GZ Legends 1, 2, and 3

Just to help others catch up and share the whole story, I will post a catch up blog like this one once in a while.  So be sure to check out the story in order to catch up on what's going on in GZ legends.

1: The Temple in the Sand

2: Vengeance and Grief

3: Lights Out!

I hope you have enjoyed the story so far. If you think what happened in number 3 is crazy, this is just getting started!

GZ Legends 3: Lights out!

Agent Redeagle

Now we cross over to New York the day after Hakim became Anubis:

The coffee machine whirred to life as Ray Redeagle got out of the shower and dried off his impressive seven foot frame. He wiped the mirror in order to see himself brush his teeth and comb his military short black hair. He donned his SWAT uniform and tucked his black hood in one of the pockets. Ray gave himself a final check to see all was in order. Satisfied, he made his way to the kitchen. In the hallway, he walked past pictures of Native American heritage and pride. Ray was of the Cherokee people and beliefs. Living up to his heritage and occupation were very important to Ray. He considered his life a path of honor.

  He poured a cup of steaming hot coffee, black and sat down at the kitchen table. The dog door flapped loudly as Ray’s little terrier struggled in dragging the newspaper.

“Hey, Tonto! Good boy!” He gave the dog an affectionate scratch on the head and took the paper. He shook his head as he regarded the listing of soldier deaths overseas. Gas prices showed no sign of getting any better. For that matter they promised to get worse.  “When will the world learn, Tonto?”

The little dog cocked his head and stared up at his master. “That’s exactly how I feel, Boy.” Ray stood up and walked over to a cabinet and brought out a box of dog food.  He poured some in a bowl and set it down for his dog. “Well, Boy, gotta go to work. You stay out of trouble, okay?” Ray shot down the remainder of his coffee and strolled out the door of his small home in Great Neck, New York. 

Neighbors often found it amusing to watch Ray fit his 7-foot-body into a sexy, low riding, red Ferrari, but he always managed. Ray just had to have the seat as far back as it would go. Ray backed out of his driveway as a chuckling neighbor waved goodbye. Ray gave a polite wave and drove for the freeway. It was time to hit the radio buttons. Ray hated morning talk shows and depressing news. Music, preferably classic rock, always helped him with long morning commutes. Ray groaned as he reached the onramp for the freeway.

“Man, I really should just run to work. I would get there a lot faster.” Ray Redeagle was much better known to coworkers as Agent Redeagle. He worked for the Federal Protection Agency. The FPA supports law enforcement across the country including the FBI. They specialized in dealing with what was referred to as “powered” threats. People with incredible powers existed everywhere. There were even people with magic and mystical abilities. Ray was well aware of this, since his Grandfather was a powerful Shaman. All officers with the FPA were either specially trained to deal with special threats or had their own special abilities.

Ray remembered a fated morning with is Grandfather vividly.

“My Boy, you will be blessed. You will be a great protector. So long as you protect the lands you came from, this will continue. You will have the eyes of the eagle, strength of a bear, swiftness of the wind, and stealth of the mountain lion. You will hear better than the trickster rabbit. You will become more cunning than the crow. Now you will become a man. Never forget where you are from.”

            Traffic seemed to crawl inches at a time. The ocean of cars and trucks made Ray feel like he was drowning. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and ignored the irritated drivers honking their horns. The Midtown Tunnel was just up ahead. He wondered if he would reach it soon. Finally cars lurched forward and Ray took his foot off the brake with anticipation. As his car started to move forward, everything went dark. Before Ray could react, he hit the car in front of him. He almost started cursing at his accident when the Ferrari was hit from behind. It wasn’t just him. He could hear multiple impacts with sounds of crumpling metal and breaking glass all around. Ray shook his head and blinked his eyes. He thought he had gone blind until he saw the console of his car was still lit up. He looked out the windows and saw nothing. Total blackness was everywhere. People started to open their car doors, and the dome lights of vehicles came on. Whatever was happening, it wasn’t blindness.

