The Warning

by Michelle E Lowe

  “He came alone. He offered me two million dollars to do the operation and keep my mouth shut. I … I didn’t know why he wanted it done. I didn’t even know this Nikolai Crowe until tonight.”

  “But you were going to keep your mouth shut anyway? Even after learning about the murder of the mayor’s daughter. You weren’t going to utter a word to anyone so you could keep the money.”

  “I didn’t know he was going to kill someone.”

  “Would it have made a difference? Would you have refused to do the operation if you were aware of his intentions?”

  Unable to answer him, Novak only dropped his head.

  “No,” Knox said bitterly. “I didn’t think so.”

  There was silence in the room. He stared long and hard at the surgeon until something caught his eye. His gaze slid over to the bed. Douglas Crawford was stirring.

  The pixels on screen cleared away like sand sweeping off the surface of an archeological dig, assembling into their correct places. Nikolai’s wrists ached from the arduous task to repair the footage on the damaged card.

  After thirty minutes of steady typing, the picture became whole. Nikolai blinked to clear his vision and leaned in close to try and distinguish what he saw. Not much to go on. The frame was dark with just a modicum of light coming in from an unknown source, which revealed short gray walls of a narrow tunnel.

  “There,” he said, exhaling. “All I have to do now is download it for viewing. Cross your fingers.”

  With a click, the information stored on the MIR card downloaded onto the computer’s hard drive. Everyone gathered to look. When it finished, he bit his bottom lip and clicked PLAY. The picture went into motion.

  “Yes!” he said, and applause filled the room.

  “Good job, kid,” Kip said, patting him on the shoulder.

  “All right, everyone, be quiet!” Marko yelled to the cheering crowd. “Let’s hear this.”

  The view moved steadily through the narrow tunnel with the echoing sound of a low electronic hum, similar to what a remote-controlled toy would make. An air vent appeared ahead, then voices came before the remote machine met the vent. The view adjusted to show a room beyond the grate. An office appeared through the thin metal slats, with three men sitting in brown leather armchairs. Two were visible, while the third was hidden behind the back of his chair. Smoke hovered throughout the room from lit cigars. It was a dark room, with russet hardwood floors, a burgundy rug beneath the chairs, and walls painted a rich olive color. One of the men was older, with gray-white hair and a neatly trimmed beard. The other, beside him, was a younger man in his early to mid-forties, with short sandy-blond hair and a clean-shaven face.

  “Hey,” Kip said, pointing to the younger man, “I know that dude. He’s Lloyd, the bank president. I remembered seein’ a picture of him when we were in his office.”

  “Shhh,” Marko hissed sharply. “Listen.”

  “How are things progressing at the lab?” the hidden man asked.

  “Going as planned,” the older one said, bringing a glass to his lips. “I’m excited to tell you that we’ll have the Replicas ready by November.”

  Nikolai finally recognized the old man from a photo taken in his history book in high school when he’d learned about the Iraqi War. The man was much younger in the photograph, but it was clear that he was none other than David Linden.

  The burning and shooting pains tore Crawford from sedation. It began as annoying little tingles as if his muscles had fallen asleep, but not long afterwards the tingles graduated into sharp stabs in every nerve in his face. He let out a few moans before he opened his eyes—only to have his heart stop when his eyes focused on the man towering over him.

  “Hello, Mr. Crawford,” Knox said. “Remember me? We met at City Hall a couple of years back.”

  The pain drained from him, replaced by pure fear.

  “You know why I’m here, don’t you?”

  The shock wore off as he collected himself. He gave Knox a cross look to show that he wasn’t talking.

  “Don’t you?” Knox repeated, pinching Crawford’s nose between his fingers.

  Tears flooded his eyes and rolled down his bruised face as sharp, blinding pain raced throughout his head. “Yes!”

  Knox released him, and Crawford cupped his hands over his nose. “Good. Now you can tell me what exactly happened today in Miss Sho’s apartment.”

  “I can’t tell you that,” he said through his hands.

