6:38 pm
Kyle sat motionless in the hallway of his house, but his brain was spinning with thousands of thoughts. His muscles were tense, ready to be used to full effect. He'd opened the front door and opened the windows to allow his sense of smell access to the outdoors.
It had already been 43 minutes and 16 seconds since he'd jumped out of Amanda's bedroom. Not wanting to give those cretins a reason to harm anyone else, he'd only taken 73 seconds to get out of the Blooms' house and into his.
To think that they'd killed Hillary, his jaw clenched in response. It would start with his acquaintances and end with those he loved most. He'd eventually be alone; he guessed they'd keep Jessi if they could keep her sedated, as it appeared she'd been –
"Wait," he barely whispered to himself. The intense joy he'd felt before was completely gone. He now felt nothing at all. Either Jessi had completely severed their connection or… No, until he spoke with Latnok he would make no conclusions. His jaw hurt and his muscles complained that they were contracted, but he ignored the discomfort.
He wouldn't give up. And then his stomach rumbled again.
7:12 pm
With a full stomach he could use its energy to stay away all night if necessary. All the leftovers were gone and the dirty dishes in the dishwasher. It was now well past the time where someone should have come home. Josh, Stephen, and Nicole should all be home by now.
He sat back down on the second step of the stairs in the main hallway, a phone directly beside him.
The phone rang the moment he sat down. He answered it immediately.
The computer garbled voice spoke, "Three unarmed Latnok agents will be arriving in five minutes to escort you to our facility. You can choose to fight back; there will be no consequence to doing so at this time." The line went dead.
If he'd been clenching his teeth before, he was grinding them to dust now. They wanted him to fight? They wanted to see him bash heads? Or did they somehow expect him to demurely submit to their wishes?
Realization washed over him. The phone had rung the moment he'd sat back down, which meant either the whole house was bugged, someone was remotely viewing him outside, or that it was a terrible coincidence. He normally believed in coincidences because statistically things could happen at any given time, especially if these were independent occurrences. The day's events showed that nothing was coincidence when it came to Latnok, which meant someone was watching him somehow.
He squinted and focused his vision to the point where he magnified the picture twenty times. He carefully tracked the time and kept his hearing on high alert while he examined the walls around him in detail. After looking at a block, he would mark it on his mental map, before changing his focus to another.
As the minutes ticked by, he'd not come across any visible sign of tampering from within. He wouldn't rest until he verified the entire house, but first he had to take care of unwanted guests.
He stood when he smelled their arrival. They were very quiet. They walked on the balls of their feet, and somehow not surprisingly, were dressed in black ninja-like garb.
The one who'd slid inside via the small kitchen window and was now in the kitchen, said in Japanese, "You will come with us."
He replied in Japanese, "No thanks."
The one who'd scaled the wall and entered via Lori's room appeared at the top of the stairs. He spoke in Korean, "We will escort you to your destination, willing or not."
Kyle replied in Korean, "I don't think so."
A shadow appeared before the front door. In Mandarin, "We will wrap you like present to the Emperor."
The Japanese ninja said, "Like human sushi."
The Korean added, "But first we'll soften you up." With a yell he ran speedily down several stairs and jumped at him, his left foot like a dagger.
Kyle might have laughed about encountering three ninjas but he was past that today. As the Korean flew by him, Kyle grabbed his leg and threw him into the wall. The dry wall caved in where the man landed. Powder flew into the air from the impact, as stray chunks fell on the man's head.
He berated himself for having thrown him where there was no support beam. He'd known where it was but at the last moment decided not to hurt the man. A stray thought came as he jumped up several stairs to keep the three ninjas in front of him. Did ninjas have family, loved ones?
Another thought raced to the forefront of his mind. Did he care? His loved ones were in danger! The Korean got up, shook himself off, and snarled, "He's mine!" The others crept closer but kept their distance.
As the Korean ninja threw vicious punches and kicks, Kyle realized he was barely ahead of the man. Foss might be well trained in martial arts, but he couldn't match these trained killers. He found that the blows he was deflecting were being aimed to hit points on the body that would cause significant pain. They were not to kill.
The Korean's heartbeat was steady, quick but controlled. This was normal practice for a ninja, as of yet just a warm up. Kyle knew he would need an advantage soon. They were now at the top of the stairs and he'd had yet to do anything but deflect blows. A chuckle emerged from his throat, unbidden.
