The Ultimates (Watty Awards 2011)

Chapter 12

“James!” I shouted.

The sound barely made an effect as cries of joy and elation arose across the room. While Ashley and I were flooded with greetings and hugs Andrew was rushed on a stretcher to the OR within our headquarters so that the bullet could be taken out. And yes, we did have a hospital in our HQ. We go on dangerous missions; it’s only logical to have a small hospital within the HQ.

“We have to find him,” I said to Ashley. It wasn’t going to take a lot of effort though. Because rushing through the crowd was James, his black jacket, baggy, black pants and sunglasses covering him in the colour black. He made a face of fake ecstasy. It wasn’t obvious that his emotions were fake though; he was quite good at masking his emotions.

Once he was within a suitable distance for me to hold him, I grabbed him tightly on the arm.

“Ow, sort of,” James said, “back already.”

“Yeah, we got enough information, spy.”

James’ eyes widened and his body stiffened.

“What did-”

“Ferschi.”

Unexpectedly, James swiftly punched me in the face. While others gasped, I fell to the floor. I quickly shook it off and got back up.  James swiped at me again and I ducked. I then hit him in the stomach. While he was recovering from the punch I kneed him in the face, causing him to fall to the floor.

“Arckine! Catch!” I heard Ashley’s voice said. She threw a pistol towards me. She had her own pistol in her hand. James was running now and we were shooting in his direction. He shoved Chuck and took a pistol from him quickly. Then, he began shooting at us.

The loud cracks of the released bullets echoed in the room. One landed just above my head and I ran behind a wall. Ashley ran behind a wall opposite of me. The other people were still trying to figure out what was going on and I suspected that they didn’t want to attack anyone because since they did not know what was going on they might end up shooting the wrong person.

I looked at Ashley and nodded in her direction. I made various gestures to show her what I was planning to do.

I pushed of from the wall, ran briefly and slid on my back. I began shooting at him. Ashley ran from behind the wall and began shooting. James ran and the bullets kept missing. He ran out of the headquarters. Torov then rushed over to me.

“Harris, what’s happening?”

“James is a spy.”

“What? For who?”

“Ferschi and the Revolutionaries.”

“That’s how they knew you and followed you with the-”

“Spider Mech, yeah.”

I ran out of the headquarters with Ashley. Torov followed us. James was already in his car and was driving off. We all rushed to Torov’s hummer. Torov threw me the keys. We opened the doors simultaneously; Torov riding shotgun (quite literally; he was using a shotgun) and Ashley in the back seat.

I put the keys in the ignition and started the car, ignoring all speed limits. Dodging passing cars and other vehicles, I chased James. Once he was within visual distance Torov pulled down the window and began firing his shotgun and James’ car. Ashley pulled down her window and began firing her pistol.

Although they were careful to not hit innocents, the car was still a bit far away and the bullets kept missing. However, none of the stray bullets hit any civilians.

“Damn,” Ashley said, “I can’t get a clear shot on him.”

“Yeah Harris,” Torov said, “try speeding up.”

“I can’t,” I responded, “I’m going as fast as I can while making sure not to hit anybody.”

I did speed up a little but I really couldn’t go much faster without hitting anybody. Even if I did want to hit a car, hitting a car would only hinder my speed.

The sound of the car’s engine was loud but my window was down and I could still hear the shrieks of the civilians looking at the car chase in progress. I gripped the wheel firmly as I drove, slightly frowning. Frowning was something I called my ‘concentration face’ and I used it when I needed to focus very hard.

I approached another corner and I swerved around it. The road was fairly straight for a while now. In the distance I could see the Brooklyn Bridge. Torov and Ashley began firing at the car again and I could see three of the bullets hit the back of the car, shattering the window.

I saw now that he was heading for the Brooklyn Bridge; I had no idea what he was planning to do once he got there. Ashley and Torov shot at his car repeatedly but to no avail. I swerved at another corner and I could now see the path to the bridge clearly.

“We’re gaining on him…I think we can take him out here Harris,” Torov said to me.

“Yeah, he’s right within my sights,” Ashley said.

I accelerated more in hopes of catching up to him. I was excited; I was finally able to get him. Who knows what information he might have leaked? We could finally prevent him from leaking information about the Ultimates. That could help in the war immensely. All of the troubles we had to face, those could be gone. I smiled and accelerated even more when those thoughts came into my head.

“Okay, I got him,” Ashley said.

The crack of the released bullet sounded as I drove. The wheel of the car began to flatten and the car slowed down. The car swerved greatly and the sound of the wheels turning so greatly was loud. The people on the street continued to marvel at the spectacle. Torov shot the door of the driver’s seat of James’ car and it fell of as it continued to swerve.

Then, something happened. As I began to step on the brake, James’ leg and arm began to come out of the car. Soon, his whole body came out of the car. He nearly glided in midair. Then, he fell into the sea, making an enormous splash.

When the car made a complete but abrupt stop, we all briskly raced out of the car. I took out my pistol. We went to the edge separating the land and the sea and starting firing our guns at the sea until we were all out of rounds. James never came back to the surface, but there was no blood to show that he was shot.

We waited two hours for him and then the other Ultimates came. Then, the truth of the situation dawned on me.

“Shit!” I shouted, “he’s gone! He escaped!”