Canyons of Steel - Our Solemn Hour Pt. 4

I'm flying high, Naomi. Trying to use the sun.

Got it, Maxie. Captain, we'll be on radio silence as we move into position. If we need you, we'll give you a holler.

Understood, Lieutenant. We'll be here. Watch your six.

*****

It didn't take long for Maxwell to find his targets. Just as Naomi had seen, a group of men crept through the shadows of the building. They weren't police officers, that much was certain. No identifying marks were visible, but they were heavily armed. Maxwell knew he had to move cautiously. Like a predatory hawk, his wings lifted him into the air as he glided into position, placing his form in the heart of the sun. Just as old World War II dog fighters, he'd come out of the sun at them, and hopefully, take them by surprise. As the small group stopped to check their surroundings, Maxwell went into a dive, tucking the wings close to his body. His outstretched hands at the ready to grab two of the men. This had to be timed carefully. One false move and he could break both his wrists. He had to estimate the weight of the "packages" and alter his ascent again. And manage to maneuver so as to keep the other two confused.

The four didn't know what hit them. There was hushed cries of surprise as suddenly, two of the agents were lifted off the ground. But Grey had his suspicions. Walker had already briefed them on what to do in the event any of them came in contact with Hawk's Scream or Grey Kestrel. But Grey found that he couldn't help but watch Maxwell. The beauty, the grace, his ability to fly was a marvel, if not something man made. Grey could only watch as the pair of agents fell earthward, predicting the crunch of bone and cries of pain. Maxwell had flown up into the air high enough to do some damage, but not kill them. And Grey knew it was a quick take down, enough to even the odds a bit more. He looked to the one remaining agent that was standing, as Maxwell dove down again, barraging the injured agents with a flurry of blows. This agent was young, and nervous. He continually held up his rifle, trying to aim, but finding he couldn't get off a good enough shot. Grey knew this agent would not last long in the field.

Maxwell rendered the last of the pair unconscious with a hard blow to the head. His training as a boxer in high school and university helped a lot. But he found his ability to fly added a whole new aspect to his fighting abilities. Once the two agents were down, he turned his attention to the other pair. One stayed close to the wall, seeming only to observe the scene carefully. The other looked nervous and jittery. He clutched his rifle with a death grip. This agent was probably just as much a danger to Maxwell as he was to himself. And so, Maxwell rushed forward toward the agent.

And the agent fired. Out of fear, out of nerves. It didn't matter. But the shot was point blank at Maxwell's chest.

*****

Naomi watched the enclosed spaces carefully. The four figures had been seen traveled toward the science buildings of the campus. Population was generally low in that area at this time of year. Few students, perhaps only a few faculty. And Naomi knew that these women would not reveal themselves by taking a chance at firing upon bystanders. From her research, they were professionals, hired to handle the dirtiest jobs with relative ease.

She knew this area would be a perfect spot for Gerald. Why? Late teens boy. With his girlfriend. His hormes were doing the thinking for him. In this situation, something that could very well get him killed. But so far, there had been no sounds of a fight. Then again, this was the Sisterhood. Naomi would be prepared for the worst, should it happen.

As she lighted on a rooftop, sprinting to the edge as she prepared to take flight again, she heard a scream. It sounded like someone in a great deal of pain. She quickly adjusted her location, and determined the area the scream came from. It didn't take her long. Gerald stood in front of his girlfriend as four black clad figures advanced on him. Naomi narrowed her eyes as she saw the reason for the scream. Gerald's skin was turning pale white, as though he were afraid, or even worse, from a lose of blood. The latter was more likely. And Naomi saw it fully as she began her descent, wings spread to help guide her and break her fall. The boy's hand had been cut off.

Naomi became a protective mother, screaming in closer to her targets. The first of the four was the tallest, a blond Amazon, from all looks of European decent. Even from the height Naomi was racing in from, she could tell the woman was taller than she was. But height doesn't matter when you have the advantage of flight. Sister Valhalla was taken completely by surprise. And it was that one mistake that put her on the ground, but not out. She jumped to her feet quickly, as the other three stepped back in disbelief. For Gerald and his girlfriend, it was like an angel had suddenly come to save them. "Wrap the wound," Naomi screamed to the girl who seemed all too terrified. "If you don't, he'll bleed to death." This last spoken as she faced Valhalla. The towering woman smirked as she advanced on Naomi.

She could see the little toys quite clearly, these Sisters relied on tech to get by. But so did Naomi, and hers became very visible as she activated her gauntlets, creating barbed gloves that doubled as shields. As Valhalla advanced, she remembered her military training. And then decided the only proper training for this was to fight dirty. She lunged forward, using her outstretched wings to cause a moments hesitation from Valhalla. It was enough as she felt her boot embed itself into soft flesh of Valhalla's midsection. The blow knocked the wind out of the woman, and Naomi increased the assault. A clawed hand came down across her face, matched with her other, giving her criss crossed wounds on her cheek. As Valhalla began to slump back, Naomi lept into the air just slightly, enough to give her some force as she drove her knee into the woman's jaw. The force rendered her unconscious quickly.

She rose to her feet, watching the other three women carefully. One drew blades, but remained in place, as she stood defensively. Naomi noticed something, perhaps a moment of hesitation? Little matter. One of the others was speaking. "It is time you fell to Sister Tuscaloosa," she stated as she drew a pair of manufactured tomahawks. Steel, plastic, riveted carefully into place. Naomi snorted, unimpressed with the motion.