            Ray opened his car door and struggled to get out. On the way, he grabbed his flashlight and gear bag. Thanks to the time of day, there were no streetlights. The only light anyone had was what they could get from their cars. People started to shout about turning on headlights and many did.  Ray gazed up at the sky and saw only blackness. His mind spun and he wondered what kind of disaster he was witnessing. Ray realized he needed to get to the office right away. He pulled out his cell phone, but there was no signal. He heard many other people around him mentioning the same issue. Ray looked at his mottled car.

            “Ah hell, let them tow it,” and he made his way between parked and wrecked vehicles to get off the freeway.

Jump to: GZ Legends 4
Jump to: GZ Legends 2

GZ Legends 2: Vengeance and Grief

Anubis

Most of the dig site had been filled in with sand by use of explosives. The bodies of the Professor and students were buried with callous disregard. The extremists were still there; most in their tents. On the border of the dig site, two men stood watch and laughed about what they had done.

“These infidels got what they deserved, eh?” said a man with a greasy beard and smile of rotting teeth.

            “Oh yes.” the bald one answered. He picked at his fingernails with a knife. “Now they get to stay with their precious dig forever.”

            “Say! What is that? Out in the desert!” greasy pointed.

            Something was approaching fast. The two men strained their eyes to see in the afternoon sunlight. In moments they were shrouded with dust and sand, choking and coughing. They waved their arms as if that would help get the sandy cloud away from them. As their vision returned and the dust settled, both men stared, drop jawed at the sight of Anubis.

“N-n-not possible,” the bald one stammered.

“What? You don’t think your worst nightmare can come to life?” Anubis said. He now considered himself to be Anubis, no longer meant to be Hakim. Anubis jammed his lance into the sand as he approached the men.

Greasy fired his weapon and Baldy followed suit.  Rounds of AK-47 ammunition battered Anubis’s body and fell away uselessly.

“Uh-oh, looks like I’m bullet proof.” Anubis snarled as he grabbed Baldy by his shirt and raised him into the air. “I wonder...” and he threw the man as high and far as he could over the dig site and into the distance.  He put a hand over his eyes as to watch how far.  Greasy stared in shock as his friend’s body grew smaller and smaller in the distance. 

“Wow, he went really far!” Anubis relished in his new power and took his attention to Greasy.  “Now, I want to know who killed her.” He lifted the man up and brought him close only for a moment. “Ugh, your breath could kill on its own.”

“Killed who? I do not know of what you speak.” Greasy dangled at arm’s length from Anubis.  “We thought we would please you, Lord.”

“You shoot at me and then call me your Lord? You guys are really confusing! In any case, you thought you would please me with acts of murder? Is that how you claim to worship Anubis?”

“Yes, my Lord, only to please you!”

“Well you botched it, Mister; I’m not pleased at all!” At this point Anubis noticed that several gunmen had moved in and were watching in shock.

“Oh look, your friends are here,” Anubis grabbed the top of the man’s head and turned it sharply to face the other men. The man’s neck broke with a loud snap. Anubis tossed the body aside, “Now who killed her!” His voice echoed throughout the dig site.

“Cowards!” One extremist yelled to the others, “He cannot be real! He would not kill us! Fire! Fire! Kill him!”

Anubis wrecks a tank

The air came to life with bullets and Anubis ignored them as he walked up to the closest extremist and grabbed him by the neck.  His demand to know who killed Ella was met with screaming.  Anubis roared with rage and flung that man’s body into the side of a military truck.  The impact bent the truck into a boomerang shape and shattered every bone in the zealot’s body.

Anubis knew now that he could not find the one killer he sought, but if he killed them all, he would surely have the one he wanted either way.  So he flew into a rage and struck with fists that landed like meteorites.  No one moved fast enough to escape him.   He punched them, he broke them, and finally crushed them.  A man came forward with a rocket launcher and fired.  As the smoke cleared Anubis was upon him.  Not only unharmed, but even angrier than before.  He grabbed the man’s other rocket and stuffed it in his pants.  Then he swung the man around by a leg and threw him at another group. The explosion threw body parts in all directions. None of it mattered. The intensity of Hakim’s grief and rage blinded him to the bloodshed.  Then, suddenly, all became quiet. Hakim was the only one left standing.

