Read Life Sentence :: Classified

January 4th

Mr. Bishop couldn't account for what compelled him to pick up the phone and call. It wasn't his style to go to such lengths just to get an immediate response. But after all, he hadn't seen him in days. And even though his letter specifically asked him for some space, he just couldn't help himself.

Maybe something just didn't sit well with him. He knew his son could sometimes be difficult; this sort of behavior is not entirely farfetched or unknown to Nick. But still...

"Yes, hello, I would like to speak with Fay Shaw, please?"

"May I ask who is calling, please?"

"Of course, it's Austin Bishop."

"Okay, please hold for a minute."

As he drummed his fingers on the coffee table outside the restaurant, he impatiently waited for her to come to the phone.

"B?" Fay called out.

"Hey..."

"B, I thought we agreed that you wouldn't phone outside of restricted hours."

"Yes, I know. But with everything that's happening, you should understand my need to disregard those terms."

"No, I don't. Why is that?"

"Well, he's been gone a couple of days now. And I know this is supposed to be covert and all. But I am an old man after all. I get worried. I mean, a simple phone call would have sufficed."

He sighed as he said this, feeling a bit guilty for possibly bringing this upon himself. Maybe he had pushed him too hard, and this was his punishment. But what came next was something that he was not prepared for.

Fay paused then stuttered as if from confusion, "B, what are you saying? Who's been gone, and what does that have to do with me and Gram?"

His glances at the beautiful park across from him came to an abrupt halt as his lips stumbled over words.

"Nick, he came to see you, did he not?"

"No," she immediately shut down. "I mean, after our talk, I was expecting you to be able to convince him."

He clenched his fist around the paper coffee cup until it had completely caved in.

"Wait, what's going on? Do you not know where Nick is? He's supposed to be here already?!" She began to scream her questions, obviously forgetting the position she was in.

"B, answer me! What's happened to my son?"

Time stopped... he said nothing. He knew his silence would kill her, but every additional second spent with her is a second wasted.

He's made his decision...

"I've got to go."

"Don't hang up on me!" she begged, "B!"

Beep...

PRESENT

I can't hold out much longer. I am outnumbered and outpowered. I lack sufficient intel on these guys to determine the extent of their superpowered arms. But judging by the force of these punches, I am guessing they will hurt really fucking hard.

They'll probably break a few bones.

My powers of foresight are linked to my premonitions. When I am in danger, my mind can slightly predict the stimuli of my surroundings. I use that to my advantage in a fight, to determine my opponent's hits. It's almost like being able to see glimpses of the near future, but not exactly.

Like right now, Jason is trying to hammer me with his right fist, but I anticipated it seconds before he does so with every strike and duck or move sideways. He punches through the wall, and I get in a couple of hits to his stomach.

Dude, are you even feeling these? My knuckles fucking hurt.

Oh shit!

Todd is coming at me from above. He punches down from the left, and I just manage to miss.

It's a good thing these guys are heavy. Their movements, though powerful, are much slower in comparison to mine. But all it takes is one good hit, and that would be it for me. My mind may be powerful, but my body is still just flesh and blood. I would break like a toothpick.

I've got to hit them where it hurts.

I have to go for the head since clearly nowhere else works.

I need a weapon.

I block the follow-up attack from Todd and hurdle over a shipment.

That'll do...

He tosses it aside and comes at me like an angry bull. "You're wasting our time, you little shit. Do you think this is some kind of game?"

"No, I don't," I fire back, trying to create a small distraction. "Look, I don't care who you're working for, but I won't let you have your way. You're not taking that pod, and you're going to tell me how to disable the bomb."

He cackles mockingly at my demands, then steps forward boastingly, "We'll see about that."

He reaches for me with his metal arm, just as I anticipated. I'm going out on a limb here... but here goes nothing.

I let him grab me. "Gotcha!"

Doing so gives me the opportunity to stab him in his human hand with the piece of metal I'd just found, making him drop me. I jump up and grab his bed immediately, and haul it down to meet the strength of my right knee, knocking him out.

But out of nowhere, I start to choke. Jason had snuck up behind me and caught me in a headlock. I force both hands between his grip, trying to prevent him from crushing my skull or breaking my neck. We struggle back and forth in the room, crashing into tables and packages for about 30 seconds.

Todd was not out for long. He slowly gets up from the ground.

"Bro, are you all right?" Jason calls out while still attempting to strangle me.

"Get up and get over here!" He calls out to him.

I can feel the blood swelling in my head. I am losing oxygen, and I am losing it fast. He doesn't need any help. If this continues, I will surely die.

This can't be the end...

Todd looks up, sees the position I am in, and responds. "Just a second, he's not going anywhere."

Then he looks directly at me. "I will make you pay for that."

He goes over to the pod and places his hand on the screen.

Access Denied

I can feel Jason's grip around my neck slightly loosen from shock.

He tries again, this time outright confused.

Access Denied

Jason's grip once again loosens, this time completely. He tosses me aside like a piece of garbage and goes straight for the machine. My vision and hearing are distorted, and my neck is numb. My body is weak from the struggle; I can hardly move. The only thing I make out clearly is...

Access Denied

And then an infuriated outcry, "What is this?!"

He starts thrashing the pod with brute force, back and forth until the screen cracks right down the middle.

I come to it. I realize what has happened and take a chance. Slowly, I wobble my way across the floor. I come upon them, and they hesitate to attack. I raise my bruised fingers towards the screen, and Jason twitches, ready to reach out and break my hand.

Todd, with his head hung in what appears to be rationalized panic, reaches out and stops his grasp.

I desperately strain and lift my hands to touch the screen.

Just a little bit more...

Almost there...

Access Granted: Welcome Agent Nick