The Vindicators

Chapter XVI: The Executioner

     I wasn't completely sure what the dream had meant at the time. To this day, I still haven't figured it out. All I knew was that Logan would die by my hands and Kaylee would live on.
     We all got onto the plane one by one with me in sitting alone in a corner. Logan didn't seem happy to see me while Elizabeth and Kaylee sat a good distance away. I didn't mind. The distance would keep me from hurting them.
     We'd been flying for an hour until we finally landed near Atlanta. We'd go in a different way we'd done before. Even though Atlanta wasn't too big compared to the rest of the cities, it was heavily armed. And I mean it when I say heavily armed. When most of your forces have been defeated, you try your best to defend what little you have left.
     We expected to get into Atlanta without any problems. We were most definitely wrong. As soon as we pulled up to the gates, REVO started firing at the truck. Bullets were flying everywhere. We all got out as soon as it started and Elizabeth shot a rocket at the gates. Nothing happened. I went up and ripped it off of its hinges. Now be aware, these gates weren't small. Each of them were the size of almost two elephants.
     We got inside and started firing back with a few marines with us. Jimenez, Thompson, and then one with a name we couldn't pronounce. We just called him Jose. They fought with us as we took out the soldiers at the gates. Whenever they needed to reload, they'd get behind one of us. Whenever they shot at somebody, they'd get behind one of us. We were basically their indestructible multipurpose human shields.
     We couldn't fine the location of the base since out map got lost during the fight. Well, technically it broke. That's what happens when you rely on some broke country to make all of your equipment. Anyways, we decided to head to the tallest building in the city. The Bank of America Plaza.
     We got to a Dunkin' Donuts and took a break there while Logan scoped out the Plaza. He came back with the dead body of a REVO soldier.
     "There's more than just this little guy," he said. "We've got a little less than a dozen on the streets and one on each floor of the building itself. That makes almost seventy guys since there's fifty-five floors."
     "How'd you find that out?" Jose asked.
     "I can hear you breathing right now. What makes you think I can't hear somebody's footsteps a couple hundred meters above me?"
     Jose looked a little frightened then Logan laughed a little bit. "I overheard a few of them talking about it in the street."
     "So," Jimenez whispered. "When do we get in there and take them out?"
     "We have to be quiet about it. It may not be much of a problem for me but you guys don't exactly blend in with the shadows as much as I do."
     "We have cloaking abilities," Kaylee said. "You didn't know our suits did that?"
     Logan looked at Elizabeth for a moment and said, "Why didn't you tell me about this before? We could've used that a long time ago!"
     "Well," Elizabeth said as she shrugged. "REVO's helmets have an infrared capability and I just got the cloaking system to avoid being detected by stuff like that."
     Logan shook his head and said, "We leave in ten minutes. Get yourself situated quickly before we leave."
     I sat in the corner planning my next move. I hadn't thought about this. Ten minutes wasn't enough for me. I needed more time. Logan wasn't gonna go down without a fight and that's a fight I probably wouldn't win. But it was a chance I'd take. Not out of faith I'd win, but out of rage.
     "Alright," Logan said. "Time's up. Get your stuff together. We're heading out. I'll act as a sniper and take the bad guys out from the roof of the Georgia's Own Credit Union building right next to us. I'll take the guys outside then you all will move inside the building. If I see any guys in the windows, I'll take them out for you. I'll let you know which floors I've cleared. I want each of you to go to separate floors. Decide on which ones those are once you're inside. When everyone in the building has been cleared, I'll come up and we'll all head to the roof and find REVO's base. Alright then, let's move out."
     We stood at the doorway of the credit union building while Logan went upstairs. It only took about thirty seconds until we heard him on the radio.
     "I'm in position," he said. In less than five seconds, all of the REVO soldiers outside were dead. I counted eleven shots.
     "Let's go," Thompson said.
     We headed into the Plaza and quickly took out the guy on the first floor. I grabbed his uniform and took his walkie just in case.
     "So who's taking which floors?" I asked.
     "Let's see," Elizabeth said. "I'll start with the first floor. Kaylee will take the second. Jimenez, you'll take the third. Dawson will take the fourth. Thompson will take fifth. Jose, you can take floor number six. Then when the first is clear, I'll go to seven. You guys see the pattern already?"
     We nodded our heads and proceeded to go our separate ways. Elevators were too risky so we had to take the stairs. I found the fourth floor and quickly opened the door with my gun raised. I saw nobody. I moved around looking for him and saw somebody at the window. Suddenly a bullet went straight through the window and the guard.
     "Floor four cleared," I heard Logan say. "Move up."
     I moved up the stairs and the REVO walkie went off in one of my pockets.
     "athnayni, kayf tasir al'umur?" the voice asked. It was in Arabic. Luckily I had learned the language after a few missions so I knew what he was saying. I'm pretty sure I heard him say "Two, how's it going?"
     "aldhdhahab jayidat hatta alana. 'ay nashat," I replied. Arabic for "Going good so far. No activity." I felt pretty proud of myself at that moment. I didn't hear a reply which meant I was doing good.
     I went up the stairs to the tenth floor. Took out that guy. Then the next. And the on after that. Then I finished the fifty-second floor and asked on my walkie, "Anyone get fifty-five yet?"
     "Nobody has gotten that far yet," Jose said. "Knock yourself out."
