Alpha Male (27 page)

"No," Alpha said, and then paused to ponder his answer. His tone was somber and slow.  "You aren't Beta Boy. But, you come from the same place. I…I created you."

"What?" Omega asked, almost out of breath.

"I created you from my own DNA; you're a clone. You know what that is. It was a part of your education before you escaped."

"Yeah, I know what it is," Omega said with a defeated sadness in his voice. "Why did you…create me?"

"It's not a simple answer," Alpha said, pulling up a stool.

You could at least tell me, before you kill me," Omega said.

"You struggle to understand, yet you seem to have lost the will to fight. Why? If you are so ready to die, then what's the point?"

"You don't know what it’s like," Omega said. "My life is…"

"Your life was a mistake," Alpha said. "I shouldn't have done this to you…or to him. I created both of you, and others, in order to understand myself. These powers, what those…assholes did to me in Moscow; I had to know why. Like you, I needed to understand. This is what drove me to start all this. Beta was my first failure, and you were my only success."

"How was Beta a failure?" Omega asked.

"Beta; he was unstable. He only lived a few years before his body gave out, and I had to bury him. He's the only real friend I've had all this time. I blamed them for driving me to it, so I went back to Moscow and destroyed their lab. I knew when it was done that I was wrong, but I felt vindicated. I wanted to destroy you too, but I couldn't. Your face was his, and I just couldn't do it. I kept you here for a long time, running experiments, trying to keep you safe from his fate. I taught you to speak, and walk. You were a full grown man, but you were weak."

"So, after all this, why do I hate you?"

A sigh escaped Alpha’s mouth, and he was quiet for a few moments before speaking again. "Because I taught you to."

"I don't understand," Omega said.

"I conditioned you to hate me," he said.

"Why? Why would you do that?" Omega asked, but he knew before he could get an answer. Through the haze of the drugs, he understood. "You wanted me to fight you. That's why I saw you smirking every time. You were thrilled by it."

"This is over," he said, getting up.

"Why kill me like this?" Omega asked. "Why not snap my neck, or put a bullet between my eyes?"

"Because, I owe you a clean death." Alpha took a few steps, but stopped when Omega spoke again. “And it makes the autopsy cleaner. I’m going to examine you inside and out so that I can understand how these telekinetic powers work. I’m sorry.”

"Please, tell me one more thing," Omega said, looking up at the mirrored reflection of his own face. "Why are our powers different?"

"They aren’t different, they’ve just manifested in different ways,” he said, pondering the question. “Your escape finally taught me the one thing I needed to know. My powers are telekinetic in nature. Instead of being able to move things with my mind though, I have strength and speed. I couldn’t have learned that if you hadn’t gotten loose.” Alpha adjusted the IV clamp, regulating the amount of anesthetic running through it. He looked up and saw a blinking red light on the wall, and rushed out without another word.

"No, come back and watch me die," Omega said. "You coward."  

He wanted to say more, but he couldn't. He was too tired to speak, so he put his head back and closed his eyes.

A few minutes passed and he heard a sound that roused him from his rest. He looked up and saw a black man standing by his feet with a shocked look on his face. He recognized him, but from a different place, from a vague dream.

"I'm sorry," Omega whispered.

Reedy didn't speak. He just looked around the room at all the strange lab equipment. He was scared, horrified for a moment.

Omega tried to raise his hand in warning, but it was too late. Alpha came in the room, shocked by Reedy's presence. Reedy shuffled to get away, but tripped and crashed into the IV stand. It was ripped from Omega's arm, and everything tumbled down with a loud crash. Reedy was defenseless on the ground.

"Alpha, what is this place?" Reedy asked.

The words spurred Alpha into action. He rushed at Reedy and raised his foot, giving Omega less than a second to turn away. He heard Reedy's cry cut short as Alpha’s foot came down with a quick crunch and a wet thump. Alpha screamed, and swung his arms, destroying a row of shelves. The loud sound grated on Omega's nerves, and he felt the twinge of tired annoyance coming back to him.

