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Unknown Apprentice Part 2
Posted By: apache119<apache119@hotmail.com>
Date: 23 July 2003, 7:24 PM


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Authors Note: This is a continuation of my first story called unknown apprentice. you need to read the first part to understand this. It picks up right where the first one left off. Enjoy! I did not want to indent. Just wanted to make that clear.

The destruction from the bombs was unimaginable. This land would not be inhabitable for many years to come. Evan had not used heavy artillery to take out an enemy before, just brute force. This weapon had worked very well and Evan was hooked on destruction.

''The jet is useless. I will have to go out the way I came in''. Evan hoped earlier that he would be able to keep the jet. After all, it was a very useful weapon in his strive for revenge. Evan lowered the jet to the ground, grabbed his bags, and calmly strode towards the distant road where he had been dropped of by a taxi merely an hour before. Evan took out his cell phone and called the taxi company. He was glad that he had swiped it and put it in his bag as he ran out of his house towards the taxicab. The taxi was on its way and Evan sat on the ground waiting for his calm escape.

He was going to Nevada City where Evan suspected that the man that was in his house was in hiding. After all, Nevada in these times was far away from any main outlet of civilization. Evan had to get rid of him, just to tie up loose ends and to see if he was still in any danger. The taxi crawled to a stop in front of the closest Nevada hotel. Evan would start his search in the morning. First he had to get some rest.

Chapter 8
The Search

"Sir, wake up, it is time to start your day.'' The alarm clocks automated AI's generated voice swept the room looking for Evan. ''I'm up. I'm up ok. Leave me alone." ''Stop saying that." Evan rose from the bed and went strait for the shower. He stepped away from the hot cascading water and wrapped a towel around his waist. The hotels AI would sense that he was no longer in the shower and automatically turn off the water. Evan put on the clothes that were left in his suitcase. He found himself wearing a black T-shirt and camouflaged pants, a nice combination for somewhat stealth work.

He went to the counter and checked out for the day. If something went wrong, he wouldn't have to keep paying the hotel. Evan walked down the streets to the Nevada Express Subway. He wanted to make a little headway. There were at least 23 subway stops in this city alone. Evan didn't want to waste his time walking to each one of them. He ordered a ticket for a round trip around town and found a Gel-Form seat next to the window in the subway car.

''Driver, I want out here.'' "Will do. Stop number 14. Your toll is Exactly $15.97, when I factor in the mileage and your weight related to the fuel usage. Have a nice day." There wasn't really a human driver. It was an AI. A very smart AI. " Whatever just let me out. You can withdrawal the money from my DNA accessed bank account. See, here is some of my blood. Evan placed his finger on the ID scanner and felt a tiny prick as a micro needle withdrew one red blood cell from the other billions. This would be sufficient enough to have a confirmation of his ID and safe monitored access into his savings account. If a greater amount than $15.97 was withdrawn, the AI would be decommissioned and reprogrammed for another use.

Evan stepped of the subway and slowly made his way up the stairs. Before he fully ascended them, someone caught his eye. It was the man from his apartment. He must have been tracking Evan from the hotel. Now Evan was a sitting duck, Unaware of the enemy. Evan crawled down into his favorite defense position. One hand in front of the other temptingly making a bring it on motion. They both made their moves at the exact same time. This was going to get good.

Evan was the first to make contact. His hand forced itself deep into the belly of his assassin, almost penetrating the outer layer of skin. The man fell with agonizing pain yet he managed to stagger to his feet, as strong as before. This time it was his turn. ''I'm gonna to kill you!" The assassin's foot elevated itself to Evans jawbone, and then it struck titanium bone. Evans skull rang with an intense pain. It didn't hurt but it was a nuisance.

Evan struck back with a series of right and left hooks. Reducing the man in front of him to pulp. The job wasn't done yet. Evan had to make sure that this time the assassin wouldn't come back to life as he had done in the apartment. Before Evan could do this,
the mans eyes opened with a rage beyond conceivability. He had a mission to get done too.

