Anthony Clair present
Paradox
By Anthony Clair
Marie Robertson zipped up her daughter’s jacket and pulled over the hood. The grabbed her hand as they headed out the door. She dragged her daughter down the street to where her husband was going.
“Are you ready to go”
“All set” Marie said, as she looked her husband in the eye
“Mommy where are we going”
“Just for a little walk honey”
They walked across the street and into the park as it started to rain lightly. Sharice Robertson was only 5 yrs old, but she knew her parents were worried about something.
They were in a rush. She didn’t understand much of what was going on, but she realized the seriousness of it .
“Do we take her along with us, or do we leave her here”
Marie stated to cry. She shook her head as tears began stream down her faces. The tears froze as it was bitterly cold.
“No way in hell am I leaving my child”
“Marie we have to, it’s for her survival”
Sharice looked up in her fathers big warm eyes. She saw a glint of sadness in his eyes. His lips trembled then curled up as he forced one smile. He began to cry.
“Run Sharice, run” He whispered
Marie was grabbed by Ron's arm. She struggled and fought. She held on to Sharice’s arm. Her hand slipped from the little girls grasp as she was being drug down the street by her husband.
Sharice just stood there as she watched her mom leave. She stood there and didn’t have a clue of what to do, or where to go. She stood there and cried. The cold crisp air stabbed at her lungs as she inhaled. She was all alone
. . . . . . . .
“She is safe Marie. We can do nothing for her but bring her harm. Its for the best.”
Paradox stood over the old Merchants table. She reached down to pick up a gun. She closely examined it and smiled. She reached in her pocket to find some Alkerid currency. She threw the coins at the old man. She looked up at the man, as she held the pistol high so the man could see.
“I’ll be taking this old man, but I’ll need some bullets”
The merchant nodded his head. He reached under his table and pushed her a box of Bullets. Paradox rolled her eyes.
“I’ll need more than that”
The old man reached under and put another box on the table.
“More”
“Don’t be greedy child” the old man said
“Look I have money, I’ll pay for the damn bullets,” she said very coldly
Paradox threw more coins his way.
The old man reached under his table and grabbed a small crate. He handed the crate of bullets to the young woman.
“That’s more like it old man”
“You are a troubled one, if you need all this ammunition. This is enough ammunition to supply a small army” The old man frowned as he collected the coins.
“Hmmmm…this is not enough,” The man said holding out his hand.
Paradox shot him a nasty look. She mumbled under her breath.
“May I ask what do you need all of my bullets for?”
“Mind you own business old man,” She said as she tossed him a couple dollars.
She turned and walked away. Paradox took two steps, before someone ran past her. A boy ran past her snatching her satchel from her belt. Immeadiatly she thought to chase after the kid.
She pushed through the crowd, knocking people down. She watched the little boy disappear into the horde of people. She spun around scanning the crowd for the boy. She finally caught a glimpse of the boy, as he walked into the dark alley.
Paradox walked up to the entrance of the Dark alley. She slowly took a step down the alley. She saw the boy run to the left into another alley. She followed closely behind him. She came to rest, as she heard the sound of voices ahead of her. She watched the boy run forward, as two big burley guys came out and snatched him up in the air.
They uplifted the kid off the ground and took the satchel. One of the big burley men tossed him aside like garbage. The kid soared into the air until he crashed into the wall of a building. He dropped to the ground, and he laid there unconscious.
Paradox lurked in the shadows, observing the entire incident. One of the burley men walked over and picked up the kid by the collar. He held the kid high into the air and shook him.
“IS THIS ALL YOU GOT” He said tossing the kid aside once again
“I’m sorry I would of put more money in there if I knew he was stealing it for you” Paradox said as she approached.
The burley man quickly spun around, to see the girl walk into the alley. He scowled at the woman as she approached.
“You wanna give me back my money”
The burley man smiled. Then pounded his first into the palm of his other hand.
“You came to the wrong place,”
Paradox pulled out the new pistol and aimed it point blank at the man.
“Hey Lemo, there’s some bitch out here holding a gun up to me. Ooo I'm scared.”
Paradox thought for a moment. She shook her head and laughed.
“What the hell am I thinking?"
Paradox puts the gun away.
“I don’t need a gun to kick your sorry ass, it would be a waste to shoot you with my expensive bullets.”
Paradox treaded out towards the big guy. She drew her fist back and WHAM. She planted a blow, dead on. The guy flew 20 ft down the alley. She watched him crash through the wall. She walked over to the big guy who laid in the pile of rubble.
“My money”
As he rubbed his head he tossed her the satchel.
“Leave me alone lady”
She pulled out her sunglasses and put them on. She turned around and gave the guy a sad look. She cocked her head to the side and walked away. She thought maybe for a moment the guy could of used the money for a nose job.
