FicWad

The wall sentries of Alma Stronghold peered over the tops of the walls at the man standing on the ground below. They weren't sure what to make of him. He seemed wholeheartedly out of place in the decayed urban landscape. His long grey coat was clean, and they could see a meticulously groomed suit below that. His hair was tousled, but that was the only trace of disorder about him. The sunlight glinted off his sunglasses as he stared up at them intently. At last, one of the more impatient sentries raised his rifle to his shoulder, sighted, and fired a single round. It impacted at the stranger's feet with a loud /crack/. The stranger glanced down at it momentarily before returning his gaze to the wall.


"All right, you!" the sentry who had fired the shot yelled down, "Unless you've got some business here, bugger off before I put a bullet through you!" The man standing below paused a moment before responding.


"Is this the residence of one Rodney Milliar?" He asked.


"The boss? Yeah, he lives here. You want something with him?"


"I do. Go get him for me, will you?"

There was the sound of people moving around on the wall above, and then a large, angry face covered in scars poked above the battlements.


"Are you Rodney Milliar?" the man on the ground asked simply.


"Yeah, that's me." The man on the wall responded. "What do you want?"


"It has come to my attention that you have two young girls, ages thirteen and sixteen, names Sarah and Jessica Dobson, held captive within your fortress. They were captured when your group of rogues ambushed the supply convoy they were travelling with. You will release them into my custody or I will come in after them." he said all this emotionlessly, as if going through a formality that he cared little for.


Rodney's face contorted with puzzlement. "What makes you think we'll do any such thing? They're such nice girls-we're having quite a lot of fun with them." He leered, and the sound of raucous laughter erupted from the sentries.


"You have three hours, Mr. Milliar. After that, I take matters into my own hands." The stranger said with a sense of finality. Rodney stepped away from the battlements.


"This guy's got stones, I'll give him that." he said quietly to his sentries. "Kill him. If he's still standing there in five minutes time, he'd damn well have better killed all of you." And then he walked away.


He was halfway down the steps when gunfire exploded behind him.


*


"Please go away!" Jessica begged through the door. She and her younger sister had barricaded it with what little furniture they had, but the man outside was strong and was pushing right through it. "Haven't you hurt us enough?"she pleaded.


Whoever was outside did not reply, but instead redoubled his efforts. The girls tried to hold the door closed, but the doorframe splintered and broke, and the door swung open, knocking both girls over. Sarah, the younger, let out a cry of fear and cowered against her older sister as a large man stepped through the threshold to stand over them. However on his face was neither the enraged nor the lusty expression she had been expecting. Instead, behind his square sunglasses his face was impassive, revealing neither anger nor joy.


"Sarah and Jessica Dobson?" he asked them. They nodded dumbly. "I was sent by your father. I will be taking you to him now. Here, put these on," he said, tossing a sack of clothing to land on the ground in front of them, "They're the clothes you were captured with. I'm sure your captors preferred the clothes they chose for you, but I doubt your father will be as appreciative."


Jessica reached into the bag, and pulled out her shirt, a plain pink T-shirt with The Onett Sluggers written across the chest. Below that was a simple logo of baseball bat smashing some strange red blob. She'd never been able to work out what the logo meant. After a quick look up to make sure they had privacy-their rescuer had politely turned around and now stood facing away from them, hands clasped firmly behind his back-the girls stripped off the disgusting outfits their captors had forced upon them and slipped their old clothes back on.


"Finished." Jessica said as she straightened her shirt. Their mysterious savior turned and gave them one look, as if to confirm that all was well, and then turned and walked out of the room, gesturing for them to follow.


Nothing could have prepared them for the sight that greeted them as they were led out of the building they had been held hostage in and out into the courtyard. There were bodies strewn all over, and blood everywhere.


"Did you...did you do this?"Sarah asked, looking out over the carnage. Their rescuer did not reply, but instead stood facing forward, staring stolidly at the battlefield. After a moment, he spoke.


"Stay here," he told them. "I have some unfinished business."


He walked away from them towards a nearby wall. The man whose body lay slumped against the it seemed to be dead until the stranger approached, and then the head lifted weakly. The man was bleeding out from a wound in his gut. As his head lifted, his face came into view, and both girls gasped as they recognized him. It was Rodney Milliar, leader of the bandits.


"Rodney Milliar," the man said, "You are accused of the abduction of two young ladies and committing unspeakable crimes upon them, along with your gang of miscreants. Justice has already been rendered upon them. You have been kept alive so that these young ladies are able to face their assailant. Do you have anything to say in your defence?" He sounded like he was reciting from an old legal textbook or speaking in a court. There was a formal, almost legalistic inflection to his voice.


Rodney did not say anything, but rather looked up at him weakly. The man said "Good," and suddenly there was a gun in his hand. In a swift and fluid motion he crouched down and pressed the gun into Rodney's face. Now that he was in a position where the girls could not see his face, the impassive expression suddenly vacated and was replaced with one of deep anger. He tapped his left ear with his free hand, and then spoke in a voice too soft to be heard by the girls.


"Cochlear implants, Mister Milliar. I am not an idiot. I could hear every word you were saying up on that wall." Rodney made a sound that fell somewhere between a whimper and pleading, but the man just shook his head. "Sorry, Mister Milliar, but you were given an opportunity to resolve this bloodlessly, and you didn't take it. And now you're going to die. Actually," he said as he pulled back the hammer on his pistol, "the only reason you stayed alive as long as you did was because I thought those girls deserved to face their assailant and see him get what he had coming. It would be them over here pulling the trigger if I didn't think they'd already been through enough without having your death on their conscience."


The man stood once more, and pressed the barrel of his gun into the man's forehead. "Look at it this way." He said, "After what you did to those girls, you should just be counting your blessings I don't believe in taking an eye for an eye." Then he pulled the trigger.


After he finished cleaning his gun and coat of blood and brains, he turned to the two girls. "Follow me." he said, then walked towards the hole he had made in the wall. They hesitated only a moment before following.


The walked several blocks through the rubble of the city, the stranger walking in front, the girls a few steps behind. Suddenly, he stopped, and held up a hand, telling them to do the same. He stood with his head cocked, as if he was listening to something. Jessica was trying to gather the courage to ask him if everything was all right when he turned to face them.


"You need to leave. Now. Your father's men are waiting for you. Go on for two more blocks, then turn right and go three more."


"Why aren't you coming with us?" Sarah asked, bewildered.


"Can you hear that?" Their rescuer asked, tapping his left ear. Sarah and Jessica both listened hard but could hear nothing but the sound of their breath. They both shook their heads. "Well, I can." He said. "It's no longer safe to travel with me. Get moving. Tell your father that we'll settle accounts later."


He turned away from them as they scurried out of sight. They would be perfectly safe, he knew. What was coming wanted only him. The sound was growing gradually louder as its source came closer and closer. It was a humming sound, a low buzzing that was rapidly becoming louder.


It was the sound of engines.


The man did not move as an object slammed into the ground to his right. It was followed by five others, forming a circle around him.They impacted with such force that the pavement cracked, and clouds of dust thrown up into the air. As the dust settled, the shape of six silvery Starmen came into view. They spoke as one, their voices cold and robotic:


"Geoffrey Andonuts, you are in violation of Control Act 27B/6. Stand down and submit to detainment or face immediate termination."