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 CONTENTS

Acknowledgements
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
About the author
ADAM LANE SMITH
 Maxwell Cain and Maxwell Cain 2: With a Side of Vengeance are copyrighted © 2020 by
(and property of) Adam Lane Smith.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or

transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other
electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except
in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical reviews and certain other
noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. Any questions can be sent to the author at
[email protected].

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents
are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any
resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, fictional persons, or actual or fictional events
is purely coincidental.

Cover design by Ashion.

Formatting by Kevin G. Summers.
 For Erik and Xavier.
May all your adventures be just as thrilling and delicious.
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Maxwell Cain began as a goofy concept scraped up from the edges

of sleep. The author is enormously grateful to the wide range of
folks who helped bring this crazy idea to life:
To my generous Patreon backers who provided the means to
get this story from my computer to readers’ eyes, and especially to
Thomas James and Ophelia. Your overwhelming support convinced
me there is room in this world for a purely fun story.
To my Lord and Savior who sees me through every hard
time and promises better times to come.
To Ashion for arranging the cover and her ongoing friendship
as a fellow creator. Look for more of her gorgeous artwork in my
upcoming projects.
To Nick Cole for his continuing patience and mentorship as I
work at learning our craft. Scribbling in crayon gradually becomes
scribbling in pen, but the work of improvement never ends.
To my faithful and devoted wife who wrestles our savage
beast children away from my workspace to give me time to write. If
anyone enjoys this book, know that she made the writing possible.
And to you, dear reader. It has been my lifelong dream to be
a storyteller, and by reading this book you are helping make my
dream come true. From the bottom of my heart: thank you.
 CHAPTER 1
What Rough Beast

In a dank tunnel in the bowels of the earth, vengeance had finally

arrived.
Ker-tap. Ker-tap. The young man’s expensive wingtip shoes
pounded out a steady beat as he sauntered down the long concrete
passage. Harsh light glaring from bare bulbs gleamed in his coiffed
black hair and revealed a long-nosed face set with predatory focus.
His maroon suit draped perfectly over his athletic body, cut
impeccably sharp, and his open collar rattled with heavy gold chains.
Gold rings set with rubies adorned four of his fingers, trophies he
wore to boast of his four famous victories over rival crime lords,
dishonorable means of success notwithstanding.
The long concrete passageway ended at a heavy steel door.
The wicked young crime boss pressed his palm against a glowing
green panel in the wall and felt warmth in his fingertips as the
reader scanned his prints. Five heavy locks retracted from the door
with heavy thunks, and he swung the door wide and strode inside
with his heavy wingtips announcing his arrival.
The next cavernous room echoed with his approach, the
sound bouncing off the high vaulted ceiling far overhead where the
dim lights failed to reach. More of the bare bulbs lit most of the huge
room, and a wealth of steel and glass gleamed at him. He walked
past banks of servers and terminals, their screens dark, and past
rows of glass tanks holding human brains and spines floating in clear
liquid. Cleaning robots scurried about in the shadows, sweeping up
dust or clearing away spots of mold.
At the far end of the room, the young crime lord stopped
before a massive tank larger than all the rest with heavy rubber
tubes snaking in from every direction. A naked human figure was
visible through the thick glass, but the fluid obscured the person’s
features.
 Beside the tank, standing at a row of black computers and
typing like mad, stood a woman in a long white lab coat. She
finished tapping at the keyboard with a final flourish and turned to
the newcomer, and even in the harsh light her unmistakable beauty
made his breath catch in his throat. Brazilian, dark-skinned, with
bleached hair in a loose bun and stylish glasses perched on her
adorable nose, the woman looked more like a model playing the role
of a scientist. She stretched her bodacious body, her low-cut blue
blouse and khaki capris straining over her curves, and cocked an
annoyed eye at the intruder.
“Always the interruptions. Do you pay me to work, or to
entertain you?”
The mob boss gazed up at the hulking figure hanging
suspended in the tank. “I’d pay you for both if you’d accept the offer,
but then you’d be distracted. And I won’t let anything, even
pleasure, distract from avenging my father. Is that clear, Doctor
Storm?”
The doctor huffed. “You say that, and yet you keep
interrupting my work. I’m currently in the middle of synthesizing
more resilient proteins for future subjects. Research waits for no
man, and time is of the essence. What do you want?”
The gang boss’ dark eyes roved over the tank. “It’s time.
Release him.”
“Such impatience.” Doctor Storm fluttered her hand at the
tank. “This may look like a simple procedure, but rebuilding a
mangled human brain and nervous system and growing a new body
around them is no simple task. We’ve restored the memories, and
the grafts show complete synchronization, but we haven’t had time
to implant the conditioning. Your finished product isn’t so finished
yet and could easily run amok on you. Haven’t you read
Frankenstein?”
The crime lord’s voice was hard. “That won’t be a problem
for me. Open the tube.”
With a sigh, the gorgeous doctor turned back to her sleek
black console and pressed a few buttons. “On your own head be the
consequences, then.” An override popped up, and with a grunt of
annoyance, she keyed in her password and confirmed the request.
With a hiss, several of the rubber hoses broke free from the
tank and slapped on the concrete floor. Fluid bubbled and drained
away as the tank emptied, dropping the hulking figure to his knees
inside the container. A seam appeared down the front of the tube
and the entire glass façade split open, dumping the man out onto a
black rubber mat in front of the apparatus.
The hulking figure hit the ground on his knees. Clear gel
coated every inch of a naked body so muscular he looked like a
hairless gorilla. He coughed in great, wracking spasms as he spat
more goo from his mouth. The slime coated his black hair, slicking it
back on his head, and dripped from brutish black eyebrows that
hung like a shelf above predatory eyes which quickly darted around
the cavernous laboratory even as the naked man struggled for
breath. Hands like slabs of beef dug the slime from his mouth to
clear his airway before he turned his deadly glare on the young
gangster in the wine-colored suit.
The crime lord smiled down at the test subject. “Do you
remember who I am?”
The naked man narrowed his eyes. His gravedigger’s voice
rumbled like an oncoming storm. “You’re Antonio Lombardo. Papa
Sal’s son.”
“That’s right.” Antonio smirked. “And do you remember who
you are?”
“Yeah. I’m Johnny Legion.”
“And what’s the last thing you remember?”
Those massive brows furrowed in thought. Then his meaty
hands pressed against the rubber mat clenched into fists. “Cain.”
“Good,” cooed Antonio. “Very good. You hate him almost as
much as I do. That insolent blackguard murdered my father, and he
stomped over your broken corpse to do it.”
Johnny’s eyes narrowed in thought. “That bastard killed me.
Ain’t a dead man supposed to stay dead? Why’d I pull a Lazarus?”
Doctor Storm whisked up beside the naked man, scanning
him with a handheld device bristling with antennae. The device
beeped as she waved it over Johnny’s body. The resurrected killer
tensed at her approach, but Antonio smiled at the way the doctor’s
beauty slipped under Johnny’s guard and his shoulders relaxed.
“You were dead,” Dr. Storm confirmed as she stared at her
instrument. She didn’t even pause or glance at Johnny as she waved
the prickly device near his crotch, causing him to flinch away. “I
brought you back. If you want to show your gratitude, I’ve got a
sweet tooth and I adore Champaign.”
“You brought me back?” Johnny asked.
Doctor Storm waved at the laboratory. “If you’re capable of
grasping the finer points, I reconstructed the missing pathways of
your brain based on the surrounding neural net and managed to
salvage most of your lost matter. Fortunately the bullet ripped
through areas associated with motor function, not memory. The
body was dead, but by preserving the brain and central nervous
system we were able to regenerate a body around it. Not only do
you have a shiny new avatar for your cognitive self, you’ll also retain
all of your muscle memory because the body grew around the
brain.”
“In English, Doc,” Johnny rumbled.
Doctor Storm sighed and pressed the center of her glasses
against the bridge of her nose as if exasperated. “It means,
meathead, that you can jump right back into killing as soon as you
get some weapons.”
Johnny clenched his fists a few times. “No need. Got ‘em
right here.”
Antonio grinned. “Good, Legion. That’s what I wanted to
hear. I brought you back to kill that sack of shit Cain. You failed my
father, but you gave your life doing it, so I offer you this one chance
to rectify your mistake, to reclaim your honor. Will you kill Maxwell
Cain?”
Johnny Legion raised his head and favored Antonio with a
smile. On the killer’s brutish face, the leering expression looked
chilling. “It will be my absolute pleasure.”
 CHAPTER 2
Back in the Saddle

