Jason Steed: Face-Off

  Chapter Twenty

  It took nearly twenty minutes to make it down to the ground level unseen. Every now and then he would dart back up the steps or duck into an office. Although it was late in the evening and most of the staff had gone home, a few of the crew were still checking the vitals on the bombs.

  Jason got as close as he could to the bombs and found a place to hide behind some packing cases. Each bomb was set on a metal trolley while the men in white coats worked on them.

  An hour passed and nothing had changed. Jason noticed a few of them kept looking at their watches. He hoped that maybe they would finish for the night or take a break. He counted seventeen men working directly on the bombs, a couple more came and went. It was far too many for him to tackle on his own.

  He sat back in his hiding place and considered his options. He could try and get back to the offices, to see if he could find a telephone. Or just wait, he was guessing that soon these guys must finish work or take a break.

  Like a heavy blanket was placed on him, Jason was suddenly consumed by the need for sleep. He couldn’t remember when he last slept, but he was almost paralyzed by the need to close his heavy eyes.

  The harder he fought to stay awake the harder it was. His head nodded and startled himself. Without a watch he had lost all track of time. He tried to focus on the time and work out what time it would be. It had to be just passed midnight by now.

  He sat back with his knees up to his chest and hands locked around his knees. It was quite cold sitting on the floor wearing just his blood stained gi. His blond bangs fell across his face and he was too tired to push them back over his head or part them. His head rested on a wooden crate behind him. He slept.

  Infinity and SYUI had come up with nothing. Several hours earlier Scott had left SYUI offices feeling guilty that he was still unable to work out where Jason was. Infinity had agents checking every airport, train and bus station in Germany.

  Despite the best security services in the world with vast recourses, Infinity was no closer to finding Jason now than they were when he was abducted.

  Raymond Steed kept telling himself that Jason would turn up. Brenda gave him updates but each time she had no news just more leads that led nowhere.

  When the new day broke Scott returned to SYUI offices. He checked the news and read all the reports that came in. Every two hours Infinity would call and give any new information and vise versa. They were desperate for anything that would help Jason.

  It was just after eight in the morning when the canteen at Scotland Yard Police station opened. SYUI shared the building and took the entire top floor. Many of the high-ranking police had no idea who Scott was or why there was a thirteen-year old boy working there with a level seven security pass on a tag around his neck.

  “Morning young man. The usual bacon on toast with a mug of tea?” A round-faced woman from behind the counter asked.

  “Yes please,” Scott said digging his hand in his pocket.

  “No school again then I see.” The woman chided.

  Scott ignored the question as his attention was drawn to the television that hung above the counter. The news channel was on.

  Scott took his tray and sat on a table occupied by two police officers. He chose it as it was close to another TV with the same news story.

  They ignored him and carried on talking about last night’s football match. Crystal Palace had beaten Leeds United. They retold every stage of play much to Scott’s annoyance. Eventually he got up and turned up the TV’s volume.

  The television news coverage showed Chinese warships, aircraft carriers and submarines. The reporter said it was the largest military exercise since World War Two. He went on to say that the Chinese insisted it was just a large training exercise. Nevertheless the American’s were not happy as the huge buildup in the Pacific was close to Hawaii and the West Coast of the United States. A jolt to one of the packing crates woke Jason from a deep sleep. After a few seconds of panic he was relieved to see the planes still in sight. One of the bombs was gone; the other was being pushed up a ramp into the plane by a forklift truck.

  Jason watched as they loaded the bomb. The technicians in white coats followed up the ramp and started connecting wires to the bomb. His eyes darted in all directions checking it was clear to make his move.

  Walk, don’t run, he told himself. If anyone noticed him from up on the corridor he might avoid bringing unwanted attention if he walked with purpose. He was dressed in his white gi, although heavily blood stained. He wasted no time climbing the ramp to the first plane.

  As he neared the top of the ramp a technician who was checking the first bomb noticed him. Jason smiled and nodded.

