by Joe Pascente
Running as fast as her swollen feet could manage, Jessica left the kitchen and rushed to the front door, seeing three individuals dressed all in black. The woman, with bows in her black shiny hair, had a knife to her sister’s throat. The larger man, with a white bandage taped over his right eye, had a gun pointed at Jeremy’s head. Jessica dropped the animal cracker to the ground, speechless at this horrifying sight.
“What’s going on? Who are you people?” she asked, frightened at the sight of these weapons.
“Honey, it’s going to be all right. Go back to the kitchen,” Jeremy said, calmly.
He was scared, as he had never had a gun pointed directly at his face before. He stood up from the floor and went around the halfway put together crib. Bows spoke in a serene voice, hoping she wouldn’t need to cut the throat of the woman she had her hunter’s knife against.
“Everything will be fine, girls. We just need Jeremy to come with us for a brief amount of time,” she said, locking eyes on Jessica’s upset face. “Go back into the kitchen, lady.”
“You aren’t taking my husband anywhere. Get out of our house, now!” Jessica yelled. But she didn’t say another word, as Bows moved the knife ever so slightly against Carly’s throat, causing a little drop of blood to drop down her neck.
“I won’t say it again. Go back into the kitchen, and count to 30. When you get to 30, we will be gone and Jeremy will be with us. If you or this woman here call the police or do anything else foolish, we will kill him.”
“No! Please…”
“Then do as we say, and everything will be peachy keen,” Bows said.
Jessica knew she didn’t have much of a choice, as she backed up and turned around walking back into the kitchen. The tears were flowing down her face and she slowly sat down at the kitchen table to begin counting out loud. She made it to ten, and Carly ran into the kitchen sobbing into her arms. They hugged one another and heard the screeching tires of a car squeal out of the driveway. Running to the front window, they only saw taillights rush past.
Bows and Boulder had completed their mission. They had Jeremy in their possession and informed him he was going to see an old friend in just a short while. Worm was driving the car and he made eye contact with Jeremy, right before Boulder hit him in the head and knocked him out cold. Worm was startled by this, but kept his eyes on the road.
He knew where they were going, but he was hesitant about getting there. This whole day was an emotional rollercoaster for him and he couldn’t handle much more of it. He wanted out. After this mission was finished, he would tell Duke he was out for good.
IV. Pure Fabrication
Pacing back and forth on the beach, Jacobi waited for Angela to return behind Mr. Hornsby’s beach house. He was so angry with her for leaving him and putting herself in such a hazardous situation. He had plenty of time to think of everything he was going to say to her when she came back, but when the car pulled up in the driveway, Jacobi came running to the front of the house and saw the damage done.
Angela’s neck was plainly bruised by Rocky’s hands and the look on her face was devastating. She had experienced something she had wished on no one. She witnessed a loved one being murdered right in front of her eyes. Angela wasn’t crying anymore, she just looked emotionless. Clearly, she was traumatized from the events that had taken place and all Jacobi could do was hold her once again.
Holding one another in their arms, they stood in silence for a minute, listening to the ocean waves hit the shore. It was soothing being under the moonlight not having to speak or fight. They just got to be in the present and for this minute, they only needed one thing: each other. When the minute came to a close, Angela was the first to speak.
“I’m a fraud.”
“What?”
“Everything that has happened to me is because of me. I created Pure and this stupid drug has finally caught up with me. The whole thing is a sham. And now, people that I love are being killed because of it.”
“What are you talking about, Angela? What’s a sham?”
“Pure! The love drug isn’t really a love drug, at all. It’s all just a glorified accident.”
“I don’t understand what you’re saying. You’ve been through a lot and—”
“Stop! Just listen to me, please! Two years ago, I developed a serum that was supposed to be for gorillas being physically abused. It was meant to create a bond between their companions, so they wouldn’t worry about being attacked when mating. Geneco let me have full reign over this serum and by accident, we discovered it was more than just a drug to treat abused gorillas. It also created a neurotransmitter attraction in human brains that released a high dosage of chemicals like oxytocin and vasopressin that are main components of what we understand ‘love’ to be.”
“So, you’re saying Pure doesn’t do what it claims?” Jacobi asked, trying to understand what Angela was scientifically speaking about.
“When we think of love, it starts with testosterone and estrogen attraction which in turn involves adrenaline, dopamine and serotonin. Pure is like a chemical compound of all of these mixed in a perfect formula that causes our brains to seek out who we chemically match up with best. It’s like someone who is an obsessive compulsive, but for finding their idealized match.”
“So, you’re saying it does do what it claims.”
“In a matter of speaking, but it’s not a love potion. There’s no magical activation involved. This is why it destroys lives. It’s not really love.”
“Who’s to say the chemicals we react to isn’t love?” Jacobi asked sincerely, wanting to fully understand.
“That man in the picture I carried with me, he was my ex-fiancé, Jeremy. He was my everything. We were in love; or at least, I thought we were. He sat me down one day and told me he was an awful person. I couldn’t imagine why he would say this, as I thought he was the best man in the world. I was working day and night, as Pure had just hit the shelves. We never saw one another and our relationship was suffering. I didn’t want to see it and I fought with him when he told me we needed to work on it. I thought he was just being, Jeremy. Typical worrier. He told me he was an awful person because he said he fell for our mutual friend, Jessica. He didn’t love me anymore.”
