3
From his left, he saw lightning come arching towards him. He flung himself onto the ground.
“I will say this, Mr. Detective. You are a persistent bugger. I thought I was rid of you for sure.”
“Glad I can disappoint you.” Campbell got onto his knees. He couldn’t see the lightning man anywhere. Not good.
“When I got away from you and saw that the cordon that you had obviously set up was incomplete, I thought for certain that this was my lucky night.” Lightning struck the lamp post beside the Detective Inspector to his right, casting a shadow onto the street.
“You couldn’t be that lucky.” Campbell thought he was in front of him to his left. He wanted to be sure before he started shooting up the neighbourhood. He saw movement from the lawn in front of him slightly to his right. He raised his shot gun and fired off a shot. The man whirled to his left and fired an electric blast at him. Campbell jumped to his left.
Lights in at least three houses went on casting light upon the lawns of those respective houses. The lightning man walked to his left not losing sight of the Detective Chief Inspector. Campbell raised his shotgun following the assailant with the sight of the gun. One good shot should take care of him. He wasn’t worried about taking him alive anymore. He just wanted him down.
“You’re under arrest,” he said simply and as forcefully as he could.
“What’s the charge?” the lightning man said gleefully. He seemed to be enjoying himself.
“For public disturbance, murder, resisting arrest and ownership of a dangerous weapon without a licence.”
He fired his cannon and the ground in front of him igniting the grass and creating a fire.
"Damn, he’s good. He’s too good."
Campbell walked towards the fire, not sure where the lightning man was. He heard a crash of a window and knew what was happening. He ran to the left of the flames that were waist-high now and ran past them and onto the lawn. He saw the broken window at the front of the house and heard a scream. Campbell climbed in the broken window into a dark room that he guessed was the lounge. He got low, knowing that surprise was the only advantage he had. Campbell also knew that the shotgun was no longer a useful weapon. He threw it to the ground and pulled his .67 from his holster. It had precision which was what he needed right now.
“Don’t hurt me!” a shrill voice pleaded.
“I know you’re in here, friend!” the lightning man called out. “If you want to explain to the mayor why this young woman is dead, then keep coming after me!”
In the dark the detective couldn’t see anything. Campbell knew this was all about survival for the lightning man right now and he was using whatever means at his disposal to get the job done. He could tell that both the killer and the woman were right in front of him. He just couldn’t tell by how far. There was no way to take out the lightning man from this vantage point without the risk of hurting the woman. If it came down to it, then he would take the woman out to get to the lightning man. She would be the last death. He would see to that. He had to think - think! Campbell needed a clever plan. Something good that could catch the lightning man off guard, but what?
“Show yourself!” the lightning man called out. “Drop that shotgun of yours and put your hands on top of your head, Mr. Detective!”
Campbell moved forward and felt and found what he thought was a couch, a seat. He got behind it. Moments later the lights came on. He saw the pink wallpaper behind him and the purple velvet curtains pulled across to show the broken window.
“What?”
“There’s nobody there. Please let me go!”
“Take a seat you bitch!” He heard someone collapse into the seat, the couch in front of him. “I was sure he would be stupid enough to follow me. Maybe he went to get some backup.”
Campbell got to his feet, pointed his gun and fired two rounds. The first caught the man in the left shoulder. He grunted and stumbled backwards. The second round hit the door behind him. Campbell grabbed the woman and pulled her behind the couch just as an electrical bolt hit the spot where she had been sitting.
“Get out the window! Do it now!” Campbell shouted. He got up and let off another three rounds. Two of the rounds were deflected by the cannon and the third hit the wall to the right. But it gave the woman time to get out of the window and to safety.
“Curse you!” spat the lightning man, pointing his cannon at the detective. Nothing happened. The cannon sparked and smoke escaped in tendrils from the bullet holes and the cavity in front. It would seem that deflecting the shots from Campbell’s gun had damaged the cannon. This had rendered it useless and in the process, the lightning man was armless and suffering from wounds in the shoulder and leg. He ran, or more like stumbled out of the lounge. Campbell ran after him, jumping over the couch. He entered into the kitchen and saw the lightning man bolt through a door that the detective believed would lead to the laundry. He didn’t know this house well enough, but his guess was that the back door would be through there. He couldn’t lose this asshole. Especially considering the fact that he was significantly injured. The lightning man must be losing a fair amount of blood, yet his spirit for escape was undeterred.
He passed through the laundry door, gun scanning the small room. There was a washing machine, a sink and two doors. One would lead outside and one to the bathroom. He wasn’t sure how he knew this, but he did. Campbell couldn’t believe that this man was keeping the distance between them. I mean, he was supposed to be injured! He bolted out the back door and saw his quarry running down the side of the house towards a fence.