III
The girls could hear the click of her heels all the way down the hall. They feared their Headmistress Keota. She was a ruthless woman, rigorous with their discipline.
Julie, Tiffany Kelly and Sarah all shrunk under the table as Keota walked in.
The middle-aged Blonde woman stood at the front of the room with her whip. She beat it against the table to get their attention.
Keota liked these meetings. She fancied the power she had. She desired revenge. She has trained the most fatal enticing assassins.
“Listen up all of you. I am about to tell you all important information. We have been betrayed by one of own. I want you all to go out and find Paradox. And bring her back.”
“But she is like a sister to us” Kelly said
“A sister that set you all up to die. I think not. Don’t be so foolish Kelly.” Keota said.
SMACK. Kelly was whipped across the face. She quickly reached up to touch her burning cheek. She looked up in Keota hand to see a leather whip in her hand. She dodged underneath table.
“Now any of you know where Sharice is, ” Keota asked.
“Probably with that Aikon Prince”
“Very good”
“Then I want Julie and Kelly to go and look for her on Sation”
Keota walked out the room. The clicking of her heels faded as she walked down the hall.
Kelly sat there rubbing her cheek. She was starting to despise her headmistress. Sharice had always been Keota favorite daughter. The prodigal daughter. Now she turned her back and betrayed them, her sisters, denied her foster mother. Kelly would make sure she paid for the all the years of suffering she went through.
Tiffany sat at the end of the table blowing her gum. She looked down at the table.
“God, like Keota can be such a bitch,” Tiffany said
“But is like a mother to us, we are fortunate she took us in and cared for us. Don’t you forget that” Julie shouted
Tiffany backed away in her chair. She got up and left the room
Paradox didn’t give a damn, nor would she ever. The woman had a stoic heart to the world. The one and only thing she enjoyed was, a fight. A good fight. A 22 year old woman, with no purpose nor cause. Perhaps one day she would care about the damage she has done, or the lives she has saved.
She fought alongside Cai, for years. She squared off with Garyaku, potentially one of the most experienced and strongest fighter in the universe. She fought Bowa, and Genocide, and even Cai.
Why did she waste her time? What did they do for her. Why did they want her around. What did she do for them, save their sorry asses ten times over. It just wasn’t her place to be with Cai, Rashintsu, Kiwi and Narel. She couldn’t marry Cai either. She had never cared for anyone but Keota in her whole life.
Even then Paradox came to realize how Keota was nothing but a puppet for Malcolm and his obsession with universal domination. Keota was a loving surrogate mother, she wasn’t as tough as she seemed. Paradox saw right through her like crystal glassware. She was weak, always giving in. Keota had never escaped the oppression.
Paradox looked up as she approached the docks. She stood there waiting, like she had been ordered to. She squinted as she saw a man approach her. He stood in the dark.
“Mr. Lee has a job for you. So you are Paradox, the greatest female assassin there is. I’ve heard much about you kid, but personally I don’t think your right for this job. A little sweet thing like you couldn't possible have it in you to hurt a fly, but they say you’re the best of the best so my boss wants to hire you”
“You would be surprised at what I can do." Paradox said as she flinged out a big knife "You know I have no problem with skinning animals, and making me a nice coat to wear. What does he need,” Paradox growled as she was loosing her patience
“He needs you to track down his daughter”
“Do I look like search and rescue”
“Look lady, I don’t need you getting smart with me. His daughter was kidnapped, take the job or leave it, ten million, another ten if you find the bastard who took his daughter, and bring back his head”
“heh,” Paradox, smiled for a moment
“I’ve been hungry for an interesting job, this shall keep me preoccupied for the moment” Paradox said as she turned around.
Just what was she getting herself into. Heroism, not her style. She didn’t care about the girl or the money, just that it would be a sense of adventure.
Max shoved Marie down to the floor, before the judge. She cried as she kneeled before the Judge. Max the best bounty hunter in the galaxy caught the councils most wanted criminal.
Michael walked into the room, he could not await to hear these proceedings.
“Do you Dara also known by the alias Marie Robertson, know the charges brought against you.”
She couldn’t do anything but cry. She just sat there helplessly. She knew her fate.
“How do you plea for the crimes committed”
Marie couldn’t talk, her throat was tightening, as she choked on her words. Her throat hurt from the collar placed around her neck. Her hands were tied up in cuff, her feet in shackles.
“Guilty”
“Take her and kill her”
Max handed her over to the guards, and watched as they dragged her out the room. He stood there as the people
Michael walked up to Max with a smirk on his face.
