THE
THREE KEYS
Part
One: The Key of Spirit
Chapter
4: Bar Fight
It was late in the day when the agents
finally entered the tavern. GWB looked around. He saw ruffians of
every kind leer at him in an unfriendly manner and shrugged it off.
"Bunch of assholes," he muttered. He and Fury wandered over to
the bar while the new recruits headed for a booth at the far end.
"I'll have a mug of your best beer," GWB said to the bartender.
The kind, old man smiled at him. "Been a long day, friend?"
GWB looked up. "Yeah, I guess you could say that. We just got
off a plane and already we've got nothing but work to do." He lit a
cigarette and headed over to the Beta Team.
"What'll you have?" the bartender
asked Fury, who was gazing out the door. "Hmmm? Oh, I'll have a
beer too," he replied, then went back to looking out the door.
Suddenly, he noticed a man across the street wearing a trench coat and a fedora
beckoning Fury to follow him. He started to get up when GWB snapped him
out of his trance. "You okay man? You look sick."
Fury shook his head. "No, I'm fine. Let's go sit."
GWB slapped Fury on the back. "Now that's more like it!"
A few moments later, all of the agents were
assembled at the booth. UG90 was still tinkering with his remote.
Ness was devouring chicken wings as Shadow and Deathwing looked on with disgust.
"What?" Ness asked, his mouth full of chicken. GWB was staring
at the booth directly opposite them. Six men wearing trench coats were
sitting still, as if observing the agents. "I'll be right back,"
he said as he went over to the other booth. Fury put his hand to his head.
"This can't end well," he muttered. "Now I know how G64
feels around him!"
"Can I help you fellas? You
seemed pretty interested in our conversation over there." GWB was
standing next to the booth, cigarette in hand. The men stared at him.
GWB could've sworn he noticed one of them snarl a bit. "Oh
shit," he said, backing away. "Kaijunoids!"
Within moments, the strangers jumped from
their seats. They tore off their trench coats to reveal the familiar faces
of Kaijunoids. The bar patrons backed away and ran out of the bar.
The bartender ducked down behind the bar. "There's always
something," he said to himself. Fury and the others got up.
"What the hell is a Kaijunoid?" Ness asked. Fury stared in
horror at the beasts as he answered. "Something you DON'T wanna meet
in a dark alley!"
With a fearsome roar, the Kaijunoids
attacked. Deathwing launched a fireball at one, sending it screaming
through a window. A second one jumped at Fury, and the two fighters
tussled on the ground. Ness cracked his neck and his knuckles.
"This oughta be fun." A third beast licked its lips at the
thought of devouring him. "The only thing you're gonna eat is my fist
in your face." An uppercut sent the Kaijunoid to the floor.
Meanwhile, Shadow was moving at a fantastic speed, dodging his assailant's
attacks. From out of nowhere, he threw a set of ninja stars at the
Kaijunoid. One of the shurikens impaled the monster in its right eye.
As it struggled to regain its sight, Shadow thrust his sword into its gut, and
the monster dropped to the floor.
UG90 hid under the booth as a Kaijunoid
walked by, sniffing the air. He smashed its foot with his remote, then ran
out from under the booth. The beast roared in anger and charged after him,
but the kid launched a beer bottle at it, which smashed the Kaijunoid in the
face. The beast dropped to the ground, howling in pain.
GWB was in a tight spot. The
Kaijunoid's teeth were just inches from his mouth. Suddenly a shotgun
blast ripped through the monster's back. GWB tossed the body to the side.
"G64?" he asked, bewildered. "I absolutely despise fights
in my bar!" It was the bartender. He had a double-barrel
shotgun in his hands. With another pump, he shot a second Kaijunoid in the
head, blasting it to pieces. GWB was taken aback. "Wow, nice
shooting, old man. Is everyone all right?"
The Beta Team answered him, but Fury was
nowhere to be found. Deathwing looked around. "Where on Earth
did he go?" GWB lit another cigarette. "I think I know.
He probably went to go see his brother." Ness wiped his hands.
"How are we going to find him now? He could be anywhere!"
GWB smiled as he held up a small computer. "Earlier, I put a little
tracking device on his back. He seemed like he was in a bit of a trance,
so I knew he'd do something drastic. Let's move out!" He threw
a wad of cash to the bartender. "Such nice boys," the old man
said as he counted the dough.