Avatara

The marshal stopped recording. Excited about being part of a major police arrest he decided to capture the event on his phone. He wanted to stop the recording when he saw Jazz getting pummeled but couldn't help himself. Plus he was scared. Too scared to run or fight, he froze and recorded everything.

With the jet plane safely beyond him, he rushed to help Jazz's dumped ailing body. The policeman lay on the bundle of sacks, unresponsive.

"Hey mate," said the marshal. "Wake up." He had first aid training before starting the job but did not learn much as he was too busy sending messages whilst listening to music, during the session.

"Help! Help!" he shouted, looking around for assistance. He saw another ramp marshal far away on the apron. He tried to get his attention by waving his arms in the air across each other and then alternating this with moving both arms straight up and down in a rigid fashion. These two ramp signals meant 'stop' and 'this bay.' It seemed the other ramp marshal understood the message as the marshal ran towards the hangar.

Within twenty seconds the other marshal was beside him. It turned out that the ramp marshal was female, she looked more m.a.t.u.r.e and one would estimated that she was in her late thirties.

"What's going on?" she said.

"This police officer came to arrest someone and got beaten real bad!"

"Ok," she said. "I'll call 999, check him to make sure he's still alive."

The male marshal bent down to Jazz's body and at his neck tried to measure his pulse.

The female marshal spoke with the phone operator. She turned back to the first marshal after a brief discussion.

"Is he responding?" she said to the younger marshal.

He shook his head in shock. "No, I think he's dead."

Knightmare Grimm clutched his head with his left hand. A throbbing pain propagated across the cranium of his host's body. The heat from the electrified metallic armour suit burnt the skin of the borrowed body of Brian Burnside. In the laboratory he'd used this armour to enhance his physical capabilities. The suit gave him a level of superhuman strength but he was struggling to get used to Burnside's body.

He sat on a large seat inside the jet plane on his own facing his battalion of men. If he had his favourite sword with him, he would want to cut open his head. But that was waiting for him in the weapons supply they would pick up on the way. Dead silence in the jet. That was his rule. No others to speak beyond the remits of the master. He struggled with the vulnerability of his position. The skin of the body peeling, having to be sustained by a protective film. How long would this body really last for? Perhaps another seven days? Maybe less? Could he survive a jump to another body?

Byron Grimm thought this while wrestling to maintain subjugation of Knightmare's souls within him and also those of Brian Burnside and the traces of another nondescript soul he'd taken from his first host. Access to knowledge and talents of the soul enslaved by him came at a cost. The experience of managing multiple personalities in one state and the instability of feeling like he could explode at any moment.

I need those codes.

He also needed not to show weakness. His men, juiced with artificial steroids were weak minded. However their indoctrination and servitude towards him was only done by verbal mind control techniques and as such could be easily undone.

He experienced deep uneasiness of frustration due to the fact he did not have the kernel codes yet. Sadayuki Suno's men had made it untenable for him to go for Grace directly without him losing many of his men. He clenched his fist. He fantasised about breaking Sadayuki Suno to a pulp. Still, the current plan was sound. Kidnap Yi the monk and use him to bait out Grace. From the memories of Brian Burnside, Knightmare-Grimm had noted how good the connection was between Yi and Grace. It was as if the monk touched Grace with a gentle, caring spiritually. Despite their brief meeting they'd built a strong connection of being kindred spirits. Knightmare-Grimm also experienced the calming energy of Yi himself due to Brain Burnsides's sensory memories of him when he was possessed. The tyrant suddenly felt anxious as he had a strange feeling of serenity. He punched his own head furiously for a few seconds. Then he stopped. His host's body breathed heavily. The feeling of calm and peace terrified him.

"My Lord, are you ok?" one of his men said - a lieutenant only given the title of 'number one.'

"Shut yourself down," said Knightmare-Grimm. "Be quiet. I want to see my Dad, if I have to kill for money I will. Grace!! Grace!! Coding. Foolish Spector. Get Grace!!" Knightmare-Grimm put his hand over his mouth and tried to hold himself together. He noticed his madness. His mind had to combine too much instability from all the rival personalities in him.

This will all change once I have the code.

He asserted authority again, to his bewildered men by standing up and addressing them as a group. "We go to Bhutan, to collect the monk who will help our plan," he said with wide open arms.

"Say yes to your future," he continued. "Say yes to me. Your Lord and God."

"Yes Lord," the men said.

"We will rule the world for a thousand years when we get the codes." The men gave a weak cheer.

Knightmare-Grimm thought to himself. 'I will have to dispose of these men after this is all over. Cyborgs and androids will be much better servants.'