Wings Of Icarus

Spike and I took a seat at a table of rather… different. One was formal, in a suit and tie, with a bodyguard in equally as formal clothes. There was another man that wore casual clothing, and another with that of a soldier. “So, what’s the job exactly?” Spike asked.

“Well first off, It would be appropriate for everyone to introduce themselves, don’t you think?” One of the formal ponies suggested. “I am Suno, and this is my bodyguard, Chey.”

“Spike.” Spike nodded.

“Sweetie.” I said.

“Silver Hood.” The poor looking man said with a smile.

“Is this all of the people?” Spike asked.

“No, there should be two more.” Suno said.

“That sounds like an engine.” Spike said, glancing back at the door to the small room. Two people entered, one younger boy and an elderly pony with a cane.

“Everyone’s here now.” I stated. The younger child attempted to close the door, but was thrown to the ground as it swung open. A larger blue minotaur walked in and sat down without a word. The colt looked up at the minotaur with anger, balling his fists before calmly standing up and sitting down next to what was presumed to be his grandfather. I glanced to Suno and patiently waited for the meeting to start. Suno sat quietly, staring at the three new guests.

“This is my grandson Sen.” The elderly earth pony said, his gray hair covering practically his entire body. The sixteen year old boy took a bow and stayed quiet, his clothing seeming torn and as old as his elder. I looked to the elder and waited for him to give his name. “Oh sorry dear… My memory gives out sometimes. I’m Alfred.”

“Interesting… Sounds familiar.” Spike said.

“Mmm…” Chey mumbled, shrugging and glancing to Suno.

“Since everyone’s here…” I started, not wanting to sound too impatient.

“Yes. What are we meeting about exactly?” Spike asked. I glanced to Spike as a sudden nervous feeling overcame me. Why exactly would he bring us somewhere where he had no idea what could happen?

“I dunno.” Alfred shrugged.

“One of us has to know.” The minotaur snorted.

“Does anyone know anything?” I asked. Everyone silently stared at each other.

“I’ll take that as a no.” Spike said.

“Oh this can’t be good.” I sighed.

“I’m Iron Will, you’ve probably heard of me.” The minotaur chuckled, extending his hand to me. “No need to be scared pretty lady.”

I stared at Iron Will and reluctantly took his hand. He gripped my hand tightly and stared at me with a smirk on his face. “What’s that smirk about?” I questioned.

“If I were a mugger, you’d be dead.” He said. “I can teach you to protect yourself but… It’ll cost.” He scooted uncomfortably close to me.

“I’m fine.” I said as I moved away from him. Iron grabbed my hand again and yanked me closer.

“Where you going? You could get some protection if you want.” Iron snickered.

“Let go of me or I WILL make you regret it.” I growled. There was a tap on Iron’s shoulder. Everyone turned to see the still unnamed soldier standing there.

“Can you leave her alone?” The soldier asked.

“Or else what? You gonna do something shrimp?” Iron laughed. The soldier kneed Iron in the crotch and shoved him onto the table, making him tumble to the other side. Suno slid his chair casually out of the way as Iron flew past, watching in his usual elegant manor.

“How crude.” Suno huffed. Alfred smiled and started to laugh.

“Thanks.” I said, glancing up at the soldier.

“It’s people like that, that made me join up.” The soldier nodded, taking a seat again. Iron stood up and snorted, glaring at the soldier.

“That was really violent…” Silver Hood started.

“It wasn’t like he didn’t deserve it.” I said.

Everyone heard a click, but no one was able to determine where it originated.

“Um…” I started. Spike glanced at Sen and stared.

“You okay kid?” Spike asked. Sen blinked, his head snapping up to Spike.

“Yes, he’s fine.” Alfred reassured.

“I still have a bad feeling about all of this.” I said. There was a louder click, followed by a thump. Everyone’s head turned, seeing Iron Will was on the ground.

“Hello? You alright sir?” Silver Hood asked curiously.

“Um… I think he’s dead.” I muttered as I stood up quickly. A pool of blood started to pool, and everyone saw a small hole on the left side of Iron’s chest. “He’s been shot!” I stated loudly.

“Yep.” Spike nodded, his eyes locked on something else. I turned and tracked what he was looking at and saw a bullet hole in the window.

“We need to get out of here.” I said, “It’s pretty damn obvious someone’s trying to kill us.”

“If someone wanted us dead, we’d be dead.” Spike said, pointing out the window. Our heads turned and saw the flash of light on a scope atop the building across from ours.

“Then… why call us all here in the first place?” I asked.

“Because someone wants to play.” Spike said.

“Well… Mm…” Suno mumbled. Chey stepped between Suno and the window. “Thank you.”

“Mmhm.” Chey nodded.

“Yeah that meatbag will protect you against that high powered sniper rifle.” Spike chuckled.

