CHAPTER ONE  - (a section of chapter one)

Sardonyx was dressed in his best suit, the dark grey one with micro stripes; it fitted his muscular frame like a second piece of skin. He stood patiently at the counter, whistling a quiet tune to himself. He felt good and was looking forward to the ceremony; actually he had been feeling very cheerful for the past few days and couldn't wait for the graduation event to begin. Sardonyx, like several other cadets, was headed for the inaugural graduation ceremony of Canada’s newly formed elite force called TONA. As a cadet himself, he had to be there before the invited guests.

As usual, he stopped by El Paso Bistro to pick up his cup of coffee. He had known Batista Banderas, who ran the little coffee shop, for a couple of years. He entered the shop, but didn’t see anyone around. That was unusual for a Saturday morning. Sardonyx assumed that Batista must be picking up some stock from the storeroom at the back of the coffee shop, probably setting up for the day. He stood patiently by the counter, whistling a quiet tune to himself.

Sardonyx checked his wristwatch; he had been waiting for more than five minutes, with no sign of Batista. He decided to call out, knocking on the backroom door.

“Batista, are you in there? I am running a little late. I just need the usual.”

“I need a helping hand back here, please,” came a frail voice.

“A helping hand? Sure, why not?” Sardonyx responded as he opened the backroom door, only to see Batista surrounded by three hefty men. They looked like wrestlers, the type you see on the TV, strutting their oiled muscular bodies. Suddenly two more men appeared by his side, they had been hiding by the door. They grabbed him by both hands and flung him to the floor and closed the door. One of them ran back into the shop, locked the entrance door and changed the “Open” sign to “Closed”. These guys meant business, it was quickly becoming clear to Sardonyx; he could not take any chances with them.

He stood to his feet defensively, ready to take the five men on, but one of them, whom the rest of the gang referred to as ‘Catacomb’ spoke. He had a deep, threatening tone to his voice, which matched his weird name.

“By your training, I know that saving a life comes first, before trying to make an arrest. I am sure you want to ensure that the little man over here is safe, before showing us your skills, oh young zealous boy.”

The man’s voice and his size reminded Sardonyx of the story of David and Goliath. Catacomb was intimidating, almost six feet seven inches tall, and would scare the living daylights out of most people. However, the last thing on Sardonyx’ mind was fear.

“I am so sorry, Sardonyx, they followed me in here. There was no chance for me to call the police for help.” Batista, the petit businessman pleaded with Sardonyx. When he heard this, Sardonyx knew then that this wasn’t a random act of robbery, but rather, it was a deliberate set up, against himself.

“Let him go and let’s talk about the business that brought you here” Sardonyx, who was still maintaining his defensive posture, said, hoping to buy more time as his mind weighed the different options to take.

“Ha-ha-ha-ha.” Catacomb laughed deviously. His laughter had this haunting ring to it, almost sounded as though there was an echo when he laughed, causing the sound to linger in the air for that little bit longer. Perhaps that is how he got his name. He continued; “I was told that you were a very smart boy but this is not smart enough. If we let him go, he will go and call the cops and they’ll come and save your butt. No, we are taking the two of you with us.”

Sardonyx suddenly struck out, kicking one of the two thugs holding Batista hostage on the collar bone, at the same time punching the other one directly on the face. A quick succession of kicks and punches felled the two thugs. They had been taken completely by surprise, and did not have a chance to react. Batista was now free. “Go, go now!” Sardonyx urged Batista, who made for the door. It was surprising that an old man could move that fast.

Batista ran through the backroom door into the shop, but was followed by one of the thugs, who pulled out a gun and fired. Batista fell forward, hitting the coffee maker and spilling its contents on the marble floor. The hot coffee streamed towards the entrance door. Diego Donahue, a regular customer who was standing by the door, waiting and wondering why Batista hadn’t opened for the day, noticed the spill from underneath the door. He became suspicious, but couldn’t see through the tinted glass door. Fearing that Batista might be in some trouble, maybe he may have slipped and fallen in his shop, Diego whipped out his Yukon XJ383 5G smart phone and called the police.

Meanwhile, in the backroom, Sardonyx reacted to the gunshot. “You murderers, you shot him,” he howled as he swivelled backwards in the air, reminiscent of an ancient Chinese self defence tactic. As he twisted in the air, his left foot lashed out at one of the burly men. The guy crumbled to the floor like a sack of potatoes. The other one, who had shot Batista, moved towards Sardonyx, lifting his gun. Quick as a flash, Sardonyx ducked to the left and then took a dive towards the thug’s midrib. The speed surprised the thug and before he could react, Sardonyx delivered a punch to his head, knocking him out.

All the while, Catacomb sat agitatedly turning his head left to right, stretching and clenching his fingers. Seeing that all his four accomplices were down, he stood up himself, yelling: “I said it, you are a green horn! Look at what you’ve caused.” He grabbed Sardonyx by the throat and began suffocating him. Sardonyx tried to wriggle out, but Catacomb’s hands were like those of a monster. Sardonyx fought back harder, and managed to get one hand free, poking Catacomb in the eye. “Ouch, ouch, I’ll get you for this.” Catacomb screamed in agony as the pain from his eye shot through his body. Deftly, Sardonyx twisted his legs around Catacomb’s ankle, and both of them fell, but Catacomb still held on to Sardonyx’ throat, hands like a vice. As they struggled on the floor, with Catacomb holding on to Sardonyx and trying to choke him, the Police burst into the room:

“Police, police, put your hands where we can see them,” the lead policeman shouted, pointing his semi-automatic double-action pistol at the people in the room.

Catacomb let go of Sardonyx and both of them stood up from the floor. The other four thugs shakily stood to their feet, still feeling the effects of Sardonyx’ attack.

“Ha, it’s you, Catacomb, You are in trouble again.” Inspector Downing, the lead policeman said. “And I can see you have Kirk and your other boys with you.” he continued. “Arrest them.” The police quickly and efficiently placed cuffs on the thugs.

Sardonyx pulled out his identity card and showed it to the inspector.

“Hello officer, thanks. They shot Batista, they shot Batista,” he said to Inspector Downing.

“Mr Sardonyx, I am pleased to meet you, I have heard so much about you and what your team is doing for our country.” The inspector extended his hand and shook Sardonyx’ hand. “I will need a statement from you, and then you can be on your way. Can you tell me, in your own words, all that happened,” the inspector continued.

“I’ll be glad to help in any way I can, these guys have to be off the streets, they are ruthless.” Sardonyx said.

Meanwhile, in the shop, the paramedics carefully lifted Batista on to a stretcher and carried him to the waiting ambulance. He was badly wounded, but he was a determined old man; he would survive.

Catacomb and his men were well known to the cops. The cops had been looking for Catacomb in connection with a recent bank robbery, and so they were pleased to have finally caught up with him; not just him, but also his entire gang of thugs. The five thugs walked out of the shop, with heads bowed, into the waiting police cars, surrounded by more than a dozen policemen.

“Inspector, can I give my statement to you here. I have to be at an important function, and I am already late.” Sardonyx asked the officer.

“Sure, why not. We can always ask you to come to the station if we need more details.” Inspector Downing replied.........

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