Silent Jury
Issue #15
by Tom Zjaba
Chapter 19
Tropical Islands
Slowly but surely, the National Guard have regained control of the city. While
the big battle was done with, there were plenty of looters to contend with. With
the chaos of the past few days, they decided it was a great time to see how much
stuff they could take. Add in Justin Rage's henchmen, many of which were armed
with his weapons, and you have some real dangers left. It has been a long day
since the battle ended and they are still trying to secure the city enough to
allow the citizens to return. There is a pocket of men still holed up in the
Rage Building that will not surrender. They are the last concentration of bad
guys left in the city. The National Guard and the SWAT unit are both
strategically positioned around the building. There are tanks stationed outside
along with assault vehicles, search lights, police cars and more. The search
lights go back and forth over the building, looking for any signs of the
criminals. Fifty guns from assault weapons to pistols are pointed up at the
building, waiting for a chance to halt this stand-off. There is a tension in the
air that hangs thick. The men have seen some super-powered beings already today
and the thought of dealing with anymore is enough to unnerve them. The
uncertainty of what they are facing keeps the men on their toes and has more
than one say a small prayer.
Inside the building, there are five men hiding in the
shadows. Each man is a former henchmen of Justin Rage. They are all armed to the
teeth with high powered weapons. They are also carrying bags of money, jewels,
artwork and anything else of value that they could get their hands on. Leading
the group is man named Richard Duckworth. He is known to his friends and
accomplices as Ducky. During his ten years working for Justin Rage, he gained a
reputation as a dangerous man. He was among the most trusted of the hit men and
sent to do the dirtiest jobs. He is a man without a soul or a conscience.
Standing at six feet five, he is a big man and has the strength of a bull. And
tales of his rage have not been exaggerated. Ducky is looking out a hole in the
wall to try and get an idea where the enemy are positioned. "They brought plenty
of back-up." he says as he eyes all the men aiming at him. "It will not be easy
getting out of here." he says as he looks back at his team. The first man behind
him is his trusted friend, Lucius the Fist. He is known as the Fist as he is
quite good with his hands. Being a former boxer, he is well trained in hand to
hand combat. He was on a fast track to the heavyweight belt when he was beaten
and robbed by some punks. His pride got the best of him during the robbery and
he found himself on the wrong end of a bullet. He was shot in the back, with the
bullet lodging in his spine and crippling him. Only a very skilled surgeon and
lots of luck kept him from being parallelized. While he is completely healed,
the time it took was enough to end his career. That loss still eats away at him.
Never knowing if he could have been world champion, haunts him like a specter.
It has also made him a very angry and very dangerous man. Which is why he is
often working with Ducky. They both like jobs that involve hurting people as it
gives them an outlet for their anger. The other three men are your typical
thugs. Men who are trying to make a name for themselves in the organized crime
business. They did not have the smarts to get a well paying job and the thoughts
of wasting away at the docks or some warehouse is enough for them to be willing
to break the law.
"This is Agent Wrong of the FBI. The building is surrounded
with no means of escape. Surrender now and no one gets hurt." he says over a
megaphone. The FBI have come to make sure things are wrapped up. Agent Wrong and
his partner Agent Wright are part of the Super Powered Division of the FBI. It
is a newer division that specializes in dealing with people with super powers.
With the increase in heroes and villains with super powers, the United States
Government decided they needed to create a group to deal with this phenomenon.
While it is still in its developmental stages, they have assigned a handful of
FBI agents to start it. These men are given the experimental weapons and armor
that has been in development. They are also given trackers, special devices that
they are to install into every super powered being they apprehend. The tracker
is essentially a GPS chip that is installed internally. It is to be given
without the subject's knowledge and is used to keep tabs on all the beings. They
have already installed it today into the Myth, the Abstract Artist, the Miner,
the Duelist and the Foreman.
There is no response from inside the building. The agents
look at each other as they hoped that one encounter would go easily. "Ready to
go in?" Agent Wright asks as he pulls out his mechanical gauntlets and slips
them on. "Let's finish this. We have a ton of paperwork to do tonight and I want
to get some sleep." He also slips on some gauntlets. Once he has them on, he
hits a few buttons and the gauntlets light up. Numerous buttons light up on them
and it becomes very apparent that these are anything but ordinary gauntlets. The
agents then grab breastplates and put them over their suits. Once these are
secure, they pull a strange looking helmet over their heads. With all the gear
on, they look more like extras in a Flash Gordon movie as opposed to FBI agents.
