Vanguard: The Complete Second Season: A Superhero Serial (Vanguard: The Collected Seasons Book 2) (32 page)

“Jim’s right, we have to keep an eye on him. But after he helped us on Olympus and given what Erin and Koji told us about their time in Arcadia, maybe he’ll be a little easier to deal with next time.” Thorne then added with a sigh, “Or at least I hope so.”

The image of the Exemplar returned to the grid, but remained colored. Two other images enlarged, one of a woman wearing a white motorcycle helmet and the other of a bald man on fire.
 

“Zephyr and Pyre,” said Thorne. “Although Pyre was controlled by the Analyst, he did try to kill me under Callus’ orders.”

“He helped us against Cerberus, but who knows where he’ll land now,” said Anita. “Zephyr was there, too.”

“She’s another one we need to keep an eye out for. Anyone who would willingly join the Khagan is cause for concern,” said Thorne. “And next we’ve got the Analyst himself.”

The images of Zephyr and Pyre receded while one of the Analyst, a man with short, slicked-back hair and a mustache enlarged.
 

“He’s been missing ever since the Khagan was apprehended,” said Lee. “I’ve spent just about every free moment I’ve had scouring the Earth for this bastard and come up with nothing.”

“With his powers and his contacts, there’s virtually nowhere he couldn’t be hiding,” said Thorne. “But our biggest concern at the moment is these three.”

The final three images enlarged. One was of a man with short, graying hair. The other a man with a receding silver hairline and glasses. And the third of an bald, older man with yellowed skin, a glass eye, and a thin beard along his chin.

“Erik Azarov, Joseph Ramsey, and Nathan Callus,” said Zenith. “We know that Azarov was working in North Korea under orders from Callus and since we defeated the Collective, Azarov has disappeared. Callus has also been missing ever since his illegal activities were exposed. And Ramsey, of course, we know where he is.”

“Secretary of Defense and he’s untouchable,” muttered Thorne. “At least until we have some hard proof that he’s working with these people.”

“Basically, Ramsey links all this together,” said Jim. “He worked with the Red Fist, engineered Callus’ appointment as Cerberus Director, and probably encouraged Callus to send Azarov to North Korea. The question is why. What does he have to gain from all this?”

“To answer that, you have to go back further,” said McCabe.

All eyes fell on the geneticist. “What do you mean, Howard?” asked Thorne.

McCabe leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table’s surface. “I mean he’s the Secretary of Defense. He already has a large degree of power and influence. He’s also quite wealthy. So why would a man risk all that by helping out the Khagan?”

“He’d have to be a true believer,” said Anita.
 

“Exactly what I’m thinking. To understand what Ramsey is up to, we have to understand his motivations,” said McCabe.

“Another problem is the new player you encountered in North Korea, this J’Karra woman,” said Thorne. “She claims to be an alien, but we have no way of confirming that.”

“I think she’s telling the truth,” said Anita. “More than that, after North Korea, I saw something. A vision of things to come. I think she’s just the first in something bigger that’s about to happen.”

“You mean like an invasion or something?” asked Koji.

“Possibly,” said Anita. “I just can’t understand why. When I was fighting the Collective, J’Karra and I were connected. I got a sense of who she is. And I feel like she’s a good person, deep down.”

“The road to Hell is paved with good intentions,” said Thorne. “In any event, we have to—”

An alert went off in the monitor room. All eyes turned to the screen, with a flashing ALERT warning across. The image quickly changed and revealed Abram Zukov, currently the interim Director of Cerberus, on a live video feed from the Olympus space station.

“Abram, what’s happening?” asked Jim.

“We need your assistance!” said Zukov. “The White House is under attack!”

CHAPTER 4

After the Khagan took control of the Olympus space station, his first act was to punish the previous President by launching an assault. With the help of the teleforce technology utilized by Zenith, the Khagan destroyed the White House, with the President, Vice-President, and their staff still inside.
 

Once the Khagan was defeated, construction immediately began on a new White House. It had only recently been completed, with current President Lawson now residing inside. The regular operations of the house had begun almost immediately after the President took up residence. Security around the White House had increased ever since construction was completed, but J’Karra had no concerns about that.

