Black Dawn

I'm reposting the first 10 chapters of Black Dawn. One reason being that it's easier to find the previous chapters now, and the other reason being that I've slightly revised some of the parts, fixing typos, etc. The narrative is still the same, but some dialogue and whatnot has been changed. But for an old reader, there's little reason to re-read the old chapters, since the plot is still the same. I will repost in two parts, since having it all in one post was too big to post. I will now begin working on the new Chapter 11.

Chapter 6

As Adam rolls to the line of fire, he immediately aims his rifle at the south balcony and fires, and he does this in an almost inhuman speed. He's older, but his reflexes on the battlefield are still unmatched. He knows he's not going to hit the sniper, but the bullets will distract her enough to keep Kevin room to make a break for it. And he does, but not quite as planned. Kevin jumps out, but as he does so, he turns around in mid-air and takes a stupid risk by firing both his guns at the sniper, as well, even though he has as little chance to hit her as Adam does. Kevin knows the girls know something about him that he doesn't want Adam to know.

Adam on the other hand doesn't understand why Kevin would do something so stupid.

"Kev, what the hell are you doing? I'm the bait, now's your chance, move!"

Kevin makes a run towards the north of the corridor, as Adam covers for him. The smoke is thick at the north side, and Kevin prays that it's thick enough to give him a chance to avoid the sniper fire.

Heart is at the north side, and must admit defeat as the smoke gets too interfering to stay in position, but Spade doesn't let her prey to get away so easily, as she manages to get Adam in her sight, and pulls the trigger, with Adam just barely being able to roll out of the way, but dropping his gun in the process. Adam launches at another corner to take cover, as Kevin makes his way to the second building. Adam realizes he has no way to call for help, and is unarmed. Spade of course never even intended to kill Adam, as she knows Derek wants him alive, but the guards are on their way, and by unarming Adam and trapping him, he will be easy pickings for the guards to deliver.

The smoke starts to fill the room as Adam has nowhere to go, and he knows full well that guards are on their way.

---

Kevin enters the second building, safe from the sniper fire, but is wondering what's taking Adam so long. He has little time to wonder about that, however, as he hears a female voice behind his back.

"I'll give you credit, but I doubt I'll when I'm this close."

Kevin tries to slowly move his hand towards his gun, but Heart is quick to note that perhaps he shouldn't.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. My bullets travel 1,700 miles per hour. By the sound of my gun, you'd have to 500 feet away to dodge it. Aww, looks like you're trapped."

Heart slowly moves closer to Kevin and in front of him, as Kevin raises his hands behind his head.

"But I have some good news, handsome. Derek doesn't want you dead. Not yet anyway. Turns out, he wants to.. talk to you. See, we know who you are, and what you're doing here. If you're a good boy, maybe Derek.. well, he'll still kill you, but maybe he'll do it quickly."

"You know I'll kill you."

"Oh, I love a man who has spice! But, uhm, I'm sorry, you won't."

It's scary how both of the sisters can have such a joking and nonchalant attitude when holding a gun at a person. The threat of killing another person is so casual. It can be approached in a giggling manner. Kevin knows that you get used to killing. It's terrible the first time, and it gets easier every time after that, but to treat is a joke almost, is still unbelievable. But right now, Kevin has to play along and see what awaits him. It's true that there's more to him being there than he's letting out, but he's not sure how much Derek and his crew know.

---

A section of the of the base is dedicated to a Detention Center, and in one of the cells a man who looks like he's been beaten half to death is lying on the floor, as the door opens. Instead of being happy, he is terrified, as he knows that someone entering the room only means more torture. The man is Lloyd Heenan, a pathetic, middle aged man with an increasing problem with belly fat and hair loss. He has been involved in politics half his life, and five years ago was finally successful in securing a spot as the Chief of Staff, the right hand man of the president who Heenan was instrumental in aiding to his second term. Good at talking and nothing else, but it's that ability to talk that's managed him to get away with high political crime time after time. It's no secret that he's a dirtbag. Some people just benefit from him being a dirtbag.

Instead of the torturer, however, it's Derek who enters the room.

