by Melody Adams
She looked at me and smiled. The coldness in her eyes startled me. This woman was as cold as a dog's snout.
"They were to kill those you overheard!" I stated. I was feeling sick again.
"Exactly! These sneaky traitors wanted to kill me. Now they are dead themselves. Or most of them, at least. But the rest will still die."
"Then not all the murders are on Ice's account alone?" I asked.
"No! Three of them were killed by Strike. Player, however, quickly proved to be too uncontrolled. Even the drugs don’t help him! He plays with his victims. He is quite a sadist. But I didn’t want to kill him. So I give him orders from time to time to keep him in a good mood. He gets restless otherwise."
"But how come that none of the ten ... victims ... were arrested while exposing the machinations of DMI?"
"There were fourteen people present at the meeting when my ... death ... was decided. Four of them were arrested. The others had no apparent connection to DMI. Lindton had retired shortly before the discovery. Porter and Barrens run another lab, which has not been discovered until today, the others were just donors and do not appear in any records."
I looked at Sophia in shock.
"There's another lab where Alien Breeds are being held until today?"
"Yes! It's just a small lab. I don’t think they have more than six subjects there. All I know is that they wanted to try and genetically modify the test subjects to use in the military. I don’t know what exactly."
"Damn!" I murmured softly.
If only Ice could get this information. Someone had to tell the government about it. But maybe I would never see Ice again. I wondered what he would do now. I knew from Player that they wanted to lure Ice, using me as bait, but I thought Ice was too clever to fall for that. I hoped it! I didn’t want to die, but I also didn’t want anything to happen to Ice. Since I would be killed either way, his death would make no sense.
Please stay safe! I prayed silently.
"What are you planning to do with me?" I asked.
"We are waiting for your lover boy! Then he will watch you die! As punishment for his betrayal. Then I give him to Player to kill. Strike can do the last jobs and when that's done, then ..." She paused and smoothed her skirt before continuing to talk. "... then Player and Strike will die too. They have done their duty. I’ll have my money and enjoy my retirement."
In me, anger boiled over so much callousness. I wondered if Player knew what his boss had planned for him. I doubted that strongly.
"Player knows you want to kill him?" I asked my question aloud.
She smiled and raised a thin eyebrow.
"Yes, my child. He knows what he has to do."
"Why are you bothering to keep him happy even though you can not use him, only to kill him later?"
She laughed.
"Because he is my son, little one!"
Now I was completely baffled. I must have made a pretty stupid face, because she laughed again and shook her head.
"Player loves his mother and he'll do anything I tell him. It was a mistake to create these animals! Player sees this. He will kill Strike and then himself. His death will be quite dramatic and cause a stir."
I didn’t count myself as a member of the Player Fan Group, but that his own mother wanted to kill him shocked me and I felt sorry for him. Who knew what he would have become, if he’d had a stable environment from childhood on?
"What do you mean by that?"
"He will become infected with a virus that can only attack Alien Breeds. Then we will arrange it so that he will be found and sent to Eden by the government. There he will infect the remaining Alien Breeds with the virus and all will die. This will be the end of the dark chapter of Alien Breeds!"
"You are a monster!" I exclaimed in disgust. "Your son is a monster because you made him. But what excuse do you have for yourself?"
"It's always in the eye of the beholder, my little one. I had good intentions when I created the Alien Breeds. Through their help, we have been able to produce drugs for many diseases. We have found ways to make people healthier, more enduring and stronger. Soldiers were able to heal faster from their injuries. We have done a lot of good! But it was never planned to let these animals loose on humanity."
"That's no excuse for what you did to the Alien Breeds! And certainly not for what you are planning now! That's insane!"
"As I said, it is in the eye of the beholder. I sleep with a good conscience. It was these traitors who wanted to kill me. I only give them back what they wanted to do to me. And as for the Alien Breeds? They are not human, child."
"Player is your SON! Your blood!"
"He carries my DNA, that's right, but he's not purely human. He is more like an animal than a human. All Alien Breeds are."
