KOLLUPIA S02 E06

2204 HOURS...Kollupia.




The soldier's grip was solid steel. Lucius was roughly yanked away from the door. He had felt a momentary surge of excitement when he saw his father. He'd wanted to dash into the room and wrap his arms around him. Why didn't they allow him into the room? Why was  dad tied up? Where was Mum? What did they want from them? His excitement was  replaced with rage. He wanted to hurt them, he especially wanted to hurt the one they called Sokha.

Dad was here , which meant Mum was too. He had to think of a way to save them. It was up to him to save them.

"Move your ass!!" the Soldier barked.



Lucius glared at the man. Who did these people think they were? Who gave them the right to mess with his family? Lucious instantly  knew what he had to do. He knew it as if it were programmed into him. Mum and Dad were here and were in trouble. He had to do something.

His heart began pounding in his chest. The air around him suddenly grew thinner. He knew what he had to do. He'd known it from the moment he'd seen Dad.

"A soldier knows when to make his move.." Dad had said  whilst teaching him hand to hand combat.
It was a warm Saturday afternoon. They were in their backyard. Dad was circling him slowly. " The Hawk circles her prey...waiting for the perfect moment...then she strikes" Dad lunged at him, knocking him to the ground. He'd hit the grass hard with the sun rays blasting into his eyes. Lucious remembered how his father towered over him like the giant he was. Then Dad smiled and helped him up.

Lucious knew picking the right moment was always tricky, in his present case more so. The guard was easily twice his size. His reaction time would be a lot quicker than an average school bully. Plus, he had no idea if he would even survive such a drop. But he had to try.


Mum and Dad were depending on him not to make a mistake.

"Get on your feet, boy!!!"

Lucious nodded then  suddenly  a dashed towards the building Dad was being held. He knew he'd never make it , but he had to try.


The guard cursed under his breath then went after him. He fell for it, Lucious smiled and swiftly changed course.

The soldier was totally caught off guard. In a feeble attempt to grab the teenager, he skidded against the grass.

"Hey!!!" He called out more in shock than anything else. But Lucious was already at the edge of the drop. He froze at the sight beneath him. It was terrifying. The river raged below across the rocks. He was a good swimmer (Dad had made sure of that) but he had no illusions of what would happen if he hit one of those rocks.

He gulped.

"Stay right ....where you are..." He heard the guard say. He turned around to see most of the camp staring in his direction.

He stared back into the sheer drop.

"Don't do it, kid...." Another soldier's voice was saying. " It ain't worth it"

Lucious a a deep breath then threw himself off the cliff.

"FUCK!!!" Went a third soldier  when  they got to the edge, but there was nothing to see. The river roared like the brutal beast it was.

The soldier that had been guarding Lucious  stared into the violent waters below. There was no sign of the boy.

Long pause.

"Sokha's gonna be really pissed" he heard another soldier say.









"What do you want?" Micheal said, his eyes fixed on Sokha's with all the focus of a sniper rifle.

Long pause.

"Sokha's employer wants the old wolf to retrieve something of value"
"What....do you want?" Micheal grinded his teeth, but even in the depths of his rage he knew what they wanted him to retrieve.

Sokha smiled and  leaned into his face.

"Project Blackstorm" he whispered.

Micheal felt a tremor run through him, but he said nothing. Project Blackstorm would explain Sokha's strength and speed. This was a little bit more dangerous than he'd first anticipated. They clearly had one half of the formula, which meant he and Lucious were dead the instant they had their hands on the other half. The formula was too dangerous in the hands of the General. He couldn't let them have it... no matter what. But he had to save his son.

He could still feel Sokha's eyes on him.

"Never heard of it" Micheal shrugged.

Long silence.

"Maybe I should cut off one of the kid's fingers" Zikha said flatly.

"Zikha..." Sokha said feinting shock. " ...the Old Wolf is merely confused. Perhaps Sokha hit his head one too many times. He has short memory. Perhaps he forgets how his wife died"
Micheal caught himself before he lunged at Sokha. He knew he'd never make it before Zikha or the big guy stopped him. An image of Nse flashed through his mind. An intense heat rose inside him.

"Looks like you touched a nerve, Sokha" Zikha grinned. "I vote, we cut off pieces of his son and make him watch....might jog his memory"
Micheal glared at her.

"I'll  kill you last" Micheal said flatly.

Zikha's expression was like granite.

"Project BlackStorm" Sokha said sternly. " Does the old wolf know how to find  the drive?"

Long silence.

"The old wolf is quiet"Sokha whispered.


Perhaps he thinks he can escape....perhaps he thinks he can save young Lucious.....Perhaps he thinks he can get past Sokha....."

The girl and the big man probably had part of the formula flowing through their veins.


Micheal thought. An assault of any kind at this point would be suicidal.

He had to wait for the right moment.

Another long silence.

"I'll take you to it" Micheal said finally.

Sokha turned to Zika. He still had that silly grin on his face.



Suddenly ...

There was a loud  banging on the door.

"Sir!....we have a situation!!!!" Came a soldier's muffled and  frantic voice.

