by Michael Bray
"Detonation on London confirmed sir. No survivors."
President Carter nodded and rubbed his temples, then turned to Kate.
"Go and speak to Mr. Draven, see if he can suggest anything that might help us."
"He's infected sir, besides, he said this was our only chance."
"I know that. Ask him anyway," Carter snapped. "Right now anything will help."
"Mr. President," Watson interjected, "With all due respect, we need to forget Richard Draven. It's only a matter of time until the change takes place. We need to look at our other options."
"We don’t have any other options, Bill. In case you haven’t noticed, we're getting our asses kicked."
"All due respect sir, but we can’t give up."
"Exactly, which is why I want to know if Draven can help us any before he changes."
"I don’t think I can do it," Kate said. "I can’t look at him knowing he hasn’t got long left."
"I hate to be blunt Miss Goodall, but it wasn’t a request," Carter said. "Draven knows you. He trusts you. If anyone can get him to help us, it's you."
"It might already be too late. This thing can be fast acting, sir."
"Then don’t waste any more time talking to us."
Kate stood, feeling the eyes of everyone in the room on her. "Yes, Sir."
She left the meeting room, heading for the elevator to the lab, unsure if she could bring herself to look Draven in the eye, let alone ask him for help.
II
The silence of the elevator was bliss, and part of her wished she could just stay there, listening to the comforting hum of the light set in the roof. However, it was not to be, and the doors slid open. She walked to the lab, half hoping he was already changed so she wouldn’t have to question him, and then hating herself for thinking it. Pushing the door open, she went inside, giving a cursory glance to the still sealed holding chamber in which Herman's life had ended. She opened the intercom channel in Draven’s cell so they could communicate.
"It failed, didn’t it?" Draven said, seeing the haunted look in her eyes.
She nodded.
"Subject One is dead?"
Another nod.
"If you can get a tissue sample, some form of DNA from the body, maybe we can use it."
"No, that’s not possible."
"Why?" Draven asked, already suspecting the answer.
"They must have known, they must have realised what we were doing."
"They intercepted the extraction team?" Draven said, wincing as he shifted position.
"You okay?" she asked.
"Yeah, shoulder hurts like hell. Forget about that, though. What happened to Subject One?"
"They dropped a nuke. Obliterated London. There's nothing left," she said, hating how cold she must sound. "Now the President wants you to suggest what we do next."
Draven went cold. The words didn’t sink in for a few seconds, and when they did, he had no idea how to process the information. "Then maybe he should be down here to ask me himself."
"You should be careful what you wish for," President Carter said as he walked into the lab, Watson at his side. "Mr. Draven, I'm sorry for what's happened to you. I realise that asking Miss Goodall here to do the job I should be doing is equally wrong. As you heard, our extraction mission has failed. Now I need you to give me some kind of alternative plan before you change into one of these...things."
"Kate said a nuke went off in London. I need to know you got my family out safe.”
“Your family were extracted, Mr. Draven and are on a plane heading here. Now please, we don’t have much time. You have to give us something.”
Draven paced in his cell, trying to process the information he had taken in, and finding the same outcome with every possible scenario. “I’m afraid I can’t help," Draven said.
"There must be something you can suggest, anything at all," Carter said.
"You don’t understand, Mr. President. This was our last shot, our one chance at fixing this."
"But there must be something you can do," Carter said, standing inches from the glass.
"There isn’t anything I can help you with now, sir. Without Subject One, we can’t formulate a cure."
"Are you saying there's no way to prevent this from spreading?" Carter said.
"I’m afraid so."
"Mr. Draven, we don’t have the resources to fight this, lives have been lost, more are extinguished by the hour. What am I supposed to do?"
"Frankly sir, I'd forget trying to fight this. Right now, I'd make survival the priority."
"We can’t just roll over and let these people win."
"They've already won, sir. I’m sorry."
The President was about to respond when Bill entered the lab. He hurried to the president, casting an uncertain eye on Draven.
“What is it, Bill?” The President said.
“Sir, it’s him. He’s made contact.”
“Joshua?”
Bill nodded and glanced again at Draven.
“Alright, I’ll come up to the war room and see what it is he wants.”
“Sir, he doesn’t want to speak to you.”
“What do you mean?”
Bill nodded at Draven. “He wants to speak to him.”
All eyes fell on Draven, who looked just as surprised as the rest of them. The President pondered for a moment and then turned to Bill. “Can he be patched through to the monitors in here?”
“Yes sir, but it will be video feed from his side only. He won’t be able to see you.”
“Good, I don’t want him knowing where we are or the situation we are in. Patch him through.”
Bill hurried away, leaving Draven and the President together. “Do you have any idea why he would want to talk to you?” Carter said.
Draven shrugged. “I don’t even know why he has any knowledge of my existence. I’m as confused as you are.”
“It’s on,” Kate said as the large monitor in the lab was filled with a close shot of Joshua’s face. He was calm and smiling, appearing untroubled by the destruction he had caused.
