Brute Justice

Brute Justice is now available at Smashwords and Amazon.

 

Chapter One

            As much as he wanted to be like the others, there were times when Clint regretted that wish with his whole being.  When the burn took over his body, leaving him crippled and curled in agony, his teeth clenched holding back screams trying to escape his sweat-covered face.  He knew the torture would only last a few minutes, maybe more, but while it ran its course the fire was excruciating.

            Just hold on…

            His legs quivered as they tried to fight the flames coursing through his veins.  It felt like fishhooks, coated with gasoline, tearing through his muscles and ripping his body to shreds.  He bit his lip, trying not to make a sound, but the tears streaming down his face told another story.

            It was a good thing he was home alone.  While Clint thought of his father as his best friend, he wasn’t entirely sure he was ready to share this experience with him.  Not only would his dad worry about the pain Clint was going through, but he’d most certainly overreact to the cause of it.  They had endured enough emotionally over the years, after losing Clint’s mother to cancer.  He didn’t want to cause his dad any more stress or heartache.

            Whew.  It’s over.

            He sat up from the living room floor, his clothes drenched with sweat from the torture.  The flashes, or so they had been dubbed, were phasing his body, transforming it.  They were changing the structure of his genetics – specifically his muscles – and leaving him with strength beyond a normal human’s ability.  He learned from the first two episodes not to hold onto anything or brace his body against something not completely solid.

            For the first flash, in Arizona, he was lucky to have the crew there with him.  Sam, Lexi and Leesha – his newest teenage friends, and more importantly teammates – were there to witness and help him through the experience.  All three of them had been through the flashes themselves.  Lexi was still experiencing the final stages of hers.

            Clint had the misfortune of holding a baseball during his first one, which he squished through his fingers like modeling clay with his super strength.  During his second flash, at home in the back yard, he tried to brace himself against the wooden rail of the deck and proceeded to crumble it to splinters under his grip.

            I’m still not sure Dad bought my story on that one…

            So for now, when the breathtaking pain takes over his body, the best thing to do was find a clear space on an empty patch of floor and ride out the fire.  Shaking his head to clear it, he stood up and walked over to the counter to log the start and end time, then reached for the phone to update Leesha.

            It wasn’t as if Leesha were the leader of the group, she just had a way of organizing the team’s research into channels that made sense.  Plus, she was the first of the four to flash and realize her power – telekinesis – so had the most history and experience with the medical transformation they were all going through.

            His cell was already buzzing before he picked it up. 

            New text message, from Leesha:

 

1. 911.    Dixons in trouble.  Meet me there NOW.

 

            Shit!  What does that mean?

            He grabbed his keys and helmet and ran out the door.  The Harley sped down the street, Clint steering it like a motorcross professional.  He felt his heart pounding in his chest, not knowing what he was headed for.

            He got there in less than six minutes – a trip that took closer to fifteen on a normal day, when one would obey all the traffic laws.  He pulled into the neighborhood and saw Leesha waiting for him.  She was pacing beside her compact car parked on the far end of the block.

            “What’s up?”

            “There are two gun men in there, holding the family hostage.”

            “Blevins?  Again?!”

            “Looks like.”

            “What does he want?”

            “Charlie’s files.”

            “They’re not going to hand them over, are they?”

            “No.  But you and I need to get in there.  Are you…?”

            “Yep.  Just now.”

            “Great.  Sam and Lexi can’t do anything to them.”

            “Let’s go, then.  Come on!”

            “How do we get in?”

            “Hop on the bike, I’ll drive us around the back.”

            Clint cut through the yards, not caring who saw or what they thought of it.  What mattered, the only thing that mattered, was getting the Dixons safe.  He pulled up in the back yard, cut the engine.

            “Stay low.  Follow me,” he told Leesha.

            She nodded.

            Bobbing and weaving under the lower level windows, Clint worked the two around the back, along the side, and up to the northeast corner of the house.  Each time he reached a new window, he slowly raised his face to the bottom of the pane, checking to see if he could catch a glimpse of the family.

            Finally at the first window along the front, he saw them.  Two men with guns were standing in front of the doorway, dressed in dark clothes and ski masks.  Lexi was pinned in between her parents on the small couch, Sam was sitting in a chair facing the window.

            Sam caught a glimpse of the top of Clint’s head, then his eyes darted back, not wanting to give away the rescue attempt.

            “Sam, we’re here,” Clint whispered, knowing Sam’s heightened senses would hear him.  “Did you not hear the cycle?”

            “Uh, man…  Been a little busy in here,” Sam projected mentally into Clint’s head.

            Thank God for Sam’s ability to communicate like this.  At least I’m able to know what’s going on in there before we barge in.

