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."Enough," Steve said.He stood in the doorway, following the rogue’s streaked movements with his eyes, which was all that was necessary for Vortex.All three of his allies were lying or kneeling now, and Steve intended to use that to his advantage.He targeted the side of the room where Khalkha appeared to be, then widened the angle to ensure a successful lock.The vortex wave seized the rogue leader.Khalkha twisted and turned, and when he realized that he could not escape, he released his telekinetic hold on Shockwave’s throat and turned it upon Vortex’s instead — if the man had known that the specific source of the assault was the vigilante’s eyes, he might have used his ability to force Vortex’s eyelids shut.Fortunately, his knowledge of the costumed hero was not that intimate.That didn’t make the counterattack any less deadly.Steve had been breathing out when his throat closed, and the vortex wave was already drawing energy from his body.Absently, Steve realized the similarity between this situation and when he’d stood off against Powerhouse in the training center.This time, however, there would be no bolts of lightning to skew the results.Him or me.Lincoln rose to his feet, but the vortex wave was so strong it kept even him at bay.Mark rose to his hands and knees, but he was more concerned with his unconscious partner.Khalkha’s face set in determination, and he increased the pressure on Vortex’s throat.Steve’s neck strained against the telekinetic grip, and he augmented the force of the vortex wave.Finally, both men collapsed.PCAThe narrow panel opened, and Steve limped into the secret room.The limp was not caused by any physical injury — he was simply too exhausted to walk steadily.The room was set up like an office — the resemblance to Joseph Davison’s own office was not lost on Steve.This private work space — which had been hidden beyond the "last" storage area Shockwave and Takayasu had found so that even Lincoln had not known about it — was the only location that qualified as a truly original addition to the existing storage complex.Khalkha had been McLane’s last line of defense, but they still might have missed this clandestine nook in their hurry to finish off the last of the rogues.The scar-faced man, however, had proven insightful when Mark threatened to ram two kinetic bolts right up his nose.Now, out in the storage area where they’d found Khalkha, Mark was standing vigil over the still-stunned Takayasu, as well as keeping a watchful eye on their collected prisoners — the blonde woman, the scar-faced man, and the acid rogue, Edmond.Lincoln had his own assignment while they waited for further reinforcements — he was kneeling behind the unconscious super-rogue, his hands pressed firmly against either side of Khalkha’s head.They had placed a psi-jammer on him, but they were still taking no chances — on Shockwave’s authority, if the rogue leader stirred before their backup arrived, Lincoln had orders to crush the man’s skull.No questions asked.So Steve entered this final room alone.He suspected that if Takayasu were fully aware of what was happening, there would have been some argument against this particular arrangement.But the ensign was still down for the count, and Shockwave was far more liberal in his definition of justice.Even Lincoln had allowed Vortex to carry the torch of his own Hatred — killing Graham had tamed his passion for personal revenge.The only light came from the desk lamp, but Steve would have been able to see either way.McLane sat there, completely rigid, his features lost in the shadows.His trembling hands were clasped together in a vice grip that would take considerable effort to release."Hello, McLane," Steve said, his voice low but surprisingly steady."I’ve been wanting to meet you again."McLane held his silence, his breath tight and shallow.Sweat glistened on his high forehead.Steve stepped forward.Common sense suggested that he remain wary of possible counterattack, but he somehow knew that Khalkha had served that purpose.And it had almost worked — he’d defeated the two P C Agents and the "traitorous" rogue.They were only alive thanks to the unexpected X-factor that was Vortex.Standing before McLane’s desk, Steve reached up and removed his mask.His hair was damp and in disarray, and his psi-band was starting to irritate his skin.All in all, it was not quite the dramatic, movie-style demasking that he would have preferred, but it would have to do."You killed my parents, my brother, my relatives.Hell, you’ve killed a lot of people.But I wanted you to know that you’ve been beaten because you got sloppy.You didn’t kill me." He paused to draw a deep breath, then said, "I’ve thought about this long and hard, McLane, and I’ve decided.I’ve decided that I’m going to be the death of you."McLane shuddered with tension, but said nothing."That’s it, huh? No begging for mercy from Richard McLane? That’s fine by me — it wouldn’t have done you any good, anyway." Pulling his mask back on and into place, Steve leaned forward until his hands were resting on the desk."The last thing you’re going to see, McLane, is the lasers from my eyes, my mechanical eyes, the replacements for the flesh and blood ones that you took from me.You’ll never take anything from anyone ever again."Finally, McLane’s lips parted [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]