"You know, you can still make this easy on you, Lloyd."

"You're not getting anything from me, I don't know anything!"

Lloyd Heenan is absolutely terrified, yet Derek is not convinced. Lloyd Heenan is known almost world over for is stunning ability to lie. It's become a running joke among people who have dealt with him that Heenan would rather climb a tree to tell a lie, than stay on the ground and tell the truth.

"You're not convincing me, or anyone else. We know you're working for them, but I want to know who you're taking orders from. Who is superior, Heenan?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, I swear."

"Oh, The expiration date on your swearings ran out a long time ago. You can save yourself a lot of pain by answering my questions. We have the serum data. All we need is a way to access the files. And you know how to do it. I know you're a piece of shit, you know you're a piece of shit, everybody knows you're a piece of shit. But you don't have to be a dead piece of shit. We're ready launch anytime, and as soon as we get the data, all of Washington is going to be filled with the nerve virus. You could still get away."

The offer is tempting, and Heenan would normally take Derek up on his deal, but he knows things Derek doesn't.

"I-I would never betray my country!"

"Hah!"

It humours Derek that Heenan would even attempt that. Everybody knows Heenan has no loyalties outside of the one to the dollar.

"So, you think they can make it worth your while to keep quiet? Very well."

Derek violently steps on Heenan's ankle, and Heenan responds in a loud yell mixed with tears.

"Oh, stop crying! I'll check back with you later, and can just as easily break the other ankle. If you still wish to walk out of here, I hope you have more answers then."

Derek exits the room, and is approached by Logan, his most trusted man. Logan is a large man, 6'10" and close to 300 pounds of pure muscle with almost his entire body covered in tattoos.

"Did he talk?"

"No. But I wasn't expecting him to. I just had to scare him a little bit."

"Without access to the data, this whole thing is a waste of time."

"Relax. I have an idea."

"We captured Reese."

"Good. Let's see if Kevin's more talkative."

---

Adam is a sitting duck, and he knows it, but he also knows that he's just waiting for the guards to move in, so he has to do something, and a stupid risk is his only option. He doesn't even care about himself, he was holding a gun to his own mouth just hours ago, he cares about Maria. The thought of being too much of a failure to Maria is too much for him to bear, as he dives out of the corner towards his weapon, and in one movement picks it up and rolls to an aiming position towards the balcony, only to notice that the sniper is gone.

"She's gone?"

Adam has little time to be confused, as the guards make their way to the corridor. Adam rushes to the door of the second building, firing at one more gas cylinder, causing additional fire, knowing that it would slow the guards down.

Adam knows he got too lucky to be lucky, and there's probably something going on, since there's no way he'd be allowed to get away this easily, but he also has no other choice than to play along.

Chapter 7

Adam enters the second building, and even though there no guards posted, he's wary of whatever awaits him, and keeps his weapon ready. He knows he didn't escape the sniper rifle just because he got lucky. He was allowed to escape. He knows that Derek wants him alive, and whatever death wish Derek has for him is very much personal. But Adam assumed that the plan was for the sniper to trap him, so that the guards could deliver him to Derek, which seemed to be the original plan.

Adam also notices that Kevin's not there.

It's time to assess the situation. His goal is to get Maria out. It's become increasingly clear that he's in the middle of power struggle between the government and Derek's group, which seems to be a type of extremist anarchist faction. Adam himself has no interest in this struggle. He absolutely does not care if the White House gets blown up. Hell, he's dreamt of that a few times himself. But it seems to Adam that civilian casualties would be unavoidable if the strike happened. Even though he doesn't like to admit, Adam is a hero - it's the way he's built, it's the way his brain works, it's the way his particular set of genes function. And as a hero, Adam can't turn his back on innocent civilians. It's the sense of heroism that has caused Adam to get into trouble more times than he'd like to admit.

This was always a big thing separating Adam from his twin; Derek was always more pragmatic and lacked a sense of heroism. It's not that Derek lacked idealism, he was always very idealistic. In fact, Adam knows his brother and does feel that this incident and the potential attack on Washington is a result of Derek's sense of freedom and justice. Adam is the last person to defend the government, but fears that his brother has gone off the deep end too much in his quest for freedom. Or whatever it is that he's after, Adam's not sure.