Helicopter blades cut the air with a heavy thump-thump sound as

the sleek gray transport skimmed above the waves toward the cargo
ship half a mile away. The massive blue vessel sat docked in one of
San Pajita’s many private shipping yards and bore dozens of
enormous shipping containers stacked around the deck in haphazard
piles.
Maxwell Cain sat perched on a jump seat just inside the
helicopter’s open door. His stubbly head and bony clean-shaven face
made him look aggressive, but his intense blue eyes jumped his
dangerous appearance up five extra notches. He checked the dual
pistols slung around the waist of his tight black fatigues and patches
of silver ceramic body armor, then checked the long knife in his left
boot and the snub-nosed pistol in his right.
“Three guns doesn’t feel like enough,” Max grumbled.
In the seat across from him, his pal Nick Sharpe finished
tightening the straps on his own matching ceramic armor plates and
looked up at Max. The wind from the helicopter’s open door whipped
his shaggy black hair around his face and lashed his almond-shaped
eyes, but the taller man didn’t even wince at the rough breeze.
“Those are just your backups, Max. You’ll be going in with your
shotgun.”
“I know,” Max said, lifting the heavy long gun from the seat
next to him and hefting its weight. The shotgun felt comfortably
heavy in his hands. “I meant three backup guns. Just doesn’t feel
adequate. What if I need to kill a few hundred guys and run out of
ammo? And don’t give me that look, Nick. It’s happened before.”
The third occupant of the helicopter laughed. The stiff wind
whipped her long blonde hair around her face like a cloud of silk,
and her brilliant blue eyes sparkled. The matching black fatigues and
ceramic armor adorning her body highlighted her curves in all the
right ways. “The famous rampage of Bloody Rain Cain. I seem to
vaguely remember that happening. Has it been three months
already?”
Nick groaned. “Don’t encourage him, Kate. Let’s try to keep
this op more like a routine strike and less like an Old Testament
bloodbath, alright?”
Max pumped the shotgun and grinned. “Old Testament is my
style, man. Don’t forget our name.” He pointed at a patch sewn into
the right shoulder of his combat fatigues: a grinning grim reaper
holding a shotgun with a scythe bayonet. “Why do you think I
named our cell the Reapers?”
“Don’t remind me,” Nick said. “I can’t believe you turned
down my more dignified suggestions.”
“Dignity’s got nothing to do with it,” Max declared. “We need
style to inspire terror. That’s why I picked our motto. Remember our
motto, Nick?”
His serious friend sighed in resignation. “’Kill ‘em all and let
God kill ‘em again.’”
“Damned straight.” Max dug around in a black satchel on the
seat beside him and pulled out a cylindrical shape wrapped in
aluminum foil. “Just enough time for me to eat a few bites of my
burrito before we arrive.”
Tracer rounds streaked by the helicopter door as anti-air
guns on the ship opened fire. The pilot wove through the air to
evade the shots. In the unexpected jostling, Max’s burrito slipped
from his hands and plummeted toward the open hatch. He snatched
at the falling treasure with one paw but missed, and his burrito
disappeared in the whipping wind.
Seething rage filled Max as his gnawing belly grew hot. He
opened his mouth to roar, but a warm weight plopped into his empty
left hand. He looked down to see another aluminum-wrapped burrito
resting in his palm, with the dainty hand and painted pink fingernails
of Kate Valentine resting on top.
“I figured something like this might happen.” She smiled
sweetly at him. “Always come prepared, right?”
 “Oh baby,” Max exclaimed as he peeled back the aluminum
foil. “You are one hell of a woman. This is why I’m marrying you
next week.”
“For the burrito supply?” Kate asked with a laugh.
Max took an enormous bite of the warm tortilla. Beans and
juicy beef exploded on his tongue, filling his mouth with savory
moisture. He wolfed down another bite and nodded. “Partly for the
food, yeah. You’re my culinary guardian angel.”
Kate hefted her enormous sniper rifle. The cutting-edge
scope gleamed in the sunlight. “I’ll be your second guardian angel
for real while you’re down on that ship. Trust me to cover your back.
Call in shots if you need anything specific.”
“Will do,” Max said around another mouthful of food. “These
Blood Sparrows won’t know what hit ‘em. We drop in, head for the
bridge, kill the captain, and exfil before the cops show up. If we
make a big enough ruckus, even the overtaxed police force can’t
turn a blind eye anymore. They’ll be on this place like stink on a
gorilla. We’ll let them handle the shipping containers full of
kidnapped girls.”
“We absolutely must leave before the cops see us,” Nick
warned. “Vigilantes in San Pajita get worse sentences than crime
lords, and even if we do work for a blackbox organization, we’re
about as far outside the law as you can get.”
“Outlaws for justice,” Max mused. “I like it.” He wrapped up
the rest of the burrito and handed it carefully to Kate, who placed it
in the black satchel. Max took her hand and gazed into her eyes. “I’ll
be back for the rest after this job.”
Kate batted her long eyelashes. “And maybe for me?”
“I’d say you’re about as delicious as any burrito.” Max hefted
his shotgun and glanced outside. “Just about there, Nick. I’ll drop
first and secure the LZ, you come in after with guns blazing.”
“Roger,” Nick confirmed as he hefted his submachinegun.
Max looked back at Kate, his face serious. “Love you, babe.”
Then he kicked a coiled black rope over the side, seized hold near
the clip securing it to the helicopter’s steel rack, and leaped out into
chaos.
 The chopper slowed just over the foredeck of the massive
cargo ship. AA-fire tore up the air around the bird, but the pilot
danced her around just ahead of the zipping bullets. Down below, a
scarred Blood Sparrow guard with a bald head wearing a red
jumpsuit fired up at them with an SMG. Max slid down thirty feet
and kicked the guard directly in the head, snapping his neck. The
bald thug was dead before Max’s boots thumped on the metal deck.
Gunfire pinged off the deck to his right, so Max threw himself behind
a stack of yellow shipping containers. He waited until the gunfire
paused to step around the metal boxes, leading with the shotgun’s
barrel.
Another guard wore the same bright red jumpsuit and a
black baseball cap which read “No fat chicks, boat will sink”. The
punk hurried to reload his black submachinegun, but Max blew him
away with a thundering blast from his shotgun, hurling the corpse
across the deck in a spray of blood.
Two more guards with matching red jumpsuits and SMGs
popped out just feet away. Max fired at point-blank range and
splattered one enemy across a nearby shipping container. He kicked
the other guard’s hands and sent his SMG skittering across the deck.
The disarmed guard yanked a knife from his belt and lunged at Max.
Max released his shotgun to dangle from its strap and
blocked the guard’s thrust, then twisted. He pulled the guard around
and slammed him head-first into a shipping container, ringing the
metal box like a gong and sending the guard reeling. Max plucked
the knife from his hands, but before he could stab the disoriented
guard, another Blood Sparrow popped up and fired off a burst with
an SMG. The bullets rang against the shipping container beside
Max’s head and almost deafened him.
Max spun and hurled the knife. The blade stabbed into the
other guard’s forehead and plunged in halfway to the hilt. The dead
sailor keeled over backward, his convulsing fingers squeezing the
trigger and emptying his SMG into the air as he collapsed on his
back. Max turned back to the dazed guard, seized his shotgun, and
blew the man in half with a thunderous shot.
 Max caught a flicker of black and silver from the corner of
his eye. More gunfire rang out from around a nearby shipping
container, and Max hustled around the corner to find Nick standing
over two dead guards. He snapped his SMG up at Max’s approach
but quickly diverted the barrel. “You taking point again, Captain
Cain?”
“Try and stop me, Warrant Officer Sharpe.” Max pressed
forward down the meandering aisle of shipping containers toward
the bridge, sweeping his shotgun back and forth. Nick fell in at his
back.
Two more guards jumped out with SMGs aimed at Max. He
blew one away, and a burst of fire from behind him shredded the
second just a moment later. Nick had anticipated which enemy Max
would take.
“Looks like our training is paying off,” Max called out as he
pressed forward. “We’re in better shape than we ever were on the
police force.”
“That’s likely due to the improved training facilities our new
employers provide.” Nick fired down a side passage that had been
empty when Max passed. “They’re attempting to flank us and fill in
behind. I suggest we pick up the pace.”
“Any idea which containers the girls are in?”
“Probably closer to the bridge. The captain will want to keep
a close eye to make sure his men don’t avail themselves of the
merchandise and damage the goods.”
“That’s both disgusting and perfect at the same time.” Max
reached into a narrow belt pouch at his hip and drew out a black
disk the side of his palm. He pressed a sequence of hidden buttons
and slapped it against a nearby shipping container, where the disk
adhered with sudden magnetic force. “Nothing like a smart proximity
claymore to keep your backtrail pest-free.”
They marched on. Three more guards leaped out, and Max
dropped one, but the other two were better disciplined than previous
guards and opened fire immediately, filling the air with burning lead.
Nick and Max were forced to separate down different aisles to take
cover.
 Max raised his hand and jabbed one finger at Nick, then
swirled the finger in the air. Nick nodded at him and slipped away
down his side alley, disappearing around the corner toward the front
of the ship.
Overhead, the whirring chopper blades cut the air as the
helicopter pilot wove back and forth to dodge AA fire. Kate’s sniper
rifle cracked again and again as she cut down enemies ahead of
Max, clearing his path to the bridge.
Max popped back into the main aisle and fired off a shotgun
blast. He pulped one guard’s face, but the second guard had been
joined by three more men who opened fire with SMGs. Max ducked
back as a hail of bullets rang against his shipping container.
More gunfire and agonized screams punctured the air down
the aisle, and the ringing against Max’s container ceased. He
charged around the corner, catching two guards with one shot as
they aimed down a side passage at Nick. His blast turned them to
swiss cheese, and they collapsed dead in a pile.
The remaining guard tried to aim at Max, but his charge was
too swift. Max raised the butt of his shotgun and smashed the man
in the mouth. Bloody teeth flew, and the man collapsed on his butt.
Max fired point-blank into his chest, sending his dead body bouncing
across the metal deck.
A booming clap of thunder rang out from the aisle behind
Max. He smirked at his second-in-command as Nick trotted closer.
“Our trap caught some rats.”
“Some Sparrows, I should think.”
“Rats with wings.” Max looked ahead, where the bridge was
visible rising above a couple more stacks of shipping containers.
“Just about there. What’s this guy’s name again?”
“Blake Aimes. Been with the Blood Sparrows about nine
years. He runs this cargo ship back and forth across the sea to China
and offloads missing girls to the local crime groups.”
“My favorite kind of dirtbag.” Max grinned viciously and
stomped down the aisle. “Let’s shuffle him off this mortal coil.”
The shipping containers gave way to an open space around
a two-story tower. The top story was all glass, while the bottom
story bore a single white door. Max kicked in the door with his heavy
boot and let it rebound off the wall inside, then leaped aside. Heavy
gunfire shredded the air where he’d been standing.
Max reached into his pouch again, but froze. “You said the
girls are around here?”
“Most likely.”
Max growled and pulled his hand out. “No explosives, then.
You got a flashbang?”
“Always.” Nick pulled the oblong device from his pouch, held
a red button for three seconds, and tossed the flashbang grenade
inside the tower. Two seconds later, a deafening thump and a flash
of light spilled out of the doorway, and a chorus of agonized screams
filled the air. Max bolted inside with his shotgun at the ready.
He found four men in red jumpsuits crawling around on the
ground, still clutching their SMGs but too blind to fight back. Rows of
computer terminals filled the room along with a rising staircase on
the righthand wall. The whole room stank like fireworks. He and Nick
kicked the disoriented men in their heads to knock them
unconscious, then stormed up the stairwell.
At the top, he found a sunlit bridge filled with more
computer terminals, ringed in windows, and smelling like
disinfectant. A hulking brute of a man stuffed into a red captain’s
uniform with a white hat perched upon his blond head turned his
pockmarked face toward Max and Nick as they entered with guns
drawn, but the man made no move to draw a weapon.
Max aimed his shotgun straight at the man’s face from five
feet away. “Captain Blake Aimes, I presume?”
The pockmarked captain gazed dispassionately at Max. “You
killed my men?”
“Most of them. Left the four in the room beneath us
unconscious, since they didn’t see us. You have seen us, so I’ll have
to kill you to preserve our secret. You ready to answer for your
crimes?”
“I am,” Captain Aimes said, “but I’ve got one request. You’ve
come into my home. Face me on my terms. Fight me like a man and
let’s see which of us truly has the will to live.”
 Max smirked. “You want me to fight you when I’ve got you
dead to rights?”
Captain Aimes shrugged. “If you are a man, yes. No guns,
just killing each other like civilized men of old. Do you have the guts,
I wonder? Or are you just a soulless attack dog?”
“I’ve got cojones into next week, pal.” Max unslung his
shotgun from his shoulder and passed it to Nick, who sighed.
“Max, this is idiotic. The cops are bound to be on their way
with all that AA fire filling the sky.”
Max cracked his knuckles. “Then I’ll kill him quick. A man’s
gotta go what a man’s gotta do, Nick. I didn’t trade in my sack when
I got my commission.”
The two captains raised their fists and circled each other.
Aimes had a good six inches on Max’s height and at least forty more
pounds, but Max leered at the bigger man. “I’ve pounded gorillas
bigger than you into hamburger. Show me what you’ve got.”
Aimes advanced quickly, throwing a jab. Max ducked it and
waited for the follow-up, but was surprised when Aimes lashed out
with his foot instead. The kick glanced off Max’s knee but he pulled
back in time to avoid serious injury. He stepped forward to jab, but
Aimes beat him to it and threw a punch that pounded the side of
Max’s head and left his ears ringing.
Nick raised Max’s shotgun toward Aimes, but the gesture
enraged Max. “Stay out of this, Nick!” He threw a fast jab at Aimes,
then a second. When the two jabs opened a gap, Max stepped in
and pounded Aimes straight in the face. The blow shoved the big
man back but didn’t break his guard.
Max exploited the extra space to leap up against the side of
a computer terminal and push off, leaping toward Aimes from an
elevated height. He used the momentum to deliver a powerful
haymaker that slipped past Aimes’ guard and hurled the burly
captain face-first against a window. The glass shattered, and Aimes
staggered about with blood pouring down his face.
Max rushed into the gap, pounding Aimes’ solar plexus with
a flurry of blows. The air whooshed out of the big man, and he
folded forward straight into Max’s raised knee. The blow knocked
him off his feet, and Aimes collapsed on the ground in a broken
heap.
Breathing hard, Max stepped back and took the shotgun
Nick offered him. He nodded approvingly at Aimes, who stared up at
him through bleary eyes. “Well fought, you depraved vagabond.
Now, here’s justice for all the women you’ve sold into slavery. Enjoy
your glorious death in Hell.” He fired point-blank into Aimes’ head,
splattering his brains across the floor.
“Another one down,” Max sighed as he rested the shotgun
across the back of his shoulders. “How many does this make now?”
“Since you became a loose-cannon cop, or since starting the
Reapers three months ago?”
“Keep a running tally on both. I’d like to track my personal
best.” The sound of chopper blades grew suddenly distant, and Max
peered out the windows. “That ain’t good. Something scare them
off?”
“Attention, crew of the Sparrowhawk,” an authoritative voice
blared through speakers on the docks below the side of the ship.
“This is the police. We have you surrounded and will begin boarding
procedures. Lay down your weapons and surrender. This is your only
warning.”
“Cavalry’s here.” Max gestured around the bridge. “Okay,
Nick. I cleared everyone out for you. You’re second-in-command
here, find us an exfil route.”
Nick glanced around. Max saw his eyes go wide, and the
black-haired ex-cop pointed into one corner. “Let’s use that.”
Max turned and saw a glass case with In case of
emergency stamped across it in red letters. Inside was a single
jetpack with two thin straps and a massive rocket mounted to the
back.
“Solid plan, except for one thing.” Max strode to the case
and broke the glass with the butt of his shotgun, then yanked the
jetpack free. “Awfully tight quarters in one backpack, buddy.”
Nick pulled the jetpack from his hands. “I’ll fly, you shoot.”
“A little too friendly for me.” Nick strapped the jetpack on,
but Max turned to the windows as he heard the rising drone of a
helicopter. “They coming back?”
An armored gunship painted garish red gleamed in the
sunlight. Two mounted gunners in machinegun turrets, one on each
side, wound up and spit burning death into the ship’s deck. The fire
tracked toward the bridge with alarming speed.
“On second thought, Nick, I’d love to go to the prom with
you!” Max leaped at his friend and wrapped his arms around Nick’s
thin neck. The lanky warrant officer activated the jetpack with a
handheld controller and the rocket flared to life, lifting them off the
ground. They rocketed forward through the shattered window as
heavy fire shredded the bridge to kindling.
The two Reapers blasted away from the collapsing bridge
and out into the bright daylight. The two mounted gunners swiveled
to track them, and bullets ripped through the air just inches behind
their dangling boots.
“Go faster, damn you!” Max howled over the shrieking wind
and gunfire.
“This thing doesn’t go any faster! It’s not made for two
heavy idiots!”
“Then steer us toward that gunboat!”
“This is not the time for one of your insane stunts, Max,”
Nick shouted as he zigzagged. He nearly lost his grip on Max, but
recovered at the last second and dodged another storm of bullets.
“This is the perfect time for an insane stunt,” Max bellowed.
“Just fly us through their open doors and let me do the rest!”
Cursing, Nick spun them around and darted straight at the
gunship. The gunners looked startled and struggled to orient their
fire, spattering the air around the two approaching Reapers with
close calls. One bullet tore a groove in Nick’s jetpack and hissing
fluid bubbled out, scalding Max’s flesh where it touched him.
They reached the gunboat’s side and spun to dart through
the open doorway. They passed the first gunner so close Max could
have kicked him, if he wasn’t busy digging in his belt pouch. He
lifted the grenade free as they reached the center of the gunboat,
an open square with jump seats and a narrow doorway to the
cockpit. The pilot and copilot glanced back to see the intruders, and
Max saw his reflection in their mirrored aviator glasses as he
punched the grenade’s trigger and hurled it inside the cockpit. It
bounced off the forward glass before Max and Nick rocketed out the
other open hatch and into blue sky.
The two Reapers were lined up perfectly for the second
gunner to take a shot and kill them both, but he was too busy
frantically unstrapping himself from his seat. He wasn’t fast enough,
and three seconds after Max punched the trigger, the gunboat
behind them erupted in a concussive explosion which tore through
the sky like a clap of thunder. The fuel tank detonated next, sending
a second explosion ripping through the sky as the flaming wreckage
plummeted into the cargo ship’s bridge, reducing the tower to a
crater as the gunship punched through into the lower decks.
“That shouldn’t have hurt the imprisoned girls, right?” Max
bellowed as Nick turned to blast away over the sea.
“Almost assuredly not,” Nick answered. “Their cargo
containers should keep them well protected until the cops rescue
them. I’ll send an anonymous tip about the captives in a minute
when we get free.” He was squeezing the controller with white-
knuckled hands and maxing out the speed, but the damaged jetpack
coughed in protest and dropped them toward the choppy waters.
Five-hundred yards from the cargo ship, they splashed down
in the ocean. Max and Nick spluttered and kicked, and Max helped
Nick free himself from the heavy contraption. The jetpack sank into
the ocean as the two Reapers treaded water, their SMG and shotgun
slung over their shoulders on straps.
The thumping of another approaching chopper filled the air.
Max looked out across the ocean with trepidation, but his heart rose
at seeing the friendly gray transport drawing near. Kate leaned out
the open door, her long blonde hair snapping in the wind like a
golden banner. When they got closer, she kicked the coiled rope over
the side for Max and Nick to grab hold.
Max and Nick latched onto the rope, and the two of them
clung tight as the helicopter lifted them free from the ocean and
headed for a nearby beach a safe distance from the shipping yard
and the swarming police.
 As they swung from the rope, Max grinned at his second-in-
command. “Killing dirtbags, rescuing damsels, and no paperwork in
sight. I love our new job.”
 CHAPTER 3
White Picket Fence

