Hidden Potential: Nibiru Rising: Book 1 Read online

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright © 2016 by Chad Kunego

  Dedication

  A note from the author

  Prologue

  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

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Afterward

  HIDDEN POTENTIAL - BOOK 1 - NIBIRU RISING

  by Chad Kunego

  Copyright © 2018 by Chad Kunego

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof

  may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever

  without the express written permission of the publisher

  except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This 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, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Printed in the United States of America

  First Release, March 2018

  What The…?!? Publishing

  131 West Seneca Street, #109

  Manlius, NY 13104

  www.WhatThePublishing.com

  [email protected]

  www.ChadKunego.com

  [email protected]

  Formatting by What The..?!? Publishing

  Cover Design by Melody Simmons

  This book is dedicated to my wife.

  Hey look! It only took eighteen years for me to discover my passion,

  thank you for sticking with me long enough for me to find it. Love ya.

  That’s my baby.

  Hi, I know these things are usually talked about at the end of a book, and I’m going to mention it there as well, but I just wanted to ask you a favor before you get started. Basically, I wanted to ask you ahead of time if you’d be so kind as to leave a review of this book on Amazon if you enjoy it. Unfortunately, it’s a fact that the only way a book gets found is if there’s a bunch of reviews for it. No reviews = no sales. And no sales means it’s more difficult to afford the time needed to write. Not that I won’t keep writing, but reviews could mean the different between being another book in this series or me focusing on other books.

  In other words, it means the difference between having a new book in a few months or a few years. The same can be said for any of the authors you like, so if you like their work, leave review for them as well.

  If for no other reason, you let us know you like what you read. Thanks in advance and enjoy the story.

  Click here to leave a review. If this isn’t a link yet, then it means you got this book before I could copy the link down. Thanks for that :)

  Prologue

  “What do we have?”

  Kaitlyn glanced over as the Colonel strode into the command center.

  “It’s pretty bad, sir. This feed is broadcasting on live TV,” she said, gesturing at a screen.

  The scene on the display showed what appeared to be brick-red colored robot, but upon closer inspection, the face leering up at the circling news helicopter revealed a cyborg who's shiny metallic skull was only partially covered by tautly stretched skin.

  “Do we have any eyes on the target, and do we have any idea who we’re dealing with?”

  Kaitlyn tapped a technician on the shoulder.

  “Only a couple micro UAVs so far. The target’s name is Cutter. According to our records, he’s been active for at least the past fifteen years.”

  The technician tapped a few buttons, changing the display on the screen.

  “Based off the thermographic imaging from the UAVs, seems he’s gotten upgrades since the last database entry from around ten years ago.”

  The technician gestured toward a multicolored display of the cyborg. The image showed a majority of Cutter was significantly cooler than the surrounding air. The only spots that showed any significant heat patterns were his face and several protrusions on the outside edge of his forearms.

  What held everyone’s attention though was the women screaming in terror while the cyborg dangled her over the edge of the roof. Rescuing the woman from a seventy-odd story drop successfully would be extremely difficult without alerting the public to the existence of people with what could only be termed super powers.

  Kaitlyn caught the Colonel running his fingers through his hair. She thought he silently mouthed the words 'It can’t be' before shaking his head slightly, turning back toward the technician and asking more questions.

  “Do we know who he works for? maybe what they want? That type of advanced tech should limit who has the resources to upgrade him, especially since he’s been around for the better part of two decades.”

  “Nothing concrete sir.”

  “Why aren’t I hearing anything?”

  The technician cleared his throat nervously before typing on his keyboard again.

  “Sorry about that sir.”

  The technician pulled the headset off as he flipped a switch, routing the audio to the hidden speakers arranged around the room.

  “—re you! I know you can hear me Newton. I’m getting tired of waiting for you. If you’re not here in the next thirty minutes, this woman’s death is going to be on your head!”

  “Do we have a response team there yet?”

  Kaitlyn cut the technician off before he had a chance to respond.

  “Not yet, sir. I can get my team there within thirty minutes.”

  The Colonel looked over toward where she was standing.

  “Why are you still standing here then?”

  Kaitlyn unconsciously swallowed before responding.

  “Just waiting on your order, sir.”

  “Make it twenty. Go,” he said, pointing to the door.

  Spinning around, she strode toward the exit, starting to make plans in her head. The Colonel’s voice caused her to pause at the threshold.

  “And next time major, don’t wait. Your delay may just cost that woman her life. If you’re going to lead a response team, you need to make some executive decisions on your own. Am I clear?”

  “Crystal, sir.”

  “Dismissed,” he said before turning back toward the technician, “Who, or what, is Newton?”