Adam is truly caught between a rock and a hard place; either he fights for the government that left him for dead, or he allows innocent people to get killed.

After searching the area, Adam can't help but fear that something happened to Kevin. Maybe he just went ahead to wherever Maria's being held, but Kevin knew that Adam's lost in the facility without him. He has no means of navigating the maze.

"Kev?"

No answer.

Adam's getting slightly worried. Less than 24 hours ago, Adam was contemplating suicide, due to the grim realization that he had nothing to live for anymore. Nothing to offer. The world is not what it once was. However, now that he as a breather after everything that's gone down during the past few hours, Adam is caught up in the surrealism is of the day. How is it even possible that he got dragged into this again? And moreover, should he be worried that it doesn't bother him more? He has a purpose - even if that purpose is killing other people. He quickly backs down from that thought, which is scarily familiar and comforting, and reminds himself that his purpose is to save Maria.

He starts to go through memories of Maria. He feels guilty that Maria got involved in all of this, seemingly just to lure Adam out. Maria knew what Adam was, she was the daughter of a soldier, after all. But Adam never felt like a soldier with Maria. She was the one person he felt like a human being with. It's painful irony that knowing Adam is now the reason her life is in danger.

But where could she be? Where to even start looking, the facility is huge?

Adam's questions are quickly interrupted by the sight of a guard on post, which causes Adam to quickly hide behind a corner. The guard appears to be talking to his communicator.

"No sign of him here, either. He's in here somewhere, so keep looking. He's probably on his way to the detention area, so stay posted."

Adam waits for the transmission to be over, and silently and quickly grabs the guard from behind.

"Whether or not your neck breaks right now is totally up to you. Trust me, I'm very good at this."

"Hey, don't hurt me, I'll talk!"

"The red-haired woman being held hostage."

"I don't know anything, I swear!"

Adam tightens his grip, as the guard struggles to speak.

"Okay! She's being held in the detention area. To the east."

"How do I get there?"

"You go through those doors, to the east, until you run into a big elevator. The detention area is in B2. But you need an ID card to get there."

"How many guards?"

"Seven."

"Pick up your communicator. Tell them you found me."

The guard does just that.

"All units in the detention area! I got him! I repeat: all units in the detention area, move into the corridor of the second building!"

"Thanks."

Adam puts pressure on the chokehold long enough for the guard to pass out, and as he does, Adam goes through his pockets, looking for a card that he hopes will open the doors to the detention area, and hopefully to wherever Maria is being held. He also grabs the communicator to stay on track with what the guards are doing. At least for a little while, he knows that guards will find their partner eventually. But maybe he can avoid detection just long enough.

As Adam starts heading to the east, another guard who watched the situation from afar is speaking to his own communicator.

"He has the key. He's on his way to the detention area, as planned, boss."

The voice on the other end is Derek.

"Excellent. Good work. Keep an eye on him, make sure he makes it to the detention area, but don't let him know he's being watched."

"Understood."

"I have some business of my own to attend to."

---

Derek shuts his communicator and turns to Kevin, who has been brought before him, handcuffed to a pipe on the wall with no means to defend himself.

"Well, well. Long time no see, 'Kev'."

Kevin doesn't respond.

"We can do this easy way, or the hard way, Kev. You're not like my brother, you don't share his naive sense of heroism. You were let down by our government just like we were. So, you're not here for them, either. Why don't you tell me why you're really here, hm?"

Kevin still doesn't respond.

"I have ways of making you talk, Kev. Besides, I know why you're here. I just want to know who you're taking orders from. Because they sure as hell don't come from the Chameleon. You may be able to fool Adam, Kev, but you can't fool me. You never could."

Derek gives Kevin an opportunity to respond, but since he doesn't seem to be taking up on the offer, Derek responds with a swift punch to the face.

"Adam's not coming to your rescue. He has no idea what's going on, and when he does, it's going to be too late."

