Chapter Nine
Thousands of miles away in the Chinese capital of Beijing the morning was growing old and the winter rain smote down like buckets of it were being thrown. Markov and Sadek were continuing their manhunt although finding time to sit and relax in a European style café sheltering from the driving rain.
‘Well from what the Integral Grid can ascertain Knufan Chang is due to give a speech at the UCES convention this afternoon in the Free World Arena, if Frost is planning to take out Chang as I think he will this would seem as good a time as any’ Sadek said to Markov as he took his attention away from a computer pad he was looking at.
‘Yes that’s it he’ll strike today I can feel it and Chang will be his next target. He always hated Knufan Chang and the Oriental Triads, I think mainly because they are in league with the Mafia. He always hated the fact that Chang was so closely tied in with the UCES they hold him as a valued peer. I do actually share his hatred as I’m sure you do too Anton but Frost’s methods are unbelievable’
Markov thought he was close to getting Frost, so close he could almost taste victory.
‘Though I must say I thought that the UCES would wipe out their ties with corruption but they obviously have no intention, oh well I suppose most of them will be wiped out when Frost arrives’ Markov continued and drank a sip of his coffee. The UCES was the United Collaboration of Eastern States they were now the governing body of Russia, China, Japan, India and most of the Middle East.
‘You know the world has changed irreparably since Frost started his little incursion you can see fear in everyone’s face, they are terrified look Sadek’
‘I know they are all wondering if they're going to be the next and if we don’t get to Frost soon they probably will be’
‘Can you remember the good old days Sadek? Before we were agents? Those teenage years are the best memories I’ve got. I’d give anything to go back to then, no worries, plenty of money and free time. Even the intense training was good at times!’ Markov continued his half-thought conversation and began to reminisce.
‘Oh yeah they were the good days alright! My favourite times were making new hardware for the computer market and knowing full well that as soon as we released the next processor thousands of companies and families would want the new faster technology. Jeese I remember my first girlfriend’s parents being so angry that their six month old PC was outdated already! I remember wanting to tell her but I’d always get a really bad headache; I guess it was my conscience!’ He added to the nostalgia and also touched on the first time he experienced his Inhibitor Chip though he knew it not.
‘If only they knew! If only they knew. I never worked on the computer enhancement section I helped them build the Mark class helicopters, I did a lot of the work on the Mark One, that is a fine vessel though I better keep my voice down in case the Mark Three hears me!’ Markov’s mind began to drift into memories past and a smile began to emerge on his face, a smile the like of which had not graced his solemn features for many a day.
‘I remember Daryl, Frost, Li and Thorn constantly practising combat training. They never did any work they were always Thorns favourites. Frost used to test the new moves he’d learnt on me, without fail. I used to like him but he was a bit of a show off’ Sadek’s memory of Frost conjured up an image in his mind’s eye. It made him shudder as he remembered what Frost had become.
‘Well I never really liked Frost or Troy they were too close for my liking, Li just tagged along’ Markov’s face became solemn again as he recalled the jealousy he had for them both.
‘But the icing on the cake has to be our first mission. That holiday we had was brilliant, our first taste of freedom, although we knew the SIA had its eyes on us in some way. I remember sipping champagne in the red-hot sun and then getting a call from Thorn saying we had to get ready for our first mission. That was our finest hour, destroying that meteorite on a collision course with Earth. Vos Savant Davies Five, I’ll never forget that name’ Markov continued and recalled the first mission they undertook in which they had prevented a meteorite from hitting the Earth with disastrous consequences.
‘Yeah something like that. Just think, though they will never know, the people of Earth owe their lives to us!’
They sat and talked for hours as the day and the citizens of Beijing floated by. After some time they settled the bill and began the fifteen-minute walk to the Free World Arena, an air of anxiety now filled their hearts where five minutes before they were happy. The city had reached its height of activity, cars and pedestrians clogged the streets and the two agents almost felt choked.
‘We’ll go in the visitors entrance but we’ll need a good vantage point so a bit of sneaking around could be in order’ Markov began planning their actions before they got inside. The huge Free World Arena now stood before them; it was a majestic building full of twenty first century architecture in a time where originality and style was harder and harder to come across.
