Adam

Chapter Seven (7): - “I Quit!”

PRESENT DAY

  The next morning came late and cold, Adam was already up and sitting at the bedside table. He wore only shorts with no top on and he was scrolling through his phone.

  There was a cup of steaming hot chocolate on the table and just when he held it, Remi stirred awake.

  She was covered with a blanket and when she rubbed her eyes, she remembered where she was. “What time is it?” she asked, still sleepy.

  Adam didn’t bother looking back, he slurped from his cup of hot choco, “7:15 am. Still sleepy?” he asked

  “Not anymore” she stirred some more and removed the blanket, that was when her senses suddenly came back to her and realisation dawned.

  She screamed!

  Adam jumped at the shrill, sharp sound of the high pitch scream and his hot choco splashed all over the wall.

  “What is it?” he exclaimed in alarm.

  Remi was glaring at him and looking at herself almost simultaneously. Her eyes were filled with some kind of terror Adam couldn’t understand.

  “How did I end up in these?” she asked frightfully, it couldn’t be what she was thinking.

  She wasn’t wasted last night!

  Adam finally realised the confusion, she was clad in his loose singlet and shorts, definitely not what she was wearing the night before.

  He chuckled, “Relax, I didn’t touch you last night” he confirmed “I tossed you my underwear last night to sleep in since I turned up the heat a bit. You must have been too sleepy to remember what you were doing, but you changed right on the spot”

  Remi almost died “What! I what!” her face flushed red with instant embarrassment, and she instantly rushed into the bathroom.

  Adam chuckled to himself and recalled last night, of course she had changed into them right on the spot, but he had made sure to turn around while she murmured something meaningless to herself and undressed.

  His phone suddenly vibrated as a call came in and a familiar name blared on the screen, ‘FRANKENSTEIN’.

  He picked it and the caller’s voice crackled “Adam!”

  “Hello” Adam replied “Why the early call?”

  “Where are you at the moment?” Frankenstein asked

  “Lekki”

  Frankenstein paused briefly “You left yesterday?”

  “Yes”. The door behind him opened and Remi stepped out.

  He looked back at her, all the embarrassment seemed to have been flushed down the drain.

  “Lekki, right?” Frankenstein asked “I’ll send you a location where we’ll meet in fifteen minutes. We need to talk”

  The call ended and Remi was next to hm. “Who was that?” she asked “Your calvary boss?”

  “Something like that” Adam replied “You’re heading out already?”

  She was dressed in her clothes from the previous night, it was dry now. She smiled at him “I have to go home. Ever since dad died, all the staff have been trying to steal what they can from the house and leave. Aunt Fola is there with me, but to imagine the kind of betrayal I’d get from them because dad died. That’s the reason Andy pushed me out the car yesterday. Of everyone to do that, I never thought Andy would. He was really close to dad”

  She sighed sadly. Trying to relieve herself “Today, I’ll be letting all the staff go, then begin building afresh on dad’s legacy. Mourning is over, we have to move on”

  Adam smiled inwardly at her, she was strong and resilient, if he really knew her from the past, she’d be his good friend. “I didn’t seen your body by the way” he said calmly “You probably figured that part out already. However, I have one more thing to say to you. No information about the calvary which I’ve given you must leave this room. If the wrong people find out that you know, there could be more trouble. And I might not be there to help”.

  He turned around and walked to the wardrobe “Why’d you tell me all that in the first place?” she suddenly asked and he paused “If you don’t recall who I am Adam, then why did you believe me and tell me everything about the calvary? Why didn’t you kill me the moment you realised I knew your identity?”

  Adam shrugged “Honestly” he said in a soft, low tone “I wish all this wasn’t true to some point. But I’ve learnt to face reality. Do you know why humans tend to cling to the past more than hope for the future? Because, no matter the distress, pain or bad situations surrounding that time, there’s comfort, safety and a kind of familiarity which each person feels from the past. A man with no past is still a child, there’s nothing to recollect from, reconnect with, or find hope in. Worst of all, there’s no family to be recalled, no special people in your life, no memory to smile at”

  “I want that” he continued “I want tom know who I was, so I can know whom I will become” then he beamed at her “And you also seemed like a trustworthy person!”

