Free The Kasparov Agenda (Omega Ops Legion Book 1) by C.S. De Mel Page B

into shelving. He was lying on the cold floor in incredible pain. His head was reeling and his entire left arm had gone numb. Varick felt his side for damage with his right hand: Two rib fractures at least. Maybe three.  
    Gregory Pike walked towards Varick triumphantly. “Game’s over.” Suddenly, there was another loud whistle. Pike turned to face Santos.
    “Stay where you are, monster.” Santos’ hand was outstretched and aimed directly at Pike.
    Gregory Pike smiled. “Make me.”
    Santos’ hand began to glow. Particles of light appeared to be collecting around his fingers. Brighter and brighter—until his entire hand appeared to be encased in a glowing ball of light. But Pike was not the least bit perturbed. Still smiling, Pike sidestepped towards Varick, with his eyes focused on Santos—as if daring Santos to stop him.
    Varick gasped as he struggled to get to his feet. “Santos...don’t. You can’t...”
    Santos’ forearm shot back. A ball of bright white energy discharged from his palm and struck Pike in the chest and engulfed him. Henry, Roy, and Laura stared at Santos, awestruck. Laura could not believe what she had just witnessed. “I’ve heard about this kind of phenomenon...energy field manipulation...”
    “But to see it first hand...” Henry continued, finishing her thought.
    Roy scratched his head. “Yeah...that’s really messed up. Super queer.”
    Santos turned to the three officers and flashed them an ‘A-ok’ with his hand. Santos’ smile vanished when he heard a dull laugh. Pike was still standing tall, in perfect health.
    Varick groaned. “His armor...it absorbs that crap...”
    “Well, that’s not good,” Santos muttered.
    “Idiot!” Varick spat. “You just made him stronger!”
    Pike laughed; his chest armor was glowing now. He booted the twenty-foot-high metal pallet racking and watched gleefully as it tipped over and pallets stocked with machine parts rained down. Mustering all of his strength, Varick got to his feet and ran to evade the falling shelf. The pallet racking smashed onto the floor with a thunderous crash that echoed across the warehouse. Santos charged at Pike.
    “Stay back!” Varick roared. “I can handle this!”
    Santos stopped. “Are you sure?”
    “You’ve helped enough!”
    Santos shrugged. “Alright, if you say so.”
    Varick’s back was against the wall. He watched intensely as Pike advanced on him; his gauntlet was surging with energy. As Pike approached, he let out a rumbling laugh. “You should’ve got your buddy’s help. You’re gonna need all the help you can get.”
    Varick held his side in pain and was breathing heavy. Despite his injuries, Varick gritted his teeth and firmly stood his ground. He waved Pike forward. “Let’s see what you got, Flounder.”
    Pike lunged and threw a massive hook at Varick. His punch went right through the warehouse wall as Varick rolled under Pike’s swinging arm and out of harm’s way. Varick picked up a wooden skid that had fallen off the racking and smashed it on Pike’s back, where it splintered and broke. Pike howled in rage. He extracted his fist from the concrete wall and turned to face Varick. Next up: A crate full of nuts and bolts. Varick lifted the crate high over his head and heaved it with all of his strength. The crate blew up on Pike’s face and showered him with metal. The impact caused Pike to stagger. He lost his footing on the metal parts littering the floor and fell. Gregory Pike was now on his back, looking up at the ceiling rafters in quiet brooding. He placed a hand on his face and felt bruises. Pike examined his gauntlet: it was now speckled with his own blood. “Well, now you’ve gone and done it, you annoying little bastard .” Pike got to his feet, looking livid. Varick raised his fists in an attack stance, but the moment he did, his side flared up with pain. Varick took a step back.
    “Gregory Pike, was it?” Laura called out. Pike looked her way. She was holding