A Lair

CENTRAL PARK

SAT. OCT 12

9:00 AM

A bird circles around and settles on Gavin's shoulder as he and Shiro sit on a bench in the park. It pecks hungrily at his shoulder. Gavin stops playing the video game as Shiro stares at him with a book in hand.

"Did you go through the sunflower garden again?" Shiro asks staring at the parrot on his shoulder.

He smirks and strokes the parrot. He reaches into his pocket and brings out a handful of sunflower seeds.

"Gavin nooo!" Alas it was too late. All the parrots in the park turn towards him.

"Uh, oh" these words barely make it out of Gavin's mouth when they all swoop towards him. He lets out yell and exits his seat, tossing the sunflower seeds into the air. A roar of laughter echoes through the entire park. Melanie and Ace enter the park at same time the laughter calmed down. Shiro sees them and waves them over.

"Hey" Ace greets when they get there.

"Hey" Shiro responds.

"Why is everyone looking here? It's kinda creepy. Did something happen?" Ace questions curiously.

"Gavin thought it was a good idea to pull out sunflower seeds in the midst of parrots"

"What?"

"Yeah, apparently he didn't learn any lesson when he pulled out bread crumps amidst pigeons" Shiro yells while grinding his teeth and glaring at Gavin. Ace and Melanie let out a short laughter.

"I guess we haven't officially met. I am Ace by the way"

"Shiro".

"Gavin" Gavin announces with outstretched hands. Ace grabs it and gives him a hand shake.

"Well nice to meet you"

"Nice to meet you too"

"Oh, this is…" Ace says.

"Yeah, we know who she is" Gavin cuts in.

"You do?"

"Yeah, everyone does"

"The crown jewel of Hilltop High. Who doesn't know her" Shiro agrees.

"You are more popular than I thought" Ace whispers to Melanie. She smiles.

"So what are you guys doing here?" She asks.

"We are here to meet someone. He should be here any moment from now." Gavin replies.

"And what about you? what are you doing here?" he follows up.

"Oh, let's just say we are here to meet a friend"

"oh…".

A motorcycle revs at the edge of the park. They slowly turn their heads towards the direction of the sound.

"Oh, there he is" Shiro points out standing. Zarx parks his bike by a white sports car and walks towards them. They all walk to meet him.

"Hey, sorry I'm late"

"Don't worry" Gavin comes in.

"Oh you should be worried!"

"Shiro!!" Gavin cuts him off

"Whatever hmmph"

".... Well i'm glad you could all make it"

"Glad we could all make it? Was he expecting us to be here or something?" Ace whispers to Melanie.

"I have no…"

"Melanie" her speech comes to an end as she turns to face Zarx.

"Feeling better?"

"I don't remember mentioning not being well but yeah I'm much better" she says with a broad smile.

"Hold up. Your arm"

She inspects her arm and questions "What about it?"

"It's fully healed. How is that even possible. Didn't think a gun wound could heal overnight. The only thing I can think of is a healing serum, but the best ones I know of heal wounds in about 48 plus hours…" her face begins to reflect her confusions as Zarx continues talking and she begins searching through her memories to find out when exactly they discussed her getting shot. Then, her face suddenly brightened up. "Could it be…?". She quickly covers her mouth as she almost let out a gasp.

"…So how is it possible that your wound healed overnight?"

"You… …you are him. The guy from the other night. Rex, was it?"

"That's right. I didn't think it would take you this long to figure that out"

"If you are Rex, that means you two were the ones with him the night before."

"You got that right" Shiro says.

"I guess I owe you guys an awful lot. If you guys hadn't shown up yesterday, I don't know how all that would have ended so, thank you very much" she says with a smile.

"Nobody owes anyone here. You need not worry about anything, alright?". She nods in agreement. He turns to the others. "I'm sure we are all wondering why I asked to meet you here, but I would get there in a moment so if anyone else has something to say, let him before I proceed?".

"I haven't forgotten about yesterday so you better keep that promise before I lose it" Shiro jokingly warns. (he is actually pretty serious).

"Don't worry, I got you covered"

"You better".

"If that is all then I would like to proceed. I called you all out here this cold morning not for anything out of the ordinary. You know, ever since I came here to this city, which was about a few weeks ago, I noticed that crime was rampant in the city, to the point where the police can't deal with anymore"

"They seem helpless, unable to regain control over the city. They put in all effort but to no avail, instead they have to be running for their own lives. From thugs on the streets to drug dealers hanging around like it's no one's business. Warehouses operating illegally and on top of that, the illegal sale of ammunition and other destructive weapons in these warehouses."

"Some of the weapons being sold in these warehouses are way more advanced and have way more fire power than those supplied to the police. This situation has made it difficult for them to do anything with the low grade weapons at their disposal."

