11 The Invasion

A legion of ferocious black vans dashed through the heavenly thoroughfares of the magnificent suburbs of the city. They covered a large span of land, drawing closer to their destination. A plow of green fields protruded, exposing the manor estate, which stood further from them.

The wheels of the vans scurried even faster when the vast fields appeared.

A black gate cropped from below the horizon. In response, the drivers rammed the accelerators with force. The vehicle moved with precise speed as the first van ran through the gate while the rest followed. This scenario painted imagery of a death squad inviting themselves into Vanessa's premises without permission. Khunta's men provoked the alarm system, notifying security staff members about the intrusion.

The intruders halted their vehicles and lined them up in a row as each vehicle stood side by side. The squad of thugs used the cars for cover and initiated a shootout from behind their vehicles.

The security staff took hold of weapons and proceeded outside, initiating a counterattack. A shootout exasperated as bullets were flying all around.

Eventually, Khunta's men overshadowed Vanessa's forces by laying them to waste. Even though they had wiped out a considerable amount of her troops, it's not to say that they were untouchable. Exceptionally, they also lost a significant amount of casualties.

Apisko, who was Sir Khunta's most trusted man, led them inside the manor. They marched down the hallways and barged into different rooms. They turned the infrastructure of the house upside down and threw the furniture all around, from dressing tables to curtains, mattresses, and cupboards. All fell to the might of their relentless assaults.

Fortunately, they could not find the talisman despite their ill attempts. Afterward, Apisko led them to a section comprising multiple rooms on the second floor. Once again, they searched and unclogged. In and out, they were trashing the entire place.

Eventually, Apisko barged into Vanessa's room and violently knocked down her door. He marched inside and analyzed the room, clinging firmly to the handle of the shotgun pump. He looked from left to right. Then from behind, Clouseau prowled like a cunning beast with a coat of orange and black striped fur. A baseball bat was at hand. Therefore he struck him with it at the back of his head.

Apisko fell flat on the floor and groaned in anguish while Clouseau made good work of him.

Unfortunately, his men came to his aid and barged into Vanessa's room. They encircled him as hundreds of shotgun pumps centered around his head. Clouseau's legs trembled violently while slowly raising his hands above his head. One of Apisko's men rushed to his aid and picked him up while he dusted himself.

After that, he let him go until he could stand. Apisko then reached for his right pocket and pulled out a set of brace knuckles. He coated them around his knuckles and kissed each of them. After that, he landed a vicious blow on his baby-like textured face. A pair of teeth sprinted out, similar to how a quake of popcorn would sprint through the lid of a pot. He fell flat on the floor while Apisko crouched and grabbed his collar. With the use of his strength, he was able to lift him effortlessly. He then aimed his fist toward his face.

"You son of a bitch! Who do you think you're messing with, huh? I am General Apisko, bred to be an efficient killer. Yet you dare to think that a stupid baseball bat will kill me! You're a fool! Tonight we're going to take you to one of our bases. There, I will chop your fingers off with a saw! Do you hear me!"

Clouseau groaned with agony as Apisko interrogated him, "Where is the talisman?"

Clouseau reluctantly shook his head as he raised his voice at him. "I don't have time for this! Where is the talisman? Give it to me right now!"

"Please, I beg of you, do not hurt me!"

Apisko landed another audacious blow, but this time toward his gut. The impact of the assault caused blood to spew out of his mouth.

Apisko threw him on the floor and ordered one of his men to hand him a pistol. They did so, and without hesitation, he aimed the gun toward his face. The poor servant shuddered at the sight of this. Once again, he raised his hands.

"I'm not going to ask you again! Where is the talisman?!!!"

Clouseau ignored his demands, despite the risk of losing his life; this, however, was a fatal mistake, as an enraged Apisko shot him in the right shoulder. Clouseau groaned, and he placed his left hand on his right shoulder.

He then loaded the gun with another set of bullets and centered it toward the same arm he had targeted.

"Are you still not going to sing like a good little birdy? Prepare to live the rest of your life without an arm!"

Apisko placed his finger close to the trigger, but just before he could pull it, Clouseau sang like an enchanted little bird.

