CHAPTER VI: THE HUNT FOR THE UNKNOWN
Ven and Otto trained in the open field where no buildings or civilians were around, if they were the Island’s protection they would need to be on top of their skills every day. The two suited up and met each other at the middle of the field, “don’t take it easy,” Zero demanded Altidude, “wasn’t planning on it, kid.” The two started off with some hand-to-hand combat; Otto threw a punch that was slipped and followed by a leg-sweep, while on the ground Zero managed to free his arms and grip the back of Altidude’s neck attempting to choke him out. He forced them into mid-air and dangled Zero by one foot, swinging him around before tossing him to the ground. Zero pounded his knuckles which activated his gloves. He threw a ball of electricity at Altidude that was knocked aside, but, it was only a distraction for the giant barrage of bolts coming right at his chest. It was too late for a reaction, and he was sent crashing down and twitching. Zero got on top of the seizing Altidude and began punching him with electrified fist. Altidude waited for the one second pause in punches and reversed the grapple, stood up, and tossed Zero high into the air. Zero later appeared in the sky as a mere dot, but as time progressed it was clear that he was holding onto a ball of electricity big enough for him to plant both feet on and grab with clinch with one hand. Once the ball of destruction touched down, it created a hole in the ground and sent Altidude flailing through the air. Zero arose from the hole covered in dirt and scratches. “Does that mean I won?” The smiling teen said before falling in exhaustion. Helena’s Jeep quickly pulled onto the scene, Leilani and her mother emerged from the car and huddled around the two, “we leave you here for barely an hour and this is how it goes?” scolded Helena to Ven, still unaware of Zero’s real identity, Altidude dusted himself off and picked up Zero, “we were just rough-housing,” he explained, she looked at the gaping hole, “that looks more like you two were trying to kill each other,” the two males looked at each other and bursted out in laughter, “please, sis, if anything I pulled my punches,” Zero shoved Altidude and proposed a second round, “Johnson’s waiting for us at the station, it’s best we get going now.” Zero nodded his head and looked towards Leilani, “mom, can I please go?” Helena instinctively replied with a simple “no.” Leilani and Altidude exchanged a series of faces which meant they were non-verbally arguing about pleading with Helena, eventually he cracked and spoke with his sister, “what if I promise to keep her in with the police while we talk with the prisoners? The kid just wants to explore something other than this Island,” Helena sternly stared at her brother, “-I promise she’ll see nothing PG,” she rolled her eyes and motioned for her daughter to go with her Uncle, “if she comes back with as much as a scratch, I’m going to hurt you, Ven.” Leilani tightly hugged her mom and grabbed her Uncles arm as Zero grabbed the other, and the three flew off, “you be careful with her!” Helena shouted once more.
Ven (Leilani and Otto standing behind him cross-armed) met with Jayden in front of the station to discuss some checks and balances before giving him the greenlight to travel to Red Steel Prison. “No hurting the prisoners, no bribing the prisoners, no use of powers, no weapons meaning the kid’s gloves will have to stay on helicopter, and no more than 10 minutes with the prisoners. Do you agree with these conditions?” Ven went over the rules and said, “yeah, I agree with four of the conditions,” Jayden read over the terms, “Ven, this is not a joke! You’re about to enter a Prison worse than Alcatraz with two children,” Leilani and Otto felt offended and yelled out their ages. “If you’re not going to be serious, I’m not taking you anywhere,” Ven nudged his once Parole Officer and said, “starting now, we’ll be serious.” He rolled his eyes and got into the Helicopter, “let’s go.” They flew over the ocean, California, and Sactowne (a city neighboring Southern California) before reaching the Island that is Red Steel Prison. The helicopter landed on the long bridge that lead to the unnerving building. “I’ll be here when you’re finished with whatever you are here for,” Jayden instructed. The three walked their mile-long trip up the bridge and made it to the entrance, “Mr. Costello? I was expecting you, and you brought guest,” the voice was that of a gleeful man. The large metal doors lifted and exposed Camden James in his sharp red suit, “what brings you to my Prison?” The two shook hands and Otto handed over the files of the drug movers, “I need to speak with them, can you make that happen?” Camden stared blankly at the files before exclaiming that he indeed could make it happen, “sure hero! I owe you from my previous trip to your Island,” he motioned for the three to follow him in the dark interior, they stepped into an elevator that had only two buttons ‘G-Pop’ and ‘UP.’ “I can only give you ten-minutes with each Prisoner, is that fine with Mr. Costello?” The man would randomly admire Ven with his eyes and occasionally grip his arms amazed by his muscle, “that’s fine,” awkwardly said Ven. Snickering came from Otto and Leilani. The elevator opened and the four were met by five cops holding assault rifles, “Leilani, you stay with Mr. James, Otto and I will be back in an hour,” she scrunched her face, “what the hell? I’m already here you might as well l-“ Ven got clearly aggravated with her hardheadedness, “-I’m not asking you, damnit!” She huffed and stayed in the elevator, Otto gave her a slight nod before Ven called for him to follow. “Prisoner 240-143-696 Elliot Danvers, Prisoner 155-021-808 Hector Kahan, Prisoner 721-634-211 Robert Ortega,” one of the officers spoke into his watch, “Elliot Danvers, Hector Kahan, and Robert Ortega will be transferred to the Interrogation Room immediately. Your thirty-minute session will begin now.” A robotic voice replied from the watch, “right this way,” the officer said as he showed Ven and Otto the small room.
Elliot was sat down in the metal chair and strapped to it with additional cuffs to the hands and feet, “let’s cut the bullshit, you know it wasn’t one of us who took you in, who was it?” The bruised man just glared at the two, “-you listen to me you piece of shit, you’re gonna tell me who took you down, or I will make sure you never see the sun again,” Ven added. The man was unmoved and continued glaring. Otto slammed down on the table with his fists, the man didn’t even flinch, “do you feel like a bad-ass right now? While you’re in here, your three daughters are in Altona hating their lives because daddy was busted pushing drugs on high school students,” said Otto hoping to get a reaction from the man. “Time’s up, Kahan!” yelled the officer, the Asian man struggled with the officers before they shocked him in the neck with a stun-rod and dragged his limp body away and brought in a whimpering Robert Ortega. The two just stared at the sobbing man for a while before Otto asked him the question, “who took down the operations?” The man’s eyes focused on a tiny hole in the wall, “what?” Asked Ven, the man couldn’t control himself to long enough to form a sentence. “Get a hold of yourself! Who took you down?” He asked, “he killed our families!” The two was shocked at the man’s outburst, “-he lined them up in front of us and killed them!” Ven stood up from the chair and asked “Who?” The whimpering man fixed his mouth and said, “Chro-“ before the man could expose the culprit his face began to glow a bright red color before his head blew up, covering the Ven and Otto, along with the walls in red sludge. Otto’s screams were that of a girl while Ven held out a long “fuck.” The guards stormed the room and pulled the body out and asked the two to leave.
Helena had just finished a surgery and was walked to the bathroom to wash her hands and change her bloody scrubs. All of a sudden there was a loud bang and the sounds of screams and the patter of fearing people. Helena hid in a stall and crouched on a toilet breathing heavily. She pulled out her phone and texted Ven ‘Someone is shooting inside of the hospital, plz hlp.” The bathroom door opened, and a man fell on his back crawling while soaking the floor in blood “p-please don’t do this!” The man was shot causing Helena to squeak in fear. Metal boots clinked as she watched them walk to each stall. They stopped in front of hers and she knew this would probably be her last moments, so she pulled the back of the toilet off and held it above her head planning on throwing it at the shooter. The stall door was ripped off its hinges, Helena threw the ceramic at the metal-masked man, but it phased him none. She screamed as he walked closer and closer.