“Well… I don’t think whoever invited US here invited all of us. Didn’t you say there were only supposed to be two more people joining us and he walked in behind them?”

“Maybe we just didn’t get all the information.” Suno suggested.

“That would make sense.” Silver nodded.

“So we’re on the top floor of an office building, and we just happen to have a sniper watching us. Boy we sure got the right job.” Spike chuckled, nudging me.

“Never a dull moment.” I shook my head.

“Well maybe he wants us to do something?” Alfred suggested.

“Well if this is a game, I suppose he wouldn’t want us to just sit here.” Suno nodded.

“Maybe there’s something in the room that’ll tell us what to do?” Spike said. Everyone turned and started to browse the office, except for Spike. Spike seemed to have his attention somewhere else.

“Spike?” I asked curiously.

“Something’s off…” Spike said, approaching the window and glancing up to the roof of the opposite building.

“What’s off?” I asked quietly as I approached him. There was another click, and another hole appeared in the glass. I jumped backwards with a small yelp.

“He’s just trying to scare you.” Spike dismissed, continuing to observe the rooftop.

“A bullet is still a bullet!” Suno stated. “What if it had ricocheted? Someone could have died.”

“Someone is already dead sir.” Chey whispered. Suno looked over at Iron Will.

“Ah, right…” Suno nodded.

“Why would he be trying to scare us? I mean killing someone is already enough. That just shows he could take any of us down at any time.” I said in as calm a tone as I could muster with my pounding heart.

“Because he doesn’t want any of us to find out his secret.” Spike said factually.

“Very observant.” A male voice called out from somewhere in the room.

I glanced nervously around for the source of the voice. “So what do you want?” Spike called out.

“What does someone who burns ants with a magnifying glass want?” The voice said.

“Power?” I questioned.

“Entertainment.” The voice corrected.

“So we’re ants?” Suno questioned.

“Figuratively speaking.” The voice confirmed.

“Well this is outrageous! I will not stand here and be insulted with childish nonsense.” Suno said, walking to the door.

“Don’t!” I said quickly. Chey ripped Suno away from the door in time as another click was heard, and a hole was seen in the wall opposite the window.

“I’m going to have to ask you to not do that again.” The voice said calmly.

“You’re going to pay for this.” Suno stated angrily.

“When it’s over maybe… But I haven’t been caught before.” The voice laughed quietly.

“There’s a first time for everything.” I said.

“You are not allowed to leave until you listen to the rules.” The voice started.

“Then tell us the rules already.” I stated.

“You’re very assertive. Has she always been like this?” The voice mused.

“She’s learning.” Spike chuckled. I glared at Spike.

“Everyone kindly take a seat.” The voice said. Me and the others pulled up a chair around the table. “Good. There should be a watch under everyone’s seat, please put it on.”

I reached down and sure enough, there was a watch attached to the bottom of my chair. It looked strange, and was larger than the average. It wasn’t analog, it was digital. I nervously glanced up at Spike. “What other choice do we have?” Spike shrugged, putting the watch around his wrist as the others did so. I uncertainly put my watch on too. The moment everyone had one on, they tightened around our wrists and a sharp pain spiked through my hand. I yelped and gripped my hand tightly.

“What in the world!” Suno snapped, tugging on the watch.

“I wouldn’t do that.” The voice suggested.

“I don’t even want to know why not.” I said as my mouth went dry.

“Oh but I went through all the work, it wouldn’t be any fun if you didn’t know what was going on.” The voice cooed.

“Just get on with it.” I stated angrily.

“You see, those watches have an I.V. in it, and are now connected to your radial arteries.” The voice said.

“And what’s in the I.V.’s?” I questioned.

“Water.” The voice said plainly.

“Water?” Chey questioned.

“Well I could have used saline, it would have been healthier, but I was lazy.” The voice said defensively.

“What the hell is water going to do?” I snapped.

“Nothing, it just wouldn’t have been very good if nothing was in it. Air in your artery isn’t very good for you.” The voice said.

“You’ve already shown that you want us all to end up dead.” I stated.

“Oh you’re so naive. If I killed you quickly that wouldn’t be fun… But I won’t have you breaking the rules either.” The voice said in a more cold tone.

“Then get on with the damn rules already!” I said angrily.

“You see, now that the watches are on you, the I.V. seeks your artery. Once it is in, it creates a circuit. A circuit that now establishes a connection between the machinery in the watch. As you’ve probably noticed, they are now functional.” The voice said. I saw the watches all said 3:01. I silently stared down at the watch. “So technically, your circulatory system is indeed turning the gears in the watch that help it run. It is battery powered of course… But it needs a little more to help with the trigger.”

“Alright… and why are they needed?” Suno questioned.

“He’s going to tell us why.” I sighed quietly.

