by mike Evans
The doctor asked, “What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to go and get your kids. You do want to see them, don’t you?”
The man was quick for a little guy; he lunged at Gabriel and embraced him in a hug. “Let go of me now. I will go get your kids. I’m sure that they’re more appreciative of your hugs than I am.”
The man slapped his forehead. “I’m sorry. I owe you my life and I don’t even know your name yet. I apologize. It’s just that all of this is a bit overwhelming.”
He held out a hand, not having met anyone new in quite a while. “My name is Gabriel. I am honored to meet you. It was a rare thing that you did. Many would not have.”
The men shook firmly, and the doctor said, “You do know that I will forever be in your debt.”
Gabriel walked out the door. “You just stay here. Don’t go running away and I’ll be back with your kids in a few minutes.”
Gabriel headed into the break room. The children were sitting around the table with a mountain of wrappers in front of them. They sat back, each with messy smiles on their faces. They snapped to attention when Gabriel entered. When he saw this, he realized it might take time for them to learn what normal was again. He knelt down in front of them and said, “Hey, I found your dad. Do any of you kids want to go see him?”
The three kids looked at each other anxiously, shooting their hands into the air and waving them. Gabriel smiled, rubbing the youngest child’s hair. “Let’s go surprise your dad. He’s going to be very happy to see you. Don’t worry. We’re going to find somewhere comfortable and safe with all the food that you can eat anytime you want. Your life has just begun.”
They walked back down the hall quickly. Gabriel was not worried about the threats but knew that even the CIA was going to need some time to try to pull off the idea that he had in mind. He went back to the office and entered, motioning for Dr. Abul to come outside of the room. As the doctor started to approach, Gabriel pointed to his right hand. The doctor looked down, and Gabriel nodded. Akbar placed it on the table and brought up a shaking hand. He walked in a daze, not believing that he and his family were safe, even if he did not understand all of the details behind it yet. He only cared that he had his children with him. Gabriel pushed the door all the way open, and the broken man saw his three children; they all were a little taller and skinnier. He saw his wife smiling at him in their faces and he rushed towards them, bending down and taking the three of them into his arms. He twirled them around in a circle, kissing each one of them on the forehead over and over.
Gabriel looked down at the kids and he said, “Do you think you can take your dad back to the break room for me? Between you and me, he looks hungry. Why don’t you go get him something to eat and drink?”
The little one gave a quick thumbs up and winked before pulling his father down the hall by the hand. Akbar asked, “Will you come for me when you are done? Will I see you again?”
Gabriel said, “I can’t answer that just yet, but you and your family will be safe. I can at least promise you that much.”
The doctor nodded, smiling. “Be careful, Gabriel. We can’t always be lucky enough to have angels watching out for us.”
Gabriel closed the door as he took in the terrorist still lying on the table, unconscious. “I pray for the angels’ sake that they are not watching me.”
The family walked down the hall, enjoying every moment of being together again. The fact that they were reunited felt like a gift from God himself. They did as Gabriel asked and went to the break room where the doctor checked his children, making sure that they were physically okay.
Gabriel walked up, slapping the man in the face as the fat on his cheek jiggled. When he didn’t wake, Gabriel slapped him again and again until he started to come back to life. He looked up, and saw Gabriel standing in a shadow of the room. He tried to sit up, forgetting about his broken wrist and screamed at the top of his lungs, using words that Gabriel could barely understand. He protected the hand, setting it on his chest and pushing up with his other hand. As he did so, the pain from his ruined nose slammed him, taking his breath away for a moment. He glared at Gabriel through watering eyes. “Who the fuck are you?”
“I’m the good guy. I need to know where Imad and Mohammed went.”
The man laughed, making one of his last mistakes. “You cannot do anything to me; you are American government, no? You must take me to jail, give me lawyer, feed, clothe me, and get me a doctor for my wounds. Get me my rights, you monkey! Go now!”
Gabriel leaned into the light, his dark eyes burning with rage. “Let me explain just a little something about who I am.” He raised his pistol, firing one shot into the man’s right kneecap. The pain was excruciating and the man screamed until his vocal cords gave out. Gabriel walked up to the man, laid out magazines for his pistol, and said, “You don’t think I can do this all night? I will cut every inch of skin off of your body, one piece at a time.”
The man held up his hands towards Gabriel and began to beg. Gabriel smacked them away and fired a second shot into his other knee. The man screamed again. “You didn’t even ask me a question! Why did you shoot me?”
“I wanted to make sure you understood that I was serious. You living is not a priority to me. It’s really not important at all. If you give me any reason to doubt you, the pain will only increase.”
The man nodded, tears streaming from his blood-soaked face. Fresh sweat gleamed across his forehead. “I don’t know what I can tell you that you don’t know already.”
“Assume that I know nothing. If I run out of places to put bullets, I’ll find new ways to make sure you feel the pain. Tell me now if you have questions or forever hold your peace.”