The man threw Evan down to the tracks of the subway and within seconds of Evan hitting the tracks, the man was on him. Blow after blow of rage caused hits ran out in sequence on Evans face. Blood sprayed the walls of the subway and small chunks of mutilated skin bounced of the walls. They both could here the sound of the subway train making its way down the tracks toward them. Both of them were nearly invisible to any human or AI eye. Evan and the assassin both had on dark clothing. The train wasn't going to stop for them.

Victory Scenarios raced through both of their minds. Evan struggled to find the strength to complete his. The train would not be more than 30 seconds to their location. Evan had to act fast. His face hurt like hell. The assassin got up off the tracks to the safety of the passenger drop off area. Evan moved his hands to the tracks and pulled upwards while simultaneously moving them towards the man on the platform. The train was no more than five seconds away now. If Evans angles were correct the train would pass directly over him onto the platform and into the man. The Train seemed to fly upwards as it rose into the air while still connected to the tracks. It cascaded over the concrete and made a slight dive into the assassin's skull, destroying both the man and his cortical stack. His body would not be redeemable nor would his life.

Evan got up and shrugged of the pain. When you are augmented, you learn to deal with mass amounts of pain. For Evan this fight was the equivalent of a crash on a bike when going 20 miles an hour. It was nothing, just a few minor bruises and scrapes. It would take about a days time to fully heal due to the rapid healing accelerator that is imbedded in the augmented persons body so they can be used again after a day of fighting. Evan just wanted to be back in his house back in Zephina. That was the only place he called home. For now he would have to made do with the hotel he previously stayed in. "looks like nothing bad happened after all." Evan said to himself as he stepped up onto the platform and walked up the stairs, away from the carnage and shocked bystanders that he now left behind.

Chapter 9
Invisible, not really

The best thing for Evan to do now was lay low till he was invisible, till no won could remember him, then he would make his move. That's exactly what he did.
He bought a house in an abandoned town close to Washington. Evan thought that the remaining Cascade Mountains would give him good cover from anyone who was searching for him. The rest of the cascades were destroyed to make room for more apartments and houses. Back then the world was overpopulated. Now most people have made their way to outer space to colonize planets like Mars. Of course there is still some civilian activity in the demilitarized zones. The new government called BASE now rules most of the earth. Its actions go on without the slightest care from any non-military person. BASE has underground and aboveground facilities on every continent. They can do whatever they please like augment humans and create new devastating weapons like the plane that even previously hijacked. These actions would have never seen the light of day if it were not for the drastically small amount of humans left on Earth. BASE outreaches to the farthest planets including Pluto and Jupiter now made habitable by the process called Terraformation, which uses technology to create a livable space on the foulest of planets.

Evans house was nothing special, the usual two bedrooms and bathrooms with a kitchen and an outstanding view. Evans house was placed atop a gaping hill with no people for at least a hundred miles. He had enough food to last him for two or three months. Evan was just going to lay back and enjoy the scenery. Or so he thought.

Commander Alaster
En route to Richard Coopers A.K.A 'Evans' house

"Were going to take him by storm. Bravos one and two will enter through the front and back doors and there will be a helicopter insertion team through the roof, they will be the follow-through. You will make your entry at precisely 2400 hours, for you jackasses that's 12 PM. I want you to sweep the building silently and kill him clean. Synchronize your watches. Remember he is stronger than you are so don't wake him up. If that order fails, call in the Hellijumpers and retreat. I will be there just in case so lets this done right. I am willing to sacrifice every one of you to kill this man. If you can't do it, I will."

