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The Fury
Issue #3
by Tom Zjaba
Chapter Four
A New Life
The next morning, Jack wakes up and rolls over and looks
at the sunlight beaming into his room. He reaches over and grabs his clothes and
begins to get dressed. He makes sure his costume is still under the bed. Granted
his costume is only a mask and a trench coat, but now that he has caused
problems to Justin Rage, he is sure he will be hunted. He then reaches into the
bag of money he took from the drug raid and pulls out a few thousand. It is time
for him to open a bank account and look into buying a house. He knows some run
down houses that he can buy for a few thousand and then fix up. The price would
be low enough to be under the radar. He also knows of some people who can create
a new identity for him. One of the few perks of living on the streets is you
meet allot of people. You also hear allot of conversations that you would not if
you were a regular citizen. Some people will say just about anything in front of
a homeless person. And they say and do even more when they don't know you are
there. Jack has seen a lifetime of crimes happen when he was hiding for the
night. From muggings to drug deals to contract hits, he has witnessed it all and
until now, he has turned a blind eye. He thought about reporting some of the
crimes, but knowing that he would have to give his name and other identification
was enough for him to not do it.
As he exits the building, he goes over to the local newsstand
to buy a newspaper. He figures he may find a cheap house listed in here or at
least get a lead. He tosses the man a dollar for the paper and looks at the
headlines. To his amazement, the lead story is about him. He reads about the
drug bust and how they have named him The Fury. He smiles and says "I can live
with that name. Has a ring to it." He walks down the street reading the paper
and laughing. He didn't realize how much of a scare he put in those guys. He is
also glad to hear that the men whose faces he covered in cocaine are recovering.
They were hospitalized but listed in stable condition and expect full
recoveries. He worried that it may have been too much, but he wasn't thinking
clearly.
Down in a laboratory, Justin Rage is meeting with some of his
scientists. "I need something that can stop this guy. He appears to have mental
powers like Psyclone, but he seems to control of all his faculties." The men are
writing down everything he is saying. One of the men, a short man with tussled
hair and thick glasses asks "Think this guy is one of Dr. Anderson's subjects?"
Justin quickly replies "I am sure of it. I told him to give up that experiment
of his and concentrate on making better drugs." The men write down some more
stuff as another one of the scientists, this one a taller and thinner man who is
balding asks "Did you look through his notes. He may have the name of the guy
there." Justin is getting a bit annoyed because these guys are asking him things
he already thought of. But he knows how valuable they are to his organization
and so he humors them by answering their questions "None of his journals were at
his lab. We went through everything with a fine toothed comb. And he had a habit
of experimenting on homeless people because they were more likely to take the
money and not ask questions." All the men nodded and wrote more stuff down.
Justin then said "Make me something that can stop him. I need something that
will not be affected by his mind powers. And I need it immediately." He raises
his voice when he says "immediately". While he does respect them, he still wants
them to know who is signing their paychecks. After he leaves the lab, he walks
over to a room with a large warning sign on it. The sign reads "Do not enter.
Danger." Outside sits two guards. Both are sitting on chairs and reading. When
they see Justin walking up, they drop their magazines and stands up straight.
"Mr. Rage, good to see you." one of the men says. "How is he doing today?" he
asks to guard. "We gave him some new legos, so he content." Justin then peeks in
the one way glass and watches as Psyclone, a skinny little man floats in the air
and effortlessly moves around the legos with his mind. He is building a
rendition of the Taj Mahal with the legos. Around the room is nearly perfect
versions of the Eiffel Tower, White House, Statue of Liberty and the Sphinx. He
stops building for a second and turns and looks right at Justin. A sense of fear
sweeps down his spine as he hears a voice in his head. "I want more legos." He
composes himself and nods in agreement. He then turns and leaves as Psyclone
returns to his building. As valuable as Psyclone is to Justin Rage, he hates and
fears him. Here is this little man who can level a city block with his mind, yet
his mind is so burnt out, that all he does is build things with legos. He was
one of Dr. Anderson's early experiments that failed. He gave him the serum, just
like he did with Jack, but when his mind expanded, he went insane. The intense
amount of knowledge and secrets that flooded into his brain drove him insane. He
was not able to control what minds he read and soon the flood of thoughts
overwhelmed him. Now he is a shell of a man whose only value is that they can
make him attack people when they choose to. But he knows that one day he could
turn on him and he would have no way of ever stopping him.
The building is a job placement center but when Jack hands
the receptionist a card he received in the past, she knows why he is here. She
makes a quick call and then sends him through a door in the back. When he comes
through, he is greeted by a portly man in a fancy shirt and tie. He has a bad
comb over and is sweating profusely. He shakes Jack's hand and says "So you are
a friend of Mike's." Jack smiles and reads his mind. He reads how the guy is
wondering how he knows Mike. He probes for a few seconds and the guy thinks "Is
it from the gym or maybe the track. Mike does meet all kinds at the racetrack."
