Two days later
Saturday morning
Glenview
Two very tired girls made their way into the kitchen that morning, still in their pyjamas.
I grinned at Dave who just shook his head, but smiled back. Danny was digging into a bowl of cereal at the counter already.
"Stephanie, we have a tradition here, where when tired people drift into the kitchen, we wake them up..."
Anne-Marie suddenly braced up at my comment and tried to run.
"No..." She almost screamed as I scooped her up and headed for the pool.
Dave followed suit with Stephanie who had absolutely no idea what was going on or what was about to happen to her. Danny followed with a big smile on his face. There were two violent splashes and lots of high-pitched screaming!
A now wide-awake Stephanie glared up at me, with an equally evil glare from Anne-Marie.
"That was not nice!" Stephanie exclaimed with a smirk as she swam to the side of the pool.
"Sorry, Steph, I forgot to ask if you could swim..." I commented as I helped the young girl out of the pool and passed her a towel, with another one for Anne-Marie.
That evening
Central Chicago
The warehouse was large, covering almost six-acres.
It was cold out and very dark. Outside there were no signs of activity. Inside, though, was another story as large packing cases were inventoried and moved around. Six large eighteen-wheelers were lined up and being either loaded or unloaded by forklift trucks.
The warehouse was bustling with activity, everybody going about their business in a professional manner. In the security office, there were three men on duty gazing intently at the array of security monitors, which were connected to a large array of security cameras that covered both the internal and the external areas of the warehouse.
One of the monitors went from showing a picture of a large vehicular access door at the east side of the warehouse to white snow. Next, another monitor, this one covering the main gate into the facility, turned to snow.
"Main Gate, this is Central, check in..."
The radio hissed with static.
"Main Gate, this is Central, check in..."
Only more static was heard.
"Patrol Two, we have a camera out above Door 3 and we have lost coverage of the Main Gate – investigate, over..."
"What the fuck?" The watch supervisor exclaimed, checking his equipment when he again heard nothing.
"All stations check in!" He ordered over the radios.
Suddenly the radio speaker jumped to life, but not with a voice. Instead, a high-pitched squealing sound hurt the men's ears. One of the men switched frequency, but within two seconds, the high-pitched squealing was heard again. He switched frequency again, and again... Next, he picked up the wired telephone. He raised the handset to his ear and then turned to his supervisor looking worried.
"It's dead..."
"I'd better call the Boss..." The supervisor began as he pulled out his cell.
..._...
The night was torn apart as two large simultaneous explosions ripped Door 3 off its track and severed a large section, which then dropped to the ground with a resounding crash. There followed several cracks as cylindrical objects flew into the warehouse, exploding on impact with bright flashes and thundering bangs. Men were rolling on the concrete floor of the warehouse hands over their ruptured eardrums.
Then with a roar, a huge, dark grey vehicle smashed through the remains of the roller-shutter and skidded to a stop several metres inside the warehouse. The rear door of the vehicle burst open and several people, all clad in body armour, dived out firing weapons.
The fires of hell began to envelop the warehouse.
Fusion Command Van
'Mirage'
"Jamming is still active – all communications and monitoring is down. Team 1 is inside the warehouse. Team 2 is joining up."
Battle Guy looked closely at the images being relayed from Titan as Mist, Shadow and Kick-Ass engaged the warehouse's security forces with Trojan and Splinter. A minute later, a purple motorcycle skidded to a halt behind Titan with two onboard.
"Hit Girl and Wildcat arriving!" Hit Girl reported.
"Copy Hit Girl and Wildcat joining the fight!" Battle Guy replied.
The warehouse
I dived off the back of Hit-Girl's purple Panigale, with my SIG Sauer P250 Compact raised and sending death into the warehouse.
I covered Hit Girl's back as she headed towards the big-rigs; we had to make sure that none left the warehouse. If our information was correct, those trucks were loaded with contraband that belonged to the Superintendent's organisation. With that evidence, we could take him down with no chance of parole.
The warehouse was flooded with security personnel and many of the workers were armed too. I dropped two men in rapid succession. Hit Girl had both of her Glock 19 pistols out, pouring more death across the warehouse.