“We have a new job, I want you to find this woman.” Max said as he pointed to a tiny photograph
“What about capturing Ron Robertson”
“Never mind that, we need this girl”
“I will bring her to you”
“I want her unharmed understand” Michael shouted
Max nodded his head, and headed towards the door. He walked outside.
The phones were ringing off the hook. You could never get a moments peace in that office. People scurried around the Intrepid headquarters like worker ants.
Rosemary Nulca sat in her office, sipping her coffee, trying to get a moment of rest. She sighed pushing the pile of reports aside. Her least favorite part of the job filling out reports, after wrapping up a case. She sat back in her chair and closed her eyes. Rosemary blocked out the sound of the ringing phones. It became silent, dead silent. She would lay there a few moments.
She jolted up out of her chair, as the door to her office flung open. Larome stood in her doorway. He was panting, must have ran here. Rosemary could see the funny expression on Laromes face. He was about to tell her something amusing.
“What’s up,”
“You won’t believe this, but we just a got a call from Han Lee. His daughter has been kidnapped,”
“Han Lee. The same Lee I’ve been trying to put behind jail for seven years. This sure is the highlight of my day,”
“We have nothing on Lee, Rose,”
“I can’t wait till I do get some thing on that bastard,”
Rose rolled back away from her desk and got up. She grabbed a file on her Desk. She handed it to Larome.
“Any leads on who took his daughter,”
“Yea a group of terrorist that calls themselves Archangels,”
“What do we know about them,”
“…um nothing. There is nothing on them in the Universal database. I checked everywhere,”
“Just wonderful,”
. . . . . . . .
Rosemary and Larome stood outside the door to Han Lee penthouse.
Larome knocked on the door. The door opened slowly. A tall muscular oriental man
stood in the door way. He gestured for them to step in.
Rosemary noticed a small Chinese man with his back turned to her sitting in the middle of the floor. She quickly recognized Han Lee. She looked around, quite dark in the Penthouse. Han had the shades and curtains closed while he sat meditating. A few candles burned around the room.
“I’m sorry to disturb you my lord, but Agent Nulca is here”
The old man got up off the floor.
“So we meet again Agent Nulca”
“I’m sorry to hear about your daughter Mr. Lee”
“Ms. Nulca Have you ever heard the Chinese Proverb ‘If you bow at all bow low.’’
Rosemary didn’t want to be there. She hated Han Lee so much. For years she had been tracking him. Watching him. But she didn’t have a single ounce of the evidence she would need to build a case against him. Rosemary watched him like a hawk, waiting for that fatal slip. She knew what an awful old man he was. She felt no sympathy for him, only his daughter.
VII
Paradox stood in the dark cove. The air was stale. She couldn’t see a things.
The voices. The voices were calling out for help. She could hear the echo of the voices, throughout out the cave. She started towards the voices. Slowing, walking into the ice cold water.
She gasped as the coldness shot up her leg. She continued forward through the cold water until she was knee deep. She waded forward into the water. The voices grew louder. The water was bitterly cold. She would get hypothermia if she stayed in to long. Paradox continued to push forward through the water. The water level came up to her neck.
She felt something brush past her. She looked down to see the shadow swim off. Paradox saw them swarm around her. The circled like sharks waiting for to attack the bait. She watched them closely.
She disregarded them as a threat and continued forward into the ice cold water. She began to shake uncontrollably.
The voices. What happened to the voices, suddenly they faded to whispers. Paradox twirled around to look behind her. They were so near, as if they were standing right next to her whispering into her ear.
Was that a hand? She could feel something warp around her leg. She was being grabbed. Suddenly more hands grabbed her. They pulled and tugged every which way. It seemed like an endless amount of hands that grabbed her. She couldn’t escape their grasp. She couldn’t squirm free. They started pulling on her hair. The pulled her head under the icy cold water. She swallowed the water.
Paradox couldn’t breathe; they were pulling her by the hair, tugging he head underneath the water.
She felt something bite her. She felt a sharp jab again. The little creatures were begging to eat her. Oh how she was gonna kick their ass when she broke free. She felt more of the start to gnaw on her. She could hear the tear of flesh as the creatures began to eat her.
Fighting was hopeless.
She decided to stop struggling and conserve her energy. Suddenly she was pulled up to the surface. The hands and jaws of the creatures still clung to her. She took a gasp of air. She opened her eyes, to see the pool of blood that surrounded her. The creatures drug her ashore to dry lands.
“There is no sanctuary”
All She could see was their wicked glowing red eyes. Yet she could feel them all over her. Feasting upon her. She was cold. So cold, she could barely feel the jagged teeth sink into her body.
She was tired, wet, cold and being eaten and there was nothing she could do about it. She started to doze off. The pain fading away. The glow of the creatures red eyes faded into nothing. The childrens whispers softer, and softer.