He smiles and says "We met at the race track. I gave him a few good horses and
he gave me your card." The guy laughed "Mike can sure use some good horses. That
man has the worst luck at picking horses. That's why I quit going with him, it
was painful to watch how much he lost." Jack lets go of his hand and laughs "I
tried to tell him to not get too attached to the names." The guy laughed even
harder "Mike did have a habit of picking by names. So what can I do for you?"
Jack read his mind while he paused. He wanted to see what he was thinking. So
far the guy did not have any negative thoughts. He was wondering if he wanted a
new identity or the whole package. So Jack answered "I was looking for the whole
package." The man smiled and said "You want it all, not a problem. But first I
need to make sure you are not wired and that you have the cash." Jack smiled and
said "Mike didn't tell me how much it was, but he did say cash only." The guy
has Jack open his coat and he checks to make sure there are no wires. He then
opens his shirt and looks. He pats him down from the waist down to make sure
there is nothing. He then removes his shoes and checks them. When he is
completely convinced the guy is clean, he says "It is five grand for a new
identity with social security card and driver's license. If you want a job
background and stuff like that, it is another five grand. And like you said, I
only take cash. American cash." Jack smiles and says "I will take the whole
enchilada. He reaches in his coat and pulls out two bundles of cash. Each one
has five grand. He hands them to the man who looks around and then counts them
quickly before stuffing them in his pocket. "Follow me." he says as they walk
into a room. "Take a seat" he says as he goes behind a computer monitor. He
starts punching some buttons and then hits a button and a printer in the back of
the room starts printing. Within seconds, he pulls out a cardboard like paper
and puts it on a machine that cuts it. He hands it to Jack and says "Here is
your social security card. You are now known as Oliver Williamson." Jack looks
at it and is amazed at how authentic it looks. Before he can put it away, the
man motions for him to sit in a different chair. When Jack sits down, he pulls
down a background. The guy then brings a camera over and aims it at him. He then
positions it on the computer screen and says "Say cheese." Jack smiles and the
picture is taken. The man then goes back to the computer and hits some keys. He
is typing for a few minutes and then he switches the paper in the printer and
goes back to the keyboard and hits a few keys and the printer once more starts
up. Within seconds, he pulls out a paper and takes it over and cuts it and then
takes it to a machine and laminates it. He then hands the license to him and
says "Hope you like the picture, because there are no reshoots." Jack smiles and
nods in agreement. The man then pulls a key out and unlocks one of the drawers
and pulls out a book. He opens it to a page that is marked and puts it down.
"What career do you want? You can be in shipping, construction, real estate,
medical or general labor." Jack thinks for a second and then says "General labor
will be fine. The man then closes the book and picks up the phone. He hits a few
numbers and then says "Give me Carol in Human Resources. Carol, this is Dave. I
need you to add a person to the payroll, figuratively speaking. His name is
Oliver Williamson. Age 35. Yeah. Race - Caucasian. Right. 8 years as a welder.
OK. I will wire the money to you today. Great. Thanks and say hi to Mark." He
then hangs up the phone and says "You are now a welder at Cosgrove Machinery.
You have worked there for 8 years and your boss is Mister Taylor." He is typing
as he talks and then hits a button and a paper prints off. He hands it to Jack
and says "Here is your resume. You are a high school graduate with some
secondary education at a community college. If you want a college degree, that
is another five grand." Jack takes it and says "Thanks, but this is enough." The
man then stands up and puts out his hand "Thanks for the business and enjoy your
new life Oliver." Jack shakes his hand and says "No, thank you." He then heads
out to look into buying a house.
Justin Rage is headed down the elevator to his sub-basement.
This floor is only accessible from his private elevator and the one used by the
scientists. Only a handful of people know of its existence. As he reaches the
bottom floor, he steps out and is immediately greeted by the two scientists. "We
have what you want to stop this Fury person." Justin is skeptical but he just
says "Let us take a look." They lead him over to a large blanket or at least
that is what it appears to be. The taller scientist goes over and says "After
careful planning and lots of hard work, we came up with the best device to
defeat your psychic." Justin is an impatient man and he screams "Just pull of
the blanket and let me see it already." The shorter scientist quickly goes over
and pulls off the blanket as he gives an angry glare at the taller scientist. As
the blanket falls to the floor, a giant robot is revealed. The robot is at least
twenty feet in size and armed to the teeth. It is humanoid in design but does
not look like anything you would want to mess with. "A robot? Your great plan
for defeating The Fury is a robot?" Justin screams out. "B-b-but sir, think
about it. It cannot have its mind read, he has no way of knowing what it is
planning. It is perfect for fighting a psychic." Justin pauses for a second.