Derek grabs a vial of some sort of liquid from the table and shows it to Kevin.

"This is what you're here for, isn't it? This is what they sent you here for, right? This is what The Order sent you to get from me. Isn't it?"

Derek can tell from the look on Kevin's face that he's onto something.

"What I want to know, however, is why. I know you. It's not the money. It's not to serve the government. So, why are you here?"

Derek softens Kevin up with a few more stiff strikes to the face.

"Who are The Order, Kevin?! And why did you sell yourself to them?"

As Kevin still doesn't open his mouth, Derek continues the violent attack, getting more and more aggressive.

Chapter 8

As Adam keeps approaching the elevator that's supposed to bring him to the detention area, where he hopes to find Maria, he realizes he has no idea what to say to her. Bigger things are at play here, but it doesn't remove the fact that for the five years, Adam has been faking his death. And one of the people thinking he was dead was the woman Adam promised to marry. The woman Adam promised to love for the rest of their lives.

It was done for Maria's own good, but what's her reaction going to be? Maria has no idea what happened five years ago, only Adam and Bruce Miller do. As far Adam knows, anyway. Until today, he was under the impression that only Bruce knew about him being alive, but being lured to this mess by Derek proves that someone, somehow leaked the information. It could not have been Bruce, Adam knows he can trust him. But someone knew about him.

And now Maria's paying the price.

Adam finds a spot for cover and stops for a second to observe the communicator he grabbed from the guard. He tries to figure out if he could contact the communicator he saw Kevin carry around with him. It's no use, though, since all the frequencies are encrypted. It'd take a day to try to find Kevin's frequency.

"Damnit, Kev, what happened.."

Kevin can take care of himself, and Adam knows this. Still, he's not prepared to lose his best friend the same day he reconnected with him.

As he hides under cover, Adam sees the guards who were posted in the detention area make their way past him.

"That should give me a clear path then."

Slowly, Adam moves towards the elevator, making sure he's not being watched, keeping his rifle ready - but he indeed has a clear path. He can't believe he might be moments away from seeing Maria again, after five years. Never did he ever think it might happen. The circumstances are insane, but it would be a blatant lie to claim that part of Adam wasn't happy about this. Happy, but also guilty, since Maria's involvement in this is a direct result of being his former wife to be.

As he used the ID keycard to enter the elevator, Adam remembers what the guard told him.

"Okay, B2. I'm coming, Maria. Just hang on."

---

Kevin, bloodied and battered, has not given into the torturous beating Derek has been dishing out. Derek still insists on questioning him, however. With a swift punch across the face.

"Just so you know, Kev. My brother is on his way to the detention area. Thorough as he is, I'm sure he'll find one Mr. Heenan. Could you be worried about what Mr. Heenan might be able to tell Adam? About you, by some chance?"

That information does get to Kevin, but he tries not to show it.

"You see, I thought it'd be a brilliant idea to have my brother do my dirty work for me. Heenan won't talk to me, because he's smart. He knows I need him alive. Adam, on the other hand.. oh, Adam doesn't need Heenan alive. In fact, I shudder to think what my brother will do to the man who cost him five years of his life. Of course, we would still be able to stop Adam. If you should wish that."

Kevin realizes how well Derek is playing the game, better than he expected, but for Kevin, so much is on the line that he refuses to cooperate.

"Have it your way, Kev!"

Derek accepts the fact that Kevin is not going to talk, and exits to the other room.

Kevin immediately attempts to break the handcuffs that he's chained to the pipes with, but obviously to no avail. It's not like he expected them to break, it was more of a reflex than anything.

"Come on, Adam. I've saved your life a dozen times. You owe me one."

More specifically, Kevin is thinking back to seven years ago, when Adam was being held prisoner in a Chinese prison, where he spent 18 months not uttering a word, not even when the most inhumane torture methods were being used in an attempt to squeeze government secrets out of him. Both Adam and Kevin risked their lives for the government, and this is where it got them.

In the next room, Logan wants to know if Kevin broke.

"So?"

"No. He's not talking."

"We're wasting time, boss."