Tears streamed from his eyes and he couldn’t unclench his fists.  The metallic clanking of the tank shook him out of his stalled state.  He stared at it, feeling a little surprised that they owned a tank.  He felt emotionally numb as the barrel of the tank turned toward him.  It fired with a shout of thunder and a quake to the ground.  The projectile caught Anubis in the stomach and smashed him into the dig site, burying him under a ton of rock.  The three men in the tank cheered.  Under the rocks Anubis planted his feet on the ground and extended his legs to force his way to standing upright.  The debris tumbled away and his eyes glowed red with rage as the tears still came.  He stepped into view, but the men were too busy congratulating each other.  Anubis took up his lance, gripping it tightly.  He flew to the tank and jammed the bladed end under the swivel section of the turret.  He pressed against leverage hard and fast. The tank turret popped off and flew high into the air. The machine exploded into a ball of fire from its own ammunition. All three men died instantly.  Anubis swung his lance at the burning tank in rage, again and again. Each hit crumpled it more and more. Then he stopped and stepped away, lost in grief as he surveyed the scene around him.

 Dead enemies lay everywhere. Hakim didn’t feel any better for their deaths. None of it brought back Ella. None of it would bring peace to all the families who lost loved ones here. Hakim looked at his bloody hands and almost dropped to his knees if he weren’t interrupted.

“You killed all my men!” shouted a voice behind him.

This man considered himself a General, as extremist leaders in the region were well known for giving themselves lofty ranks. He stuck out his chest in a uniform with a great deal of decoration he never earned.

“Yes.” Anubis gripped his lance. “I killed them all.”

“We served you! We worshipped you! We did this for you!”

“NO!” Anubis found the power to change the shape of his head and face back to its human form. “You did not! You did this only to murder!”

The leader looked surprised. “Who are you?”

“I am Hakim.  I fled this place when you attacked and killed the woman I loved.”

“So you came for revenge.”

“No. I was chosen by a power beyond what you know to come and punish you!” Hakim turned back to Anubis. “And that is just what I will do.”

He swung his lance through the air and the entire dig burst into flames.  The extremist leader ignited as well.  Anubis rose into the air with only Ella’s face in his mind. This was done but now he had no idea what he was supposed to do. Perhaps if he flew back to the temple there would be answers there. So Anubis flew high over the desert dunes with his armor shining in the sun. Tears still glistened on the face of the jackal, pushed back by the wind. It didn’t take long to see the temple was still there. Anubis could see something else was there too. It was the shape of a person standing in the sand at the temple’s base. Anubis flew toward the person to investigate. As Anubis hovered in closer he could see a small, bent old man in a gray holocaust robe, leaning on a cudgel stick. The old man was bald except for a white halo of hair and his bright blue eyes had a strange glow.

Destiny

“Well, come down here, Hakim. Don’t make an old man stare into the sun.” The voice was ancient and behind it there was a commanding power that Anubis could sense.

Anubis landed a few feet away, “Who are you?”

“I am Destiny and I have come for you. But first, clean your hands, Hakim. Concentrate and clean them.”

Anubis looked at his hands and the blood that was still there. He wished it gone, concentrated on it being gone. To his own amazement, the blood dissolved away.

“You are capable of many things now that you represent Anubis. You were right that you were chosen, but it wasn’t to take revenge for murder.”

“Then I have done wrong?”

“No, it was their destiny to meet you today. Your grief was their undoing. You were brought back from the dead, filled with grief and rage and given great powers. What else should one expect under the circumstances? In any case, now you must embrace your new destiny. The world will see the destruction of that site and eventually consider you dead along with them.”

“Because they will discover I’m missing and find out that I went with them.”

“Precisely. Now it’s time for your new fate. It will test you even more. You now must protect the Balance of good and evil. The Balance will soon be under attack, Anubis and it will be your test to defend it.”

“How? Where? And how do I use my powers?”

“You have a built in sense of what you can do. When the time is right for each portion of your abilities, you will use them and learn. I cannot give you all the information, but you must go to New York City to learn the rest of what you must do. It will come to you, Anubis and you will find the way. After that, you will be a Herald of Destiny.”

