The Reluctant
A Graphic Novel Outline
Brad Wardell, August 2006
Chapter 8: Destinations
See Previous Chapters..
DL and Agent Gerard sit around a conference table along with 5 other men. In front of the conference table is General Dyson, who is in charge of covert operations for the United States air force.
Dyson: Gentlemen, one of our agents in Beijing has captures one of the henchmen of the Intruders.
As you know, the Intruders abruptly disappeared following the death of their leader at the hands of Mr. Bradley here.
According to the henchmen, the intruders have returned to their home world.
One of the men at the table, Captain Peters, looks up at that.
Captain Peters: How is that possible? Our satellites remain intact. It is one of the few things that we have been able to do while the Intruders have run amok on Earth – launch satellites. They have no ships.
Dyson: They apparently open a portal between our world and their own world. In fact, this portal remains open at all times and is located in Beijing. During..interrogation, the henchman gave us the location of the portal.
He also told us that the Intruders now consider Earth a threat and will be returning in force soon to ‘sterilize’ the planet.
There are murmurs at the table.
Dyson: DL Bradley, who has somehow managed to kill four of these Intruders, including their leader on this planet, has agreed to help us but a stop to this.
Peters: How can we stop them?
Dyson: We are going to go to Beijing and close the portal, failing that, we will send a team through the portal to discover how they come and go and make them stop one way or the other.
I would like to introduce Colonel Riley, who will be leading the team to Beijing.
A tall man of around 45 years of age stands up. He is in a blue dress uniform and his lapel is full of the trappings of combat experience. He has brown hair that is just starting to gray at the sides. He is a man of action, a man born to lead.
Colonel Riley: Thank you, General. I will be leading a small team into Beijing. Myself, Major Anderson, and 4 support members will comprise the military component. Agent Gerard will act as my intelligence liaison and DL Bradley will be with us…to do what he does.
Captain Peters: Sir, if I may ask, what’s the point? We can’t even hurt them. Only this..man, Mr. Bradley has shown any ability to harm them at all. Why not just send him alone?
Colonel Riley: Because, Captain, Mr. Bradley doesn’t know the area and because it is our world too. If we are going to free it, we should have some hand in that even if our hand is..shell we say, a bit feeble.
Besides, DL has to sleep sometimes right? Someone needs to watch his back. Right?
DL smiles and nods.
Cut to night fall. It’s Beijing and the city is still somewhat chaotic as the vacuum left behind by the Intruders has allowed the domestic government to start reasserting its authority. But the thugs and henchmen of the Intruders are not giving up too easily and there is strife and ivil war looming.
Beijing is not by day and certainly not by night, especially for Westerners who are conspicuous in their appearance, especially when armed to the teeth as the 6 men who are cautiously walking down the street.
Well, at least, 5 of them are being cautious, the sixth, a blond-haired man with flecks of silver in his hair is not but rather walks as if he is merely part of an audience looking on from safety. Because for DL, very few things represent a threat to his safety.
The six men eventually make it to a large building. Outside the building are two armed guards.
Colonel Riley: (whispering) Okay, here’s what we should do…
DL Bradley: If you don’t mind, I’d like to finish this quickly so let’s take the easy way.
DL looks over at the men, moves his hand slightly and both men fall to the ground unconscious.
Colonel Riley: So what else can you do?
DL: Quite a bit, but I’m out of practice, been trying to not be noticed for the past 15 years.
They enter the building and what they see amazes them. It’s a hive of activity in a giant hollowed out hall. In the center of the hall is a glowing green ring of energy. Through the energy one can almost make out what looks like a forest.
Agent Gerard: There doesn’t seem to be any mechanism. It’s just there.
Riley: Fan out, let’s see if there is some sort of machine here. Be on the look out for anything..well funky looking.
Major Anderson: Got it, now scanning for funky…
The team breaks up into units of 2 with DL and Gerard together.
As they walk, they enter an area where there is no one around.
Gerard: DL, I have to ask you…did you break my daughter’s leg?
DL: No, the rock she fell on broke her leg.
Gerard: Did you cause her to fall?
DL: You said you would do anything to protect your country? Including harm my only son. Would you do anything to protect your daughter?
Gerard pauses and then responds…
Gerard: I understand. Forget I asked.
They reach a secure looking area with two guards posted outside a door. Above the door is writing in Mandarin.
DL: I don’t suppose you can read Chinese?
Gerard: Well they don’t have me on this trip just because of my charm. The door says ‘Restricted. Command Center.’
DL reaches out and the two men guarding the door fall to the ground. They walk to the door and it is locked. There is a keycard slot next to the door. DL pulls the handle of the locked door and the handle breaks off and alarms sound.
DL: Damn, in the movies, that always works, physics has always been out to get me.
Gerard: There’s no way to hide.
DL looks at the door and gives it a solid kick and it bursts in. Behind it are several armed guards who begin shooting.
DL moves in front of Gerard and the bullets bounce harmlessly off of DL.
DL: Those actually do sting a bit so let’s do this.
DL waves and the armed guards fall unconscious one by one.
Gerard: Can’t you go any faster, one of those shots just nicked my shoulder!
DL: That’s my limitation – I have to focus on the people I am doing stuff to. It’s not magic you know.
Gerard: Could have fooled me.
Eventually the last guard goes down leaving only a single unarmed Chinese man in uniform. He speaks Mandarin.
Gerard: Amongst a lot of profanity, he demands to know why we are here.
DL: Well, ask him how to turn off that portal.
Gerard asks. The man laughs and responds in English.
Intruder Liaison: You are wasting your time. The portal is powered by the crystal of the lords and is on their world. They will soon return and when they do, you will all be destroyed.
Gerard: And what about you?
Intruder Liaison: Those of us who have proved themselves useful will be spared and allowed to rule this world in their steed.
Gerard: Can we shut this guy up?
DL: Done and done.
DL moves his hands lightly and the man drops to the floor into sleep like the others.
Gerard: You seem to be a lot less lethal than the Intruders.
DL: Well, these are people. Vile, wretched people but people nevertheless.
The team reassembles a floor above the portal. The great hall is shaped like an oval with several balconies surrounding the hollowed out center.
Colonel Riley: It looks like we will need to go through the portal, find this crystal and take it out.
DL: Bear in mind, we’ve only dealt with a handful of these Intruders. When we go over there, we’ll be the Intruders and there will probably be a lot more of them than us.
Riley: I am sure you can protect us.
DL: I don’t know. The only weapon I have is one of their swords. I can only fight one at a time.
Riley: Do we have any other choice?
Gerard: Not really. If we don’t stop them, they’ll return here and billions will die.
Gerard looks at DL.
Gerard: What is it?
DL: I’ve now been away from my son 3 days. That’s 3 days I’ll never get back. And it looks like we’ll be gone longer.
Gerard: I know how you feel, I’ve got a daughter back home.
DL: No, you don’t know how I feel. You won’t know how I feel for a long time. But someday you may indeed understand a bit better. What matters is that we make sure that what we’re doing is worth it.
Major Anderson: Let me check…yep, right here in the “Is it Worth it manual” saving the world is rated very highly.
They laugh and prepare to head down stairs.
Riley: It is time to get lethal.
Riley and their men pull out a series of high explosive grenades. These special grenades were designed to be particularly effective against personnel in a wide area – such as the hollowed area of the main floor.
The men throw their grenades and take cover.
KABLAM! A huge explosion in the center hollowed area clears the area.
Riley: Make for the portal!
The team runs for the portal. There are no shots as those not taken out by the explosion are too stunned to react.
The men enter the portal and emerge into darkness..
Next: We’re not in Kansas anymore…