by Edwina Fort
No!
No! I wanted to tell the doctor to shut up!
I was losing it. The rage inside me began to build at an alarming rate, this rage that had never let me down.
“The likelihood of the child surviving is very slim. When the mother’s body is fighting for survival itself, it will cut off—”
I lost it….
My blood ran cold as my emotions shut off like a light switch.
The Narrator
Dr. Yung’s words halted as he watched the change come over the senator of Florida’s son. He really hated when he had to deal with the elites of D.C. They had the power to make your life heaven or bring on hell.
He cleared his throat and continued to tell Joseph about the child’s slim chances at survival. Even now, the baby’s heartbeat was very faint, he doubted it will be long before it ceased to exist. However, the eyes that now stared back at him were so very cold, they no longer felt human.
Wanting to be far away from this man who somehow felt…different. He quickly finished his report.
“The nurses are cleaning her up and then we will move her to a recovery room. Once there, you are welcome to visit her.”
“Do me a favor, doc and put Albert and Journey in the same room.”
Dr. Yung nodded his head, willing to agree to anything to be on his way. “Yes, absolutely.” Even Joseph’s voice seemed different.
Deadlier.
“You have a good day, Mr. Warren.”
The being that now inhabited Joseph’s body almost opened his mouth to tell the doctor his name was not Warren. But he didn’t bother, the doctor was not important.
Instead he nodded. “You too.”
The doctor hurried away. But before he rounded the corner he turned and looked back one more time, confused at the change that had come across the senator’s son.
Joseph Warren was gone. In his place stood The Politician 373493…
The Politician felt no fear…
No Pain…
And no love…
He felt nothing at all…
Chapter Nineteen
Vengeance Shows No Partiality
The Narrator
Rome was on a mission. He was going to destroy Macon Technologies, the company responsible for putting his little sister in the hospital. Had they had their way, she would have been dead. He balled up his fists as his mind raced with a million ways to bring down his enemy.
Most people battled with weapons. Rome’s mind is his weapon. Don’t doubt he could defend himself physically if need be, but he did the most destruction with his brain. Macon Tech made a fatal mistake assuming Journey was a nobody, whose life was disposable. A mistake they will pay for in the most painful way he imagined.
At this very moment, he is the reigning chest champion of the world, a feat he did not accomplish by not knowing how to stay at least seven moves ahead of his enemy. Although he didn’t care for Joseph, his sister loved him, which made him family whether Rome wanted to admit it or not.
And even before he was at the point to accept that fact, the things he’d learned about the other man had garnered his respect for him. Joseph was not aware of a quarter of things he’d gone through and even Rome only knew the half.
Still, they now shared a common enemy, an enemy whose demise Rome had designed weeks ago. But first, he needed to stop by the hospital to make sure his baby sister was okay.
As soon as he entered her room he knew that it was Joseph’s alter that stood at the window looking over the two resting patients. Still dressed in his black cargo pants, military boots, and a tank top, he stood with his arms crossed behind his back, legs spread apart as if he was prepared for war.
Instantly Rome took some of the aggression out of his movements. He’d spent the last few months learning about these alters. Because they had no feeling, they were the perfect weapons for the United States government.
The fact that he is Journey’s brother had kept Joseph from killing him. However, it would not stop the Politician, which was the name that had been given to Joseph’s alter. If he felt in the slightest that Rome was a threat to him or to the three beings he was guarding in this room, he would kill him without batting an eye.
“Journey!” His mother called as she and Robert pushed past him to enter the room. When her eyes fell on the man asleep in the bed next to her daughter’s, she put her hand over her mouth to stifle her cry.
Rome wanted to stop them and warn them to move easy, but it was too late, they’d made their way to Journey’s bed and was leaning over it kissing her head, tears of relief running down both his little brother’s face and his mother’s.
They’d all thought the worst when his mother had run upstairs to his place yelling that Journey had been shot. After he’d calmed her down enough to get coherent words from her, she’d told him that she’d been talking on the phone with Journey’s driver when somebody had started shooting at them.
She said she’d heard the driver tell Journey to hold on and that he was going to get her to the hospital before the phone went dead. Angry with himself for not following his first mind and insisting Journey come back to Chicago where he could protect her, he called in a favor from the mayor of Chicago, who’d allowed them to borrow his private jet and pilot, who’d gotten them here in a little over an hour.
He shook his head, he was making careless mistakes because his mind of late has been occupied with hunting down the woman Joseph had sent to spy on him. The woman who had somehow become his very reason for breathing. The woman who had left him, taking his heart with her.
However, he could not think about that now. Now, he would seek vengeance for his sister. And then he would continue to hunt Nak until he found her. And so help him God, when he found her, he will never let her go again.
Carefully, he made his way to Journey’s bed to see with his own eyes that she was okay. As he did so he kept a leery eye on the alter. Although he didn’t want to, if the Politician made one move toward his family, he would not hesitate to empty a clip in its head.