She deactivated her ship’s stealth mode as she hovered above the building, instantly drawing stares and exclamations of shock and fear from the people on the ground. Secret Service agents rushed out to the lawn and drew their weapons, ready to fire at a moment’s notice.

J’Karra’s ship touched down on the White House lawn and the canopy opened. The Kotharian warrior emerged, reaching behind her back and drawing her telescoping bow.
 

“She’s got a weapon!” shouted one of the agents. “Open fire, open fire!”

J’Karra leapt to avoid the bullets and held out her bow, drawing the string and firing several psionic arrows that hit their mark, taking out the first wave of guards. She charged at another, jumping just as he shot at her. J’Karra took him down with a kick to the face. The next agent was tripped by J’Karra’s bow and then the final one taken out with a psionic arrow to the face.
 

She stood, her black and gold cape billowing behind her in the wind. J’Karra approached the doors and kicked them in. Other guards, alerted by her presence outside, were already in the hall, hiding behind cover and waiting to strike.
 

J’Karra still wore her helmet and the HUD told her the location of each agent. She took the bow in both hands and it separated at the grip, the string retracting into one end, leaving her with a pair of battle staves. Running forward, there was an agent hiding to her left. He emerged from cover and raised his gun, but she jumped at the wall, pushed her foot up against it and spun, bringing down one of the staves on his head.
 

Another agent was positioned across the hall from her. He aimed the weapon and J’Karra hurled one of the staves, striking his weapon from his hand. She rushed him, grabbing the stave as it bounced back. J’Karra pounced and knocked him out with a direct strike from her helmet.

“Get her!”

The agents emerged from cover and stared firing. J’Karra’s armor protected her from their bullets and she reassembled the bow, connecting the string and firing off a flurry of psionic arrows. One by one, the Secret Service agents fell to her attacks.

She continued through the house, striking down anyone who got in her way. Her movements were graceful as she dodged their attacks, returning in full force with either her strength or her alien weaponry. There was a reason that J’Karra was chosen for this mission by the Matriarch—she was one of the finest warriors the Kotharian military had ever seen and once she began a mission, she would either complete it or she would be killed in the attempt. No other outcome was acceptable to the Kotharians.

Her HUD displayed a map of the grounds obtained from public records on the Internet. The Oval Office was her next stop and when she found it, she kicked down the door.
 

Several more agents were inside. They stood between J’Karra and her target, the man she knew as President Lawson from her research. Lawson huddled behind his guards and J’Karra saw another man beside him, one who obviously was not part of the guard detail.

“Put down the bow!” said an agent. J’Karra responded with a psionic arrow in his chest. He collapsed and another agent checked on him. No entry wound, not even a projectile. But he experienced the same fate as his colleague, falling after J’Karra shot him next.

J’Karra pulled the string several times in rapid succession. The arrows appeared, launched, and she pulled the string again. The movements were so rapid, it was almost impossible for the human eye to see them.
 

By the time all was said and done, it was just J’Karra, Lawson, and the third man standing there. Lawson’s mouth was open and he stared down at his agents. “My god…you killed them…”

“No,” she said, reaching a hand for the side of her helmet. It receded away, revealing her reddish-orange skin, yellow braids, and gold, catlike eyes. “They’ll live. Unlike you, I am not a murderer.”

“What are you talking about?” asked Lawson. “I didn’t kill anyone!”

“She’s one of them, Mr. President,” said the other man, with a receding hairline and glasses. “One of those specials.”

J’Karra turned her gaze to him. “And you are?”

“Joseph Ramsey, Secretary of Defense,” he said.

“Then be silent, Joseph Ramsey, Secretary of Defense.” J’Karra took a step closer to Lawson, who took a step back to maintain the distance between them. She raised the bow, drawing the string and generating a psionic arrow ready to fire. “I am only after the man responsible for the death of my people.”

“I have no idea what you’re on about,” said Lawson. “Who are you? What do you want?”

“I know about the crash. Roswell, 1947. Your government shot down and took possession of a Kotharian research vessel,” said J’Karra. “I want to know where it and the crew are located.”

“Roswell?” asked Lawson, then followed up with a chuckle. “Are you out of your mind? There was no alien crash!”