            “How many?” Clint asked.

            “Just the two.”

            “Guns?”

            “Just the pistols in their hands.”

            “Any backup coming?  Blevins?”

            “I don’t think so.  They haven’t had any phone calls.”

            “Okay, chill man.  We’re coming in.”

            “Hurry.”

            Clint turned to Leesha.  “Can you control them through the window?”

            “Uh, yeah.  I think so.”

            “Both of them?”

            “How far apart are they standing?”

            “About four feet.”

            “No problem.”

            “Leesh, they’ve got guns.”

            “Of course they do.  I’ll hold them at bay.  You just get your ass in there and take care of the guns.”

            “Okay.  You ready?”

            She shifted around him, took a closer stance next to the window.  She’d need to see clearly for her telekinesis to work effectively.  “Go!”

            Clint stood up and approached the front door in a dead run.  He checked the knob.  Locked.

            I’m not messing around here…

            He kicked the door in and heard Mrs. Dixon scream in fear.  All of this had happened so quickly, she didn’t notice the thugs were frozen.

            He grabbed the first pistol, a ten millimeter Glock, and snatched it from the hand of the guy nearest him.  In a flash, he hit the release button and the magazine dropped out.  He put it in his back pocket, cleared the chamber of the last bullet, then wrapped his fingers around the barrel and crushed it like it was an empty toilet paper tube.

            The next guy held an older model Smith and Wesson revolver.  Clint opened the cylinder, dropped the bullets on the floor, then bent the empty gun in half.

            Putting a hand on each chest, he pinned them against the wall and yelled back at Leesha.  “All clear, Leesh!  Get in here!”

            By now, both Sam and Lexi were standing, obviously wanting to help.  Leesha stepped through the front door and resumed her stance in front of the two red-faced men.

            “How are you doing this?!” one of the guys choked as he found against Clint’s stiff arm.  “You’re just a…”

            “Kid?”  Clint smirked.  “Yeah, I’m kinda strong for my age.”

            “I got ‘em Clint,” Leesha said.

            He nodded, let loose.  “Sam – rope?  Duct tape?”

            “Yep.” Sam took off toward the garage.

            “Lexi – chairs?”

            “Got it.”  She was back in three seconds with two dining chairs in her hands.  She set them in front of the frozen men.

            Sam came back with a roll of duct tape and a spool of heavy-duty nylon rope.

            Clint grabbed the first man, nodded at Leesha.  She released him, let Clint take over.  He forced the man into the chair, used the tape to pin his ankles to each chair leg, tied his arms behind his back.  Once the second guy was secured, he ripped off the ski masks.  When they tried to protest, he put a strip of tape across their mouths.

            Clint finally relaxed enough to look at Sam and Lexi, check to see if they were okay.  They both nodded their thanks.  He then swiveled around to Marcy and Dan Dixon, the twins’ parents, who were still huddled together on the couch, their faces white.

            “You guys okay?”  Clint’s tone softened considerably.

            Dan nodded, but had no words.  He held Marcy tighter, her face was blotched and streaked with tears.

            Sam turned to face the first guy, and without warning, reach back and clocked him with a right hook.

            “Sam!” Dan shouted as he watched his son wince and examine his hand.

            “Sam, I got this,” Leesha said, a little quieter.  She put a hand gently on his shoulder.  “Why don’t you let Clint and I take the lead on this.  You’ve been through enough today.  You okay, Lex?”

            Lexi nodded.  “Fine, Leesh.  Thanks for coming.”

            “How’d you text me?”

            “They never saw the phone,” she grinned.  “I’m glad you brought help.  Hey, Clint.”

            “Hey yourself.”

            Dan finally stood.  “I’m calling the police.”

            “No, Dad!” Sam interrupted.  “Let us handle this.”

            “Really Dad, we got this now,” Lexi assured him.

            “Lexi-”

            “Dad, seriously,” Sam insisted.  “Mom?  You okay?”

            “Um, yeah.”  She looked at the two men in her dining room chairs.  “I want them gone, though.”

            “In a minute, Mrs. Dixon,” Leesha said, then focused back on the thugs.  “Who sent you?”

            They glanced sideways at each other, but unable to speak.

            “The doc,” Sam confirmed.

            The blonde one’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.

            “How do you get a hold of him?” Leesha continued.

            Silence, to all except Sam.  He heard their thoughts, then reached down to grab the cell phone from the belt of one.  He flipped through the settings, paused, then leaned toward Clint to show him the screen.  Clint punched the number into his own phone.

            “Got it,” he confirmed.  “It’s clearly a disposable phone – no name attached to it, but that’s gotta be him.  I’ll trace it here in a bit, see what I can find out.”

