Chapter 15

Stuart worked his way through the medical facility. Occasionally, he looked through a door, but he kept walking nonetheless until he reached a pair of airtight doors. He put on one of the suits hanging on the wall nearby—they where a bright yellow with a hazard sign in the front. Not very fashionable, but they were for his continued living inside.

After putting the suit on, Stuart typed a code into the lock, and the door opened. On the other side, the moment the doors were closed, all the air was sucked out, and Stuart was ready to walk into the next area. After walking in, the door closed, and Stuart saw that a sign 'BIO-CYBERNETIC DEVELOPMENT' was etched into the doors.

Stuart was greeted by a man in a similar outfit.

"Sir, the new test subject has responded well. We have implanted a 'series 5' chip in his brain and he has been absorbing all the martial arts training you specified. He has been fed the serum we developed, through an IV, to increase muscle mass and promote healing."

"Good, he is still inactive then?" He asked.

"Yes sir. When he has fully recovered from his 'accident', we will activate him and start weapons training ASAP." The technician replied.

"And the others?" Stuart asked.

"They have been awakened and have finished the programming. As a matter of fact, they have been in the sparring facility since we finished with them. I must say the results were impressive, most impressive." The man said with a gleam in his eye.

"Show me."

With that they turned and walked to the sparring facility.

Arrian was driving home; for some reason, he felt like taking a drive through the city before heading out to his house. He made his way through the Koran District. It can only be described as a slum, and a 2006 Nissan Maxima stood out, like a neon sign.

The district looked extremely run down, and was covered in bright colored graffiti--the result of different gangs marking their territory. It's no surprise that hookers and whorehouses and drug dealers where easy to find here.

It was a truly depressing place to be in.

Arrian wondered how the girls ended up here. He knew he couldn't judge them; he didn't know their circumstances.

He saw a white van pull up to a house and he slowed down, something in his gut didn't feel right.

He saw two men jump out and open the back, he saw a leg kick out and hit one of the men; then a girl no older than 16, jumped out and started to run--trying to escape. She didn't get far, a man grabbed her arm and whirled her around and drove his fist into her gut.

She fell to her knees. Arrian pulled the car over and opened the door slowly.

The men completely ignored him focusing their attention on the young girl.

"You stupid bitch!" one yelled at her, as he reached down and slapped her face.

Ashley didn't want to end up, being some cheap whore in an unknown place. If she wanted better treatment, she would have to fight these animals to get it, but they were stronger than she was and bigger. How could she stand up to them?

She fell down after receiving the blow to her face. Jared looked incredibly pissed off.

"I'll teach you to hit a trick; you fucking whore!" He spat.

He pulled his foot back to deliver a savage blow when a voice called out.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Jared and the other lackey turned to face Arrian, Ashley looked up, her hand covering her face where she had been slapped.

Jared pulled out a gun and aimed it at Arrian.

"Fuck off! This isn't any of your business! Now, piss off, unless you want to eat lead!" He fired a warning shot at Arrian's feet. Arrian didn't even flinch; a small smile crossed his lips.

Ashley looked at this young man, who had stood up for her. She was amazed that when he was threatened with a gun, he had smiled at her attackers. She had hope!

Jared was scared! The only person he had seen react similarly was his boss, and that was one man you didn't fuck with! Jared felt compelled to run away, this individual could be more than he could handle.

At the shot, men burst from the house. It was probably the place they were taking Ashley.

"Let her go and you can live!" Arrian spoke while surveying the number of men now present.

All the men laughed, after all they had guns, and he had nothing; yet, he was telling them what to do.

Jared wasn't laughing. He looked down at the girl and a plan began to form in his head. He would surprise this kid and teach him a lesson he would never forget.

"Alright, kid. You can have the silly cunt," he turned to Ashley and said, "Get going to your protector bitch!"

Ashley didn't blink twice before she was running towards Arrian.

He led her to his car. He opened the door for her, sat her down, and closed the door. He told her he would be back soon. If she felt scared, she should lock the door. Then, he opened the back door and took out his sword.

He smiled at her as he turned to face the men. They looked even more pleased; all he had was a piece of steel.

"You are a stupid bastard bringing a knife to a gun fight!" Jared bellowed.

Arrian still had a smile plastered to his face.

"FIRE!"

A hail of bullets headed in Arrian's direction and also at Ashley in the car. She slumped over in the car and lay down between the front seats to avoid as many bullets as she could.