A short distance away, I could see Kick-Ass carving his way through the men with his AA-10 shotgun. He was wearing his additional armour, which made him look even more badass than usual! Hit Girl had her full-face mask on which made her look even more evil than normal – if that were possible.
A man appeared to my left and I deployed my claws into his neck for his trouble, kicking his body down to the ground. A bullet hit my left thigh, sending a shot of pain through my body – not all of me was healed from earlier in the week...
I staggered, but kept on my feet, pushing the pain down deep and jumping onto a packing crate. There I swapped out my pistol magazine before holstering the pistol and pulling around my MP7.
I was able to take aimed shots from my raised position as I crouched on the crate.
I moved forwards with Splinter beside me.
We both had MP7s to our shoulders, sending bursts of fire into the security personnel. They were responding with a mix of weapons from H&K G36s to AKS-74s. There were also shotguns in evidence, not to mention the pistols.
I paused to swap out a magazine, but I was jumped from the side. A large man shoved me to the floor and I dropped the MP7. Splinter moved to shoot the man, only he was kicked down by another man. I jumped to my feet, drawing my Sais.
I attacked.
Splinter was up, his Ninja-To in his hand, laying into his attacker and he was not holding back. Neither was I...
I enjoyed fighting beside my cousin.
I covered her back while she advanced, shooting anything in sight with her P90. My MP7 was to my shoulder and I sent three-round bursts into anything that moved. Then I saw something land on the concrete floor, bouncing towards us...
"Grenade!"
I shoved Shadow hard in the back, sending her sprawling behind a packing crate and I dived on top of her.
I heard the shout from Trojan, but before I could react, I was shoved hard in my back.
I fell to the floor behind a large wooden crate and the next thing I knew something heavy landed on top of me knocking the breath out of my lungs. Then there was a massive explosion and a section of the packing crate fell on top of both of us.
I looked upwards and saw my masked cousin looking down at me.
"Thank you, but you can get up now; I'm perfectly fine..."
"Glad to hear it, Shadow!"
I pushed off the broken wood and packing material and took a moment at gaze at the neatly stacked firearms in the destroyed crate – all brand new Chinese QBZ-95 assault rifles. There was some serious shit going down in that warehouse.
I got to my feet, with the help of Trojan, and we moved back into the action.
I had finally made it to the security office.
Two rounds from the AA-10 quickly shattered the hinges on the wooden door, which then just needed a firm kick to come crashing down. The three men inside immediately opened fire with pistols. I shrugged off the rounds, my extra armour reducing the strikes to nothing more than minor irritations.
I drove my armoured fist into the face of the first man, the butt of the AA-10 into the second and smashed the third man's face, into the brick wall.
"Security office is secure!" I called as the last man fell to the floor.
I moved out towards the eighteen-wheelers at the loading dock.
Safehouse F
"This fucking sucks!"
"Hailee, I have work to do – if you're just gonna bitch, go do it elsewhere!" Abby responded with an annoyed tone.
"Sorry, I just hate seeing everybody else fighting while I'm stuck on the sidelines."
"I'm here too, remember," Josh announced. "It sucks being hurt, but life goes on, Hailee – deal with it!"
The Warehouse
Hit Girl and I were pinned down.
The majority of the security seemed to have concentrated around the trucks, which told us that they were still at least partially loaded. Hit Girl was engaging the security personnel with her G36C and ducking the return fire. I ensured that nobody crept up on us before backup arrived. The warehouse was enormous and Fusion was spread out across the building.
I saw Kick-Ass heading towards us, firing off shotgun rounds in different directions. He came down to one knee beside me and looked down.
"How you doing, kid?"
"I'm having the time of my life, Kick-Ass!" I replied as I blew a man's head apart.
"Well let's get going, freaky little beast!"
"Good of you to join us!"
"You seemed to be having all the fun, so I thought I'd wander over..."
"Funny, Ass-Kick!"
Two of the big-rigs started their engines, followed by a third and then a forth. The large doors in front of them were opening. Time was running out if we were going to stop them.
"Tyres!" I yelled adjusting my aim for the truck tyres instead of the men.
Wildcat followed suit, as did Kick-Ass. The three of us blasted away at the nearest eighteen-wheeler's tyres, shredding them, both on the tractor and the trailer. The driver dived out of the cab and rolled underneath the trailer to escape the gunfire.