"Sokha detests these interruptions." He sighed and rolled his eyes. He went to the door.


"Prepare the Old wolf....we leave at dawn". The door slammed shut behind him.

The large man came and stood in front of Micheal. His arms were almost twice the size of fire extinguishers. His eyes were steady and unreadable.

"They say you're  the best" He growled as Sokha left the room. "I heard you once took out a Special Forces unit all by yourself"
Micheal said nothing. From the corner of his eye, he watched Zikha hovering close by. Like the Big man, he couldn't read her stare. She either wanted to sleep with him or Kill him.


Either way, he had a feeling these two were just as Psychotic as Sokha.

"A rumour is a funny thing" The big man said softly. "At the academy, they talk about you like you were a god....they say you're  unkillable"

The Big man jabbed a finger into Micheal's forehead. Micheal didn't flinch.

"....it would be an honour to kill a legend such as yourself,......don't you think?" His face was very close to Micheal's now. "Think you could survive a one on one with me?"

"Your breath smells like a used Latrine"
Micheal whispered.

Zikha giggled as the big Man's eyes flared up.

Micheal felt a sudden blast of pain across his face that sent him crashing into the wall on the far side of the room. Violent flashes of light suddenly filled his head. Images tore through his mind painfully like shrapnel from a blast.


He saw Nse's face smiling at him, then he heard the gun-blast. He saw the terror in his son's eyes, he heard the explosion of the rocket when it hit his house, then it all went black.

The Big man was making his way towards him again.

"The boss says he wants  you alive" he sneered.


 " But he didn't say in what condition"
"Stand down, Brohlo" Zikha's voice ordered.

"Stay out of this, bitch!" Brohlo snapped. He was almost upon Micheal's motionless form.

"I want to kill him as much as you. But We have a job to do....we need him functional" Zikha said calmly.

"Backoff!!!"

Then Brohlo heard a familiar metallic sound behind him. It was a sound he knew too well.


He halted his advance and turned around slowly. Zikha had unholstered one of her daggers.

"You saw what I did to the last man who pulled a knife on me?" Brohlo snarled.

"And you saw what I did to the last man I pulled a knife on?" She said simply .

Long pause.

Brohlo hesitated. Zikha's daggers were her trademark. He'd seen her slit the throats of three men before they were even  aware of her presence.

"Stand down, Brohlo" Her voice was as steady as the blade in her hand.

Long pause.

Groaning sounds from Micheal.

"This isn't over, Zikha" Brohlo said  moving away from Micheal

"I'd be disappointed if it were" she shrugged.








"Explain it again" Sokha said in a small voice.


 His eyes were focused on the watery storm  below.  His muscles seemed tense, his breathing  shallow.  It was impossible to tell what was going on inside his head.

The rest of the soldiers followed his gaze.
None spoke.

The sounds from beneath them were louder as the river's currents quickened.

Long pause.

The soldier that had been guarding Lucious swallowed a large lump in his throat.

"Is the Soldier Deaf?" Sokha's voice sound more like  a hiss.

"Sir...I...I reached for him..." The man began.


"....but he was too.....fast...I...."
" Soldier Outwitted by Twelve Year-old" Sokha turned to him.



"....he was too....fast...he..." In a blur, Sokha snatched the man and flung him over the Cliff.




 A loud  shriek exploded from his mouth as his body flapped, and spun violently through the air.

The rest of the soldiers watched in raw dread as the Soldier's body fall....then it vanished  into the fast moving currents below. There was a momentary burst of  a dark crimson in the waters where the soldier disappeared.....then nothing.

Long pause.

The soldiers were too terrified to even look in Sokha's direction.

"Send search party" Sokha said without looking at them. "Find the boy"
"Y-yes Sir...." The nearest Soldier replied.

Sokha turned around
"If General hears of this" He said walking away.


 "Sokha will tear out your ear-drums....understood?"

The men stared on in silence, but said nothing.







0600 HRS..... KOLLUPIA.

Micheal tested the grip of the assault rifle. He hadn't slept the whole night. His head still hurt and his vision was slightly impaired. He tightened his hold on the weapon and let out some air from his lungs. A sharp pain shot through his hand when he flexed it. He ignored it and switched the weapon to the other hand.


 There was an assortment of weapons around him. The air inside the armory was cool. He knew he knew he wasn't a hundred percent, but his son's life depended on him.

He was dressed in standard Black Ops attire.


 There was a military issue .45 ACP tucked his hip holster, few inches down was a large army knife in its sheath. He grabbed an extra clip for the rifle.

"The F2000" Came Zikha's voice behind him. "Good choice,"

He didn't turn around.

Long pause.

"For what its worth, I read your dossier at the Academy....pretty bad ass"
Micheal jammed a clip into the rifle. She might as well not have been standing there.

"Just get us to the Drive,....and your kid will be......"

"When the fuck do we leave?" He said turning around.

There was a coldness in his eyes that warned her to be cautious.

"Chopper's refuelling" she sighed. "We leave in an hour"




..........to be continued








LIFE IS A CHOICE MY FRIENDS
SO CHOOSE WISELY
ENOUGH SAID