Chapter 88 088: The Parley 4

Of course there was no one around to give an answer to that question, and even if there was someone to give an answer, it was never a question that was meant to be answered. Cole took a step forward and stumbled forwards, blood filling his lungs that he invariably had no choice but to cough out.r

The assailants laughed, Cole at this moment seemed very much like the kind of guy who talked a bit game but did not have the balls or the talent to see it through to the end. His gravity show and the fact that he had not fallen down immediately, had made all of them apprehensive about who they were dealing with, but in the end Cole was still just a man.r

"You stupid Punk! What did you think you were? Some sort of superhero? Hey! Before you did why don't you tell me how you made all those debris float, do you have some sort of antigravity device little hero?"r

One of the gunmen asked as he came closer, putting his pistol against the skull of the fatally injured Cole. But the answer he got in response to his question was a wild chuckle, as Cole raised his hand to grab the gun, making sure it was pointed right at the middle of his skull as he said.r

"hero? Super hero? Are your tripping? Why the fuck will I be a hero, if I was a hero why did I go through all of this trouble just to make sure I could bring you a bit closer without having to Wade through a veritable sea of bullets. You see I'm not sure if my teleportation skill works here, but never the less let's see if you can survive this. If you do, then you'll at least get a variation of an answer to the question you just asked…. If you don't survive…. Well you get the full answer." Cole said to him with a smile, that in a second turned into a predatory grimace.r

[Sin Eater]r

"uarrraghh Arghhhhhh!"r

His screams filled the air as Cole rose up to his full height, the shock in the eyes of everyone present seemed to increase as the man that Cole held began to either away at a rare that was visible to the naked eye. His teammates did not stand by, they quickly opened fire on Cole, but he raised his left hand and pointed it in their direction.r

[Gravity]r

Cole created a controlled stream of gravity that completely deflected everything that was being thrown his way upwards. The bullets shattered the chandeliers and might fixtures above the restaurant, raining down glass over the head with the people present as Cole kept his contact with the gunman, not stopping until all that was left of him was desiccated husk.r

His Caucasian skin had become dry and leathery, and looked mottled and brown, like the bark of tree. But for some reason he was still alive, Cole could still hear him moaning and twitching as his entire form seemed to curl into itself. Cole decided to hit the final nail in the coffin.r

[Soul Eater]r

Unlike within the digital world where the souls are green, or perhaps that was just a staple for the undead. The soul of the man was a bluish grey, and as he was being dragged out of his body, keening wails and screams were heard as the desiccated body thrashed, fighting his hardest to retain whatever sense of self and life he had left.r

But in the face of the power that Cole had all of his struggles were futile, Cole dragged his soul into himself, and in that moment his black hair suddenly gained a streak of grey as his eyes flashed, tuning golden red for a moment, then flashing to a gold good in another before settling back. The golden red version had been somewhat animal like an eerie…. They eyes of a demon. And the bluish Good had two pupils in it….. the eyes of a monster.r

"Honestly, if this was a movie, this would be the part where you all run for your bloody lives after realizing you've gone an Awakened a monster that you should have left sleeping. But unfortunately it's too late."r

In tat moment another group of armed gun men in tactical gear barged into the restaurant. They made short work of the other group, incapacitating all of them, and worse of all there were no casualties, they were all still alive. Cole let out a deep breath and stumbled backwards, but there was a firm hand ready to grab him and keep him steady.r

"Director Cole, apologies for arriving late. We were supposed to be responsible for your security detail now, but your grandmother had…. The Matriarch had wanted us to be on standby for a probationary period while she evaluated our…. Sincerity. But even so, this was an oversight on my part and I would accept any punishment you give to me." Cole raised an eyebrow and then he asked.r

"What's your name?" the man in question looked to be around his early to mid thirties, he was well built and he was exactly what you would expect from a captain of kill team or something, he was also Asian, south or south east.r

"Khan sir, Captain Abdullah Khan. " he replied as Cole nodded then gave him a tired smile as he leaned a little heavily on the captain.r

"Honestly Captain… I am just happy to see you. I'd have to rely on you for a bit, using my abilities in the real world takes a toll, even without any visible injuries, they don't agree with our reality…. At least not yet anyways."r

Not that the captain understood any of what Cole had just finished saying. All he did was give a nod to his new boss and helped him over to the elevators as his grandmother and Tehilla were ushered down and led towards the elevator. Captain Khan had a few more orders to deliver.r

"Gemini deep scan the building and make sure the elevators have not been compromised, quickly or we would have to take the stairs to be a bit more sure. Scorpio restrain and handle the extraction of the prisoners, keep them in transit and stay on standby mode until you hear from me. Aquarius… get the transport ready, we're coming up."r

Cole raised an eyebrow at the names of the Zodiac being thrown around, but apart from a guy covers head to toe in tactical gear and have a bright red scorpion on the back of his head who nodded his head and began to cuff the gunmen, the rest only answers through what Cole suspected to be Khan's neural dome, showing that they were not present amongst the other 20+ people that had accompanied Khan here.r

"alright the elevator is secure, move it." Khan ordered, keeping his wife around him as he pointed his rifle through the restaurant one last time, making sure his gaze looked over the rest of the bystanders. Then he sighed, pulled out and orb and handed it over to the guy called Scorpio.r

"Cleanse the area, make sure you erase everything…. And everyone." Then he stepped into the elevator with Cole still leaning on him.r

"Is that really necessary?" Cole asked, knowing without a doubt that the whole cleansing meant they were going to kill every witness and scrub the entire scene clean.r

"This is standard protocol in order to keep you safe. It is my suspicion but I believe more than just the person who hired and took advantage of these pirates greed is after you. We need you to get you off the greed and effectively eliminate your existence for a while, and in that regard Matriarch, forgive me for being so presumptuous but, when we first met I believe I had give the suggestion of having an off the grid safe house." Cole's grandmother raised an eyebrow and smiled, then she said.r

"Well young man, which one would you have use going to?" Khan paused, surprised for moment before he asked.r

"is there anything outside of the country? Or better yet outside the continent if not off world." The old lady shook her head.r

"I don't know anything about off world, but I do have own an entire high rise building in Tokyo along with the almost 200 secret underground floors to it, it goes right into the sea." Now it was Cole's turn to be a bit surprised but all his grandmother did was shrug as she rubbed a hand through his head. r

"I bought that building the day you were born, it was Always for you. Don't do that again…. Please." The Matriarch asked, tears heavy in her eyes as her hand trembled, but Cole couldn't say anything because he knew he really couldn't make such a promise…. His life was different now, danger would rush towards him everywhere he goes, and even if it doesn't…. he's still going to go seek it, cause now his list of people to end just got longer.