They both turn on their walkies that are in their helmets. "Testing radio,
please respond." Agent Wrong says. "Coming through crystal clear. Over and out."
Agent Wright responds. "Well, let's go in." Agent Williams says as he heads
towards the building.
Ducky looks out the window and sees two men heading towards
the building. "What the hell are they sending?" he says as he notices they are
wearing odd attire. Lucius the Fist comes over and sees them and says "Maybe
they are here to negotiate. I will now open the negotiations." He then aims his
machine gun out the window and starts shooting at the two approaching men. He
sprays their chests and heads with at least twenty bullets. But the bullets just
bounce off the men as they keep coming. Lucius then looks at Ducky and says
"They are obviously wearing armor. Maybe you should handle this." Ducky smiles
and says "Time for round two of negotiations." He points out his bazooka like
weapon and fires a very loud and very powerful shot. It flies right at the two
men and strikes a direct hit. There is a large explosion and the men are knocked
over. Ducky then high fives Lucius and yells "Direct hit!" But before they can
celebrate too much, the men rise back to their feet and continue walking towards
them. "Sonnabitch. That was a perfect shot." Ducky yells as he is astonished by
what he sees. "He should be dead." he adds as he is confused. "Maybe it is time
to find a back entrance." Lucius says as he is getting worried. The men rise
from their hiding spots and start running away. They head deep into the
building, looking for a way out. But before they can get too far, the agents are
in the building. Search lights that are built in their helmets begin to scour
the building, looking for the men. When the searchlight finds one of the foes,
the agents go to work. Their gauntlets are equipped with numerous weapons to
take down even the most powerful foes.
The first man they find is Lucius the Fist. When the
searchlights stop on him, the two agents head towards him. Realizing that he is
alone and outgunned, he puts down his gun and says "I give up." He then raises
his hands over his head. They walk towards him and Agent Wrong says "Too late
for surrender." He then shoots out a concussion ray that sends out concentrated
sound. The sound pounds into Lucius like a hammer and knocks him over. As he
falls to the ground, Agent Wright quickly descends on him and starts beating him
senseless. After a few minutes of vicious beating, he stops and rises from the
ground. He looks down at the bloody pulp that was a man. While Lucius is still
breathing, it is apparent that numerous bones have been broken and there is the
possibility of some internal organs injured. Agent Wright then picks up him and
says "I will take him outside. Keep looking for more suspects." Agent Wrong
clenches his fist and says "With pleasure." The two then part ways.
Justin Rage finds a small lake in the middle of the jungle.
It has taken hours to reach it, but he just followed the trails on the ground.
He is not an outdoors person, but he knows that wild animals need fresh water
and if you follow their trails long enough, you will come to fresh water. He has
been following what looks like pig footprints. He is guessing they are some kind
of wild boar or possibly a feral pig left behind years ago by sailors. He looks
out over the lake, which is being fed from a waterfall on the far side. This is
the best place to set up camp. He puts down his backpack and gun and sits down
to rest. He looks around and sees there are numerous fruit trees growing around
the lake. He starts to envision his camp. He can see a partially cleared section
that would be good to start with. He can put his tent up there, until he gets
around to building a more permanent building. He starts looking around the
ground for any other footprints. Water holes are a magnet for wildlife and he
wants to get a better idea what he is sharing this island with. He slowly moves
around the outer rim of the lake, looking at the softer ground. He sees numerous
footprints leading up and going away from the lake. There are quite a few pig
prints. He also sees quite a few bird tracks, including some very large birds.
He sees what looks like a deer or antelope. He then sees a track that worries
him. It looks like the paw prints of a big cat. He looks at it and he can tell
by the depth of the indentation that the cat is large. How large, he is unsure,
but it has to be at least the size of a leopard. He keeps walking along until he
comes upon tracks that chill him to the bone. There are numerous sets of tracks
made by a bipedal creature. He follows the tracks back a bit and realizes that
the stride is very similar to a human's. But they are not human tracks. They are
not even the same kind of tracks. One looks almost like a bear or something,
with claws at the end of the feet. Another looks much like hooves, only it is a
two footed animal. A third looks similar to big cat's prints, only a bit
different and once again a biped. "What are these?" he asks himself as he kneels
down to get a better look at them. He then takes out his cell phone with a
camera built in and takes some pictures of them. "Must be some kind of native
ritual or something." he says as snaps a few pictures.