Alpha stopped his emotional outburst and regained himself. He was still breathing heavy, but he turned back to Omega and began searching for the IV needle. He traced the tubing down, and found it amidst the mess that was once Reedy, and picked it up. His hands were covered with thick red blood. As they came into Omega's vision, he felt that familiar stirring inside. It was the rage, building up, over taking him.

Alpha's hands shook as he tried to get the needle back into its place on Omega's arm. He tried again and again, and gave up. He looked Omega in the face, and said, "I'm sorry it has to be this way."

His large hands closed around Omega's neck and began to squeeze. He strained to crush the life from Omega, but something was holding him back. Alpha looked into Omega's and knew that he was fighting back. Even in his dazed state, he was able to keep the fingers from tightening to a death grip.

"Stop fighting this," Alpha said. His face was red from straining.

"I'm not ready to die," Omega managed to squeeze out. "Not by your hands."

Alpha’s hands were pulled away from Omega's neck, both fighting against the other. The more he fought, the more his head cleared up. He felt his senses coming back to him.

Alpha pulled away, freeing himself from Omega's telekinetic grip, and renewed his attack. His punches came in fast, but they never connected. Omega let out an ear-shattering scream and Alpha found himself hurled backwards through the ceiling.

Using his powers, he freed himself from his restraints, and got up. He allowed himself one glance at Reedy's mutilated corpse, and flew through the hole, speeding after Alpha.

In his pocket, Reedy’s phone was going off, over and over as his wife tried to reach him.

Chapter Thirty-Five.

Rose sprung up from the couch and grabbed for her squealing cellphone. She groped through her small leather hand bag, still half asleep as the painful ringtone blared on until she managed to hit 'accept". At that moment, she felt a rumble.

"What is it, Mac?" she said, with obvious agitation.

"You might need to turn on the TV," he said. "Better yet, you might should just look out your window.

She pulled off the mask that covered her eyes and tottered over to the window. With one hand bracing, she pulled the curtain and looked out. At first, there was nothing, but then she saw it. A massive explosion ripped through a nearby building, as Alpha and Omega came out the other end. They were locked in combat, battling each other from arm’s length. She saw the warm morning sun making its appearance in the distance.

"What do we do?" Mac asked. "We have a God damned press conference in an hour."

She stood there, mouth open, unable to reply.

*****

Ivy lay on the cot in her tiny cell, arms behind her head, waiting. She sang to herself in quiet tones, and tried to sleep when she could. She looked at the uneaten food tray on the floor and sighed. Planting both feet on the floor, she reached down and picked it up. The bean slop was cold, but she ate it anyways, soaking up the hardened gravy with the stale white bread slices. She choked it all down with a glass of water, just as the door was unlocked, and opened.

"I knew you'd eat it," said the guard, smiling.

"We don't have time this, Gus," said the other guard behind him. "Hand cuff her, and lets go."

"Aw, come on Caul. I'm just messing with her," Gus said.

"Just stop it, and let’s go," Caul said.

"Come on, ma'am," Gus said, holding out the handcuffs.  "The captain here don't have much of a sense of humor. He's not like me."

She held out her hands, wrists together, but Gus just smiled.

"Behind ya back, ma'am," he said. She turned and let him cuff her. They walked her out the door and down the hallway.

"The damn world's coming down out there, and you're having fun with it," Caul said.

"Ah, give it a rest," Gus said.

Neither said another word as they walked her through the building and out into the parking garage. They approached an open van and a small group of men waiting for them. At the front, Blake watch as Gus and Caul led her along.

"Hello, Ivy," Blake said, scribbling something on to a clipboard before passing it to Caul. "You'll be riding with us today."

*****

Irene was asleep in her bed, tucked in tight beneath the sheets. Her soft snore was interrupted by the buzz of her phone, vibrating across the table top. She reached around in the dark until her hand made contact with the lamp switch, and turned it on.

"Hello?" she said, groggy.

"Hello, is this Irene?" came a female's voice.

"Yes, yes it is," she said. "Can this wait? It's…" She pulled the phone away to check the time. It said 6:30 am. "Never mind, I'm awake."

"This is Hope," said the voice. "Is Reedy with you?"

"No, I haven't seen him since he dropped me off, yesterday. Is everything OK?"

