The Mine Shaft part 3

Craig Levison knocked on the front door of a residence in Inglewood. He hadn’t been to that house in a long time so he wasn’t sure if it was still owned by the person he was looking for. More to the point, he wasn’t sure if he could get what he was looking for and would have to look elsewhere. A moment later, the door opened and an older man in a bathrobe answered, “Craig? Hey, man!”

“Yeah,… It’s been a while.”

“How long?,” he brushed the long, scraggily hair from his face.

“1992. Needless to say… I’ve had a few shitty weeks.”

“Yeah, I can imagine. Come in.”

The man stepped out of the doorway to allow him inside and Craig obliged.

****

Two ice cubes fell into the glass, creating a satisfying KA-CLINK sound before a shot of bourbon washed over it. Frank Proud returned the bottle to the cabinet and took a sip from the glass before retiring to his study. As a former general, his nights were usually quiet and uneventful. No more politics. No more secrets. He still kept a strict daily routine that was common for a retired officer, but a glass of quality bourbon and a good novel before going to bed at 9pm wasn’t exactly regulation. He opened the door to his study where his favorite chair and a book shelf normally waited for him but he didn’t expect to see Ryan Bennings sitting in said chair with a book on his lap. “Got anything besides Tom Clancy?,” Ryan asked in a bored tone before placing the book back on the shelf. Frank said nothing and glanced at his desk, wondering if he could make it there in time to retrieve his firearm. “I bet you’re wondering if the Desert Eagle is still in the middle drawer,” Ryan calmly remained seated, “Maybe it’s still there along with the extra mag taped to the bottom of the chair. Go take a look.” Recognizing the sarcasm, Frank gave up on the gun and closed the door behind him.

“Ryan Bennings,” the old man placed his glass on the desk, “I didn’t expect to entertain washed-up child celebrities tonight so I hope you’ll excuse me if the place is a mess.”

“Don’t worry, I wasn’t expecting to have to break into the house of a retired five star general, either. The night’s full of surprises,” Ryan crossed his legs as he reclined slightly in the chair, “And by the way, sneaking in was a little too easy. I expected more from an old officer.”

“There might be more than you bargained for here,” he sneered, “But before I have you arrested, tell me what brings you here.”

“Him,” Ryan pointed past the former officer’s shoulder and when he turned, he saw Steven Amati.

“Canary,” Frank muttered in shock.

“It’s Steven,” he told the general, “We just want to know about my origins. You were the senior officer in charge of that program.”

“You know all you need to know,” he explained, “You were injured in Afghanistan and we saved your life. Anything beyond that is classified, obviously. It’s a funny thing, though, you didn’t seem to mind while you were active.”

“I convinced myself I was doing my duty for my country!”

“And you served your country well,” he responded confidently, “You were a good soldier.”

“You used my rapid tissue-growth formula,” Ryan stood up, walked over to the desk, then took Frank’s glass, “I wanna know where your old lab is and if there’s data out in the wild, you know, that sort of thing,” he took of bourbon for punctuation.

“I guess you’ll be happy to know the data has been destroyed,” Franj snatched the glass from his hand, “We didn’t want that formula falling into the wrong hands so we destroyed all traces of it after we stored the rest,” he turned to Steven, “You know how hard it was to ship that stuff all the way to the desert and keep it cool? And it was used to save your life! You did a man’s work, soldier, it’s disappointing to see that you don’t appreciate that,” he turned back to Ryan, “As for the location of the lab, there’s no way in hell I’m telling you.”

“That’s fine,” Ryan gave an understanding nod, took his phone out, and walked across the room.

“You have no idea of the pain I’ve been through,” Steven continued, “And for what? Protecting poppy fields in Kabul? Making sure the country looked strong in their War on Terror?”

“I’m not gonna sit here and debate an ungrateful SOB,” Frank took a long step back, “Now, you’ve said your piece and I think it’s time for both of you to leave.”

