Max Arena Read online

  Kris eyed off both Joe and Abdullah in turn and then looked down at the bench. Elsa turned to lean against the sink, her head dipped and her arms folded. Peter continued to scan the windows from beneath arched eyebrows, his eyes squinting a little more than usual. The silence dug in and then Elsa spoke.

  ‘Well, I don’t need to sleep on it,’ she said, looking up at Abdullah and then Joe. ‘I’m sold. If you think this is worth trying then I’m in. I trust you both.’

  Kris looked up at Elsa from beneath her brow. Elsa looked back. A few moments later, Kris nodded.

  ‘Okay,’ she said, raising her head. ‘I’m in too, but the second it starts distracting the training, I’m out. We can’t let the show become the main game. Winning in the arena is what counts.’

  Both Joe and Abdullah nodded. Joe then turned to look back at Peter, who was still unmoved against the wall behind them all.

  ‘What say you, Peter?’ Joe asked. ‘You’re our security expert and if you think this is too dangerous, then please, share your counsel?’

  Peter did not shift his visual fix on the windows, but answered with total attention to the question.

  ‘No counsel from me, sir,’ Peter returned. ‘I’m in.’

  Joe smiled. ‘You’re not just being a good soldier and following orders against your better judgement are you?’ he asked.

  ‘No, sir,’ Peter replied as he turned to look his Prime Minister in the eye. ‘You were bang on when you said “seeing is believing”. I’ve seen Max up close and now I’m a believer. We need to do this, so I’ll make sure we get through it all safely. That’s my part in this deal.’

  Joe nodded. Peter returned his gaze to the windows. Abdullah turned his attention to Max, who looked back.

  ‘You remain the only person unspoken, my friend,’ Abdullah said, holding his hands out wide.

  Max held the Sheikh’s gaze for a few moments and then turned to reach out and grasp one of Elsa’s hands.

  ‘I learnt a long time ago that I can trust Elsa’s judgement in things like this,’ Max said. ‘My alien half doesn’t understand human behaviour so well, so I find things turn out better if I rely on her call, but you know what? Over the last few weeks I’ve learnt that I can trust all of your judgements as well, so if you’re all in favour then I’m in too and as for being distracted by the show and the cameras,’ Max added and turned to look at Kris, ‘not a chance. You tell me where to go and what to do and I’m doing it. No matter what.’

  Kris nodded, her features softening. Elsa squeezed Max’s hand and Joe and Abdullah smiled in unison.

  Then Kris said, ‘There is just one thing.’

  ‘And that is?’ Joe asked.

  ‘We need a team name.’

  ‘We did have a suggestion,’ Joe replied. ‘How about World Hope?’

  Kris pressed her lips tightly together and bore her gaze into first Joe and then into Abdullah.

  ‘You don’t approve do you?’ Joe asked carefully.

  Kris slowly shook her head.

  ‘Very well,’ Joe said. ‘What would you suggest?’

  Kris looked around the group and landed last of all back on her Prime Minister, a smile spreading across her face. ‘Team Max.’

  11:45am. 22nd July (the next day). A Spark

  ‘What’s going on? Straight through!’ Kris called out as she approached the Balinese style gazebo on the edge of the western lawn, which was isolated from the main house by a long, winding gravel path.

  Sheikh Abdullah looked up from his iPad as he reclined on the padded, wicker lounge. Rising to his feet he bowed slightly and said, ‘I’m sorry. I did not catch what you said.’

  ‘I said straight through,’ Kris replied. ‘Your bodyguards didn’t even blink.’

  Abdullah cast a sideways glance to his two hulking guards and smiled. ‘I hope they did not blink. They are under strict instructions to let through those that I trust.’

  Kris tried to force back a shy little smile, but failed. Abdullah saved her.

  ‘So, now that you are safely inside my security shield, may I presume you are here to discuss something pressing?’ the Sheikh asked.

  ‘Well, I don’t know about pressing...’ Kris said, shuffling her feet.

  ‘Even better,’ Abdullah added. ‘I need rescuing from my research into political science and would welcome any distraction you can afford me. Please, come and sit?’