"Black Warrior, huh. I'm sure the Creek Nation must be proud," she stated with a laugh. "Well, this Dakota Warrior is gonna kick your ass!" She punctuated this by leaping toward the woman, showing no fear as she gave a war whoop, catching the Sister off guard. Again, enough. Tuscaloosa, while less surprised than Valhalla, still stepped back. But not far enough, as Naomi grabbed her collar and flew straight up. And then, curving her body and guiding herself, she flew straight down. Tuscaloosa would become her air bag on impact. And it served well.

Tuscaloosa fell unconscious immediately, the sudden stop of the ground rendering her into a blissful nap, though one she would awake from in extreme pain. This just left the two remaining Sisters. And one of them drew a gun. "This ends now!" she shouted, taking careful aim on Naomi.

*****

Grey 6-2-6 watched from the shadows as the agent crept closer to the body of Hawk's Scream. His rifle was held firm as he studied the man carefully. Grey knew there was something wrong, Hawk's Scream took a bullet point blank to the chest, but there was no blood. He studied him for a moment, and shook his head when he saw the armour the Dakota man wore. Grey just shook his head. They'd been duped. "There was no blood," he whispered, loud enough for the agent to hear. The agent turned to look back to Grey for just a moment, but it was a moment long enough.

"You're green, aren't you," the agent heard the muffled voice of Hawk's Scream say a loud. The agent looked to Maxwell again, eyes wide with slight shock. "That hurt. Good thing I was wearing Kevlar." He swept his legs and caught the agent by surprise, taking out his legs and dropping him quickly to the ground. His rifle clattered away on the pavement as Maxwell lept up into the air. "That'll leave a good sized welt in the morning, but nothing compared to what I've got planned for you."

Grey stayed back in the shadows and watched as the well muscled man began hammering the agent with blow after well calculated blow. He wasn't a finesse fighter, of that Grey was certain. He was a street fighter, a boxer, who relied on power and speed to fell his foes. It would be an interesting fight, should Grey have to face him. And no doubt he would indeed have to. Hawk's Scream took down the agent with ease. Grey snorted as he thought of Maxwell's comment. Yes, the agent was green, of that there was no doubt. A true agent of the Illuminati wouldn't have aimed for the chest, but the head. Little matter now.

Hawk's Scream had just become an asset for Grey, and his commanding officer, Operative Violet Rose.

He stepped out of the shadows and set his weapons of the ground, staring intently at Hawk's Scream. Maxwell could feel the burning eyes bore into him, and knew this would not be an easy fight. But he didn't have a choice. Grey positioned himself carefully, the styling of his training well hidden, he didn't want to give anything away to this man. Not like what he learned of Maxwell in so short a time. The only thing he had to worry about was if Maxwell actually got a hold of him, and took to the air. It was obvious this man was adept at fighting mid air.

"No words," Grey simply stated to Hawk's Scream as he held out his hand, middle and index finger together, pointing toward Maxwell.

"Then we shall begin."

*****

Naomi used her wings as shields, covering herself from time to time as bullets bounced off the lightweight steel sheaths. When there was a pause in the shooting, she rushed forward, slamming herself into Sister Eventide, and driving her into the nearest wall. The motion was enough to knock the wind out of her and knock her out of the fight. That left just the last of the Sisters. She looked to Sister White, and then to Gerald. He had paled a great deal, but his girlfriend was trying to contain the blood flow, and doing an admirable job. She had to act quickly and take White out fast.

Sister White noticed the look of concern in Naomi's eyes, knowing full well that they boy was growing closer and closer to death. This had to be done precisely. She stepped forward, lining herself up against Naomi, blade held in front of her, eyes steeled and ready for battle. Naomi matched the movements, slowly moving in against the Sister. And when she was close enough, Sister White said one thing in a hushed tone.

“Just make this look good.”

The comment took Naomi aback for just a moment, but she narrowed her eyes and advanced quickly. Sister White parried blow after blow, moving her steps backward toward the two youngsters. She knew what Naomi was doing. Forcing her into retreat. But she didn't want the woman to get her hands on her.

Naomi just wanted Sister White to back down, leave the fight and sense the urgency for mercy. As she fought, she managed to turn on her headset comm. “Lieutenant Naomi Running Cloud requesting assistance. Have found the boy, he is in need of immediate medical attention. Currently engaged with final target.”

“Understood, Lieutenant,” Captain Schwartz was heard to say over the comm. Contacting EMS immediately.

Naomi continued her assault against Sister White. Blow for blow, matched with a parry. And then, Naomi saw an opening. Whether created by Sister White or not did not matter. She was going to take it. She lashed out, catching White's jaw with a balled up fist, driving her left hand into White's midsection. And as White crumpled to the floor, she raced over to the two youngsters. “Hold on,” she instructed them as she looked to Gerald. “You're not gonna die today, kiddo.” Naomi looper her arms around their waists, the girl clutched to Gerald, helping to hold him in place. “Don't freak out,” Naomi told her. “We're going up.”

The girl only gasped slightly, the entire ordeal was still a shock. But with grace and agility, Naomi crouched down and shot into the air, her wings pushing upward to lift her feet from the earth with her two packages. As she began to soar over the first rooftop, the call came in over her comm.

“Lieutenant Runnin' Cloud,” the voice seemed to drawl. “EMS is waitin' at the main entrance ta the University. Can ya make it?”

“You got, Sir. I'll be there shortly.” She steered herself toward the location given to her, her arms were growing tired, but she held the two packages firm. At least Gerald had a hope now.