The radios metallic shaft fell from Commander Alaster's hand as the transmission to the soldiers was ended. They were the best of the best. He had handpicked them himself for many missions. The soldiers each had their own specialties but they were all good at killing. And that's what he liked. Alaster was a member of the BASE Military Program, and he was very good at what he did. Alaster had seen the making of many Augmented soldiers, and Evan was one of them. It was a shame that Evan failed. He would of been useful. One of the augments that was designed to kill Evan had failed drastically at his mission in some subway accident. Alaster didn't quite know the details but he had a feeling that Evan took him out. Now there was still one augment remaining but he was not quite ready for his mission. He was still an augmentation in progress. The soldier still had to learn a lot more. If the second one failed Alaster would have no choice but to augment himself. Hopefully these soldiers would get the mission done now instead of wasting another augment.

The pine wood door slid open without the slightest noise. All the radios were in silence and the soldiers were ready for the unexpected. They were packing silenced M-24 Automatic machine guns with a grenade launcher, a combat knife, and a target finding red sight and scope built right in. These guns were the updated version of the M-16. It was almost impossible to miss a target with this weapon. They could see in pure darkness with their thermal and night vision goggles. The soldiers swept the bathrooms and the kitchen for any living target and came up empty. The made their way down the hall towards the master bedroom where Evan lay awake waiting for them.

Evan had been waiting for them since they had opened the door. He noticed the slight change in the air as nearly six times the amount of carbon dioxide was deposited into it. Evan had augmented hearing and smelling capabilities. He could also sense the slightest changes in the area around him. Now Evan sat up in bed with his fists clenched in front of him. It would be a matter of seconds before they were in his room. There were more outside that was for sure. Evan made his way behind the door and waited for his chance to sneak behind them. Evan was in no mood to fight. He knew he was probably going to have to.

The soldiers pushed open the unlocked door and set up a silent perimeter around the bedroom. They could still see their targets heat signature entwined in the bedding. There was no chance that he had gone out the window because it was still locked. He was in the room somewhere. Alaster had stayed outside in the hall equipped with 34-S Tank Destroyer, just in case something went wrong.

Evan Moved with great speed into the closest soldier, crushing his ribs and killing him on impact. The others caught site of this and called in the Hellijumpers just before their deaths. Evan threw them through the window headfirst and looked through just to see if they were dead. The roof collapsed in pieces from the aftermath of a percussion grenade being dropped out of a helicopter and exploding. Two ropes dropped through the rubble and dispensed Eight heavily armed Special Ops commandos. The air around Evans head exploded with shards of spent ammunition casings and bullets. He couldn't stay idle much longer they were surrounding him. Evan had to get out of there. With all of his strength he jumped onto the remaining pieces of ceiling and ran to the direction of the trucks. Tank destroyer shells were whizzing by Evans head as he made a long jump onto the hood of one of the vehicles. The soldiers were bursting out of the house racing after Evan. In the crowd was commander Alaster with his Tank Destroyer. Alaster dropped to one knee and prepared to take aim at the Humvee regardless of the soldier in the drivers seat. These soldiers were expendable at all costs, now one of them was in the way of the mission.

Evan punched through the glass and threw the soldier in the back of the truck, breaking his spine as he hit the flat bed. Evan pressed the gas and turned the wheel for a sharp right turn. The Tank Destroying shell that was deployed from commander Alaster's weapon made direct contact with the flatbed of the Humvee as it made its turn sending it spinning in a 360 as it tore of the rear of the truck. The Humvee came to a sudden stop facing away from the house. "Perfect" Evan pressed the gas to its full extent and sent the truck careening down hill out of control but at the hands of a super soldier. It was far away from the soldiers but not out of sight. The helicopter was on his tail.

It was going to be nearly impossible to stay out of sight from the helicopter. It was armed with two Night Passer Searchlights and night vision/thermal imaging. That was not all that it was packing. The chopper also had two mini guns fastened to each wing. To top it all of, it had a hell of a lot of missiles. This chopper could wage a one aircraft war for at least two hours. The bad part was that the pilot was an expert in using all this. Like I told you, nearly impossible.

