CHAPTER THIRTY ONE

2 DAYS AGO

Faulkner talked to Fitzsimons via satellite, "What do we do next, sir?"

"Clearly you will not find him like this combing the city neighborhood by neighborhood has only proven ineffective. No, you will have to do something else," Fitzsimons elaborated, "something more, something cold and calculated. You must lure him out, make him come to you."

"Sir?"

"Prepare the package."

"Yes. sir."

* * *

1 DAY AGO

"They're looking for you."

Jack was still dazed. He could not recall what had happened, nor how much time had passed since the Empire State Building. He was in a bed, in the dark. It looked like he had been there for awhile. There was a bandage going around his head, over his brow. His DarkFlood equipment was still on, but his face was not covered with anything. Whoever this was now knew Jack was DarkFlood.

Jack could hear him in the kitchen, using the sink. He tried to get up from the bed, but when he got to his feet he was shook with severe vertigo. The man walked into the dark room from the lit hallway. All Jack could see was his approaching silhouette holding a tray. He placed the tray down on the nightstand.

"Chinatown is under martial law because of you," the man handed Jack a teacup, "Drink."

Jack sipped the tea. If this man was trying to kill him, he would have already.

"I knew it was you the whole time. Ever since the fire."

Moses comes into the light emitted from the candle on the nightstand. Jack laughed. He could not believe it.

"You. But how?"

"There will be a time when I can explain everything, but now that you are up we need to get out of here."

"Why?"

"They're searching this complex next. I was going to hide you but you're awake now."

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"Okay." Jack tried to stand up again, but Moses quickly put his hands on his shoulders, keeping him on the bed.

"Easy. I'm gonna help you. Gather your strength," Moses said as he walked out of the room and down the hallway.

Moses came back in the room with clothes in his hands, "First get rid of that costume, they are looking for DarkFlood,” he explained as he threw Jack the clothes, "and getting dressed will help you stretch out. Then when you're ready, we're gonna make a run for the roof."

And that is exactly what they did. When the SWAT team got to Moses' floor, they were already on the roof searching for a way out. Jack was still struggling to walk and couldn’t do so without leaning on Moses. He sat on the edge of the guardrail around the roof while Moses tried to access the fire escape.

"Wait!" Jack tried to exclaim.

Moses kept shaking the lock trying to get it loose.

"Wait dammit!"

Moses finally stopped and came back over to Jack, "What?"

"I can tele-I can get us outta here."

"You can barely breathe."

Moses continued to work at the lock to the fire escape as the military men finished sweeping the floors of the apartment complex. Jack tried to teleport away. Moses was right. He was too weak to do anything but sit there and wait. Moses kept striking the lock.

Jack looked up at the sun. It was a beautiful day. He closed his eyes and felt the warmth on his eyelids. Jack opened his eyes back up and saw an inbound helicopter between himself and the sun. Instead of landing on the roof right away, the helicopter hovered in the air before them and turned showing its side. The door opened and inside was an estranged Faulkner with a female hostage.

"NO!" Jack screamed, adrenaline rushing the nerves back into his system. He stepped off Moses, "FAULKNER!"

The helicopter blades blasted unapologetic noise through the air, it muddled the senses. Moses couldn’t tell what was going on, or who that woman was. He rushed to the door back downstairs. It was locked, and he could hear the SWAT team on the other side. They were surrounded.

"DON'T DO THIS!"

The gunshot was barely heard, except for Jack. His pursuing scream was heard by every soul in New York. It nearly deafened Moses.

"What was that!?" He said to no one.

The hostage's body fell limp out of the chopper.

Jack fell to his knees as the helicopter turned away to leave. Moses came up next to him. Jack was emotionally paralyzed. "That was my wife."

Only the sun remained.

And in that one instant of total destitution, a second sun was born in the sky. Both lights conjured a spark in Jack's eyes, of something he had never felt before. A tear dropped down on top of Jack's head. He looked up at Moses who was looking at the suns too, reflected in both his eyes. He was experiencing the same thing.

The Two Suns affected mankind instantaneously. But the effects would not all manifest at once.

It was a precursor, a preliminary, a blueprint being laid down for something much bigger. Jack knew immediately this was about Sensei's scrolls and the Two Suns Prophecy, he had mentioned it before, during his training. This world was in for a revolution, one that has only happened once before in the early days of earth, an age believed to be the birth of all the basic elements found on the periodic table. And Jack had the key to it all safely hidden away with Dr. Randolph where only he could find them. Yet, Jack was only focused on one thing right now, and for that he needed strength.

He was going to avenge Sarah's death.