The elevator chimed and the sleek glass doors opened, freeing Max
and Kate to step from the brass-plated elevator car and into the
carpeted hallway leading to Kate’s apartment. They’d changed out of
their combat fatigues and into casual civilian wear, which meant
jeans and a white t-shirt for Max. Kate wore a modest blue sundress
with brown suede boots.
Max whistled as he scanned the framed oil paintings lining
the paneled walls to her heavy oak door. “Swanky place, Kate. The
Citizen Defense Force must be paying you pretty well.”
Kate laughed as she inserted her key into the door handle.
“Stop it. You make more than I do. I can’t help it if you choose to
live in the same rundown flea trap you did before.”
“Old habits. Grow up poor, you don’t know no better. Saves
on heating bills when you don’t have a heater.”
“Forgive me for living like a human.” Kate next unlocked the
deadbolt, then two more deadbolts. Then she keyed her six-digit PIN
into a pad below the door handle. As she turned the knob and let
them inside, Max nodded approvingly.
“Paranoid. I like that in a woman.”
“I know.” Kate favored him with another warm smile as he
slipped by her into the entryway and she shut the heavy door behind
them. A chorus of locks clicking into place filled Max’s ears as he
glanced around the tiled entryway.
Sandstone tiles underfoot continued up the walls, stopping
only at the vaulted white stucco ceiling high overhead. To the left lay
an archway into the wide kitchen, a baker’s dream full of every
appliance with double the normal counter space. Down the hall lay
the sumptuous living room full of white couches, oak tables, and the
biggest widescreen television Max had ever seen. Every video game
console imaginable plus a glowing monstrosity of a PC tower lined
an industrial shelf mounted on the wall under the television. Massive
bay windows covered by lacy white curtains filled the far wall. Four
bedrooms and a couple bathrooms lay down another hallway to the
right.
“Lot of space for just one woman,” Max commented, striding
into the living room and glancing around with his hands in his
pockets.
“We’re getting married next week,” Kate scolded him with a
smile as she tossed her purse down on a chair and followed him.
“After that, it’d better not be just one woman living here. And once
we have five or six kids—”
“Slow down there! What are you, part rabbit?”
Kate batted her eyelashes at him coquettishly and clasped
her hands in front of her, swishing her hips back and forth.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
Max growled approvingly. He stepped toward her, sliding his
hands around her waist to the small of her back and drawing her
close. They rested their foreheads together, drinking in each other’s
scent.
“It seems like so much has changed in the ninety-two days
since I met you,” Kate whispered breathily.
“Ninety-two?” Max laughed. “You’re keeping track?”
“Of course.” She met his gaze evenly, her blue eyes filling his
vision. The reflected lights shone like stars in her eyes. “You’re the
best thing that’s ever happened to me, Max.”
Max kissed her, slow but with building urgency. When she
gave back twice as hard, pressing the length of her body against
him, Max broke for air with a laugh. “I ain’t gonna be able to wait if
you keep this up. We’ve held off this long, may as well do it right
and see it through to the wedding.”
Kate pouted, but smiled. “I know it’s tough, but I’m glad you
respect me, Max.”
“Ain’t just about respecting you.” Max gave her a pat and
then moved her back from himself, easing her body away like a
loaded gun barrel.
“Can I get you a soda or anything before you go?”
 “No thanks,” Max said, “Nick and I are gonna—”
An explosion of shattering glass cut him off. One of the bay
windows blasted inward and the lacy curtains shredded to cobwebs
as a hulking figure smashed into the apartment. The gorilla in a
white suit hurtled inside and barreled across the hardwood flooring,
catching the stunned Max off guard. The intruder snatched Max by
the throat and slammed his head against the stucco wall behind him,
denting the drywall.
The swirling stars filling Max’s vision cleared enough for him
to recognize the greased black hair, caveman brow, and predatory
eyes of Johnny Legion. Shock slammed through his body, eclipsed
only by the blinding pain. “What the hell? You were dead!” His words
choked off as Johnny applied pressure, strangling Max.
“Didn’t take,” Johnny growled.
Kate tried to yank a pistol from her purse, but Johnny
backhanded her with a meaty paw. She spun and slammed against a
wall, losing her purse in the process. The pistol went skittering away
under the sofa, and the blonde baker slumped to the ground
clutching her head.
“Just you and me, Cain.” Johnny’s predatory eyes turned
back to him, and as Max’s vision grayed at the edges, he struggled
against the killer’s vicelike grip. Johnny’s beefy arms bulged through
the suit, and his muscular body didn’t give an inch even as Max
punched and kicked at close range.
Kate hit Johnny with a flying leap, shrieking like a wildcat
and clawing his face with manicured nails. Her raw ferocity set him
back on his heels and gave Max enough space to gasp a breath. He
shoved with his full strength against the hitman, driving him back a
step, then broke the killer’s hold on his throat.
Johnny used one arm to hurl Kate away. She twisted like a
cat and landed hard on the sofa. With his other hand, Johnny
yanked a nickel-plated .50 caliber pistol from his belt.
“Time to die, Cai—”
The rest of the bay windows exploded inward as two dozen
soldiers in red fatigues with what looked like blunderbusses crashed
the party.
 “Oh man,” Kate groaned. “There goes my security deposit.”
Johnny turned to see the newcomers, and Max spun away.
He dove for Kate’s spare gun she kept in an end table drawer and
bellowed, “Kate, get out! I’ll be right behind you!”
Kate obeyed without hesitation, springing from the couch
and sprinting down the narrow hallway toward the front door. She
threw open the locks in record time as Max yanked the drawer open
and pulled the .357 magnum from inside.
A violent electrical current slammed through Max’s body,
sending a riot of agony shooting through his entire nervous system.
Through his convulsions he tried to throw off a sudden heavy
weight, but the electrified net completely enclosed him. In his
peripheral vision he saw a red soldier fire his blunderbuss at Johnny.
An electrified net launched from the gun and hit the hulking killer.
Johnny fell to his knees, growling in agony but unable to control his
body.
Max collapsed to the floor, and his world went dark.
 CHAPTER 4
Don’t Tase Me, Bro