Carter turned to Draven, either unable or unwilling to hide his fear. “Best if you don’t mention your current physical state. Just to be on the safe side.”
Draven glanced at his bloody shoulder and nodded.
“Alright, patch him through.” The president said.
Everyone stood and watched, curious to see what Joshua had to say. His grin widened and he addressed the room.
“Richard Draven, at last, we meet,” Joshua said. Draven stood by the reinforced glass, watching the screen. “I wish I could see you and hear your reaction to what I’m about to say, but with the current state of the world, I’m afraid I will have to address you and hope you heed my words. Now, I imagine you are wondering what I could possibly want from you, a mere civilian. The truth is, that we both know the information you carry in that inferior brain of yours. Knowledge, as you know is power. I imagine you sitting there now amid President Carter and his staff.” Joshua smiled and nodded. “Good. I think it would benefit them to hear this too. As you have by now witnessed, direct action against me and my family is ineffective and results in nothing but death and pain for those who try to perpetrate it. Your soldiers are dying on the streets. Your arsenal of weaponry is under my control. In any fight, it would be clear to see that my victory is assured. Even so, I know the nature of your kind. You fight on with the belief that you can still win, that you are still top of the food chain. You, Richard Draven, are apparently key to this.”
Joshua hesitated, staring into the camera. “What should I do about this situation, I wonder. My plan was to eliminate you, but it seems in this, at least, your government got to you first and now have you hidden away somewhere. My next course of action was regrettable but necessary.”
The camera shot zoomed out, giving a wider view of the presidential office. Joshua stood behind three chairs. On them, Draven’s Ex-wife and two children were sat. Draven felt h
is legs quiver, and an icy fear tighten his gut into a ball.
“You said you had them. You said you had saved them.” Draven said, glaring at the President, who for once had no answer. His lips moved, but no words came out. Now everyone was staring at him, looking for an explanation. On the screen, Joshua went on.
“I can only imagine what you are feeling right now, Richard. Fear. Shock. Possibly even betrayal. I’m sure your great leader told you your family was safe, that they were in good hands on their way to take part in a grand reunion with you.” Joshua shook his head and put a hand on Leanne’s shoulder. She flinched, her eyes streaked with makeup. In the back of Draven’s mind, he noticed that his ex-wife had changed her hairstyle. Joshua went on. “This, Mr. Draven, is why I want change. This is why I had to take action, to rid the world of politically motivated liars who would tell you anything you wanted to hear in order to get results. Me? I’m not like that. With me, you get absolute honesty. For example, I’m sure you are curious about the fate of your family. Your ex-wife, Leanne, Your son Ethan and daughter Imogen. A lesser man, a man like President Carter would tell you they would be safe and unharmed, just like he told you he was sending his men out to retrieve them. Trust me when I tell you, that there was no attempt to do this. When my men picked them up and brought them here there was no protection, no help. Your president lied to you, Richard. Just like he lies to his country.”
Draven glared at Carter again, the fear now morphing into a rage. The President was pale and gawping at the screen open mouthed, struggling to take it in.
“I’d like to tell you they weren’t afraid, Richard. But I’m not a liar. I won’t do that. I want you to know that they are all scared and confused, and worse of all they don’t know why other than it’s because of something their father did. That’s sad, isn’t it?” Joshua ruffled Ethan’s hair, the young boy flinching away. To see it hit Draven hard. They were all terrified.
“I would ask you to cease all assistance to them, Richard, if I thought it would suffice to get the desired result, but I know the government, and I also know President Carter. He would either coax you or imprison you and force you to help anyway, which could yet happen. What I want to do is to remove the will for you to help. I want you to know, Richard, that the blood spilled today will not be on my hands. It will be on the hands of the man who told you your family would be safe.”
Draven knew what was coming, but refused to believe it. When it happened, the speed and brutality was numbing to him. Joshua pulled Leanne’s head back by the hair, at the same time bringing the knife in his other hand up and dragging it across her throat. Blood, more than Draven ever imagined possible to be in a human body sprayed out, cascading down her clothes and spattering the children, who in turn screamed.
In the lab, Kate looked away, Carter was still staring in dumb shock at the images on the screen. Draven could see his ex-wife twitching as Joshua pushed her head forward, more blood spilling out of her. He saw Joshua’s lips moving but didn’t hear what he was saying, his own screams blocking out the audio. Carter, however, could hear it all. he could hear the incessant drip of blood, the last remaining gurgles as life ebbed from Leanne, the terrified screams and sobs of the children who had been forced to witness their mothers murder and, of course, he could hear Joshua, who was still calm, still untroubled.
“I’m sorry you had to witness that, Richard. Truly I am. I’m sure your president will try to console you and tell you that no man deserves to see his family die, yet thinks nothing of sending wave after wave of soldiers out to wage wars in order to benefit him and line his pockets. As I said earlier, none of this is my fault, nor yours. This blood is spilled by your president.”