     I went up to floor fifty-five and looked around. I didn't see anybody. Then I felt somebody hit me in the back of the head with a gun. Of course it broke but this guy wasn't finished with me. I turned around and there he was in some sort of ninja stance with a bunch of knives and a machete. He threw several at me but they just bounced off. He looked at me for a few seconds then threw a punch that ended up breaking his left hand. I threw one back at him but he just dodged me. I started hitting at him more but he just kept moving out of the way. I looked around and found a window so I walked right over to it. The ninja followed me. We I stood at the window with him right in front of me.
     "Fifty-five," I said in my walkie. The ninja dude looked all confused then moved out of the way. I ran after him but a bullet went through the glass and grazed the side of my head. I yelled in pain and fell to the floor. The ninja approached me and kicked me in the head where I got shot. It hurt but only just a little. He kept doing it over and over. I got tired of it. I grabbed his leg and dropped him to the floor. I got up with my hand still wrapped around his ankle. I dragged him to the window and tossed him out. I watched as he fell forever then finally down onto the pavement outside.
      "Wrong target," I told Logan. "You nearly got me killed." But that was just it. That was his plan. He was trying to kill me so it would be easier to kill Kaylee.
     We all regrouped at the top about fifteen minutes lated. I was the first one there. Logan was a little late. Everyone stood up top discussing their plans after they spotted REVO's base. I stood at the edge and looked across at the horizon. Logan came over and stood with me.
     We looked out for a little while. I could've ended it right then. One little push and I'd send him plummeting to his death. But for some reason, I waited.
     "Kelton sent an osprey to come drop off a few more marines," he said. "He said it'd help us take the base."
     I stood there silent.
     "I think you should talk to Kaylee. She's worried about you. You haven't been the same for a little while."
     We stood there silent for a few more moments. The anger didn't fade away but I wasn't upset with Logan anymore. I was simply confused. But it didn't last long.
     Logan and I saw something flying at us in the distance. Looked like an osprey so it must be Kelton's reinforcements.
     "I hope these guys are as good as Kelton said they were," Logan said.
     We waited about half a minute until the osprey showed up about a football field's length away from the top of the tower then stopped. Logan stood there confused and waved at the pilot. The pilot just waved back as he opened the side entrances.
     "Here we go," Logan said. "Why was he taking so long?
     The doors opened and a man stood there wearing a brown coat and mask with two REVO soldiers standing at his sides carrying some sort of rocket launchers.
     Logan raised his gun and fired at them both but the man in the coat caught his bullets between his fingers. Logan fired several more shots but they were all blocked by a knife that the man carried in his belt.
     "Try it again," the man said. "Seriously. Try it again. Let me see if you can actually hit something."
     Logan raised his gun and emptied three whole magazines at them. The man continued to block every bullet with his knife.
     "That's what I thought," he said. "Now where was I?"
     All of us were now watching him with confusion and anger. Not Elizabeth. She was scared. I looked in her face and immediately knew who this man was.
     "Who are you?" Jimenez yelled.
     "It's funny you should ask," he replied. "I was just about to get to that. How about I give you a hint? It's an easy one. I am not the jury and most definitely not the judge. Who am I?"
     Logan and I looked at him with feelings of rage while everyone else stared in fear.
     "You know who I am now, don't you? Good. I want you to know the face of fear when you look him in the eyes. The Executioner doesn't play around. And the judge I answer to knows exactly how to toy with the minds of men. Tell me, Dawson, how does your future look?"
     I raised my gun and emptied everything I had at him. He kept deflecting every single bullet. I was angry and I wanted him dead. I wanted to watch him suffer. My rage against Logan diminished completely as I focused my mind on killing the man that started it all. Nothing would stop me. The Executioner just smiled and patted his men on their shoulders.
     "Okay guys," he said. "Let 'em have it."
     They aimed their launchers at the base of the tower and fired. The rockets split several times over and exploded several lower floors. The tower began to shake underneath us. The marines panicked and quickly went back downstairs. The Executioner smiled and threw his knife straight at me. It went in my shoulder as I screamed in pain. Logan pulled the knife out and did the only thing he could do. He threw me off the building. As I tumbled down, I watched as the top half of the tower started falling above me. Logan, Elizabeth, and Kaylee all jumped off after me.
     I started to close my eyes and fall unconscious as I landed on the pavement below. Everyone landed next to me and tried dragging me out of the way but Logan pulled them aside. He knew I'd survive. I watched as they ran off. The tower came down onto the street with me. I didn't know what happened to everyone else. They faded from my vision when the Plaza collided with the street. Then my eyes fell shut.

     I sort of woke up a little while later when the rubble shifted. I was still covered but I could see Elizabeth and Kaylee through a small gap. They were alive but in critical condition. Both of them were unconscious and had barely made it out of the way of the collapsing tower. Just barely. Logan was nowhere in sight.
     I watched as the Executioner walked over with his two men.
     "Well I was hoping for more," he said. "I guess this'll have to do. Put 'em on the plane. We'll take them to New York and see what we can get out of them."
     The REVO soldiers walked off with Elizabeth and Kaylee while the Executioner stood there looking around. He picked up Logan's belt loaded with ammo and a few of his knives. It must've fallen off with his coat that laid a couple feet away from him. A few moments later, he walked out of my view. This was it. I'd been wrong all along. This was how Kaylee dies.