Hard metal decking ground into Max’s face and mashed his lips
against his teeth. His body felt like a pile of jumbled bricks and he
didn’t even want to move, content for now to lay on his belly like an
old dog. A righteous headache prevented him from even attempting
to speak. He tried to open his eyes but they revolted, leaving him in
darkness. After a few more valiant attempts, he got them halfway
open and looked around.
Dim light filled a metal room shaped like a long tube. Jump
seats lined the walls, with metal bars and hanging nets up above.
Max counted six soldiers in red combat fatigues milling around the
long room, checking their rifles and talking quietly.
Johnny Legion lay unconscious nearby, his white suit
smudged with dirt and his meaty hands bound behind his back with
zip ties. Max realized through his haze of pain that his own hands
were bound as well.
Max worked his sore jaw and his ears popped with a
muddled explosion. Some of the pain in his head diminished. We
must be high up for that kind of ear pressure, he mused. Probably a
cargo plane. But where are we headed?
“You awake?” a gruff male voice asked. Max raised his head
weakly to see one of the red-clothed guards standing over him with
a rifle. The guard slammed the butt of his gun into Max’s forehead.
Max’s world went dark again.
 CHAPTER 5
The Call Goes Out

The phone picked up on the second ring and Nick’s voice came
through the phone. “Yeah, Kate?”
“Nick,” Kate gasped. Her shrill voice echoed inside the metal
dumpster where she was hiding. It stank like moldy food, but she
was too upset to care. “They took Max!”
To his credit, Nick’s voice sounded sharp but in control. “Are
you safe? Where are you right now?”
“I’m in a dumpster in an alley six blocks south from my
apartment.” Kate sobbed. “I lost them, but… Oh Nick, they took
him!”
“Share your location with me and I’ll pick you up
immediately.”
“Okay.” Kate hung up the phone, opened the CDF app,
keyed in her PIN, and activated the secure Reaper Team beacon.
Three minutes later, she got a text from Nick that read: Come out
to the road and get in the black SUV. She eased open the
dumpster lid, slipped out into the filthy alley, and scurried thirty feet
to the street where she hopped into Nick’s armored SUV. She
slammed the door behind her and huddled down in her seat, looking
wretched.
Nick pulled smoothly away and accelerated fast, headed
further south away from her apartment. “Do you need immediate
medical attention?”
“No, I don’t. Max ordered me out before they could hurt me.
He said he’d be right behind me, but they must have taken him
prisoner. They chased me through the streets. It took me half an
hour to lose them and get into that dumpster.”
“Who was it?”
Kate drew a shaky breath. “It was Johnny Legion.”
 Nick’s stoic expression didn’t change, but he damn near
swerved the car into a telephone pole before regaining control of his
twitchy hands. “Impossible.”
“I know! But it was him, Nick. Huge and brutal and
terrifying. He broke in through the window and started strangling
Max. I tried to fight him off but it was like being swatted by a bus. I
was about to grab a weapon when the windows busted in again and
a swarm of goons in red army fatigues broke in. That’s when Max
ordered me out. He said he’d follow, but…” Her voice trailed off and
her lip quivered.
“Blood Sparrows,” Nick said. “And somehow, a dead hitman.
Are they working together?”
“I don’t know,” Kate sighed. “It happened so fast. Maybe
Johnny looked surprised to see them? I can’t say for sure.”
“Perhaps they figured out it was us hitting their shipments.
If so, Max is in for a world of trouble.”
Kate clenched her tiny manicured fists on her thighs, and
her blue eyes gleamed with determination. “Whatever’s going on, I
won’t stop until I get Max back. No matter what it takes.”
 CHAPTER 6
Are You Not Entertained?

Pain exploded through Max’s abdomen as someone kicked him.

“Hey,” yelled a frantic voice, “you’d better get up if you want to live!”
Max coughed, spraying sand away from his face. His throat
felt like a mile of desert, his entire body ached, and a loud roar filled
his ears. But he found his hands unbound, and he used them to
push off from the sandy ground and wobble upright.
The loud roar proved to be a well-dressed audience of both
men and women lining a twenty-foot-high concrete wall ringing the
wide sandy pit where Max stood surrounded by three ragged men in
stained loincloths. Johnny Legion was rising groggily from the sand
nearby. The other men looked terrified, staring across the sand at a
point behind Max.
Max turned and looked where the terrified men were
staring. An enormous iron portcullis blocked a dark tunnel mouth.
Another matching tunnel and portcullis lay on the opposite side of
the wide arena behind him. Max guessed the entire circle was about
a hundred feet across from wall to wall.
“Good morning, sleepy heads!” The jocular male voice rang
through the domed building above the pit, echoing even over the
cheers of the audience. The voice sprang from everywhere, so Max
guessed someone was using an audio system and scanned for the
speaker.
A raised platform stood above the lip of the concrete wall,
designed exactly like old Roman movies where Caesar would sit and
observe gladiator matches, complete with marble columns and
scantily-clad models waving palm fronds. A tall throne draped in red
velvet sat empty, as the ruler of this gladiator pit stood out on the lip
of the platform with his arms raised high. He wore a decadent red
velvet trench coat with black turtleneck and baggy pants beneath,
and gold chains rattled across his body as he gestured dramatically.
 “Welcome to the Blood Pits!” The ruler’s slanted black eyes
flashed with passion as he pointed at Max. “You’re our special guest
today, so say hello to your fans!” He gestured wide at the crowd,
who cheered with zeal. The speaker raked one hand back through
his thick blonde hair with long black roots and grinned madly at his
audience.
Max staggered toward the platform and raised his hand to
point at the man. “Andy Wong, leader of the Blood Sparrows. I’ve
been hunting you. I’ll kill you, I swear it!”
Andy put one hand to his breast as if wounded. “Such
venom!” He turned to the audience, gesturing dramatically again.
“Let me introduce our guest, my friends, lest you mistake his rancor
for rudeness. You see before you the terror of San Pajita, Maxwell
Cain, also known as Bloody Rain Cain!”
The crowd roared, stamping their feet on the floorboards.
The sound echoed off the dome above as Max’s stomach clenched.
How the hell does this guy know who I am? We were so
careful.
Andy shot Max a knowing smile. “Surprised I uncovered your
identity? The ship you hit was packed with jamming-resistant
cameras. You took out enough of our shipments, I felt it was time to
pay you a home visit.”
The revelation struck Max like a slap. “You leaked the ship’s
location and cargo. It was a setup.”
“Bingo!” Andy guffawed. The audience laughed with him,
and their collective disdain pressed down on Max’s shoulders.
Instead of sinking under it, Max’s rage flared to new heights.
“You kidnapped two dozen women as bait for me? You’re a
psychopath, Andy. A perfect captain for the Blood Sparrows. And I’m
gonna kill you myself.”
Andy smirked. “Good luck with that, Max. First, you’re gonna
need to survive the gladiator pits. Speaking of which…” He lifted a
remote control and grinned madly.
Max was suddenly tackled from behind with tremendous
force. His breath whooshed out of him and he collapsed to the sand
with a heavy weight on top of him. He rolled over to find Johnny
Legion straddling him, the huge man’s meaty hands clawing for his
throat. Max fought back, squirming his legs through the sand, but
Johnny’s huge mitts grasped Max’s neck and began squeezing,
choking the life from him.
“What’s this?” Andy Wong asked, sounding delighted. “We
caught ourselves a Johnny Legion wannabe. The terror of the
underworld is dead, but they say imitation is the highest form of
flattery. Let’s see if this knockoff can fight as well as the legend he’s
copying!” Andy pressed a button on his remote.
The iron portcullis nearby raised up to the air, exposing the
tunnel mouth, and two massive tigers charged from the darkness.
Their bodies gleamed with metal parts: cybernetic implants including
prosthetics for missing legs, lashing bladed tails, and glowing red
eyes in steel helmets with cutaways for their ears to poke through.
The cyborg tigers rushed into the sandy arena, charging at the five
unarmed men.
Guards in red fatigues standing atop the cement wall
chucked five spears into the arena. The weapons stabbed into the
sand near Max and Johnny, standing upright.
Johnny glanced back and forth between Max and the tigers.
“Dammit!” He released Max and lurched to his feet. The hulking
killer snatched one of the nearby spears and fell into a defensive
stance, eyeing the nearest tiger.
Max coughed and rolled to his feet, grabbing another spear.
He put some distance between himself and Johnny, watching both
the hitman and the approaching cyborg beasts.
The other three men in loin cloths grabbed their spears and
tried to make a stand, but a tiger bowled into one of the men and
bore him to the ground. Metallic claws sliced into the man’s flesh as
he died in screaming agony. The other two men broke and ran, but
the tiger pounced again and tore a second gladiator to pieces.
The blood-stained tiger charged Max next. He leaped away
and thrust with his spear, but the blade bounced off the beast’s
helmet with a harsh scrape. The sound startled the creature, who
hesitated. Max thrust again, piercing the tiger’s neck and drawing
blood but failing to cut deep enough to strike an artery. The beast
snarled and retreated, circling him warily.
Across the arena, Johnny puffed up and roared at his foe.
The tiger backed away uncertainly. It turned and bolted at the final
running waif nearby, slamming him with both bladed front paws and
crushing him to the sand before savaging his back with its fangs.
With its mouth dripping blood, the tiger turned and started back
toward Johnny. The hitman raised his spear and prepared to thrust.
Max dodged a charge, then lashed out with his spear tip
when the tiger spun about to pursue him. He feinted and roared,
trying to drive the tiger back through sheer ferocity, but the big cat
chased him relentlessly. Max backed toward one of the dead men.
When he reached the man’s dropped spear, Max hurled his
own at the tiger’s chest. It stabbed into the tiger’s shoulder, rolling
off the bone but tearing a bloody gash. The cat screamed and
flinched. Max scooped up the fallen spear and rushed forward with a
brutal thrust.
His attack took the cat in the throat, cutting deep but once
more failing to do enough damage to mortally wound the beast. The
tiger responded by raking its claws across Max’s chest, leaving four
bloody gashes in Max’s pectorals. He screamed in agony but thrust
again.
This time his spear stabbed into the tiger’s chest and slipped
between its ribs, piercing a lung. The beast coughed and sputtered,
backing away as blood bubbled up into its mouth. The great beast
lurched across the sand, trying to circle away from Max, but its steps
faltered.
Max rushed in. The tiger couldn’t spin fast enough to protect
its flank, and Max drove his spear into the beast’s side, piercing its
other lung. The cat fell to the sand, gagged, and died.
Max spun to see Johnny charging at him, bloody spear
raised for the kill. Max braced his own weapon to counterattack, but
Andy Wong caught his attention. The crime lord raised his black
remote and pressed another button. Instantly, the spear was ripped
from Max’s hands and flew up toward the ceiling. Johnny lost his
spear as well, and the other three spears hurtled upward into the air.
Even the two cybernetic tiger corpses launched skyward, smacking
the dome’s ceiling far above.
Unarmed, Max and Johnny faced each other, both glaring at
the other while keeping an eye on Andy Wong.
The crime lord laughed. “Such sport on your first day! I
confess I’m impressed, but perhaps I should have expected no less
from the infamous Maxwell Cain. And you, Legion wannabe, lived up
to the hype of your hero! Well done, gladiators.” He clapped his
hands in mock applause.
The portcullis behind Max raised up, exposing the second
tunnel mouth opposite where the tigers had entered. Ten guards
with submachineguns entered the sandy arena, stepping carefully
around the shredded remains to take aim at Max and Johnny.
Andy Wong grinned down at them. “My employees will show
you to your quarters, gentlemen. I suggest you make yourselves at
home. You’ll be here for the rest of your lives.”
 CHAPTER 7
Meet Your Fellow Contestants

