by Robert C Ray
"Thank you," Amber told her, as she grabbed both of Viper’s hands at the songs ending, before leading her back to the table where the two young men were beginning to feel more than the effect that Viper had placed upon them. Now the Southern Comfort was starting to make them both feel quite comfortable, as they smiled at the return of the two women that they now perceived as goddesses.
For the next couple of hours, the women sat there, flirting with the two young men, and with each other when they would find themselves back on the dance floor.
Greg and Andrew would remember this night always, though only up to a point, while one of them was destined to remember it more fondly than the other.
Neither of them would recall the way that Viper would kiss Amber goodnight, before she walked with the two of them as they staggered their way to the car.
"You are way too drunk," she told Andrew as they walked up to the Honda Civic. "Give me the keys, and I'll drive."
Naturally, he agreed with her, and did as she asked, before climbing into the back seat next to where she had placed her duffle bag. He was far too gone to ever realize that he had just agreed to allow a woman, who he had thought to be blind, drive his car.
In the meantime, Greg simply leaned against the car on the other side, while unresponsive, so she went around, and helped him into the passenger seat.
"You both look like you could use a nap," she told them as she sat behind the wheel, and started the car, and immediately they were both passed out, which was exactly how Viper had intended it from the very beginning. She said that they could take her somewhere, not that they would actually be doing anything that they had been hoping for. They needed to not remember where she had gone, while still getting her there, and that was exactly the situation that she created.
Blinking her eyes open quicker than the triplets could register, she saw the road ahead of her, and could drive with them closed, using her keen sense of hearing to know exactly what the cars around her were doing.
Before too long, she reached highway 10, and from here, the journey would be far more relaxing. She would have to blink her eyes open far less often, and the traffic would be easier to read.
Along the way, she removed her red dress while driving, and tossed it into the back seat. It tickled her for a moment to think about how she was now naked in front of these two young men, and they would never have a chance to see it.
Reaching into the back while still driving, she unzipped the duffle bag, and pulled out the slacks, and the sports bra. She had no trouble putting them on as she sat behind the wheel.
Now she was ready to focus on the task ahead of her. She was going home, and she was determined to destroy that facilities ability to ever do to someone else, what they had done to her.
Many thoughts went through Viper’s head on that fifty-mile drive, and Charlie had been in more than his fair share. She figured that he would be gone when she arrived, which is why she had left him a note back at the motel, asking him to stay there until she returned, without ever mentioning what she would be out doing.
She recalled the way that he had kissed her. He did rather well at it, but she was certain that he would have thought that she was lying, had she told him. That is just how he was... greatly lacking in confidence, and self-esteem, yet that is also what endeared her to him.
Amber was a better kisser, but it was obvious that she was far more experienced than Charlie was. This, she understood, was what made him better than the other men that she had met along the way, and she felt grateful that he was the one to happen upon the lab when she had first awakened.
Those were the thoughts that gave her hope as she traveled down the highway, and it pleased her to think that the two young men in the car had a chance at growing up, and becoming as wonderful as he was.
There were also other thoughts, and they were far less pleasant.
She remembered the man whom she had always believed, until yesterday, had been her abductor, and although she understood now that he was never even real, the memories were as real as any. They were memories of terror, in ways that no one should ever be subjected to, and Viper began to cry as she recalled the things that he had done to her.
Sure, he had taught her not to cry under even the cruelest of circumstances, but she did not have to fear his reprisal anymore. Now she could allow her emotions to bubble to the surface, and the fact that this would have displeased him, made her more apt to allow it.
Soon her tears and her sorrow turned to anger, as she thought about the other side of him. It was a group of people brought together to create her to be someone capable of great destruction. They had succeeded, and Viper smiled at the irony, knowing that their creation was about to bring great destruction upon them, instead of the targets of their choosing.
Finally reaching her destination, she pulled to the edge of the highway, and stepped from the car. First, she grabbed the duffle bag, and then she placed her hand softly upon Andrew’s cheek.
"It's time to wake up, handsome," and as soon as she had said so, his eyes slowly opened. "You need to drive Greg home now."
The nap had taken much of the edge off his intoxication, yet still, in his barely wakened state, he had trouble figuring out where he was.
"Just turn around at that sign that says 'no U-turns'," she told him as she helped him into the drivers seat, before closing the door, "and safely drive back home to Tallahassee."
"When you wake up tomorrow," she said, planting the greatest, false memory that he would ever remember, "you will vaguely remember getting lucky with me in the back seat."
Then she kissed him on the cheek, and motioned for him to drive away. When he would find the red dress in the back seat of his car the next day, he would never doubt what he had believed to have happened.