"Relax. Adam's on his way to the detention area."

"Will he break Heenan?"

"I'm sure of it."

"What makes you so sure he won't just save the girl and leave?"

"Because I know my brother. He may be a hero, but he has a dark side. I'm not the only killer in the family. Heenan took his livelihood from him, and trust me when I tell you: Adam is not a forgiving man. In the meantime, we'll keep Kevin as bait. Even if he's not talking, he's a threat to The Order. They won't let him be in our 'possession'. I'm sure he knows too much. Besides, I still have a pending family matter to take care of."

---

The elevator stops at the second basement level, "B2", and as the doors open, Adam slowly steps outside with his rifle pointing at all directions, making sure he's not being ambushed. The area seems secure, and Adam surveys the surroundings. The detention area is everything you'd expect: bare, barren, rugged. Not a place you'd like to spend any more time than you're forced to. Adam notices a lone surveillance camera that he shoots down. There a total of eight prison cells in the room, and Adam's heart starts pounding as he realizes one of them must be holding Maria.

Today, he's been blindfolded and attacked, ambushed my a dozen armed guards, been trapped by two snipers, but it's the prospect of seeing Maria that is making him nervous.

Nothing behind door number one.

Nothing behind door number two.

Nothing behind doors number three, four, or five.

Unlike the others so far, door number six is locked.

Adam hears someone from behind the door.

"Maria?! Are you there?"

The prisoner is out of breath for a small moment that feels like an eternity to both.

"Maria? Answer me."

The voice is a familiar one, from long ago.

"Adam?"

Adam's heart rate goes up, as his sweaty palms aim his rifle at the lock on the door, and he shakes so much, he almost misses, but manages to break it.

Adam kicks in the door.

As the door opens, Maria and Adam lose track of time. They may stare each other for a second, maybe an hour. Neither knows for sure. Maria is just as beautiful as she was five years ago. Same reddish hair, same freckles. Same big eyes. Everything Adam's been dreaming about every day for the past five years.

Nothing that's happened in the past few hours, the past few years, none of it matters. Adam is a feet away from the woman he asked to marry him, and she said yes. The woman he promised to spend the rest of his life with, the good.

Adam can barely utter a word.

"Maria."

Maria is too confused to form a coherent thought, but gets up from the floor and takes slow steps towards Adam, who slowly approaches Maria, until they both engage in an instinctive embrace.

This is finally what it takes to break Adam, as tears fill his eyes as he pulls Maria in closer. Maria is completely lost in everything that's going on.

"Adam.."

Maria takes a good look at Adam's face to make sure it's really him.

Maria is staring right into her first love. The man she was convinced would be the only man for her. Her life partner, soulmate, companion, and everything in between and beyond. The man she lost five years ago. The man she thought was dead. It is Adam. It really is Adam.

"It is you. It really is you. You're alive. My God, Adam, you're alive! What are you.. what's going on? Please, just.. what's going on?"

Tears fill Maria's face as she realizes she gets to say it out loud that Adam's alive. It's been her daydream for five years to utter those exact words to Adam. But as time passed, it became more and more of an unrealistic fantasy.

Adam wants to stop time, stop life, stop everything, but understands that there's no chance for him to do that right now.

"It's a long story. Really long. But I'm getting you out of here. I promise. No one's going to hurt you anymore. I'm sorry, but we need to move, we don't have time. Can you move?"

"Yeah.. sure. Yeah."

Maria's clearly shook up, and this makes Adam observe the bruises over Maria's face and arms.

"God.. Did they hurt you?"

"It's nothing.. Let's just.. let's just get moving, okay?"

Adam promises himself that he is going to kill Derek. No ifs, or buts.

"I'm gonna make sure you get out of here, alright? And then I'm gonna stop Derek."

"Derek.. I don't understand what's going on, but these guys are a small army, you can't.."

Adam pulls Maria back in on a hug.

"Hey.. I'll be alright. You're gonna have to trust me. No small army stopped me before, and I'll be damned to let these guys be the first. But first, like I said, we're gonna get you out of here. They got Kev, and I have to get him out, too."