“This is so much to take in.”

“For now, just go to New York. One thing at a time, Anubis,” and the old man faded away like a distant mirage, “One thing at a time.”

As Anubis looked around, the temple also faded away, leaving him alone out in the desert. Anubis took a deep breath, lifted himself into the air and flew away.

(Note: you can click on images for larger view)

What's next? What's going to happen in New York? Stay tuned to find out!

Jump to: GZ Legends 3
Jump to: GZ Legends 1

GZ Legends 1: The Temple in the Sand

The Egyptian sun glared fiercely as Hakim stumbled in a stupor. The wind blew hot and sand stung his face.  With each lumbering step his knees threatened buckle and the sand shifted under each footfall for extra strain.  His tongue swelled in his mouth from dehydration and his vision blurred. He stared blankly ahead of him as his body went through the motions of step after step.  His body screamed in pain, but Hakim couldn’t hear it. The desert is vast and unforgiving of those who get lost in the dunes.

           Disorientation owned him and death looked over his shoulder with favor.  Somewhere in his subconscious Hakim knew he was in trouble.  Several days ago he stowed away on a trip to an archeological dig about a thousand miles from the Thebes ruins. It wasn’t his class, but it was worth it for the sake of a beautiful girl.  From the first time he saw her, Ella glowed in his mind.

He was so enthralled, he skipped classes and followed her around campus. Any time she would see him admiring her from afar, she would just laugh and shake her head. Despite his silliness, she fell for him too. Hakim’s friends wondered how he was going to graduate, but he didn't care. Neglecting his classes paled in comparison to being in love. That’s why he snuck himself into the back of a jeep.   

            “Are you crazy?” Ella asked when she found him at the dig, “What about your classes. And what if you get discovered here? You could be kicked out of school.”

            “I don’t care,” Hakim said, “so long as I’m with you the world is right in all ways.”

            She sighed and shook her head. Hakim leaned toward her.

“You are very cute when you do that,” he whispered.

Ella grabbed his hand and pulled Hakim along with her.

            “Let’s find something you can do to stay out of trouble. You’ll work with me so I can keep an eye on you.”

            Ella and Hakim sat down in a cordoned off square of sand and rock. She handed him a pair of brushes. “Now be very careful and do as I do. We want to preserve as much of this as we can. That means not breaking it any further than it already is.”

            Hakim smiled as he took the brushes and swept dirt away from a piece of pottery. He couldn't help but pause to watch her working on her own pieces. She pursed her lips and blew some dust and sand away from an ornate shard of pottery. He felt like she was an angel softly blowing away a small puffy cloud.

            “How are things doing here?” the Professor said as he stood directly over Hakim.

            “Oh! Wonderful, Sir, very exciting,” Hakim said.

            Ella looked up and caught her breath, expecting the worst.

           “I don’t think I know you, young man,” the Professor said.

            “I’m Hakim, Sir, I transferred just in time to make this wonderful trip. I’m very glad to be here.”

            The Professor nodded, slightly impressed, “Well, alright then. I’ll have to have a talk with records about how they notify me of these things. How about you stop staring at the girl and work then, right?”

            “Yes, Sir,” Hakim went right to dusting again and the Professor walked away.

            “That was close,” Ella said, “and I'm sure you will be kicked out of school when we get back.”

            “I’m not worried, I have big plans.”

            “Like what?”

            “Well, I’m going to be a comedian,” Hakim said.

            Ella laughed.

            “You see? I’m funny already.”

            “No. You have to do better. Maybe get into another school. My father will never let me marry a comedian, Hakim.”

            “I’ll prove myself to your father,” Hakim touched her hand and felt her warm smooth skin, “You’ll see.”

            “We’ll see, now get back to work, the Professor is looking over here again.”

           The dig they worked at was making news as a historical find. It appeared to be a shrine dedicated to Anubis. There were crypts, writings never seen before, and several sarcophagi. It was the kind of work that put classes like Ella’s into journals and magazines. The idea of it all excited Ella very much.

