Stalphos Saga (Book Two)

Stalphos Saga - Athos

James wasn’t used to seeing his father this often.  In fact he wasn’t used to seeing his parents making googly eyes and kissy faces at one another at all.  Despite the childs familiar surroundings the entire night felt foreign to him.  Steven hadn’t run off to work; it was as if the world had stopped asking him to save it the past couple of days.  Tonight the Dawson family had gone to the movies.  James would forever remember this night not because it was his first trip to a movie theatre but because it was the first time he got to see what his father was truly capable of.

                The black Maybach the family used to get around town would glide through the city streets.  James was used to the smooth ride the German vehicle offered it’s passengers.  James was able to play with the two action figures he had brought along for the ride.  Payson and Steven were able to cuddle and hold onto one another; James was forced to ignore the affection his parents displayed.  Because the car rode so smoothly there was no need for seatbelts and Payson preferred Steven’s lap over a seat cushion anyway.

                It wasn’t any later than ten that night when the Maybach came to a jerking stop.  The Dawson family inside was shaken out of their comfort zone.  James rolled over in his seat and lost one of his toys.  Payson would have been knocked to the floor but Steven kept a strong hold on her and she thanked him for it.  In Steven’s mind nothing was wrong, the driver could have just been forced to stop quickly at a red light or because someone had cut them off.  But with no explanation offered by the driver and no forward momentum being created after what felt like several minutes of waiting, Steven grew anxious.  He did his best to hide his concerns from the family because the last thing Steven wanted to do was force Payson or James into a state of panic especially if nothing was wrong.  He leaned forwards and tapped on the window that separated the back of the car from the driver in the front.  There was a control beside the window that would lower the glass plane but it wouldn’t work.

                “Okay I want the two of you to wait right here.” Steven made eye contact with James and then Payson.  Payson appeared far more worried than James.  Steven grabbed Payson’s hand and pulled her to the end of the car where James was sitting.  “You keep an eye on your mother, alright?” Steven petted James on the top of his head and moved towards the door on the drivers side of the car.

                “Steven, what’s going on?” Payson asked.  Before Steven could verbalize a response the entire car shook and spider-webs formed on the windows as the bulletproof glass cracked.  Instinctively Steven dove back on top of Payson and James and he tucked them under his arms covering them with his torso.  Payson in turn covered James and appeared more frightened than James.  Another volley of bullets shook the car from both sides but nothing was able to actually penetrate the car.  Inside of the car the family could hear people outside pulling on the door handles, trying to get into the car.

                “Stay here.” Steven said while moving towards one of the doors again.  He didn’t even make eye contact with Payson he just knew she would do whatever he said because she trusted Steven to keep her and James safe.  Steven could hear someone still pulling on one of the doors and so he kicked the car door open hard enough to knock the assailant back; he followed the door, exiting the car and then he quickly shut the door to prevent anyone else from getting in the car.

                Steven couldn’t understand why the car was parked in an alleyway and there was a shortage of light so he couldn’t immediately see how many people were attacking his family and their car.  He reached for his belt and realized he wasn’t wearing the telescoping Stalphos suit.  Another volley of bullets struck Steven and for a moment everything was silent.  “You guys clearly don’t know who you’re dealing with.” Steven only needed a couple of steps to reach the attacker he knocked over when he opened the car door.  The man was armed with an automatic rifle that almost blended in with the darkness that surrounded them.  Steven quickly snatched the weapon and then struck the man in the face with the butt of the gun before pulling it apart in two pieces, partially disassembling it.  More bullets bounced off of Steven’s unprotected body and he flung the two pieces of the rifle across the alleyway, missing and striking one assailant.  The man that was hit was struck with such force the gun was forced into his shoulder and he was knocked off his feet and unconscious.