  Kaitlyn spun around again, only breaking into a run after the doors closed behind her. Tapping her throat mic, she paused for a second, allowing the command channel to notify her team to open a link.

  “We’re up people, we leave in five.”

  Chapter 1

  The sound of the wind chimes brought a smile to his face while the smell of bacon and eggs greeting him as he stepped through the doorway, making his mouth water. Small things like that, things that others seemed oblivious to or took for granted, always helped him stay grounded in the now. He let the do
or close behind him, cutting off all the road noise and smells of diesel exhaust. Looking around, he noted it seemed quieter than usual. It was so quiet that, besides the noise coming from the TV, he could faintly hear the sounds of food cooking coming from the kitchen.

  Walking toward the counter, he noticed most of the customers appeared to be staring intently at the TV attached to the ceiling. Shaking the drizzle of his duster, he realized everyone behind the counter was staring at the TV as well. The smell of something starting to burn reached his nose just as he reached the counter.

  “Hey Barbara. What’s going on?”

  He grinned slightly when the owner of the Crusty Kettle jumped slightly before turning his way.

  “Mr. Rick! How you doin’ today sugar?” she said, coming around the counter to give him a hug.

  Returning the hug, he tipped the brim of his trucker hat up slightly before gesturing toward the TV.

  “What’s going on that has everyone glued to the idiot box today?”

  Absently wiping her hands on the towel tucked into the front of her apron, she glanced back toward the TV.

  “Oh, it’s so terrible Mr. Rick. There’s some madman at the Rapier building threatening to throw a woman off the top of the build. The cops are trying to negotiate with him, but the reporter is making it sound like they’re not having any luck.”

  Looking up at the screen, he saw an out-of-focus image of the top of the building, a blurry red figure moving back and forth near the edge of the roof. From the angle, it looked like it was being filmed from ground level in front of the seventy-one story building.

  “Yeah, that doesn’t sound good.”

  But not my problem, either.

  “Well look at you,” she said, studying him more intently.

  “What,” he asked, looking down at himself.

  She pointed to his clothes.

  “You look like a cross between a trucker and a Viking.”

  “Seriously?” he asked, raising an eyebrow while chuckling.

  “Oh, I know. I’m gonna start calling you redneck Odin,” she said, her eyes twinkling with merriment.

  Rick’s chuckle turned into a full-fledged laugh.

  “Don’t make me smite you with my hammer.”

  “Wrong god. You’re thinking of Thor…”

  “Huh… I never was really that good with Norse mythology,” he said, sitting down as Barbara moved back behind the counter. Absently pulling out an order pad, she quickly stole a look at the TV screen before looking back at him.

  “What can I getcha? Your usual or are you feeling adventurous today?”

  “Think I’ll stick with some bacon, eggs, and toast. Gotta work the second shift, so need something that’ll stick with me.”

  Grabbing the coffee pot, she filled the mug to the brim before setting it down in front of him. Bringing it up to his nose, he deeply inhaled the steam rising off the pungent black liquid. Taking a sip, he noticed Barbara had gotten distracted by the news report again.

  “Has he made any demands yet?” he said, causing her to flinch again.

  “That’s the odd thing hun. He keeps yelling something about bringing him a newton, but it seems weird for him to be demanding cookies at this point.”

  “What did you say?” he snapped, suddenly locking on to the screen intently.

  Barbara blinked in surprise at the sudden shift in his demeanor. Taking a deep breath, he let it out slowly before repeating his question. Clearing her throat slightly, she tentatively glanced back and for between him and the TV.

  “He was demanding newtons. He’s threatening to drop his hostage if they don’t bring him some. He’s using some type of loudspeaker or megaphone, so even the people on the street can hear him.”

  “Can you turn the sound up?” he asked, still staring at the screen intently.

  “Uh… Sure… Hang on a sec.”

  “—ot ten minutes left. Are you going to let this woman die because you’re too much of a coward to come out of hiding?”

  The picture suddenly shifted to the camera crew in the helicopter, zooming in on the person responsible for the standoff.

  “Cutter…”

  “Did you say something sugar?” she asked as she turned back.

  “Rick?”

  Barbara glanced around, but he was nowhere to be seen.

  §§§§§§§§§§§§

  Rick scanned the area. He noticed the police had cordoned off the area directly beneath where Cutter had periodically dangled his hostage. Heaven forbid someone gets hit by a falling human projectile he thought sarcastically. Closing his eyes, he sent his awareness upward. It had been so long since he’d used his powers, he needed to close his eyes, reducing distractions, just so he could understand what he was seeing. In his mind’s eye, he knew where Cutter was standing. He’d moved away from the edge just before Rick had arrived. Listening to the reporter, he mentally noted he’d gotten there with about eight minutes to spare.

