Power Play (Book 2)

Chapter 19: Presidential Veto

Recap: After live streaming his take on the government and Samsara to the world, Brandon revealed his identity and took off into the sky... only to land on the South Lawn of the White House. He asked to speak to the President, but was quickly surrounded by Secret Service agents with their weapons drawn.

Winning Choice: I shift into super-speed and disarm the agents, leaving their guns in a broken pile in front of their boss. I stop in front of him and smile. "We're going to have a conversation. One without shooting or fighting for a change."

I shift into super speed and the world slows to its now familiar crawl. The agents start to react, but as that initial look of surprise hits their faces I'm already pulling their guns from their hands. Fortunately they all have good trigger discipline or I'd probably break their fingers in the process. As it is I'm sure they're going to have sore hands when this is over.

I drop all the guns into a pile next to me. For extra emphasis, I return to normal speed holding one last gun: a submachine gun of some kind. I bend the barrel and drop it in the pile with as much style as I can manage.

"Now maybe we can just have a talk without violence for once," I say. Most of the agents step back in shock, jaws dropping. The agent in charge, on the other hand, seems totally unfazed and just shakes his head.

"Not when you land on the lawn of the White House," he says, stepping away from me.

There's a muffled crack from some distance away, and a bullet smashes into my chest with staggering force. Literally, I stagger.

"Ooooooowwww!" I whine. "This is not how you have a conversation!"

Another crack, and another incredible pain in my chest. Either the snipers on the roof couldn't hear my plea for a chat, or their orders don't leave much room for creativity.

I'm not sure what guns they have up there, but they're powerful. My suit isn't torn, but those shots hurt like hell. I might having some bruising after this.

"What's going on?" asks Tyler.

"Sniper fire from the White House," I tell him. "And it really hurts!"

"I told you these maniacs wouldn't listen," says Susan. "Get out of there before even bigger guns show up."

"I've come too far to give up now," I reply. "I just need to get past the hired muscle and talk to to the man in charge. But I'm done being a target."

The crowd outside the fence has grown even larger, and the police are having a tough time keeping them back. Heading closer to the White House will help draw fire away from their direction, plus the person I need to speak with is inside. So I start to charge up the lawn.

"Brandon! Something's coming!" Tyler screams into my ear.

"What? Where?" is all I have time to say before a whistling noise far overhead turns instantly into a roar. Something plows into my back, crushing me into the ground and tearing a wide trench in the finely manicured lawn as I skid to a stop.

"A little more warning next time," I mumble as I try to clear my head and look for the giant rhinoceros that it feels like just sky-dived into me. I roll over, but instead of seeing a three-toed rhino hoof, I see a large, gleaming metal boot.

Propping myself up on one elbow I see the boot is connected to a massive, metal exoskeleton. Gleaming in the sunlight, it's sleeker, leaner, and much better armored than the one I faced in the research compound a few weeks back. It looks less like a wearable forklift and more like a shining knight.

At the top of the suit the operator's face is visible behind an enclosed sheet of thick, bullet-proof glass. I know that face.

"Dryer?" I ask. "Is that you?" Last time I fought him I knocked him out and left him hanging helpless inside his exoskeleton. From the look on his face he remembers that, too. I climb slowly to my feet.