“Liar!” She was about to fire the arrow, when she saw Ramsey make a break for the door. J’Karra turned her arrow to him, releasing the string. The arrow cut through the air and struck him in the back. Ramsey cried out just an instant before he fell face-first.

Lawson’s attention was on the Secretary, so he didn’t see J’Karra cross the distance that separated them. She held the bow against his neck, pinning him against the wall. Her yellow eyes stared into his blue ones and she gently laid her fingers on his forehead.

“If you do not tell me what I need to know, then I’ll pull the information from your mind.”

CHAPTER 5

As soon as Zukov informed Vanguard that the White House was under attack, they immediately suited up and boarded the Icarus. With the jet’s flight capabilities, they were able to make the trip in less than half the time it would take a normal plane. While en route, Zukov provided them with surveillance footage from the White House of the attack.

“Doesn’t make any sense,” said Shift, shaking her head as she watched the attacker take out the Secret Service. “Why would J’Karra attack the White House?”

“Who knows? We don’t even know why she attacked the same base in North Korea that we were after,” said Gunsmith.
 

“Maybe she found a connection between Azarov and Ramsey,” said Sentinel.

“Yeah, but how?” asked Wraith.
 

“She was able to connect with my mind, maybe that’s how she figured it out,” said Paragon.

“Whatever the case, she’s got the President and that means we have to take her out,” said Gunsmith. “We’ll worry about her motivations once we’ve got her shackled.”

“We’ve arrived,” said Zenith.

The Icarus switched to VTOL mode and lowered to the ground, landing beside J’Karra’s much-smaller ship. Vanguard emerged from the rear hatch and when the onlookers from behind the fence and the police barricades that had been set up saw them, they immediately began cheering.

“That’s a good sign,” said Sharkskin with a wide, toothy grin.

“Don’t get too excited, Jaws,” said Wraith.
 

“Freeze!”

One of the agents had recovered from J’Karra’s initial assault and he held his weapon, pointing it at the team. Wraith fired an ebon blast at him and the agent froze for a moment before collapsing, his body shivering as he stared at the team in fear. Wraith approached and knelt down beside him, giving him a gentle slap on his head.

“We’re here to help, you moron.”

“Wraith,” ordered Gunsmith. Wraith stood and saw the leader point to the doors.

“Stay here,” said Paragon to the agents who lined the corridors, only now beginning to recover.
 

“Zen, what’ve we got?” asked Gunsmith.

“Approximately nine individuals inside the Oval Office,” said Zenith. “All unconscious save for two.”

“And one of them is definitely a special,” added Sentinel.

Gunsmith took point and moved to the wall beside the busted door. He looked at the team and saw they were prepared. Sentinel had activated his holographic armor, Zenith’s arms were in cannon-mode, and Shift’s hands had changed into tentacles. He gave a nod and raised his guns, stepping inside the Oval Office.

“Don’t move!”

J’Karra still had Lawson pinned to the wall, her hand on his head. She opened her eyes and turned to Vanguard, allowing the President to fall to the ground.

Gunsmith was about to open fire, but Paragon flew in front of him, her eyes fixed on J’Karra.
 

“Dammit, Anita, you’re blocking my shot!” he muttered.

“What are you doing, J’Karra?” asked Paragon, ignoring her leader’s comment. “This isn’t like you. Our minds were connected, I know you’re a good person.”

J’Karra gestured to the bodies lying around the room. “These men all still draw breath, Paragon. I am simply after that which is mine.”

“You’re outta your goddamn mind,” said Wraith.
 

“If they took something from you, then we’ll help make it right,” said Paragon. “But I need you to just relax and put down your weapon.”

J’Karra’s response came quick. Instead of dropping her bow, she raised it and fired a psionic arrow that struck Paragon in the chest. Although her forcefield made her nearly invulnerable and protected her from most attacks, she had no defense against J’Karra’s weapon. Against another psionic, Paragon was just as vulnerable as anyone else.

The blow
was
fierce, too. Paragon’s body seized up and she fell to one knee. Her head felt like it was going to explode and she could barely hear or see anything. All her senses were focused on the pain in her mind.