“Well you see, if you take the watch off, the circuit stops, and so does the watch.” The voice continued.

“And what happens if the watch stops?” I asked.

“Well then the bomb goes off.” The voice said.

“What… bomb?” I asked nervously.

“Oh relax, it’s not in the building you are in… It’s in mine.” The voice said. Everyone glanced to the rooftop, staring at the glimmer from the shooter’s scope again.

“And… that’s bad… how?” I asked. Spike pointed to the sign on the lower part of the building that read ‘Children’s Hospital’. “Oh fuck all.” I groaned.

“Now that I have your attention.” The voice laughed.

“So what do you want us to do?” Suno asked.

“It’s simple. The mechanics in your watch are linked to the bomb, and they must all be in sync in order to stay connected. And you can imagine what will happen if one goes out of sync…” The voice continued.

“So taking them off is a bad idea, got it.” Spike said.

“Not just that. But there are certain areas in the building that have… how should I say this… Bad reception?” The voice suggested.

“And that’s why you put us here.” I said. “So we can try to get out without setting off the bomb?”

“Now you’re getting it.” The voice cheered.

“There are only two ways to safely take the watch off. One, is to beat the game.” The voice said.

“And the other?” I asked.

“There is an extra watch under the empty chair, and there is one person that this watch will not activate on.” The voice said. Everyone turned to Iron’s body. “I assume you understand.”

“So our only option is to play your sick game?” I questioned.

“Well I said there were two. I wouldn’t suggest the other though… That’s simply bad for your health.” The voice said.

“I’m not dying just to get this stupid watch off.” I said.

“Then it’s settled.” The voice said excitedly. Spike glanced over to the child.

“Why doesn’t Sen have a watch?” Spike asked. Everyone turned and saw Sen wasn’t wearing one.

“Oh I’m not a monster… I hate seeing children get hurt.” The voice said

“Says the man who has a bomb in a children’s hospital.” I rolled my eyes.

“I’m not blowing it up… You are!” The voice laughed. “And it would be a shame if the police found the trigger in your watches now wouldn’t it?”

“And how would they connect it back to any of us?” I asked.

“Well you see, there is the first part of our game.” The voice giggled.

“Of course it is.” I grumbled. “Fucking psycho…”

“Oh now let’s not lose our sense of decency, there’s no reason to start throwing names.” The voice said in an almost hurt tone.

“Just get on with it.” I sighed.

“There’s a tape recorder somewhere in the building, attached to one of the many, many phones. And at 3:52, the message will play and the phone will dial a number.” The voice said.

“The police…” Spike sighed.

“Correct. And you can imagine what the police will want to do when they think there is a bomb.” The voice said.

“They’ll want to evacuate…” Suno continued.

“And that would be bad for everyone’s health.” The voice hummed.

“And why would that be?” I questioned.

“What happens if we leave the building?” Spike questioned.

“Did I mention the message isn’t the full truth?” The voice said apologetically.

“They’ll think the bomb is in THIS building…” Silver said quietly.

“So we need to find the phone and disable the tape.” I said.

“I should also mention that you will simply have to pick the phone up to disable it. When the recorder comes within reach of your watch, it will disconnect.” The voice said.

“That sounds too easy.” I said.

“Do you know how many phones are in this building?” Suno questioned.

“It is an office building, and we’re on the 47th floor.” Spike said.

“Damn it all... “ I groaned.

“Oh my, it’s 3:21 already. Time flies when you’re having fun doesn’t it?” The voice said. I growled quietly.

“Just… let my grandson go.” Alfred pleaded.

“Well he has a watch, he’s free to leave at any time.” The voice said. Sen looked up at Alfred and shook his head, grabbing his hand tightly.

I slowly stood up. “You may leave at any time… The clock is ticking.” The voice said.

“He’s not going to leave and you knew that.” I said in a cold tone.

“I never said I didn’t.” The voice laughed quietly. “Also… The reception I talked about earlier.”

“What about it?” Spike questioned.

“I’ve marked the areas where there is no reception in black tape.” The voice said reassuringly. “So no accidental children need to die. I just hate seeing little colts hurt...”

“Coming from you I’m going to call bull shit.” I stated.

“Tick, tock, tick, tock.” The voice hummed.

“So before we get started, what can we call you?” Spike asked.

“I like to call myself the Ragman.” The voice said calmly.

“I don’t get it…” The soldier questioned.

“Don’t worry about it, you don’t need to.” The Ragman said. Spike glanced to the soldier and stared.

“I don’t think you ever introduced yourself.” Spike said.

“I’m Bolt.” The soldier said in a disheartened tone.

“Come on. Let’s go find this phone we don’t have all that much time left.” I ordered.

“Let the games begin.” The Ragman said, an excitement in his tone that previously hadn’t been there.