"Fine, I'll tell you where it is! Please don't kill me. I am a husband and a father of two kids. My family..."

Apisko grabbed his chin with force.

"I don't have time for your petty excuses! If you don't show us where you have hidden the talisman, your wife will be a widow! Do you understand me, you son of bitch?!"

He nodded and dusted himself. Clousea led them to a library on the third floor. They used the staircase and eventually marked their footprints on the mattress of the library. Apisko analyzed the entire room. He shifted his head from left to right. Doubts began to fill his head like a half-empty glass filled with water. Clouseau then led them toward the bookshelves. Apisko's face was fuming red. All that was left was for steam to soar from his ears. He grabbed Clouseau's scruff with force and firmed his grip on it.

At that moment, Clouseau succumbed into submission and crouched; his shoulders spread a breath of numbness towards his elbows. After that, Apisko placed a pistol under his chin.

"Listen, I don't have time for your jokes! Why did you lead us here? You don't think that I will shoot you. I will pull the bloody trigger right now!"

Clouseau's feet shuddered intensely, and in response, he stuttered, "dzis...dzis is no joke! I promise I will lead you to zhe talisman trust me."

With just a push, Clouseau took a few steps further but this time on wobbly legs. They gazed at him in wonder as he touched the surface of a desk. Afterward, he removed his hand from the table.

Suddenly, a holographic image of a keyboard ejected from the desk's surface and levitated in the air. Clouseau pressed multiple keys to unlock the password. After doing so, the bookshelves magically split in half. They moved to opposite sides like the doors of an elevator.

A pathway interjected and led them straight to a vault. Upon arriving there, a capsule tube stood amid the vault. Inside it, it occupied Vanessa's talisman. The talisman levitated while emitting a dash of golden rays. Clouseau reached for his pockets and took out a remote controller. He centered it towards the capsule tube.

As soon as he pressed the button, the glass door opened. He then placed his hand inside the tube and took out the talisman. He gently put it on Apisko's hands, who smirked at him with delight.

"Excellent job; you are worthy of a reward."

Clouseau's hopes escalated to great heights, "Oh...really? What will you give me in turn for my efforts?"

Apisko instantly rammed the back of the pistol against his forehead, thus causing him to black out.

A few minutes later

The three Guardians placed their foothold at the front gate of Vanessa's manor. The sight that unfolded before their eyes was genuinely grotesque. Khunta's men not only ran the gate down, but they left a sea of corpses that were scattered all around.

"What the hell happened here?" Inquired Peter while Kuhn Lau looked down and saw a track printed by screeching tires.

"It seems that someone ambushed this place. I hope we are not too late."

They went to the building and followed a trail of footsteps draped with blood. The footsteps led them into the library, and as soon as they arrived, they continued forward until they reached the vault. There they found Clouseau's body rendered unconscious. Kuhn Lau then placed his knees on the floor and checked his pulse.

"Is he still alive?" Asked Pete.

"Yes, of course. He is unconscious at the moment."

"How about we pour cold water on him? That should do the trick!" suggested Indistructo. Kuhn Lau then raised his voice at him, "No! There are better methods that we can use! This one is out of the suggestion!"

"Then what do you suggest, Kuhn Lau?!"

"We will wait for him to gain consciousness!"

At the Airport

Khunta sat comfortably on his couch. He held firmly onto Ace's talisman. He gazed at it, fascinated by its god-like aura. Apisko and his men marched into his aircraft and headed to the cabin.

They knelt before him on their arrival while Apisko stretched his hands toward him. Another talisman brewed a seraphic flavor towards his eyes. Khunta grabbed it and raised it slightly above his head while grinning.

"I thought that finding a talisman would be suicidal. However, the opposite is true. I have defeated two Guardians thus far."

He then shoved the talisman through his right pocket and addressed his subjects.

"Four more talismans await, and once I've defeated the remaining Guardians, I will soon have what's mine."

Khunta then directed his gaze towards Apisko and addressed his motives, reminding him of why they did this.

"You know why we're doing this, don't you, Apisko? Our families are starving back home. It's our responsibility to put food on the table. The money we will get from the black market will feed them not just today but for future generations. Our lineages will break the cycle of poverty through us."