  With that, Abdullah turned and waved a hand to the collection of vacant chairs under the gazebo. Kris eyed them off and then stepped underneath the shade to take a seat next to where Abdullah had been sitting. Abdullah followed behind and waited for Kris to sit down before resettling himself and placing his closed iPad in his lap. ‘Now, distract me, please?’

  ‘Um, I really just came out,’ Kris started meekly, ‘to see what you thought of the name Team Max?’

  ‘I like it,’ Abdullah said immediately. ‘It is a clever play on words and highly marketable. It is perfect.’

  Kris’ eyes lit up and her smiled lifted higher. Sitting up a little straighter in her chair, she literally beamed back at the Sheikh. ‘Good because I’ve also got an idea for a team logo and colours.’

  Abdullah dipped his chin slightly and raised his eyebrows. ‘Go on.’

  ‘Can I borrow your iPad, please?’

  ‘Of course,’ Abdullah replied, lifting the device from his lap and passing it over.

  ‘Can I buy an app too?’ Kris asked, squinting.

  ‘Of course, but nothing over five dollars. I am trying to curb my spending.’

  Kris flicked a glance up at him from beneath an arched brow.

  ‘My feeble attempt at humour,’ he said. ‘Buy away.’

  ‘Thanks. Give me a second and I’ll show you what I mean.’

  For the next couple of minutes, Kris swiped and tapped her fingers across the screen, while Abdullah watched on silently. As Kris worked and Abdullah observed, he realised he was relaxed and probably the most relaxed he had been in recent days if not the last few weeks. Abdullah’s self awareness also noted that this was the first time he and Kris had been alone together and she was not being aggressive towards him. He held onto the thought and savoured it.

  ‘You ready?’ Kris suddenly asked, looking up from her work.

  ‘Please?’ Abdullah replied, holding his right hand out.

  Kris held the iPad up in front of her and flipped it around to reveal the screen. Abdullah’s eyes fixed onto a bright, orange background with a large, black “X” positioned squarely in the middle. The “X” was blocky and solid in style and looked like it had wet, orange paint dripping down from the top edges.

  ‘So, what do you think?’ Kris asked eagerly.

  Abdullah continued to study the illustration in silence, forcing Kris to squirm a little in her seat. After a few protracted moments, the Sheikh finally lifted his face to her.

  ‘Again, I like it,’ he said. ‘It is simple yet striking and as many of this current generation say, it is in your face.’

  ‘Bingo!’ Kris shot back. ‘Nailed it in one. It’s simple and it’s in your face, plus it’s the letter “X”, which gen Y has some weird fascination with, so they’re going to love it for sure.’

  Abdullah leaned back in his chair and appraised Kris through soft eyes, allowing her to tumble through the conversation unhindered.

  ‘Yesterday you talked about marketing and merchandise,’ Kris continued, ‘and all that stuff and I got to thinking, what about orange? We all know that’s Max’s trademark colour, what with his shoes and all plus it’s a brilliant colour for marketing. Bright, unmistakable and no one else really uses it, so why can’t we?’

  Abdullah remained quiet, his contentment growing as he basked in Kris’ unbridled passion and the accompanying rise and fall of her voice.

  ‘It’s like you said,’ Kris added. ‘It’s perfect. If we plaster this logo around everywhere, it’s instantly recognisable and basically doubles as a picture of Max everywhere you look. Caps, t-sh
irts, billboards, you name it. It’ll be everywhere, which means Max will be everywhere at the same time. No one can miss it. It’s awesome. It’s..it’s...’

  ‘A great idea,’ Abdullah gently interjected.

  At that moment, Kris realised she had been gibbering away and her self consciousness rose up. Slinking back a little in her chair, she dropped her gaze downwards.

  Abdullah smiled and said, ‘You have convinced me, Kris. We will run with your proposal. Orange is an excellent colour and largely unutilised, except of course by the Dutch royal family, but I think in this instance they will forgive us.’

  Kris’ eyes lit up again and she pulled a little fist pump. ‘Yes!’ she said through gritted teeth, ‘which brings me to my next question. Well, questions really.’

  ‘Hmm.’

