The Rising Sun: Episode 1 Read Online Free PDF Page B

hamper.
     
    At the far end
of the room, standing around a particular spot in a guarded,
uncomposed manner, were six men. Their postures were unrelaxed, and
their faces reflected the same sense of turbidity. All six pair of
hands carried an identical black coloured gun. It was no larger
than a pistol, but with a fine curvish elegance in its craft. The
Sparkler was the widespread used gun in the spectrum. Built in
three modes with one to kill, one to stun(to render unconscious),
and one to freeze(temporarily paralyse), this was weaponry in its
most advanced form. Unlike bullets or darts, the Sparkler used
electro bolts for its shots, saving the carrier the arduous need of
carrying ammunition.
     
    The six
Sparkler wielding men shifted mildly from time to time, and threw
occasional seething glances at the spot they stood surrounding. But
they would quickly switch their attentions back to the other
peculiar feature in the large room: a man pacing up and down it
relentlessly.
     
    With his hands
behind his back, a Redling strode back and forth inside the large
room, his eyes glued to the ground ahead of him. The red fur
covering him all over was so short, a person standing at a distance
might have mistaken his skin itself to be red. The man seemed
completely oblivious to his surroundings as he strode up and down
the room in his thought absorbed state. Finally trotting to a stall
in his unresumed pacing, Grando slowly looked up. An unpleasant
frown had settled over his brow.
     
    Very well,
then. He thought to himself. I guess you leave me with no
choice.
     
    He wheeled to
face the line of Rash-cons on his right. “Go fetch me … the
Stinger.”
     
    The robot took
a step forward, gave Grando a stiff salute, and then bustled off
towards the door of the large room. Grando’s eyes followed the
Rash-con as it walked over to the room door, which slid open
automatically to let it through, and then re sealed itself.
     
    Grando sucked
in a deep, cooling breath, and then slowly turned to face the six
men at the far end of the room. His eyes centered on the peculiar
spot sitting amidst the men…
     
    Racowl sat
bound to a chair in the midst of the six men, with his robes
tattered and torn at spots, and deep red cuts lining his exposed
skin. His face was purple and swollen at spots, with one of his
eyelids swollen and slightly blotchy. But despite the heavy torture
he had endured, Racowl simply refused to budge. His stubbornness
was unwavering.
     
    And now, it was
time to change that.
     
    Grando slowly
stalked forward, his eyes locked on the prisoner sitting bound to
the chair helplessly at the end of the room. The men standing
around him fixed their attention on Grando as he casually walked up
to them. Racowl’s eyes, bulging with terror, were locked over
Grando as he approached.
     
    Stepping up by
his side, Grando gave Racowl a gentle pat on the shoulder. He
looked over the wall behind him. A dense clutter of pictures lay
pasted across the wall, such that little room was left in between
the pictures. All of the pictures had a face staring out of them,
and below the face, the word ‘Nemesis’ followed by a number.
     
    “My enemies,”
said Grando, shaking his head at the clutter of pictures. “rivals,
nemeses. All of them come from such diverse backgrounds. Some of
them are traitors, some members of enemy terror groups, some of
them ministry officials. But all of them have one thing in common.”
He lowered his voice to a silky whisper. “I need them all dead.
Fast. And die, they will. Now, let’s see here.” He ran his
forefinger over the wall, along the clutter of pictures. “There’s
nemesis 5, a desecrator. I’ve been trying to find him for months
now … Ah, and nemesis 8, an enemy terror group leader. I should
have him killed soon. And nemesis 12, an army officer … he’s a
prick, that man. And of course, nemesis one, my most dangerous foe.
I need to kill him before he kills me. And this is a pretty