“Sounds like a jackass,” Jacobi said, taking a seat on the front porch steps of the beach house. Angela followed his lead and took a seat next to him.
“He wasn’t. I mean, yes it hurt that he fell for someone else, especially being a friend of ours, but he simply fell out of love with me. It happens everyday. I freaked out on him. I threw things, big things, at his head. I was a wreck.”
“Anyone would be.”
“He had bags already packed for a week and I was too oblivious to even notice. I was a mad woman. I chased after him when he left our house. I had a syringe of Pure in my hand and I tackled him to the ground. He looked at me like he didn’t recognize me. I was on top of him, in the grass, holding a syringe to his neck.”
“Intense…”
“To say the least. I had every intention of injecting Jeremy. I needed to prove we were right for one another. But Jeremy knew what Pure really was. I told him the truth when it was first in development for human trails. He just looked me in the eyes, as I held the syringe to his neck, not saying a word. We both knew, even if we both injected Pure, and by some chance of fate our bodies and brains were chemically in sync, it wouldn’t mean anything. We both understand it wouldn’t mean it was true love. It was just a chemical reaction that was manufactured to be love.”
“So you didn’t do it?”
“No, I jumped off him and walked back inside. Geneco made him sign a bunch of NDA documents agreeing he wouldn’t speak about Pure or our relationship to the media. And we’ve only spoken once, since that night. He ended up marrying our friend, Jessica, and they’re having a baby. I ran into them a couple months ago at a restauran
t. We were all civil and, of course, I congratulated them on the pregnancy. But, it was odd to see him again.”
“Do you still feel the same way? Are you still in love with him?”
“It took a while for me to get over him, and I’ll always care about him but I’m not in love with him anymore. Thinking back at the relationship I have good feelings about it, but we’ve both moved on. So, I don’t believe I’m still in love with Jeremy. I just miss him from time to time. I think I miss being in love, most of all.”
“There’s nothing else like it,” Jacobi said.
“So, do you get it now? This is why I call myself a fraud. People all around the world want me dead and for good reason. I’m sure the drug I created has messed up a lot of lives. Maybe, I do deserve to die.”
“Don’t say that. Don’t ever say that. You are an intelligent, beautiful woman that developed a drug that gives people hope. Sure, it might have some downsides, but what great innovation doesn’t have some kinks. Your drug has brought so much love into this world. Don’t ever be sorry for that.”
“My boss was murdered because of all of this. He didn’t deserve to die. I’m the reason he’s dead right now. And now, Jeremy’s life could be in danger.”
“What do you mean?”
“That murdering son of a bitch assassin told me the rest of his team had Jeremy. I thought he was bluffing, but I’ve been calling his phone and he isn’t picking up. I think he might’ve been telling the truth, Jacobi.”
Angela had made it through this whole explanation without breaking down, but this realization was just too much for her to take. She hugged Jacobi, grabbing onto his shoulders and weeping into his neck. She looked up at him, and into his eyes and without thinking it through, they both went in for a kiss.
It might’ve seemed like an inappropriate time to lock lips again, but people do crazy things when their emotions are as erratic as both of theirs were at this time. Angela pulled away first, brushing the hair out of her eyes.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. If Jeremy was taken, we will know soon. They will want you to come to him, just like your boss, right?”
“I guess so. But what do we do until they reach out to me?”
“We wait.”
And so, they did just that. Angela placed her head on Jacobi’s shoulder as they stared off into the black sky listening to the ocean’s sweet tranquil sounds. They each felt a sense of solitude and isolation from the rest of the world, which was a much-needed sensation, waiting for her phone to ring.
CHAPTER 11
IN THE CROSSHAIRS
I. Grave Danger
Since there were only two shovels in the back room of Sway, Boulder and Worm were tasked with digging the grave for Rocky. Bows and Duke helped in their own way by wrapping Rocky’s body in a body bag (funny enough there were plenty of these in the back storage room of Sway), and carving a stone for his headstone. They weren’t zombies about these tasks; they all felt the loss of their fellow warrior, or brother or lover.
Worm didn’t actually see Boulder crying, but he heard the sniffles coming from his nose. He didn’t dare ask if he was okay to keep shoveling, for he knew this was a necessary step for Boulder to have some closure about his brother’s death. Boulder didn’t say a word the entire time he was digging. Shovels full of dirt kept piling up beside the hole they were digging and with each shovel, Boulder’s pain grew.
Duke’s car headlights were the source of light in the black night for Worm and Boulder. Inside the backseat of the car, Bows kissed the cold lips of Rocky one last time. After zipping up the body bag, she crawled out of the back seat and walked over to spot under the tree where Duke was carving a watermelon-sized stone. Duke had no artistic stenciling ability whatsoever, so Rocky’s name was written in shaky carved lines made by a hammer and a screwdriver.
Bows wasn’t impressed. “That looks like shit.”