“Damn you, stop!” he called out. The lightning man ignored him and leapt onto the fence like a man possessed. He wished he had his cellphone, or the fact that he wasn’t doing this alone but he was. Campbell ran towards the fence and pumped off a round that struck the fence. 'Click'. Gun empty.
"Dammit!"
He ejected the clip and slapped a fresh one into the .67 and jumped onto the fence, hauled himself up and looked over the top onto a yard and seeing the man limping across. Campbell knew that would take him to Terry Street. He jumped over the fence to the ground. The lightning man ran onto Terry Street. Campbell ran after him, wondering what his next move might be. Would he try to take another house hostage? He had to try something, didn’t he? Especially considering he was now armless and that useless cannon was weighing him down. The lightning man ran left up the street and Campbell followed, gaining upon him now. It would seem the lightning man was losing his energy. The chase was over.
“Hold it or I’m going to shoot you again, and this time it’ll be a bullet in the back of your head!”
He stopped running and turned around panting, before collapsing to one knee. “Damn you.”
“Whatever,” Campbell said as he approached the man and grabbed the cannon.
“Is this a surgical implant or just a weapon attached to your arm?”
“Just an attachment.”
“Good.” Campbell yanked it off and threw it to the ground.
“Careful!” shouted the lightning man. “That’s an expensive piece of equipment!”
“Do I really look like I care?” he replied with little sympathy.
A police cruiser pulled into the street, high lights splashed onto both men. A police officer got out of the car. “Sir, may I ask what’s happening here?”
“Detective Chief Inspector McGill. I have apprehended a suspect of tonight’s convenience store explosion. Can you please take this guy into custody?”
“Need to see some identification,” the cop responded. He had blonde hair, medium build. Campbell didn’t know him at all. He pulled out his I.D. badge wallet and passed it over. He nodded, returning it to the detective. He looked down to the lightning man and cuffed him. “He’ll need medical treatment.”
“Not until I’ve finished with him,” Campbell said. “Take him to the holding cells.”
The cop seemed uneasy, but the look on Campbell’s face told him that arguing this point would not be the wisest course of action at almost midnight, so he did as he was told. Campbell watched the car roll away down the road and then picked up the cannon and headed down the road towards Milon Street. This day was far from done.
“I will say this, Mr. Detective. You are a persistent bugger. I thought I was rid of you for sure.”
“Glad I can disappoint you.” Campbell got onto his knees. He couldn’t see the lightning man anywhere. Not good.
“When I got away from you and saw that the cordon that you had obviously set up was incomplete, I thought for certain that this was my lucky night.” Lightning struck the lamp post beside the Detective Inspector to his right, casting a shadow onto the street.
“You couldn’t be that lucky.” Campbell thought he was in front of him to his left. He wanted to be sure before he started shooting up the neighbourhood. He saw movement from the lawn in front of him slightly to his right. He raised his shot gun and fired off a shot. The man whirled to his left and fired an electric blast at him. Campbell jumped to his left.
Lights in at least three houses went on casting light upon the lawns of those respective houses. The lightning man walked to his left not losing sight of the Detective Chief Inspector. Campbell raised his shotgun following the assailant with the sight of the gun. One good shot should take care of him. He wasn’t worried about taking him alive anymore. He just wanted him down.
“You’re under arrest,” he said simply and as forcefully as he could.
“What’s the charge?” the lightning man said gleefully. He seemed to be enjoying himself.
“For public disturbance, murder, resisting arrest and ownership of a dangerous weapon without a licence.”
He fired his cannon and the ground in front of him igniting the grass and creating a fire.
"Damn, he’s good. He’s too good."
Campbell walked towards the fire, not sure where the lightning man was. He heard a crash of a window and knew what was happening. He ran to the left of the flames that were waist-high now and ran past them and onto the lawn. He saw the broken window at the front of the house and heard a scream. Campbell climbed in the broken window into a dark room that he guessed was the lounge. He got low, knowing that surprise was the only advantage he had. Campbell also knew that the shotgun was no longer a useful weapon. He threw it to the ground and pulled his .67 from his holster. It had precision which was what he needed right now.
“Don’t hurt me!” a shrill voice pleaded.
“I know you’re in here, friend!” the lightning man called out. “If you want to explain to the mayor why this young woman is dead, then keep coming after me!”