"Undercover agents being killed and their bodies dumped in the streets like garbage. The people of this city have always lived in fear. Not one person dares say anything about whatever the hell is going on, lest their heads would find their way into a cremation chamber. But after that stunt we pulled October 9 and yesterday, I saw a faint light glimmering in the eyes of the people of this city. The hope they had long lost was slowly returning, even though it was really faint."

"We gave these people hope, that they can live peacefully again without any disturbances from goons. I say it's time we shutdown these warehouses and clean up this mess of a city"

The wind begins to blow leaves in their direction as dark clouds begin to cover the expanse above. The others stare quietly at him.

"I know we are not really close friends or anything but at the moment, we are the best chance this city and its people have against these guys. I need your help to clean up this city so that, that faint light glimmering in the eyes of the people of this city once again would not disappear".

"That was one hell of a speech but you have been here for too short a time to know all these" Gavin says.

"You are pretty well informed" Melanie says over Gavin's voice.

"Yeah, did a little research once I got here"

"You have said a lot Zarx, and I have to agree with you, but have you got a plan in order to execute this?"

"Yeah, I have got plans. They may not be the best but together we can make a few adjustments"

"Well in that case, I'm in"

"You are!?"

"Yeah, I am. I have been here long enough to know how rotten this city is becoming, and the situation keeps worsening every day, every hour, every minute and every second that goes by and if nothing is done about it, I don't know what this city would become in the next few years".

"I'm in too. No way I'm letting you walk into hell alone" Ace says turning to Melanie.

"This is crazy… …and dangerous, but at least it would be better than sitting home and staring blankly into the air, wouldn't it? Shiro?" Gavin asks turning towards Shiro who is deep in thought. He drifts his attention to Gavin whose eyes are begging him to agree.

"Okay, we are in but as you can see, the rain is ready to lash at us at any moment, so whatever you gonna add, please make it quick"

"Then let's take this conversation somewhere else. I came up on something or say a place I want you guys to see"

"And where exactly is that?"

"Let's just say it's a lair".

"A lair?" the rest question in unison.

The clouds could no longer hold and soon, it begins to drizzle.

"Yeah that's what I said. Come on, let's get out of here before we get drenched in the rain. We would talk more once we arrive there".

"Wait, how are we going to get there since Zarx is the only one with a motorcycle and we would definitely get drenched if walk?" Ace draws their attention

"Didn't think about that, a taxi cab maybe...?" Zarx says concerned

"Don't worry. I brought my dad's car. It's right there" Gavin says pointing to the white sports car by Zarx's motorcycle. Ace meets Melanie's gaze as they drifted away from Zarx.

'Bye bye you two, have fun!!' he thinks to himself with a grin. "I'm with you two" he says rather quickly and joins Shiro and Gavin who are already walking towards the vehicle, but not before winking at Melanie. She glares at him. He quickly turns away from her.

"Melanie, wanna ride with me?" Zarx asks walking towards her.

"Sure" Melanie agrees. The two walk well behind the others. Zarx fires up his engine with a button on his key as they get closer. He gives her a jacket and helmet when they got to the bike. Gavin's engine is already running when they get there. They mount the bike and speed off with Gavin and the others following, trying not to lose Zarx as he whistles through the street.

LAIR

10:00 AM

Zarx rides through a broken workshop door and parks allowing enough space for Gavin who parks directly behind him. He walks to the door and thugs heavily on a rope allowing a large tarpaulin to drop and cover the entrance. The others step out of the car.

"It's pretty dark in here" Ace comments.

Zarx reaches into his pocket and picks his phone and turning on the flash light, the once dark room becomes partially lit, revealing the old tires, broken shelves and scrap metals around.

"This place is rather smaller than I imagined" Ace announces "…and full of spider webs…" he adds while struggling to remove the webs on his face.

"Thought so too when I found it. Until I went down"

"Down? Where?"

"Come on. Be careful though. There are broken bottles and other sharp objects around."

"Whoever used this place surely loved to drink. I mean look at all those crates" Gavin whispers to Shiro who looks rather disturbed.

"Hey man, you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine"

"You don't look okay at all. If you don't like what's going on, we could always leave you know"

"Don't worry I'm fine" he forms a wry smile trying to persuade Gav he is okay. Zarx walks to a book shelf.

"Gav, mind giving me a hand?"

"Sure" he agrees and moves to the shelf. Without much effort, they push the shelf to the left, revealing an elevator. Zarx presses the only button at the right side of the elevator and the elevator door slides open. Rust can clearly be seen on its walls.

"Are you sure it's safe to ride in that? It's all rusty and looks really weak" Melanie points out.

"Yeah it is"

"This looks like it's been here for a really long time. Yet the damage is not too bad. Whoever worked on this elevator must be really talented." Ace points out as well.

"Well, it was actually broken when I found it, so I had to do a few adjustments. It's perfectly safe to ride in. you don't have to worry" Zarx persuades.

They all walked cautiously in before he does. He pushes the only green button and it begins descent, creaking and shaking violently once or twice all the way down and comes to a stop after a minute. The door slowly slides opens. They run out of the elevator and stop to catch their breaths.