            After a few hot hours, it was time for lunch. Hakim and Ella shared dates, unleavened bread and tea. Hakim stared into her eyes the whole time. It was enough to make a couple of Ella’s female classmates giggle amongst themselves.

            “You draw too much attention to us,” Ella said.

            “Let them laugh, they don’t have what we do,” Hakim said.

           Automatic machine gun fire shattered the peaceful gathering and laughter turned to screaming. Dust from bullets filled the air while bodies dove for cover. Hakim grabbed Ella’s hand and pulled her behind a section of pillars.

 Not everyone was happy about the dig. A faction of zealots called it blasphemy. They even sent death threats to the Professor when the dig project was announced.  The Professor dismissed their threats, not realizing just how dangerous they were.

            “We have to get out of here,” Hakim whispered as he peered around the side. Men with guns were running in and shooting anyone they saw. “Maybe we can reach one of the trucks and make a run for it.”

            Hakim went to pull Ella by the hand for another run, but stopped short. She didn’t move. Hakim gazed in shock at Ella as she leaned on the stone pillar, a red pool covering her chest.

            “No! NO! I can’t lose you now! I only just found you!”

            Shouting and shooting came closer. Hakim glanced in all directions; there was nothing he could do. Amidst bullets tearing into the sand and pillars around him, Hakim ran for his life. His vision blurred through tears and dust. He ran into several students also trying to flee. He tripped over several of the dead.  Hakim didn't stop. He ran frantically with only one sense of direction, away from the dig.  In a few moments, the gunfire became a distant echo. He didn't stop running. Even when he only heard the wind, he didn't stop. When he couldn't run anymore he still plodded forward. Terror and grief overwhelmed all other thoughts. When his face finally hit the sand, he had no idea how long he had been walking blindly through the desert.

           As Hakim lay nearly lifeless, the wind whipped up hard. About 80 yards away, the top of a stone pyramid became exposed from the shifting of sand.  The ground shook and the pyramid rose with the wind polishing dust away. The top section of the pyramid was supported by four pillars and all of it shined with gold. As the open section cleared from its burial place, a blue light shined from within. The light came from a smaller crystal pyramid that hovered over a pedestal upside down. As it spun it glowed more fiercely. It spun faster and faster until a beam of energy fired out and hit the body of Hakim.  It lifted him into the air. His tattered clothes were ripped away and his body contorted in metamorphosis. Wounds healed and health was restored. Muscle grew and his head began to contort.  All the while these amazing changes took place; the beam drew Hakim into the opening of the pyramid.

           Hours later, Hakim opened his eyes and was surprised to feel cool temperatures against his skin. He could tell he was on a solid surface and could see a golden pillar and the blue sky beyond. He put his hands against the floor and went to push himself upward. He turned his face toward the floor and hit his nose.

           “That’s weird,” he thought, “Why does my nose seem so big?”

 He shook his head and sat up. Looking at the shining floor he could see his reflection.

            “I’m a dog!”

            Hakim staggered to his feet after seeing that he had the head of a jackal. He looked down at himself and found golden and purple armor covering most of his body. He also noticed the blue glow in the room and found a crystal pyramid hovering in the center of the greater pyramid opening.

            “What is this?” He flexed a newly muscular arm, “I’m strong!”

And he became Anubis

            He put his hands to the sides of the helmet on his head, “And what are all these sounds? Something is trying to tell me something. I don’t understand.”

           Leaning against a pillar he saw a long staff with two parallel blades at one end. Hakim walked over and took it into his hand. 

            “Amazing,” then he saw more of himself in the reflection of the golden pillar. “I’m Anubis! But how can that be? And why?”

            Memories surged back to Hakim of the recent days and attack on the dig. He saw his Ella and remembered how he had to flee and leave her lifeless body behind. And he remembered something else.

            “That site was dedicated to Anubis. Those men killed everyone. This must be the will of the gods. Not that I ever believed before, but that’s clearly not an issue now. Those men must be punished and I have been chosen!” Without even realizing he could do it, Hakim lifted his body into the air and flew away across the desert, clutching the bladed lance in his hand.

