by Hitman 44077
A short time later in Denton, a large black van made its way toward a church within the town. Not wishing to park the vehicle in front of the church, those inside chose to park their vehicle behind the church and enter from a lesser-used entrance.
Four men stepped from the van. Two white men, one with black hair and a beard carrying a briefcase, and one with brown hair and a mustache, made their way first. Dressed surprisingly well, they were followed by a bald black man who was less formally dressed than his other partners. Finally, a Hispanic man acted as a lookout of sorts, dressed similarly to his bald partner. All four cautiously entered the church, which, though lit, was empty.
The man with black hair spoke, his voice identifying him as the man who had arranged the deal with his supplier. “I can’t believe Hilton just allows us to make our deals here, Carl,” he said to the man with brown hair.
“Hilton’s got enough worries on his mind, especially when we took care of his wonderful wife. Hey, he wanted that bitch dead, and we did what we always do. My having a seat on the City Council doesn’t hurt, either. Gives us more time and places to conduct our business, Art,” the man with brown hair responded.
“I don’t like this one bit, dude,” the black man said. Though he looked imposing, he knew of the circumstances that his friends met their deaths only a few weeks before. “Suppose this guy’s pissed real bad? I didn’t get to be where I am just to fear some crazy nut.”
“Look, Derrick, we’re a little better prepared than the last time,” the Hispanic man responded. “We got better guns, better bullets, esse. No way this punk pulls the same trick twice.”
“That’s one of the reasons I made the trip with Art, Derrick, and you, Ramon,” Carl said, who pulled out and lit a cigarette. He inhaled the cigarette and exhaled the smoke from his lungs. “What has me troubled is the fact our little supplier decided to use this place for another exchange. This place was a crime scene not too long ago, thanks to that mystery man. I don’t know what’s on his agenda, but I would like to find out how he makes his miracle drug. Afterwards, I don’t give a damn what happens to him.”
“Maybe he’ll meet Hilton’s missus, right, Carl?” Art said, feeling better with his partner at the scene.
“Maybe. Just maybe, Art,” Carl said with a smirk as he took another puff from his cigarette.
Minutes passed slowly for the four men, but there was no sign of the man whom they were supposed to be dealing with. “Shouldn’t he have been here already?” Ramon said, looking at Carl.
“Yeah, he should have been here before now,” Carl said, annoyed. He dropped his cigarette, which was nearly used up already and used his foot to grind it out. “I don’t like this one bit.”
“What we should’a done was used a tracer on the phone. That way we could’a found him and taken what we needed on our terms,” Derrick said, feeling on edge.
What the four men didn’t know was that their supplier had arrived at the church earlier than them. Indeed, Bane had overheard the conversation the men had undertaken and knew just what their agendas really were. Hidden in an upper balcony where churchgoers would sit for Sunday services, he waited as his anger grew.
He was right about them, the muscled man thought bitterly as he remembered the advice his partner had given him. They’ve grown restless, and now they want to reap the benefits of his work. They are of no further use. Leaping from the balcony, Bane attacked Ramon, who never saw him coming. The three remaining men watched in shock as Bane grabbed Ramon’s neck and simply squeezed. Ramon’s neck snapped under the pressure, and Bane dropped the body, which fell limply to the floor.
“Holy Christ!” Carl shouted as Derrick and Art pulled their guns out and aimed them at the muscled masked man. “He killed Ramon!”
The two men began firing their guns at Bane, but he was faster. With unexpected agility, he managed to avoid most shots fired. Only one or two bullets connected with Bane’s body, and with the drug flowing through his body, the wounds began healing almost as soon as the bullets had landed.
Now on the offense, Bane launched into a new attack. With one quick, solid punch, he managed to shatter the ribs in Art’s chest. The action alone would have been almost fatal, but several fractured ribs pierced his heart, among other organs. He, too, was dead in only a matter of seconds.
