Powerless (Book 1): Powerless (32 page)

It
was
then
Tom
could
see
the
same
dark
clothed
man
with
the
dark
mask
that
hid
his
humanity
so
well.
He seemed
to be
of
another
world,
a
cold
world;
a
dark
place
where
there
w
as no
weakness
and
if
there
was
it
wouldn’t
last
for
too
long.
It
was
Project
K.

The
man
stepped
out
from
cover
and
marched
right
into
the
middle
of
the
two
men
and
stood
very
still.
Stepping
back
Tom
and
McKay
allowed
themselves
room
to
launch
an
attack
against
Project
K
if
needed.
Project
K
tilted
his
head
from
left
to
right
and
assessed
what
the
men
might
do
from
their
positions
and
still
made
no
move
to
attack
them.
Tom
and
McKay
looked
at
each
other
at
the
same
time
and
gave
a
small
nod
and
then
progressed
towards
Project
K.
The
two
men
were
skilled
fighters
after
years
of
action
in
that
army.

They
engaged
Project
K
in
combat;
Project
K
never
seemed
to
move,
choosing
just
to
stand
there
as
the
two
men
launched
one
attack
after
the
other.
Each
time
they
came
close
to
landing
a
blow
on
Project
K
he
didn't
seem
to
move,
yet
the
punches
never
landed.
It
was
as
if
they
were
fighting
something
that
wasn’t
there,
trying
to
hit
a
shadow.

Eventually
Tom
managed
to
grip
Project
K
and
with
all
his strength wrapped
his
arms
tightly
around
him.
Finally
he
managed
to
hit
his
target
and
landed
a
barrage
of
punches
to
the
face
and
body
of
Project
K.
Losing
his
strength
and
going
limp
he
fell
to
his
knee.
Feeling
this,
Tom
loosened
his
grip,
telling
McKay,
“Quick,
grab
some
rope,
we
need
to
secure
him…”
As
McKay
turned
to
look
for
rope,
Project
K's
muscles
began
to
tense
up
again.
Rising
to
his
feet,
before
Tom
was
able
to
tighten
his
grip
again,
Project
K
threw
his
head
back
and
struck
Tom
right
on
his
nose
with
the
back
of
his
head.

Tom’s
eyes
began
to
water
up
and
clouded
his
vision.
As
a
result,
he
released
Project
K
from
his
hold
and
stumbled
backwards
to
re-gather
his
composure.
Project
K
now
viewed
an
incapacitated
Tom
as
less
of
an
immediate
threat
so
he
turned
his
attention
to
McKay.

McKay
was
in
a
hurried
panic
and
searching
for
rope.

He was unaware
that
Project
K
had
managed
to
break
Tom’s
hold
on
him
and
incapacitate
him,
nor
was
he
aware
of
the
immediate
attack
about
to
be
thrust
upon
him.
With
very
silent
and
deliberate
movements
Project
K
ran
and
launched
himself
onto
him,
unleashing
blow
after
blow
to
the
face
of
McKay.

Holding
McKay
up,
he
kept
him
from
falling
from
his
grasp but McKay’s
body
went
limp
and
seemed
to
be
just
hanging
from
the
hand
of
Project
K.

Tom
in
a
panicked
daze
had
just
about
been
able
to
recover
from
the
eye
-watering
blow
he
had
taken
to
the
face.
Looking
up
and
seeing
McKay’s
limp
body
; he ran
over
and
gripped
Project
K
from
behind.
This
time
instead
of
squeezing
him,
he
lifted
him
up
off
the
ground,
turned
him
upside
down
and
with
gritted
determination
drove
Project
K
down
into
the
ground
head
first
.
Hearing
an
almighty
crunch
as
he
dashed
Project
K's
head
off
a
rock
that
lay
at
his
feet,
his
body
fell
limp
for
the
last
time.

Any
sinister
signs
had
been
removed
from
his
body
by
Tom
along
with
any
signs
of
life.
Tom
dropped
his
body,
which
fell
to
his
feet
in
an
exhausted
lifeless
pile.

He took
a
breath
to
compose
himself,
for
he
had
effectively
defeated
the
undefeated.
Then
Tom
began
to
think
about
this
feat
and
something
didn’t
sit
right
with
him.
Looking
to
McKay
he
stated,
“That
was
too
easy,
there’s
something
going
on…”
He went
to
tend
to
McKay,
not
knowing
if
he
was
alive
or
dead.
To
Tom’s
bewilderment
he
found
him
to
be
unhurt
and unharmed
and
very
much
conscious
as
opposed
to
the
lifeless
body
he
had
seen
only
moments
before.