The ninja slowed perceptibly in his attacks. Kyle laughed out loud, and projected his voice with the full control of his diaphragm, actually creating a wave of sound in front of him. It was by no means strong enough to disrupt the ninja's balance but it had been enough to knock a couple picture frames off their hooks, causing them to crash to the ground, littering the stairs with glass and wood splinters.
By instinct the Korean glanced back to assess the threat. Even though he'd done a round kick belt high that Kyle had previously backed away from, Kyle jumped four feet in the air, crouched in mid air and thrust his foot straight into the Korean ninja's sternum. The man's fall was silent but his eyes were open wide. He flailed his arms, trying to reach the rail or the wall for purchase but finding none. He slammed into the wall near the bottom of the stairs, caving it in as well. This time though, Kyle counted the number of cracked ribs he heard in the millisecond of the impact.
Kyle smiled grimly. The Korean shouldn't die if he received prompt medical attention. Wasn't this the purpose of these ninjas? To test how lethal, how he could dispatch some of the best in hand to hand without killing them? These ninjas might be unarmed, but their fists and flying feet were more than most could handle.
In Mandarin Kyle yelled, "Who's next?"
The reply came in Japanese, "I."
He smelled the lie and knew their plan. He nearly sighed and ran down the stairs, avoiding the glass and the injured ninja.
Landing at the foot of the stairs, he countered the Japanese ninja's rapid blows. Seconds later he heard the other ninja at the top of the stairs. As he came down running he screamed when he felt flying shards of glass cutting into his face and chest.
The focus it had taken to propel the tiny shards in various precise directions had forced him to slow his reflexes. The Japanese ninja's fist found his right kidney and a snake strike to his bottom most ribs were marginally forced apart but there was no pain.
Turning back to his assailant, Kyle grinned as he thrust his right hand out into the man's diaphragm, sending him back four feet in the process. The ninja was not winded however; he had contracted his abdominals in time.
The Chinese ninja took the opportunity to strike. In many places his outfit was cut and blood oozed from most of them. Kyle smelled the man's target and moved out of the way, grabbing his wrist. With his elbow he broke the ninja's elbow. The ninja cried sharply and kicked at his face. Kyle bent backward, narrowly avoiding the blow meant to smash his nose into his skull. It had been the first strike that any of the ninjas had taken that could have killed him. He swiveled out of the way of the same leg coming down. Still holding on to the wrist with the broken arm, he pulled hard and heard the man grunt and his dark eyes water. The man's heart beat faster though.
Unwilling to stop, the Chinese ninja struck at him with his other hand, aimed at his throat. Mere inches from his target, Kyle grabbed the man's other wrist, let go of the useless arm and broke the other arm at the elbow with his palm. He turned and kicked the ninja full in the chest, catapulting him into the wall at the base of the stairs. The wall there crumbled too and once more he heard several bones cracking – only a few were broken outright – but he'd hit his head pretty hard against a support beam, knocking him out cold. It was a picture engrained in his memory. Two battered ninjas sitting in crumbled recesses in adjoining walls at the base of the stairs.
The Japanese ninja stood tall, "Are you ninja too," he asked in broken English.
"No. I'm just a boy who wants to live a normal life."
The truth always seemed best, but his remaining opponent's eyes opened wide at the answer. In Japanese, "You are not a normal youngster. You have great potential! Come to Japan –"
"What about your employer," he said interrupting him, not that he planned to go with him. He would never leave his family.
The man's eyes opened even wider. "You are right. Thank you for removing the sun from my face." He bowed, and got into fighting stance. "You are my mission, the life of my son is in the balance." At the man's response, pain filtered through Kyle's body's defenses. His arms were sore from the many blocks he'd done, his right kidney sent him sharp jabs of pain, and his ribs ached.
He retreated to the kitchen, the remaining ninja in pursuit. He took hold of the toaster's cord, noticing it was still plugged in from that morning. The ninja leaped behind him, narrowly missing him. Kyle put his hand to the ninja's back, feeling little remorse. The electrical current passing through his body was a gentle hum, but clearly was a massive shock to his assailant.
Listening to the man's heart, he let go of him after less than two seconds. "Go back to your son," Kyle yelled to him angrily. He wasn't completely sure he could still hear. He released his hand from the ninja's back. He nodded, and shuffled slowly towards the front door. In the hallway, the Japanese ninja turned to him, opened his mouth to speak and found he couldn't. Instead he bowed, and poorly trotted out the open front door, unusually loudly.
