by Bryan Tann
His coworker, a young Hispanic man a good five inches taller with a broader chested frame looked to the dead body of Dr. David Newton and resisted the urge to retch.
“Come on, Rudy, don’t you puke in here, buddy! Listen we don’t have to move the body okay? Just zip the fucking bag up!”
“Then what are we doing in here, Seth?” Rudy asked.
“Dr. Tee wants us to take the organs to the incinerator and put the packing label for Doc Newton on the shipping crate and put the body in the cooler. They’re taking it to Pittsburgh tomorrow.”
“Gross man,” Rudy spat. “Couldn’t someone else do this?”
“Hey man would you rather be dealing with Matheson and those jar heads?”
“No. Hey Seth, have you heard why they’re here? Something about an experiment got loose?” Rudy asked, zipping up the bag.
“Yeah man, I’ve heard that. I’ve also heard that some of those freak terrorists from back east hit this place.”
“Do you really think that happened, homes? I mean we don’t know all the crazy shit they do here.”
“Hey! This is middle of nowhere Oregon!”
“Exactly man! Middle of nowhere is the perfect place to do some creepy ass science shit!”
“Oh Jesus, Rudy, give it a rest will you?” Seth grumbled wheeling the gurney that Dr. Newton lay on toward the cooler. The freshly printed label was then placed on top of the dead doctor’s chest before the door was closed and secured.
“It was those Fallen Paradigm guys. That’s why the military is all up this town’s ass right now! They will catch those fucks soon enough.”
“Yeah. I guess,” Rudy grumbled. “Okay well at least the Doc put the organs in bags. I was ready to draw the line at touching some poor asshole’s guts!”
“Jesus Rudy will you chill out?” Seth grumbled as he grabbed two of the red biohazard bags and tossed them onto another cart.
“Hey man, I’m sorry! This shit is just weirding me out!” Rudy exclaimed tossing two other bags onto the cart.
“Oh shit, Rud, check this out!” Seth smirked gesturing toward a bag that had not been sealed. He opened up the bag and his eyes widened. “Dude! It’s the fucking heart! Have you ever seen a guy’s heart before?”
“Seth! Come on, man, stop it! I don’t want to see…Oh fuck!” Rudy screamed dropping another unopened bag. The pink mound of flesh fell onto the stainless steel, lying right next to the first opened bag.
“Woah! The brain! Dude, this is awesome!”
Rudy rushed past Seth with his hand over his mouth going to the sink and began to vomit violently.
“Dude! What the fuck did you have in your taco?”
“Fuck you, Seth!” Rudy retorted before retching and vomiting again. As Seth laughed at his friend’s misfortune, he did not notice the slightest beating of the heart. Then a small, single tendril snaked from the opening of the bag, tore through the plastic of the second organ, sank itself into the brain and retrieved it.
19
“So Ranger Smith, let me get this right…” Matheson began. His eyes narrowed looking to the middle aged forest ranger. The man matched Matheson’s height perfectly, their builds were similar except that Matheson had no extra weight on him while the hint of letting himself go physically was beginning to show on the Ranger. Their eyes both shared a steel blue tint, yet the ranger did not hold a thousand yard stare, unlike Matheson.
“My name, Commander, is Ranger Harris,” the man replied, taking a step toward Matheson in defiance.
Matheson’s eyes narrowed at the disrespect. Two of his men that flanked his side stepped forward past their Commander to block the ranger’s path.
“At ease,” Matheson said calmly. His men stopped, and took a single step back in unison standing behind Matheson. “I give you credit.” Matheson nodded with a regard to the deep bruise forming on the ranger’s jaw line. “You’re lucky to be alive. But if you got the information to be on full alert for a government fugitive then why would you just throw open your door without checking first?”
“Have you ever been a ranger, Commander? Have you ever had to do a job out in the middle of the wilderness like this? When you hear someone, you go to give aid immediately. That’s all. I was going by my usual, and he got the drop on me.”
“Yeah. We know that. Do you have an idea of where he was going at all?” Matheson asked.
“No. Literally I opened the door and he decked me,” the ranger replied scornfully.
“What did he take?” Matheson asked looking over the ranger’s shoulder as his men canvassed the area along with the locals and their hounds.
“He took my hunting knife, some sandwich bags, some shirts, about a dozen or so maps…”
“Maps? To where?” Matheson asked, giving the ranger his full attention again.
“Mostly state maps really. A few of them have the different railroad lines for the state,” the ranger replied.
“Good. Real good,” Matheson replied reaching for his radio. “Drake I want law enforcement across the state on the lookout for all train stations for this bastard as well.”
“Yes, sir,” Drake replied from over the radio.
“And not just passenger. Make sure they are checking the freight as well. He won’t have money so he won’t be traveling coach.”
“I’m on it, Commander,” Drake replied.
“Commander!” one of the soldier rushed up saluting Matheson.
“What is it soldier?”
“Sir, we found about a mile or two away a carcass of a bear. Looks like our boy chopped it up, gutted it, and took off with the meat,” the soldier replied.
“Is that right? Well shit. That’s something,” Matheson replied turning from the soldier. “Drake does satellite imaging have anything for us?”