“I get that you’re upset, but I’m doing my best. It’s harder than it looks.” Duke said trying to defend his work.
“Give me the damn hammer. I’ll do it myself.”
Duke wasn’t going to have a fight about this with Bows because he knew she was obviously quite upset about losing her boyfriend. He handed the tools over to her and traded spots with her. Most people would think it a bit odd Bows wasn’t crying, but Duke knew better about these types of situations. He had lost quite a few people in his life and the way he handled it was different each time. Sometimes there were tears flowing immediately, other times he felt numb to any emotions for a long while until it became real, whereas other times he was enraged. This was how he perceived Bows to be feeling at the moment.
Angry and full of fury, Bows was silent in her task and began slamming the hammer into the screwdriver with concentrated precision. Boulder and Worm were about a quarter of the way digging Rocky’s grave when Worm put his shovel on the grass and started walking to the back door of Sway.
In his deep tone of voice, Boulder asked, “Where are you going?”
“I need some water.”
“Get back here. Pick that damn shovel up and start digging again.”
Worm didn’t want to make Boulder any more upset than he already was, but he was utterly parched from the strenuous task of digging. He wasn’t the fittest man being behind a computer desk for majority of his days, so this was quite a feat for him, especially without water.
Duke stuck his neck out and said, “Let him go, Boulder. Bring back a few bottles of water for all of us, Worm.”
“I can wait.” Worm chimed in, hoping Boulder would appreciate his willingness to continue helping him.
Boulder held out his hand at Worm signaling him to stop in his tracks. “No—leave it. I’ll finish this myself. I should be the one to do it anyway. He’s my brother.”
It would be pointless to argue with Boulder at this point, and they all knew this to be true. Bows took a second to stop banging the screwdriver into the stone and looked up at Boulder’s face. They made eye contact for a brief few seconds, as if they were telepathically communicating with one another, and then continued to do their duties. Even though they technically didn’t telepathically communicate, they both knew one another well enough to know what the other was thinking. They had made a silent vow to avenge Rocky—no matter what.
When Worm walked back with an armful of waters, he undoubtedly dropped all of them on his way back to the group. He tried handing a water bottle to Duke as he was smoking yet another cigar, but he acted like he didn’t see this gesture and kept puffing away. Duke was standing close by the gravesite, which is where Worm put the water bottle beside his feet.
Worm dropped another bottle by the pile of dirt for Boulder, but he ignored the gesture as well. Lastly, Worm walked over to Bows and held a water bottle out in front of her face, but she didn’t even look up at him. She just continued to fix the rough stenciling that Duke had butchered.
In between puffs of his cigar, Duke tried to get his team on the same page. “I don’t want to rush this, but we do have to plan out the rest of this mission. It’s essential that we get the job done, more than ever. For Rocky.”
No one said a word. The team worked in silence for the remainder of the time spent constructing Rocky’s gravesite. Bows did break the silence once, pleading with Boulder to change the bloody bandage over his eye, as well as the one on his rib cage from the shallow bullet wound. He hesitantly complied taking a short break from digging.
By this point, a few hours had passed and it was nearly three in the morning. The grave was dug out and Duke, Worm, Bows and Boulder all carried Rocky’s body from the back of the car to the hole in the ground. Boulder climbed inside the hole he had spent hours digging and did majority of the lifting, placing his brother in his final resting place. He climbed back out and grabbed a handful of dirt from the giant pile and scattered it over the body bag.
&n
bsp; Duke followed Boulder’s actions next, and then, Worm. Bows was the last to grab a handful of dirt—something that was completely out of character for her—and scatter the dirt over her deceased lover. They all stood around Rocky’s grave for a moment and said their goodbyes in silence. Bows grabbed Boulder’s hand and they stood there together, even after Worm and Duke had walked away to give them some time.
Boulder wiped a single tear falling down from his left eye, letting go of Bows’ hand. He picked up the shovel once more and began to cover his brother’s body with the dirt from the hefty sized pile. Bows backed away and grabbed the stone she had been working on, and placed it at the head of the gravesite. Her emotions were bubbling at the service, but she had still not broken down. There was too much to get done in the coming hours for her to be destroyed by this. She needed her focus and the only emotion she would let herself feel was rage. And her rage was directed at one person: Ace.
He had been the one to murder Rocky – Duke had told her every detail about his final moments. She had helped Ace get away from Duke in the mausoleum, when she still had hope he could come back to the team and be one of them again. But now, she knew there was no chance for redemption on his part. The rest of the team knew this to be true as well. Ace was just as much of their enemy as Dr. Haven and her bodyguard were.
Once Boulder had finished placing the remaining dirt on the grave, he threw the shovel down and walked back inside Sway. Worm and Duke had already taken showers in the hidden headquarters locker-room to clean themselves of the sweat and dirt, and Bows was now doing the same. Boulder walked directly to the bar and poured himself a stiff drink. He sat there drinking, even as Duke warned him he would have to be sober in the coming hours as he was a crucial part of the final phase of the plan. Boulder didn’t care what Duke was saying to him. He had just buried his only brother and needed a couple of drinks to ease the pain he was feeling. But like Bows, he had only one thing on his mind - terminating Ace.