The guards were not gentle with Max or Johnny. They seized the
men with rough hands and dragged them across the sand into the
tunnel mouth. Darkness fell over them, lit only by dim light far ahead
down fifty feet of concrete tube.
They emerged into an underground concrete room, long and
sparse like a storeroom and lit with bare bulbs dangling from the
ceiling. Iron cages lined the walls on the left and right with a wide
hallway down the center and a steel door with no doorknob at the
far end. The cages held men in ratty clothes who glanced at Max
and Johnny before looking hurriedly away.
The guards walked Max to a cell, opened it with a key, and
shoved him in. The iron door clanked behind him and the lock
clicked. The guards did the same to Johnny, parking him across the
hallway from Max.
One of the guards, a greasy fellow with yellow teeth,
sneered at them both. “Now you two can spit insults to pass the
time, eh?” He and his fellows laughed as they tromped to the steel
door in back and knocked. The door opened and the guards hurried
through, slamming the door behind them and leaving the gladiator
barracks in pregnant silence.
Johnny exploded first. “You’re dead, Cain! I don’t care what
they do to us, I’ll be the one who snuffs you out.”
Max grasped his cage bars and snarled back. “I killed you
once, I can kill you again. Come at me any time. But here’s a
thought: Don’t get both of us captured next time!”
“This had nothing to do with me.” If looks could kill,
Johnny’s glare would be banned by the Geneva Convention. “These
assholes are your problem, Cain. After I smear you across the floor,
I’ll get ahold of Wong and let him know I’m in the personal service
of Antonio Lombardo, here to avenge his father. I’ll get out quick.”
 “Antonio? Man, I should have known that sniveling little
weasel would make trouble for me.”
“You killed his father, Cain. What did you expect? Even if he
wasn’t a loving son, you made him lose face in front of the entire
city. He’s gotta wipe you out. And he sent me to do it.” Johnny
grinned, all his teeth on display. “But I’d have done this job for free.”
“Feeling put out that I stomped you so hard?” Max leered at
him as the killer’s face turned red. “I’ve been living the high life this
whole time, Legion. Killing dirtbags, unlimited guns and ammo on
the company dime, dating a beautiful woman. Man, life has been
sweet. All I had to do was kill one lousy, two-bit hitman. Everyone
hyped you up as this big-time tough guy, but all it took was one little
bullet. And you should have seen how your white suit soaked up all
your blood! You should run an infomercial program, sell your suits as
rags. That’d make them about as useful as you. I killed your boss
and all you did was soak up some spilled blood. What a joke.”
Johnny’s face purpled with rage. He slammed the bars,
making them creak. “I’ll kill you, Cain! I’ll butcher you like a fucking
animal!”
“Why don’t you two give it a rest?” A gruff male voice cut
into their arguing, and Max turned to see a dark-skinned man that
practically filled his cage with his broad shoulders and barrel chest.
He looked about forty, with dreadlocks in a high ponytail on the back
of his head and spilling across his shoulders. His bare chest and face
looked like he kept scars as souvenirs, but his warm brown eyes
were full of amusement. “You can spit at each other all night, but
you’ll just make the floor wet.”
“I’ll make the floor wet,” Johnny growled ominously,
pounding his bars again as he glared at Max.
The dark-skinned man laughed. “You will. We all will.
Everyone is equal in the pit, newcomer.”
Max took an instant liking to the man, who seemed pretty
genuine. “I’m Max. Max Cain.”
“Hank.” The older man mimed shaking hands from across
the room. Max laughed and did the same. Johnny snorted and
turned away.
 “You two friends, or what?” Hank asked with a twinkle in his
eye.
“Ex-cop and resurrected hitman,” Max answered. “You’re
looking at Johnny Legion, the former terror of San Pajita. I killed him
a few months back and now he’s looking for revenge.”
“No shit?” Hank’s eyes got wide as he scanned the hitman in
the filthy white suit. “He don’t look dead.”
“Hasn’t told me how he did it.” Max called across to Johnny.
“Hey, Lazarus, want to share your secret?”
“Piss off, Cain.”
“About what I figured.” Max shrugged at Hank and shot him
a wink, which earned him a smile. “I’m not too worried, though. I’ve
busted out of worse places than this.”
“I really doubt that,” Hank sighed. “I been here six months
now and never seen anyone escape.”
“I don’t have six months,” Max told him. “I’m getting
married next week, and I intend to stand at that altar and make the
most beautiful woman in the world mine. Got no time for upstart
crime captains and their bloody games. I’m busting out, mark my
words.”
A young kid, probably fifteen, piped up from another cage.
“You really think you can, Max?”
Max eyed the scrawny waif. His brown skin and matted hair
were covered in dirt. “I sure do, kid. What’s your name?”
The boy looked hesitant but gave Max a shy smile. “Keel.”
“He mostly stays behind me during our fights,” Hank
explained. “He’s only been here a couple weeks.”
Max nodded in understanding. He glanced around at the
other eight dirty men in their cages, but all avoided his eyes. He
looked back at Hank. “How many fights you see?”
“About one a day,” Hank answered. “Not all of us, and not
always the same. Sometimes we fight animals, sometimes guards.
Other times we have to fight each other. Hasn’t been one of those in
a while.” He looked somber. “I’m serious, Max. Put ideas of escape
out of your head. It’s impossible here. Make peace with the time you
have left.”
 “And I’ll kill you long before you even get close to escaping,”
Legion growled from across the aisle.
“We’ve got a better chance if we all work together,” Max told
Hank.
Hank sighed. “Like I said, Max. Sometimes they make us
fight each other. Teaming up is pretty hard knowing we may have to
kill each other to survive.”
“Ain’t no way I’d ever work with you,” Johnny snarled. He
shuffled to the back of his cage, flopped down on a pile of straw,
and rolled over toward the wall.
Keel sniffled. “I don’t want to fight. I just want to go home.”
Max clasped his bars. His voice was quiet, but his eyes
shone with determination. “Don’t you cry, Keel. I’ll get you home.
And I’ll kill Andy Wong along the way.”
“I’d pay to see that,” Hank laughed.
“Then grab your ticket,” Max said. “But be warned. With me,
the first few rows are a splash zone.”
 CHAPTER 8
Somewhere on a Rooftop…

The cold wind howled around Kate, but her warm hooded coat kept
her insulated as she stared through her sniper rifle’s scope. Despite
the darkness of night and the height of her skyscraper rooftop
perch, she was easily able to make out each pore on Nick’s face as
he strode into the sculpture park sixty stories below and half a mile
away wearing a dark gray suit. The bipod legs on her rifle scraped
the stone ledge she stood against as she examined the lush plaza
around Nick. The wide park sprawled across several city blocks and
took up the entire open space ringed by other tall towers.
Nick’s voice came through her earbud, sharp and clear.
“Entering the park now.”
“Copy.” Kate raised her rifle and scanned the surrounding
towers slowly. “I’m sweeping for enemy snipers.”
“I suspect you’ll find at least three. This is a Blood Sparrows
lieutenant we’re meeting here, and he knows I’m a member of the
team that’s been hounding his boss’ shipments. He’s going to be
twitchy, but his desire to capture me and score some points with
their leader Andy Wong is going to make him greedy. Take out those
snipers quickly and clear the surrounding buildings, then get eyes
back on me. I’m positive I’ll meet ambushers as I close on his
location in the center of the park.”
“I’ve got your back, Nick.” Kate said. “Er, I mean, roger.
Over. That’s it.”
Nick sighed. “Remind me to put you through a refresher
course on military communication protocols, Sergeant.”
“What’s that, Nick? You say you want me to let the
ambushers beat you up a little before I rescue you?” Kate was
already scanning the rooftops to the east. Sudden movement in the
shadows on a forty-story building caught her eye. “First sniper
located.”
 “Fire at will. I trust your judgement, Kate.”
Kate eased the safety off and zeroed in on her target.
Moonlight gleamed on a polished barrel poking over the edge of the
rooftop aimed in Nick’s direction. She pressed a small button on her
rifle’s grip, and her scope clicked to the green and black of amplified
crystal-clear night vision. She could easily make out the enemy
sniper in a black trench coat lying flat on the edge of the rooftop
behind his long gun.
Kate squeezed the trigger. Her rifle leaped in her hands, but
no sound issued from the gun. A forcefield enclosing the rifle’s barrel
opening allowed the bullet to exit but converted all excess energy
from the released high-pressure gas into light and shot the light as a
deadly laser running parallel to the solid projectile. A small burned
hole appeared in the sniper’s head a microsecond before her bullet
slammed into him and blew his brains all over the rooftop.
“Seems like overkill,” Kate remarked as she ejected the
spent shell casing and slid the bolt home, chambering another
round. She scanned for the next enemy sniper. “But it’s just so
satisfying.”
“That rifle isn’t meant for human targets,” Nick told her. “The
Praetorian is more often used to hit armored targets, burning a
guide hole with the laser to allow the bullet easier penetration. It’s
like drilling a hole first to set a larger screw.”
Kate located the second sniper, dressed like the first in a
hooded trench coat and standing in the shadow of an air
conditioning unit on a tower to the south. She fired and popped his
head like a water balloon. “Second target down.”
“Copy.”
After a few tense seconds, she spotted the third man on a
rooftop to the west lying beside his rifle, eating a sandwich, and
staring at his smart phone. Kate dropped him with another shot, and
his phone flopped to the rooftop to reveal he’d been sending explicit
pictures through a sleazy dating app.
“No real loss to society,” Kate mused to herself. “Hey Nick,
three down. That covers three of the cardinal directions, but I’ve got
a hunch I’ll find one more.”
 “Copy that, but I’m getting closer to the center. I need eyes
on me ASAP.”
“I’ll be quick.” Kate scanned the buildings around her with
increasing urgency. Her gut told her the Blood Sparrows would want
all angles covered, but she wasn’t seeing their fourth man. Am I
wrong?
“Kate,” Nick said urgently. “Where you at?”
“Walk slow,” Kate said tersely. “I know he’s here.”
“I can’t walk too slow or the lieutenant’s spotters will tell him
something’s up.”
Kate kept looking. She traced a path from the other snipers
to the center of the park, then followed the same equidistant line
toward herself. Then it hit her. I’m closer to the park than they were.
She ran to the right side of her building, aiming north over the
ledge, and spotted her fourth target. He was crouched on a rooftop
with extended bipod legs, taking aim at the park. She plugged him
straight between the eyes and he fell over backward with his limbs
spread out like he was making blood angels in the red pool growing
around him.
“Fourth target down,” Kate announced as she rushed back to
her original spot. She planted her bipod on the rooftop ledge and
sighted in just in time to catch a flicker of movement behind Nick. A
hulking gangster in a red suit had snuck up behind the taller warrant
officer and held a blackjack poised to strike him. Kate fired, and the
silent shot blew the gangster’s brains all over the lawn just behind
Nick.
Nick turned around and stared at the mess for a heartbeat
before resuming his walk toward the park center. “Shaving it a little
close, don’t you think?”
“Just giving you a chance to appreciate my work,” Kate
answered. She kept her rifle trained on Nick’s location and scanned
the area around him as he strode casually with his hands in his
pockets.
A second goon crept up on Nick as the gray-suited Reaper
reached the outside edges of the towering sculptures. Kate nailed
the ambusher when he was still thirty feet from Nick, so he never
even saw his would-be attacker.
“Second ambusher down. You’re welcome.”
“I can see why Max likes you.”
“No, you see why he loves me.” Kate couldn’t keep the grin
from her face, but it quickly soured into a trembling lip. “I want him
back, Nick.”
“We’ll get him back, Kate. Now give me some radio silence
while I beat information out of this scumbag lieutenant.” Nick
reached the foot of a marble reproduction of Michelangelo’s Pieta
reimagined with lizard people. Another man stepped from around
the statue, dressed in a slick red suit of obviously expensive make.
His shaved head looked ugly and lumpy, and he had a scar running
through one bushy eyebrow. He looked surprised to see Nick there
but covered it with a surly frown and narrowed his slanted eyes at
Nick.
Nick’s sensitive earbud picked up the newcomer’s whiny
voice. “You the special forces guy harassing my boss?”
“I am,” Nick confirmed. “You one of Andy Wong’s
lieutenants?”
“Sure am. Call me George. You are?”
“Would that be George Li?”
George shifted uneasily. “You obviously know, since you
called this meeting. What do you want?”
“Looking for information. And you’re gonna give it to me.”
“I don’t think so.” Kate could hear the leer in the George’s
voice. “Move in, now!”
Nothing moved in the park.
“Expecting someone?” Nick asked casually. Kate saw him
draw his pistol from his pocket.
George’s voice shook. “I said, move in. Grab him, you
idiots!” When nothing happened, he shouted, “Snipers, take him
out!”
“Your gang can retrieve your four snipers later for their
funerals,” Nick told him. “For now, you’re going to tell me exactly
what I want to know, or I’m going to beat you until every bone in
your body is nothing but powder. Understood?”
George gulped. Even from her perch, Kate could see sweat
beading on his bald head. “What do you want to know?”
“Your underlings kidnapped my boss. Where’d they take
him?”
“Man, I don’t know about—Argh!” Nick pistol-whipped
George in the eye, and the short gangster reeled back.
Nick grabbed him by the lapel and pulled him in close, then
rammed his gun barrel up under George’s chin. “Try again.”
George’s voice shook with fear. “The boss, Andy, he set up
cameras to watch your last raid. Recognized Maxwell Cain from them
old news vids. He had us follow the guy and sent in the special team
to grab him.”
“Where is he being held?”
“Andy uses guys like that for his private death matches.”
Kate’s blood ran cold.
“Where?” Nick demanded.
George twisted to get free and shoved his hand into his
pocket.
Nick blew him away with a bullet to the head at the same
moment as Kate nailed the gangster with a heavy shot between the
eyes. His head burst like a melon, and he fell over dead at the foot
of the lizardman Pieta.
“Damn,” Kate cursed. “We needed to know where he’s
keeping Max!”
Nick slipped his pistol back into his pocket and turned to
stride from the park. “I’ve got a few educated guesses.”
Kate folded her bipod down and turned to head back to the
stairwell. “Then we’ll check them out. I won’t stop until Andy Wong
is dead and Max is back in my arms where he belongs.”
 CHAPTER 9
Facing Extinction