Derrick continued to fire at the masked man, who continued to avoid the barrage of bullets. But Carl was smarter. This was a damn setup! If I can just get away, lay low for a while, maybe things’ll be back on track in a few months! he thought, picking up the briefcase and running off.
“No!” Derrick screamed as he noticed Carl making his escape. And that would be Derrick’s undoing, as Bane grabbed the back of Derrick’s head and slammed it face-first into the floor. A third kill for the man known as Bane.
Much easier than expected, but I need to finish this, Bane thought, looking about briefly at his victims before following on foot to track Carl down.
Carl, meanwhile, had entered his parked van and fiddled with the keys, nervous after all he’d witnessed. I can’t believe that thing killed them that quickly! Who is he? Some assassin? Or is he much more than anyone could ever know? he thought, fear filling his entire being.
Just as he placed the van keys into the ignition, a large arm shot through the windshield and grabbed Carl with his gloved hand. “No!” Carl shouted, turning the car on and flooring it. “You’re the one dying!”
The van took off, driving erratically, even as Carl tried to swerve Bane away. Bane let go of Carl but held onto the van. No matter what Carl did, Bane remained, maintaining his grip on the vehicle. Suddenly, Bane began using one of his legs to kick the hood that held the van’s engine underneath. This continued for several more minutes until Bane managed to finally unlatch the hood. With one more powerful kick, Bane dislodged the hood, and it went flying off. Then, still holding onto the vehicle with his hands, Bane managed to start kicking the engine itself, until the engine was knocked loose enough so that the engine belt came undone.
That was all Bane needed to do, as the van slowed down almost immediately. Carl grabbed his briefcase and bailed from the slowing vehicle, running away from the large assailant. Bane himself finally brought the slowed down vehicle to a complete stop and then made his way after Carl.
Carl turned his head to see just how far he had between himself and the large man who was after him. He was horrified to see Bane quickly making his way closer and closer. “It’s not going to end this way!” Carl shouted, pulling a gun from his chest holster and dropping the briefcase.
He fired the gun, but the bullets wouldn’t stop this human train. They swiftly exited his body, even as he continued to heal. Once he finally reached his enemy, he grabbed Carl and twisted his wrist so quickly that Carl didn’t even feel the pain for a brief second or two when it snapped. “Yeargh!” he finally bellowed, dropping his gun in his healthy hand.
Bane then took the opportunity to cripple one of Carl’s legs with a well-placed kick to his knee area. He slumped to the street, in more pain than one should suffer. “Oh, God!” he screamed, as he knew inside that he was going to die. “Why me?! I’m sorry, OK?”
But Bane refused to listen. Instead, he dragged Carl by his broken leg with one arm and picked up Carl’s briefcase with the other. He dragged him back to Carl’s van, where Bane finally spoke to his prey. “You have something I want. You keep it with you always. If you wish to suffer no more, you will give me what I demand,” Bane said coldly.
“What — what do you mean?” Carl said as the pain grew worse by the second.
“You keep a list of names and addresses for those you’ve supplied the drug. I beat that information out of one of your previous employees only a few weeks ago. Give that list to me now,” Bane said, still in control.
“I, eh, uh… OK, here,” Carl said in pain as he used his good hand to pull the list from his coat pocket. Though his hand shook, he managed to hand the list to Bane. The large man glanced at it, making sure that this list was the real deal, and then he folded it and placed it inside the briefcase, which was filled with cash. He closed the briefcase and set it down.
“Now… you’ll let me live?” Carl asked, shaking in pain and fear.
“I gave my word that you would not suffer any longer,” Bane said, walking toward the van. Even he struggled, but he managed to lift the van above his head. It was now apparent to Carl that his fate was set.
“No! Please! Don’t!” Carl pleaded as he watched the large man walk slowly toward him.
“I always keep my word. Your suffering ends now,” Bane said, still maintaining his mood.