Jump to: GZ Legends 2

Links to the Showcase short stories

In case you missed any of them up to now, before I post the first of GZ Legends. Here are the links to all the showcase short stories so you can read and catch up. I hope you enjoy them!

Boston Masters, Dealing Death

The Last Nursery Rhyme

Demon Jack

Becoming Osiris

The Target

Road Rage


Very soon here I will be posting GZ Legends number 1. This is just to get folks a way to catch up on the stories that have been done.

As I explained in my last post, the stories that are coming up will all be linked together. Just wait till you see how.

Thanks for reading and following and adding your "likes". It's all very much appreciated!

Galaxy Zento wants YOU!

This is what is about to happen.

Many of you have been reading the Showcase Short stories and I thank you.  Now to step it up a notch.

Starting this weekend I will be posting a short story series I'm calling GZ Legends. I plan to post a part 3x a week.

And we need YOU to help it get around. Share links, share on facebook, give it a twitter tweet, email it, whatever it takes. We need to make some noise! Can you make some noise?

We need to see likes climbing on the Facebook page. If you "liked" Galaxy Zento, make sure to pass it around. Make sure to check it out regularly because the kid gloves are OFF.

Yesterday we recieved a response from an agency checking out the Chessmen novel and Galaxy Zento. While they wrote they were highly impressed with the world building of both, they still had to decline.  What's awesome about this is that I made them take about four extra weeks to struggle with that decision. That tells me I'm doing something right and it's time to light a big ol bonfire with this. You can help!

Not only do we need the likes on the facebook page, but COMMENTS! We want your interactivity, right here on this blog and right on the facebook page! Chime in and be active with us!

Where does Galaxy Zento really expect to go?

Current goals are as follows!

1: Publish at least one series of novels (but more are in writing phase and planning right now!) and currently that's the Chessmen series. Unlike GZ Legends, you will only see excerpts of the Chessmen.

2: Publish several games based on the GZ universe. This includes a revision of the current role playing game (which may be tested ONLINE in post by post format) and a card game.

3: Graphic Novels are on the table for discussion but require more from an artist that I am capable of. So that is in idea stage.

4: Circulate to all of you and go the convention circuit with even more cool products to show off for GZ and all it's original characters and alien races.  This includes Gencon, Dragoncon, Wizard cons, and Comicons.

5: Finally, I want to do good things with Galaxy Zento to give back. That's why I will be contacting Autism agencies and offering the support of Galaxy Zento and it's creator (me). I don't know what that will entail right now, but I'm going to do it.

For some of this, I'm sure I'm going to be needing a new Galaxy Zento team of people willing to put into this as it's built. So be watching. And even if that doesn't happen, I'll be right here building!

Products and T-shirts are already available and will help support efforts of Galaxy Zento.

So watch closely, and remember, you will want to know what happens next!

Showcase: Boston Masters, Dealing Death

                It had been a long night, but he was accustomed to waiting. He stood in the shadows across the street from the gangster party house in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Inside were several targets he had been sent to kill. He wasn’t hired by a rival gang or any of their victim’s families. He was sent by Death himself. Boston Masters had served Death since the late 1700’s, balancing the scales where ever he was directed. This gang had been on a wild killing spree, unstoppable by local law enforcement. It was time to balance the scales of life and death by ending their lives.

            Boston looked like something from the American Civil War except that his uniform was black and sported a golden skull on his hat and belt. His hair style and thick mustache were also relics of the old West. His hard ghost blue eyes could pierce the soul of any man. As he watched the party, his right hand gripped his 1860 Colt 44 revolver. It was a weapon blessed by Death that never needed to be reloaded. Sideways, in the small of his back, was his black bowie knife, but he seldom used it.

            Hours went by and finally the lights went out at 3 am. None of his targets had left and he would wait another hour to make sure he could catch and kill them all.

            At 4am he walked in silence to the front door and grasped the door handle. The door swung open freely, unlocked. Not surprising for overconfident thugs, not that a locked door was much of a barrier to him. He stepped into the living room of the small three bedroom house and looked over all the bodies of drugged out and drunken fools draped over all the furniture and across the floor. Straight ahead, he saw the back door and to the left the hall to the bedrooms. The kitchen was next to the back door and some fool lay on the kitchen tile.