  ‘If we’re going to do this,’ she started as she handed the iPad back, ‘we need to start by painting the truck and renaming it.’ Abdullah listened. ‘I was thinking we could call it the Pain Train and paint it all orange with the logo blown up on the sides and the back. That way when we take it out to our public training sessions, we’re fully advertised. We might also want to repaint one of your helicopters while we’re at it and the Land Cruisers too?’

  Abdullah nodded silently, again letting Kris roll onwards.

  ‘I’ve also been thinking,’ Kris continued, ‘about your offer to fund some more training kit. We’re going to need some more advanced stuff like timing equipment, video cameras and some iPads or tablets. Basically, I need to start recording Max’s efforts a lot more closely to monitor his improvements and work out how to keep him challenged. There’s only so many burpees and push ups I can get him to do before he starts doing them in his sleep. I’ll also need some comms kit.’

  ‘Comms?’ Abdullah asked, tilting his head.

  ‘I’m not sure what exactly, but some sort of hands free type stuff, so I can talk to Max while he’s off running around on the other side of the lawn or where ever he is and he can hear me without having wires or cables getting in the way. I was thinking some sort of headset for me and some sort of ear piece type thing for Max. Do you think we could do that?’

  Abdullah remained silent and after a few moments pause, he nodded.

  ‘Cool!’ Kris cooed, a wide grin adorning her face. ‘Thanks.’

  'I am sure my people can arrange all of these things,' Abdullah said, 'and if there is anything else, please ask?'

  'I will. Count on it,’ Kris replied. Then, as she stopped talking, Kris’ eyes dimmed a fraction and she dropped her gaze again, but this time a frown forlorned her features. ‘I just wish...’

  Abdullah let Kris hold her pause and then softly pushed. 'What do you wish for, Kris?’

  The pause drew on a few moments more and then Kris looked briefly up at Abdullah and then off to the side, the faraway focus still in place.

  'I've always wanted to run a business,’ Kris started quietly, ‘and this thing we’re doing, this Team Max thing, feels like it is kind of my business and my chance to make that dream come true, except...it’s not. It’s nothing like it. It’s absolutely nothing like it and I just wish...'

  ‘And what do you wish for?’ Abdullah gently asked again when Kris trailed off.

  Then Kris snapped out of her malaise and straightened up to look back at Abdullah. ‘I just wish it hadn’t taken the end of the world to make my dream come true. That’s all.’

  In return, Abdullah’s features tenderly folded as he smiled and added, 'I have found in life, Kris, that everywhere you look and especially in tragedy, there is good. It sounds contradictory I know, but when life is at its most desperate, at its most dire, there is light. You may have to look hard to find it, but it will be there, waiting to be found. You have your business now, better late than never and God willing, we will all get time beyond the arena to fulfil more of our dreams?'

  Kris’ lips crinkled into a little smile of her own as she looked into Abdullah’s hazelnut eyes. After a few moments of comfort, she rose to her feet and said one word. ‘Thanks.’

  Abdullah also rose and bowed slightly. Kris then turned and stepped out from the gazebo and back on to the path.

  'Oh,' Kris said, stopping and turning back. 'I never did say thanks for putting those security guards on my brother's house, so, thanks.'

  'You are most welcome. Your safety and your family's safety is paramount to us all. I trust they are still safe?'

  ‘Yeah, they're fine, especially with Max’s guest appearances where he tears up the entire neighbourhood. They couldn’t be safer.’

  ‘Please, let me know if I can assist further?’

  ‘You know, Max was right in what he said?' Kris added.

  'And what did Max say if I may?'

  Kris looked deep into Abdullah’s eyes again. 'It was a nice thing for you to do.'

  Abdullah smiled, but this time he did not bow his head or look away, instead he held Kris' gaze. She lingered her gaze also for just a moment more and then without another word, turned and walked away, leaving Abdullah to watch her go, his smile now matching the warmth spreading through his soul.

  Noon, 29th July (7 days later). Revelation

  Kris walked into the living room and plonked down onto the couch. Reaching forward to the coffee table, she picked up the remote control for the television and idly switched it on. The news appeared and she rolled her eyes, immediately changing the channel before it became depressing.