Then it happened; two of the trucks pulled forward out of the warehouse.
"Let's move!" I yelled, running for my motorcycle.
Several minutes later
We had disengaged from the fighting and quickly climbed aboard Titan.
Medic was driving – she had remained inside Titan during the fighting to guard the vehicle. We were moving at sixty miles-per-hour, in pursuit of the two trucks that had driven away. Hit Girl was ahead trying to shoot out the truck tyres, but she spent most of her time preventing herself from being squashed by the enormous trucks as they swerved from side to side.
Anyway, we needed the trucks intact, if possible, as evidence. As we left the warehouse, Voight and Marcus were descending on it with their teams to gather crucial evidence.
I had to admit that Mom was one hell of a driver! She threw the almost nine-tonne truck all over the road as she attempted to come parallel with the first truck, having already overtaken the trailing one.
Kick-Ass reached up and pushed the roof hatch open before hauling himself out and then reaching down for me. I was hauled through the hatch as if I weighed nothing! I took hold of one of the steel handles attached to Titan's roof and braced myself against the windblast, most of which was being blocked by Kick-Ass.
The massive truck was just a few feet away as Titan drove alongside. We were on a two-lane highway and Titan was constantly swerving onto the shoulder as the truck tried to force us off the road. The trailer's side and roof was aluminium and I would need to use the blades on my lower arm to grab hold. The blades were a new feature of my current combat suit and I had not used them to that point.
"You ready?" Kick-Ass called and I nodded my ascent.
He physically grabbed hold of me and threw me over the gap towards the trailer. One miscalculation and I would be hamburger under the racing wheels below me! I hit the side of the trailer with my arms on the roof. I dug in my blades, which sank into the aluminium, and I used all my strength to pull myself onto the roof. That was when bullets started to punch holes in the aluminium roof of the trailer.
..._...
I rolled from side to side to avoid the bullets, but then a bullet grazed the inside of my thigh and another above and to the left of my groin. I knew that neither bullet had penetrated the suit, but they still fucking hurt! I grimaced with the pain but dove for the driver's cab as Kick-Ass raked the trailer with gunfire from his G36K, his bullets punching through the thin side of the trailer.
I reached the gap between the trailer and the tractor. The driver was on the left-hand side, so I jumped over and then after a brief glance, I swung down with both feet smashing the passenger window and landing on the passenger seat beside the startled driver who fumbled with a large .45-calibre automatic.
"Brake, now!" I yelled at the driver, my FN Five-seveN out and pointed directly at the man's face.
I braced my feet against the dash as he braked heavily, bringing his rig to a halt fifty or more yards later. The other truck was skidding to a halt too and its trailer was jack-knifing. I watched in the side mirror as Hit Girl swerved out of the way of the trailer and accelerated to safety.
"Get the fuck out!" I yelled kicking the man in the side, forcing him out his door.
The other truck was assaulted by Hit Girl who hauled the driver out and threw him down to the blacktop. We approached the rear of each truck, a team for each one. The doors were hauled open and the surviving guards, overpowered, hauled out, and secured with plastic cuffs.
Before the Police arrived, we left the scene ensuring that the trucks were immobilised and the men were secure.
We were heading back to the Safehouse, ten minutes later, when Marcus reported in.
"You need to go now and apprehend the Superintendent – he'll most likely bug out when he finds out we've seized his haul and the warehouse. The Mayor is in the clear; blackmail. We have no idea who we can trust, right now, so it's up to you..."
"We're on it, Rhino!" I responded as I performed a rapid, and smoky, one-eighty on the road and winced as I saw Medic throw Titan into a wide one-eighty, the massive tyres screeching in protest on the blacktop.
Battle Guy informed us that the Superintendent and the Mayor were in a meeting with other senior members of the CPD, plus the City Treasurer and the City Clerk. On the way, I veered off to rendezvous with Battle Guy in Mirage. He was rapidly printing out the evidence that we needed to indict the Superintendent and his men.
Later that night
North LaSalle Street, Chicago
City Hall and Office of the Mayor
There were plenty of surprised looks as Titan roared up the dark street, coming to a halt outside City Hall with Hit Girl on her purple Panigale.
Fusion immediately deployed to protect the main entrance to City Hall. Certain trusted Police Officers from the 21st District were guarding the other exits from City Hall and included Officer Roman and Sergeant Platt.
