35 - This Just Keeps Getting Better and Better

He launches a series of elbow jabs to the ribs, but the other Cuscus grabs his hair and flips him face forward into the water. His friend’s head pops up. Then it hits the water again and goes under along with the other Cuscus. Kyle bursts out of the water and swims towards the waterfall. The Cuscuses are right on his tail. He pulls himself up onto the rocks and scales the face of the cliff. The Cuscuses follow. Kyle is so quick and limber he practically flies up the three stories. The Cuscuses try to encircle him, but aren’t fast enough to get ahead of him before.

And then Kyle does the unexpected and changes directions. He jumps straight at the Cuscus on his left, grabs his arms pulling him off the rocks, spins him around in midair twisting his arms behind his back, and knees his spine as they hit the water. I see the Cuscus fly out of the water and strike the rocks with the back of his head. Kyle is out of the water right after him throwing more punches, launching more kicks.

The other Cuscus drops down behind him and hurling his own feet and fists. The Cuscus Kyle thought he had taken out earlier has recovered and lands on Kyle’s shoulders planting him into the ground. He is hungry for revenge. This just keeps getting better and better.

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34 - Strategy over Strength

The other Cuscus slips around the branch behind Kyle who launches a back kick to let him know he knows he’s there. The Cuscuses continue to attack from each side increasing the intensity of their blows with each strike. Kyle leans back dodging their fists, grabs their arms, and twists backwards pulling both assailants over the rail with him.

I see what he’s planning. He’s positioning them so one is below and the other at his side so when they hit the water one will take the force of the blow and the other won’t land on top of him. Clever, using the environment to his advantage. The Cuscuses must realize it too, because try to reposition themselves, but Kyle isn’t letting go.

They hit the water as planned. From the sound and the size of the splash, Kyle has one less foe to worry about. At least he would if his foe wasn’t genetically enhanced. Kyle is visibly stunned. It gives the other Cuscus a chance to get behind him, put him in a chokehold, and push him under the water. I can see him thrashing beneath the surface. The Cuscus has the look of death in his eyes.

For a moment I wonder if this is how it will end. I’m tempted to get up to rescue him so that I can be the one to put him down, but then I see the Cuscus flip over and Kyle come up. Despite an arm still being tightly wrapped around his neck, he manages to take in a small breath of air.

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31 - A Crowd Gathers

By now the other patrons have crowded around watching the scene while keeping a safe distance. Several large waiters, probably security, rush up to the table. But the first Cuscus takes them down with a few swift kicks and is back on top of Kyle. But Kyle is ready. They trade blows, kicks, jabs, and stabs with silverware without ever making contact. Amazat did his work well. These test tube creations are his match.

Kyle tries to move back to help his friend, but the Cuscus isn’t letting up for even a second. Kyle tries to edge his way back, but the Cuscus lands a blow each time raising the cost high enough that he stops.

The cell phones are out and the fight is being recorded from every angle. I’m sure the videos will be posted online before the night is over. It will provide me with an excellent view of the fight from all angles. Surveillance has never been easier than in today’s mobile age.

Kyle realizes he’s gaining no ground, and his friends’ blue faces tell him he doesn’t have much more time, so he tries the opposite tactic and launches his body forward into the Cuscus’s sending them both over the rail and towards the waterfall. The Cuscus sees the attack coming and lets his body go limp to help absorb the force of the blow.

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30 - The Cuscuses Strike!

The shows are rather entertaining. I, of course, am not distracted, but my quarry is. At least he appears to be. But I must be careful not to make assumptions. As my last test showed, his mild demeanor is only skin deep.

I wait for them to finish their entrées and order desert. A full stomach is a great disadvantage in a fight. This will certainly affect how he fights. I need to take that into consideration when assessing his skills.

The Cuscuses have replaced three of the waiters. It’s a common movie cliché, and one never used in real life, so they won’t expect it. They place the deserts down, and then put all three in headlocks.

Kyle reacts immediately and somehow manages to get his footing with one leg on the ground and another on the wall. He flips his assailant overhead, but the assailant is no slacker. He maintains his hold and takes Kyle with him. Kyle must have anticipated something like that, because he shifts his weight in midair and lands on top. They struggle for a few moments, then Kyle slips away and leapfrogs over the table. He aims his two feet at the heads of the other Cuscuses. They turn to block the souls of Kyle’s shoes with his friends’ heads, but he weaves his feet around and them and strikes their hands instead. They don’t loosen their grips even the slightest bit. I can see the look of surprise in his eyes. Good.

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29 - A Jungle Cafe

They came to this city to help a lady hit by a rather unfortunate streak of bad luck. After solving her problems, they ran into a cryptid and prevented it from ravaging the entire county. They will soon be moving on to the next city. It is time to strike.

My second test begins in a few minutes. They decided to dine at a rain forest-themed restaurant. How ironic considering this began in a rain forest. I expect a rather cheesy attempt to recreate the lush plant and animal life in an obvious attempt to take advantage of the bleeding heart’s cause of the week. But I am pleasantly surprised.

The facility is three stories with a large opening in the center of the top two floors so all diners can enjoy a three-story cliff with double waterfalls rising to the ceiling. Every twenty minutes the lights dim followed by a brief narration and then two divers (members of the local university’s diving team from the look of them) perform a synchronized ten-meter dive. In between dives, animatronic wildlife spaced throughout the rather realistic looking foliage sing a playful jungle tune. They’ve somehow managed to give kitsch a sense of elegance and dignity. Who would have thought it possible? I’m almost impressed.

My prey are seated on the second tier. I insist the hostess seat me on the third tier 30 degrees from them. She is visible annoyed, but smiles and complies to not upset a customer.

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2 - An Ancient Ritual

The sun is gone. It’s time. I begin the ritual as I have done so many times in the past. It is an ancient rite, yet it’s still as potent as the day the first hunters first performed it.

I dip two fingers into the red paste made from the life force of lower beings whose sole purpose for existing is to sustain me and enhance my faculties.

I repeat the words as I paint my body:

“I call upon the eagle to make my eye sharper than his,

The winged bat that my ears may detect the tiniest vibration,

The fox that my mind may be sharper than my foe’s,

The bear to give power to my hold and my strike,

The snake that I may move undetected,

The cheetah so my legs will carry me faster than the wind.”

It is done. I feel the power flowing into me, heightening my senses, enlarging my capacities. Some may say this is overkill for such a simple and weak target, but I refuse cut corners.

Not again.

I underestimated an opponent once. That mistake still haunts me every moment of every day. Even my dreams aren’t safe from the memory. Someday I will correct that mistake.

Someday.

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1 - A Small Banana Republic South of the Equator

Chapter I - A Small Banana Republic

The sun has finished his work for the day and is heading home somewhere over the horizon. The owl will soon begin its hunt. But it won’t be alone. Soon I will join it chasing a rodent of my own, only one much more clever who has evaded governments, spies, and small armies.

But he won’t escape me. No one escapes Thylacine.

I’ve tracked him across a dozen borders to one of the largest republics in the southern hemisphere. Only a few years ago this nation made headlines for its explosive growth and potential to become a major player in global events. But like so many rising stars, the reality couldn’t match the hype, and the people are left lamenting about what could have been.

It’s a perfect place to hide. The eyes of the world have turned far from here. And thanks to regular photos popping up on various social media sites everyone believes he’s on the other side of the world. This man knows how to hide, at least from normal eyes.

Unfortunately for him, mine are anything but normal. Hundreds have said good-bye to this world without ever knowing who stamped their passport. Even the majority of my clients have no idea whom they hired. But there are a few who know, enough to connect them with me, discreetly.

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