Arrian simply pulled out the sword out of the sheath, and spun around with it in his hands; he looked like a miniature cyclone. The rain off bullets continued until the last bullet had been fired, and the guns were empty.

Ashley rose up and peeked through the window and saw a small cyclone outside the car. It kept her attention as its strength wound down. When it finally stopped, Arrian was standing with his sword at his side.

Not one of the men had made a sound; they simply stared with open mouths. The only sound that was heard was the sound of the bullets as they fell to the ground around Arrian.

He placed the sword back into its sheath and slammed it into the ground. He looked at the men.

"My turn." He smiled.

The first man didn't even see Arrian move, before he went flying back from the right punch delivered to his gut.

The men surrounded Arrian. Two moved in--attacking from opposite directions. Arrian jumped and delivered kicks to both men at the same time. Almost as soon as he hit them, he rotated his body and delivered another kick to each man, before landing back on his feet. Both men were left lying on the ground, unable to get to their feet.

A few men were trying to load fresh clips into their guns. Arrian saw them and targeted them first. It was brutal. A few well placed punches, mostly to their solar plexus, and down they went. The others thought they could surprise him; the first person that attacked, when Arrian's back was turned, was shown how wrong they were.

Arrian grabbed his arm and tugged him forward then delivered a blow to the man's chest--knocking him back. Just as quickly, Arrian delivered a kick to the man's left knee, causing him to spin in mid air. Finally, Arrian jumped and delivered a blow driving both of his feet into the man's chest--sending him flying.

Arrian couldn't resist; he turned to the other men and after a long pause he said, "Boo!"

A few fled as fast as they could; the others dropped their weapons and walked away. Arrian watched them as they left to make sure it wasn't just a trick.

Arrian walked up to Jared.

"If I ever see you again; I will split you in two!"

Jared was practically half dead with fear. He simply nodded before he passed out.

Arrian picked up his sword and walked back to the car and an open-mouthed Ashley. He knocked on the window and motioned for her to unlock the doors. She complied after she was able to close her mouth.

He quickly got back into the driver seat.

"My name is Arrian. I figure you have been through a lot, so I won't ask many questions. Just a few simple ones like what is your name?" He asked as he started the car.

"Ashley." She whispered.

"That's a nice name. I have a sister named Kailynn; you will meet her soon enough. She is about your age."

"Why are you being so nice to me? Are you doing this so you can fuck me?"

Arrian gripped the steering wheel harder as he answered her question.

"No, I'm being nice because you were in trouble and needed help. People who can help other people should do so when they can. I could; so I did."

"They had guns, and they shot you. Why aren't you dead?"

He smiled at her.

"You know I said I wouldn't ask you too many questions especially complex ones. Do you think it's fair for you to ask me one?"

Ashley looked at her savior for a moment trying to figure out if he was too good to be true, or if he would in a moment, turn against her much like Stuart had.

Stuart... that name still gave her a sickening feeling. She had met him when her father went to work for him. She knew her father had made something for him; he was, after all, a brilliant man.

She looked at Arrian and didn't get the sickening feeling, only safety and protection.

"I see you are more relaxed now. Do not worry; I will not hurt you." Arrian tried to soothe her as much as he could.

He didn't know why he protected her; only that he 'felt' he had to. It was a feeling only a few others enjoyed at the moment.

"Thank you." She whispered.

Arrian gave her a smile but said nothing more as he drove towards home.

Jared Peterson sat at home looking through the Michael's Murder case file. A lot of things did not add up.

"Fuck! What am I missing?" He roared in frustration.

At the time of the Michaels incident, he had been a homicide detective for a few months, and being a rookie in the matter did not help him.

A few details about the case itself bothered him more than others. For starters the house had not been broken into. There were no picked locks or broken windows, which meant the assailants had to be invited in.

Another disturbing fact was the quick response of the forensic team. They had arrived quickly—almost as if they expected to be called to that location.

And finally nothing was taken; sure the study had been turned inside out, but no items were taken according to the family.

So what was the missing key?

His cell phone ringing broke his train of thought. The caller informed him of something bazaar-- a grave had been dug up and pilfered. The reason he received the call was, he was known to have covered that case. It was Derek Michaels' grave.

Grabbing his coat and placing his gun in its holster, he made his way out of his house.

"What the hell is going on?" He thought as he made his way to the scene of the crime.

Stuart was sitting in his training room once again. He knelt in front of his master's shrine. Afraid of his master's power, he had done many great and evil things. Some he did by choice, and others by his master's orders and influence.