The Armageddon Machine

by Mike Ramon

Chapter Twenty-Six

  Kusong, North Korea

  June 12 -- 04:48 UTC/1:48 pm local time

  Greg Toland watched as Wong lifted a metal capsule out of a bath of purified water and placed it on a rounded plate made of lead. It was delicate work, and the man moved slowly and deliberately. Wong looked at Greg with a small, satisfied smile on his face.

  “Piece of cake, Mr. Toland,” Wong said.

  Toland nodded, but said nothing. He was trying his best to maintain a calm demeanor, to be unreadable. In truth he felt more nervous than he had ever felt in his life. His stomach felt like it was twisting inside of him, and once already he had had to will himself to not vomit.

  An idea had been forming in his head since the day he had learned that the man known as Viper would be visiting the facility. He hadn’t had any concrete idea of what he would do, or how he would do it, but had decided that if he could, if he even had the ghost of a chance, he would take some kind of action.

  Viper had arrived shortly before one o’clock, but Toland had seen him for just a moment before the man had disappeared though a door with Adder, who had been the first person to welcome Toland to his new life as a prisoner. Wong, in whispers, had confirmed that the new arrival was indeed Viper. Now Toland felt that he just needed some sort of an opening.

  “Is something wrong?” Wong asked.

  “Hmm? No; I’m fine.”

  Wong moved on to his next ask. Across the room another man--Toland believed him to be South Korean--was completing a similar task. Toland was supposed to be supervising them, to make sure that they were doing things correctly, but he was barely paying attention to either of them.

  Three North Korean guards stood at the edges of the room, watching over the lot of them; they cut imposing figures with rifles slung over their shoulders. Greg Toland watched the guards, wondering just how quickly they would react if he made a dash for the door that Viper and Adder has disappeared through earlier, sizing up his chances. He decided that he didn’t like the odds. He figured the guards would probably have a dozen bullets in him before he reached the door.

  “You look nervous,” Wong said as he wiped a sheen of sweat from his brow.

  “What? No. I’m not nervous about anything. Well, I’m nervous that you’re going to screw up and kill us both because you’re paying attention to me and not to what you’re doing.”

  The door opened and both Viper and Adder appeared. They were both smiling as they chatted in Korean. Toland watched as they came nearer, his body tense. The two men walked right up to him.

  “This is our newest pet,” Adder said in English, nodding his head toward Toland.

  “Is he as good as his predecessor?” Viper asked.

  Adder appeared to be thinking about it.

  “Perhaps not as good, but close enough.”

  They both laughed.

  “You should feel honored,” Viper said, more serious now. “You are serving in a great cause.”

  Toland could think of nothing to say. The two men turned and headed for another door, the same door that Toland and the others entered through every day when they started their work.

  “Wait!” Toland blurted out.

  Viper and Adder both stopped and turned to look at Toland; Viper’s eyebrows were raised in curiosity.

  “What is it, Comrade Toland?” Viper asked.

  “From what I’ve heard you’re the high muck-a-muck around here.”

  Viper’s brow furrowed in confusion. Toland could see that he didn’t understand the vernacular.

  “People say that you’re the boss man,” Toland said. “Is that true?”

  “Who says this?”

  “The birds.”

  “The birds?” Viper asked, an incredulous look on his face.

  “Yeah. The birds who come to my window at night.”

  Viper nodded his head.

  “Ah, the birds,” Viper said. “Yes. Sometimes birds talk too much. Sometimes they get hurt because of their need to talk.”

  “Is it true?” Toland pressed. “Are you the boss man?”

  Viper seemed to think about whether or not he wanted to answer the question.

  “I guess you could say that,” Viper said at last.

  Toland nodded.

  “Then you’re the man I need to talk to,” he said. “In private.”

  A quizzical look passed between Viper and Adder.

  “What is this about?” Adder asked roughly.

  “No; I won’t talk out here,” Toland said.

  “You’ll talk wherever and whenever I tell you to talk,” Adder said, moving toward Toland.

  Viper grabbed his compatriot’s arm, stopping him.

  “Wait,” Viper said. “You want to talk, Mr. Toland? Fine. We will talk in private. But if I decide that whatever you have to say is a waste of my time I will have you beaten severely. Do you understand?”

  “I understand,” Toland replied.

  “Do you still wish to talk to me?”

  “I do.”

  Viper still seemed undecided, wary; he smelled something rotten, but he couldn’t fathom what it could be.

  “It’s about this project,” Toland said. “Your Fireblossoms; they might not work.”

  “This is ridiculous,” Adder said.

  “I will talk with you,” Viper said, talking over his colleague. “The three of us will speak in private. Follow me.”

  Viper headed back toward the door through which he and Adder had recently emerged, motioning for Toland to follow. Greg Toland hesitated for a moment. He stepped over to Wong near the table.

  “Keep working,” he said. “I won’t be long.”

  “Yes; of course.”

  Toland turned away from the table and followed after Viper. Adder took up the rear. One of the guards moved to follow them, but Adder waved him off. Wong resumed his work, but noticed that something was wrong. He looked over just in time to see the door closing behind the three departing men. One of the guards yelled at him, ordering him to get back to work.

  After the three men walked through the door, as they entered a hallway, Adder took up a position beside Toland, throwing curious glances at him as they walked. Toland thought the man was worried, concerned that something might have gone wrong with the project on his watch. Toland hoped the man was scared; let him swim in fear for a while.

  Viper turned into an office, followed by Toland and Adder. Adder closed the door. Toland was surprised; it looked like it could be the manager’s office in any legit factory. There was a calendar on the wall, scattered paperwork, a small trashcan containing the remains of a recent lunch. Viper stood in the middle of the office, his hands clasped behind his back. Toland looked at the sidearm strapped to Viper’s waist, then at the identical weapon strapped to Adder’s. He took a deep breath, trying to steady his heart rate.

  “So, Mr. Toland,” Viper said. “What is this problem with our Fireblossom weapons which you spoke of?”

  “You see, the thing is…” Toland began.

  “Yes? Go on.”

  “The thing is…I think you people are a bunch of homicidal pricks.”

  Neither Viper nor Adder said anything. Toland could see that Viper was clenching his teeth in anger.

  “I think you need to be stopped,” Toland continued.

  “And who is going to stop us?” Viper asked. “You? You are replaceable, Mr. Toland. I say one word, and you die.”

  “We’re all going to die,” Toland said. “Every single one of us will die one day. Some of us will just die sooner.”

  Greg Toland’s hand was clenched at his side. Now he raised that hand in the air. At the last moment Adder realized what Toland clutched in his hand.

  “No!” Adder yelled.

  Viper looked from Toland to Adder, not sure what was happening. Adder drew his weapon, raised it and fired three times. The first round was a bit off, and missed Toland. The next two rounds hit Toland in the chest; one tore through his left lung, exited, and tore through th
e right one as well. The second one pierced his heart. But it was too late, and with his last act in this world Greg Toland brought his hand down, throwing the metal capsule that he held in his hand to the floor. The capsule was comprised of two segments fitted together. When it hit the floor it came apart, releasing a small cloud of fine white powder.

  Greg Toland was dead by the time his body hit the floor. Adder didn’t care; he emptied his clip into the dead man.

  “What are you doing?” Viper asked when the gunfire ended.

  Adder looked at the broken capsule, and at the powder now settling on the carpet.

  “Talk to me!” Viper demanded.

  Adder looked into the eyes of his old friend, his brother in arms.

  “He just killed us,” he said.