TALES OF THE MONGREL
TALL TALES
by Ralph Arata
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Part II of III
The Neutralizer saw only foggy-gray illumination above him. Out there, toward the heavens! He could almost touch it. He moved his arm and immediately felt the pain in his side. The illumination grew brighter.... It began to shimmer. Mere seconds had passed but each felt like an hour. The illumination became clear.... stars. Stars in the night sky. The fogginess was only in his mind. And his mind was clearing quickly.
A gun shot. No! Auto fire coming from several directions. Ralph Arata a.k.a. the Neutralizer had taken 3 hits but his X77 body amour had saved his life! The Kevlar trauma plates took the hits from the Nato 16 caliber ammunition well. The Neutralizer was bruised and the wind taken out of him, but he was up and alert..............and ready for action. The action of the NEUTRALIZER.
The enemy was closing fast, from several directions. His mission to rescue Dr. David Kaplan as well as plans for the NC3 stealth fighter-bomber was still in play. He had to make his move fast or perish. The Neutralizer thumbed the remote starter button - a tiny transmitter in his watch that Tom (the Doctor) Josefek had developed so that the Mongrel, a race prepared 1970 MGB, could be accessed and driven. .......... .........without a driver. The Neutralizer still had on his Echo-Z night vision goggles and saw 6 black clad soldiers approaching from 50 yards. The Mongrel’s Buick V-8 engine roared to life and the with its Pirelli P-8s digging for pay dirt the “MG” took off .......... ..........and over four of the six hard men.
The Neutralizer pulled his Beretta 93-R from shoulder leather and with the gun set a 3-round burst stitched the two remaining mercenaries across the sternum. That left approx. another 2 dozen soldiers, sent from Sir William Hendricks, the Neutralizer’s archenemy and play-write of the drama unfolding with the kidnapping of Dr. Kaplan from the NSA and NC3 plans. Plans that would render the USA’s stealth technology useless and subject the world to a terrorist nuclear or chemical strike.
The Neutralizer grabbed for the M-16/A203 grenade launcher and loaded a 60mm HE round. The MG stopped at his side, the Neutralizer grabbed the 10" Porsche-styled steering wheel while, at the same time, aiming and firing the HE round at the upcoming mercenaries. Four more black clad figures car-wheeled with the explosion. The M-16 shuttered in the Neutralizer’s hands and two more were quickly down.
The Neutralizer was now on the offensive. The MGB donuted a quick 180 and attacked. Another HE round took out a group of mercenaries with the M-16 following. The mercenaries broke and ran. One group lagged behind. They appeared encumbered. The Neutralizer heard a man scream! Dr Kaplan! The Mongrel raced for the Land Rover where the Doctor was being loaded. Two hard men turned and fired their Glock 17 auto-pistols at the oncoming “B” but the 9mm ammunition bounced off the MG’s reinforced body panels. The Neutralizer drew the Desert Eagle from shoulder leather and unleashed the full metal jacket, 44-magnum ammo. Both hard men went down….HARD! Two others came around from the backside of the Rover with their AK-47s chattering hollow-point death at 125 rounds per second. The Desert Eagle thundered again blowing one attacked off his feet and pushing the other violently against the 4-wheel drive.
One mercenary was left holding a gun to the Doctor’s head. The Neutralizer stopped the “B”, calmly climbed out and approached. For a second the two warriors eyes locked….but that was the only exchange. The Neutralizer, in one fluid movement, slipped the 8" Tanto combat knife from its sheath and sent it through the air on its one-way journey into the mercenary’s brain.
Dr. Kaplan, I presume. ............ .........!!
30 minutes later The Neutralizer pulled the Mongrel to the roadside. He exited the MG and pulled a small satellite dish from the boot. He set up the com-link to Anderson, The BIG FED, who was waiting at the “Farm” for the Neutralizer’s progress report. “Don, I have the Doctor but not plans for the NC3 yet”! “Send the fly-boys to pick him up”! The FED gave the Neutralizer the pickup coordinates where the Black Hawk attack helicopter from the carrier Enterprise would pick the Doctor!
It was 6AM by the time the Doctor was secure and on his way back to Fort Meade compliments of the US Navy. The Neutralizer had 2 hours to make the race at Splatato. Anderson had also given him additional Intel that Sir William would NOT be driving the 427 AC Cobra but rather his “beloved” 1972 MG Midget. The Midget was by far the superior road car of the two, which meant Sir William had already found out about the aborted mission to take him out as well as the recovery of Kaplan! The Midget meant Hendricks was playing for keeps and giving himself every advantage to exchange the NC3 plans.
The Neutralizer knew the car and Hendricks well. The car from his earlier days of road racing, and Hendricks who served in the same Navy Seal team and who was also an expert in hand-to-hand combat.
Sir William had used his all of his military training and contacts to graduate into the dark and secretive world of high-end arms dealing. With the NC3 plans Sir William had come into a class of his own. A class that would attract not just the highest bidders the terrorist world had to offer but also “justice”! The justice of the NEUTRALIZER!
The Mongrel stole into Splatato just before 7AM. The Neutralizer had 60 minutes before the race began. He fueled the MG, checked its vital systems. By 7:45AM the Mongrel was registered and numbered and sitting in a racing line of over 75 antique racers. The Neutralizer viewed the competition from behind the sun visor of his Bell race helmet. He saw Hendricks….well, not exactly as he spied 3 - 1972 MG Midgets. Each driver had the look of a killer. Sir William was taking no chances. Nor would the Neutralizer. He would approach each car, one at a time.
Just before 8AM the race crowd silent as the race Marshall walked across the track to the starting booth.
“Gentlemen, start your engines”! The Mongrel’s throaty exhaust screamed as its 325 horsepower, supercharged engine roared to life. The Neutralizer caught one the Midget drivers suddenly looking at him with an evil smile. “So, you’ll be first out of the gate to greet me”, the Neutralizer thought to himself.
“Gentlemen, on your marks”! The Marshall fired a shot and then race was on.
Will the Neutralizer be a match for Hendricks and his organization? Will the Neutralizer get the NC3 plans back from Hendricks? Will the free world be saved? Will the next Tales of the Mongrel appear in the right form? Will Arata ever wake up?
Stay tuned for the next Driveline!
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