Khunta's motives were all but sincere. Having faced poverty from childhood scarred him. While growing up, the lad had a slow mind and couldn't grasp the required information at school. He went to a special school. It was unsettling for him as some called him a freak for going.

Much more, his school was far from his house, and he had to walk over twenty kilometers to get there. Since his parents didn't have enough money to sustain all of them, he would walk to school barefoot and not carry a lunch box with him.

Unfortunately, there came a time when both of his parents passed on due to AIDS. After their passing, he dropped out of school and joined the infamous gang bangers. Over the years, the latter got exposed to the black market and established close bonds with powerful crime syndicates nationwide.

These syndicates dealt with drug smuggling and the shipment of unlicensed weapons. These abominable operations brought Khunta the luxury of money.

Khunta crossed his legs and inquired from Apisko, "I don't have much to live, Apisko. I will join my parents soon. That is why we must achieve our objective as quickly as possible."

Apisko nodded with sympathy.

"Have you notified the troops back in Jamaica to book their flight to Singapore?"

"No, not yet, sir Khunta. I will do so at once."

"Fine then, ensure to book as many flights for my men. Something tells me we will kill to get to the next talisman!"

Apisko rose and lowered his head, "As you wish, boss."

***************

Clouseau regained consciousness before his very eyes stood the mighty Guardians who sat comfortably on the cushions. Out of fear, he clumsily fell off his chair and landed on his bottom. He ascended to his feet hastily and lifted the chair slightly above his head. "Who are you? Why are you here?!"

Indistructo responded with a calm and gentle tone. "I understand that you are afraid, but please calm down. We did not come here to pick a fight with you. Instead, we're here for something else."

He leisurely placed the chair on the floor and inquired from them. "What do you want then?"

"We're looking for some dude, I don't know what he looks like, but I'm sure he's got one of those six talismans. Could that be you?" Indistructo Inquired.

Clouseau lowered his brows with bewilderment.

"The person that you're looking for is Madam Bloom."

"Oh, it's a chick, my apologies. Wow, I thought that all Guardians were dudes. I guess Ken Sou did break the stereotype."

They glanced at him in a manner where they depicted him as an imbecile.

"If I may ask, why are you looking for her?"

At that moment, all three took out their talismans and stretched their hands to him. With their fingers unclenched, the elusive object hauled his eyes like a leash around a hound's neck.

"Just consider us her allies," Answered Pete.

"I'm afraid that she is not here. You see, she went out for dinner with sir Khunta."

Out of curiosity, Kuhn Lau asked him, "If I may, what treacherous event unfolded within this place?"

"Oh, that... A group of men attacked us. Unfortunately, zhey killed all of our bodyguards and forced me to surrender ze talismans."

"Do you know who did this?" Pete inquired.

"Unfortunately, I do not know ze mastermind behind zhis treacherous plot."

Indistructo arose to his feet and stretched his limbs.

"Splendid, I guess that settles it then. Which restaurant can we find this, Madam Bloom?"

"At Afrodille's, downtown."

The three stood on the restaurant roof while watching over a horde of blood-sucking paparazzi and famished info-hunters (news reporters).

Pete sighed with concern and rubbed his face.

"Fantastic! This place is full of paparazzi. It's like an infestation of cockroaches. What should we do?"

"Please do try to keep quiet. I am trying to hear what our fellow pests are talking about," Kuhn Lau said while Indistructo admired him.

"I never knew that you understood French; quite fascinating."

As soon as Kuhn Lau attained adequate information, he addressed his fellow Guardians.

"It seems that an intrusion took place an hour ago; a statue of a woman was recovered from the crime scene."

"Do you think that could be madam Bloom?" Asked Pete with great concern.

"It is possible after all the same events that took refuge here also took refuge in her house."

In response to his words, Pete closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Then how are we supposed to get her body?"

Succumbing to the might of his impatience, Indistructo jumped in front of a gun and slammed his fist against his chest.

"Eh, It's simple, Pete! All we have to do is take the body, using hostile force!" Pete then turned to him with an expression that testified to disbelief.