“Like I say, I do not think that you know much less than—”
Gabriel took his thumb and dug it into the man’s fresh gunshot wound on his knee. He tried to scream aloud, but Gabriel punched him in the stomach, making the man puke every bit of the last meal that he had consumed. Gabriel let him finish and, when he was done, grabbed him by his greasy, unwashed, black hair and screamed, “Tell me where Imad is now!”
The man looked up to the ceiling. “Oh I beg you, Allah, please take me now! I am not strong enough to handle this.”
Gabriel pulled his eyes back down to meet his and yelled, “You pray to me to kill you! Because I am the only one that will grant you an end.” He punched the man again, this time bringing a fresh onslaught of blood. “Tell me where Imad is, and do it now!”
The man held up both hands, coughing out mucus. “Please… please do not hurt me anymore. I swear to you, I will talk. I will talk; do not punish me.”
Gabriel leaned in, whispering in his ear, “I have not even started punishing you. This is only interrogation.”
His screams filled the hallway and when he was done, Gabriel’s hands were both soaked in blood. He stared at them, knowing that he had gone past what he should have. At the same time, a thousand years of punishment would not make up for the pain that he deserved to endure.
Gabriel left the man on the table when he went to look for a phone. He knew that there was nothing left of the man to worry about. If he lived another five minutes, he wouldn’t make it ten feet from where he lay bleeding. When he found a phone, he called the private number and asked for Frank. “Gabriel? I have Tony with me. Did you succeed?”
“I have the doctor and his family. They could use a good meal but they are—”
“I didn’t ask for a health report on the family. I asked did you accomplish your mission? Are you in control of the disease? Are we going to be able to divert the worst case?”
“I found the doctor, but Imad and his second in command, Mohammed, both escaped before I got here. There was nothing I could have done to get them.”
“God damn it, Gabriel! You don’t call me and tell me that you only did half of your mission! Fuck, Tony, I thought you said this guy was reliable, damn it!”
Tony coughed and Gabriel
figured he was probably chain-smoking at this point. “Gabriel is the most reliable agent we’ve ever had. If you sent him in a day late and a dollar short, what the fuck did you expect him to do?”
“Well, at least tell me that you got the disease covered Gabriel? Throw a little fucking light on the situation!
“He took the modified disease strain with him as well but—”
Frank screamed, “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me! What, what the hell did you even do, goddammit?”
“Frank?”
“What?”
“I need you to stop talking… I want you to wire my money back into my account and then I need you to do the following steps.”
“Who do you think is in charge here?”
“I am. Because I have the doctor and knowledge; you haven’t shut up long enough to hear me. There needs to be a news announcement stating that everyone died including the doctor, the kids, Imad’s men, and the hostages that they were doing experiments on.”
“Wait! They are doing human trials already? We can’t just lie to the media. What if they look into it? What do we do then? What about the victims’ families? What do we tell them?”
“You swoop in, get their families, and let them know what is happening. These people are going to need to be quarantined for a month to be sure they are really okay, anyway. The people were infected, but the doctor made a super strain of the flu virus. The people went through hell, but the doctor, for the greater good of the world, made the drug non-life-threatening. It will not take out everyone in the country. It only has a shelf life of a few days; it can still cripple the nation, but it won’t kill us if it does make it out. That doctor is a hero for not letting this get out into the open. He could have been finished months ago with the project if he had just wanted everyone dead. He risked the lives of himself and his family to keep that outbreak from becoming a killer.”
“So, how do we get Imad? What plan do you have?”
Tony cut in, “Hey Gabriel, we will make the calls and get it arranged. We will do the heavy lifting. Can I trust that you have a plan here for the next step to get Imad? Are you going to be able to recover the disease?”
“Just make sure you do it. You’ll know when it’s taken care of. Frank, make sure my money is put back.”
“We aren’t doing a thing until you come in and—”
“I won’t be coming in again. If you give me reason to come in, you are going to have issues, Frank.”
“Until I see you again, you won’t have a dime to your name, Gabriel.”
“If that’s the way you want it. You’ll know when it’s done, though. You can call Jonathan and tell him not to drop that bomb; it isn’t going to be needed.” Gabriel looked at his watch. “You might want to call him pretty quickly. He’s going to be coming in soon, ready to blow it up.”
“You come in when this is over, Gabriel,” Frank said.
Gabriel ended the call and disappeared as the CDC and CIA joint efforts came in, ready to tell people about the outbreak. When the staff came in and saw the terrorists, there was no doubt a pro hitter had been there. All of them were curious about who it would have been, knowing they didn’t use men like that anymore.
Chapter 10
Imad
Imad sat in the large hotel room, staring at the container and smoking a cigarette. He had been watching news updates constantly for a week now, gleefully happy that America was in a state of panic. He knew there was no chance they could do anything to save themselves, but they were trying to reassure Americans that they were safe. Imad yelled, “Hey Mohammed! Did you hear what that blonde bitch was saying on the news? They claim they have it on good account that the two terrorists still at large have fled the country—that they have abandoned the cause and are on their way back to the caves in Iran. Can you believe this shit?”