Max passed the day resting, playing “I Spy” with Keel who always
seemed to guess it right away, and grilling Hank for more
information on Andy’s fortress. Hank knew precious little, having
arrived unconscious the same as Max, but both agreed they couldn’t
be far from San Pajita since Andy wouldn’t want to make extended
trips back and forth to the city.
They ate stale bread and hot dogs the guards tossed into
their cages and drank water from flimsy paper cups. The guards
didn’t speak to them, didn’t even look at them in fact, and left
quickly through the steel door. The other eight men similarly sat
quietly, hunched and surly in their cages. Their eyes looked scared
and defeated, like men who’d seen their last hope fly away through
the window.
Max’s tiger wound burned in his chest, but at least the
bleeding had stopped. One of the guards came back and tossed him
some antibiotic ointment on a strip of tissue paper. Max smeared the
clear goo into his wounds and lay down in his fragrant straw with his
back to the room.
Sometime after Max had slept, the steel door opened again
and twenty guards filed in with automatic rifles at the ready. They
unlocked the cages one by one and herded the dozen men down the
narrow cement tunnel toward the iron portcullis. Johnny glared at
Max, who did his best to ignore the hitman in favor of inspecting
their surroundings for means of escape. He found nothing promising,
and when all twelve gladiators were assembled before the heavy
gate, it rose into the air through a slot in the ceiling. The guards
ordered them forward. Max led the way, striding into the sandy
arena with Hank and Keel following next.
The wide sandy arena was packed with huge boulders, some
a few feet high and others taller than Max. Billowing clouds of fog
poured from blocks of dry ice scattered around the arena. Eager
faces peered down at Max and the other gladiators from atop the
concrete wall, where finely dressed fops and floozies dripping with
jewelry gawked at the fighting men in their rags and scars. Max
flashed his winning smile at a few of them, and they laughed
scandalously.
No harm in winning over the crowd, he thought. PR could
count for something later.
In the center of the boulder-strewn arena, a dozen spears
stood thrust into the sand. Max hurried to them and yanked one
from the ground moments before Johnny did the same. The hulking
brute immediately rushed at Max, thrusting his metal-tipped weapon
at Max’s heart with a cry of rage.
Max sidestepped the attack and thrust back, narrowly
missing Johnny’s throat. The big hitman batted the spear aside and
stepped in to kick at Max, trying to shatter his knee.
Max backstepped and thrust again with his spear, shortening
his grip to the halfway point so he could make rapid strikes. With a
flurry of quick thrusts, he drove Johnny back. The two combatants’
feet threw sand in all directions as they fought their savage duel.
Andy Wong’s laughter boomed from the hidden speakers in
the dome overhead. “Look how eager they are for blood! I’d thought
to set them a good match, but it looks like these two just want to kill
each other instead!”
The crowd laughed.
Between attacks, Max glanced over to see Andy standing
atop his royal platform, dressed in the same long red coat as the day
before. Today his underclothes glittered with gold embroidery. The
Blood Sparrow captain raised his hand and pressed a button on his
black remote.
The iron portcullis across the way slid open, exposing the
gaping tunnel mouth.
A quick blow swept Max’s feet from beneath him, and he fell
on his butt. He looked up to see Hank repeat the same maneuver on
Johnny, dropping the massive killer to the sand. Hank stood over
them both with his spear held high.
Another random document with
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 Reason. Because the more any sin appears in the Church, the
greater dishonour doth it bring, not only to the sinner himselfe, but
also to the whole Church, whereof he is a member.

Doctrine 6. The outward members also of wicked men are full

of wickednesse.

This is gathered therehence, Having eyes full, &c.

Reason 1. Because out of the abundance of the heart all our

faculties, and all the instruments of operations receive impressions
answerable unto the heart.

2. Because sin, or temptation unto sin is admitted into the heart it

selfe by the outward senses, as by channels or gates; so that the
eyes and such like corporeall instruments are filled two wayes, both
in the ingresse and the egresse of sin: Whence it comes to passe,
that as the gates of a great City use to be fuller then the other parts
of the City, by reason of the frequent ingresse and egresse of
people, so also are the eyes of such like men.

Use 1. This may serve to instruct us, to see and bewaile the
miserable condition, whereunto men are obnoxious by reason of sin;
because they have no part clean or void of sin.

2. To admonish us, to use all care to cleanse our selves, and all
our faculties and parts both of body and mind from such
uncleannesse.

Doctrine 7. The uncleannesse of the body is oftentimes

joyned with impurity of religion.

This is gathered from these words; adultery.

Reason 1. Because the hindring cause or that which keeps it off

is removed, namely, pure religion.

2. Because this is the just judgement of God, Romans 1.26.

 3. Because by reason of these carnall affections men do
withdraw themselves from piety, or impugne it.

Vse. This may serve to admonish us, so much the more

religiously to imbrace purity in religion.

Doctrine 8. In such men covetousnesse is oftentimes joyned

with their impiety.

This is gathered from these words, covetous practises.

Reason. Because that doth chiefly pertaine to the rule and sway
which the devill exerciseth over his servants, 1 Iohn 2.16.

2. Because by covetousnesse they seek those things that serve

to nourish their impurity of life.

Vse. This may serve for a generall admonition, to abstaine even

from the least sins, if we would not admit of others also.

Doctrine 9. The exercising of the heart unto such sins, doth

very much strengthen and increase them.

This is gathered from that word: A heart they have exercised.

Reason 1. Because exercising a mans selfe unto sin brings in

and increaseth the habit.

2. It is a token that a man takes pleasure in such sins. For no

man doth willingly exercise himselfe in those things wherein he takes
no delight.

Use. This may serve to admonish us, according to the counsell of

the Apostle, 1 Timothy 4.7. to exercise our selves unto godlinesse,
not unto wickednesse. For as the Apostle there saith, verse 8. that
bodily exercise profiteth little; so in this comparison may it be said,
that the exercise of sin is not only unprofitable, but very hurtfull.
 Doctrine 10. They that are after this manner accustomed unto
their sins, are hardned in them.

This is gathered from these words; They cannot cease from

sinne.

Reason. Because by this means sin gets great strength and

dominion.

2. Because every way unto repentance is stopped up.

Vse. This may serve to admonish us, to leave off our wicked
purposes in time.

Doctrine 11. Such men are most to be detested.

This is gathered from these words: cursed children.

Reason. Because they are most opposite and contrary unto that
which is most to be loved.

Vse. This may serve to exhort us, to shew our zeale in flying from
sin and sinners.

Verse 15. Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray
following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the
wages of unrighteousnesse,

Verse 16. But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumbe Asse speaking
with mans voice, forbad the madnesse of the Prophet.

The Analysis.

T he Apostle here still continues in explaining and illustrating the

covetousnesse of these men by way of a similitude, which he
makes betweene them and Balaam the son of Bosor. Now the
quality wherein they are compared is first propounded in generall,
that they followed his way, that is, they imitated him in the like
manner of doing, and then set forth in particular, 1. By the effect, that
they forsook the right way, and went astray into by wayes, that is,
into naughty and wicked wayes. 2. By the proper cause of this effect,
that they loved the wages of unrighteousnesse, like as he loved it,
that is, for the desire of filthy lucre they gave themselves over unto
impiety and unrighteousnesse. 3. By the adjunct that followes upon
this effect, namely, Gods rebuking of him, verse 16. which is set forth
by the instrument, that he made use of to do it, namely, a dumbe
Asse. The fitnesse also of this instrument as he was made use of at
that time, is declared by their inequality, because he shewes that this
Asse was in some sort wiser then his Master. For when the Master,
though he was a Prophet, was mad, this Asse by his wisdome as it
were, rebuked and corrected that madnesse.

Question. But here a question may be made concerning this

Balaam the son of Bosor, who is here called a Prophet, and yet is
said to have sinned most wickedly, Whether he were a true Prophet
of God, or no?