Next to the alter’s feet sleeping in her car seat was Ayana. Rome wanted to get his niece away from the being, he didn’t know how stable he was. From what he’d seen from the old footage he’d hacked from the CIA database, the alters were quite deadly.
“Oh Jo, what happened to my baby?” His mother cried right before she threw herself into the Politician’s arms.
“Ma! No!” Rome called as he carefully approached them preparing himself to go for his gun.
The Politician stiffened at first, surprised by the sudden contact. But when he saw how uncomfortable the young cocky one was that his mother was embracing him, he slowly lifted his arms to hug her close.
Joseph didn’t care much for the kid who stood across from him, and the Politician decided that he didn’t care for the kid either, he was too damn cocky. The little bastard felt that he was smarter than everyone. The whole time he hugged Rome’s mother, with his eyes, he dared him to go for the gun he knew he carried.
Make my day, punk. Give me an excuse to snap your neck.
“There, there, mom.” He told her in a soothing voice, although he still looked at Rome with the eyes of a killer.
Rome bit down on his teeth not liking the fact that the thing called his mother, mom. As if he sensed his irritation, the Politician smiled at him. Figures, the alter would be just as irritating as his original personality. Although Rome now had respect for Jo, it didn’t mean he cared for him. And now he’d decided he didn’t care for either of them.
“Everything is going to be alright.” It continued to speak to his mother as he gently rubbed her back. “I’m going to find who did this and I’m going to kill them.”
He said that so matter-of-factly, Abigale looked up startled. However, the Politician just smiled down at her.
“I need you to do me a favor, sweetheart.” He said gently.
She nodded sensing something was different about him, but not being able to put her finger on exactly wh
at it was.
“Your granddaughter is going to need you when she wakes up. Can you sit here with them till I get back?”
He spoke gently to her, but Rome wasn’t deceived. This was why this alter was called The Politician. Rome had studied hours and hours of footage dealing with this particular alter alone.
A six-year-old Joseph had unwittingly been a part of a group of test subjects whose minds had been shattered to create alters. In that group, Jo’s alter was the only one that displayed sociable skills. So, they’d dubbed him The Politician 373493.
“Thank you so much, mom.” It purred as he walked past her and Rome.
Stopping at Albert’s bed he turned to look down at the sleeping man. Pursing his lips, he made a sound that none of them could hear. However, the man lying in the bed jerked before his eyes began to move under his lids.
The Politician made the faint noise again and the man’s eye snapped open. He groaned as his hand lifted to finger the bandage on his neck.
“What happened, kid?” He asked the alter, his voice barely over a whisper.
“Flesh wound, just a graze.”
When he heard the voice that spoke back to him, his facial expression sobered as he struggled to sit up a bit to see better.
“Politician… how long have you been here?”
“A little over an hour.”
Albert nodded as he took in the other occupants of the room. When his eyes landed on Abigale they brightened.
“Abby Cat.” He called opening his arms.
With a cry of relief Abigale ran to him, gently falling into his embrace.
“What the f***?” Rome hissed as his angry russet gaze landed on the man that was holding his mother.
“Watch your mouth, Romeo!” She admonished from where she still lay in Al’s arms.
“This must be the famous Rome I’ve heard so much about. It’s good to finally meet you and your little brother.”
Rob had not left Journey’s side. He still sat in the chair next to her bed holding her hand. He didn’t even look away from her; he just stared at her through tear filled eyes. He and Journey were very close and he was not handling the thought of almost losing her well.
“Why are you talking to me?” Rome’s question was filled with so much contempt Abigale cringed. She opened her mouth to admonish her older son some more, but the Politician’s deep deadly voice cut her off.
“Old man, I need you to protect these civilians.” He removed Albert’s gun from the back of his pants and handed it to him.
Albert nodded. “Where are you going to begin to look?”
The Politician shook his head. “I don’t know, see if I can get an I.D. on the men you killed and start there.”
“I know exactly who did this to my sister and why.” Rome muttered as a plan began to come together in his head.
As with most Tech Companies, it was almost impossible to get into their system from the outside. He can use the alter as the weapon he’d been created to be. While he handled Macon Technologies Elite Security Force…Rome could get into their server room and plant his little bug he’d created especially for them.
“Who did this?” The alter asked gesturing towards Journey’s bed.
“Your handlers.”
The Politician didn’t even blink. “Handlers?”
“You may know them as the people pretending to be your parents.”
Abigale sucked in her breath appalled. Albert cursed. “Goddammit I knew it!”
“They had to get rid of those that caused you to feel love because it was—” The Politician held up his hand cutting him off.
“I don’t need the break down, save it for Jo, I’m sure he’ll be interested.”
Abigale looked up at Albert puzzled. “I’ll tell you about it later…” He whispered.
“Just show me where they are and I’ll take it from there.” The Politician continued.
Rome smiled big. “My man.”
Rob looked up then as he swiped his hand across his face drying his eyes. “I’m going with you.”
