by SW Matthews
Braxton turned and walked to his desk. He stood before it, staring out the large bay window, his back to the room.
“Did you hear me, Dad?” Doc said. “Kat is alive. She’s outside in the helijet.”
Braxton slowly shook his head.
“Dad?”
Braxton straightened, and appeared to compose himself. He pushed some buttons on a panel on his desk, turned around, and looked directly at Doc. His eyes looked sad.
“I was hoping you were coming to tell me that you thought Cregor had gone crazy, or that you had found out about his secret lab.”
Doc watched his father curiously. He was baffled by how calm he was.
“I didn’t want you to find out,” Braxton said.
Of all the reactions Doc might have encountered, this was the last thing he expected. “You—you knew?” he said.
He felt lightheaded. The room was spinning. Then Bandit was beside him, supporting him, and he grew steady again.
He looked up at his father. “You… you know about the boys?”
Braxton bowed his head. “Yes.”
“And the serum?”
“Yes.”
“And… Kat?”
Braxton nodded. “I know about Kat.”
Tears of betrayal ran down Doc’s cheeks. “Why?” he asked accusingly.
“You have to understand what we’re trying to accomplish, son.”
“I don’t,” replied Doc weakly.
“Cregor didn’t tell you?”
“Mars, you mean?”
Braxton nodded.
“So all that was true?”
Braxton clasped his hands behind him and started pacing. “It’s true that the planet is dying. No one disputes that. Temperatures continue to rise. The deserts continue to spread. Earth will be able to support people for a few more years, but if we want to continue to grow and advance, we have to expand to other worlds. There is no choice. The damage cannot be undone. If we don’t figure out how to leave, the human race will cease to exist. But now, thanks to Cregor and Kat, we’re one huge step closer to achieving our goal.”
Doc shook his head. “But his serum didn’t work, Dad. It created monsters, and—”
“True,” interrupted Braxton. “His serum was not perfect. To be honest with you, I was surprised he succeeded at all. I initially gave him the project, and the secret lab, just to keep him out of the way.”
“Well he’s dead now.”
Braxton was surprised for an instant, but quickly accepted the information. “Good. He was an arrogant, ambitious dolt. Not nearly the scientist he thought he was.”
“But, he was your son-in-law!”
“Don’t remind me! I’ll never understand why, but Kat loved him, so I found a job for him. I tried to make him feel useful.”
“But—but it was you who introduced them.”
“Not exactly. When he applied for a job, Kat happened to be in my office. I never intended for them to get married. I didn’t even plan on hiring him until Kat fell for him. Honestly, I lost some respect for Katherine after that.”
Doc was at a loss for words.
“I gave Cregor a vague objective: to minimize medical costs for the early stages of the colonization of Mars. I wanted to give him enough leeway so he wouldn’t bother me with questions. I really just needed him preoccupied, so the big boys could get the work done.
“But his serum… to my surprise, was pretty good. Flawed, of course. As I said, Cregor was no genius. But I sent some to my team—the real scientists, up in Edmonton—and they fine-tuned it. Now it works perfectly.”
He pulled his jacket aside, revealing a small box on his belt. “Besides some customization of the serum, it turned out that constant infusion was the key. So we developed this device, similar to the insulin pumps used years ago.”
Doc looked at the pump, then up at his father’s face. “You’re on the serum?”
“Of course! Unfortunately, it only keeps your body exactly like it was when you first take it, so I can’t get any younger, and my hair won’t turn dark again. But I feel great, and I heal from all new injuries. I’d be a fool not to use the serum.”
“So, you really are going to Mars?” Doc asked, still in shock from the turn of events.
“Eventually, yes, but there are many other projects which need to be completed first. Having the serum will help speed those along, though.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, some of the projects are being handled by the Chinese. Unfortunately, they have proven to be very difficult to work with. We need their replicator technology and gravity research. They’re far ahead of us in those areas. But negotiating with them…” He sighed. “It’s taking far too long. And that’s time we don’t have. So we’re going to use our military, including serum-using soldiers, to destroy them. With their technology, in addition to our own, we’ll finally be able to initiate the Mars program.”
Doc stared at his father, aghast.
But Braxton was warming to his topic. “Our intelligence says this is the perfect time to strike. The Chinese are distracted right now. Apparently, there’s some group leading an uprising—the Xanwiti or something. And our Secretary of Defense, my good friend Admiral Sullivan, is on board with our plans. I’m confident the president will be getting on board soon as well.”
“You’re making decisions for the military? With the Secretary of Defense? Without the president knowing about it?”
Braxton laughed. “The president is just a puppet, son. I’ve been making all of the important decisions for this country for the past twenty years.”
Doc turned his gaze to the floor. He was no longer able to look at his father. “And you’re going to start World War 4?”
“Oh, it won’t be much of a war. We’ll start with EMP and missile strikes. Totally undetectable and too quick for a counterstrike. Next we’ll send in drones, then a quick cleanup with the ground forces. Sully predicts total victory in less than a month. We won’t even have to use biological warfare, unlike in the Mexican War.”
Doc’s eyes widened. “Wait—the Wet Death? That was you?”
