by Ben Brown
“That’s truly fascinating; however, there has been a slight change of plans.”
Josh stopped what he was doing and looked at her with concern. “I haven’t heard of any changes in any plans. Why isn’t Dominic telling me this?”
Josh looked at the closed doors — he felt trapped and in danger. Something wasn’t right.
“Dominic’s busy. We’re about to be attacked and he is preparing for his departure. He wishes for me to stay with the clone and lead the battle. Therefore, I will need full command of it.”
Josh started to ring his hands nervously. Dominic had given him strict instructions, which were that only he was allowed control of the clone. Josh was sure that Sinclair was up to something.
“But, Jane, Dominic gave strict instructions …”
He stopped mid sentence as she pressed her gun between his eyes.
“Just do as I tell you and you may get out of here in one piece,” she said in a cold, even voice.
Josh returned his attention to the console. “Of course, whatever you say.” His voice shook as he franticly changed the clone’s command parameters. Sixty seconds later, he turned to her.
“It is very important that you treat the clone as if it is Dominic. If there is any ambiguity on its identity, then the clone may begin to malfunction. It thinks it is Dominic, and it is important that you perpetuate that belief. It should be conscious within twenty seconds.”
He quickly pulled the cables from the clone and wiped a small amount of blood from its navel. Sinclair re-holstered her gun.
The clone sat on the edge of the bed, surveying the lab. Finally its eyes settled on Josh and Sinclair.
“What am I doing here?”
Josh stepped forward. “You wanted me to do some genetic testing, to see if we could enhance any of your abilities. Don’t you remember?”
The clone looked down at its naked body, and then looked at Sinclair.
“Of course — I must still be a bit groggy. Jane, could you get my clothes please.”
She smiled as she fetched the clothes, which lay on the table beside him.
The clone dressed itself quickly, and then followed her from the lab.
She stared at Josh. The ferocity in her eyes made it clear to him to remain quiet.
When she and the clone had finally left the room, Josh slumped to the floor, shaking uncontrollably. He had known that things would be dangerous, but that was too close. He hoped the protocol he planted in the clone hadn’t been corrupted. The commands Sinclair demanded were — unexpected, and he had found it hard to avoid the hidden protocol. He had no time to worry about that now. It took several moments to steady his nerves as he wondered; had the key logger virus he’d planted in the system picked up the entry code for the lab? The lab had become a prison to him, and he needed out!
Josh jumped to his feet and headed for the computer console; he quickly banged away on the key board. Yes, it worked!
His mind worked quickly through his options. He couldn’t help the feeling of guilt that washed over him as his mind turned to his dead friend.
If my plan works and the clone spots Dominic, then Chester will have his revenge, Josh thought as he tapped the entry code into his console. As he entered the last sequence of numbers, he heard the familiar hiss of the air lock as it opened.
Josh ran to a desk and began to rummage through its drawers. Finally, he found his 64 gig thumb drive. He grabbed it and headed back to the computer; he rammed the small device into one of the two USB slots on the front of the machine.
One final command to enter, then he would make his run for it. He typed in the command to move the operating system and his vital data to the thumb drive. Once that was complete all the data on the hard drives would be destroyed. All the data he and his friend had created while they worked for Dominic would be gone. Only he would possess the data that could improve so many lives. He then vowed he would never again allow his work to be used against the good of humanity.
Josh hit enter on the keyboard and activated the algorithms that transferred his data to the small drive.
Five minutes later, the transfer was complete. A series of zeros filled the screen, as every bit of data disappeared from the hard drives. This sequence would repeat thirty-five more times, ensuring that there was no possibility of retrieval.
Josh took one more look around the lab and then ran for his life.
* * *
Sinclair saw O’Brien arguing with the pilot of one of the escape choppers as she approached. Very few mercenaries or subjects knew about the helicopters, but Dominic had taken O’Brien into his confidence. He’d told her that O’Brien was the kind of man who always landed on his feet, that he was someone who was useful to have at your side.