"Kev? Kev's here, too?"

"Yeah, he showed up to save my ass. And I think I'm gonna have to return the favor."

Adam stops as he accidentally notices a ring in Maria's finger. This admittedly hits Adam hard, harder than any physical abuse he's taken during the day. He knows how ridiculous it is to worry about such a thing at a time like this, but despite everything, he's only human. to take a long look at his former fiancée.

"I'm just.. I'm just happy you're alive, okay?"

Maria noticed how Adam's eye caught a glimpse of the ring, and Maria awkwardly tries to hide her hand.

"You, too."

"Come on!"

As they step out of the prison cell and are about to leave, a voice from one of the other cells yells out to them.

"Anyone there? Please!"

The voice stops Adam dead in his tracks. He feels his blood freeze. He would recognize the whiny voice anytime, anywhere for as long he lives. That's the voice of Lloyd Heenan. Adam turns to face one of the remaining prison cell doors.

"Heenan.."

Adam destroys the lock of the door with his rifle, and stands there. Just stands there, while taking in the fact that he's about to be a part of another reunion; this time with the man who took his life away from him.

"Maria.. I don't.. I don't want you to see this."

Adam pulls open the door and he lays his eyes on an a scared Lloyd Heenan. The president's chief of staff, who manipulated the chain of command to order the hit on Adam five years ago, causing Adam to leave his life and go hiding.

"What's going on..? Adam?"

Adam ignores Maria, as he stares at Heenan, who's eyes grow as he experiences fear he's never experienced before in his life. Not even during the hours of torture. Across the room is the man he thought was dead - by his command. Adam doesn't take his eyes off of Heenan, but urges Maria to not watch one more time.

"Maria. I don't want you to see this. Please don't."

Adam takes steps toward Heenan and stares a hole in him.

"You."

Adam aims his rifle at Heenan's head, and looks ready to pull the trigger. Heenan is terrified.

"No, you can't! You can't! Please! Y-you're one of the good guys!"

"Am I? AM I?!"

Chapter 9

Five years of his life were taken, in a matter of seconds, by one man, who manipulated the entire government against him. The same government Adam spent his adult life serving; risking his life, sacrificing because it was the right thing to do. And now, after five years alone in exile, Adam has that one man at the other end of his rifle. Adam rarely lets his emotions get the best of him, but the anger and rage, the sheer hatred he has for Heenan for destroying everything he had built, is about to get the best of him. Heenan knows this, but Maria has never seen this side of Adam, and for the first time, feels scared around him. She tries to calm Adam down.

"Adam? This isn't you, I don't what happened during the last five years, but.."

"Stay out of this, Maria. Please."

Just like always, Heenan tries to do the one thing in life he knows: talk his way out of it.

"I understand how you feel.."

He is quickly interrupted by an even more enraged Adam.

"Do you?! Do you really? It took me 14 years to build up a life. 14 years of sacrificing. For people like you! It took you, and the entire government, two seconds to tear it all down. But you know how I feel, huh? You really know how I feel?"

Adam places pressure on the trigger, but Maria is just quick enough to step in.

"No! Adam! No!"

Adam snaps out of it momentarily, as Maria continues.

"Don't become one of them, please. Because you're not."

Maria always had a way of talking to Adam, a way of getting through to him. And Adam respects Maria. He slowly lowers his weapon, but not because of Heenan. Heenan, however, is pleased.

"I knew you'd understand! We can talk it out, and.."

Adam opts to punch Heenan in the face, however, and raises him up by his collar.

"Don't think for a second I'm through with you! I hope for your sake you have something to worthwhile to say, because I just might change my mind any second. Am I making myself clear?"

"Clear! V-very clear, sir!"

Maria wants to use this opportunity to finally hear the story of what happened five years ago. She knows the official story, but feels there is more to it than that.

"What happened that day? Five years ago?"

"Why don't you fill her in, Heenan, huh? Why don't you tell her how your administration ordered my execute a child, an unarmed little boy, and then ordered your hounds to hunt me down when I refused, huh? Why don't you tell her that?"