            Leesha turned to Clint.  “So what do you think?  Should we just call him, tell him we’ve got his goons?”

            Lexi smiled wickedly, catching on.  “What do you think he’ll do when he finds out they’ve failed him?”

            The two guys sat there, wide eyed.  They looked at each other, then back to the group.  One shook his head violently while the other one just blinked back tears of fear.

            “You guys ready to talk?” Sam barked.

            They both nodded.

            Sam and Clint reached forward to rip the tape off the men.  Big pink bars of raw flesh marked where the tape had been placed.

            “What are you guys gonna do with us?” the blonde was the first to speak.

            Sam’s face got even redder, his forehead beading with sweat.  “Shut up!  You’ve asked enough questions today.  Now it’s our turn.”

            “Easy man,” Clint said.  “Step back a minute.”

            “Step back?  Dude!  He’s been holding my family at gunpoint!”

            “And I’m pissed about that too.  Calm down a minute.  Tell Leesha and I what happened.”

            Sam took a deep breath, exhaled slowly.  “Dad went out to get the newspaper.  They followed him back through the garage, led him into the kitchen where the rest of us were.  They said they were sent to retrieve Charlie’s files.”

            “Why would you assume the files were here, instead of my house or Leesha’s?” Clint asked the men.

            “His best guess.  There are two of you here, plus he’s seen you gather here to work more often than anywhere else.”

            “What do you know about the files?”

            “Nothing.  We were just told to come here and get Rowe’s files from you.”

            “And he told you to come with ski masks and guns?” Lexi butted in.

            “He said to use force if necessary.  We decided the disguises might be smart.”

            “Why?”

            “We don’t do any job for him in the open anymore.  Not after the Phoenix fiasco.”

            They know about Phoenix?  Um…  Play this right.  “What happened in Phoenix?”

            “He had two of our associates help him deal with a problem.  The job went south and our buddies ended up dead.”

            “Who killed them?”

            “Dunno.  No idea.”

            “You knew them?”  Leesha looked incredulous.

            “Yep.  I wouldn’t say we’re friends.  But we ran in the same circle, if you know what I mean.”

            “Oh, I know what you mean,” Leesha paced back and forth, eyeing both of them.  “And you really don’t know who killed them?”

            “Not a clue.  I don’t know anything about the job.  Just assumed it got ugly.”

            “Oh, I can tell you who killed your friends,” Sam said, emphasizing the word friends with a hint of sarcasm.  “I can tell you, ‘cause I watched it go down.”

            “Who did it?”

            Sam almost sneered.  “The good doctor, that’s who.  I saw it with my own eyes.”

            “Did not!”

            “He did,” Clint said.  “Shot ‘em both in the back of the head.”

            “How’d you guys get away?”  The sweat was starting to pour down the temples of the pudgy, dark-haired intruder. 

            “He never saw us,” Clint answered.  “Just like you never saw us until it was too late.  Now look…  You’ve got a couple of choices here.  But my best advice, if you don’t want to end up like your buddies, is to disappear.”

            The sound of clicking behind him made Clint turn around.  Lexi had her phone in the air.

            “If you don’t,” she smiled sweetly, “we’ll show him proof of how good you are at your job.”

            Oh man, she’s good.

            “So what’s it gonna be?  Will you leave here, leave our families alone?” Clint prodded.

            They were both silent for a minute, thinking.  The blonde raised his head finally.  “Yeah.  We give.  We’re gone.”

            “I don’t want to see your face again,” Clint pushed.  He picked up the mangled Glock.  “You take this, remember who you’re dealing with.  You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us.  Clear?”

            “Yeah.  Clear.”

            “Who ARE you?” the pudgy one asked.

            “That’s none of your business,” Leesha spat.  “And frankly, the less you know, the better off you are.”

            “So here’s what’s gonna happen,” Clint said.  “I’m gonna untie you, nice and easy.  Any crap from either of you and I tie you back up, we call the doc.”

            They nodded.

            “You’re gonna walk out to your car and get the hell out of here.  I don’t care where you go, but you better disappear.  I’m not kidding.  Gone.  Got it?”

            “Uh-huh.  We’ll go.  You won’t hear from us again.  My word.”

            Clint huffed slightly, but took his knife out and expertly released both men.  Leesha stood guard, but both Lexi and Sam were right beside her.  A unified front.

            Once clear, the men quickly walked out the door.  By the time they hit the sidewalk, they were in a full sprint.

            Clint watched them drive off, took a deep breath and turned to face the rest of the group.  “Um.  Sorry about the door, Mrs. D.”

            She never looked down at the door.  “Would someone please explain to me WHAT JUST HAPPENED HERE?!”