  Moving a little slower than I used to. Guess I’ve gotten kinda rusty.

  Continuing to scan, he determined that, besides the news helicopter overhead, there were a couple of tiny objects moving around that he couldn’t identify through the light drizzle. In fact, he’d almost missed them because of how tiny they were. After a few seconds of study, he decided they were probably just birds of some sort. The weather in San Sumer wasn’t doing him any favors. Not quite as bad as the weather in San Francisco an hour to the northwest, but still bad enough to make him question why he’d settled down in an area that rained nearly five months of the year.

  I shouldn’t be here. The police look like they have the situation under control. I need to leave before this situation gets worse.

  Rick opened his eyes while turning away, preparing to leave when a kid’s voice caught his attention.

  “Mommy, is that man going to hurt that lady?”

  Looking around, he noticed a little blond-haired girl looking up hopefully at her mom.

  “The police are here Sam, they won’t let anything happen to her.”

  Rick could hear the doubt in the woman’s voice as she spoke to her daughter. The little girl’s concern for the hostage made him pause.

  Damn it! I shouldn’t be getting involved.

  Sighing, he partially closed his eyes and extending his senses upward again. Returning his focus toward Cutter, he glanced around with his partially opened eyes, checking to see if anyone was paying any attention to him. Confident nobody was looking his way, he slowly opened his hand, revealing a small metal ball about the size of a large striker marble. Without warning, it launched upward with the sound of a whip-crack. Everyone jumped and looked around for the source of the noise before looking back toward the rooftop. Rick guided the projectile, causing it to fly past Cutter’s face before dropping on the roof.

  There you go you SOB. Now you know I’m here, so what the hell do you want.

  He sensed Cutter moving toward the edge of the rooftop again, carrying the hostage with him. His chest tightened as he opened his eyes fully to look upward.

  “So you finally decided to join us! Catch!”

  “You wouldn’t dare…” he whispered as the sound of Cutter’s voice echoed around the area.

  The sudden scream told him otherwise.

  Chapter 2

  As the woman started falling, Rick moved. One minute he was stationary, the next instant he was flowing through the crowd in a blur. Reaching the barrier, he easily vaulted over it before coming to a stop. Absently, he sensed someone try to push him back, which he suspected was a cop. Instead of moving, he redirected the force of the push to the side, causing the person to stumble sideways before landing in a heap on the ground.

  Damn it! My aura hasn’t expanded very far yet. Gotta time this right.

  Time subjectively slowed to a crawl as he extended his senses outward again, feeling for the slightest pressure on his aura from the body rapidly approaching. He held his hand over his head in an effort to get additional
reach with his aura. At the first brush of contact, he expanded his aura around the woman, his fingers lightly brushing the top of her head. With a thought, she instantly stopped falling. The ground under his feet exploded into a fine power as he sunk down into the sidewalk slightly. Moving his hand downward, he gently lowered her on the ground. She moaned slightly before passing out, most likely due to the terror she’d just gone through. He glanced over his shoulder, locking eyes with the cop who’d tried to stop him.

  “Get her help.”

  Glancing back up, he drew in all the kinetic energy he could sense surrounding him. For a split-second, everyone was frozen in place before they could move freely again. Focusing all the gathered energy, he tensed his body to jump. Without warning, his concentration was broken by someone trying to thrust a microphone in his face. Looking at the reporter, his eyes flashed with a blue-white light.

  “BACK. UP.”

  Using a tiny fraction of the energy he’d just collected, he created a bubble of kinetic energy around himself, causing everyone to be pushed away by the invisible force field. Gathering himself up again, he glanced toward the roof. He crouched down slightly before launching himself skyward, rapidly heading toward the rooftop.

  As he rocketed upward, the wind whistling past his kinetic shield with a hiss, he debated whether he was going to just kill Cutter outright, which is what he promised last time he’d seen him, or whether he was going to give him a chance to explain himself. After all, the last time they’d seen each other, he’d torn off several of Cutter’s cybernetic limbs because he’d tried stopping Rick from leaving Maelstrom. Before he’d left, he’d warned Cutter that if he ever tried tracking him down, he’d put him into low Earth orbit. With that memory in mind, he’d regretted leaving him in one piece. Well, mostly one piece. That woman’s near death was a direct result of his previous decision along with anything else that might happen going forward. With that in mind, he redirected his momentum, instantly stopping his upward movement. Shifting direction, he slid forward slightly before lightly touched down on the edge of the roof.