It stood tall at nearly two hundred metres and was shaped like a pyramid; only this one was made of titanium and high-strength glass. Markov and Sadek walked to the door and paid the entry fee of fifteen Uceriansx; the monetary unit used by the UCES. They were given visitors badges and were shown in. Markov began to scour his new environment and half admired the artistry on the golden stairwells and glass lift shafts as he looked for a way into the upper section of the conference hall. Security seemed tight but nothing could stop an agent of the SIA. Markov and Sadek entered a fire exit staircase and began to climb the ten stories to the level they wanted. As they approached the door of the upper section a guard barring the door confronted them.
‘Hey! How did you get up here this is a restricted area!’ The guard was not armed but he had a large baton of some kind. This however did not bother the agents as they casually walked up to the guard and stunned him with an electronic device.
They had an excellent view of the conference and it was well timed as the president of the UCES took the stand.
‘Welcome ladies and gentlemen of the free world conference my name is President Mombasa of the United Collaboration of Eastern States which as I am sure you all know as the UCES! I would like to welcome you all to this conference on the new terrorist threat that has engulfed our planet in recent days. I would also like to welcome The UCES constituent nations; Russia, China, Japan, India and the other ten fine countries who form the smaller part of our mighty organisation’ The President of the UCES dressed in Indian clothing addressed the hall of multinationals.
The conference went smoothly without a trace of Frost but tension filled Markov’s consciousness once again as Knufan Chang took to the main stage. Sadek and Markov now looked through digital binoculars and meticulously checked every nook and cranny for the elusive assassin. The conference ended without event and the two agents left the building even more bemused than when they had entered, they also felt angry that they had to sit through an incredibly boring conference for no apparent reason.
Markov and Sadek headed back to their helicopter; the Mark Three and thought up a new plan.
‘Sadek that’s it! Why didn’t I think of it before! All the major bosses of the Triadic Mafia are meeting up for some kind of get together in New York City tomorrow night Chang is due there, if Frost doesn’t strike there then I give up!’ Markov announced triumphantly as he played around with his computer terminal.
‘You’re a genius! Well done Anton, get a fix on Chang’s private jet and we’ll follow him there’
After waiting patiently the Mark Three rose from a quiet back street and headed for Chang’s private airstrip. As they approached they switched to whisper mode and the thunderous sound of the powerful chopper became nothing more than a whisper.
‘According to the database Chang’s jet is the black one, it’s pretty flash actually must’ve cost a fair whack’ Sadek sat at the operations terminal inside the Mark Three, he had the responsibility of the mission’s finer points.
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sp; The sleek vessel hovered silently and watched from a distance, eventually the crime boss left a huge mansion flanked by armed guards who walked him to his jet. After nearly fifteen minutes the jet took off and achieved its target speed and altitude, invisibly the Mark Three followed at a slightly higher altitude. Both vessels slithered gracefully across the star filled sky at over three thousand Kph, Chang’s jet was a fast one but the helicopter above had no trouble keeping up. As soon as they reached American airspace the Mark Three broke pursuit and flew to New York to stake out the building where the cream of the Triadic Mafia would be spending the night.
‘This is the building, Chang should arrive any minute I’m focusing the sensors to scan for any sign of Frost, it may take away the effectiveness of some major systems but we shouldn’t need them’ Sadek announced to his teammate as he was slowly setting the chopper down onto the roof of a high rise building that looked across to the rather spectacular building to the front of them
A dark stealthy helicopter moved slowly into position over the Mark Three, it looked exactly the same, virtually identical. It was The Mark Two and Frost had spotted his spies. Frost smirked to himself for he had guessed someone would be there to greet him, this move was far too obvious to go unnoticed. Frost lowered the Mark Two just metres above its sister vessel and a jet of clear liquid sprayed from underneath. It engulfed the Mark Three while inside the two agents were blissfully unaware they were being entombed by their own helicopter. The liquid suddenly solidified and covered the rotors of the helpless vessel along with the main and only exit the agents could use. Frost had covered the chopper in holding gel, a material designed to render tanks incapable of attack during open warfare, when it solidified there was no way of getting free from it.
Frost set his chopper down on a rooftop high above the Mark Three and activated his armour. He looked incredibly menacing as he jumped from rooftop to rooftop, the stars shimmering on his dark metallic body suit. He got to ground level and de-activated the armour, he then walked out toward the building Markov and Sadek were watching. Frost walked into the view of the Mark Three, he turned and raised his middle finger at the crippled helicopter knowing full well his fellow agents could see him.
