Chapter
1 – Lethal Justice
“Code red! Code red! There is a
prison breakout at Abbott Penitentiary! All available units are to arm and
deploy immediately,” an announcement comes over the loudspeakers in the precinct.
Everyone arms themselves and puts
on their armor as we race toward our cars and trucks and rush to the prison
with our sirens blaring. Thirty officers are responding to this call, while the
rest in the city stay behind to keep an eye on any crimes that may occur while
we’re gone. Alex and Kurtis are with me, sitting at the back of a heavily
armored police truck, double-checking our weapons and ammo.
“Who do you think caused the
breakout this time? Superhumans or the allies of famous criminals could be
behind it,” Kurtis suggests.
“Abbott Penitentiary is the most
heavily guarded prison for miles. I think it was an inside job. What do you
think, Renzo?” Alex says.
“Could be either. Could be both,” I
say. “We’ll figure it out after stopping the riot.”
“Do you ever bet or have fun? Give
it your best guess.”
“If you want my best guess,
superhumans are the most likely suspect for the breakout or some famous
criminal. They have been the usual suspect for breakouts from prisons that
house superhumans. It’s why I’m double-checking our ammo types.”
We have ammo for every type of
superhuman, including those with bodies made of metal or liquid and stronger
than those of a tank. The equipment and enhancements we’ve been given allow us
to dual-wield weapons or wield heavy weapons with shields. Kurtis typically
uses two submachine guns and two shotguns as backups while Alex wields a heavy
machine gun and a riot shield that won’t break under the pressure of a truck.
Meanwhile, I have a submachine gun, a revolver that could kill an elephant in a
single shot, and two backup magnums.
“If anything, we can thank them for
the upgrades we got to our amour and getting injections to take hits from them
and react faster,” Kurtis says.
“But they also make our jobs
harder,” Alex interjects. “What can we really do against people who can fly
away, melt into the tiniest spaces, and shape-shift, just to name a few People
also prefer to work for corporations and groups that have fewer restrictions
and higher pay for those who are superhuman or want to become one.”
“Yeah, I wish we had some of those
enhancements the government workers have. I heard those in the intelligence and
spy divisions can turn invisible or have super hearing.”
“Can the chatter. We’re here,” I
say.
The truck we’re in comes to a
screeching halt and we run out of the doors as they open. We’ve already been
assigned blocks of the prison to check on so we immediately spread out as soon
as we enter it. The loudspeakers in the prison have a message on repeat telling
the prisoners that those who stay in their cells will have a lessened sentence
while those who don’t will be shot and killed on sight. This ruling for
prisoners took place due to certain superhumans and famous criminals repeatedly
breaking out and causing more death and chaos in the country, and sure enough,
some prisoners sit in their cells and act like nothing is happening while
others are armed with weapons they took from the dead guards and the prison’s
armory and trying to escape. We open fire as soon as we see these prisoners and
push forward while using flashbangs and smoke to blind and disorient them.
After tearing through the rift
raft, we find our way to their bosses, who have blown holes in the prison walls
and are on their way out. We radio over to our allies what is happening as we
chase after the higher-valued targets and shoot our way to them, tearing apart whomever
we come across and ignoring the small arms fire that hits our armor. Once
outside, we throw explosives at the getaway cars and trucks and execute the
remaining escaping criminals. Before we head back in to sweep the rest of the
prison, we are told over the radio of one of the other squads engaging the
superhumans and them escaping only for them to appear in front of us soon after
with high-valued criminals in their arms. I switch to my magnums and take out
two superhumans by rapidly emptying four clips into them, making the people
they carried fall to the ground to their deaths.
As for the others, they now focus
their attention on us who separate us from each other. I’m punched through a
wall by a fast superhuman but I get up quickly and take care of him thanks to
my submachine gun and enhanced reaction that is barely able to keep up with
him. I rush back outside to help Alex and Kurtis and am blown back by an
explosion that comes from below. My body is struggling to get up now after
taking so much punishment as I scream at it in my head to get up and continue
fighting. I look up to see who is escaping out of the hole and am surprised to
see my older brother, Salvatore, coming out of it with a criminal, both being
carried out by a superhuman.
“Salvatore! What are you doing here?!”
I say as I take off my helmet.
“Rescuing a man who was unlawfully
imprisoned. You should catch your breath, let us escape, and rethink that offer
to join Coronamento to work with me,” he says.
“I won’t. How does breaking out
that prisoner benefit Coronamento anyway? I don’t think you can pretend to the
world that this action is alegal rather than illegal.”
“You’ll see soon, Renzo. Keep an
eye on the news.”
“Salvatore!” I yell out as he
leaves.
Finally on my feet, I chase him in
vain and then turn my attention to help Alex and Kurtis take care of the rest
of the criminals both normal and superhuman. We then help the rest of the squad
put the prison back into order during which I can’t help but think about my
brother, what part he had to play in this, and why he took one specific
prisoner. I report what happened back to Chief Bernardo, with whom I have a
personal meeting in his precinct office.
“Salvatore…he was such a good cop.
I still blame myself for him quitting and joining Coronamento,” Chief Bernardo
says.
“You shouldn’t, chief. It was
always something he was considering and you did your best. There was no
changing his mind. Believe me. I tried my best as well,” I say.
“Yeah, I know. I just can’t help
but feel that way. Anyways, back to what happened, I’m putting you on this
prison break case, especially since you have direct contact with one of the
suspects. From our five seconds of research, he rescued one of the relatives of
the Humphries. Now, the question is, why would your brother and the Coronamento
Corp want to break out of prison a man whose company they ran into the ground,
helped expose as criminals, and had a hand in the attempted assassination of
you and your family.”
“I’ll figure it out by questioning
my brother. I’ve already tried calling him and he said he’ll see me tomorrow
because he can’t be in public yet until the truth about the prisoner comes out
tomorrow.”
“I’m glad your brother is
forthcoming with you meeting him, but sill. For him to be so straightforward
about telling you everything must mean Coronamento already has their alegal
excuses as to how breaking a prisoner out is somehow good and won’t get them
into serious trouble.”
“Salvatore did say the man was
unlawfully imprisoned.”
“I don’t see how since his record
shows him working closely with his criminal family and his only saving grace
was turning himself in and telling us his family’s crimes and where their
safehouses and hiding places were.”
Since there’s nothing left to do
today but rest, I return home and crash on the couch. As usual, my daughter,
Licia, and son, Rocio, jump on me while I’m trying to relax. Before I can say
anything, our Dobermann, Octavo, also jumps on me to lick my face. We laugh, I
ask my kids and wife, Alicia, how school was since my wife teaches them and
others at the school they go to. They say that nothing is going on and are more
interested in hearing about my day since they know I was involved in stopping
the prison break, so I tell them everything and Alicia is the only one
concerned about what I said while my kids are excited, acting as if my brother
was some kind of hero or vigilante they typically hear on the news, especially
since that’s how some parts of the media and world show him and the Coronamento
Corp he serves as.
I just hope that he gives me a
reason to completely trust him tomorrow and see him as they see him and as I once
saw him when we were younger. I’m sure this is the start of a messy
investigation that’s going to leave me beyond exhausted after it.
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