  “Guten Morgen.” Jason said and gave an enthusiastic grin looking at the bomb as if that was what he was interested in. He knew German well enough to speak it; he just hoped he could also pull off the accent.

  “Auch dir einen guten Morgen,” The technician replied.

  Although he would never admit it, this was always Jason’s favorite part. It was why they chose children to be spies. Seeing a young teen smiling and saying good morning in a top secret location would never raise suspicion. They would assume he was the son of someone who worked there.

  The technician noticed the blood on Jason’s gi. Before he could ask or say anything else Jason had moved closer. His left hand grabbed the technician by his collar and he pulled down towards him. The man fell forward, and his chin met Jason’s right fist coming in the other direction.

  It was a brutal blow that sounded like a firecracker, followed by three more in rapid succession. To Jason’s surprise the man fought back, bringing his fist down narrowly missing Jason’s face. They struggled together. Jason tried to break free so he could hit the man. His opponent was having none of it. He wanted to use his height, weight and strength advantage on the boy.

  Jason’s advantage was his speed. He twisted free and threw a vicious blow to the man’s windpipe. As he collapsed on the deck of the plane holding his neck Jason caught the man’s neck with his right hand and squeezed his artery. Within a few seconds he had rendered the man unconscious.

  He rapidly made his way to the cockpit and was surprised to see the instruments were still marked with the Nazi Swastika. Other symbols of the German Luftwaffe were on the seat and lifejacket. To the right of the pilot’s seat was a fire axe. They were placed in the cockpit for emergency to break the cockpit glass in case of a crash landing. Today in the hands of a thirteen-year-old British boy it was given a whole new use.

  Jason paused, the planes instruments were perfectly restored to the original beauty, a display of the once very powerful and advanced German war machine. The pause was short before he brought the sharp-pointed end of the axe down on the altimeter, followed by the horizon control, wind speed and on.

  He felt guilty for destroying the instrument panel. Now certain it would be almost impossible to fly he went back to the bomb. Hitting this seemed a bad idea. Although it was designed to take out anything electronic, it also contained a fair amount of explosives. He studied it, and lights flashed on an instrument panel.

  “The brains,” Jason whispered.

  The glass panel was held in place with a metal frame screw down with four screws. He found a screwdriver from the technician’s toolbox and started work removing the screws.

  Dr. Kemp’s team arrived to prepare for surgery, where they found the guard tied up and Jason missing. Alarms went off, a siren wailing electronically along the corridors and across the hangar. Overhead lights began to flash red. Boudicea arrived just as the alarm sounded. She was fully expecting to undergo a partial face transplant. When she heard that Jason had broken free she screamed at the top of her lungs. Her face became twisted and gnarly as she cursed at her staff.

  “I want him and I want him now. If you have to kill him do it and bring me his head so we can perform the transplant,” Boudicea yelled.

  Dr. Kemp arrived and t
ried to act surprised he was ordered to wait until they had found Jason. They started the search room by room; the entire complex was locked down.

  As well as Boudicea’s employees, she had additional help. China had loaned her twenty armed guards to secure the perimeter. They were not in uniform but well trained and heavily armed. China wanted to ensure that Boudicea would have no problems.

  Eight Shaolin Monks joined the search. They would leave no stone unturned. Boudicea paced towards her office where she had received an urgent call from the Chinese Minister of National Defense.

  “Yes what is it?“ she snapped.

  “Boudicea. This is Wing Kuang I hear you have a problem?” Wing Kuang asked in a motionless tone.

  “A small problem, the Steed boy has gotten loose, but we will catch him and as soon as we do, he will cease breathing. What harm can a small boy do?” Boudicea speculated, although she wouldn’t admit it. She knew Jason Steed could cause more problems than a whole army.