I was livid. Ice was the most wonderful man I knew. He might not be one hundred percent human, but he was not an animal! And even a sadistic killer like Player deserved at least humanity. Maybe they could somehow help him? Or keep him safe somewhere! And all the other Alien Breeds? They had been through years of torment and they deserved to enjoy their freedom on Eden now. Who could they hurt there? Whom could they bother? They were far away.
Sophia rose from her chair. She smiled, the look in her eyes hard and unrelenting. I hated her. I had just met her, but the few minutes had been enough to convince me how profoundly evil she was. Even Player, who had tortured me, had not caused such hatred in me. Player was cruel, but he was not cold. He was ill. Sick by Sophia's machinations. Maybe even through some psycho-drugs. But the woman who stared at me with piercing eyes was in her right mind. She was an intelligent woman. But she was also selfish and unscrupulous. Without any trace of humanity!
"You should try to sleep a little more!" She said and left the room.
I stared at the door through which she had disappeared and shook my head in disbelief. Sleep! They tried to lure the man I loved into a trap so I could be tortured in front of him to punish him, hundreds of Alien Breeds were going to be infected with a deadly virus, and I was supposed to be sleeping? Maybe I was wrong! Maybe this woman was mentally ill after all!
ICE
I saw a shadow nearing the house and recognized Strike. Did he take out whoever was watching me? I hoped so. Quickly, I stepped back from the window and hurried out of the room to open the door for my friend. When I arrived downstairs at the door, I heard a soft knocking. I opened the bolt and let Strike in quickly before closing the door and bolted it again.
"It was just one," Strike murmured, patting my back. "What kind of shit have you gotten yourself into, Bro?"
"Come on up, then I'll tell you everything!" I replied and went ahead. Strike followed me.
"Do you want a beer?" I asked when we reached the top.
"Yeah."
I went to the kitchen and got two bottles from the fridge. I handed one to Strike and we sat on the couch in the living room.
"Shoot!" Strike said as soon as he sat.
I started to tell him the whole story from the beginning. Strike's eyes grew bigger and bigger. Every now and then he took a gulp of his beer and finally put the empty bottle on the table in front of him. When I finished, he shook his head.
"Fuck!" Was his first reaction. He scratched his chin and seemed to think.
"I might know someone who could help us," he finally said. "Where is the video pad?"
I got up and picked up the device to give it to him. Strike got up and looked at me. He took something out of his pocket and put it in my hand. I looked down. It was a disposable phone. That was clever. I hadn’t come up with the idea. I nodded.
"I'm leaving immediately. I'll let you know if I know something!" Strike said.
"I come with!"
Strike shook his head.
"No! The person who may be able to help us is pretty shy. The guy does not like strangers. I don’t even know if I can see him. But our chances of him helping us are definitely better when I go alone!"
I gritted my teeth. That was
not what I expected. I didn’t want to sit idly here and wait what happened. But I trusted Strike. If he said that our chances were better if he went alone, then I had to let him do it. With clenched teeth, I nodded my approval.
"We'll get your girl out of there!" Strike assured. "And we'll take out X once and for all!"
"And Player!" I said grimly. "The bastard is mine!"
"Yeah, man. I understand that. I'll call you when I have something new!"
"Thanks!"
"No time to lose!" Strike said and turned away.
I accompanied him downstairs and let him out. When he left, I went to my gym to release some steam.
Half an hour later, my disposable phone rang. I accepted the call.
"Yes?"
"We're working on it," Strike's voice sounded. "I've got the best hacker in New York on the case. She thinks she might need an hour."
"She?"
"Yes. Turned out, AlexOne is a woman." He chuckled. "And what a woman, Bro. Man, you have no idea!" He added in a whisper. "I'm so hard, man, like never before. I didn’t think it could be so damn sexy when a woman hits the keys! Fuck! How I would like to bend her over the damn desk and slam my cock ... "
"There's no time for that!" I interrupted sharply.
"Yes I know! Not going to do it. Fuck you, Ice. I'm not an idiot!"
"I didn’t mean that either!"