Draven fell to his knees and pounded the glass as his son’s cries were silenced by the blade. The shocking imagery too much even for the president to watch. He turned away, feeling numb and sick, surer than ever that he was out of his depth, and had no business trying to run the country. Draven stared at the screen, blinking through a glassy film of tears as Joshua shoved his dead son, the sound of his fragile body hitting the floor incredibly clear and loud.
“Please….Please, stop….” Draven moaned. He thought he was going to throw up. Nothing mattered anymore, nothing in the world meant anything to him. He watched as Joshua put a hand on Imogen’s shoulder, blood-spattered knife glistening in his right hand.
“And then there was one. You might not believe this, but I truly am sorry it had to come to this. I hate death as much as anyone. But sometimes, a point needs to be made that leaves little doubt.”
“Draven pounded his fists on the glass. “Don’t, please, don’t do it. She’s just a kid she’s just a….”
The words were lost on the way from brain to mouth as Joshua cut Imogen’s throat and shoved her off her chair. Draven could only stare, his mind filled with static, like he was barely tuned into himself from some distant place. He watched as Joshua stood behind the body of his ex-wife. The blood no longer pumped out of the body. Draven knew she was dead. In that moment, he realised he still felt something for her. It wasn’t love, that was long gone. But a huge sense of sadness that she would no longer be in the world. Joshua put the knife on his desk, then placed his hands on her shoulders. Somehow, he managed a smile. “I trust my point has been made. Stay out of this, Richard Draven. Soon enough you will be reunited with those you lost.”
The screen dimmed and went dark, and silence enveloped the lab.
“Let me out.”
Both President Carter and Kate looked at the broken figure on his knees in the cell.
“Richard….” Kate said, then stopped speaking. There were no words that could help.
“Open the cell Kate. Let me out.” He repeated, still staring at the floor.
“I can’t do that. You have to understand.”
He lurched to his feet and slammed his fist on the reinforced glass. “Open the fucking door and let me out!” she flinched at the ferocity of his scream, and her hand moved towards the door controls.
“Don’t do that, Miss Goodall. Think about why he’s in there.”
“You,” Draven said, turning to stare at the President. “You told me they were safe. You said they were on their way here. You lied to me.”
“Mr. Draven, try to understand….”
“You let them die!” he screamed, wiping the tears from his eyes.
“It wasn’t like that.”
“Wasn’t it? You tell me what I want to hear so I’ll keep working. That’s how it sounds to me.”
“Mr. Draven, I know you’re upset, but try to understand….”
“Upset? Let me out of this cage and I’ll show you how upset I am. You let my family die.”
“You forget your place, Mr. Draven. I’m the leader of this country. Although I would have gladly sent someone out to retrieve your family we just didn’t have the resources. Granted, we had no idea things would escalate in such a way, but I’m the leader of this country and have to act in its best interests.”
“He was right.” Draven shook his head and wiped snot and tears across his face. “This is just a political agenda.”
“That’s what he wants you to believe. This man is guilty of genocide on a global scale.”
“Fuck you.”
“Mr. Draven, you can’t speak to me like that. I run this country. You need to show me the proper respect.”
“I have no respect for you. Not anymore. Because of you, my family is dead.”
“Mr. Draven, tell us how we can stop him. Tell us what to do.”
Draven turned away and sat on the floor in the centre of his cell, facing away from the President and Kate, unable to bear looking at them any longer. For a moment there was silence, nobody sure what to do.
"What now, Sir?" Watson said to the President.
"Nothing.It’s over."
"Over? We can’t just give up the fight sir." Bill said.
"We need to turn our priority towards survival," Carter mumbled.
"I’m unclear on the directive here, Sir."
"There isn’t one, Bill. The game is over. He’s won. All we can do now is try to live through this and hope for some kind of miracle."
"And what about the people? There are millions out there who are counting on you to find a way to fix this."
"They're on their own. We can’t help them any more than we can help ourselves."
"I can’t accept this sir, I can’t believe you would just give up like this."
"I’m sorry, Bill. I know this is hard to accept, but this is how it is. Get to your family and do whatever you can to survive what’s to come."
Watson looked at the president, then at Draven in the cell. “You can’t just give up, Sir.”
“I’m sorry, Bill. There’s nothing more I can do.” President Carter walked away, leaving Bill and Kate alone in the lab. They looked at each other, then at Draven, then they followed the president out of the lab, both of them trying to ignore Draven’s cries as they were amplified around the room.
III
Above ground, power grids all over the city went down leaving cities cloaked in darkness. In the White House, Joshua stood at his window, looking out over the orange glow of fires as they raged across the skyline. Genaro stood by the wall, camcorder hanging at his side, face pale as he stared at the bodies of Draven’s family on the floor, their blood staining the blue carpet almost black.
“Was that necessary, Joshua? They were children.”
Joshua didn’t turn from his view. He had decided he liked the city so dark. Without the harsh artificial light, it looked beautiful. “It was necessary. There can be no room for weakness.”
“But they were so young.”
Joshua turned towards the older man. “You disapprove?”
Genaro lowered his head. “It’s not my place to question your decisions.”