DARK SECRETS

Three days later. Barry entered into one of the largest skyscrapers in Astronon and on the building, was the logo of a hawk. Classical painting was on the walls of the hallway, and tiny expensive sculptures sat on desks against the wall. Barry's hands grabbed the sculptures as if he were shopping and he placed them inside a bag he carried. Then he passed a painting of a woman with pink hair and green eyes and on the bottom right was a signature number two.

He entered an office near the top of the skyscraper and stepped on the sleek floor passing black leather furniture. Barry moved toward the desk where there was a picture of a blonde man in a suit. He grabbed chocolates wrapped in aluminum foil from a bowl and ate them as he looked through a desk in search of documents. Barry lifted his head and heard a conversation heading his way.

Barry placed a small device under the desk, and his elbow bumped the bowl of chocolates. Barry's eyes widen. His fingers rushed toward the chocolates, and he moved them toward the bowl, but some leaked through the cracks of his fingers and dropped on the gray carpet. The voices got louder, and he grabbed the chocolates and threw them into the bowl. Two male silhouettes grew larger on the door. He grabbed one chocolate and ran toward the closet, but the chocolate slipped from his fingers. He moved toward it, but the knob moved and the chocolate laid on the floor. His fist tightened, and he hid in a closet. He turned on his earpiece and left a crack in the closet door.

Two men stepped into the office. Damian, a black haired pale man, dressed in all black with a long-sleeved shirt, gazed around the room with his cold eyes. There were a few wrinkles on his forehead, and he didn't smile.

The other man was blonde and wore a nice suit with his hair combed. He walked with his head held high and pulled back his rolling chair from his desk. Both men sat.

Damian said, "You got a nice place here, Robert. I can see you redecorated the office."

Robert said, "I've settled on making this my place of glory. It's like my second home. If it weren't for you and your people, I wouldn't have gotten here."

Damian frowned and fixed his eyes on Robert.

Robert said, "So, um, what business would you like to discuss?"

Damian said, "The future of this company. We also seek more of your technology cause we've got a new problem we must solve."

Robert said, "What kind of problem?"

Damian said, "It's none of your concern. All you need to know is there's going to be some changes around here."

Robert scratched his head and said, "What do you mean changes? Can you clarify?"

Damian took a deep breath and said, "It's a shame you already got yourself settled here." He petted the hawk statue on the desks and said, "Have you notice that some of your friends haven't shown up to work lately?"

Robert frowned and said, "What are you getting at? Tell me why the hell are you here and stop wasting my time."

Damian dropped the statue on the floor and stood up, slamming his knife on Robert's sleek desk. He glared and said, "Watch yourself. You wouldn't want me to lose my temper." He yanked the knife out and said, "Robert, we've become very ambitious over the past couple of years but times have changed. We know you've sold technology to our enemies the Sodorians behind our back."

Robert pulled his shirt collar.

"The nation Sodorah now has some technology because you and the others wanted to get your wallets fatter. Your betrayal is great, and you disgust us. Our deals with you are over and were going to take control of this company. You'll be replaced, and it seems we should have made our deals with the other man you hated."

Robert said, "What do you mean your company? These are our positions. Please forgive us and we'll design custom technology for you all. We'll provide anything you wish."

Damian said, "No, you're not be trusted." He checked his watch. "Soon you'll understand the consequences of your actions as the others. I advise you to leave this place before the sunsets. You wouldn't want to be home or here at night."

Robert's eyes followed the knife's movements as he talked.

Damian said, "The boss always has all the fun. Hunting, the boss says." He chuckles as he looked at the bottom of the blade to the sharpest point. "It's truly a shame that I won't be joining in this little game of cat and mouse. Well, that's all I've got to say to you." He glared and said, "Run, run as far, far away as you can. You'll at least have some time to enjoy your last moments. Not that you deserve it." Damian turned and walked down the hall.

Robert yelled, "You all won't take this away from me. You hear me. I earned this!"

Damian continued to walk and didn't turn.

Sweat dropped from Robert's face and as his heart pounded. The door closed and Robert's hands trembled as he grabbed his phone. He said, "Hello, yes, I'm calling you because my private plane needs to be ready by today." He cleared his throat and swallowed. "No, don't argue with me something unexpected just happened. Yes, I know I had other things planned, but again something just turned up, ok. Yes, all right and one more thing. I need you to find me some bodyguards too. Look, I'll explain everything later but now is not the time. Ok, bye." He hung up the phone, and he looked at his watch as it ticked. He stood and walked to the window view of the city.

Barry made his escape from the office and went out the building, jumping onto his motorcycle and pursuing Damian who drove off in a black car.

Damian sat on the passenger seat looking at the side mirrors. "We've got some company." He squinted his eyes and said, "Well, what do you know. It's our old friend Barry." Damian and the others in the car put on skull ski masks. Everyone except the driver got their Uzi's and loaded their weapons. The windows lowered, and the Uzis fired.