Rome and Abigale both said no at the same time. Rob stood from the chair, not prepared to take no for an answer.
“You see what they did to my sista?!” He yelled.
Rome held up his hands trying to calm the youth before he rattled this killer standing next to him.
“Bruh, let me handle this. You already know I’m going to make them pay. I can do my job better if I don’t have to worry about you while I’m out there.”
Rob shook his head. “You’ve trained me for this. I’m ready. You always tell me I can go next time. Well, there is no next time.” He pointed to the ground in front of him.
“This is the time that matters!”
“What if they come here while we’re gone?” The alter’s deep voice filled the room. “Who will be here to protect your sister?”
Rome turned to look at the Politician surprised at his swiftness. Rob thought about his words before he swiped at his eyes again.
“Yeah…you right. I need to stay here just in case they come and try to finish the job.”
The Politician nodded once before he turned and exited the room. But right before he did, his knowing gaze went to Rome as he gave him the, who’s-the-smart-one-now? look.
For a second Rome just stared after him. Was the damn alternate personality trying to get under his skin? Really?
He shook his head, following him out of the room after assuring his mother and his little brother that he was going to be alright and would be back in no time.
He exhaled. It was going to be a long night.
**********
“Hell no, you uncivilized bastard! I’m not going down in the damn sewer!” Rome hissed at the maniac.
The Politician shrugged. “Fine, stay here.” He muttered before disappearing down the sewer like smoke.
“F***!”
Rome was really starting to dislike this chump. The alter made Jo look like a stand-up guy. Securing his book bag with his precious cargo in it on his back, he slipped down the manhole quickly sliding the heavy lid back in place.
While the Politician drove back to Jo’s place to gather the tools he was going to need for the job, Rome tapped into the senator’s phone and together they listened to his panic phone calls to Jeff, the CEO of Macon Tech.
“Goddammit Jeff, you need to send some men to my place right away. The hit on the old man and the girl was a miss, it did nothing but trigger the Politician!”
“Have you lost your mind calling me on an open line like this?” Jeff growled.
“I had no other choice! I can’t get in contact with that bastard Baxter to deactivate him. My sources informed me that he’s flown the f****** coup and gone into hiding. Not only is all we’ve invested in crumbling down around us, I am certain the Politician knows who we are and is coming for us!”
“Us? I don’t know what you’re talking about, senator, I am just an investor in your campaign. How you choose to run it is your business.”
“You son-of-a-b****, I’m not going down by myself. If you don’t send protection for my wife and I, I will call a news conference and tell the world everything I know about your shady dealings.”
“Calm down, senator, there is no need for such haste. I will send a car for you and your lovely wife and bring you back here to the lab, where we can secure your safety.”
Rome pulled up the blueprints of Macon Tech’s Lab. The place was practically an eight-story vault, there was no way in except through the sewer system. He’d told the Politician that all he needed was about fifteen minutes to override the codes for the doors, but of course the alter did not want to wait.
So here he was trudging through waist high filth with his laptop on his back that had over 75 million dollars’ worth of modifications. To say he was pissed was an understatement.
“I’m telling you.” He grumbled to the back of the Politician as he followed him through the murky water. “If something happens to my equip
ment, I don’t care what kind of super powers you have, I’m gon’ take you out.”
He grimaced as his Jordan covered foot stepped down into something slimy and squashy, not to mention that it smelled horrible too. “You can try and Karate chop my tech nine, mutha f****.”
The Politician chuckled. “Stop acting like a b**** back there and man up.”
Rome balled up his fists as he seriously considered trying to take him down.
“It’s a suicide mission, kid.” The alter muttered as he quickly climbed up the ladder that led them out into the lab’s boiler room. Rome followed behind him moving with just as much agility.
The Politician would never admit it, but he was impressed with the young man’s ability thus far. He had wondered when he’d first agreed to go on this joint mission if he was going to have to carry him most of the way.
Amazingly, the kid kept up very well and could no doubt handle his own should the sh*t hit the fan.
“Give me a sec.” Rome mouthed as he took his bag off his back removing his laptop.
His hands flew across his keyboard as he took control of the building’s security feed. Once he’d artfully cloned the last hour of footage, he put it on repeat for the guard’s eyes. Then he went back to the original footage that now only he and the Politician could see.
“Jeff and your handlers are on the top floor. I took control of the security footage, so if you can take out all that get in your way quietly and with finesse, you can do it without raising the alarm. They have a fairly large group of guards stationed here, here, and here.”
He hit a button pulling up the building’s blueprints. “I need to go to the server room located here. When you’re done I will meet you back here in the boiler room. Put this on…”
He handed him a small device to go in his ears. “I will be your eyes.”
The Politician nodded once as he placed the device in his ear, this kid may be of good use after all.
By the time Rome placed his computer back in his bag, the alter had disappeared into the shadows. Now he knew why the alters had been a part of ghost recon, the man moved like the wind, silently, but deadly.