Russell Brooks - Pandora's Succession

What Fox didn’t want to happen, happened. The grenade shot straight up. There was no time to grab the launcher, Fox just bolted. He heard a scream from the soldier seconds before the propellant in the warhead grew louder as it came back down on both him and his partner. Fox felt the instant flash of heat that might have burned him had he been closer to the explosion. But he could not escape the force of the shockwave that threw him to the ground into an uncontrollable forward roll.

Several tons of rock ripped off the side of the hill and the chain reaction caused a landslide. Amidst the explosion, Fox heard even more screaming, most of which, he expected, came from the recruits. The amount of gunfire decreased. This went on for about half a minute, at which point nothing could be seen through the large dust cloud that rose several feet above the height of the hills themselves.

Fox raised his head off the ground and coughed furiously and then spat out the dust and dirt that nearly caused him to choke. When he looked ahead, he saw the edge of a cliff facing the ocean no more than two hundred feet away. There was also the crashing of the waves on the rocks below and the smell of sea salt that he couldn’t ignore.

As he got up, he brushed the dust from his face and shirt and walked back towards the valley. He stopped between a set of boulders as the huge dust cloud blew about him, causing him to partially shield his eyes with his left hand.

He couldn’t see much through the dust, but the staccato shots had stopped and that’s what worried him. Was anyone still alive? The young recruits of The Promise, Dr. Parris-my God, what have I done?

A weight came down on Fox from above, and it knocked him to the ground on one knee as he struggled to prevent himself from being pushed down flat on his stomach. His head was yanked backwards as thousands of microscopic teeth bit into his neck. He caught a glimpse of the sky and felt his right foot hit a rock as he tried to pull the teeth off his neck, but they bit deeper into his flesh. He managed to gain a bit of control over his attacker, as they both moved around in circles, but the teeth in his neck cut even deeper. He lost strength rapidly, as he couldn’t inhale no matter how hard he struggled.

He spotted a boulder in front of him. With little more to do, he kicked out his legs and pushed against the rock as hard as he could. Fox and the assailant shot back, they hit something hard that disrupted his assailant’s choke on him. Fox then threw his head back and butted his assailant, presumably in his face.

Fox ripped off the line of teeth from around his neck and stumbled forward as he gasped for air, breathing in as much air as he could without choking. He stumbled forward as he tried to regain his strength.

When he turned to face his white-haired adversary, he threw a series of combination punches at him. But he was still weak, and with little control, most of his punches didn’t make any contact. The October Man, despite the blow to his face, was far more agile and skilled in martial arts than Fox had anticipated, and he blocked all of his punches. The October Man then retaliated with a kick to Fox’s right shin, followed with a punch to his jaw, knocking him to the ground.

The October Man didn’t grant Fox a chance to stand, and he got a kick to his stomach, flipping him onto his back. Again, Fox heard the sound of waves as they crashed against the rocks below, and when he looked up, he was less than ten feet from the cliff’s edge.

“You see that ahead of you? That’s how it’s going to end for you. Not the same way we took care of your fiancee, but it’ll have to do. And after I’m done with you, I’ll take care of your girlfriend next.”

Take care of my girlfriend next? The phrase was as unpleasant as a trumpet blast to the ears. Jessica died because I wasn’t there to prevent it. Parris wouldn’t stand much of a chance against this madman who’d snap her neck without a second thought. No, I’m not going to make the same mistake twice.

When the October Man rushed him, Fox sprung up with a primitive war-like cry and managed to catch the man’s leg below the knee as it came at him. He quickly kicked the October Man in his opposite inner thigh, sending him airborne and crash-landing on his rear end. Fox looked into the eyes of his nemesis and saw the fire burn deep within. But Fox stared hard into them, hoping that the October Man would see the huge flames that burned in his as well.

The October Man quickly got back up on his feet and threw a punch at him, but Fox dove low to dodge it, and shot up with an uppercut to his chin. Fox then head butted him, breaking his assailant’s nose before he held onto him, pressed one leg on his enemy’s quadriceps, dropped backwards and catapulted him behind. The October Man landed out of control and rolled onto a slant that was full of loose gravel. Fox turned around in time to see the man grasping the surface trying to get a grip. But combined with the momentum at which he was thrown, it was impossible for him to stop himself from sliding to the edge of the cliff and toppling off.

Fox heard a loud yell that came from the direction of the cliff. He looked around for the AK-74 he had put down earlier and saw it. He coughed as he walked, and gently touched the cut wound around his neck, which bled slightly. He grabbed the AK-74, walked towards the cliff’s edge and looked down. Apparently the October Man hadn’t dropped the dozen or so stories onto the sharp rocks below. Instead, he had landed on a ledge that was less than two stories below.

The October Man looked up and saw Fox. He swung his arms about, screaming and cursing in Russian. His legs, bent to the sides, seemed immobilized.

He won’t be going anywhere, not with both legs broken. Fox aimed the weapon at the assassin. It would be so sweet to finish him off. But he held back for a bit, wanting to see him suffer. “Tell me how to find the man who killed Jessica!”

The October Man stopped yelling and looked up at Fox. What was once anger had disappeared and was replaced by a half smile. “I thought you killed the man who murdered your fiancee, didn’t you? As for the one who gave him the orders, I don’t know where he, or she, might be right now. As for myself, I’ve killed lots of men. That’s what we both do.”

Fox lined up the October Man’s forehead in his sights. One single shot would pop his head like a melon. “Except I don’t do it as an act of cowardice. You like killing unarmed men, you fucking you son-of-a-bitch-don’t you? Like two of my partners at Hexagon. Do you remember them?”

The October Man hesitated as though in thought. He then smiled. “Oh, them. I cannot take credit for executing them, unfortunately. The man I sent to do the job told me they both cowered like baby kittens. You should ask him yourself if you don’t believe me. He’s coming right now.”

The October Man laughed just as Fox heard the loud sound of helicopter propellers. He then saw an S-76 approach from his left. It slowed down, turned ninety degrees, and hovered sideways as the back passenger door slid open. Fuck, it was Demyan, that psychotic bastard. He still had that sickening crazed grin on his face as he held what Fox recognized to be a Milkor MKL-MK1 multi-shot grenade launcher, aimed towards him.

Oh Shit! Fox didn’t wait for the first shot before he bolted. He heard a loud popping sound and his first instinct was to cut to the right just like when he played football. He lost the AK-74 as the explosion threw him a few feet upwards and onto the ground where he landed on his right shoulder and ducked into a forward roll.

“Kill him!” Fox heard the October Man scream repeatedly.

Fox closed his eyes to avoid being blinded by the dust and smoke surrounding him, but he could still hear the helicopter. Another shot was bound to be fired to finish him off. Fox rolled over onto his feet towards the AK-74 and grabbed it just as he heard another pop. This time, the fire from the blast scorched him briefly, before he was thrown sideways into a rock face. He dropped the AK-74 again.