Max Arena Read online

  ‘Not even close,’ Max said, not at all breathless after his ordeal. ‘We could be here a while.’

  ‘Are there any people around who can call triple oh?

  Max looked around again. ‘There are people looking out the windows and some coming out onto their balconies.’

  ‘Help!’ Elsa immediately called out. ‘Somebody help!’

  Max held his attention on the gathering creatures. He now estimated at least fifty or so more of the black skinned aliens in sight and quite probably still more of them coming out of hiding.

  Then the front passenger door of the white Land Cruiser burst open and one of the black clad soldiers from the night before leaned out.

  ‘I’ve called for backup!’ he yelled. ‘Triple oh lines are jammed, but I got through to the local army base and they’re choppering in two platoons!’

  Max continued to eye off the opposition. ‘That won’t be enough,’ he said quietly.

  ‘Why aren’t they attacking?’ Elsa asked.

  ‘They know what they’ll get if they do,’ Max replied.

  ‘But there’s so many?’

  Suddenly, a single, much larger alien barged its way onto the scene, pushing past the others. It was at least seven feet tall and sported a pattern of blue stripes and dots on its breast plate.

  ‘I think the boss is here,’ Max said.

  The black clad man in the Land Cruiser glanced around and then hurriedly retreated back inside the cabin, slamming the door shut.

  The alien newcomer loped straight up to Max who was ready to bring him down too if needed. The newcomer stopped at the edge of the crush of bodies and slowly scanned them. He then looked at Max and grunted. Max stared him down. Then the alien retrieved an implement from his belt and held it up in front of him. Suddenly, the air between Max and the alien shimmered and a holographic image appeared.

  The image depicted a similar looking alien, but with piercing green instead of blue eyes and a silver circlet around its bony crest. It was hard to tell, but to Max it looked like the creature was smiling. Then it spoke, in English.

  ‘I have found you,’ the creature said in a guttural tone. ‘You have proven most difficult to locate, but now my quest is complete.’

  ‘What do you want?’ Max asked evenly.

  ‘I want you to die,’ the alien replied, his eyes glaring out of the holographic image.

  ‘Why?’

  ‘You are the last remaining life in the royal Nar’gellan bloodline and with you dead, there can be no challenge to my rule.’

  ‘What are you talking about?’ Max said quietly, but firmly, continually flicking his gaze back to the surrounding street to monitor the movements of the slowly increasing numbers of aliens.

  ‘Don’t be insolent!’ the creature shot back, its nostrils flaring. ‘You know who you are. I know your mother told you before she abandoned you.’

  The aggression failed to pique Max as he kept scanning the surrounds.

  ‘She didn’t abandon me,’ Max said quietly. ‘She left to protect me.’

  ‘Your mother was a coward! She abandoned you just as she abandoned the rest of her family as I slew them to gain the throne.’ Max stayed silent as he slid his gaze back to the creature. ‘That is why she earned a slow death.’

  Max’s attention finally piqued. His eyes narrowed.

  ‘Yes, your mother is dead,’ the creature carried on, his tone low and cold. ‘I slit her throat myself, but not before I bled her. As a queen, she would normally receive a noble death, but as a coward, she received only pain.’

  Max held silent, but even from behind, Elsa could see his jaw muscles bunching as he gritted his teeth like a steel vice.

  ‘So, that leaves only you,’ the alien continued, ‘and what are you? What sort of half-breed has your mother spawned?’

  Max’s clenched fists began to tremble.

  ‘It matters not,’ the creature added derisively. ‘Your mother is dead and you are the only one left with royal blood to challenge me. I wonder, are you a coward too? I suspect so, but we must find out the truth to end this affair.’

  Max refused to speak. He was now sizing up the large alien standing behind the hologram that was controlling it.

  ‘Your silence proves your weakness,’ the creature pushed. ‘Now, let me outline the very last chance you are going to get to keep your life. In six months time, exactly, I expect you to enter an arena of your choice on this planet and compete in three duels against my three greatest champions. If you are victorious in all three duels, which are to the death, then you will keep your life and I and my army will depart, forever. However, if you fall in the arena, then not only will you die and your puerile bloodline come to an end, but I will kill every living being on this forsaken planet of yours’ just to ensure all evidence of you and your family is gone forever. Do you understand?’