            Boston reached back with his left hand and drew his bowie knife as he held his pistol ready. He flipped the bowie in his hand so he held the blade, took aim and threw the knife. It stuck in between the back door and the frame with a thud. This woke two men who started to look around in a daze. That’s when Boston started firing. To say that Boston Masters was fast with a gun, would be like saying Babe Ruth was merely good at baseball. The first six shots hit their marks in less than a second with fatal accuracy. One man managed to grab the back doorknob, but didn’t have time to turn it. That was the man from the kitchen floor.

            Three or four men pulled out guns and one actually got to fire at Boston, missing by wide margin. Then they started to come out from the bedrooms. Only a few left at this point, so Boston started moving in that direction. Boston never stopped slapping his hand across the hammer of his revolver like an old West gunslinger, putting a mystically generated iron ball in each target. As Boston stepped into direct angle of the hall, the destruction became more focused. Plaster exploded from the walls and picture frames shattered around the gangsters falling bodies. As he came to each doorway he fired shots into the room at any who tried to hide. He shot one man through a door and another who tried to climb out a window.

            As he finally entered the furthest room to the back, everyone in his path lay dead. But one man had escaped out the window and ran hard and fast down the street. Boston took careful aim but then lowered his pistol. He would let this one run.  Sirens were blaring and getting closer, it was time to leave.

            When authorities arrived, Boston wasn’t there, nor was there any trace of him. Despite all the holes in bodies and walls made from black powder iron ball projectiles, there was nothing to be found of any ammunition. The only evidence was holes everywhere and the mark of something that held the back door shut.

            Boston Master’s emerged from the run down hotel not far from the scene around 10 pm. He had stayed out of sight and was ready to move on since he hit all the marks he was sent for.  Suddenly, two cars and a beat up SUV pulled into the dusty lot and gangsters poured out of them. They aimed guns of all kinds in Boston’s direction. So the one that got away, got a look at   Boston after all. Boston lit a cigarette and took a long drag from it. He casually breathed the smoke into the air and it floated up around his black hat like dark flames.

            “Is that him?” one of the gangsters asked of the one who got away.

            “Yeah, that’s him!”

            “Yo, man, who you think you are?”

            Boston took another drag on his cigarette, “You weren’t on my list and you still aren’t, so I’m going to give you just one chance. You want to know what that is?”

            “Can you believe this dude?” said the first gangster who spoke, “Yo, what before we shoot you all up?”

            Boston Masters showed no emotion and didn’t even blink his cold blue eyes, “You have one chance to get back in your cars and drive away. Just one chance, because if I have to deal with you, I’m going to have to drop my cigarette. If I drop my cigarette, you’ll all be dead before it hits the ground.”

            This was met with laughter and the one who spoke, seeming to be their leader, said, “What? Man, you gots one gun and we gots all these guns. We awake, unlike our friends you shot up. Nah, man, we got dis here. You the one who’s dead.”

            Fingers tensed on triggers and Boston could feel each one of them, “Have it your way,” he held up his cigarette in his fingers and flicked it straight upward, spinning into the air.

            Before their fingers could get half way on the triggers of their weapons, Boston had fired three times. The cigarette still spun in the air above his hat. As hammers and firing pins moved, Boston fired three more times. The cigarette was almost starting to fall. As bullets emerged from barrels of the guns, Boston fired another three times. As gangster bullets reached the halfway point towards their target, Boston fired twice more and twice again as the bullets hit the wall behind him. The cigarette was about to fall past the brim of Boston’s hat. As the last three men tensed to fire a second shot, Boston fired three times again, snatched the cigarette from the air at eye level and put it between his lips. Boston breathed in from his cigarette as the last three men fell. None of their shots connected with him.

            “And I never waste a good cigarette,” Boston muttered.

            Again, before authorities arrived, Boston Masters vanished, his mission complete. The balance had been maintained and for now, Death was satisfied.