“That was us,” Braxton replied. “A virus created by our lab in Edmonton. It turned out to be a little more virulent than they anticipated.”
“A little more virulent? You killed billions!”
Braxton waved a hand dismissively. “I admit, it got out of hand. Our intention was to only decimate the Mexicans, to end the war. It wasn’t supposed to spread around the globe. But it was effective. And as a bonus, it killed almost all of the remaining Russians, and we were able to obtain all of their technology. It also killed a lot of Chinese, although their numbers are still about double ours.”
“How did it not wipe out the entire UNA?” Doc asked.
“Because we had a vaccine, of course. We weren’t stupid. It was administered orally, inserted into certain lots of our synthetic food before the virus was released. Most of the urban areas of the UNA were spared as a result. And the military was fully vaccinated. As was our family.”
“I just can’t believe it.” Doc shook his head.
“Billy, the virus was what ended the Mexican War! They stopped fighting as soon as we agreed to give them the vaccine. It’s also what ensured China’s cooperation on the Mars Project. Although that cooperation proved to be short-lived.
“You have to see the big picture here, son. We’re going to ensure the survival of the human species. Our best estimates show that Earth will only be able to support humans for less than a century. Large portions of Mexico, South America, and Africa are already uninhabitable. We have to take action. And we can’t afford to have competition from the Chinese. What happens when we start establishing colonies? Who will decide on the infrastructure? Who will plan the cities? The supply chains? Do you want those contracts to be manipulated by foreign lobbyists? And what about dying countries, like Pakistan or Zambia, appealing to the UN for a chance to participate? No, we don’t have time for that
nonsense, and this is too important to allow politics to enter decisions. The only way this endeavor is going to succeed is if there is one government making the decisions. That government has to be us. We have to take control, and that has to be done by force.”
Doc couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He had come here worried that his father might have a heart attack upon learning that his beloved daughter was still alive. Instead, he learned that his father was the most vile and nefarious person in the history of the world.
He stared blankly at his feet, only dimly aware of the door opening behind him and the quick footsteps of several people. He didn’t move even when he was surrounded by armed guards wearing Braxton blue and white. The rest of the group had been herded next to him.
“Like I said,” said Braxton, “I was really hoping you hadn’t discovered anything.” He sat down and swiveled in his chair to face his desk. “I’m sorry to leave you like this, but I’m late for a meeting.”
He pressed some buttons on a panel on his desk, and a glass partition lowered from the ceiling, separating Braxton and his desk from the rest of the room. Then the entire desk area, from the glass partitions to the bay window, began to move. It separated from the building and hovered above the ground, revealing itself as a personal drone, with two helijet props on either side.
Doc didn’t even look as his father’s drone lifted off into the sky.
***
As the drone pod rose above the cabin, Braxton hit a few buttons on a panel next to him. “Better make sure,” he mumbled to himself.
He looked down on the mansion. “Damn, I really liked that place.”
Chapter 18
Only moments after Braxton disappeared, red lights started flashing in the study.
“Shit!” said one of the guards. “The self-destruct has been activated!”
“Let’s kill these assholes and get out of—” said the guard next to him, but before he could finish his sentence, his head was falling to the floor, severed by Bandit’s sword.
An instant later, the first guard had met the same fate.
Tuck, Piper, and Andy took advantage of the chaos. Piper unloaded her sidearm at one guard while Tuck disabled another, grabbed his rifle, and shot him.
Andy was struggling to overcome the last guard, but was saved when Tuck smashed the guard in the face with the butt of his rifle.
“Thanks,” Andy said. He grabbed the unconscious man’s weapon and stood. “Now let’s—“
A bullet whizzed past his ear, and he and Tuck dove behind the furniture for cover.
Apparently one late-arriving member of security had positioned himself just outside the doorway, only the right side of his face visible as he scanned the room.
Tuck peered around the side of the leather chair he was crouching behind. He raised his rifle, using his left eye to aim. He pulled the trigger—and the guard fell in a spray of blood.
“I’m gettin’ better with this eye, Skipper.”
“Glad to hear it,” Andy said with a smile. He hobbled over to Piper and Doc, who’d also taken cover. “You guys okay?”
Piper stood and brushed herself off. “I’m fine. C’mon, Doc.”
Doc lay on the floor, tears on his cheeks. He didn’t speak. He appeared to be in shock.
“Doc?”
“I’ll get him,” Tuck said. He grabbed Doc under the armpits and lifted him to his feet. Doc didn’t fight him.
As the five of them ran back down the long hallway to the foyer, Andy said, “Well, you were right about one thing, Doc. Your father’s a prick!”
***
The cargo ramp hadn’t even fully closed as Piper and Andy lifted the craft off the ground. Tuck helped Doc to a seat and strapped him in, then joined them in the cockpit.
Rosie stayed at Kat’s side. “What’s going on?” she asked Bandit. “Where’s Grandpa?”
“Cabin’s going to explode,” Bandit said calmly as he strapped in next to Pol and the boys.
“What?”
“Hold on back there!” Andy yelled.
The helijet swerved sharply away from the cabin just as the structure exploded. The team sped away into the night.