Barry dodged and shot back at the car, but he missed.

The black car went through a fence, heading downward into a ditch. The people in the black car continued to fire bullets at Barry but were unable to hit him because of his maneuverability. Damian said, "Give me that weapon." It was an odd looking pistol with a large bulge at the end part of the barrel. He fired and a glowing circular sphere flew from it.

Barry drove over a ramp as the glowing sphere slammed into the ramp, exploding and leaving an inferno.

Damian slammed his fist and said, "Kill the assassin, now." The men in the backseat hung out the window and fired at Barry.

Barry drove out of the ditch into the elevated part. He drove at high speeds and the gadget on his wrist unwounded like a complex puzzle.

Damian loaded the odd-looking pistol and held his breath, aiming it at Barry. His finger slid and squeezed the trigger.

Barry aimed, and the gadget shot a small metallic bomb from his wrists.

Damian fired the pistol, and it flew toward Barry. The glowing sphere flew side by side with the small metallic bomb. The metallic bomb attracted the sphere toward it, and they exploded. The shockwave flipped the black car, and it laid with its tire facing upward.

Damian and two men crawled from beneath the car. Their mask, shirt, and pants were ripped, and blood flowed from the wounds of their body. They were all alive except the driver, and they grabbed their knives from their pockets, looking toward the fire where the bomb exploded. There pupil and iris moved around the white of their eyes in every direction, and they wiped the blood from their mouths as their other hands gripped the handles of their knives.

Barry leaped from the bridge as one of the men attempted to stab him. He grabbed his arm and sliced the man's throat.

Damian and the other man charged toward Barry and attacked him.

The man in front of him swung his knife at Barry, but he dodged.

Barry grabbed the back of his shirt and lifted the man. He slammed the man on the hard ground and jabbed his knife into his heart, leaving his knife inside him.

Barry turned, and Damian was the last man standing.

Their eyes met, and the leaves blew in between them. Damian put his knife in his pocket, and they got into fighting stances without blinking an eye. They took a deep breath and ran toward each other.

Damian lunged his foot toward Barry's neck, but Barry stopped the attack with both of his hands. He threw his fist at him, but Barry dodged by lowering his head. Damian punched again, but Barry caught his fist.

Barry lunged his elbow, but Damian pushed it away and threw multiple punches at Barry. Barry deflected every one of them and rushed his knee toward Damian's torso, hitting him three times. Barry's elbow slammed into Damian's head, and he threw him to the ground.

Damian got up and stumbled. Barry's fist came at Damian like bullets, and he fell to the ground.

Barry yanked his knife from the corpse and walked toward him.

Damian leaned against the incline of the ditch.

Barry said, "You and your men put up a tougher fight than the men I have faced here. It's funny you actually thought you could get away from me." He yanked the mask from Damian's face, and his eyes broaden. "You're ... you're one of the rebels from Velodise." He growled, grabbing him by the neck of his shirt. "Why are you Velojins here? Do all of you hold a grudge against me?"

Damian laughed as the blood on his teeth showed. "You're an arrogant fool. Do you honestly think we're here for you?"

Barry jabbed his sharp knife into Damian's leg. Barry said, "Tell me, why are you here? Tell me before I cut you up little by little."

Damian laughed and said, "You can't torture me, Barry. There's nothing you can do to inflict the level of physical and mental pain I went through." He giggled and said, "Remember the spy that got away from you all."

Barry frowned and said, "What about the spy?" Damian laughed hard and said, "We know the Trioscepter's little secret." He laughed out of control.

Sweat dripped from Barry's face, and he stepped back.

Something purred above, and Damian's chest vibrated from the noise, and he stopped laughing. He gasped as he looked at the sky. His heart sprinted, and he threw his hands in the air. "Please, no. Don't kill me." A bullet flew into the middle of his head.

Barry's mouth dropped, and a triangular drone hovered and purred in the sky, but it didn't belong to Donovan. It had four propellers and beneath it was a small cannon. The drone flew away, and Barry took out his phone and called Ron. "Hello, Ron, we've got a problem."

Ron said, "What do you mean we have a problem?"

A voice was heard in the background, and it said, "We're under attack!" The phone hit the floor.

Barry said, "Hello, Ron, what's going on?" Bullets fired as people yelled and screamed.

A voice in the background said, "They've shut down the power. The lights are off. Oh no! It can't ..." Bullets fired again, and a man begged for his life. He screamed, and the phone lost connection.

Barry's heart raced, and a beeping noise came from Damian's pocket. He searched the pockets, and it was his phone with a voicemail.

The recording played, and it said, "Be advised. They know him and we must act fast. They've found his weapon on the shore, the Plazroid."