"You truly are an idiot, aren't you? By doing so, we will attract unwanted attention!"

Out of arrogance, he ignored him and began to levitate. While doing so, Pete hastily clung onto his leg and pleaded, "Hey! What the hell are you doing, man? Your gonna fuck this up and get our asses in trouble!"

Indistructo looked down at him and smiled, "Relax, man, I know what I'm doing."

He fled away with exhilarating speed and gushed into the crime scene with a force of wind trailing after him. The forceful wind caused everyone to stumble on the ground while he took Viper's statue with him.

A few minutes later

They returned to Kuhn Lau's aircraft. Indistructo gently fired an ultramarine laser beam at the statue. He reduced the extent of the beam's heat signature to five percent to eschew the possibility of causing collateral damage.

The beam vapourised the solid fabric of the statue into a liquid form. Suddenly, Vanessa summoned a coil of vines from the floor. The wave of vines wreathed him passionately.

"Who are you?!" She inquired while his face was fuming with smoke.

"Hey, lady! What the hell? I save your ass, and this is how you thank me!" She lowered her brows and gazed at him with dagger eyes.

"I have no allies; therefore, it would be wise of you to tell the truth!"

From behind, Kuhn Lau approached her and said with a smooth, buttery voice, "He is telling the truth, madam, Bloom."

Vanessa then turned around and firmly locked eyes with him. Her dagger eyes frightened Pete so intensely that he skidded across the room and hid behind the couch. She inquired once more, but this time with a tone of rage.

"You have not answered my inquiry? Who are you?!"

"She is right Kuhn Lau! Tell her who we are before she has us for brunch!"

His arrogance hauled her focus towards the couch. Moreover, another coil of vines lifted the couch that sheltered him, thus exposing his nakedness.

"Ah, crap!"

"It seems that the blob squeals at the sight of terror! Why do the two of you not do the same?!"

Indistructo tapped into his kinetic abilities (Super strength). He exerted great force, which caused the vines around him to implode.

"You as well have kinetic abilities. I see! You're working for Khunta!"

Kuhn Lau, Indistructo, and Pete pottered towards her, putting her in the center while they showed her their talismans. Pete also showed her his, but he did so behind Kuhn Lau's back.

"Could it be...? Are you my fellow Guardians?"

"Indeed, Ken Sou instructed that all the Guardians must unite."

Kuhn Lau sang like a robin concerning their current situation.

"It would be a genuine pleasure to journey with you. However, I cannot leave my business unattended."

Kuhn Lau cupped his chin with his hand. "Do what you must. We cannot hold that against you. But know this, time is of the essence. King Khunta has already retrieved your talisman and is now on the verge of finding the fifth Guardian. We need to get to the fifth Guardian before he does."

Vanessa gladly took his side. "Agreed...but I'm still bothered by Slicer and his whereabouts. He hasn't attacked you since your last encounter at Oklahoma City. I have a bad feeling about this."

Out of frustration, Kuhn Lau touched his forehead and sighed heavily.

"How delightful... we have two foes trailing after us. Something tells me that this isn't going to end well."

While the four Guardians were interacting with one another, a particular individual watched over them from afar.

It was Slicer; he watched and kept tabs on them through a suirvalance recording by a satellite from Singapore. He hacked into the satellite's system by using his advanced C.P.U. It therein played the footage through his H.U.D.

He was standing in front of a window on the highest floor of a tall skyscraper. He left a pond of blood behind as he had stacked a pile of corpses on top of one another, initially forming a pyramid. After that, Slicer amputated their limbs and placed them by the stashes of corpses.

Other stashes of corpses were hanging from the ceiling, supported by a rope and a hook. The hook protruded out from the chest of each corpse while the rope strung out from the back and hung from the ceiling.

The same corpses dangling from the ceiling still had garments on them. The garments belonged to the security staff members of the building.

He directed his gaze downward while he raised his blade. The long sharp sword mirrored his soulless eyes as he admired it. Blood was dripping off the edges of the s

"The time has come for this game to adhere to a conclusion. All the talismans will be in one accord. Now all the players of this game are unaware of a certain doom waiting for them in their final hours."

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