  The screen flickered and shifted and then she baulked. For a few seconds, Kris sat unblinking and looking at the screen, not sure of exactly what she was seeing and then it dawned on her.

  ‘Elsa!’ she called out. ‘Get in here and look at this!’

  ‘Why?’ Elsa’s voice rang out from the kitchen. ‘What is it?’

  ‘There’s an alien on TV!’

  Two seconds later, Elsa charged into the living room, stopping behind the couch where Kris sat as she too stared at the screen, her bottom jaw dangling.

  ‘Is that...?’ Elsa started.

  ‘...an alien. Yes,’ Kris finished for her.

  The television screen held a single image. A close-up of what could only be a Nar'gellan, its rugged, purplish-black features housing two baleful eyes, glaring out from the Neanderthal type brow.

  ‘Check the other channels,’ Elsa asked.

  Kris pressed the button once, twice, three times and the vision remained the same.

  ‘They’ve hijacked all the channels,’ Kris replied. ‘What’s going on?’

  ‘I don’t know.’

  And then it spoke.

  ‘I am Macktidas,’ the alien spoke, its voice guttural and cruel. ‘Soon, I and my race will conquer your world, but for now, I have given you a reprieve, a stay of execution to prepare your champion for his defeat in the arena.’

  ‘Cocky bugger,’ Kris said through gritted teeth.

  Elsa ignored the comment, her mind analysing every inch of the creature that sought to kill her husband and destroy the world. Macktidas continued.

  ‘Use your remaining days well, for in five months time, doom comes at my hand. I have nothing more to say other than the only thought I savour more than your race’s destruction, is the death of Max Dyson. Ensure he lives through to the allotted time, so I can kill him. That is my only demand.’

  The screen flickered and a re-run of MASH came on, all vestiges of the alien commander gone. Both women sat and stood in silence, the words of their foe recycling through their minds.

  Elsa suddenly jolted. ‘Max!’

  Then Kris shot to her feet and turned. ‘Where is he?’ she barked.

  ‘I’m here,’ sounded a voice from behind them.

  Both Elsa and Kris flashed around to find Max walking casually out from the hallway and into the kitchen.

  ‘Did you see that?’ Elsa asked quickly.

  ‘Yeah,’ he replied, walking across to open the fridge. ‘Caught it on the TV in the bedroom.’

  The phone suddenly rang in its cradl
e on the kitchen bench. Elsa dashed across and answered it.

  ‘Hello?’ she said. Then said, ‘Ok, hold on.’

  Elsa then pressed the speaker button and put the hand set down on the bench. Joe’s voice sounded.

  ‘Thanks, Elsa,’ he said. ‘I’m here with Abdullah in Canberra. Can I ask who is there with you?’

  ‘Kris and Max,’ Elsa replied.

  ‘Good. I assume you all saw the broadcast just then?’

  ‘Yes, we did.’

  ‘Right. I just wanted to see firstly if everyone is ok?’

  ‘We’re fine,’ Elsa replied for everyone. ‘Just a bit shocked.’

  ‘Understandable, but at least this was only a broadcast with no physical action. Max, do you have any thoughts?’

  ‘Nope,’ Max replied through a mouthful of the sandwich he had taken out of the fridge. ‘He didn’t tell us anything we don’t already know.’

  ‘True,’ Joe said from the phone. ‘It did appear to just be a reinforcement of the existing threat. A fear inducing ploy if you will?’

  ‘However, if I may?’ Abdullah chimed in. ‘I think Macktidas has inadvertently aided our plight, albeit in a somewhat painful way.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ Kris asked.

  ‘He has just removed any uncertainty and denial around his threat. Since disappearing after the original broadcast one month ago, a large portion of the population has wondered if this alien scourge was real, but now it will be beyond doubt. The advantage for us is now our plan to take Max to the world has a firm base upon which to build. The disadvantage, the painfulness of this latest broadcast however, is that Macktidas’ renewed vengeance has likely notched up the general fear levels and the downward spiral of law and order is likely to also quickly accelerate. We have to commence our plan without delay, so I am proposing we contact media organisations tonight and begin the marketing campaign immediately. Does this have everyone’s blessing?’