“No, sir. Nothing at all. He has been staying in the densest areas of the forest that aren’t easy for us to pin point.”
“Goddammit!” Matheson growled.
“You trained him too well, Commander,” came a new voice from the crowd.
Matheson turned around to see Dr. Tee standing behind him. The Commander looked to him curiously, as if to ensure he was seeing the right man; the doctor was dressed head to toe as though he were a solider, complete with an identification stencil on the breast pocket of his jacket.
“Dr. Tee? Do you mind telling me just what you are doing?”
“I want to help you capture him, Commander. He is as much my problem as he is your’s.”
“No disrespect, Doctor, but I do not think you will be able to help very much.” Matheson chuckled.
“Oh but I disagree, Commander,” Dr. Tee replied. Coming out of the shadows were a group of five men. Two black, one white, and two Hispanic. They, like Dr. Tee, were dressed in full military fatigues. However the five of them had a look about them that made Matheson look over them curiously.
“Who the fuck are these five? Second coming of the fucking Jackson family?”
“No, Commander. I received a phone call last night from President King. He is not happy with either of us about the turn of events.”
“Well no shit, Doc. Tell me something I don’t already know!” Matheson spoke, his tone raising.
“The President told me that I needed to do anything necessary to capture John Baker. I informed him that the only thing that I could of to do was to send other Invincible Heart subjects after him.”
“You fucking didn’t,” Matheson growled.
“I did,” Dr. Tee replied. “The growth of the Nanobot Hives only takes a few hours. I informed the President that I had a potential enzyme that would help to speed up the bonding process and hopefully eliminate the Queen Anomaly.
“These five men were initially going to be involved in The Invincible Heart Project until Baker fell into our laps. I already had their blood samples and everything I needed. I grew their Hives and implanted them last night. They are ready to go,” Dr. Tee said with a proud smile on his face.
“So
you insist on sending these fucking freaks to catch your initial fuck up in the first place?” Matheson chortled with disdain looking to the five that stood before him.
“They are not ‘fuck ups’ as you say, Commander. These five are genetic perfection. There is no hint of Queen enzyme within them. They will follow orders explicitly.”
“Whose orders, Doc?” Matheson asked.
“Give them an order and find out.” Nobu chuckled.
Matheson looked to Tee and then to the men that stood before him. Their sizes varied. One of the Hispanic soldiers stood easily over seven feet tall. His muscles threatened to tear through his fatigues. His head was freshly shaved, and his eyes were almost blank except for the dangerous hint to them.
The second Hispanic was smaller than the rest. He was easily five feet seven, if even that. His hair was cropped closely, yet a single strand curled over his forehead.
The white soldier had a blonde flat top style haircut. He and the two black soldiers had equal heights and equal wiry muscular builds. The first black soldier’s skin tone was that of smooth milk chocolate, while the other black soldier was far darker.
Their breast pocket stencils were lettered in order. The giant was A. The runt of the litter was E. Milk Chocolate was B, the white soldier C, Dark Chocolate D.
“You. Big Taco. Step forward.” Matheson smirked.
The giant with the A on his chest stepped forward. He gave no indication of registering the racial slur.
“Sound off!” Matheson roared.
“Sir,” the giant replied. “This Nano has no designation except for ‘A’, sir.”
“Is that right?” Matheson asked.
“Sir, yes, sir,” the giant replied.
“Fine Alpha. Who is your commanding officer?” Matheson asked.
“Sir. I answer to the President of the United States, Emerson King. When in the field I answer to Commander Korvin Matheson and whomever he designates I answer to. Sir!” Alpha replied.
“Does that hold true to the rest of you pukes?” Matheson growled toward the other Nanos.
“Sir, yes, sir!” they all roared back.
“Well now. Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, and Echo, form up!” Matheson shouted.
Alpha stepped back into formation and all five of them stood at attention awaiting orders.
“You men know what you are supposed to do. We are hunting John Baker. He is your predecessor. He came first. Doesn’t mean he’s superior, boys. I trained that son of a bitch for two months. You’ve just woken up from the cooler. How in the fuck am I supposed to trust that you five limp dicks can get the job done?”
“Sir!” Alpha stepped forward. “Each of us has been specially trained and have retained all knowledge necessary to complete this mission. We will not fail you, sir,” Alpha barked. His fellow Nanos responded in equal loud tones of affirmation.
“We shall see, Squaddie Alpha. We shall see,” Matheson grumbled. He looked over his shoulder toward the ranger.
“Ranger Harris? Do you still have any maps available?” Matheson asked.
“Yes, Commander. I do,” Harris replied.
“Good. Nano Squad, go into the station and I want you each to study those maps. If I recall correctly there are roughly four railroad roots. Get those maps studied and follow them. Echo since you’re the most compact of your squad I want you tracking this fucker through the forest. Before you do that, you see Sergeant Drake. Get some tracking tech. Use it if you cannot capture. Do you get me, Nano Squad?”
“We get you, sir!” all five members of the newly designated Nano Squad responded. They made their way into the ranger station, slamming the door behind them.
“Well, Commander?” Dr. Tee asked with a grin.
