The Twelve Stones (45 page)

“
I believe you.
I have no reason to, but still;
strange isn’t it?” Kline said
,
almost to himself
,
as he chuckled
.
“I’m afraid I didn’t know who you were ‘til today either…a fact I lamen
t.” He grinned broadly.
“You’re a talented man
,
Mr. McCray. I have several dead employees that can testify to that.”

“
They were bad for my health.” Alex replied testily
.
“
And
I’m convinced you are too.”

“
I don’t have to be.” Kline switched into his snake oil salesman voice. “You’ve got quite a talent
,
you know.”

“
Don’t flatter me.”

“
Flatter you?” Kline laughed, “My boy, you clearly do not recognize the power you hold in your hands. Gods like you and I are not subject to flattery
,
as it never matters what people think of us. We are already better than they ever will be. Those that seek to flatter us only seek to flatter themselves.”

“
Fortune cookie wisdom? That’s what I'm reduced to listening to?” Alex raised his weapon again
.
“Let Emily go or we find out exactly how much pain you really can take.”

Kline lau
ghed out loud at Alex’s bluster.
“Incredible. You’re still acting like one of them.”

“
You’re just as human as I am.”

“
You’re mistaking a human form for being human.” Kline’s smile became thin. “I’m running out of patience, you see
.
I’m afraid we have something of a timetable back at Joshua Tree
,
thanks to your
S
heriff station shenanigans. So, if you would be so kind as to turn over your stone to me
,
and I’ll gladly let you have your lady back
,
and we can all go home. And in one piece
,
too!”

“
That’s your proposal? I’ll tell you what, here’s my counter offer. Fuck you.” Alex spat
back
at the man who killed his father.

“My boy, you have no idea. I am mere hours from possessing another stone like our powerful totems and you believe I’ll willingly turn the one advantage I have now over humanity to you?” Kline laughed
,
and Alex was infuriated all the more. “Yo
u have no chance of stopping me.
I am the one who is al
lowing YOU to continue to exist.
N
ever forget that.”

Alex ignored the implied threat and continued shouting at the insane billionaire.
“Here’s what actually gonna happen. You’ll let Emily go, I’ll turn around go home
,
and we’ll forget we ever met each other.”

“
You?” Kline laughed. “
Y
ou may not realize it yet, but I know exactly who you are, and what you’re capable of. If I was stupid enough to allow you to keep that stone of yours and remain as powerful as I, you
would
never let me go. I killed your father. You and I are very similar
,
Mr. McCray. Men such as us do not let offenses like that go so easily. I doubt you could convince a Rottweiler to let go of the neighborhood cat any sooner than convince you to let me go.”

“
And allow you unchecked, to get the stones?” Alex shouted. “No chance.”

“
I’m afraid you’re already too late
,
Mr. McCray. I am mere hours away from finding a second stone, and once I develop its powers, there’s nothing you can do to stop me.” Kline’s anger began building. Who was this chattering monkey, chirping away and challenging his rightful status? He turned; these so
-
called negotiations were going nowhere.

“
I’m afraid you’re out of time
,
Mr. McCray.” Kline called back over his shoulder. “It’s been a pleasure.”

With that he grabbed the rear tail of the truck he was leaning on and upended it up and over his head, arcing the truck down on top of Alex. Kline had moved too quickly for Alex to catch him, and suddenly he found himself smashed under the truck’s heavy hood and engine that crashed down on top of him.

From above, a screeching sound and Kline looked up to see of all things – a dragon swooping down on him. Geoffrey shouted out a warning, but he wasn’t able to move out of the way in time before the enormous dragon grabbed Kline within the beast’s massive claws and flew back into the bright blue sky.

Kline found himself
lifted high above the telescope. H
e watched the huge radio telescopes shrink as he was brought higher and higher above them. Kline couldn’t tell the creature’s intentions, but it was clear he
was not to survive.
Wherever this beast had come from, he wasn’t going to give it the chance to kill him.

He beat against the claws of the beast, using his massive strength to escape the tight grip.
The creature screeched in pain, encouraging Kline.
Straining harder than he ever had before, he opened the claws and dropped hundreds of feet to the ground below.

Just before
he
land
ed
,
the dragon once again grabbed him out of midair
. This time
,
however, the beast did not get a good grip on him
,
and he was able to escape its claws easily. He climbed over the dragon
’
s body and
struck
it
repeatedly
in the back
,
upon
its thick scales.
His massive blows cracked through the scales,
pounding
repeatedly into the soft meat below. He could hear the beast’s bones crack as it
roared in pain, flames sprouting from its nostril
. Suddenly, the dragon
rolled
.
T
his time, Kline was
ready. Close to the
ground
below,
he was able to
jump off from the dragon’s back
and
land
on the ground gracefully.
The dragon decided it had enough of the businessman and flew away, licking
its
wounds.

