The Action Man Series

X’s Dream

Authors Note: This chapter is rated PG-13

Chapter 9

They shoved Alex into a dark room, a sort of prison cell without bars and light. They clanged the door shut and Alex was left alone in the dark. Alone to think. His arm hurt with pain from the shot that Asazi had gotten in on him.

For some reason, he had the feeling that Fidget was nearby. As if she had dropped out of nowhere and is here to help. He shrugged it off; she’s…gone. She had died back when he had been captured.

Still…she was beautiful.

Alex closed his eyes and even though he didn’t know where or whom he was with, he fell asleep, dreams of doing Master Vision games with Fidget as a partner…

-

The man was Dillon, a drug/illegal transporter. He was looking through the wreckage for survivors of this destruction. A fifty-story building on top of a supersonic plane that was covered by an avalanche…Dillon shrugged his buff shoulders, the AK-47 in his hand aiming up into the clearing sky. The people that somehow built this building here had been excellent paychecks. Damn those bloody men that fell on the boat.

Oh bloody hell with it, he thought. Then turned and started back toward the boat. Then he saw something…a girl in the snow. She had red hair, in a style he had never seen…and judging by the way her body was twisted…it looked like she had a broken neck. Yet she was breathing.

Hmm…

Dillon carefully picked up, trying not to move her neck or back. He then carried her back to the boat.

-

Grinder jerked awake and hit his head on a piece of metal above him. He looked around him and saw a wall above and behind him and a wall of snow in front of him…it was obvious that the ‘wall’ of metal was part of the plane.

Grinder crawled through the snow for about twenty minutes. Pushing up and up until suddenly he hit the surface. He was sore; covered in bruises from the plane crash. His vision was a little blurry but he figured that was because his head got battered around.

Grinder jumped to feet and looked around. "That’s tweaked," he mumbled as he looked at the half-snow covered building painted black that was toppled over onto more than half the plane and…Grinder turned to the ocean and saw a cargo boat. And a small boat carrying a group of people to the cargo…

Grinder frowned. "What the…," he mumbled and squinted to see if that really was Fidget on the boat…it was. She looked okay, but he was a good fifty to seventy yards away. Then a thought occurred to him…I bet that Alex is on that boat.

Then a voice came from behind him. A familiar voice, somewhat high but…

Grinder turned and saw…Ricky!

"Hey Ricky," he said, then paused as he noticed what was wrong with him. He was bleeding, apiece of debris stuck in his right shoulder. Ricky was hanging out of a window of the building. When Grinder reached Ricky, Ricky said in an exasperated whisper, "Alex is on the boat. Fidget is being taken there too," he paused, shaking his head. "She’s got a broken neck. I watched it all happen."

Grinder felt tears come to his eyes…Fidget was…dead? It couldn’t be…no! It CAN’T be! "You’re lying Ricky, she’s alive."

Ricky ignored him and said, "I used this buildings phones and got INTERCEPT on the way. They should be here in an hour or two…but those boat people are obviously armed and a lot of people will get hurt…especially Diana."

Ricky emphasized Diana and he realized what was up. Ricky…Diana? Now that’s a couple I hadn’t thought about. Grinder snapped out of it and asked, "What do you want me to do?"
"Stop the…people on the boat…please. I don’t want Diana to get hurt…" Ricky slumped down as he lost consciousness.

Grinder stood up and looked inside the room that Ricky had been half hanging out of. He gently took Ricky and laid him out on the snow, his body flat on the ground. Grinder climbed into the room, standing on a wall. He climbed up another wall and jumped into another room. This room was exactly what he needed.

"Never thought I’d say this," he mumbled, "but I’m Rambo Grinder."

The room was an obvious war room. Full of machine guns and other assorted weapons and bombs. Grinder started suiting up, grabbing a sniper rifle as his main gun. If Ricky needed him to do something, especially if it’s his dying wish, Grinder would do it. But still…the thought of Ricky and Diana together was kinda’ funny.