  “You’re going to tell me who else was in the apartment when she was killed. And why you were chosen to do this.”

  Crawford turned to Novak, who sat beside his bed. Lowering one hand from his nose, he growled, “What the hell did you tell him?”

  “I want to know the reason for it,” Knox finished.

  He moved his gaze back to Knox, narrowing his bruised eyes. “Fuck you, Lucas. I’m not telling you anything.”

  Without warning, Knox struck him in the face with an open hand, shoving his own palm against his nose. He cried out when the fragile cartilage cracked.

  “Jesus!” Novak said, leaping up from his seat.

  “Sit down, Doc,” Knox ordered.

  Novak had no fight in him to argue. He lowered himself back into his seat.

  The hot stinging tears in Crawford’s eyes blinded him. “Help! Someone help me!”

  Knox pointed his weapon at him. “Yell out one more time and you’ll need more than just another nose job. Tell me everything.”

  “I … I was chosen because I have the same physique as him.”

  “As who?” Knox prompted. “I need details.”

  “As Nikolai Crowe,” he admitted, his watery eyes pasted on the gun. “He and I are nearly the same age and height. The outline of my face matched his. All I needed was to grow my hair out and color it, get a nose job, reshape my chin a bit, put in blue contacts, and I was a spot on. I’d been instructed to go to the girl’s apartment and make sure I was caught on camera when I entered the building.”

  Knox lowered the gun with a sigh. “What happened next? Did you kill her?”

  “No. I was just there to show myself to the cameras. I was only in her apartment for a little while before she suspected something was wrong.”

  “Nikolai,” Jade had said when she’d answered the door. “I can’t believe you’re here. Come in.”

  Crawford hadn’t said anything as he’d entered the apartment. He’d been nervous but tried to hide it. Jade had shut the door and stepped around to face him.

  “I’m glad to see you,” she’d said, embracing him.

  He’d returned the gesture. She’d held him tight and didn’t seem to notice his trembling. He could smell her sweet fragrance and feel the softness of her long brown hair.

  “I’ve missed you so much,” she’d said, still holding him. “What brings you here?”

  He’d hesitated for a moment. “I wanted to see you.”

  She’d pulled herself away and stared at him intently.

  My voice. I hope she doesn’t catch on.

  She had studied the one thing that didn’t match Crowe: his eyes. They were the only thing Novak couldn’t duplicate. The window to the soul was through the eyes, and she didn’t see the soul of her ex-lover in them—but someone else entirely.

  “Um, wait here. I’ve got to go downstairs for a sec,” she’d said, rushing for the door.

  He’d whipped around and grabbed her by the arm. “Wait! Where are you going?”

  She’d tried shaking off his tight grip. “I’m going to the mailbox,” she’d said, still trying to jerk her arm away. “Let go of me!”

  He’d known if he let go, he’d lose her. He had to hold on. He’d swung her around and grabbed her by the other arm. “Don’t go. I want to talk.”

  She’d suspected him to be a fraud. If she’d reached the door, she’d undoubtedly call for help. He’d kept his grip and had done his best to hold her still. When she hadn’t been able to break free, she’d kneed him in the cr
otch. The sudden rush of pain between his legs had caused him to double over in agony. She’d shook off his grip and bolted for the door, but again, he’d grabbed her.

  “Let go of me!” she’d exclaimed as he wrapped his arms around her in a bear hug.

  He’d lifted her off the floor and tried carrying her into the living room until she flung her head back and struck him in the face. His grip had loosened but he’d grasped her wrist when she’d struggled out from his embrace. She then flung herself around and scratched him on the face. He’d cried out and made a fist, ready to strike when she’d suddenly arched her back. He’d let her go and taken a step back as the killer held the knife in. The pain in her wide eyes was traumatic. Her lips moved as though to speak. After several long, agonizing seconds, the killer had withdrawn the knife and she fall face down on the floor.

  Nikolai and the others watched as the footage played out the mystery.

