The Red Phoenix 12: Strength Comes in Numbers (14 page)

“Is somebody up there?” he called out in a loud voice.

There was no reply other than the continuous soft, gentle whispers coming from one of the rooms. He kept his attention upstairs as he walked up each step carefully towards the mysterious voices. The whispery-echoing sounds became louder as he reached the upper landing.

He opened the door to his office, shining his light, looking at his bookshelves, pictures on the wall then his desk top. His attention was pulled to the red-silver metal chest that sat on his desk, where the sounds were coming from. He stared at the metal box with curiosity, wondering what could be inside, making such whispery-echoing sounds. He leaned over the chest, keeping his light shining on it.

“What is whispering inside this thing?” he mumbled.

He noticed the wavy, etched-in lines on the sides of the chest.

“What strange markings,” he said in a quiet voice, rubbing his fingers across the peculiar wavy lines then onto the triangular patterns on the side.

The metal box opened, moving the patterns outwards, shining a bright light from inside it.

“Ah!” Siddoway said, dropping it on his desk, backing away in fear, panting, watching the metal chest slide open.

The ghost-like mist with its streaking blue vapors floated out of it, levitating across the office like it was staring at Siddoway.  His heart rate began to calm down, thinking he should be afraid but he wasn’t. The misty vapors floated across the room until it twirled around his right hand, arm and around his shoulders like it was his new pet, making a warm feeling come over him. It spun around his right arm in a playful manner then the light hovered over his palm as the thin vapors flowed off him like a smoky fountain.

Siddoway stared at the mysterious apparition with amazement, gazing at the slow moving, cloud-like body of the mist turn and swirl within itself. His cell phone rang downstairs but he was too mesmerized to notice.

“You’re a vapor,” he said, running his other hand through the blue mist. “But what are you?”

The cell phone rang again downstairs. He shook out of his trance and lowered the light back to the open metal chest where it hovered. As he turned, he picked up his flashlight, noticing it was dead. He tapped it against his left palm but it didn’t come on.

“Dammit, I forgot to replace the batteries,” he said.

Suddenly, a narrow, pink and green bolt of lightning zapped his flashlight, causing it to turn on with a full charge, making it brighter than it was before.

“Good lord!” Siddoway cried, dropping his flashlight, staggering back, feeling afraid again, and panting.

He gawked at the flashlight on the floor, astonished, ignoring the ringing of his cell phone.

“How did you do that?” he asked the mist as though it was going to respond.

He picked up his flashlight.

“Unbelievable,” he mumbled.

He stared at the blue, misty phantasma again as it levitated above the desk.

“You’re some kind of energy source, aren’t you?” he asked it in an intrigued voice, reaching out, touching it in a careful way. “How fascinating.”

The cell phone stopped ringing.

“Will you follow me downstairs? I’m afraid I missed my call.”

The apparition floated away from the chest and followed him out of his office. Siddoway smiled as the misty vapor drifted in mid-air behind him four-feet above the floor. He walked downstairs, speeding up. The blue vapor sped up with him like a faithful pet. He laughed, staring at it again.

“How is it possible?” he asked, reaching out his hand again, touching the light.

The mist wrapped around his hand, wrist and forearm again then turned back into a slow-moving vapor with a gleaming white light in the center.

“I’d love to know where you came from,” he said.

Siddoway glanced at his ceiling lights that were fifteen feet above the floor, shut down from the power outage. He stared at his floating, lit up, vaporous companion.

“Could you help me with the lights?” he asked the blue mist in a kind tone.

The phantasma remained in its spot, shooting multiple thin streaks of pink, green and purple lightning bolts across the tall open space of Siddoway’s home, striking each of his light fixtures one after another, lighting them up like the power outage was over. The lightning stripes sizzled as they flew through the home, turning corners, going down hallways, entering rooms, zapping outlets, turning on lamps, ceiling fixtures and night lights.

“Incredible!” he stated, standing in awe, watching the streaks of lightning fly through his house, lighting up each one of his fixtures. “A source of energy controlled by my will.”

Siddoway turned off his flashlight and walked to his dining table; the mist followed him, hovering over his right shoulder. He looked over his unfinished nuclear bomb then stared at his uncharged XD Three-Thousand that was leaning against a wall. He picked up the XD and turned to the floating vapor.

“I don’t know if you’re familiar with nuclear science but in order for this weapon to work, it needs a charge of tritium that can sustain a steady level of lithium-six,” he stated. “It needs to—”

Siddoway stopped speaking, feeling like an idiot. The mist floated in the air not making a sound. He sat down.
Sure, this strange twirling conduit can light up flashlights and ceiling fixtures but why would I assume it could charge up weapons requiring a form of nuclear power?
he thought. He sat down, feeling sorry for himself, seeing that he’d reached the end of the line of his new power source. He thought of all the nights he’d dedicated to math equations and research, mastering the XD gun.

Suddenly, the blue mist shot a powerful beam of green and purple light into the XD weapon he held in his arms. Siddoway sat up, startled at the sudden blast of energy in his lap.