-

Dillon looked the girl up and down. She had nice body. A good firm—someone was talking to him.

"Dillon, what should we do?"

The question came from one of his accomplices, and Dillon forgot about Fidget and got back to business.

"We will park here for the night, might as well since the weather is clearing up. The only way out is back through that blizzard that we just got through. There be no need to try it again."

The man nodded in agreement. Then Dillon added, "But what to do about that chap in the storage room?" The men frowned and one said, "No doubt that he was the main reason we lost our clients. I say we kill the bastard."

Dillon took in that comment, but he figured that is what they’d say. "In that case, tonight we will eat some of the food and have a party, after all, we now have enough girls for one." The men did a few hollers of surprise and they reached the boat.

Dillon got up and decided to check on the prisoner. He pushed the door open, flipped on the lights, revealing Alex sitting in the corner. Alex snapped awake and looked up at Dillon. Before Dillon could say anything Alex said, "Who are you?"

"The names’ Dillon. I am a poacher and a specific kind of easy transportation. I do believe that you understand who and what I am, but I want to know who you are; that stunt you pulled was very amazing." Dillon slowly walked toward Alex. "Those people were very good business people and—," Dillon got in Alex’s face, "—I want to know why you destroyed them."

Alex shrugged and replied with a smile. "All I can say is that it wasn’t my fault. It was the planes’ fault and—," a huge fist jabbed Alex in the right temple. He turned from the blow, wincing at the power of pain.

"That is a bunch bee-yullshit."

Alex almost laughed. The man’s accent sounded funny when he cussed.

Dillon rised back to his full height and frowned. "We are having a party tonight. You will be the main attraction…or rather, your execution."

Haven’t I heard that one before, Alex thought. Dillon left the room, slamming the metal door shut and Alex heard the key going through it and locking it, leaving Alex in the darkness. Alex got to his feet and walked along the walls to where the light switch was that Dillon had flipped on. He found it and the room lit up again.

He smirked. Dillon is too cocky. I bet that I can bust out of here if I try. Alex studied the room. There was nothing in it but…a shaft. A very small ventilation shaft. Alex walked over to it and pulled off the cover. No way could he get into it; it was on the ceiling and he was too big.

Alex frowned when he thought he heard voices. He looked around and saw no one but…bingo! There were voices coming from another part of the shaft. Alex tried to listen in.

"…He was right though. No way could we risk letting that guy loose."

Another man agreed and a woman’s voice came in. "He is a little cute but…what do you think about him? Dillon said he was going to kill him tonight." The girl’s voice sounded like she was pouting.

Alex heard a door open in the room he was listening in on and the people stopped talking. "Break out the kegs, the narcotics that were to be taken here, and—," Dillon’s voice hesitated, "—tell your girls to put on their best outfits."

The two men cheered and the girl said something that Alex couldn’t make out.

Dillon continued. "We get the beer, we get the girls, we get the murder, we get high. Sounds like fun!" The two other men cheered again. The girl said something else Alex couldn’t here. Dillon then said, "Now get outta my office, I need to think."

The three people scurried out and Alex heard Dillon sit down in a squeaky chair. It made a few noises and Alex guessed that it was a rocking chair. The boat gently swayed left and right.

Alex patiently waited for more information and/or clues to his whereabouts and when they planned on killing him.

-

Grinder dove into the water, its coldness immediately stabbing him like little icicles. He swam toward the boat, its huge hull very obvious under the surface of the icy ocean. Grinder had his plan.

Strapped all around him was C4, and he was carrying two waterproof bags of armed and ready guns. He made his way toward the boat.

In less than three minutes he reached the bottom of the boat. He surfaced and started hooking up the bombs right above the surface of the water. He set the timer for 30 minutes, INTERCEPT was supposed to be here in forty-five. Grinder also a watch with the bomb.