  “We’ve got nearly one hundred million dollars in the account,” Lloyd said to the hidden man. “That should be enough to pay the Saudis for the weapons.”

  “What weapons?” Dog said.

  “Sounds like they’re planning a war,” Ari offered, standing next to him.

  “War,” Dog blurted. “Against who?”

  “Quiet,” Marko ordered.

  Nikolai watched the screen as the hidden man raised his glass.

  “My friends, we are about to embark on a glorious journey together. Once the Replicas are ready, President Reed and the U.S. military will stand powerless against us. I will bring order and peace to this country. When other governments see how effective my new law is, they’ll follow my example. Our country will forever be safe from those who dare to do us harm.”

  My God,” Ari said, aghast. “They’re planning to go to war with the President and take over the country!”

  Crawford couldn’t take his eyes off the gun.

  “Who killed her?” Knox asked.

  “I don’t know. He wore a ski mask.”

  “I don’t believe you,” he said, raising the gun.

  Crawford and Novak raised their hands. “I swear! I never saw his face!” Crawford shouted.

  “All right,” he said, lowering the gun. “Go on.”

  * * * * *

  “Where the fuck were you?” Crawford had shouted at the killer. “We almost lost her.”

  The killer had said nothing, only stared at him through the eye slits of his ski mask. He’d been dressed from head to toe in a thick bulky, jet-black outfit. Crawford then shifted his eyes to the body by his feet. When he’d seen the blood oozing from Jade’s back, he’d suddenly realized what he was a part of. What he’d eaten earlier was coming up. He’d slapped a hand over his mouth and rushed to the bathroom. Lifting the toilet lid, he’d gagged and thrown everything up.

  Oh, God! What the hell just happened in there?

  He’d risen from the floor and flicked the light on. Although the reflection in the mirror was his own, there was a face of another young man whose life would soon be ruined. Sliding his hand over his cheek, he’d studied the deep scratches Jade had left. He’d turned the water on and washed the blood away, cleaning the wounds as best he could. Witnessing someone murdered right in front of him had overshadowed the fact that he’d left evidence under her fingernails.

  Once he’d cleaned up after himself, he left the bathroom. Jade’s purse had been lying on the bed. He’d grabbed it and returned to the living room to find the killer rolling her body into an open sleeping bag. It had been unzipped and flattened on the floor. When he’d walked over, the killer stood and smeared blood on his green army jacket. He’d almost forgotten this part and jumped back.

  The killer crouched down, zipped the bag up, and pointed to Jade’s cell phone on the coffee table. Crawford approached the table while searching her purse. Finding her wallet, he’d bent to pick up the phone. That was when he’d spotted the letter she’d written. It wouldn’t be wise to leave such an affectionate piece of evidence lying around, so he torn it out of the notebook and put it into his pocket, then he noticed the killer staring at him. Crawford nodded. The man placed the bloody knife on the floor near the kitchen, then slipped back out the window.

  Crawford had sent the text to the real Nikolai Crowe, pleading for him to meet Jade in the park. When the response had come back, he pocketed the phone and wallet and had left the purse on the floor beside the bed. He returned to the living room, lifted the body over his shoulder, and left the apartment.

  * * * * *

  “Who ordered her death?” Knox demanded. “Who’s behind it?”

  “I can’t tell you that,” Crawford said. “I won’t tell you that.”

  Without warning Knox seized him by the throat and squeezed. His fear of suffocation faded with the cold metal of Knox’s gun pressing against his forehead.

  “Tell me who’s behind it!”

  “I … I can’t tell you!”

  Knox pressed the gun even harder. “One,” he growled.

  Nikolai watched the video play out. He, like the others, waited anxiously to discover the identity of the third man. Who was the man behind the curtain?

  The three men stood to make a toast. Nikolai stopped breathing. He had an inkling of who the third man was just by the back of his head. The men clinked glasses and sipped. After the third man drank, he twisted his body around a bit to set the empty glass on a small table next to his armchair.