"That was one bumpy ride. And we have to take this thing up again? Man that's dangerous" Gavin exclaims. The others laugh as they see the funny expression on his face.

"Wow, this place is huge. And a mess unfortunately" Shiro says as they quiet down.

"And full of webs… …full of spider webs" Ace says with a frown. [He hates spiders. He thinks they are to clingy]. He hears a creaking sound as he steps. He looks down at his feet, then ahead. There's scrap metal all around. "This looks like some sort of workshop" he finally utters, staring at the big depression in the middle of the room that resembles a honeycomb compartment.

"Precisely" Zarx replies.

Ace descends into the depression.

"So we train in here. What do you guys think" his voice echoes from the depression.

"If we are making this place our base of operation, we are going to need some computers right?" Gavin asks.

"Yes we are" Zarx says.

"They could be anywhere up here on this platform but not close to the elevator"

"That could work" Zarx agrees.

"You guys are getting way ahead of yourselves and taking this way too seriously" Shiro says, drawing everyone's attention to himself. "You haven't even thought of cleaning this place yet, yet you speak of computers and training"

"Oh, yeah about that…"

"Hey you guys, over here. What the hell is this thing?" Melanie draws their attention as she walks to a machine in the corner of the room. They join her.

"I think it is a generator of some sort" Shiro says "I have seen something similar in a science documentary" he adds.

"Let me see" Zarx says walking past them to the machine. He stares at it for a while then proceeds to remove some bolts. He lifts the cover but it drops back into place. "Woo heavy!" He picks up a metal bar and uses it to hold the heavy cover up. "Shiro's right. It's a generator, but a very old one. The style of design used in making this is no longer in use today. I think this place has been abandoned for a very long time. Probably about 15 to say 25 years ago"

"That long? damn this building is strong" Gavin observes

"This place is cool and all, but we seriously need to do a little clean up. Besides it's still raining like crazy so how about we start now" Shiro restates his point clearly. The others reluctantly agree.

"We can't get this done quickly if we all crowd up at one place. We have to split up. There are some plastic boxes over there" Zarx points to the far end from where they are. "Gavin, you and I would take care of the arena. The rest spread out and take care of the platform".

They get the boxes and begin to clear the place.

S.S.H.Q.

11:30 AM

The imposter general is shredding files and evidence the army has on them when someone barges in.

"General, sorry for budging in but we've got a situation outside. You have to see this" comes the voice of a soldier in the door way. He quits all he is doing, packs up and goes out.

"What is it Sarah?" he questions.

"Sir, it's the L.I.C.E. they are here again. They are causing lots of trouble outside."

"What do they want this time?"

"They are demanding for the release of their leader and threatening to blow this place up if he is not released"

"These fools think they can just come to a military base and do as they please? They must be sick in the head. Arrest all of them"

"But sir, after we arrested their leader, you said you would talk to them when they show up to avoid commotion"

"Well then, seeing this sickening scene has got me to change my mind. Arrest them all, and kill them if you must". His loud voice rings in her ears like loud bells.

"B... but sir they are informa…" she tries to protest but her voice drowns in her fear as she feels his glare penetrate her soul. Dry saliva slides down her throat. "Ye… y… yes sir" she says with a salute and runs off.

After the group refuses to back down after several warnings, the soldiers fire tear gases into their midst, dispersing them as the soldiers' charge towards them with batons in hand. The general looks down at the commotion and smiles. He goes back into his office.

LAIR

11:50 AM

Ace drops the last carton of scrap in the elevator while Zarx and Shiro take it up for disposal. Elevator begins to ascend, still creaking.

"What is your reason for doing all this?" Shiro inquires.

"What? What are you talking about?" Zarx asks in turn.

He begins to feel uncomfortable as Shiro's eyes meet his.

"Right from the start, I noticed something odd about you. Your anger, your desperation to make something right. On the outside, you seem to be doing this because you enjoy it but deep down that's not the case at all"

"Sorry to disappoint but I just enjoy doing this. Moreover, I have no idea what you are driving at"

"You... are one terrible liar. The way I see it, something happened in the past that is haunting you, and you think by doing this, it would make you feel better or fix a part of you that is broken. Trust me but, it won't so the sooner you get over it, the better"

"Dude, I have no idea what you are talking about" he blusters, the agitation in his voice clearly audible.

Shiro sighs and says calmly "I have been there Wells, and I can tell when someone else has also been there too, so trust me when I tell you that it's just going to worsen it. Because each time you do this, it just brings back those painful memories and they get in the way of your fighting"

"You and I are somewhat alike, and yet very different at the same time. You may not admit it but If you don't get over it soon, you would end up getting yourself killed." he says picking up to cartons as the elevator door slides open. He walks out and remarks "Think carefully about what I have said Wells".

Zarx looks on as he disappears into the darkness.