"I'll call you again as soon as Alex finds something."
"Okay!"
"See you!"
I cursed as I put the phone back in my pocket. This wait and the uncertainty drove me crazy. I finally wanted to do something! But until I knew where Miriam was being held, I was condemned to inactivity.
About half an hour later, the phone rang again. My pulse started racing as I accepted the call.
"Go ahead!" I said impatiently.
"We have an address. Do you have anything to write?"
"Fuck!" I cursed. I had not thought of that. "Wait, I'll get something soon. Wait!" I hurried to the kitchen and grabbed my paper and pen, then wrote down the address Strike gave me. "OK! I got it. It’s best if we meet there! That way we save time."
"Yes. Good. I'll do ..." Suddenly there were screams in the background. "What the hell ...? Fuck! Alex! Who ...?" I heard Strike. Then a woman screamed and I heard Strike curse. "ALEX!" A loud noise, as if the phone had landed on the ground, sounded. Shots were fired. Cursing, I listened and tried to figure out what was going on.
"Strike!" I shouted into the cell phone. "What's going on? Damn it! Striiiiike!" An ugly crunch sounded, then the connection broke off. "FUCK!" I yelled and threw the phone against the wall. "FUCK!"
I had no idea where Strike had gone. I couldn’t help him! And I didn’t have time. I had to save Miriam before it was too late. Since Strike was out of the picture, I had to do it alone somehow. I clenched my fists and growled. I had to get my damn emotions under control! Miriam was in danger and I couldn’t afford any mistakes. On a hunch, I went to the bathroom and took out the box with my tablets. If Miriam was right, then they were suppressing my feelings. I took out a tablet and swallowed it. I could take the damn surrogate drugs when this was over, but now I needed a bit of support to keep my head straight. I had no idea if and how fast the drug would work. Maybe the replacement drug I had previously used blocked the effect. But at least it was worth a try. I looked at the time and cursed. It was already after midnight!
Miriam
I had no idea how much time had passed since Sophia left the room. I passed the time running up and down the room, or staring out the window into the night. The house was surrounded by a large garden. At least from this side, I saw nothing but grass, shrubs and trees. I had opened the window and listened to the silence of the night. No engine noise to be heard. Apparently the house was somewhere out of town. I had no idea how long I had been unconscious and how long we had been driving to get here. My room was somewhere on the second floor. It was impossible to escape through the window. It was too high to jump and I had no death wish. Not yet, anyway. So I closed the window again and walked further back and forth.
Footsteps in the hall made me halt. I listened. The footsteps approached and stopped at my door. My heart began to race. Then the door was unlocked and Player entered the room. I winced involuntarily and he grinned. The bastard enjoyed my fear. I remembered what Sophia had done to him and planned to do with him. This Alien Breed was the victim of an unscrupulous bitch, as was Ice and me.
"You don’t have to do this," I said with a slight tremor in my voice.
He looked at me in surprise and stopped to stare into my eyes. His eyes made me nervous, his gaze so cold and cruel, that I shivered. But I bravely stood my ground.
"What do you mean by that?"
I swallowed. Encouraged by the calmness he was radiating at the moment, I began to speak.
"You can oppose her! She is just an old woman. She has no power over you. She doesn’t love you. She wants your death, even though you are her flesh and blood."
"She is my mother!" He replied sharply. "She knows what to do. The Alien Breeds should never have been created. We are monsters!"
"No!" I vehemently contradicted. "You are not monsters!"
He shook his head.
"How can you say that? I showed you what I am capable of. And believe me, I can do much worse things to you! I’ve just started. I will make you suffer for hours and I will enjoy every second of it. I AM a monster!"
My throat tightened as he stepped closer, reaching out to stroke my cheek where he had cut me with a knife. I could not help the tears welling from my eyes. Player touched my chin and raised my head slightly. He stared down at me with a mixture of astonishment and fascination.
"What is it that Ice sees in you?" He asked softly as if to himself.
My heart pounded faster. There was some change in him and I could not say, for better or for worse.
