CHAPTER 4
James dropped to the ground in a flash. When the sonic-wave orb he fired from his belt detonated, the first man turned toward the blast; James immediately leapt up behind him and silenced him, dragging him behind a stone. Skyfang drew his knives and threw them in quick succession both struck the men in the throats and they collapsed. James slipped out of the cleared area and climbed up the ventilation duct of the main building.
When he reached the right spot he released the Reaper Eye into the air. The device descended and took out the guards nearby with Reaper Eye rounds. The noise drew other men into the room. James came out of the vent right in the middle of them now he had to fight; he had to be fast so the target wouldn't escape.
He landed a heavy blow on the first man with Ironfang; it nearly split the man's head open. He turned to the second man and snapped a spinning kick; as the man staggered James hit him with Ironfang and smashed his face. Just as he was about to deliver a full kick to the third man, someone grabbed him from behind in a neck hold. While struggling with that attacker, the third man who'd been running up started raining powerful strikes; James kept taking hits to the face.
He jumped and trapped the punching man with his legs in a neck hold, squeezing his head tightly; the man choked out. While James was still fighting to break free from the man choking him, that man let go and leaped aside. Before James could figure out what was happening a massive shadow fell over him about 2.20 meters tall and roughly two hundred kilos, a giant was coming at him. Before he could finish his move the giant grabbed him and ran. While James fought to free himself the giant slammed him into the wall. Blood started coming from James's mouth as he hit the floor; the giant stepped back and waited for the boss to arrive. James writhed on the ground.
He was on the edge between seeing and losing consciousness; his eyes were closing from the last blows.
A balding man in a suit appeared. In James's mind a flash: this was Ethan, his family's killer. Now Ethan was the target; James knew if he couldn't get up and get away now this wouldn't be a repeat it would be the end.
The bald man spoke. "So you're the one who's been sabotaging my operations all this time, using fancy little toys? I was wondering whether my big guy here could be pushed any further; seems you're not as capable as I thought. By the way who are you? There haven't been many people in this city obsessed with me; they all ended the same way: dead."
Gasping, barely able to breathe, James rasped, "I'll kill you, you son of a bitch."
The bald man smiled mockingly. "How rude. Very rude but first we should get to know each other. Hey Ed, take him to the cage, lock him up. I'll think about what to do."
James collapsed from his wounds and passed out. Hours later five hours he opened his eyes to find himself tied to a chair inside a cage.
A voice approached. "Hey, you're finally awake, huh. I didn't want our surprise ruined while you were unconscious, so I didn't bother checking who's under the mask. But now that you're awake, why don't we have a look?"
The tone hardened. "I'll kill you with my own hands, you son of a whore. So make sure I'm dead, got it? You little bastard."
"Hey, hey, calm down. No need to get that worked up. I'm going to kill you anyway, just not right now if you can be useful, why kill you immediately?"
James asked in a hoarse voice, "Useful? What are you talking about?"
"There's a lot you couldn't possibly understand, young man," the bald man said coldly. "Still, I've decided not to kill you right away; best to kill you when you won't stick your nose in things again. Boys, after I leave, carry out his execution you know what to do. See you, kid."
As the bald man spoke James shouted again, "Hey you son of a bitch, you said you'd show me your face!"
"Ha, don't worry that's already been taken care of. But I'll make sure you don't end up in the same place as your family, kid."
James understood from the bald man's words that his identity had already been discovered; the words confirmed it. He had to get out of there, no question.
He began slowly loosening the ropes. Just as the big man reached in to pull him out, James kicked him hard in the groin with a reflexive strike. The big man dropped to his knees. James finished freeing himself, caught his breath, looked at the man and said in a firm voice: "Hey big boy, don't forget my name I'm Blueshade."
Then he started punching. He unleashed blows so hard they erased the effect of the earlier hits. The big man's face was torn apart, blood and broken bone littering it as he went down.
The other men closed in as soon as they saw that.
James didn't stop. He analyzed the situation quickly and attacked. He slipped past the man who lunged at him, grabbed him and hurled him into two others coming at him so all three collapsed. Then he put someone down with a flying spinning kick. He moved to the table where his things had been placed, slid across and grabbed his Ironfangs. Sliding toward an incoming attacker he swung Ironfang and broke his nose, knocking him out. Two men who came after that received a thrown Ironfang that struck them both, cracking their skulls they both went down.
He picked up the Ironfang he'd hurled from the ground. After catching his breath he began searching for clues about where Ethan might have gone.