Turning her attention to the woods, Viper stepped into them, still keeping her eyes closed. The triplets would not be able to pinpoint her there, but she did not wish to give up the environment either. Woods surrounded the facility, and it could lead to a premature clue to her intentions.
The sun began to set, and her timing was perfect as she opened the duffle bag, and began to remove its contents. Among them, there was only one firearm, and she only intended to use it if absolutely necessary. It was a Colt 45, and it was a classic, but she understood that it was in pristine condition, since she had taken it off one of the men that they had sent after her, rather than from the van that they had arrived in. He must have treasured it.
She secured the utility belt across her shoulder, for she was much too petite to wear it around her waste. This did not matter, because that was among the things that they had taught her. Adaptation!
She then began to load it with the very items that she required to complete her task. The most important among these was the C4, and the timing devices, because nothing should remain of their computers when she was done with them.
There were other handy devices, and she quickly gathered them up, before making her way further into the woods, where she would find a spot to rest for a moment as she awaited the perfect time.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Reality Bites
With her hair back in a ponytail, and the black bandana covering the top of her head, Viper calmly opened her eyes, and peered through the radio pulse device, to see where everyone was inside of the facility. When she saw a figure that she had determined to be Charlie, she was disheartened, for two armed guards stood outside of the door of the room where he sat motionless, and obviously deep in thought.
"Oh, my dear Charlie," she whispered in an endearing tone as she watched him for a moment, "what have you gotten yourself into?"
Now she would have to change her strategy, while the timing had to remain the same. The computer brain that controlled the intelligent building would be executing the commands that she had entered almost twenty-four hours ago, whether she liked it or not.
Readying herself, she waited for the moment to arrive.
* * *
The colonel sat at his desk pondering the situation, and two possibilities seemed most likely, though both where quite unnerving.
The first was that Viper would try to hunt them all down, one by one, and such a task was exactly what she had been trained to do. Not only was she physically superior to any human on the planet, but she had also received about fifteen years worth of rigorous conditioning. It was all that she had ever known, and now it had blown up in their faces.
The second possibility was that she might run, and if she did, it would make it very difficult to terminate her. He would not be able to send entire units after her, for they would not have the ability to move, and engage as quickly as one of his single operators could, but she was better than any of them. For that matter, she was obviously better than an entire four-man delta team.
Needing a break from the thoughts that were now tormenting him, the colonel picked up the phone, and called home.
"Hello, Douglas," came the voice on the other end, after a ring and a half, as though she had been expecting the call.
"Hello, Emma," he replied as his mind found a happier place for a moment. "I just called to let you know that I have to work late tonight, so go ahead and eat without me."
"I was beginning to suspect that," she returned, ever aware that his job was a complicated one. "I'm sorry that your day did not turn out as well as you had thought that it would, when you left this morning."
"If it's not one thing, it's another," he said with a sigh, for his day had started with his biggest problem solved. Mirage had been shut down, but he soon had found himself back in the same boat, except this time, it was a G.E.O. that was far more deadly.
"Well, I hope that things work out," Emma told him, and after a customary goodbye involving a heart felt "I love you", they both hung up the phone.
The colonel leaned back in his chair with his fingers locked behind his head, and began to think about his wife for a moment. There was nothing more that he could do about Viper right now, and this was the perfect tonic to alleviate the symptoms of the chaos that she had brought upon him. Sure, it was not a cure, but it would have to do for now.
His moment of relaxation, however, came to an abrupt end as the lieutenant burst into the office, and stood at attention.
"I have good news, and bad," he declared once again, but the colonel was getting tired of such a presentation.
"Just tell me what the hell it is that you need to say, lieutenant," he barked, not willing to play along anymore.
"The triplets have found Viper again," he stated, and without hesitation, he revealed why it was also bad news. "She is in the woods right now, watching us as we speak."
"For god's sake," the colonel yelled as he sprang from his chair, and rounded the desk, "get some guns out there."
Just as they had both reached the door to exit the office, the lights flickered and went dim, as the sirens began to sound.
"It's locked," his lieutenant told him as he desperately tried to open the door to no avail.
"What do you mean, 'it's locked'?" the aged colonel barked. "We're on the inside of the room!"
After trying rather quickly, a few more times, the lieutenant turned to answer him face to face.
"The whole building is electronic," he said in a tone that did little to hide his hysteria. "She’s locked us in!"
"Get a hold of yourself," the colonel calmly told him, as he made his way back to his desk, "and that's an order."
Picking up the phone, he found that it was dead, and when he opened his cell phone, he discovered that the signal was jammed. Suddenly, he found himself about as worried as the lieutenant, yet he did not allow it to show upon his weathered face, as he sat down in his chair.
* * *
The changing of events had caught Charlie by surprise, and at first, his brain did not allow him to figure out what was happening. It was only a moment, for then he began to realize what was happening. It was his precious Kitten, and he was certain that she was coming for him.