  Max held his tongue and his ground, his granite stare fixed on the holographic creature.

  ‘Still silent? So be it. I’ve said all I need. Go and prepare in whatever way seems fit. Train or cower, I care not, but be assured that your slaughter is inevitable. You and your race are doomed to die in six months. That is all you need to know.”

  ‘There is only one thing I know,’ Max said, taking a single step toward the hologram.

  ‘And what is that little half breed?’ the monster sneered back, it’s gleaming, white teeth bared to the gums.

  ‘If you want me to die, you better come down here and do it yourself because your army isn’t big enough.’

  ‘Yes, I can see you do have some skill,’ the creature said, glancing around at the scattered bodies of his soldiers on the footpath, ‘but a skirmish with my footmen is nothing compared to the adversaries you will face in the arena. I should imagine you won’t even get past the first duel let alone make the third, but I do believe in mercy and giving you this fighting chance to stay alive is the least I can do for you. Now, I have to go and broadcast to your entire world my intentions and their imminent deaths. I expect the next few hours on your planet will be quite interesting.’

  ‘There is one more thing I know,’ Max said, carefully taking two more strides forward to position himself almost face to face with the hologram.

  ‘What?’ the creature asked.

  ‘You talk too much,’ Max said and then in a blur, launched a driving punch that penetrated straight through the hologram and smashed into the bridge of the nose of the towering alien behind the image. The creature fell backwards onto the footpath and Max followed it down. Grabbing its throat, he crashed a flurry of blows into the side of its head, the last contact producing a sickening squelch. Max let the limp body fall to the footpath. Looking up, he saw that none of the other alien soldiers, which now numbered well over a hundred, had moved to help. Clearly he was now off limits. His destiny had been laid out and not one of these alien soldiers dared to defy their leader’s orders.

  Max took a deep breath and turned back to his wife and children who were still huddled deep in the arch.

  ‘We’re done here,’ he said. ‘These blokes aren’t going to touch me. Might as well go inside, pack up and wait and see what happens next.’

  The sound of helicopter blades chopping through the early morning air drifted over the street. Max ignored them and helped Elsa, Jason and Millie to their feet. Walking back up the path to their apartment, Millie asked, ‘Daddy, why don’t you have any pants on?’

  Max smiled. That was all the proof he needed that at least he was still alive, for now.

  11:28am. 1st July. Canberra, Australia (the next morning). A New Friend

  The Dysons disembarked the Holden Caprice limousine onto the driveway of the Prime Minister’s Lodge in Canberra and straight into a heavily armed contingent of soldiers. Elsa instinctively huddled the kids into her legs, while Max scanned the vicinity, noting that a significant number of extra soldiers patrolled the grounds around the stately building. It was now late morning in the Australian Capital Territory after the
y had all been whisked away from the Sunshine Coast in the Prime Minister’s private jet and the whole family was well and truly in unknown waters.

  The three black Land Cruisers that had accompanied the limousine from the airport now spewed out another armed detail. These men weren’t dressed like soldiers, but instead were clad in jeans, polo shirts and black spray jackets. They moved with quiet purpose and rarely spoke directly to each other, instead using ear pieces and wrist microphones. Right now their hand guns nestled discretely beneath their jackets, but Max knew they could come out any time, fluidly and lethally. These were no mere soldiers. They were trained killers.

  The apparent leader of the detail walked over to them. He was tall and while not hugely built, he definitely had a strong physical prowess about him. His keen, dark eyes never stopped moving. Nothing missed his gaze.

  ‘Come with me, please?’ he said quietly, but clearly.

  Max turned and waited for Elsa to nod that she was ready and then he led them into the grand, old building behind the leader of the team. They went through a procession of antique furnished state rooms and hallways until they emerged into a room with only a single, elderly male occupant. The man rose as they entered.