Their logic is sound and he knows it, but he does not want to look foolish in
front of them. As much as he needs to have men of science working for him, he
hates them. He prefers simpler men who are much easier to control and easier to
bribe. He remembers the problems he had with Dr. Anderson and how he could not
control him. One of the main reasons for the mind experiments was so he could
become so intelligent that he would not need these men working for him. But
until The Fury, the results were too dangerous for him to be subjected to the
tests. And now that Dr. Anderson is dead, he doubts he will ever have the
chance. These guys are smart, but they pale in comparison to Dr. Anderson. His
thoughts are interrupted as they look to him for a reaction. He thinks for a
second and says "How is this hunk of metal going to find The Fury?" The
scientists knew this question was coming and were ready for it "We took our
research on Psyclone and found that his brain let off a unique brain wave
pattern that could be traced. So we figured that since The Fury is essentially
the same, that he would also have a similar brain wave." Justin is unsure if he
should applaud their ingenuity or scold them for such a crazy idea. He figures
it is best to give it a try. After all, he probably paid tens of thousands of
dollars for this overgrown toy. And it's not like he can get a refund for it.
"For your sake, I hope it works." he says as he looks at the robot again. He is
impressed at how they were able to build something so big and so threatening in
such a short time. He wonders if he should be afraid that these guys could one
day turn a robot like this on him.
Jack is meeting with a real estate agent. This guy is no
ordinary real estate agent. He is one that specializes in getting deals done
without banks. He has his own title agency, his own inspectors and his own
mortgage firm. Like the last guy, he also comes recommended from the people who
don't want to be found. His specialty is selling low cost property to people who
are looking for front houses. Most of these houses are in less than desirable
neighborhoods and generally are places where the mob hides people on the run or
uses to store items they don't want found. They are always in fictitious names,
so they cannot be traced if found. And this man specializes in finding these
properties for his clients. By being in the less desirable neighborhoods, there
is less chance of nosy neighbors complaining or police snooping around. The
police tend to avoid these areas unless they are called in. The man is showing
Jack a two family house that has seen better days. "This duplex is ideal for its
large amount of space and for its solid brick design. As you can see, the glass
windows have been replaced with thick glass block. While it does not allow you
to view out, it also keeps people from viewing in. And the glass is
bulletproof." Jack is impressed by this feature. And as he looks around and sees
some of the people who live in this neighborhood, bulletproof glass is not a bad
idea. Across the street, there are four youths in matching jackets walking down
the street. He is pretty sure they are part of some gang. As they go into the
house, the man continues his sales pitch "Check out this front door. Steel door
with four dead bolts on it. And if you look at the frame, it is also steel.
Nothing short of a tank is taking this door down." Jack swings the door back and
forth and sure enough, it is solid. "But the best feature is downstairs. Follow
me." The man opens a door to the basement and kicks aside some trash on the
steps. As they get to the basement, the smell of filth hits them. "The house
does need a good spring cleaning." the man says as he gags. The basement is
filled with bags of trash. There are rats climbing around the trash bags, some
of them quite large. "A good exterminator can take care of that small problem."
he says as he pulls out a handkerchief and covers his face. As he moves past the
trash, he comes to a large safe. It looks to be about eight feet high and solid
metal. It is bolted into the ground with four large bolts. It is also bolted
into the steel beam that runs over it. Nothing short of dynamite is going to
move this safe and even then it may not. "This is the safest place for your
valuables, outside of Fort Knox." Jack is impressed. They quickly head back
upstairs. The man then closes the door and removes the handkerchief from his
face. "There is some work that needs to be done, but as you can see the house is
made for protection." Jack then asks "Is the price negotiable?" The man smiles
and says "I really wanted to get twenty five grand for it, but if you buy it
today, I can let it go for twenty two grand." Jack reads the man's mind and sees
that the man is thinking "Twenty grand is the lowest I will go. I know this
house will sell." Jack then says "If you will go twenty grand, I will take it
today." The man smiles and says "You have yourself a deal." Jack then reaches
into his coat and pulls out twenty grand. He counts out the money and hands it
to the man. He grabs the money and then says "It is going to be a little more
than that. We have to include taxes, title work and some other fees." Jack
reaches back into his coat and says "How much more is it going to be?" The man
pulls out a calculator and starts hitting the buttons. After a few minutes of
hitting buttons, he says "Make it an even five grand and we can close this."
Jack reads his mind where he is thinking "Three grand to close this and I will
get the two grand I wanted. Sucker." Jack decides it is best to just let him
have the money. He pulls it out and hands it to him. They then head back to his
car to do the paperwork. he can tell this guy does not want to be in this house
any longer than he has to. And with the smell and the rats, Jack can understand.
The Fury © 2006 Tom Zjaba
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