The memories of that day quickly flood Adam's mind, causing an adrenaline rush that fuels his anger to an almost uncontrollable level. The day when Adam was on a mission to take out the leader of an extreme islamist terrorist cell, who his team had hunted down and finally located. To get the job done, Adam was forced to kill him in front of his son.

That Adam can live with. It was his mission. He was the leader of a terrorist cell that was responsible for countless of innocent people dying. It's part of the job.

What he couldn't live with was being ordered to kill the boy. That was not part of the job. And, in Adam's mind, there's never a reason for that. As soon as Adam said no, he was persona non grata - an enemy to the country he spent his life serving. Maria's father was the only person taking Adam's side, and later filled him in that it was LLoyd Heenan who manipulated the chain of command in order to convince them that Adam needed to be taken out for refusing a direct order. Bruce had suspicions that there was more to it than that. Suspicions which he later shared with Adam.

Adam was able to escape by the skin of his teeth, and has spent every day since thinking about why and what happened on that day. It seems to him that everything that has happened today is bringing things to a full circle, and it's no coincidence.

Maria turns to look at the scared Heenan, being held by Adam.

"What did you do, Heenan?"

"I-it's not like it was my call!"

Adam strengthens the choke on Heenan, making it harder for Heenan to speak. Adam is dying to know more.

"Who made the call? For once in your worthless, miserable life, you piece of shit, the truth."

"I-I can't.."

Adam knees Heenan in the gut and presses him harder to the wall.

"Like hell you can't!"

Maria is conflicted; he is scared of this side of Adam, but at the same time he is disgusted with Heenan, and wants answers. Heenan seems like he wants to talk, but something is holding him back.

"N-no, you don't understand.. You don't understand, they will kill me."

"Who?"

"The people who lured you here!"

"The terrorists?"

"No! They're not behind this! None of this is real, this is no terrorist incident, Adam!"

Heenan tries to talk more, but seems to be having trouble breathing. Adam shows no remorse.

"Who's behind this! Answer me!"

Heenan starts coughing uncontrollably, and can't get a word out. Maria, who is a doctor, gets worried, as she noticed Heenan showing symptoms of a heart attack.

"Oh my God, he's having a heart attack!"

Adam lets go of Heenan, and as he collapses, Maria tries to help him out, but it seems to be too late. Heenan knows what's happening all too well.

"It's.. It's too late. You can't stop it now.."

"Damnit, Heenan, you're not dying on me now! What's going on here! Who are 'they'?"

Heenan tries to speak, but struggles to get words out. He turns to look at Maria, as he knows what he is about to say will resonate with her.

"Simon.. Simon.. Silverman."

Heenan gasps for the last time, as life escapes his body, and he dies. Adam noticed Heenan turning to Maria as he uttered the name, Adam wants to know if Maria knows anything about it.

"That name? Does it mean anything to you?"

It does, but Maria can't quite put her finger on it.

"Silverman. I've heard that.. I know I've heard that. Umm, I can't remember, I.. I don't know, Adam. I'm sorry, I don't know."

Adam is disappointed, but knows it's not Maria's fault.

"It's okay. Never mind that, we need to.."

Adam is interrupted by the sound of an alarm going off. The conversation was being listened to by Derek, wanting to get the same answers as Adam, but know that Heenan is gone, he has ordered the troops to go get Adam.

"Shit!"

Adam and Maria realize they're trapped; the elevator is the only way out of the detention area, and the troops are surely waiting for them on the other side. And if they stay put, they're sitting ducks anyway. Maria gets scared.

"What are we gonna do?"

Adam surveys the situation for a moment.

The guards arrive to the detention area, and slowly search all the cells. They arrive to the cell Heenan was being held, with their guns in position, but are confused to find nothing but a dead body.

---

Derek was not the only person monitoring the situation, as the very Simon Silverman had his eyes on everything that happened, as well. He is communicating with someone through his headphone mic.

"I shut down Heenan's pacemaker. They know my name, which wasn't part of the plan but I don't think it's enough to interfere with anything. I'm sure Derek was listening in, but it matters very little at this point. Adam and Derek will both be dead soon anyway. Yes, proceeding as planned."