Rosie clutched the straps holding Kat’s bed in place to keep from falling over. She looked frantic. “Oh my God! Was Grandpa in there?”
Doc rubbed his face, trying to compose himself. After a moment, he stood and walk over to Kat’s bedside, grabbing the side rails to stabilize himself.
“Dad?” Rosie said.
Doc looked at her with red, swollen eyes. “Oh, Rosie.”
He started crying again. When he felt Kat’s cold, frail hand grasp his, he looked at her. She was staring at him with sad, concerned eyes.
“He’s a madman,” Doc said, shaking his head. “He’s going to start a war.”
“Was he still in there?” Rosie asked again.
“No. He escaped. But the explosion was intended to kill all of us. To keep his secret.”
“What secret?”
Doc took a deep breath. “He knew,” he whispered.
Kat and Rosie both looked at him uncertainly.
“He knew, Kat.” He looked at her eyes to make sure she understood him. “He knew you were alive. He knew what Cregor was doing to you. He knew about the boys, and the serum. He knew everything.”
Kat’s look changed to one of devastation. Her hand fell back to the bed, and she closed her eyes and wept.
***
“What the hell did we get ourselves into?” Andy said.
Piper shook her head. “This… entire… job…”
“It’s fucked up.”
Piper nodded. “Exactly. So what are we going to do?”
“I guess take them back to Doc’s, then get back to our cabin. We’ve done all we can do.”
“That’s it?”
Tuck’s voice rose from below. “We have to stop him, Skipper.”
“Stop him? Us? Are you serious?” Andy snapped. “You heard what he did! He killed billions of people with that virus. He let a dimwit mad scientist experiment on his daughter and torture his grandsons. He’s going to take over the world with an army of unkillable super-soldiers. We need to get as far away from that guy as possible.”
Tuck was silent.
“Besides,” Andy continued. “We would have to get help—serious help. Like government help. And no one would ever believe us.”
“Good point.” Piper gave Andy a meaningful smile, then activated her commlink.
“Mr. Braxton, I believe this is the best whiskey I’ve ever tried!”
“Well, thank you very much Andy! It’s my own recipe.”
Piper flipped up her collar, revealing the hidden microphone.
Andy shook his head. “Damn, you’re good.”
“So?” Piper said.
Andy closed his eyes. “You two…” He sighed. “I’ll probably get arrested and sent to prison, if we don’t all get killed first, but… okay. We’ll figure something out to try and stop that crazy old bastard.”
Piper smiled and turned back to her workstation.
Suddenly Doc was in the cockpit. “We’ve got to land! She’s crashing! Kat is crashing!”
“Crashing? What does crashing mean?” Andy asked.
“She’s dying, Andy!”
“Shit! What do we need to do? Where do I need to go?”
“Back to Denver! Head to Denver University Hospital. Rosie is calling a friend of ours there.”
Doc disappeared into the back, and Andy looked over at Piper. After a moment she said, “Got it.”
Andy looked at his screen and saw the destination on the map. “Okay, hold on.”
The aircraft banked hard and accelerated toward the hospital.
Chapter 19
As the helijet touched down on one of the hospital landing pads, several people in scrubs rushed from the building to greet them. Andy lowered the cargo ramp and limped to the cargo hold to help, along with Piper and Tuck.
The f
irst person up the ramp was an old man. He was tall and fit, with a bald head and a white beard. His glasses rested on the end of a long nose.
He took one look at Kat and exclaimed, “Jesus fucking Christ!”
He looked at the monitors while feeling for her pulse and breathing. Without looking at anyone he started giving orders. “Surgical ICU now, vent, chest x-ray. Get a chest tube set ready, we’ll do it in the unit if she has a pneumo. Full panel, CBC, blood gases, start an A-line. Blood and urine cultures. Head CT. Neuro consult.”
People moved furiously around him, and soon Kat was being wheeled down the ramp and toward the hospital. The old doctor reached out to a young Hispanic man and pulled him aside.
“Jaq, make up a name for her, say she’s a transfer from some small Kansas town or something, from a nursing home. Primary diagnosis of stroke. Order anything I forgot. I’ll be there as soon as possible. Keep it quiet, and put me as admitting physician.”
The young man nodded and rushed to catch the entourage.
The doctor then turned to Rosie and Doc. He took two large steps and wrapped Rosie in an embrace. “Good to see you again, kid.” Stepping back, he extended a hand to Doc. “You too, you old fat bastard.”
Doc managed a grin and shook the doctor’s hand. “Thanks for helping us.”
“Shit, that’s all I do is help the goddam Braxtons,” the doctor replied, smirking.
Doc turned to the others. “Guys, this is Dr. Charlie Skorz. He was one of my attending surgeons when I was in residency, and he’s now the chairman of the department.”
“And he was my boss, when I was a resident,” Rosie added.
“That’s right,” said Skorz, “I’m old, I’ve been here a long fucking time.” His gaze passed over the group and stopped on the three small boys. “What the fuck is going on here?” he said.
“It’s a long story,” said Doc.
“I bet. And one hell of a story, I’m guessing. How about we all go up to my office for a bit?”
“How do we get the boys inside without drawing attention?” Rosie asked.