"Have you never loved anyone?" I asked in a broken voice.
"Love!” He laughed. “Love? I do not believe in love. I've seen couples where one was willing to betray the other just to save their own ass."
"But there are also those who give their own lives to save the other," I objected.
I felt it was best to engage him in conversation. He seemed curious, at least. What did I have to lose? He seemed to be thinking about my objection.
"Soldiers give their lives for their homeland. What does that have to do with love? It could just be a sense of duty. That's no proof of love!"
"Did you know that your people are happy on Eden? Some even have a human woman as a mate. They are not monsters, Player. You don’t have to be a monster either. If you kill and torture your victims, that makes you a monster. But you can stop it! You can stop it and become a better person. You ..."
"I'm not human!" He interrupted.
He rubbed his thumb over the deep cut on my cheek and I jumped, screaming in pain. I felt the wound rupture, and warm blood rushed down my cheek.
"I am what I am! YOU cannot save me, little one. You cannot save yourself. And you cannot save Ice!"
I sobbed. For a moment, I had believed in getting through to him somehow. I’d put my hope on it. Tears ran down my cheeks and burned in the open wound. Player's cat eyes examined me. I shivered. I had taken a few risks in my career and didn’t necessarily consider myself a coward, but the prospect of torture had me shaking in fear. Player had given me only a small taste when he’d cut open my cheeks and then drove the knife into my hand. I didn’t dare to think about what he could do to me and how long my suffering could last. I was terribly scared. But I was not only scared for myself. I also feared for Ice, because my heart told me he was coming. He would never abandon me, even if it would result in his own death.
Chapter 6
ICE
The house lay in darkness. Only in one room did light burn. I had no idea how the house was guarded. Carefully, I crept closer under the cover of darkness and circled the estate. There were only two men running guar
d. They did not even have dogs with them. It seemed to me that X felt very safe. A mistake he would regret. Grimly, I waited in the shade of the trees for the next watch to pass. The man came in sight and I grabbed the handle of my knife firmer. When he got close, I jumped on the path behind the man and embraced him with one arm while I ran the blade with my free hand along his throat. The man sank down with an almost silent rattle. I held him and then dragged him into the thicket. Well! One was down. Now all I had to do was wait for the second man. It took a good ten minutes before the second guard came into view. I did the same with him as I did with his colleague and dragged his body into the bushes too. Then I crept quietly closer to the house. I had to see if there was an alarm system. After examining the ground floor fixtures and doors, I realized that X was even more reckless than I thought. There was no alarm. He had to be so sure that no one knew his identity and thus his whereabouts, that he took barely any precautions. I decided to go in through the side entrance because it was not visible from the street. With a stoop, I run across the lawn towards the house. The illuminated window was on the other side of the house. I assumed this was Player's room because I knew he slept little and the night was his favorite time of the day. Alien Breeds could get by with two to three hours of sleep. Also Strike and I were often awake for a long time. I wondered where Miriam was being held. It was a damn big house and finding her could take a while. I wanted nothing more than to convince myself that Miriam was fine. I hoped Player hadn’t tortured her further.
It was not hard to pick the lock and enter the house. Quietly, I slipped down the hallway and examined one room after the other. I suspected Miriam on one of the upper floors, but I didn’t want to miss anything and I wanted to get a picture of the man who had conditioned me from an early age. After completing the exploration of the ground floor, I slipped up the stairs to the first floor. The light I had seen had been on this floor. I got ready to face Player as I began to search the rooms. I first looked at the part of the floor that had been dark. Maybe I could find Miriam and smuggle her out before I kicked Player’s ass. I would feel better if I knew her safe. Then I could take out Player and X in peace, without having to worry about Miriam. But to my disappointment, she was not in any of the rooms. So I went to the other side. The first room was an obviously unused guest room. The furniture was covered with white sheets. The second room was a library. Slowly I slipped to the next door. I saw the faint light shining through the door and my adrenaline level rose. Slowly I opened the door and peeked inside. An elderly woman stood in front of a cupboard and rummaged in one of the drawers for something.