  Remi chuckled softly and emotion filled her eyes “I know you Adam” she said softly “And you’re still the same great guy you always were”.

  Her phone rang and it was a strange number, then her Truecaller showed the name, ‘Adam’. She raised her gaze.

  “That’s my number” Adam said and opened the wardrobe. He pulled out a collar jacket “I’ll be doing some digging into everything you’ve told me so far, but if you ever need to see me sooner than necessary, then I’m all yours” then he threw in a random comment “You’re beautiful by the way”.

  She blushed instantly, then left without even asking how he had gotten her number.

  Adam stepped out of a taxi and paid the driver, then gazed up at the enormous building that rose to about ten storeys. He took out his phone and dialled glassman’s number.

  “Hello. I’m here” he said calmly

  “Come up to the top floor” Glassman replied “Boss and I are waiting”.

  Adam registered what he had just said “Boss?”

  “Yes. Douglas wants to see you too”.

  The call ended and Adam sighed, then walked towards the building.

  The elevator pinged as it got to the top floor and Adam stepped out.

  It was a single, large hall that was used for a rather wild club. Music was playing so loud you’d expect to hear it from downstairs, but the entire place was soundproof.

  The place was filled with different kinds of loose girls lying and sitting around with men. There were also strippers on poles.

  Adam sighed again and tucked his hands inside his jacket pocket, then gazed round for the two people he was looking for.

  His ears crackled and buzzed as he picked up the faintest soundwaves, including random heartbeats and whispers.

  Then he saw then, Glassman and the boss, Douglas.

  They were sitting at a table filed with alcohol. Douglas was also smoking a thick wrap of something like cannabis.

  He walked up to them and greeted first “Good morning!” his voice raised against the music “I didn’t think we’d have a meeting in such a place”.

  Douglas laughed “Look around you” he said and blew out smoke “the only people here are missionaries. Not a single human. Information here is very safe”.

  Adam looked around and shrugged, then sat opposite them “So why am I here? The mission is tonight, so I thought we’d be having our meeting at nightfall”

 “You’re here for a different case, Adam” Glassman replied “no doubt you have been very effective in your role as junior hand man for the past three months since you joined the missionaries. Your subordinates have come to respect your position, even those who weren’t very happy at the start. However, you breached protocol last night, and I’m sure you’re well aware of what it was”.

  Adam seemed confused “I’m afraid I’m not”

  Douglas blew out smoke again “Last night, Adam” he said calmly “you killed two calvaries that were after a girl with a bounty on her head. Remilekun Makinde”.

  Adam heard a whirring noise in his head when Douglas said those words.

  “Wait” he coughed “Did you actually…put her on the database? I thought it was a mix-up” he knew the missionary database was open for all calvaries to view, so any calvary apart from the missionaries could do the job and get the bounty. It was a way to put them to good use and reduce the excess work for the missionaries. But he had honestly thought something was wrong.

  “Remilekun Makinde is a threat to the existence of calvaries” Douglas explained “So was her father. She could expose our existence to the world, something we’ve been fighting against her father for twelve years now”.

  Adam paused “Is that the real reason we had him killed? Because he was trying to find out who we were? Couldn’t we have reached terms with him?”

  “We don’t come to agreements with people like that” Douglas replied “Him knowing of our existence wasn’t the problem, we could have killed him long ago if that was how we operated. He was a terror financer, and when we found out, we knew we had to take him out”

  “So we killed?”

  “Yes” Glassman cut in “Because that’s what we do. We kill bad guys so they don’t kill hundreds more people for their personal gain. Knowing we killed her father, Remi will fight tooth and nail to reveal our identity to the world. If that happens, the CCA will crumble”

  Adam swallowed his words, he was about to yell something about Remi remembering every detail about him. About how she had said the CCA also murdered him and his dad, and now resurrected him as their weapon. But he held back, things were already complicated.

  “Remi is innocent here, right?”

  “Correct” Douglas confirmed

  “Then take her name off the database” Adam declared “No bounty should be placed on her head”.

  Douglas laughed heartily “Makinde’s head was worth 5 million with a deadline, but the deadline was last night and since it passed, her worth has dropped to one million. That information assures you that since the deadline passed, she isn’t under serious threat. However, she still has a bounty on her and if a less busy calvary has free time, they can take her out if they want”.