A silenced pistol went off and two bullets blasted their way into Steven’s back and exited through the heart. Ryan looked away from his phone just before Steven dropped to the floor. A woman stood in the opened doorway wearing casual clothes, her dark hair up in a pony tail. “Right on time,” Frank approached the young woman and gave her a kiss, then turned to Ryan, “Let me introduce you to former Sargent First Class, Melanie Manes.”

“So the good General hooked up with a subordinate officer?,” Ryan feined mock surprise, “Scandalous.”

“Not that it’s any of your business…,” Manes growled as she continued to train her gun on him, “But our relationship started after he retired.”

“Hey, your daddy issues are your daddy issues,” he nonchalantly returned to his phone.

Manes grew visibly offended, “Is it too much to ask that you acknowledge my gun is currently pointed at your head?”

“I think my friend’s got it covered,” Ryan never looked away from his screen.

Steven shot to his feet, having already healed from his wounds and attacked. Manes was unable to fire another round as he grabbed her by both wrists, flipped her onto her back, and disarmed her. While on the ground, she kicked Steven in the face, then rolled backwards onto the balls of her feet. Undaunted, he dashed forward again, snatching her up by the throat before throwing her into the book shelf hard enough to topple it. A second later, she disappeared under books and wood.

“Now that that’s over…,” Ryan finally put his phone away, “… I think we can finish up here.”

Frank smirked and shook his head, “Like, I said, there’s more than you bargained for.”

Ryan noticed the shelf rise off the floor and soon, Manes climbed to her feet, the bloody gash on her forehead sealing itself shut in seconds. “Great, they have a Canary-Woman,” Ryan groaned, then added, “… Lady Canary?… She-Canary?” Manes rushed toward Steven and the flying kick that followed pushed him out of the study and into the hall where they continued to fight. Frank arrogantly crossed his arms and stared at Ryan, daring him to interfere.

Ryan adjusted his glasses, “Giving your mistress healing powers? Most guys would just get her a nice coat or something.”

“She volunteered for the process,” he snarled, “And did her duty without complaint unlike your friend out there.”

“He’s not a friend so much as we both have a mutual grudge,” Ryan reached into his jacket and pulled out the sedative pen. A puff of gas soon rendered Frank unconscious before he could react. Ryan returned the pen, “Next time, the military should do their own homework,” he took another sip of bourbon before leaving the room.

Outside, Steven and Manes were grappling with one another in the middle of the hall. Steven violently shoved Manes into the wall, putting a wide dent in it. As a response, Manes spun him around before slamming him into the opposite side, which created a second dent. Ryan pulled his energy pistol and fired a beam that tore along the small of Manes’ back while she was pinning Steven. A second later, she fell to the floor with a severed spine. “You prick!,” she growled as her injury began to painfully reverse itself. Ryan stepped over her and rushed Steven through the house, “Sorry to cut your date short but I know where we need to be.”

Back in New York, the Cavalier had flown past a series of buildings on his way back from the hospital when Ryan contacted him on the Dragon’s com system, “Hey, Cav. How’s Dr. Ansari doing?”

“She’s shaken up but she’s fine,” he told Ryan, “How’s the situation with you and Labrat?”

“We’re as good as we can be but I might need more help. I’m sending some coordinates to your hovercraft. Think you can make it there ASAP?”

“Yeah. What’s up?”

“I’ll fill you in later. Me and Amati are taking off in Hyperion’s Light now.”

“Okay, I’m on my way.”

Outside General Proud’s house, Ryan and Steven were pulled into Hyperion’s Light via Tractor Beam. “Where are we meant to go?,” Steven asked, “It doesn’t seem like we got any answers.”

“Oh, the general gave me everything back there, he just didn’t know it,” Ryan led him through the hangar and down a hall, “He mentioned they froze the serum which isn’t too much to go on but he also pointed out how hard it was to keep it cool in the desert which means the stuff has to stay cold. I did a little googling for the nearest military research base with the largest cooling facility, preferably one that has aircrafts specialized in the handling of substances that would be difficult to fly overseas. I found one place that fits the bill. Let’s go knock on their door.”