He stood from his chair, and approached the door, where he would try to figure things out from what was happening outside of the room. There was a lot of commotion going on, and they seemed to be rather confused, and unaware of what they should do.
"Both of you stay at that door," he heard someone demand, as he seemed to run past with at least two others. "We are going to cover the rear exit."
Charlie waited until he heard the rapid footsteps fade away, before he tried to communicate with the guards.
"What's going on out there?" he asked in a tone that was just less than a shout, and at first, he thought that he had not been heard, for the alarms were quite loud.
"Just sit tight, doc," one of them replied. "We're gonna keep you safe."
At this, Charlie simply shook his head, for he was the one to understand that it was not his safety that was in jeopardy, and although he longed for her rescue, he still feared for them.
"Be careful," he said in a tone that could not be heard by them, as he made his way back to the chair to await the outcome.
Leaning back, he began to wonder if it was all worth it. Should he have not helped her? None of this would be happening if he hadn’t, but he knew that they would have simply destroyed her, and started over again
No! He was certain that he did the right thing, and he would not allow his love for her to cause him feelings of guilt. Whatever these people were now going through was something that they had created for themselves, and they likely deserved the outcome.
* * *
The three soldiers had reached the rear exit, and postured themselves, two down and one up. They would have radioed that the position was secured, but something was interfering with all forms of communication, so they simply waited with their weapons locked on the back door.
They would not have to wait very long, as the back door opened ever so slightly, but the one in charge motioned for the other two to hold their fire. The doors could stop any round that they had, and he wanted to make sure that they had a clear shot at her. What he had not anticipated was the next chain of events.
Quickly, a hand reached in, and tossed a fragmentation grenade, which landed right in front of them. There was nowhere to find cover, and no time to respond, which produced a hero's reaction out of one of them.
Without thinking, one of the two in the lower position dropped himself upon the weapon, in hopes that it would spare the other two, so that they could continue the task, while the other two turned away, awaiting the sound of the blast.
A couple of seconds seemed like an eternity, and the blast never happened, so one of them turned just in time to see Viper's elbow, before it firmly hit the sweet spot on his jaw. The one that remained never saw anything other than stars.
* * *
Charlie stood up from behind the desk, and moved his way to the door. There was a brief commotion, and he had to know what was going on, yet before he made it half the way there, Viper entered the room, looking like Rambo as she approached him.
Before he could say a thing, she wrapped herself around him, and held him for a moment, in an embrace that did not seem to be good timing, while also being very welcomed.
"What happened, Charlie?" she asked as she stared up at him with her pale green eyes that could never be hidden behind her current attire, with an expression that revealed her love. "You should have been back at the room."
Even in such a situation, she still clung to him, and it ate at his very most inner being. Here she was confronting the people that had caused her such great torment, but still she wanted his affection. His hesitation, however, caused her to speak again, before he could ever find a response.
"Take this card," she demanded as she handed it to him, and her tone had become hastened. "It is the only card that will allow you to get out, and I want you to use it, and go back to the motel room."
After he took it from her, she grabbed his face, and pulled his lips to hers. It was a passionate kiss, though c
ertainly a shorter one than he had become accustomed to.
"No more questions," she demanded as he tried to speak, only to be interrupted by her tiny finger upon his lips. "Go out the back, and wait for me back at the room."
He did not want to leave her, yet he understood that this was her fight, and he was grateful that she had come to him in a time when he needed it greatly.
He did not feel empty when she turned him around with a simple twist of his shoulders, and he turned back to find her gone. He knew what she was, but he did not fear her.
Nonetheless, he understood that she knew what she was doing, so he did as he was told, and along the way, he realized that she had made it easy for him. There was a soldier barely regaining consciousness as he made his way to the exit, but the soldier was still too incoherent to ever even realize that someone had passed him by.
The others were obviously out cold, which made them only an obstacle, and Charlie soon used the card to exit the building, before making his way to his car.
He silently wished her well as he pulled away, and headed back to Tallahassee, never realizing that she had given him the card that she needed to exit the building herself, or that she had already figured out a solution to that problem.
* * *
Colonel McClure sat at his desk, as anxious as the lieutenant that sat near him, yet never revealed it upon his face. He was beginning to understand the true nature of the events, considering the fact that she seemed to have total control over the entire building.
"Is she going to kill us?" he was finally asked, and the answer was a welcomed one.
"That isn't likely," the colonel answered softly, ever aware of what they had created, but never aware of her intentions.
This still was not enough to calm the lieutenant’s nerves as he stared at the door, desperately trying to hide his trembling. He had never seen combat before, and as he faced the possibility of it, he understood that it would be with a monster.