When the timer was set, Grinder pulled out a pair of suction cups and strapped them to his hands. He climbed up the side of the boat, the bags of guns constantly pulling him down. When he reached the top, he hopped over a rail and got behind a huge crate. People were everywhere, setting up a whole of different things like barrels of liquid and girls were coming out of different cabins dressed in very revealing clothing…if it really is considered clothing, thought Grinder.

Grinder got the guns out of the bags and strapped them to him and around the pitch-black diving suit he was wearing. When he was done, he peeked out and crouch-crawled to another crate. He saw two men and a girl come out of an office. The two men were smiling and talking. The girl, whom looked about 15, didn’t seem too happy.

Grinder tried to listen in as he watched them. "Alright," said one with blonde hair. "Another night of getting laid. I didn’t think that black market did stuff like this."

The girl just frowned and folded her arms under her breasts. The other guy saw her look and grinned, saying, "Ahh, don’t feel bad baby. I’ll keep ya’ company!" The two men laughed at her.

She just looked like she was about to cry and stomped off…toward Grinder. Grinder’s eyes widened and he turned to run. The crate he was behind was at least fifteen feet tall and full of potatoes. He was going to make a run to get in between two other crates but the girls’ voice came from behind him, asking, "Who the hell are you?"

Grinder whipped around, pulled her behind the crate and whispered, "A good guy."

Her eyes lit up. "Are you here to rescue me?" Before he could reply she hugged him, her face snuggling up against his chest.

"Well, uh, I was here to rescue a friend but if you want out I can help."

She was crying with joy. Grinder shushed her and she did so. "I’ve got to get my friend out of here." Then it hit her. "You mean that guy that landed on the boat a little while ago?"

Grinder nodded, not sure if it was Alex or not. "And a girl that has a hurt neck," he added. The girl whispered, "The guy is in there," she pointed at a cell door just a few feet from where Grinder was. That’s convenient. The girl pointed in the opposite direction to another cabin at the other end of the boat. "They are trying to fix her neck in there."

"Thanks," replied Grinder. "Hide here, okay?"

She nodded and he stood up. "Things are about to get a little hairy."

Grinder pulled out two 45-caliber pistols with silencers and stepped out from behind a crate. A man saw the motion and turned to look but already had a bullet in his heart. Someone turned to look at him but that person received a bullet before he could do anything. Grinder turned and winked at the girl and she whispered something. "Please don’t kill any of the girls. They are my friends."

Grinder nodded and looked at Alex’s door. He shot the handle and someone on the deck above him sounded the alarm. Grinder busted into the room and saw Alex looking at him. "Well aren’t you in a good mood today," said Alex.

"Come on. They know we’re here so here," Grinder tossed gun at Alex.

Alex looked at it with a disgusted look but didn’t discard it.

Grinder looked outside and bullets littered the wall next to him and behind him. "That’s tweaked," he mumbled.

"Huh?"

"Nothing. They’ve got us cornered. We’re in trouble."

Alex looked outside for a half-second and said, "I feel it."

Grinder looked at him in a weird way as bullets were shot through the doorway. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Alex looked at Grinder sideways. "I can feel the AMP Factor. I think I can trigger it whenever I want now. It feels strange. It’s like it’s all around my body, in little wires."

More bullets riddled the doorway and walls around them. They stepped back into the room and Grinder said, "It’s your blood. You haven’t hit adrenaline yet but you’ve figured out the pattern! You can trigger anytime now!" Alex stood there. "What the hell are you doing?? Get out there and save us!"

Alex snorted and said, "I’ll try."

Alex started to step outside when the sound of helicopter’s filled the area.

"OH SHIT," shouted Grinder. "That’s INTERCEPT!"

Alex looked at Grinder and replied, "So?" Grinder said, "No time to explain. Let’s just get out there and plow them!" And with that, Grinder jumped outside and started firing, Alex right behind him.