Camp Regal was a research base in New York near the Canadian border. It wasn’t very large and housed several facilities with one containing a ventilation system normally associated with industrial air conditioners, which was of interest to Ryan. He used Hyperion’s Light to scan for human life forms, gave Steven the number of guards and let him go to work.

Not long after that, Steven leapt and sprinted across the base, pulling guards into the shadows and making no sounds outside of a few muffled grunts. Once the area was secured, it was Ryan’s turn and they quickly met at the front door of the facility. Ryan had released an EMP to scramble the security cameras but knew the locks would take something less subtle – such as a small explosive device.

Once the locks were destroyed and they made it inside, Ryan produced a handheld device, “The Scanner is picking up a huge drop in temperature downstairs. That’s where we need to look first.” Before they could leave the lobby, however, a large object fell from the ceiling and landed on top a set of tripod legs.

The robot was large and round with two rotating chain guns on either side. “I figured it wasn’t gonna be that easy,” Ryan tapped his belt and a force field appeared just before a flurry of bullets bounced off it. Steven raced toward the security robot, ducked under a gun and leapt onto its back where he began wailing on it. Steven’s punches did little to the machine but it was currently bucking and attempting to get Steven off its back which gave Ryan an opportunity to scan the area. Because of the deflecting bullets earlier, the room was scattered with shrapnel, which gave him an idea.

Ryan picked up a sharp chunk that was broken off from the marble table nearby and tossed it to Steven, “Go for the joints!” Steven caught it and plunged it into its left arm-joint. The robot finally threw him to the floor but its left arm was now stuck in one position. Undaunted, it spun into a complete 360 degree turn and fired with its right arm. Steven took several large caliber bullets through the chest and was sent flailing across the lobby.

Trying his best to stay low to the ground, Ryan ran up behind the robot while it was distracted and placed a metal disc on its back. The strong magnetic pulse scrambled its insides and pulled its limbs inward before it finally fell to the floor. Ryan helped Steven to his feet as the holes in his chest stitched up, “So like I said… downstairs.”

After dismantling a few more locks, they found themselves in a basement lab, surrounded by frozen tubes lining the walls and clouds of dry ice billowing from floor vents. “Know what we’re looking for?,” Steven asked. Ryan began searching the tubes, “Mostly. I didn’t create the cocktail but I know most of what’s in it.” He stopped at a set of tubes with yellow liquid inside and read the label, “Canary-yellow. Clever.” He pulled one final device from his jacket and activated it before setting it down.

“That an explosive?,” Steven asked.

“A little too dangerous considering the human personnel laying about and unconscious. It is, however, the next best thing,” the room began to warm up despite the air conditioning and the device got hotter, “It’s a portable heater. Great for cheaply heating your home or just when you’re camping. It’s a patent of mine that can be bought and sold at a number of department stores at a fair price. It’ll alter the temperature of this room, rendering all their little goodies useless, including their Canary-juice. This mission might not have the explosive climax you wanted but I hope you can appreciate me using an invention of mine that I gladly allowed to be sold on the open market to destroy a formula that had been stolen from me.”

“I just want it to be over.”

“With any luck, it is.”

Minutes later, Ryan and Steven walked onto wet grass in the center of the base. Ryan spoke a quick command into his watch and the Tractor Beam touched down, then began to lift them into the cloaked ship above. As they rose, a figure darted out of the shadows, jumped, and grabbed hold of Steven’s ankle as he was pulled into Hyperion’s Light. Soon, three figures emerged onboard the ship.

Manes had worked at Camp Regal under the command of General Proud so she surmised this would be their next step. It wasn’t far enough away that it couldn’t be reached by car, but Hyperion’s Light was far faster. Ryan’s mission was complete but she could still get some payback. Once they were brought into the ship’s hangar, Steven kicked her loose and she landed on her feet. Ryan and Steven gave each other concerned looks as she pulled a gun on them.

“So where were we?,” she cocked the hammer back, ready to fire.

Continued…