Kline’s eyes narrowed as he watched the great creature fly
off
. This was a new development, but not an altogether unwelcome one. There was a fourth stone
to be had. He licked his lips as he took in that revelation
. Another stone
was out there, and quite a powerful one from the looks of it.
This was turning out to be a
n even better day than he expected.

Scott
watched
Siobhan
’s battle with Kline, and was disappointed when he saw the businessman get the better of her. He shook his head and grumbled to himself, “Well, I guess that means it’s my turn.”

He
threw
Molly
in gear and gunned the engine to
wards Kline. Kline smiled grimly, standing his ground
directly in front of the futuristic truck.

Scott flattened the accelerator and urged more power into the truck. Kline smiled and snapped his fingers, like a matador engaging a particularly angry bull. As the truck approached, Kline spun on his heel, grabbing the front of the truck
.
T
wisting
his body, Kline used the momentum of the Hypertruck to arc it up. Suddenly, Scott
and the Hypertruck were airborne, aloft with the help of Kline’s incredible strength.

“
Ole!” Kline shouted as he watched the truck flip and crash down the street.
That should take care of Mr. McCray’s associates for now
,
he thought to himself in satisfaction.

Turning back to business, he brushed off his hands and began walking towards the wrecked truck, which pinned Alex to the ground. Kline was intent on claiming his new stone, and thought covetously about the invulnerability it could provide. His incredible strength protected him against most human weaponry, but if something catastrophic were to happen, there would be nothing he could do. He needed to be sure he was protected at all times
,
and the stone hanging around his foe’s neck would be exactly the tonic he needed
. Not only for his own defense, but for so much more…

Alex
had been
taken off guard by the sudden appearance of a two
-
ton truck landing on his head, so when he awoke,
he was understandably disoriented. He felt the stone around his neck finish curing his wounds and decided to take a moment to reassess the state of his situation.

The truck lay on its side, the left front tire crushing his leg. Withdrawing a knife from his belt, he plunged it into the tire, letting the pressure out, and giving him some much needed leverage to get his leg
loose
. Limping a bit as his leg healed, he peered over the top of the truck, watching for
Kline
.

“
Come and get your prize
,
you limey bastard,” Alex whispered to himself. His weapon was lodged under the truck, and Alex didn’t have time to get it out anyway. Taking his knife, he stabbed the gas tank of the pickup. Gas
oline
began to pour out the side,
running
steadily from the full tank. Alex smiled
.
T
his
ought to be good
.

Dropping to the ground, moaning and groaning for Kline’s benefit, Alex played possum.

Kline stepped around the vehicle. Seeing Alex’s rifle caught under the truck, and his apparent helplessness, he smiled and moved in for the kill.

“
Ahh, a necklace.” Kline whistled as he approached. “That is a novel way to do it. I myself choose the ring option.” He showed it to Alex. “I do like what you’ve done
,
though. Rest assured I won’t dare change a thing.” Kline leaned down to take the necklace off Alex’s neck.

“
No, you probably won’t.” Alex smiled, and flicked his Bic.

The world exploded in a fiery maelstrom of heat and shrapnel.
Kline was blown back fifty feet
across the parking lot.

Kline landed hard. He sat up, and shook himself. Moving quickly, he got up and began running towards his helicopter
;
he was smart enough to know when it was time to pick up his chips. McCray was too much in his element right now. Kline could retreat back to the Mesa with the woman scientist
,
and Alex was sure to pursue him back there. It was in Joshua Tree
that Kline would make his stand.

Geoffrey Tate covered his eyes when the SUV exploded. He watched his boss fly across the parking lot, thrown by the incredible force of the detonated gas tank. He stepped out of the helicopter for a moment, watching
in amazement as
his boss g
ot
up and brush
ed
himself off.
Kline
began running towards Tate and twirling his fingers
,
indicating they were leaving. Way ahead of him, Geoffrey screamed at the pilot to get the bird moving.

The pilot, already shaken by everything he’d
witnessed
,
was never happier to follow an order. Flipping switche
s
and easing the collective up,
he lifted the helicopter off the ground, gathering steam as he hovered toward Kline
.

Alex survived the heat and fire just fine
.
H
is
clothing
,
however, was in smoking tatters
.
Alex sprinted out of the blazing hellstorm and ran towards Kline
,
intent on taking him down. He tackled Kline with a move that would
have made
most NFL linemen jealous and brought
him
down to the ground hard. Kline rolled with the momentum and used it
,
along with his incredible strength
,
to throw Alex off his back like a rag doll.

Alex flew across the parking lot,
falling
in a heap far away from Kline and the helicopter. Kline smiled at his small victory and began running back towards the approaching helicopter
,
jumping over the wrecked and burning SUV with his arms extended up towards Tate.

Tate
reached down and
grabbed Kline, helping him climb up onto the platform of the helicopter as it rose quickly, turning south towards Joshua Tree.