  ‘Thank you, Peter,’ the man said, his voice matching all the media clips Max had ever heard or seen of him.

  The leader of the security detail nodded and silently slipped back out the door they had come through, closing it as he did. The elderly man motioned for Max, Elsa and the kids to come and sit with him on the over sized, leather buttoned plushly sofa and chairs clustered generously around the fireplace. As they approached, he held out his hand and after giving it a hesitating glance, Max accepted it and immediately noted the surprising strength in the older man’s grip.

  ‘Good morning, Mister Dyson,’ the man said. ‘I’m Joseph Tollsen and thank you for coming.’

  ‘Good morning to you, Mister Prime Minister,’ Max replied, releasing the man’s hand and stepping aside to reveal Elsa and the kids. ‘This is my wife Elsa and Millie and Jason.’

  The Prime Minister gently shook Elsa’s hand and then squatted down to eye level with the kids, his movements also more firm and agile than one would expect of a senior citizen. Max squinted at him, mentally locking the detail away.

  ‘Good morning to you both,’ Prime Minister Tollsen said to the kids. ‘Would you like some morning tea?’

  Silence returned as Millie and Jason shied deeper into their mother’s legs.

  ‘You can have anything you want,’ the Prime Minister added, ‘if it’s okay with Mum and Dad that is?’

  The Prime Minister looked up to see Elsa shrugging and nodding.

  ‘Can we have ice cream?’ Millie asked timidly.

  The Prime Minister smiled. ‘Of course you can. What flavour?’

  ‘Chocolate!’ Jason suddenly called out, his eyes as wide and as bright as sunflowers.

  ‘Chocolate it is,’ Prime Minister Tollsen said. Pulling a mobile phone out of his pocket, he pressed a button to place the order through to the kitchen. ‘Anything for mum and dad?’ he asked.

  ‘English Breakfast tea?’ Elsa asked.

  ‘Of course,’ the Prime Minister replied. ‘Max?’

  ‘I could actually do with something to eat.’

  ‘Sandwiches? Burger?’

  ‘Sandwiches. Whatever you’ve got.’

  The Prime Minister nodded and placed another order for tea and roast beef sandwiches. Then, putting the phone away, he motioned for them all to sit with him around the fireplace.

  ‘Please, come and sit down,’ he said. ‘I’m sorry I don’t have anything for the kids to play with. Not having a family of my own, I don’t have a stash of toys at hand. They’re welcome to watch television next door if that’s okay?’

  ‘We came prepared,’ Elsa said as Max unslung the backpack he carried on his shoulder. Elsa zipped it open and pulled out a couple of children’s’ books and packs of cards. ‘Why don’t you two go and sit over there on the floor while mummy and daddy talk to the nice man?’

  Millie turned to Elsa and asked, ‘Is he the Prime Minister of Australia?’

  ‘Yes, he is, darling,’ Elsa replied smiling and shooting a quick glance at the Prime Minister who winked back.

  Millie then grabbed her brother’s hand and marched them both across to stand in front of the Prime Minister’s chair where she said, ‘You have a very nice house, Mister Prime Minister.’

  The man smiled warmly in return and leaned forward to say, ‘Thank you, Millie. You have very nice manners and it’s a pleasure to have you and your brother here. If you need anything, please ask. I’m sure we can sort anything out.’

  Millie nodded and dragged Jason away with her to sit off to the side on the richly carpeted floor. Elsa took the books and cards over and Millie promptly opened one of the books and began to read to Jason.

  Elsa sat back down again, next to Max on the couch and the two of them looked expectantly at their host. The up close position gave Max the opportunity to take in even more detail in the Prime Minister’s appearance. He was not a young man. The creases around the corners of his eyes and across his forehead betrayed both his twilight age and a life likely spent in relentless worry. Fortunately, he had managed to retain a full head of thick, fulsome hair, but it was completely grey.