Robert is busy packing his suitcase. He looks over his
wardrobe and realizes that he has not bought any new clothes in a few years. He
pulls out his collection of dress shirts and looks for something that is casual,
but still stylish. Most of his clothes are business dress. Full button shirts,
dress pants and various suit jackets. He then sees his collection of various
sweaters that his aunts have bought him over the years. He laughs at some of the
outlandish designs. He even pulls out one that looks like the splitting image of
the shirt that Charlie Brown wears. He laughs at it and notices that the price
tag is still on it. He then puts it back in the closet. "Make a mental note to
donate wardrobe to Goodwill and buy new clothes." he says in a personal recorder
he carries. He found that his memory is not always reliable and it is better to
have a recorded note than to rely on his memory. One of the tricks he picked up
in college. He thinks back to how he used it to record girl's phone numbers.
They always got such a kick out of it and really liked leaving the message. And
it worked so good that all the men in his fraternity bought personal messengers.
He smiles as he thinks about this.
The ringing of the phone is enough to bring Robert back from
his daydreams. It startles him a bit as he puts away his personal messenger and
grabs the phone. "Hello." he says as he answers it. He was so quick to answer
it, he didn't even bother to see who is calling. "Are you ready to pick me up?"
Vanessa says as her voice comes through loud and clear. "You're done shopping
already? I thought it took you girls hours to shop?" He hears her laugh on the
other end as she replies "That is only when we are with friends or trying to
drive a man crazy. But when I am by myself, I am focused. You have to see this
bathing suit I bought. It is so sexy." Robert smiles as he thinks of her in a
bathing suit. She is a very attractive girl and he has only seen her in jeans or
armor, neither of which were very revealing. "Give me five minutes to finish
packing and I will leave." he says as he quickly grabs some shirts and slacks
and puts them in the suitcase. "Don't leave me waiting too long or I may change
my mind and get one of those old lady bathing suits." Robert breaks out laughing
"Like you would wear one of those." She laughs as she says "Yeah, I am too young
and too sexy for that. Now hurry up." Robert hangs up and starts filling his
suitcase. The clothes that he has will have to do for now. He figures whatever
else he needs, he can buy when they get to Hawaii.
Vanessa is waiting outside the mall. She is pacing back and
forth as she waits for Robert to get there. She knows that she had time to do
more shopping, but she really wants to get going. She has never been on a real
trip before. Her father was always so wrapped up in his work to ever leave. His
idea of a trip was to go to a inventor's convention or some kind of science
convention. While Gadget is a brilliant man, he never let others know. He would
go to these conventions and keep a low profile. He was there to look for ideas
on how to improve the armor or something to help the Silent Jury. He had an
uncanny ability to be able to just touch and look at something and know how it
worked. While he could earn tons of money working for some company, he preferred
to work for a modest salary for Robert's father. He believed in the cause and
felt he owed a debt to Robert's father. When he was a young man, he had a hard
time finding work. Despite his amazing intelligence, he found that most places
were too busy looking at the color of his skin as opposed to his abilities. But
Robert's father was different. He saw him as a brilliant scientist and offered
to let him work at his company, despite protests from some of the white men
working there. Over the years, they became good friends and one day he told
Gadget his secret. Gadget was impressed and wanted to help. The Silent Jury were
always a group that helped everyone, no matter what their race, color or creed
were. Sometimes they were the only protection a minority had. The police force
was corrupt for a long time. The local government was no better. While North
Harbor is a northern city, it had some of the same racist views as the southern
cities. It wasn't until the late 70's that things began to change. A series of
lawsuits helped bring awareness to what was going on.
Robert pulls up in his Jaguar and picks her up. She is
holding a half dozen bags from her shopping. As she gets in, Robert says "I
thought you were just buying a bathing suit?" She laughs and says "You really
have no idea about women, do you?" He just laughs as she gets in and starts
taking out her clothes to show him. "Here is bathing suit. Is it the cutest
thing you ever seen?" She takes this small bikini that is yellow with black
stripes. It almost looks like a bumble bee. "Nice." he says as he pulls away.
