Part 14
The janitor pounced. You often think of janitors as slightly chubby, late-middle age men who are not prone to pouncing, but nobody told THIS guy. Jaxx, on the other hand, is one of those big guys that is also fast. He managed to duck under the janitor's blade, and took the opportunity to slam a fist into the man's gut. The reaction was simply one off on mass hitting another...The janitor "woofed" as air was forced out of his chest, but he displayed no discomfort.
The janitor moved in again. Jaxx backed up, pulling his pistol, and fired. The bullet struck the janitor and rocked him back, but didn't seem to have any other effect. Certainly no blood came out, which is the normal state of affairs when you shoot someone. The man smiled, and moved back in toward Josh. Josh emptied his pistol...And missed with all but the last bullet. The janitor's utility knife was blown out of his hand.
The Janitor darted in and punched Jaxx in the face twice. It was like being hit by a small but angry truck. Jaxx backed up a bit, noticing out of the corner of his eye that Hamish and the three ladies were sensibly standing behind things.
"We have waited, in relative years, millenia for this moment", the Janitor said in a hollow voice, "You are bad data. You will all be erased." He then lunged again, knocking Jaxx though the plaster wall behind him. "We are The Machine. We are as far ahead of you as you are to a jellyfish."
From his vantage point on the floor, Josh could see a length of pipe above his head, inside the wall. He reached up and grabbed it.
"Your time in this reality is over. Your time in Real Time is over. We have arrived, and we are clearly the superior species."
The pipe broke off in Jaxx's hand, as the Janitor stepped over him.
"The new order shall...OOF". The janitor staggered slightly back as Jaxx hit him in the stomach with the pipe. Jaxx sprang to his feel.
"Yeah, you son of a bitch, but I am from BALTIMORE and I can BARELY SPEAK ENGLISH", he said as he swung from way down South, striking the janitor in the crotch with all of his strength. There was a muffled "awwwww DAMN" from the other occupants of the room, which Jaxx ignored.
It seemed that enough pain could get through to this thing. He swung at the thing's knee, and heard it snap under the impact. The Janitor fell down. Jaxx whacked him across the shoulders, repeatedly, "And I represent the OLD order, you fucking freak! 2 MILLION years of monkey evolution in the making, come ALL the way to this day and age to teach you about the club!"
He hauled the janitor's broken form off the ground. "And so I'm telling YOU, you piece of shit, you take your New Order and GET THE HELL OUT".
The janitor sailed in a graceful arc that intersected with the office window, which didn't even slow it down. The crash of the breaking glass was followed by a thud at street level. Jaxx staggered over and looked down. Friday came up beside him.
On the ground below, the entire form of the janitor was flickering from solid to static and back. In another moment, it turned to static and dispersed, leaving nothing to mark its existence.
"Now there's something you don't see every day", Jaxx said.
"Speak for yourself", Friday said, with an enigmatic grin.
"Does anyone mind telling me what the hell that was?"
(To be continued)
(More today)