‘Holy shit! That’s Frost down there, ready yourself Markov he’s ours now!’ Sadek nearly jumped out of his skin as he saw Frost for the first time in over three months and a great deal had occurred since then. They motioned to open the door of the high tech chopper, but it was no use, the holding gel was doing its job perfectly. Sadek jumped back to his computer console to find out why the door was jammed.
‘Oh no. No no no! He’s covered us with holding gel. Fuck!’ Sadek felt an overwhelming rush of stupidity turn his face red rapidly.
‘The sensors would have picked it up if you hadn’t concentrated their focus on the Plaza, nice work Sadek’ Markov tapped away on his console trying to find a way of getting out of such a pitiful situation.
‘You dumbass how do we get out now, the door is completely stuck!’ he barked again at his superior for the foolish mistake then tried frantically to amend the problem without luck; all that either of them could do was watch from their advanced prison.
Frost headed to the entrance of the mighty Genovese Plaza which was well known to be a hive of activity for the Triadic Mafia. It stood high but was dwarfed by the magnificent skyline that New York beheld. It looked old but inside there were intricate networks of intelligence gathering computers, the Triadic Mafia moved with the times.
Two heavily built men in combat clothing guarded the door to the crime headquarters; they eclipsed Frost dramatically in height and width.
‘And where the hell do you think you’re going? Punk!’ The first guard said aggressively to Frost as he looked to his comrade and laughed.
‘I’m going inside this building and if you try and stop me I’ll kill you both’ Frost replied calmly as the first guard threw a powerful punch. The assassin professionally grabbed the oncoming fist with his right hand and used the power to swing his left elbow precisely into the guard’s neck. The hulking guard slumped to the ground coughing and spluttering; his windpipe had collapsed. The other guard jumped back and prepared himself as Frost pulled his silver weapon and fired. A bolt of blue light hit the mans head and he too was incapacitated. Frost left them both on the curb as he brushed down his black polo-neck shirt and walked into the building.
He made his way quietly into the main room of the Triadic Mafia’s celebrations, slithering in through an upstairs door he walked to the banister and watched the powerful men below. The room was rammed with every important figure of the famous criminal organisation; classical music filled the air as the bosses talked amongst themselves. Frost walked to the booth where the music was coming from and fired a bolt of blue light from his weapon into the console. The music stopped and the whole room went quiet as Frost jumped from the booth and faced the cream of the planets underworld. An important looking figure stepped forward completely unafraid of the gatecrasher that had just ended the music. It was Benito Colloseo the new head of the Mafia division of the Triadic Mafia.
‘O! Stupid fuck, have you got a death wish? Who the hell are you anyway? Boys kick this wise guys ass’ Colloseo yelled as he motioned his henchmen onto the stage where Frost stood. Around twenty heavily built men now circled Frost and prepared to take him out. The young assassin laughed and activated his armour, the dark blue Frost now struck fear into the hearts of all the occupants in the room as he had done numerous times of late. The guards although a tad frightened still advanced on him each armed with samurai swords.
Like a synchronised swimming team they all pounced instantly as the blue metallic hulk calmly and methodically broke bones and confidence and the henchmen fell lifeless one by one.
‘Your all a pathetic waste of human life just the look of you disgusts me. This is the end; your empire has reached its shelf life. I’ll see you all in hell’ Frost announced to the dumbfounded room with fallen bodyguards at his feet, Chang and his associates tried the door but it was held shut by a strong magnetic field coming from Frost’s armour.
He tapped his left forearm and a blinding flash of light filled the room. When it dissipated, all that remained of the one hundred or so occupants were empty clothes, they had all disintegrated. Frost had used his new weapon, one that he himself had designed and constructed. It was an Orgapulse detonator, the SIA had thought of developing the weapon but never had seen it through to completion, when fired it disintegrated all organic matter within the confines of a closed room. If outdoors its range was anything up to one hundred metres radius leaving all other matter untouched. He headed for the exit while his armour alerted him to the many police squads now on their way.
‘Police vehicles have been detected their destination is this building. The TCA unit is dangerously low on power, armour will disengage in three minutes’ The computer announced to Frost inside the headpiece of his armour, the Orgapulse had used too much energy.
Frosts dark blue armour disengaged and he was now dangerously exposed to human weapons as the police thundered into the street on which he stood. He jumped into the nearest car he could find, a classic Ferrari probably belonging to one of the gangland giants he had just assassinated, they didn’t need it now he thought to himself.