  Adam remained adamant, he instant “I want her name taken down”

  “Impossible” Douglas replied calmly “She has to be killed for our safety”

  Adam stared at the nothing for a while, then spoke “I see. I guess she was right. I’m just a weapon for you guys, right. Big D warned me, never to kill; but I thought I was the harbinger of doom to bad guys. The storm bringer, right? I can see now that not just the missionaries, but the entire CCA is a big lie. You’re not good guys, I’m not stupid! You’re mercenaries for hire! They pay you for the kill! That’s the bounty on people’s heads. That’s how you manage to get such huge sums to pay after missions. You even privatised the whole god damn CCA, into a business for killers! Am I right, Douglas?!”

  Douglas took a long draw from his thick wrap of cannabis, then blew it out slowly and let his gaze linger on the smoke before speaking “That’s not entirely the full gist, but you my friend, have never been more correct”

  “What are you going to do now that you know?” Glassman asked “Now that you see that you live in a world where power dominates and cruel fate bares it’s fangs at the weak? What are you going to do, Adam?!”

  Adam heard the beating of his own heart still for a second, he gazed at Douglas, broken mentally now.

  “Why me?” he croaked “I have, so much innocent blood on my hands. Why me, Douglas?!”

  “You’re a lightning king, my friend” Douglas replied “You and I are alike, so why waste away in confinements with no idea how brutal the world is. I knew you wouldn’t join the missionaries of your own accord if you really knew what we were. Especially since you have become friends with a man like the renegade. Such uprightness and moral decadence would hinder you from being part of us”

  “So the only way to make you join us…” Douglas continued “…we gave you a sense of duty and justice. Something you must have rubbed off from Big D himself”.

  Blue electricity flashed and a dagger had materialized in Adam’s grip and he was holding it at Douglas’ throat “What’s stopping from killing you here and now” he said coldly, all the venom and spite laced in his voice.

  Douglas smiled at Adam’s rage “You can try, but a weapon like that is still too weak to cut my head off”.

  Frankenstein moved, attempting to grab hold of Adam’s hand, but Adam caught his own hand, twisted it and stabbed the dagger right through it and into the table, pinning glassman’s hand there.

  “I’m done here!” Adam growled

  “It isn’t over yet Adam” Douglas replied cockily “No one leaves the missionaries alive”

  Adam gritted his teeth and his cross tattoo glowed “I quit!”

  A flash bomb; the ball of electricity, appeared suddenly in his right hand and he smashed it on the table instantly.

  It exploded in a chaotic surge of electricity, blasting everything away and drawing every one’s attention.

                In the midst of the commotion, Adam had begun making his way for the elevator, but there were almost a hundred missionaries in the club, so getting away wasn’t an option.

  One of them sighted Adam leaving, he was a huge man with dark eyes.

  He rose slowly and took two steps forward “Where do you think you’re going, storm bringer?’

  Liquid metal poured out from behind him into the air and took the form of dozens of steel spikes hovering mid-air. “Titan metal art; metal construct!”

  The spikes took off, racing towards Adam at point blank range, but just when they were close enough, Adam felt their movement and sneered.

  “Bastard. Don’t think you can touch me” there was venom laced in his voice an just when the spikes got close to him, they got caught mid-air by visible lines of electricity, and in the next instant, they were all shredded to pieces.

  Amazement shone in the big guy’s eyes, then fury.

  He bolted forward, seeming to vanish, then reappearing in the air directly beside Adam. He stretched out his hand and drew the shredded spikes to himself in the form of liquid metal, then they reforged into a large sledge hammer with spikes on the head. “Who’re you calling a bastard?!”

Adam remained unfazed, his eyes were buzzing with electricity and his gaze shifted to the titan that was still airborne.

  “You” his reply was cold and instantly, electric surges burst in front of the man and blasted him straight to the roof of the club.

  Those watching gasped “He defeated Titan without even lifting a finger!” they exclaimed “He’s a monster”

  Meanwhile, as the dust from the first attack subsided, Douglas lay on the floor with his back and laughed to himself. “Such power. Such boldness! Such arrogance even in the face of a superior! I really have groomed him! He’s really becoming a lightning king!”