In the dark the detective couldn’t see anything. Campbell knew this was all about survival for the lightning man right now and he was using whatever means at his disposal to get the job done. He could tell that both the killer and the woman were right in front of him. He just couldn’t tell by how far. There was no way to take out the lightning man from this vantage point without the risk of hurting the woman. If it came down to it, then he would take the woman out to get to the lightning man. She would be the last death. He would see to that. He had to think - think! Campbell needed a clever plan. Something good that could catch the lightning man off guard, but what?
“Show yourself!” the lightning man called out. “Drop that shotgun of yours and put your hands on top of your head, Mr. Detective!”
Campbell moved forward and felt and found what he thought was a couch, a seat. He got behind it. Moments later the lights came on. He saw the pink wallpaper behind him and the purple velvet curtains pulled across to show the broken window.
“What?”
“There’s nobody there. Please let me go!”
“Take a seat you bitch!” He heard someone collapse into the seat, the couch in front of him. “I was sure he would be stupid enough to follow me. Maybe he went to get some backup.”
Campbell got to his feet, pointed his gun and fired two rounds. The first caught the man in the left shoulder. He grunted and stumbled backwards. The second round hit the door behind him. Campbell grabbed the woman and pulled her behind the couch just as an electrical bolt hit the spot where she had been sitting.
“Get out the window! Do it now!” Campbell shouted. He got up and let off another three rounds. Two of the rounds were deflected by the cannon and the third hit the wall to the right. But it gave the woman time to get out of the window and to safety.
“Curse you!” spat the lightning man, pointing his cannon at the detective. Nothing happened. The cannon sparked and smoke escaped in tendrils from the bullet holes and the cavity in front. It would seem that deflecting the shots from Campbell’s gun had damaged the cannon. This had rendered it useless and in the process, the lightning man was armless and suffering from wounds in the shoulder and leg. He ran, or more like stumbled out of the lounge. Campbell ran after him, jumping over the couch. He entered into the kitchen and saw the lightning man bolt through a door that the detective believed would lead to the laundry. He didn’t know this house well enough, but his guess was that the back door would be through there. He couldn’t lose this asshole. Especially considering the fact that he was significantly injured. The lightning man must be losing a fair amount of blood, yet his spirit for escape was undeterred.
He passed through the laundry door, gun scanning the small room. There was a washing machine, a sink and two doors. One would lead outside and one to the bathroom. He wasn’t sure how he knew this, but he did. Campbell couldn’t believe that this man was keeping the distance between them. I mean, he was supposed to be injured! He bolted out the back door and saw his quarry running down the side of the house towards a fence.
“Damn you, stop!” he called out. The lightning man ignored him and leapt onto the fence like a man possessed. He wished he had his cellphone, or the fact that he wasn’t doing this alone but he was. Campbell ran towards the fence and pumped off a round that struck the fence. 'Click'. Gun empty.
"Dammit!"
He ejected the clip and slapped a fresh one into the .67 and jumped onto the fence, hauled himself up and looked over the top onto a yard and seeing the man limping across. Campbell knew that would take him to Terry Street. He jumped over the fence to the ground. The lightning man ran onto Terry Street. Campbell ran after him, wondering what his next move might be. Would he try to take another house hostage? He had to try something, didn’t he? Especially considering he was now armless and that useless cannon was weighing him down. The lightning man ran left up the street and Campbell followed, gaining upon him now. It would seem the lightning man was losing his energy. The chase was over.
“Hold it or I’m going to shoot you again, and this time it’ll be a bullet in the back of your head!”
He stopped running and turned around panting, before collapsing to one knee. “Damn you.”
“Whatever,” Campbell said as he approached the man and grabbed the cannon.
“Is this a surgical implant or just a weapon attached to your arm?”
“Just an attachment.”
“Good.” Campbell yanked it off and threw it to the ground.
“Careful!” shouted the lightning man. “That’s an expensive piece of equipment!”
“Do I really look like I care?” he replied with little sympathy.
A police cruiser pulled into the street, high lights splashed onto both men. A police officer got out of the car. “Sir, may I ask what’s happening here?”
“Detective Chief Inspector McGill. I have apprehended a suspect of tonight’s convenience store explosion. Can you please take this guy into custody?”
“Need to see some identification,” the cop responded. He had blonde hair, medium build. Campbell didn’t know him at all. He pulled out his I.D. badge wallet and passed it over. He nodded, returning it to the detective. He looked down to the lightning man and cuffed him. “He’ll need medical treatment.”
“Not until I’ve finished with him,” Campbell said. “Take him to the holding cells.”
The cop seemed uneasy, but the look on Campbell’s face told him that arguing this point would not be the wisest course of action at almost midnight, so he did as he was told. Campbell watched the car roll away down the road and then picked up the cannon and headed down the road towards Milon Street. This day was far from done.