New Tales of the Mongrel
By Ralph Arata

The Neutralizer
PART III - SHOWDOWN

Hello again my friend" came the voice of Sir William!
Arata (a.k.a. the Neutralizer) turned very slowly around to meet the chilling stare of the weapons dealer. For long moments his own ice-blue eyes locked in a steely stare with Sir William.
The two men made no sound but only continued to maintain their mutual military posture while the eyes remained locked. Acknowledgement, admiration, memory, perhaps hatred; it would have been hard to tell just how long the exchange would have continued have lasted had not shadows began to appear both to the right and left of Sir William.
The soldier checked his position and visual field of fire as yet another and another shadow appeared. Then a voice from behind said softly, "OK now, steady on and we won't have to kill you….yet!" The Neutralizer heard footsteps warning him that two more hard-men were coming up from behind - making a total of six and Sir William.
Sir William then spoke again. "I must apologize for this old man but I really must excuse myself as I have a rather exclusive auction to attend…..and after all, I am hosting it!" "Ta, ta, old man." "Enjoy the company of my friends….while you can!"
Two realizations were instantly confirmed in the soldier's brain. FIRST, Sir William had the neuro-toxin and SECOND, he probably had it on his person!! Sir William turned on his heel and headed for his MG Midget.
Seven adversaries with one walking away. The soldier took only moments to mentally map his battle strategy and then broke into action unleashing hell. A round house kick to the throat of the "voice" behind him knocked back the hard-man into his companion taking them both off balance for a moment. The soldier let the momentum of the kick take him twisting in a flash into a full body role coming up quickly, eyes to the front and tracking with his M-16/A203 rifle-grenade launcher. On full auto, the 50 grain 38 caliber manglers found their mark to the two front gunners taking them both down for good as the Neutralizer peppered their bodies in a figure 8 death. The soldier did another quick body role as two other hard-men aimed their AK-47s. The rounds zipped over the soldier's head.
Up again and running the Neutralizer took one of those two with a head shot then dove for cover behind a small shed for 3 angles of death still stalked him. Sir William's men were professionals, ex-Spetnaz and devoted to their high paying boss. They would fight on taking the soldier out or die trying!
Behind the shed the Neutralizer checked his ammo seeing he still had half the load or 30 rounds and another 60 round banana chip tapped for backup. No time to waste as Sir William was getting away. Time for 40MM HE round thought the soldier as he engaged the A203 grenade launcher. Hearing footsteps, Arata raced around the other side of the shed seeing two gunners approaching from 30 paces north. The 40MM frag grenade "thumped" from the A203 leaving nothing to further identify the gunners.
One to go! But where was he. Hold it there partner - drop the cannon. The soldier did so but at the same instant thumbed the MG key fob initiating the remote starter on his MGB. The gunner turned slightly - for just an instant in response to the noise. The soldier slipped the 10" Tanto combat knife at close quarters between the 3rd and 4th ribs and into the heart of the last gunner. The ex-Spetnaz sank to the ground.
No time to check bodies or ID - the soldier was on the run. He too had an auction to attend, one he could not be late for. Arata ran for the already running "B". The GPS tracker clearly showed Sir William's Midget turning south onto the A34 heading for Wimslow. The soldier yanked the "B's" 12" Porsche-style steering wheel hard right as the "B" immediately responded in a 180 degree fishtail. The MG righted onto the B5392 and as its thirsty Cosworth V-8 drank in the 100 octane fuel the speed quickly rose and the soldier could see he was already gaining on his adversary.
The numbers turned down in the soldier's head as he thought about what he might encounter again with Sir William. Wimslow was small and also very wealthy Cheshire town just south and a bit west of Manchester. Would Sir William's auction site be isolated or would the Neutralizer have to consider numerous "innocents" to account for if the auction was in town.
As he drove the soldier pulled at his mobile and after a number of security "clicks" and "bleeps" the secure line of the chief fed, John Schroeder, was reached. "John, its Arata reporting in!" "Arata…….ARATA". "What the hell are you doing???" Came the voice of my next door neighbor, Richard! I blinked my eyes and noticed the movie we were watching, "Hey Dude Where's' My Car", was over and I dosed off for a few minutes and had again entered the life of my alter-ego!! I looked Richard straight in the eye and locked stares with him. "ARATA HERE!" I said. Annnnnnnd READY FOR ACTION!!
Richard looked back and said "check"! "Now, we had better get to the Home Depot and buy that sump pump before the wives get back and yell at us!" I looked back at Richard and said "Roger". He said "no dude, the name is RICHARD!"