Less than three minutes passed before Kyle heard four vehicles rapidly approaching. He sighed, he didn't want to hurt any more people but he was resolved to protect himself and his family, even though they weren't here. He pondered his choices. Latnok had invited him to fight the ninjas and against the odds he'd won. Nonetheless he was no closer to his family and friends than he'd been before the battle. Pursing his lips into a scowl, he grasped the toaster's power cord and absorbed some electricity.
He heard car doors closing and knew he had little time. He was out in the open; if someone had a gun they could surely shoot him through the window. He fled up the stairs. As he did so, did he really have anywhere to go? If he left his house to these invaders, would Latnok start killing as they'd said?
Other than the Chinese ninja had actively tried to kill him – and that only after he'd broken one of his arms. They didn't want him dead. He sneered at himself as he thought, "I'm too valuable." Everyone else was expendable, and he found that utterly loathsome.
A familiar voice floated up the stairs. "Kyle? Come out where I can see you."
Not only could he hear a strong quiver in the woman's voice, but he heard men grunting and carrying things as they walked into the house. He stood at the top of the stairs, still out of view. "Why are you here Emily?" Emily had worked for Madacorp and had been used by Latnok to play Jessi's elder sister among other things. Whether she still worked there didn't matter to him in the least. He held no love for the woman.
Although she was too far for him to smell, he heard her heartbeat just fine and it was going crazy. "Clean up crew."
He could now smell fresh dry wall and could assume there were vacuums and paint and brushes. Would they also repair or replace the pictures he'd broken? With an ugly smile on his face, he asked, "Why don't you come up here then? Let the people do their work?" His mind was going through countless scenarios, and coming up with little positive outcomes for his family.
He heard her cell phone vibrate and it being closed harshly seconds later. "Okay, I'm coming up." A click and some jingling followed.
He smelled her before he saw her. She was truly afraid, but whether it was of him or of something else he couldn't be sure. He knew from Jessi that she had a daughter and instantly assumed a likely scenario. Why not tell her? He smiled as the gun she shakily held in front of her appeared from around the corner. "You took out all six bullets Emily. What made you even think Latnok wanted me dead?"
"Um…" She faltered and stepped on a shard of glass, grimacing even though it didn't go through her high heeled shoe.
"Not the best choice in footwear I'm afraid." He paused, "Oh, and watch out for the ninjas in their cubicles." He noted her increasing heart rate. He didn't really feel bad, it actually felt good to tease and cajole her, the lady who had tried unsuccessfully to break up his parents' marriage. "So," he started again, "who's watching your daughter Paige?"
The gun slipped out of her hands but it never hit the floor. Instead it floated in the air at her feet. She watched it and then stared hard at him. "A friend." Her scent was strong and clear now.
He nodded, "I'll believe anything but." He made the gun float higher and point to her head. "Thankfully you don't have a bullet still in there." Click. "It would have been messy." The gun fell to the ground with a clatter.
She swallowed visibly. "No," he interrupted when she started to bend down to pick the gun back up. "You won't need that." The bullets flew out of her pocket and drove themselves into the walls. "Sorry about the extra work. Now," his tone deadly serious, "tell me what I want to know."
"Where's Jessi?" He couldn't believe that she didn't know; she was a pawn like the others!
He yelled at the top of his lungs, "No! Amanda, Jessi, Stephen, Nicole, Lori, Josh, Declan, and Foss!" His fists balled at his hips. "Hillary too!"
She broke down, "I don't know anything! I swear!" She started to cry.
In a single leap he landed directly beside her, precariously on the step just above her. His balance didn't waiver. "So tell me then who has your daughter."
"Cassidy." Her eyes fell to her shoes and stayed there.
"You should be scared then. He used a taser on me, then he claimed to be my brother." Her eyes came up, full of tears. He put his hand gently on her mouth, and continued, "Fear wasn't enough to keep him away and now I've lost everyone I hold dear." He so wanted to transfer his hand to her throat but resisted, an image of Amanda the only thing preventing him from doing so. "I know you get communications from them, get them to listen to me or you'll regret it." He lifted his hand from her mouth and jumped back to the top of the stairs.
"I'll give you half an hour." He sat down and watched the cleanup crew gently pick up the ninjas. He refused to relish anything. Not until everyone was safe. In his heart he felt a twinge of fear, causing his face and heart to harden. "Changed my mind; you have three minutes."