Kingdom Gone

THE OFFER

"Did this house come with the arm?"

Sam and I stood on the second floor balcony of her beach house, overlooking the quiet waters of Lake Lake. Such a stupid name.

"It came with years of hard work and innovation. It's great, being paid for doing what I love. But honestly, it can get boring at times."

I lean against the railing, looking at her. "You've come through for me and Nijah many times Sam."

"Yeah, I know." She looks out over the water, the setting sun making it shine with an orangey-red glow. "Anyway, about your gear. I can get you Hazmats, but it won't help you that much if you can't even get through the tunnels."

"What do you mean?" I ask, confused.

"The old subway routes Nijah mentioned. The explosion could've caused massive collapses underground, maybe even flooding."

I look over the water too. She's right, I never even considered the damage to the tunnels after 20 years. Crap. "You think you have anything that can help us with that?"

Sam grins. "Of course. I call it a Plasma cannon. A tool/weapon that heats gas to a million degrees, capable of cutting through just about anything. Should be able to carve you a way through any rubble you encounter."

"That's fantastic. Can you lend us one."

"Yes and no."

"What?"

Sam raised her bionic arm, the hand folding back, a small nozzle protruding from her wrist. It suddenly ignites, a small, green fireball looking thing burning from the tip, the heat from it steadily increasing. "The thing is, I only have one of them. And it's in my arm. So the only solution would be for me to tag along."

I shake my head. "No way in hell. It's too dangerous, Sam."

Sam frowns, her arm returning to normal. Well, back to it's regular form. "I'm not the same weak little girl from back in the orphanage, Jason. I'm almost 18."

I sigh, rubbing my face. "I don't want something to happen to-"

Nijah peeks through the doors, a grave look on her face. "You might wanna come see this."

* * *

The Governor's face filled Sam's livingroom tv.

". . . than a week ago, my daughter was kidnapped. Taken right from our home, and although I have tried my hardest to keep this out of the media, but all my efforts to get her back have proven futile. That is why, as of right now, I am willing to make a deal with the man who took her." He looks directly into the camera. "Jason Landing. If you are listening to this, here is my offer. $100 million, for the safe return of my daughter." A picture of Circe is flashed on screen, along with a grainy photo of me, taken from the side. Shit.

Nijah mutes the tv. "Circe is the Governor's daughter? Why the hell did you not tell me?"

I shrug. "Doesn't matter."

"Doesn't matter? We have no idea what's on the other side of the Great Wall. This mission is dangerous and you know it. I'm all for the adrenaline rush, but we can just drop little Miss Princess off, and collect the reward without having to risk our lives."

I shake my head. "I'm not letting her go back. We've come this far."

Nijah gets in my face. "Why the hell not? She was living in a freakin' palace before you began this little escapade, with servants, and everything. Give her back, get the 100 mil, and retire, like I know you've always wanted."

Circe stands up from the couch, talking for the first time. "And what about me? Do I have a say in this?"

We all look at her. "Why'd you leave?" Nijah asks, hands on her hips. "Don't tell me because you were bored? Because if you dragged us all into this mess because you wanted a fuckin' change of scenery, I'll drop your ass off at the Governor's house myself!"

Circe's face conveys no emotion. Without another word, she lifts up her sweater, revealing the bruises on her side, the same ones I caught a glimpse of on the HoloTram that first night. "Courtesy of my step-father. Guess he blamed me for my mother's death, because every stressful night from work, he'd take his anger out on the only person living in that prison of a house with him." She drops her shirt and looks at me. "Jason, my stepfather caused the explosion that destroyed the Tenth Kingdom. I don't know how, and I know I should've told you sooner, but my mother told me on her deathbed, and that's why he's been so adamant about getting me back. He wishes I was never born, but he knows I'm the only one who knows his secret. The minute I saw the message of my real father's return, I packed my bag and left." She walks over and holds my hand, looking up at me. "Don't take me back, Jason."

Well damn.

I let go over her hand and pull her into a hug. I realized i really like her touch for some reason. "I'm not giving you back to the Governor." I look at Nijah and Sam, the looks on their faces tell me they both were thinking about the abuse we suffered at the orphanage all those years ago, and how it felt to be trapped in a house with monsters. "Besides, there's something else we got to do in the Tenth Kingdom."

I tell them all about my experience in the cave with Eye Patch man, and the secret server room in the Tenth Kingdom containing the schematics for the nuclear bomb.

They were all on board after that.