  “Glad to hear it Boudicea. We have everything in place; we wouldn’t want your problem being ours. It was you after-all who brought the boy to your location for...” Wing paused. “What was it, plastic surgery? We would not want to have any problems just because of your vainness and inability to keep a child captive. I trust you will deal with this matter urgently. Your life depends on it,” The phone went dead.

  Boudicea was incensed; she had never known a time when she had felt so enraged. Every available person was to stop whatever they were doing and search for the boy, even technicians.

  Jason’s tongue hung out of the side of his mouth as he concentrated on the last screw. Once he had it out he eased off the cover and pulled off the glass front. A mass of various colored wires going in and out of a circuit board greeted him. Thinking back to his training at Infinity a red and yellow wire was live and should be cut together.

  He hesitated, not sure what to cut at first before deciding to cut everything and try and cancel it. He pried a knife in and cut through the wires. The LED light went out. For good measure he picked up a water bottle and poured its contents inside the control panel. The snaps and hisses along with a few sparks satisfied him he had vandalized it proficiently.

  “One down one to go,” Jason said to himself.

  Without warning the other Messerschmitt aircraft’s four twelve-cylinder engines roared into life and shook the ground. It slowly started taxiing towards the runway. It was ready for take off and about to leave for its long haul flight to the United States. Americans would be settling in for the evening by the time it arrived. The first thing they would notice was the lights going out. After that, without news, radio or TV many would panic. When cars and trucks failed to work the country would be in a state of mass hysteria.

  Scott’s eyes narrowed he stopped eating and got up from his seat and started to pace up and down, much to the amusement of some of the police. Scott stopped back at the table.

  “You’re policemen. Do you believe in coincidences?” Scott asked one.

  “Dunno depends?” The policeman answered with a mouthful of toast.

  “Depends on what?” Scott abruptly asked.

  “Well, let me think.” He paused and took a swig from his mug of tea. “Well if a jewelry store had just been robbed and I saw a guy running away with a bag full of gold jewels, I’d say that he was probably the culprit. Now he, the thief would say he was out for a morning stroll and just happened to be carrying a bag of gold jewels. That would be a coincidence and I would not believe it.”

  Scott nodded and thanked him before setting off back to the SYUI offices. He called Brenda into the office he had taken as his own.

  “Morning Scott, you’re here early again,” Brenda smiled.

  “You are just in time. I’m going to call Infinity, and you may want to listen in,” Scott said dialing the phone.

  Brenda sat at the desk and listened to Scott brief Infinity.

  “I finally come up with something. It’s far fetched and full of coincidences so sit down and either call me a genius or mad,” Scott said before continuing.

  “Boudicea wanted Jason alive really badly, not dead but alive. So much so you used him as bait and you guys let him down and he got taken. Secondly my dad’s partner Dr. Kemp a prominent plastic surgeon was abducted. Now China is performing the largest military operation in its history in the Pacific.

  “To anyone else you probably can’t see any connection unless you think outside of the box. Jason was always certain Boudicea was dead. He threw her off a balcony in the Alps. We now know she somehow survived but has not been seen. I can imagine why. I wonder what she looks like now? She could be disfigured in a bad way, maybe even from frostbite.

  “It’s another coincidence that someone who could perform plastic surgery has been abducted and another coincidence that he has two Asian men watching his home. So let’s just say she wants her body repaired, so they will need a skin donor. Who do we know that Boudicea hates and blames for her disfigurement? Thirdly Chinese Shaolin Monks have now abducted Jason.

  “This is the tricky part. Why would the Chinese help Boudicea unless there is something in it for them? We know they have the military exercise in the United States’ backyard. That part is not quite clear but you can bet it has something to do with it. The United States should be on red alert.”

  Once Scott was finished talking he listened to the reply, mumbled yes a few times and put down the phone.

  “What did they say?” Brenda asked.

  “They think it’s very probable about Dr. Kemp and Jason. They need more information before they advise the United States to go on red alert. However Infinity will monitor it themselves as well.” Scott sat heavily and sighed. “And you should find out who the two Asians guys are who are watching Dr. Kemp’s home.”