She opened her eyes again as a bright light illuminated the room. She looked up to see an Angel descending from the sky it seemed.
The golden Aura around him lit up the cave. The angel flapped his wings as he slowly wafted to the ground.
The creatures squealed and squirmed. The let loose of Paradox and scurried off. Into the darkness. Paradox could feel the warmth as the angel approached her. She couldn’t make out their face in the bright light.
Cai?
Has Cai come to rescue her?
. . . . . . . .
Paradox springs up from under the covers. She quickly looked down at her arms and legs. It was all a dream she wasn’t being eaten.
She quickly noticed a figure sitting in the chair in the corner. Paradox just stared into the darkness. She knew something was lurking in the dark. She could hear whatever it was breathing.
“Who’s there?”
In an instant Paradox turned on the light to see Kelly sitting in the chair stroking a small dagger.
“Going to kill me in my sleep.”
Kelly raised a brow, then looked up at Paradox. She smiles. Paradox thought to her self that smile was evil.
“The prodigal daughter turned traitor by running off with that Aikon. Where is he now? Is it possible you have betrayed him as well.”
Paradox sats on her bed and laughed. Kelly roses from the chair and charged towards the bed. She tried to stab Paradox with the dagger but Paradox catches hold of her wrist. Paradox gets up and slams Kelly into a wall.
“You never were as good as me. Why did you come here?"
“Keota demands you be brought back, but I had other plans for you.”
Paradox grabbed the dagger from Kelly’s hand and tossed it across the room. Paradox let go of Kelly’s wrist. Kelly fell to the ground in pain. Her wrist was throbbing. Kelly got up to her feet, and looked Paradox in the eyes. Kelly slapped Paradox across the face. Paradox jerked her head to the side from the blow. She turned her head back to look at Kelly.
“I always knew you would be the one to betray us big sister”
“You want to fight me” Paradox implied
“Yes”
“You know you would loose.”
“No I know you will loose and I then I shall prove to everyone and Keota that I am the better daughter.”
Paradox throws a punch out at Kelly, jabbing her in the stomach. Kelly doubles over in pain. Kelly rise up with and uppercut to Paradox’s jaw. The blow connects. Paradox stumbles back over the bed.
Paradox rolled on the floor and pulls out a couple of ninja stars from her pocket. She throws them towards Kelly. Kelly screamed as a star struck her wrist. Kelly looked down to see a piece of metal protruding from her hand. Kelly screamed. As if the pain in her hand fed that horrific scream.
VIII
Keota ran and ran. Getting away from Blake was all that was on her mind. Blake was a disgusting pig. Besides the slaves, he sold who knows what other crimes he committed. Probably sold drugs or weapons Somehow She had managed to escape from her terrible fate. She felt sick to her stomach but she continued to run. Anything was better than enduring the abuse and torture of Blake.
Keota would not be forced to perform sexual acts now, or be sold like property. She wished every other woman in Blake captivity could of came with her. But at the moment, she was only thinking of her self. She had ascended from the depths of hell and she would never look back.
She was just 27 and Blake had captured her and forced her into bondage. She had slipped through the clutches of Blake’s inhumanity. She fled, stowing away in one of Blake’s cargo shipments of who knows what. She had landed only hours before and continued running.
It had started to rain. She continued to run. She had no money for shelter or food. She had to get away as far as she could. He would notice some of his merchandise was missing. He would come and look for her. It was too easy to track. Sure, she landed with the cargo. However, that was the only way someone could get off the ship. In a crate.
Running out of the park, she turned into a small alley. She stopped to take a break when she heard something behind the dumpster. She walked over to see what she found. A little six-year girl soaked head to toe sobbed. She stopped to look at the girl who was covered in mud and soaked to death. She felt sympathetic for the little abandoned girl. She bent down to give the little girl her coat. As she bent down, she looked closely into the innocent eyes of the child. How did this girl get here? Where did she come from? Questions flooded Keota’s mind.
“Are you cold” Keota asked the girl
The little girl nodded and covered herself with the coat from Keota. “Where are your parents”?
“They ran away,” replied the little girl
Tears continued to stream down the little girl’s face. Keota looked at the girls face unaware of what to do next. She felt sympathetic for the little girl who lived out on the streets. How could she help this little girl? What more could she do for her? She was had no money no shelter. She was no better off than the little girl was. She didn’t know what she could do with the girl. Finally, she came to the conclusion she would take the girl with her.
“Come with me”
She reached out, picked up the little, and carried her out of the alley.
They would find shelter, food, and live a fairy tell life. Suddenly looking after this girl aroused an urge to be a mother. It was if something was missing from her life but now it was complete.