Chapter 10

As the guards search the prison cells for Adam and Maria, only to come out short, they are scoulded by Derek through their communicators.

"How incompetent can you be? How on earth could you let them get away?"

"Sorry, boss, there's nowhere here for them to go, they must have slipped away at the very last moment, but we'll find them!"

"Find them, for your sake!"

Derek angrily slams his communicator on the table.

"I'll be damned if I let my brother beat me at my own game! Not this time! And damn you, Heenan, for dying before spilling the beans! Damn it all to hell!"

Derek's self pity is interrupted by Logan, his near 7 foot right hand man.

"I'll take care of it, boss. You just take care of the launch preparations. We've come too far."

Derek manages to calm himself a bit. Logan has not let him down yet.

"You're right. You're right. We have come too far. I'll take care of everything. Bring Adam to me, alive."

"What about the girl?"

Derek ponders for a moment.

"Hmph. She's of no use to us anymore. But I want you to hurt my brother. By taking her out."

"Consider it done."

---

The guards enter the elevator to exit the detention area.

On top of the elevator, Adam and Maria are trying to make as little sound as possible. They managed to use a hatch on the roof of the elevator just in the nick of time. A second too late would have cost them. Adam has his weapon ready, and Maria is seemingly uncomfortable with the situation.

The elevator starts moving up, and no one seems to think of checking the roof, until the weight limit alarm starts blinking, and one of the guards figures it out.

"They're on the roof!"

Adam starts firing through the roof with his rifle, but at the worst possible time, he figures out he's finally out of ammo.

"Motherfuck!"

Maria gets nervous.

"What?"

Adam is about to let out his frustrations, but quickly chooses not to give out the situation to the guards. The hatch is opened, and the guards open fire at Adam and Maria. Adam pulls Maria out of the line of fire and quickly tells her to jump at a ladder at the side of the elevator shaft, and Adam follows.

"Climb!"

The elevator is not the fastest ever made, and Adam and Maria attempt to race it up the shaft, as the angle protects them from the bullets. It doesn't take long for the guards to help one of them to climb on top of the roof.

"Keep climbing, Maria, no matter what! No matter what, promise me!"

Adam jumps down to the roof of the elevator, and barely manages to dodge the bullets in mid-air, and as he lands, he manages to out fight the guard for his weapon and shoots him down. Adam fires at the guards through the hatch, as Maria screams at her; the elevator door on the upper floor is being forced open, and Maria is right in the line of sight. Adam quickly shoots down the guards and yells at Maria to keep climbing. Adam jumps back to the ladder, and notices that an air duct big enough to fit a human crawling in it is right at Maria's reach.

"Maria! The air duct!"

"Are you crazy?"

"Yes! But this has nothing to do with it"

Maria enters the air duct, and Adam follows, as the elevator arrives at its destination, seemingly managing to escape once again by the skin of their teeth.

---

The search of Adam and Maria offers Kevin an opportunity to escape, as he being watched by a single guard, too trusting of the fact that Kevin is handcuffed to the pipes on the wall. The guard is called on his communicator, and as he answers he turns his back at Kevin.

"Copy that, I'm on my way!"

As the guard finishes the call, Kevin manages to grab him by the throat with his foot, and kick away his weapon with the other.

"I'll give you three seconds to open these cuffs before I choke the life out of you."

The guard complies and opens up the right handcuff, which prompts Kevin to use it to pull the guard's head at the wall, knocking him out. Kevin then grabs the key and unlocks the other cuff.

"Thanks."

Kevin is battered and beaten up, but he grabs his hardballer handguns from the table, as well as a mysterious vile of liquid, which he places in his pocket. As he goes through the unconscious guard's pockets, he takes his communicator, and to listen in on what's going on.

"They must have escaped through the air duct! The air duct leads to the main hall, all guards on post at the main hall! We can't let them get away."

"Copy that."

Kevin limps away from the room to rescue with his friends.

"I'm coming, Adam. Hang in there."