"Nice? I spend a hundred and fifty bucks on a bathing suit and all you can say
is nice?" Robert realizes that he better recover quickly. "Well, it is hard to
see how good it looks until you are wearing it." She smiles and says "Trust me,
when I put this on, you won't be looking at the suit." She then gives him a
devilish grin. She then looks at him and asks "Please tell me that your suit
isn't those god-awful Speedos." He laughs at that and says "Actually, you ever
see those tiny little suits the old men in Europe wear?" She makes a disgusted
face and says "Those are so gross. Don't those men have a woman in their life to
tell them how awful they look?" Robert is laughing hard at her crazy comments.
He then asks "So are you my woman that will keep me from embarrassing myself?"
Vanessa puts her arms around his neck and kisses him seductively on the cheek.
She then whispers in his ear "If you play your cards right, I will be the only
woman you'll ever need." Her kisses are so powerful that Robert doesn't realize
that he just ran a red light.
After several hours of hard work, Justin Rage has managed to
move all the boxes to his new home. He pulls out the box with the tent and
prepares to set it up. The salesman who sold it to him, said it was the state of
the art in tents. With four rooms, extra thick waterproof roof and extra long
nails to hold it in place, this tent is supposed to hold up against any weather.
As he unpacks it, he sees out of the corner of his eye, some movement in the
jungle. He quickly looks up and sees a shape that looks like a person. It is
more of a dark shape in the jungle, but its shape is humanoid. "Hello!" he yells
out at the person, who quickly disappears into the jungle. He puts down the tent
box and runs after the mystery person. He sees the person running up ahead, but
he cannot make out what they look like. He just sees the movement of the plants
as the humanoid moves past them. Knowing it is being chased, the mystery person
zig zags through the jungle. They have the advantage of knowing the jungle and
it allows them to put more distance between them. Justin does not give up and
does his best to catch up. But he finds it hard to get through the dense
underbrush and wishes he brought a machete. After a ten minute chase, he finally
gives up. He stops to catch his breath, when he sees something strange. Ahead in
the jungle is what looks like a gate. As he comes closer, he sees that the
remains of what looks like a front gate. The stone entrance and steel gate are
still intact. But they sit in the middle of the jungle. He looks at the gate and
wonders why it is here. He notices the gate is closed and it appears to be
locked, but he can easily walk around it. The metal bars and large lock, that is
on the inside are very rusted, but still solid. As he walks around it, he looks
out and notices what looks like a path. He walks up and sees what looks like a
stone path on the floor of the jungle. The path is a bunch of large stones with
plants grown up and covering much of it. He follows the path as it leads up a
small incline. After following it for a good fifty steps, he sees what looks
like the shell of a house. As he comes up to it, he sees the stone foundation
still intact as is the fireplace, that sticks out in the jungle. But they are
darkened as if they were in a fire. They have vines and other plants growing
about them and birds have made the fireplace home.
As Justin looks over the remains of the house, he walks over
to the fireplace as it is the only standing part of the house and looks at it.
There is some debris inside the fireplace. He figures it is probably some old
logs or something, but he decides to check it out anyway. He picks up a branch
off the ground and pokes the pile of dirt and debris. As he pokes it, dust flies
out. But he feels something solid in there. It does not feel natural, but like
something that was put in there. Wondering what it is, he reaches down and
pushes aside the dirt. He then feels something metal and reaches in and grabs
it. It feels heavy, very heavy. But he feels around for a handle or something.
When he finds one, he grabs it and pulls with all his might. He slowly pulls the
metal box out of the fireplace and into the jungle. With a strong breath, he
tries to blow the dust and dirt off the box. He succeeds in getting some of it
off, but the box is still quite dirty. Feeling around the box, he finds the lid
and slowly pulls it up. Surprised that there is no lock, he looks into the box
to see it is full. There is a pile of gold coins that make up the brunt of the
weight. He looks over the old coins and marvels at how well preserved they are.
Also inside the box is a pistol. It looks to be from the 19th century. He also
sees a large book that is under the pistol. Pulling it up, he wipes off the dust
that covers it and reads a name on the front that sends a chill down his spine.
The book's title is "The Journals of Dr. Moreau."
Silent Jury © 2006-2009 Tom Zjaba