‘Computer where’s the nearest place I can charge the TCA I need to reactivate to get back to the Mark Two’
‘The nearest viable location is a steel manufacturing facility on the outskirts of Coney Island’
He pushed his substitute vehicle to its limits as he headed for the only place with enough power to charge his armour. A police convoy was now in close pursuit of the aged red sports car; although it was a classic the police cars were no match in speed or grace. Frost was an expert driver as were all the agents and it showed as he slid and screeched the car round the streets of New York, drifting around corners and dodging cars like an F1 pro. The convoy swelled to almost thirty squad cars and tw
o helicopters had now joined the hunt as Frost approached his destination. Frost jumped from the sporty car and ran through the facility avoiding vats of molten metal and the searing heat. Eventually he reached a power substation. He tapped a small button on his belt and a line of spark filled electricity began to run into it. Overhead lights flashed and dimmed as the mighty TCA sapped vast amounts of energy. The convoy now blocked the huge entrance of the steel facility; they could see gallons of molten steel being poured into moulds but no Frost. The air was tense; all the steelworkers ran behind the line of police cars in front of the entrance. Police warnings rang out from megaphones and the New York police department waited anxiously.
From out of the darkness of the red hot factory a dark figure appeared and faced the small army of police and swat that had slowly grown in size. They had seen this strange man a few days before on the news and they began to feel a searing fear, the like of which they had never known. Suddenly gunshots rang out frantically and the police helicopters began firing small missiles into the factory. One hit a huge vat of molten steel directly above Frosts head. Gallons and gallons of molten steel thousands of degrees in temperature rained down on the unsuspecting Frost, a waterfall of yellow and red now covered the blue hulk. Everyone held their breath as they waited to see the charred remains of the blue menace. It was a sight they would not be seeing today. He continued walking towards his pursuers as white hot slithers of steel ran down Frosts blue armour, it almost seemed to enjoy the searing hot bath it had just been subjected to. Bullets rang out once again and the sound of hundreds of ricocheting projectiles filled the air as they panged off his invincible armour. Frost tapped both his thighs and two large guns began to emerge as if they were made of molten metal themselves. Less and less bullets now filled the air as Frost picked off each officer one by one with bolts of blue energy from his guns.
He pointed both weapons into the air and hundreds of large green bolts of light volleyed into the police helicopters overhead sending them crashing to the ground in flames. Another swat team arrived and Frost was ready. He placed his two weapons against the area they had originated and they both reverted to liquid and merged back into his armour. His wrist scimitars emerged lightening fast from the backs of his hands as he prepared for hand to hand combat. He ran into the oncoming swat team and slashed them to pieces one by one, they seemed to be endless and Frost was getting angry. A thunderous robotic roar came from the blue figure which drowned out the noise of the conflict and ricocheting bullets. It was deafening and all that heard it cowered in fear. Frost moved faster than light as he wiped out the entire swat team rapidly, haloed by a shower of falling body parts he regained composure and watched the blood drip from the armour on his hands. He stood half in glory and half in anger amongst the fallen soldiers of the law as they lay dead in pools of crimson water. What force had made Frost become such a cold-blooded killer; even he could not answer that.
‘Computer order the Mark Two to my co-ordinates ASAP, I don’t fancy another battle like that’ Frost said to his armours computer system, he sounded drained and shocked at what he had just done to his fellow Americans. The thought passed however as the evil presence that had been dominating his mind returned once again and all emotion disappeared.
The Mark Two filled the sky once again and Frost headed towards his old comrades still imprisoned by their helicopter.
‘He’s on his way back I’ve got him on visual, Sadek what the hell do we do now?’ Markov was a tad worried about the return of Frost. They were still trying to find a way of getting out of the crippled helicopter.
‘Just hold tight my friend that is all we can do’ Sadek said in a reassuring voice though it came as no comfort to either of them.
The Mark Two dived down towards the Mark Three and violently rammed it. Frost would have done more had he not been so drained; Miller and Sadek were lucky this time. The Mark Two regained height graciously and bolted off into the night. The Mark Three was not so fortunate. Tonnes of debris and a large black helicopter plunged into the next building rupturing a gas pipe and sending the area into flames. The fallen chopper lay lifeless, still covered in holding gel as the devastation continued with the collapse of the building it had hit.
‘SIA Central Command please respond, we’re in urgent need of assistance, we have encountered Frost’ Sadek tried to contact the SIA, the Mark Three was fully operational but it was immobile and helpless.