“We will see, Doctor Tee. We shall see. They haven’t shown me shit yet,” Matheson replied. “They at least seem to follow orders well,” Matheson commented.
The door to the ranger station exploded open. Alpha, Beta, Charlie, and Delta took off running into the wilderness. Echo stepped out, dropping to one knee to inspect the ground. He then took off in a blur into the wilderness.
“The fuck?” Matheson asked.
“They are following orders, Commander,” Tee replied with a grin. “As I said; they are true upgrades. However I do have a question.”
“What’s that?” Matheson asked.
“Tracking Baker, how…” the doctor began.
“Don’t you worry about that, state of the art engineering. My own egg head designed it in advance to deal with a special a few years back. But while we’re on the subject of questions; where is the other doctor?” Matheson asked.
“Dr. Denton?” Tee asked. “She is monitoring their vital signs remotely. Why do you ask?”
“Curious that is all,” Matheson replied. “I’m thinking that she should be in the field as well, Doctor. Something tells me that she could be the X factor in catching Baker.”
“You do?” Tee asked.
“Of course. Besides the ranger here, she is the first one that he’s left alive. I would think that if she were more directly involved she could be instrumental in slowing Baker down enough to get us in on him. Or at the very least make him make a mistake.”
“I would assume we would have to know where he is and where he is going,” Nobu replied.
“Yes that…” Matheson began.
“Commander!” Drake’s voice interrupted over the radio.
“Go ahead, Drake, what do you have?” Matheson asked.
“Sir Tech just got a hit; apparently he sent two messages from the ranger station computer. They’re heavily encrypted. They are bouncing through so many different relays that it will take a while to find them, if we can ever find them at all.”
“Well fuck. Do you have a guess in that head of yours where he would be sending them to, Drake?” Matheson asked.
“Well, sir…”
“He could be trying to message the Fallen Paradigm,” Matheson replied.
“Sir?” Drake asked, Dr. Tee’s expression sharing the confusion.
“Think about it; he has nowhere to fucking go. He has no friends, no family, no nothing. The enemy of my enemy is my friend,” Matheson replied.
“It does make sense, sir. So what is our next course?” Drake asked.
“Alert authorities that he is heading east. Get com to the Nano Squad…”
“Who, sir?” Drake asked.
“The fucking freaks that Tee just brought here to show off to me, Drake! Try to fucking keep up!” Matheson roared. “Get word to them and let them know where he is heading. I want them checking in with you ever hour on the hour. Do you get me, Drake?”
“Sir, yes, sir. I will pass on the information. Drake out.”
“Excellent deduction, Commander,” Dr. Tee replied.
“Just because I don’t have a PHD doesn’t mean I’m a fucking idiot, Doc. It’s only common sense. But there is one question that I have for you, Doc.”
“What is that?” Tee asked.
“One of my scouts said that there was a bear carcass out there,” Matheson began.
“Of course. Baker isn’t being fed intravenously anymore. As I stated in my initial report, his metabolism is extremely hyper and the more he exerts himself, the more he will need to sustain himself.”
“A fucking bear?” Matheson asked.
“I do not have all of the answers to your questions, Commander. He is a mystery to me in many ways. Remember he is our first successful human subject.”
“What more is there to him, Doc? There is something you aren’t telling me.”
“I’m telling you everything that I am permitted to tell you. Just be at ease that every bit of information that I am giving you is pertinent and that I am not holding back anything that could do you or these men harm. Yet I would not worry Commander. You have five Nanos that should be able to match him in every way possible. He has enjoyed being able to fight against normal men. Let us see how he does with those that are on equal footing a
s him.”
Matheson looked to Dr. Tee curiously, and offered him a nod. He then looked to the soldiers that still remained at his side.
“Let’s pack it up, boys. The fucker is long gone. We’re heading back to Fuji-O’Hara for now until we can devise another strategy. I want everyone ready for wheels up within ten.”
“Yes sir!” the men shouted and took off to follow their orders.
Matheson looked to Tee again then walked past him.
Dr. Tee grinned proudly. The Nano Squad were what he had envisioned for the Invincible Heart Project.
“Poor, poor David. You and your cursed curiosity. Too bad you’re not alive to see this.”
20
John continued his run. After he’d made his way out of the forest, and stayed along the train tracks. He slowed his run as to not draw attention, not that it mattered. The land along the train tracks was almost completely deserted of human life.
“Do you think we will find a train?”
“I hope so, Queen. I need some real company at some point because I’m getting bored as hell!”
“John!”
John couldn’t help but chuckle as he picked up his speed, leaving the world behind in streaks.
“I’m kidding, Queen. No need to be so sensitive.”
As he couldn’t help but feel a stab of guilt at the jab. She was sensitive, was doing all that she could, and was quite proud. With every passing day, he appreciated more and more how connected they were, yet he still did not understand how deep their connection was.
“I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”
“I know.”
“I know you’re doing all that you can.”
“I am.”
“You’re all I’ve got, Queen. You are it. Without you I would be…”
“Alone,” they replied in unison as he ran.
They remained in silence as he went. The sun began its decent over the horizon as twilight began to take control.