  Everyone gasped.

  “Two,” Knox snarled.

  “If I tell you, I’m dead,” Crawford babbled, barely able to breathe with Knox’s grip around his throat.

  “Don’t think I won’t kill you myself,” Knox warned. “Don’t think it for a second because that’s all you have left!”

  “All right! All right! I’ll tell you! I’ll fucking tell you!”

  “Who was it?”

  Crawford shook uncontrollably, sweat dripping out of every pore. He looked Knox dead in the eye and opened his mouth to speak.

  “It’s the mayor,” Ari exclaimed. “Oh, my God, it’s Sho!”

  Nikolai sat stunned. After Sho set his glass on the table, he led the other men out. When they were no longer in view, the picture went blank. A beat later, it came back on. Jade appeared. She was posed directly in front of the camera. Behind her, on a dresser, was her cameraman, a remote-control robot with tank-like wheels and thick arms.

  “My name is Jade Sho. What you’ve just seen is actual footage of my father, New York City’s own Mayor Hiroshi Sho, planning to wage war against President Donald Reed and the United States. With the money Lloyd has in his bank, my father will be able to buy weapons and bring war to this country in an attempt to take over as the leader of America.”

  Nikolai tried holding back his tears, but a few managed to escape and roll down his face. He wiped them away before anyone noticed.

  “Many lives will be lost if this happens,” she went on. “There will be more evidence against those who are involved in this horrific plan. This is my warning to the President of the United States, and to you, the American people. Now that the truth has been exposed, it’s up to you to do something about it.”

  She said nothing more, only raised the remote and clicked the camera off. When the screen went blank, there was a deep silence in the room.

  “A war against America?” Kip finally said. “That’s insane.”

  “Do you think Sho was responsible for her murder?” someone from the back asked.

  Nikolai shot up from his chair and left for the main bar, his heart crumbled to dust inside his chest.

  Chapter 19

  Ebenezer drove the van carrying his small army and the bodies of the Betas loaded in the back. A trio of Alphas had dressed themselves in the dead Replicas’ uniforms, ready to follow their new leader into battle. Ebenezer pulled the van off the highway, onto the bay, and rode up alongside the guard’s post. He stopped and lowered the window to speak to the guard.

  “Five returning with the Alphas.�
�

  The man nodded from inside his station and opened the gate. “Go on in.”

  He drove slowly forward.

  “I’ve seen that man before,” Stewart said from the passenger seat. “He looks like one of the Betas who attacked us in the gymnasium.”

  “Where do you think Linden got his adult cells from to create the Betas? He used the guards for the clones.”

  “How do you know all that?”

  “There’s an informant in the lab.”

  He made the drive to the garage. Once he parked, the Alphas carried the bodies into a boathouse, loaded them into a speedboat, and sped off toward the island. At the dock they loaded the bodies into another van parked at the water’s edge and drove to the laboratory.

  Ebenezer studied the building as they drew near. It looks so different. From out here, it seems like an entirely different place.

  The architectural style of the building resembled a Gothic mansion. Linden had designed it to his tastes, even had his own apartment built in the back so he’d never be far from the only thing he truly loved—his work. The building may have been beautiful, but to Ebenezer it was a prison.

  He drove the van to the garage and waited as a heavy steel door lifted. The vehicle moved forward and rolled to a stop near a row of other parked vans. Six workers stood ready with gurneys to carry the bodies to the Pit. Before getting out, he turned to the others in the back. “Are you ready for this?”

  They nodded. There was no sign of fear in them. They had human qualities, but this was what they’d been created for.

  They exited the van as the workers wheeled the gurneys to the back. Two and Four opened the double doors for them. As a couple of workers pulled one of the bodies out, Ebenezer did a quick scan around the room. Four cameras were mounted in each corner of the room and one above the door that led into the lab. He knew the moment they acted the entire complex would go on alert. He didn’t fear the humans, not even the armed guards; it was any fully functional Betas that might be inside.