  However, there were some clear signs that despite his advanced years, the Prime Minister of Australia was still as self aware as any younger man. His appearance was neat and trim, his cotton trousers pressed perfectly and his long sleeve shirt fitted to his frame like a glove with a pair of what looked like gold nugget cuff links adorning the finish. His crossed legs allowed him to show off a pair of gleaming, burgundy dress shoes that completed the ensemble, but it was his eyes. Within the confines of his older face, the Prime Minister’s eyes shone clear and sharp, like a panther’s eyes in the thick darkness of the jungle. This was not a dull witted man and now Max understood how both his movements and strength of grip were superior to his outward, elderly appearance. The Prime Minister had grown old before his time. The office had dragged him down, but not burned him out.

  ‘Sixty-eight,’ Prime Minister Tollsen said, locking his gaze onto Max’s. ‘I’m sixty-eight years of age, which doesn’t make me the oldest elected Prime Minister in history, but it does put me in third place for the honour.’

  ‘You move well for your age,’ Max returned.

  ‘Max!’ Elsa hissed, slapping her husband on the thigh.

  The Prime Minister smiled and waved his hand. ‘The observation is fair, Elsa and besides, I accept the flattery. I may look like an old man, but I assure you, up here where it counts, ‘he tapped the side of his head, ‘I can still keep up with the youngest of my colleagues and adversaries.’

  Max nodded, his gaze still locked onto the Prime Minister’s sparkling eyes. Next to Max, Elsa silently preened out some offending creases in her skirt.

  ‘I must also add,’ the Prime Minister started again before the silence pushed through into discomfort, ‘is that you have two beautiful children.’ Elsa lifted her gaze and smiled. ‘I’ve always considered the manner of children in unfamiliar places to be a fair reflection of their parents’ manners and your children have passed the test with impeccable marks.’

  ‘Thank you, sir,’ Elsa said. ‘That’s a nice thing to say.’

  ‘Please, Elsa, you may dispense with the “sir”,’ the Prime Minister said, waving again. ‘Call me Joe. That’s what my friends call me and that’s precisely what I am hoping we can be?’

  ‘With all due respect, Joe,’ Max chimed in, ‘since your boys smashed their way into our apartment in the middle of the night, none of this has felt like an offer of friendship. It feels more like a kidnap.’

  ‘And for that I must apologise. Unfortunately, as I’m sure you can appreciate, these unusual circumstances have driven me to make some aggressive plans. However, what I can assure you of is that the guns that have confronted and surrounded you ar
e for your protection. You are not in custody here. You are free to leave any time if you wish, but as I said, I do genuinely want us to be friends and before you dismiss that offer, please hear me out?’

  Elsa turned to look at Max and said, ‘Well, we don’t have a holiday to go back to, so we might as well sit and listen?’

  Max nodded and they both turned back to Joe.

  ‘Thank you,’ Joe said. ‘I will not begin with what has already transpired such as the engraving of your face on various natural landscapes, the unprecedented occurrence of aliens on our streets and of course, the forced invitation of yourself to fight a series of death duels to defend the survival of the human race. While extraordinary, let’s put those things aside for now. Instead, I wish to first explain how I feel about all of these developments and what I see as the implications of them.’

  Joe paused. Max and Elsa nodded. The Prime Minister restarted.

  ‘While it has been less than twenty-four hours since news broke of the etching of your face across the world, Max, the global search for you has intensified into the single biggest and most outrageous man hunt in history. Every nation with the capability to do so, is scouring the planet for you. Secret Service and Special Forces elements are running rampant. Fortunately, we got to you first and so the reason we had to smash into your apartment in the middle of the night is because we did not know if you were already being detained by forces from another country or organisation. If that had been the case, God knows what would have happened, but we would have fought tooth and nail to keep you safe. You need to know that there are several other nations and factions out there with less than honourable intentions for you. That is also the reason why you have been surrounded by armed men and women everywhere you have gone today. I am trying desperately to protect you. Does that make sense so far?’

  Max held his gaze on the Prime Minister and all he could find in the man’s expression and most of all in his deep blue eyes was truth.

  ‘Yes, it does,’ Max said.

  ‘Good,’ Joe continued. ‘Now let me go on by offering a plan and then I would like to pass across to you both to say anything you feel you need to. Is that okay?’