  Brenda stood up. “I hope you are wrong Scott. We need Jason back; besides he’s going to have a little brother or sister now,” she beamed.

  Scott turned red and stuttered. “Oh you and Mr. Steed. You’re having a baby. Congrats Brenda. I would pay good money to see Jason pushing a stroller.”

  “And I would gladly give it to you if it meant he’d come home safe. Ray is worried sick and I share his concerns. I can’t tell him what you just came up with. The thought of him being cut up for body parts is horrible.”

  “Yes, but one thing we can’t rule out,” Scott said trying to force a smile.

  “What’s that?” Brenda asked picking up the phone.

  “The Jason Steed factor. When he gets angry he goes crazy and if they hurt him we will hear about it back here. Don’t rule him out just yet; when he gets in over his head he always digs himself out.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Sprinting back down the aircraft ramp Jason was spotted.

  “The boy.” A man’s voice hollered. With nothing to lose Jason raced towards the other aircraft. In hot pursuit two guards and a technician followed along with four Shaolin Monks who seemed to have come out of nowhere.

  Boudicea heard the commotion from up on the long corridor. She looked down and saw Jason sprinting towards the second aircraft. Her eyes narrowed as she mumbled curse words towards him.

  As he raced towards the aircraft he glanced back at his pursuers. The aircraft traveled away from Jason before turning back ready for its take off. Jason forced adrenaline into his system, and his pupils dilated. His bare feet pounding the asphalt forced his body towards the aircraft faster.

  The aircraft’s engines roared like thunder and started its journey down the runway. The pilot noticed the boy being pursued by an army of guards, technicians and Shaolin Monks. His orders were to stop for nothing so he pulled back on the throttle and increased speed hurtling down the runway directly towards Jason.

  The wind forced Jason’s jacket open. He ripped it off and kept sprinting as fast as he could towards the on-coming aircraft. The front wheels of the Messerschmitt slowly rose from the runway followed by the back
wheels. Jason’s pursuers stopped; it looked like the boy was about to be run down. It was a bewildering sight seeing the shirtless barefoot blond haired boy running to his death. If he was lucky the plane might just lift up and miss him.

  As the massive aircraft was just a couple of feet above Jason’s head he took the red tin can from his waistband. He pulled the ring and threw the can up at the aircraft. Jason was glade it contained no coke; at first nothing happened. Then just like a switch being flicked, the four Daimler-Benz twelve-cylinder engines went silent. The small EMP in the can had fried the electrical systems of the aircraft.

  It bounced down back on the asphalt just as fast as it went up, narrowly missing Jason. With the controls not working the shocked pilots lost control and the aircraft veered back towards the building. Those that were originally chasing Jason were now fruitlessly running for their lives and in the direct path of the out of control speeding plane. It ran over several of them and carried on into the building towards the other aircraft.

  “Oops,” Jason said wide-eyed just before the impact.

  Both aircrafts exploded along with them both EMPs. In less than a second, fifty thousand volts of energy blasted all electronics within a ten-mile radius. All circuit boards and electronic wiring were melted. Even appliances that were unplugged fried. Boadicea’s building erupted into flames, mainly from the aviation fuel from both airplanes.

  Every telephone, car, truck, motorcycle, electronic device in the nearby town of Wurzburg became useless. The village was a thriving community with three schools, a hospital, over four hundred homes and several stores.

  At first people noticed the lights flicker and finally go off. Ceiling fans slowed to a stop. Radios and anything producing sound went deadly quiet. The green lights on television monitors turned dark. Flash lights refused to work, electronic quartz watches stopped. Only those with mechanical watches were able to verify time itself.

  Jason was knocked back several feet but apart from a headache felt no ill effects. He sat up on the asphalt and took in his surroundings. Screams for help could be heard from some inside the hangar as a ferocious inferno spread, consuming the massive hangar and its contents.