Imad rose to his feet when Mohammed did not answer. He moved into the kitchen area and saw him sitting at the table, facing away. “Are you deaf, Mohammed? Did you hear what I said? They are running for their lives. They do not have any plans because they have too many people and there is no way to save them all. The President is in hiding. This is wonderful, and we have not even had to release the first of the bombs yet.”
He looked at the open window then at Mohammed. He walked slowly to his friend and placed a hand on his shoulder. When he shook him a little, his friend fell to the side; his eyes were still open, but he was long dead. Imad jumped back a foot, sucking in air. He looked down at Mohammed, seeing the dark blood in contrast to his pressed white shirt. His neck had been slit from ear to ear. Blood covered his front and he had a strip of black tape across his mouth. Imad whispered, “Mohammed, no.”
Gabriel walked out of the side room, pistol raised as he stared Imad in the eyes. “Hello, Imad. You’ve been a true pain in the ass. You broke my first rule by killing the wife. Then you starved children for an entire year.”
Imad screamed, “Your people have—”
Gabriel shot him in the knee. “I have no people. I work alone.”
Imad screamed as the pain became immense. “You shot me! What do you want from me?”
“I want you to hate every minute of your life until the last one comes.”
Gabriel shot him in the other knee. Imad sat up, trying to pull himself backwards, his bloody legs leaving a trail on the floor. Gabriel shot one of his hands, and when Imad screamed again, he shot him in the other had. “What do you want, damn it?”
Gabriel, never so much as losing his temper, said, “I want you to be an example for others… others who think that they can come to my country and try to strike fear in our hearts.”
Gabriel leveled the gun again, shooting him in one thigh and then the other thigh. Imad screamed, “Kill me, you son of a bitch! Fucking kill me now!”
Gabriel shot the man in both arms, knelt down in front of him, and looked at the blood as it flowed. Imad started to nod his head forward, trying to let himself pass out. Gabriel slapped him hard, with an open hand, waking him up quickly. Imad said, “Why won’t you just kill me? Why won’t you put me out of my misery?”
Gabriel slid the gun back into its holster with a smile and pulled a scalpel from a case he carried. He carved a message into the man’s chest after nailing his hands to the wall. “My name is not important. Your beliefs mean nothing to me. There are no laws that govern me, which will save you. There is nowhere you can hide that will keep me from you. Jurisdiction means nothing to me and I have no handler. Beware G is out there and he watches over all of you.”
Gabriel sat back, staring at the man. “That probably hurt didn’t it?”
Imad had run out of tears. He tried to speak, but only blood came from his mouth. He stared in the corner where his tongue lay. He was trying his best to say, “Kill me. Kill me, please. I can suffer no more.”
Gabriel smiled as he set the case in front of him and opened it. He leaned in close, making the man jump. “You want to know a secret? The disease in this bag. It’s the reason that I’ve hunted you and set you up for death. It’s the reason that you’ve put many through hell.”
Imad nodded. It looked as if it was the last thing he could handle before he passed to another world. A world where he thought he would be rewarded for his sacrifice… where he would be sent to sit alongside his father and men who passed long before him.
Gabriel said, “The reason that it took a year to get the disease to work, the reason he was not done in a few weeks, or in a few months was simple. He never created something that would kill anyone. He worked his ass off month after month to develop something that appeared to kill someone. Something that looked horrible—like hell unleashed. He told this me when I saved him and killed all of your men… much like I have done to you. He would have put his family second and let himself and them die if he was unable to produce what he was trying to make. He would never do something to a country that he thought was so great. I had the news set up all of the reports so that I could track you down.
I had to wait for you to make a mistake, allowing me to get into the building and gain access.”
Imad shook his head repeatedly. Gabriel took a picture of the children with the doctor and showed it to him. It was the last thing his eyes would ever see, except for the blade cutting them out. He screamed a guttural cry and Gabriel pulled the man’s phone from his pocket. He took down his contact information and placed an open call to the CIA. Gabriel said, “Tell Frank Fox that Imad is at the location where this number can be traced.”
The agent on the other end said, “Wait! We need more information from you.”
“No you don’t. Write this down and make sure that you relay it to Frank Fox. Tell him that I got his disease secured, and I got the last two terrorists, and the next time I check my bank accounts that I’d better see every last fucking cent. Now make sure that you are taking this down verbatim. I don’t want any question of what my intentions and thoughts are.”
“Who is this? Can I tell him that?”
“Just tell him if I don’t get my money, he’d better figure out a way to not sleep. Not that it is going to do him any good.”
“Sir, it is a crime to threaten another...”
“Did you write down everything I said?”
“Um, yes, I did… and I have you recorded as well.”
“Good. I’m glad it’s recorded. Just get him that; it will get the point across better. He’s a bit on the fucking stupid side, so I’d appreciate leaving as little amount of questions as we can for him. Tony, if you can hear this, you can sleep at night… and if the shit is about to hit the fan, it would seem you have the means and ability to get ahold of me. When America has nowhere else to turn, make the call and I’ll be there.”
The line on the other end was silent. Eventually, the lady cleared her throat and asked, “Who the hell are you?”