Answer. He was sometime endued with the gift of Prophesie that

God had communicated unto him, as it appears, Numbers 22. so 23,
24. But in a speciall manner in 23.26. the Lord is said to have put
words into his mouth, so also verse 20. & chapter 24.2. the Spirit of
the Lord is said to have come upon him, and verse 4. he is said to
have heard the words of God. Yet he was not a holy Prophet of God,
but as he was given to other vices, and especially to covetousnesse,
so also he was skilfull in the Magick arts, by whose helpe, as it is
said Numbers 24.1. he used to seek for inchantments. Such an one
therefore he was amongst the Prophets, as Iudas was amongst the
Apostles: of which sort also the old Prophet that dwelt at Bethel,
seemes to have beene in some respect.

The Doctrines arising herehence.

Doctrine 1. The wicked of every latter age do in their courses

imitate those wicked men, that lived before them.

This is gathered from these words: Following the way of Balaam.

 For these men did not propose Balaam unto themselves for an
example to imitate, but because they went in the same wayes,
therefore they are said to have followed him.

Reason 1. Because that in-bred corruption, from which such

wicked courses are derived, as from their originall fountaine, is one
and the same. For although it doth not work alwayes and in all
altogether after the same manner, yet when it meets with natures
alike, and the like occasions also happen, then it is no lesse like it
selfe, then an egge is like an egge.

2. Because the same teacher of wickednesse, the tempter and

old Serpent works effectually in his bond slaves throughout all ages.

3. Because oftentimes also the courses fore-going do not only by

tradition, but by transmission as it were also beget courses like
themselves.

Vse 1. This may serve to enforme us, not to be too much troubled
at the wickednesse of men, that live with us, because there is
nothing new under the Sunne in that kinde.

2. To admonish us, not to expect any singular thing from wicked

men, while they remaine such, above that which we read of other
wicked men before them in ancient time.

3. To exhort us therefore, to labour to be like the ancient godly

men, that are commended in Scripture.

Doctrine 2. This is common to all the wicked, to forsake the

right way, and go astray in that which is not good.

This is gathered from these words, Which having forsaken the

right way are gone astray.

Reason 1. Because the right way is in observing the will of God,

or in doing the good works which God hath before ordained that we
should walk in them, Ephesians 2.10. Psalms 119.1,2. &c. But
wickednesse is another crooked way, which men have found out
themselves, cleane contrary to the will of God.

2. Because that is the right way which certainly leadeth unto life,
and eternall happinesse, Matthew 7.14. but wickednesse tendeth
unto death, Proverbs 7.27. & 8.36.

Use. This may serve to admonish us, diligently to beware of this

going astray, alwayes looking unto the right way.

Doctrine 3. Covetousnesse, where it prevaileth, doth most

certainly produce this going astray from the right way.

This is gathered from these words: who loved the wages of

unrighteousnesse: so 1 Timothy 6.17. He that trusts in uncertaine
riches, doth not trust in the living God; and therefore he doth
necessarily follow a new way clean contrary unto that which the true
and living God hath shewed us.

Reason. Because a covetous man is obnoxious unto all the

temptations of the devill, which have any shew of gaine; so that he
accounts gaine godlinesse, 1 Timothy 6.5,9. and this is it which is
meant in the text, they love the wages of unrighteousnesse, that is,
they seek lucre, though it be joyned with the greatest iniquity.

Vse 1. This may serve to admonish us, to take heed therefore

and flye from covetousnesse, as from the greatest plague and
enemy of godlinesse, Colossians 3.5.

2. To exhort us, to labour for contentment, 1 Timothy 6.6,8.

Doctrine 4. All such wickednesse is rebuked by God.

This is gathered from the beginning of verse 16. But was

rebuked, &c.

Reason 1. Because the Scripture and law it selfe which is

transgressed by sin, doth therefore rebuke that sin, Romans 7.7.
 2. The consciences of sinners do usually also check them,
Romans 2.15.

3. The very creatures do it also after their manner, Deuteronomy

31.28. and if they should not in their appointed order sufficiently
rebuke sinners, there should some extraordinary miracle be shewed
rather then they should not be convicted, as we see here in the
example of Balaam.

Vse 1. This may serve to admonish us, to apply our minds unto
these rebukings of God, and not to be carelesse of them, as
desperate men use to be; but to yeeld unto them, and shun all those
things that are rebuked by God, either in the Scriptures, or in our
consciences, or in the creatures.

2. To exhort us, to use all diligence to seek and preserve in our

selves that testimony of God and our conscience, which may be for
our comfort, and not for our rebuke.

Doctrine 5. Those men are extreamly and brutishly mad, that

will not be rebuked or stopped in their impiety, unlesse it be by some
miraculous worke.

This is gathered from the end of verse 16. the dumbe Asse
speaking with mans voice, forbad the madnesse of the Prophet.

Reason. Because such men are deprived of common sense

touching spirituall things, and are given over unto a reprobate sense.

Vse. This may serve to admonish us, to beware of that

hardnesse of heart, which cannot beleeve God speaking in his word;
and not to give way to that vaine imagination, which Dives with his
brethren is said to have maintained, Luke 16.30. and Abraham
refutes, verse 31.

Verse 17. These are welles without water, clouds that are carried
with a tempest, to whom the mist of darknesse is reserved for
 ever.

Verse 18. For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they
allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonnesse,
those that were cleane escaped from them who live in errour.

Verse 19. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the
servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the
same is he brought in bondage.

Verse 20. For, if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world,
through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
they are againe entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end
is worse with them then the beginning.

Verse 21. For it had beene better for them not to have knowne the
way of righteousnesse, then after they have knowne it, to turne
from the holy commandement delivered unto them.

Verse 22. But it is hapned unto them according to the true Proverbe;
The Dog is turned to his own vomit againe, and the Sow that
was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

The Analysis.

I n these verses is contained a refutation of the false teachers, of

whom a description was made before. Now the sum of this
refutation consists herein, that all those things were vain, which they
promised to their disciples or followers. And this is in generall
shewed by those comparisons which are made verse 17. Where
these teachers are said to be wels as it were, without water, and
clouds without raine, because they make shew of many things
worthy to be desired, but they performe nothing at all. Upon occasion
of these similitudes, by the way he repeats the punishment which
God had prepared for them, by a continuation of the same Allegory,
namely, that whereas they are wels as it were, or clouds making
shew of some mist, they shall at length certainly find the mist of
eternall darknesse. 2. The same vanity is illustrated by the impulsive
cause that moved them to spread abroad their new opinions, which
was their swelling vanity, verse 18. in the beginning, and by the
effect thereof, which was their crafty seducing of Christians to give
themselves over to the lusts of the flesh, at the end of the same
verse. 3. The same vanity of their promises is set forth, verse 19. at
the beginning, by the great dissimilitude and opposition that is
betwixt them and their promises. For they promised liberty unto
others, when they themselves were servants of corruption. Thence
the vanity of their promises is made manifest and palpable as it
were; because they promised that, whereunto they themselves were
strangers, and far remote from it. 4. That which is put in the
dissimilitude, namely, that they were servants of corruption, because
some might make a doubt of it, the Apostle confirmes it at the end of
verse 19. by the generall definition or description of a servant, or that
bondage which he meant, namely, that he is another mans servant,
that is overcome by him. For he that is taken by the enemy in warre,
is brought in bondage to him, at least untill he hath payed the just
price of his ransome. 5. The misery of this bondage is amplified in
respect of those, that have made profession of faith and holinesse,
by comparing things unequall, betwixt that condition, whereunto they
were obnoxious before their calling, and this which they have
brought upon themselves by their Apostasie, where the misery of the
latter condition is made greater then the former, verse 20. and the
reason of it is given, verse 21. Because the sin is greater, which is
committed after and against the knowledge of the right way, then that
which is done through ignorance; which inequality is also illustrated
by a comparison of the like things, that is explained in proverbiall
sentences, of the Dog and the Sow, verse 22.

Question. Here ariseth a Question, Whether those that were

seduced by the false teachers, were before true believers?

Answer. They had that faith which we use to call temporary faith,
but they were never soundly rooted in faith. This is proved out of the
14 verse, where all those that were seduced by these deceivers are
called unstable soules. For if they had beene by sound faith grafted
into Christ, then they should have been stable and corroborated in
him also. And whereas they are said verse 18. to have cleane
escaped from the wicked, this was, 1. In respect of the profession
which they had made of their true conversion. 2. In respect of the
assent, which we must think that they did give inwardly also unto the
word, by which they were called to this conversion. 3. In respect of
the change which they had made in their outward carriage. 4. In
respect of some small beginning also, whereby they tended towards
holinesse it selfe.

The Doctrines arising herehence.

Doctrine 1. They that go astray themselves from the right way,

and cause others to go astray, whatsoever they make shew of, they
have nothing else in themselves or in their errours but vanity.

This is gathered out of verse 17. and the beginning of 18. For
they are said in the text to be as it were vanity it selfe, as Solomon
saith of all things that are under the Sunne, in respect of happinesse
they are vanity of vanities. Now they are said to be vain, 1. Because
they have only a shew of some truth or good, not the thing it selfe.
2. Because they make a shew of communicating some good unto
others, but they do not performe it, nor can they. For that is properly
called vaine, which is void of that thing which it should have, or
which is unfit for that use and end whereunto it should serve.

Reason 1. Because they have forsaken God, who is the

fountaine of all true and solid good.

2. Because they are led by Sathan, who is the father of lyes and
of all vanity.

Vse. This may serve to admonish us, to beware therefore of such

men, that we be not in any wise deceived by them. For this were to
imbrace vanity in stead of eternall happinesse.

Doctrine 2. Yet such men in their vanity are usually most

puffed up.
 This is gathered from verse 18. in the beginning. So
1 Corinthians 8.1. Knowledge puffeth up. Which if it be true of the
knowledge of things that are true in themselves, if they be not known
as they ought to be known, as it is explained, verse 2. Then much
more must we think so of that knowledge which hath a shew of some
singular excellency, when there is no solid good in it at all.

Reason. Because such men seeme to themselves to be wise, not

only above the ordinary sort, but also above those that excell in the
Church of God, yea sometimes above the Apostles themselves and
Prophets, and therefore are wont to boast of some depths which
they have; which the holy Ghost therefore cals the depths of Sathan,
Apocalype 2.24.

Vse. This may serve to informe us, alwayes to suspect those

men, that are in a wonderfull manner puffed up with their own private
conceits of some part of religion.

Doctrine 3. That such men do oftentimes seduce many, and

have divers followers, it comes to passe chiefly thereby, that their
doctrine, either for the matter of it, or the manner of their teaching, is
very agreeable to the carnall lusts of men.

This is gathered from these words: they allure through the lusts of
the flesh.

Reason. Because as the flesh doth easily apply it selfe at all

times unto carnall doctrine, by reason of that communion that is
betwixt them; so especially and most easily doth it, when the
doctrine is covered with a shew of religion or truth.

Use. This may serve for admonition, that if we would be safe from
infection and seducing, we should diligently labour for mortification of
the flesh. For neither are they only in danger of seducing that have
not yet known the truth, but they also that have in some sort clean
escaped from those that live in errour, as it is in the text.
 Doctrine 4. The chiefe lust of the flesh, whereby men are wont
to be seduced, is the love of carnall liberty.

This is gathered from the beginning of verse 19. So Psalme 2.3.

Reason 1. Because the flesh alwayes seeketh its peace and

quietnesse, which it cannot enjoy, but by giving it selfe over unto the
lusts thereof; and hence it is that carnall men account the command
of God and his Word, a yoke, ♦and strong cords, and bands, &c.