Kick-Ass and Hit Girl made their way into City Hall with their weapons holstered and they demanded to be taken to see the Mayor.
We made our way up the stairs to the fourth floor.
There we barged through the twin glass doors into the Office of the Mayor. The Security Officer on duty just raised his hands and stood back. He used his head to indicate which door the Mayor was behind and we headed for the indicated door, which had a sign: Conference Room.
As we had agreed, Kick-Ass would do all the talking, allowing me to keep watch, as we were very much in the lion's den and risking our freedom.
"What is the meaning of this?"
It was the Mayor himself, who spoke as we entered the Conference Room amid general unrest from the others present.
"Mr Mayor, I am Kick-Ass and this is Hit Girl," I began, rather unnecessarily.
"Forgive me, but that's pretty obvious!" The Mayor replied with a smile. "You must have a damn good reason for being here, I assume."
"We have incontrovertible evidence against the Superintendent over there," I explained. "Part of our mandate in this City is to uncover the corrupt elements of the Government..."
"I can't believe that we are listening to these criminals!" The Superintendent blurted out in anger.
"Something to hide?" I growled, fixing my gaze on him as I dumped the several-inch thick dossier in front of the Mayor.
The Mayor spent a couple of minutes flipping through the printouts, passing some to the Police Commander to his right.
"I trust you both, despite what you represent," The Mayor said finally, with a nod of agreement from the Commander. "There is, as you say, incontrovertible evidence for the Superintendent to be arrested."
That was when the Superintended jumped up and pulled out a pistol.
"I am taking these two into custody; they are criminals!" He blustered.
"And if we refuse to come quietly?" Kick-Ass asked conversationally.
"I'll..."
"Shoot us?" I enquired, indicating our armour.
..._...
"Kick-Ass, take him down!" The Mayor ordered, coming to a decision.
I looked at the Mayor.
"I cannot; I am sworn to protect this City and I will not act against an Officer of the CPD..."
The Mayor was smart; I had to give him that. He hesitated for little more than a second, before he looked directly at the Superintendent.
"Trevor, you're fired!"
"Thank you..." I replied and stepped forward ignoring the bullets from the ex-Superintendent's pistol as I advanced on him before driving him into the drywall and then throwing him across the room.
The man landed in a heap on the floor just as several uniformed Police Officers burst into the room. They looked unsure, not knowing what to do, taking in the scene before them. Specifically, the sight of their boss on the floor unconscious and Hit Girl standing over him.
The Mayor again took control.
"The Superintendent has been fired – take the corrupt bastard away!" He ordered before continuing. "Kick-Ass, Hit Girl and Fusion are not to be impeded in any way..."
Once the unconscious former-cop was dragged away, by many willing hands I might add, the Mayor turned to me.
"We owe you a lot, Kick-Ass and you too Hit Girl, as well as the rest of Fusion. While I cannot condone what you do; you have all done the City a great service and removed the corrupt scum from the top levels of Government."
"Thank you; we serve the City and its people."
"I am disbanding Lieutenant William's organisation for the time being. I will not have you hunted; I think we can agree to disagree on what you do and how you do it. For now the City needs Fusion."
"Isn't that a little unfair..." I began, but then I saw the sly smile on the Mayor's face.
"I have a lot of people to reward – as well as fire, please bear with me..."
Two days later
Monday morning
Glenview
Marcus was speechless, as were the other four people who stood around him.
The Chicago PD was changing.
Commander Jack Bay was refused early retirement by the Mayor and he was instead offered the position of Superintendent in place of the shamed Trevor Howards. Of course, he had accepted.
Amongst the string of firings and promotions were Marcus and Vicky. Marcus was now a Captain and the Executive Officer of District 21, under Commander Ron Fischer. Vicky had been promoted to Lieutenant and she was now in command of the 'Organised Crime Taskforce' or OCT. However, Fusion were no longer on the Taskforce's radar!
Hank Voight had been promoted too; his 'Intelligence Unit' was being upgraded and as such, it required a Detective Lieutenant to run it. Alvin Olinsky had been promoted to Detective Sergeant as Voight's Executive Officer.
The City of Chicago was now protected by people who would put the City first.