  He heard steps approach him and Frankenstein hovered above him “Boss. Let me deal with him”.

  Douglas sat up and rested his hand on his knee. He heaved and smiled at Adam who was glaring confidently at the scores of calvaries against him.

  “He’s a lightning king, Glassman. Allow a lightning king show him how it’s done”

  His iris brimmed with crackling red electricity and instantly, all the light and electrical appliances were shut down. Phones, air conditioners, dispensers, stereos.

  “Dark electric art; black out”.

  As the zone of darkness spread out, it also killed out something else. All the calvaries inside the zone, had their powers, temporarily rendered dormant.

  The electricity crackling around Adam suddenly snapped and vanished and he watched as his glowing cross tattoo dimmed back to black.

  “What’s this?” he asked “I can’t use my ability”

  “That’s my technique, Adam” Douglas replied and rose “In the black out zone, only I can use my technique”

  He rose his hand above him and opened his palm, red electricity began to buzz and crackle violently around him.

  Adam’s eyes widened surprise “Red electricity…” he gasped

  “Relax Adam” Douglas sneered “Don’t be shocked”. The electricity clapped loudly and suddenly formed a jagged bolt of lightning above him which he immediately clutched in his palm.

  “Dark electric art; lightning bolt”

  He launched the bolt of lightning full force at Adam and in a breath-taking instant, it was before Adam’s eyes. His powers had been forcefully deactivated, he couldn’t react to the blitzing speed of the lightning bolt.

  The room was dark and the only thing giving off lights was the violently flashing red electricity from the red electricity for the lightning bolt.

  Then, like thunder in the sky, he was struck. There was a loud resounding blast as the lightning bolt hit his chest and exploded outwardly, sending him flying with rocket force to the elevator door and smashing hard on it.

  Adam felt the rocking force as if the hand of God itself had formed a fist and smashed into his chest. Life gave way very fast as he felt all his internal organs rupture instantly and he rocketed backwards.

  Then, as he smashed into the elevator door and struck is head, the intense pain shot across his entire body and the next instant, everything became a blurry vision.

  He was losing consciousness, and fast.

He landed face flat on the floor and groaned in excruciating pain. He managed to turn around slowly and then lay on his back.

  His clothes had mostly been destroyed and there was a long and deep gash on his chest that had branches stretching out like bleeding veins on his body.

  Blood filled his eyes as his vision became increasingly hazy. ‘What kind of insane ability is that?’ a voice whispered in his head ‘A lightning bolt, is that even possible? And why is his electricity red?’

  His gaze blurred more and then became a bit clearer. The lights came on, or so it looked, he wasn’t sure about anything now ‘I need to get out of here. He’s going to kill me if he hits me again’

   There was the clip-clip sound of shoes striking the floor, then, Douglas appeared hovering above him. Frankenstein was next to him.

  Douglas was no longer smiling, he looked serious “I trust you won’t die from a blow like that, Adam., No matter how devastating it is. Besides, you’re a lightning king, right?”

  His eyes narrowed and he glared “We may have the same ability, but your half-baked techniques are nowhere near mine” then he began walking away.

  The elevator door pinged as it opened “You have a mission tonight” he added coldly “And you had better be available” then they walked in and the elevator door closed.

  Adam got back to the hotel room in pains. He had managed to bolt pass the reception at the lobby and arrive undetected, but he remained in that state of unimaginable pain. Every step seemed to be a miracle.

  The gash on his chest had stopped bleeding as his own healing factor struggled to keep him alive, but the branches of black veins on his chest were still there.

  Black blood. His blood had been fried.

  No doubt, Douglas’ red lightning was power packed and that lightning bolt straight out of Zeus’ arsenal had probably done severe damages to his vital organs.

  He felt his heart rate slow, each thumping felt extremely heavy and laboured. He gasped for air and clutched at the walls of his room. Life slipped out of him slowly and his consciousness began to give way again.

  His vision began to fade and dizziness set in again. He slumped, not even feeling himself as he fell to the floor like a log of wood.

  Then, as his gaze turned completely blurry, electricity crackled around him and a bolt of lightning descended. In that instant, he vanished into thin air.