Evan made a series of right and left turns to try and shake the chopper but his attempts failed with no improvement. The Humvee was beginning to fall apart after the aftermath of the tank destroying shell. The engine would cut out every few seconds, which is enough time for the helicopter to catch up within touching distance of the Humvee. Evan could not keep this chase up much longer. He Humvee was rolling down the hill towards a BASE facility. There was going to be any number of soldiers there from ten to twenty. Evan had to get away.

With one jab of his wrist Evan sent the drivers door flying into the darkness behind him. Evans plan was to ditch the truck and continue sideways on foot. Hopefully he would find some thick brush or a cave to hide out at, whatever he found would hopefully b enough to deflect the light and the night vision/thermal imaging. With all of his power in his legs, Evan jumped out the drivers side and continued to roll down hill until he could get some firm footing. Right about when Evan jumped the helicopter started to fire. Explosive rounds ripped through the trunks of trees reducing them to nothing more than sawdust. They fell like toothpicks thrown from a two story building. The Humvees gas pedal was broken thus it continued towards the BASE outlet. From what evan could tell the helicopter still thought that evan was in the truck. All of its fire was directed towards it. This was a definite help for Evan.

Evan come to a rolling stop just outside the military facility. The Humvee proceeded with crashing into a ball of fire at the main gate, alerting everyone that
There was a matter outside that needed their attention. Every barracks door opened in the facility and out rushed ten soldiers each. Evan had to act fast. He got up and sprinted towards the nearest tree. From there he continued to find cover as he moved uphill towards his house to salvage what was left. Hopefully the soldiers were gone in an attempt to follow the chopper.

When Evan was about a mile away from his house he went in to stealth mode. The only sound audible was the rustling of the bushes and grass. Evan crept up his front lawn and was relieved at the sight of no military personnel whatsoever. He opened his front door and quietly walked to the master bedroom. That's when Evan noticed that he was not alone in his house. "I here your on the run. Trying to hide. You of all people should know that you can't hide from us." Alasters voice rang through the empty hall. " I was just trying to lay low. Regain my strength. I was going to create a new alias. You screwed all that up. If you don't leave soon, you wont be leaving alive. Alasters gun barrel rose silently in the air. "You should have been more careful. I would of though you had an alarm system." "My alarm system is my senses. I think you forgot that being that you created me to be who I am today." Evan could hear the safety click suddenly of Alasters gun. "Don't push it Evan, You're in a real mess. I was just trying to help you." " By killing me! That's not how you help someone. That's enough. Your going down!"

A projectile from Alasters gun passed directly by Evan on his right side. "Don't move or I will shoot you. How about we make a deal. You let me live and I kill some other day. Does that sound fair?" " Sure. Just leave immediately or Ill kill you before that's set in effect." "Oh, that's no problem. My rides just outside." A black velvet rope ladder pierced the night air and came to a rest at Alasters side. Evan could hear the distant sound of chopper blades cutting the air. This guy was smooth. He had this all planned. Alaster turned and started to climb, his gun still pointed at evan. When he was about 3/4 of the way up. A cold metal object fell from his left hand and came to a rest on Evans floor. It was a percussion grenade and it was set to go off in Five seconds. The helicopter sped away and evan made a last attempt to get away. He dodged into his bedroom and shielded himself in his bedding.

The Impact from the grenade brought down the remaining pieces of ceiling and wall within a radius of five yards. Sharp pieces of shrapnel pierced the blankets and cut deep into Evans face and legs. Blood sprayed the bedding and Evan fell out of bed, struggling for air to breath. The shrapnel was lodged in Evans Knee deep within the bone. Evan reached inside and felt a sharp edge cut his finger. He had found the shrapnel. Evan made a slight jerk and the shrapnel came free. Evan could already feel the healing process taking place in his leg. Microscopic pieces of titanium bone were being replaced with a stronger type of metal called Titanium X The metal equivalent of a pounds worth of Kevlar. By now most of Evans bones were this new metal from all of the injuries he had sustained in the past. His bones were one extra defense he had against enemies. He was nothing like a normal human.





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