"He got up and left in the middle of the night, and he won't return my calls," Hope said. "I think he's in trouble."

"Do you have any idea where he could be?" Irene asked, crawling out of bed. She started grabbing her clothes.

"No, I was hoping you might.” Hope began to sob. "I thought maybe he had a break on his case, or something."

"It's fine," Irene said, softening her tone." Don’t worry about it. I think I know where to look. I'll have my phone on me, so call me if you hear from him."

"Thank you," Hope said. "I'd go myself, but…"

"I know. You two need your rest. I'll go find him."

Chapter Thirty-Six.

Alpha found himself at the bottom of a pile of rubble. Brick, and metal beams surrounded him, blocking out the morning sun. With his left arm, he began to move debris until he could see a modicum of sunlight. He put both arms to the task, and emerged out on to the street a few minutes later. He rolled onto his back and began coughing.

A nearby noise demanded Alpha's silence. He wiped the soot from his face and watched as Omega pulled himself free from the same leveled building. Omega spat out a dust covered wad, and began rubbing his eyes. Alpha almost took a step closer, but didn't. Instead, he jumped into the sky and hid behind a skyscraper only a few blocks away. He pulled out his phone, and dialed "Rose." She answered after a few short rings.

"What the fuck is going on out there?" she asked.

"I need that sonic device," Alpha said.

"You mean, like the one you stole from me?" she said, furious.

"It's the only way I can stop him," Alpha said.

"Keep him in the vicinity," she said. "I'll be there soon. Try not to fuck anything else up."

Alpha hung up the phone and flew closer to the building to get a better look around it. Omega paced the street, searching for Alpha. He was yelling out, but Alpha couldn't understand him. It wasn't until he saw the news van pull up that he was spurred into action.

He shot down like a missile from the sky and hit Omega with the warhead of his clenched fist. The impact was like an explosion, loud and powerful. The force blew Omega to the ground where he left a man sized crater. Dazed, he tried to shake off the pain in his body, but Alpha had him lifted up, and into the air before he knew what was happening. It wasn't until he saw the ground below that he understood.

"I won't let you kill me!" Omega screamed.

"It's not up to you," Alpha responded, as he dropped from the sky, hurtling towards the ground. They hit the asphalt, and kept going until they ended up in the sewer tunnel below. Alpha punched Omega, each hit was a close range shotgun blast to the face. This continued until he felt his enemy’s body go limp. Alpha grabbed Omega and hurled him back up to street level, and then flew after him. He landed beside Omega and was ready to bring his foot down on the back of the man's skull, when he saw Rose and her men approaching. Beside her walked a young woman in handcuffs. Behind them, lumbered The Mech.

Omega began to stir, straining to get up. He struggled against the weight of his body until he managed to roll over. He grunted against the pain.

Rose held up her hand to stop her men, but she didn't stop. She approached Alpha in a full Tac suit and combat boots. Her hair was pulled back in a tight pony tail. With the same hand she stopped her troops with, she held up the device and pressed the button. The powerful sound sent Alpha to his knees, while Omega curled up in the fetal position. She didn't stop there. With her free hand, she slapped Alpha on the face so hard, his head turned. She pressed the button again, turning off the sound, and removed the ear plugs

"Mech, grab this guy," she said, pointing to Omega.

"No problem," he said, his voice electronic. The metal suit hissed and whirred with each step. He stood before Alpha, and looked at her. "Do you want to me take this one too?"

"Just do what I said," she replied.

"I can't let you do that," Alpha said, standing up to position himself between Omega and The Mech. The large right hand on the mechanical suit clenched. The other hand grabbed Alpha by the neck and chest, holding him for a clear punch. Both of Alpha’s arms came up, stopping the powerful blow with a forearm block. Alpha wrapped his hands around the large fingers and pried them apart until he was free. The Mech took a few swings, but missed against Alpha’s superior speed. A few punches and it was over. Alpha took The Mech down to his knees, disabling him with a single blow to the neck. Alpha’s lip quivered as he glared up at Rose.

“I’m taking him,” Alpha said, reaching down to pick up Omega. “Don’t try to stop me.”

Rose stood there, speechless; her finger nestled against the button on the device.