♦ “aud” replaced with “and”

2. Because in liberty there is some kinde of shew of that dignity

and excellency, whereof all the sons of Adam are most desirous ever
since they drank in that poyson of the Serpent, Ye shall be like Gods.

3. Because it hath a false shadow of that Christian liberty,

whereunto we are called, Iohn 8.32,33,34. Hence it is, that the
cursed sect of Libertines, which under a shew of liberty overthrowes
all religion, findeth many well-wishers thereunto, even amongst
those that are Christians in name.

Vse 1. This may serve to condemne those, that alwayes follow

after liberty of what kind soever it be. For Christians are the servants
of righteousnesse, although they be free from sin, Romans 6.18.

2. To admonish us, to represse and restraine in our selves this

carnall desire of liberty, 1 Corinthians 9.27.

Doctrine 5. They that most labour for this carnall liberty, are
the most wretched servants of sin.

This is gathered from these words; they are the servants of

corruption. So Romans 6.20.

Reason 1. Because they are overcome and led captive by sinne.

 2. Because they give up themselves wholly to obey sinne,
Romans 6.16.19.

3. Because they remain in this bondage, although it be the worst

of all, with a kind of pleasure; so that they are the servants of sin
more, then those are the servants of men, that are gally-slaves: for
these mens minds alwayes wish for liberty, but the others are very
well pleased in their most servile condition.

Vse 1. This may serve to informe us, how we should stand

affected towards such men. For although they seem to themselves
to be the only happy men almost, yet they are in truth objects most
worthy of pity, and not of envie.

2. To admonish us, more and more to get out of this bondage, by

yeelding our selves wholly unto God and his righteousnesse,
Romans 6.18,19,22.

Doctrine 6. They that are brought into this bondage, after that
they have made profession and confession of the truth, their
condition is more deplorable, then the condition of other sinners.

This is gathered from, verse 20,21.

Reason 1. Because their sin is greater then other mens. For

where no law is, there is no sin; where the law or the knowledge of
the law is lesse, there the sin is lesse: but where the knowledge of
Gods law and his will is greater, there the sin is made greater and
heavier.

2. Because they do wonderfully dishonour God, while they

professe themselves to have known his discipline, and to have had
experience of it in some measure, and do afterwards reject it, and
prefer sin before it.

3. Because the devill the Prince of sin doth more severely beset
those, that he hath withdrawne unto himselfe from the flight as it
were, Matthew 12.45.
 4. Because the anger of God is incensed against such men,
Hebrews 10.26,27.

5. Because there is scarce any place left for them to repent,

Hebrews 6.6.

Vse. This may serve to admonish all those, that know the way of
God, to labour also to continue constantly in the same, in all parts of
their life and conversation.

Doctrine 7. The filthinesse of sinne should make men to

abhorre a returning to the bondage thereof.

Reason 1. Because we are called unto purity.

2. Because we have professed an abomination of that impurity

which is in sin.

3. Because it is abominable unto God, and makes men

abominable in his sight.

Vse 1. This may serve to condemne those, that take delight in

this filthinesse, and think they gain credit unto themselves thereby,
by gracing and setting out their speech with oathes, and labour to
make their conversation pleasing, by applying themselves unto the
customes and vicious and filthy courses of men.

2. To admonish us, to put before our eyes this filthinesse of sin.

So shall we renew our repentance, and be confirmed in the grace of
perseverance.
 Chapter III.
Verse 1. This second Epistle (beloved) I now write unto you, in both
which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:

Verse 2. That ye may be mindfull of the words which were spoken

before by the holy Prophets, and of the commandement of us
the Apostles of the Lord and Saviour.

The Analysis.

HE Apostle now making haste to the end of the

Epistle, 1. Repeats the scope and aime that he had
in writing, in the 1 & 2 verses. 2. He doth again
describe those men, of whom he writes this Epistle,
that they should beware, verse 3,4. 3. He refutes
their ♦blasphemies, from verse 5. to verse 11. 4. He
shewes the use and fruit of his doctrine, which all the faithfull should
make of it, from verse 11 to the end. In repeating the end and scope
of the Epistle he sets it forth and describes it, 1. By the genus, that it
is a putting in remembrance. 2. By the effect, that it stirres up. 3. By
the object, that it was directed unto them, that had a pure minde.
4. By the means how to obtaine this effect, namely, those things
which were spoken before by the Prophets, and commanded by the
Apostles, verse 2. 5. By the manner how all these things might be
made the more effectuall: to which purpose he useth a kinde of
illustration, namely, that this putting in remembrance was iterated
and repeated with an earnest vehemency. This second Epistle I
write, and that with a fatherly kind of love, which is intimated in the
title which he gives them, when he cals them beloved. Of the putting
in remembrance we spake before, chapter 1. verse 12,13. and also
of stirring up: Therefore passing over them, we come to the next.

♦ “blaspemies” replaced with “blasphemies”

Doctrines arising herehence.

Doctrine 1. The minds of the faithfull should be indued with

purity, and sincerity, that they may receive the divine admonitions as
they ought to be received.

This is gathered from these words: I stir up your pure minds. Now
he doth not so much commend them by this his testimony, as shew
them, what thing they ought chiefly to labour for, that they may
receive benefit by this writing. So Iames 1.21. and this first Epistle
chapter 2. verse 2.

Reason 1. Because, as in all things that are of any moment, there

is alwayes required some preparing of the subject, for example, as in
husbandry, plowing and harrowing of the ground: so and much more
also is it required that we should prepare our hearts to receive the
word of God with benefit, Ieremiah 4.3,4. Now there can be no fitter
preparation, then by sincerity to lay aside all those things, that are
contrary to the word, and hinder the efficacy thereof.

2. Because the word of God is sincere, and therefore it requires

sincerity in those that receive it, 1 Epistle chapter 2. verse 2.

3. Because without sincerity nothing at all is done aright. For

sincerity is the common affection of obedience.

Vse 1. This may serve to reprove those, that have no care at all,
rightly to dispose themselves for to receive the word of God aright.

2. To exhort us, to labour chiefly for this purity of minde, and

sincerity of heart.
 Doctrine 2. They that have a pure minde, do willingly receive
and retain those things that are proposed unto them out of the
Prophets and Apostles.

This is gathered from verse 2.

Reason 1. Because Christs sheepe know his voice and follow

him, Iohn 10.27. Now his voice sounds in the Prophets and Apostles.

2. Because in the Prophets and Apostles all things agree with

sincerity, 1 Peter 2.2. Psalms 19.8,9.

Vse. This may serve to informe us, to examine our minds

according to this rule: for they that care not for the words of the
Prophets and Apostles, have not purity of minde; but they that cleave
fast unto them, although it be accompanied with divers infirmities,
have alwayes in readinesse a sure argument of their sincerity.

Doctrine 3. Yet the very best have need to be often stirred up

unto these duties.

This is gathered from these words; This second Epistle I now

write.

So Philippians 3.1, and this Epistle, chapter 1. verse 10,13.

Doctrine 4. Such admonitions are works of Christian charity.

This is gathered from this title, beloved.

Reason 1. Because they tend to deliver men from the greatest

evill, and to communicate unto them the greatest good.

2. Because they pertaine unto the communication which is

exercised by charity.

Use 1. This may serve to reprove those that cannot endure

admonitions, and take them for their enemies that use them.
Galatians 4.16. 2 Timothy 4.3.
 2. To exhort us, to exercise our selves unto this duty with all
charity.

Verse 3. Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last dayes,
scoffers, walking after their own lusts,

Verse 4. And saying, Where is the promise of his comming? For

since the Fathers fell asleepe, all things continue as they were
from the beginning of the creation.

The Analysis.

V pon occasion of the Apostles testimony before cited, there is in

these words a new description made of some wicked men of
whom we must greatly beware. For in that he saith, that this is first to
be knowne, what these wicked men are, of whom he doth admonish
us, he doth thereby mean not only to shew that this is necessary to
be known for the understanding and applying of the Apostles words
with benefit, but also that this may and ought to be chiefly observed
out of the Apostles words, namely, that there shall come such men in
the last dayes. For so is this phrase explained, Iude, verse 18. These
wicked men are described in generall, 1. By their impiety towards
God, that they are scoffers. 2. By their impurity of life and deeds, that
they walke after their own lusts. Then in special by their arguing, that
the wicked scoffers used, to defend their impiety, and to remove the
contrary doctrine from themselves, verse 4. For in those words is
expressed, 1. their scoffing, which was before noted in generall, and
2. their argument is set forth, whereby they would perswade
themselves and others, that they might walk after their own lusts,
without feare or danger: namely, because the comming of God, the
expectation whereof did deterre men from such a life, is not to be
feared, in these words: Where is the promise of his comming? Now
this they confirmed to themselves and others by a vaine comparing
the times that went before with those that were to come; that
whereas there was no comming of the Lord to judge the world since
the times of the Fathers, and from the creation of the world, there
was no cause to feare that any such thing would happen at the end
of the world, in these words, For since the Fathers fell asleepe, all
things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. Now
this whole description, or rather the thing described, that is, this
impiety, is illustrated by the adjunct of time, wherein chiefly and by a
speciall kind of eminency or abundance it is found, namely, in the
last dayes.

The Doctrines arising here-hence.

Doctrine 1. In the reading of the Scriptures we must give

speciall heed unto those things whereof we have greatest use.

This is gathered from these words: Knowing this first. For the
Apostle would, that for the present they should first and chiefly think
of those things, that the Apostles had spoken for their present use,
touching those wicked men.

Doctrine 2. The Scripture foretels most grievous things of the

last dayes.

So 1 Timothy 4.1. 2 Timothy 3.1.

Reason 1. For that iniquity doth abound more in the last dayes, it
is because knowledge doth abound, which is held under
righteousnesse: that makes the sin the more sinfull, Romans 7.13.
and doth more incense the wrath of God, Romans 1.18.

2. Because the last ages, by reason of that depravednesse and

corruption which hath over-spread mankind, are as it were the sink
of all the ages that went before, to receive their dregs.

Use 1. This may serve to informe us, not to be too much troubled
in mind, when we see as it were an inundation of iniquity and
impiety, flowing every where; because such things were foretold us
before, Iohn 16.4.

2. Not to fashion our selves to those courses, that are common in

this age, but to prepare and arme our selves rather against their
contagion.

Doctrine 3. Amongst wicked men they are the worst of all, that
scoffe at godlinesse.

This is gathered from this word, scoffers.

Reason 1. Because they are not only unbelievers, but despisers

of the faith also. For scoffing is from contempt.

2. Because their consciences are seared as it were with a hot

iron, that can be wrought upon by no instruction, and therefore they
are quite desperate. For they have quenched and choaked even
those naturall sparks, which are wont to break out in all mens hearts.

3. Because they are the chosen instruments of the devill to turne

aside others from godlinesse, and to make the faithfull servants of
God ashamed of it, if it were possible. For the proper effect of
scoffing is shame.

Vse. This may serve to admonish us, to shun such scoffers as

the monsters and pests of mankind.

Doctrine 4. They that maintaine wicked opinions in their

minde, are given to impurity in their life.

This is gathered therehence, that the same men are called

scoffers, and such as walk after their own lusts.

Reason 1. Because the proper cause, why such men do labour

so much to cast off all sense of religion, is no other, then that they
may with all licentiousnesse, give themselves wholy over to their
most filthy lusts.

2. Because such wicked opinions or imaginations do let loose the

raines to all concupiscence, and therefore are the cause of
increasing that wickednesse, whereof at the first they were the
effect.