“Whoa!” he gasped.

His XD revved on. The strip of bright orange, fiber-optic light turned on along the side. He stood up with the weapon, excited at his charged weapon. He aimed it at a vase that sat on his fireplace mantle across his den and fired. A brilliant blue laser flew across the den, striking the vase, causing it to vanish.

“Remarkable!” he said in a loud voice, turning to the vapor. “You’re some kind of genie, aren’t you?” he added, firing more shots through his house, causing a picture on his wall, a plate on his dining table, and his piano bench to vanish.

Thoughts of vengeful desires flooded Siddoway’s mind, things he wanted. He saw images of Mueller and his crew suffering in pain then dying in fire; the Mueller Weapons Inc. building exploding then collapsing. His thoughts continued as he saw himself completing and selling his nuclear bomb to his contacts in East Asia.

“Dr. Siddoway is back, boys,” he stated with a sinister grin, chuckling then bursting into uncontrollable laughter.

***

It was evening. Vincent, Seymour and Marcos followed Mueller into his spacious palace in Fountain Hills. It was a magnificent two-story, hacienda-style home with ivory pillars, rounded portions of the home and several balconies overlooking the vast, cactus laden, rocky hills landscape. The four of them laughed after Mueller told them a witty joke, coming into the marble-floored foyer that was the base of an elegant curved staircase that went to the upper level.

Mueller glanced through the dark arched entryway that led to the dining area. He noticed someone was sitting at his table with the lights turned off.

“Guys, guys, someone is in my house,” said Mueller, silencing their laughter, keeping his eyes on the dark personage at his table.

The four of them drew a pistol from inside their jackets as they made their way to the dining room. Mueller turned on the lights. Siddoway sat before them wearing a grin, holding up an XD weapon.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing in my house, Siddoway?” asked Mueller in a sinister voice as they aimed their weapons at him.

“I figure you broke into my house and managed to destroy my life, I have to do the same to you,” Siddoway responded, his voice nonchalant and unafraid. “In fact, I’m going to beat you to the punch.”

“You’re going to threaten me sitting there as you are with four guns on you?” asked Mueller. “If you’re that stupid, you deserved to have your ideas taken from you.”

“I have
my
XD right here, Dennis,” stated Siddoway, sounding coy.

“I’ll blow your head off your shoulders before you have a chance to use it,” Mueller replied. “You broke into my house, threatened me with your hi-tech gun. I kill you. It’s a clean deal. You still lose. Get it?”

“You and I both know I’m not going to sit a day in prison because you think you outsmarted me,” stated Siddoway.

“I did outsmart you,” stated Mueller. “You’re finished, washed-up. You’re nothing!”

“Am I?” asked Siddoway.

“That’s right,” Mueller answered.

“Then why don’t you and your degenerate posse make a move?” asked Siddoway.

“I guess you knew it was a one-way ticket when you had the balls to come in my house,” stated Mueller, cocking his weapon. “Adios doctor.”

Mueller fired. His round went right through Siddoway’s head, making a hole in the wall like Siddoway was a projected image that appeared to sit in the chair at the table. The image of Siddoway sitting in the dining room chair disappeared. Siddoway sounded a sinister laugh somewhere in the house.

“What the—” said Mueller, sounding flabbergasted as he and the others lowered their guns.

“Holographic projected imagery,” Siddoway’s voice explained. “It’s a thing called
advanced science
. Way ahead of your time, Mueller,” he added.

“Where are you, Siddoway?” Mueller demanded.

“Boo!” Siddoway said as he came out from around a corner, holding his XD.

“Shoot him!” yelled Mueller as he and the others fired at him, their rounds passing through another hologram of Siddoway, hitting another wall, hanging picture and a window, causing glass to shatter.

The second hologram of Siddoway disappeared as he laughed out again.

“Stop shooting, you morons!” cried Mueller.

“Another damn hologram!” Vincent stated.

“I’m really enjoying watching you and your goons shoot up your house, Dennis,” stated Siddoway, his voice from somewhere in the home.

“Dammit! Enough games, Siddoway!” said Mueller as he and his crew scanned the house with their guns up.

“Fine, game over,” stated Siddoway, appearing at the top of the curved staircase, the phantasma hovering above his right shoulder.

“There he is!” cried Marcos as he, Vincent and Seymour got into position in the foyer to shoot, aiming their guns up at him.

“Electrify them,” said Siddoway.

Mueller’s cronies went to fire their guns. Dennis rushed in after them. The blue apparition fired three streaks of thin pink, purple and green lightning bolts down at Marcos, Vincent and Seymour, incinerating all three of them at the same time. Their guns and Seymour’s glasses hit the floor with soft clanking sounds.

Mueller was stunned in fear at the sight of his three guys who evaporated right before his eyes. Siddoway walked down the stairs with an evil scowl, the light still above his right shoulder like a fiery, demonic pet following him.

“Drop it,” said Siddoway.