The heavy wooden front door of the Crestview Mansion slowly opened. The rain poured down in the dark. The forty men of the Iron Legion stood in the wet grass. They raised their heavy guns. The red laser sights cut through the black night, all pointing directly at the open doorway. Vane stepped out of the mansion. He was holding his hands high in the air. He did not hold his silver pistol. He carried his plain brown leather briefcase in one hand, but it was open, showing it was empty. He wore his boring brown suit. His round glasses were wet from the rain. He looked at the army of ex-convicts. He looked at the giant, scarred General Silas Vance. Finally, Vane looked at the black car parked in the driveway. Ron Donaldo stepped out of the car. He wore a long black coat over his sharp suit. He walked slowly up the stone path. His blue eyes were calm but very dangerous. "I surrender," Vane said. His voice was completely flat. There was no fear, but there was no pride either. "You out

Ron sprinted forward. He moved with the fluid, brutal grace he had learned in the prison fighting pits. He ducked under a swinging rifle from the second mercenary. Ron delivered a crushing punch to the man's ribcage. The bone snapped loudly. Ron grabbed the man by the helmet and smashed his head against the solid concrete wall. The third mercenary aimed his gun at Ron’s chest. Before he could pull the trigger, an Iron Legion soldier leaped from the shadows and tackled the mercenary to the floor. They fought wildly in the dark. The mercenary reached for a knife. Ron stepped over the bodies, grabbed the mercenary’s wrist, twisted it sharply until the weapon dropped, and struck the man hard on the jaw. The mercenary went to sleep instantly. Ron breathed heavily. He pulled his knife out of the first guard’s shoulder and knocked him out with the heavy handle. "Is it done, Zero?" Ron called out, looking back down the white hallway. Zero wiped sweat from his pale forehead. The laser pe

Two huge ex-convicts grabbed Dr. Aris and pushed him into the back of the armored truck. Ron walked to the front of the truck and climbed into the back cab. It was a mobile command center. It was filled with glowing computer screens running on heavy truck batteries. Silas, the nervous hacker, was sitting inside. He looked completely exhausted. He was drinking his fourth cup of coffee. "Sir, you are alive," Silas said, smiling weakly. "I am alive," Ron said. He sat down heavily in a black leather chair. He held his burned hands up. "Do you have medical supplies?"Silas quickly opened a white box and tossed Ron a tube of burn cream and some clean white bandages. Ron slowly rubbed the cold cream onto his painful blisters. He wrapped his hands tightly in the bandages. "Silas," Ron said, his voice turning strictly to business. "I have something for you."Zero climbed into the truck and handed Silas the silver hard drive from the laboratory. Ron reached into his pocket and pulled out

The heavy black armored truck was completely silent. Silas stared at the dark computer screen. His hands were shaking. He pushed his glasses up his nose. "Sir," Silas whispered. "The National Guard is here. The actual military. They have tanks. They have attack helicopters. We cannot fight the United States Army."Ron stood perfectly still. He looked at the black screen. The Director had played his final card. He had used his massive political power to turn the entire government against Ron. Ron was the Apex. He was the Warlord of The Pit. He commanded the forty deadly men of the Iron Legion. But forty men with shotguns could not stop a column of heavy tanks. "Silas," Ron said, his voice deep and completely calm. "How long until the military secures the city?""The power grid is still down," Silas typed quickly. "The streets are blocked with crashed cars. It will take the military at least twenty-four hours to move their tanks through the city and set up full checkpoints. We have

The lead FBI agent walked straight up to the Mayor and the Police Chief. He did not look friendly. "Mayor Higgins," the FBI agent said sharply. "We just received a massive data dump from an anonymous source. It contained verified bank records of bribery, corruption, and illegal wire fraud connected to Sterling Tech."The Mayor held up his hands, shaking violently. "No! It is a lie! Ron Donaldo is a terrorist! He is trying to frame us!"The FBI agent pulled a pair of silver handcuffs from his belt. "Tell it to the judge, Mayor," the agent said coldly. He grabbed the Mayor's wrists and clicked the handcuffs tight. "You are under arrest."The other FBI agents moved quickly through the room, arresting the Police Chief, the corrupt judge, and several wealthy investors who were named in the stolen files. The "Recovery Gala" had turned into a mass arrest. The powerful kings of the city were being dragged away in chains, crying and screaming for their lawyers. Ron Donaldo’s revenge was cle