With that, Bane managed to fling the van onto the broken body of the criminal. His head and body smashed underneath the impact of the wreck, which itself now began to smoke. Within minutes, which was more than enough time for Bane to slowly pick up the briefcase and walk away, the wreck exploded, leaving fire amongst the roadway where all had taken place.
There is still much to do. Perhaps now, with what I have obtained tonight, we may have a new way of handling the distribution of Ambrosia, rather than just relying on petty thug cash. Possibly, where things tired in this regard, another route will lead us to the victory he seeks, Bane thought. With the sounds of police sirens, Bane knew he couldn’t stick around any longer. He managed to quickly escape and headed back to the home where he planned to share what he discovered with the doctor.
The muscular masked enforcer known only as Bane arrived there not long after. Entering quickly, he shut the door behind him and made his way to the doctor, who was surprised to see his partner back so soon. “What happened?” the doctor asked with some concern. “Was there another problem?”
“Indeed,” Bane said in his usual cold demeanor. “It seemed our partners had other thoughts concerning our future dealings. I arrived at our predetermined meeting place and kept to the shadows. It was when the other men arrived that I overheard their plans.”
“Exactly what were those plans?” the doctor asked, pressing his glasses forward. He was growing angry, as if he could sense what his enforcer was about to explain.
“They had their own ideas. They sought to end our partnership on their terms, and not the ones you determined. Therefore, I did as I always do,” Bane said without any emotion.
The doctor’s anger slowly changed to a sense of contentment. “You eliminated them. Very good. And you brought me more funds. Did anyone witness what occurred?”
“I would say so,” Bane admitted.
“What?!” the doctor shouted as his contentment changed back to anger bordering on fear. “Listen to me! I’m on the verge of finally creating a modified version of Ambrosia! If anyone saw you make your way back here, it’s not going to be good for either of us!”
“I understand your anger,” Bane said, never one to make excuses. “It was necessary to stop an individual who sought to escape my wrath. But I completed my task, and I also brought back something that shall interest you.”
“I saw the briefcase,” the doctor replied sharply. “We need as much money as we can use. But not at the expense of being revealed!”
“There’s much more than that,” Bane said, his emotion always the same. “Open the briefcase.”
The doctor opened the briefcase as Bane asked and found with the bundles of cash a list. He unfolded the list and began reading, even as Bane revealed just what it was. “That is a list of those who use Ambrosia… and where the users live,” Bane said, even as the doctor smiled. “You made it known that you had objectives concerning those who’ve used Ambrosia. You wanted to study test subjects other than myself. Now… you have that opportunity.”
“I may have underestimated you, Bane,” the doctor said, folding the list back up. “Your knowledge matches your strength. But still, at this point, I’d rather not stay here. I’m going to leave it to you to bring me some of these test subjects. As for myself, I’m going to take my small laboratory to our other quarters. I trust you’ll meet me there later?”
“Of course. With the syringes you already placed in my care, I should have no trouble bringing you the people you need,” Bane said as the doctor handed him the list of names and addresses. “And if they do not meet to your standards, I shall eliminate them as well.”
“Then let’s get going. We’ve got a busy schedule ahead of us,” the doctor said, noting how little time they had. With those words, Bane and the doctor went to task, readying themselves for what was to come next.
***
Elsewhere in Denton, several police officers and detectives were investigating what had occurred at the church earlier and the smoldering wreck a few miles away. These actions caught the eye of a certain red-headed crime-fighter in his civilian identity.
I arrived here only earlier today after King Faraday sent word to me about an informant who had some goods on a new drug on the streets. And now, I find that same man dead — one Derrick Kruger, the red-headed man thought.
After all that happened in the last few months, I needed to get away and see just what I wanted to do. Lian’s in safe hands, so that’s one less worry, even if I’m doing her the injustice by placing my life on the line. Still, there isn’t much I can do here. Not as Roy Harper, anyway. This is a case best meant for Arsenal! the red-headed man thought as he made his way away from the scene to change into the costume he felt more comfortable in.