my father! I watched him die of poisoning when I was a young child!" The DJ points towards Axel.
"Wait, I never killed your father! That was Steffan's doing, I swear!" Axel answers.
"You've killed hundreds of fighters and are responsible for the deaths of dozens of committee members. Steffan was our chairman!"
"And Steffan became chairman once he had your father killed. I was there that night!" Axel argues.
"And your prints were found and tracked back to the source of the poison. How do you explain that?"
"That bastard set me up!" Axel shouts, slamming his fist into the already broken decks to create further demage.
"If you have to finish the job, do it fast. You know who I am now", Washi insists, no longer able to hide his real identity.
"With all the shit you've pulled tonight endangering this city, give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you!" Axel clenches his fists.
"Hey! Don't do it man!" Max places one hand on his friend's shoulder.
"I've had enough of the bullshit past coming back for me!" Axel replies, creating a fireball in his right hand.
"Washi is unarmed and isn't putting up a fight. Before you go through with killing him, take a look behind you" Max replies.
Axel slowly turns around, suddenly remembering that Leon is with them. The boy can't help but look up at him with shock and sadness on his face, so Axel decides to cut out the flame above his hand. He turns back towards Washi then walks forward, crouching down in front of his trembling enemy.
"You listen good. I'm not interested in killing you and your father's death had nothing to do with me even though Steffan set me up. Once we're gone, you leave and you never come back to this city again. If word gets out to the twins that we're on the way to the airport, I won't hesitate to return to find you and kill you. Understood?"
"Yes…" Washi's voice croaks.
"I'll arrange for his arrest if he lingers around" Estel nods.
Axel turns around again to approach Leon, but instead the boy runs away from him, feeling disappointed and still in shock.
"Kid, wait…!" He sighs, feeling guilty.
"I'll bring him back…." Adam intervenes.
"Leon, get back on this side of the roof now! It's dangerous over there!" Adam yells.
"No!" The boy shouts back.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to shout. I'm just worried about you and I wanna make sure you're ok so please, come back with me" Adam pleads.
"Dad's changed…ever since he found out who that agent was" Leon frowns as he steps forward.
"I know. Your father is under a lot of pressure right now but he's doing everything he can. All he wants to do is protect you. You and your mom, and your baby sister mean the world to him."
"Then why did he almost hurt them the other night? Even with Washi just now, he showed no mercy!"
"Wait, what do you mean he almost hurt them?"
"The kitchen cupboard…."
"But Blaze said she was the one who…. " Adam pauses. "Look, there's a lot right now that we haven't explained to you. And there's a lot of complicated things that affected your dad's past. But believe me, he's not your enemy. We all make mistakes and parents are not perfect… look at me! But your dad? I know he would regret ever upsetting you or upsetting your mom and besides, she's still ok isn't she?"
"I guess…"
"You wanna know a secret?"
"What?" Leon frowns.
"His real father growing up was never around. Whatever you think of your dad and whatever mistakes he makes, he's always been there for you and he always will be. Remember that".
"Ok…" Leon nods.
"Promise once we're at the airport, you'll patch things up with him?"
"I promise", the boy sighs, forcing a smile.
"Thank you," Adam places his arm around him.