“Now listen to me! Dominic told me to get one of these birds ready fer takeoff. It’s not up to you to question his orders.”
The enhanced pilot bore down on the Irishman. “And I told you! We go nowhere without direct orders from Dominic.”
“What’s the meaning of this?”
O’Brien froze at the sound of Dominic’s voice.
“Why aren’t you ready for takeoff?”
O’Brien turned slowly as his stomach churned. Strolling casually towards him were both Sinclair and Dominic. She had a grin on her face that stretched from ear to ear.
“Well I’ll be damned,” he whispered under his breath. The chopper pilot scrambled to get the chopper ready.
In the distance, the sound of gunfire filled the air. The three turned to look in the direction of the shots.
“Not a moment too soon, wouldn’t you say, Jane?” said the clone.
She looked at O’Brien, then back at the clone, and smiled.
“Absolutely, I couldn’t agree more.”
She felt the breast pocket of her shirt. The reassuring shape of her backup hard drive added to her sense of achievement. For months, she had been carefully collecting information on the enhancement procedure, Dominic’s nanites, and anything else she deemed useful. Most importantly, she had the database which contained all the names and addresses of every potential subject on the planet.
She had been planning for every possible outcome for some time, and this had always been the most likely. She had always assumed that she would abandon Dominic. She knew he was far too unstable to be of much use to her.
36
Zac and his team broke through the tree line of the village and headed straight for the center of the base. As expected, Dominic’s subjects were waiting.
Zac led the attack, closely followed by the rest of his team. As bullets began to fly, they broke formation and headed in different directions.
Lea and Zac headed for cover behind the building they had escaped only hours earlier. Both came to a skidding stop as a rocket-propelled grenade tore into the hut, blowing it to pieces.
It seemed the subjects didn’t care if the village was blown to pieces; gunfire was simply no longer enough.
Zac looked for Martinez and the others, but couldn’t see them. The place had turned to mayhem in just a few seconds. He turned to Lea and shouted over the cacophony, “I need to let go of your hand, I need them both free — try and stay close to me.”
“Okay,” she shouted back, as she released her grip.
Instantly, she drew her guns and fired them just to the side of his head.
He turned to see what she was shooting at, just as two subjects dropped to the ground; a bullet between each of their respective eyes. He had no idea how she’d been so accurate with her shooting and he didn’t care — they needed to get into the fight, and bring down the subjects causing the most mayhem.
“Let’s move! We need to take out the grenade launchers!” he shouted.
With that, he and Lea charged towards the midst of Dominic’s forces.
About twenty feet in front of them, surrounded by at least fifteen heavily armed subjects, stood six of Dominic’s men. Each was armed with an M-32 six-shot 40mm grenade launc
her. Each of the launcher-brandishing subjects fired in unison. The deadly projectiles flew in every direction, causing devastation to Zac’s forces; they needed to be stopped.
The subjects who surrounded them did not intend on letting anyone through. Four pointed their weapons in Zac’s and Lea’s direction and opened fire.
“Stay directly behind me, Lea; use my body as a shield,” he shouted as the first bullets tore into him. He raised his M16 and cut his assailants to shreds. The four dropped to the ground — dead, giving him a small window to get through.
“Cover me!” he shouted. Lea dropped down on one knee and opened fire.
Zac charged through the gap left by the four dead subjects; he drew his sword and raised the M16.
A subject spun and pointed his launcher at his face; he fired.
Zac stepped sideways and watched the grenade hurtled past his head; he turned back to the subject to find his sword already deep in his chest.
He pulled the blade from the dead man and spun, bringing his blade down on the arms of a woman who’d been firing grenades at the area where his men still poured out of the jungle.
A third subject turned in his direction; Zac raised his M16 and fired.
The force of the bullets tearing into his chest knocked the subject backwards and into a much smaller man who was about to launch a grenade. The force of the dead man hitting his back caused him to stumble and fire his launcher directly into the ground at his feet. The explosion tore through the group with incredible ferocity.
The blast sent Zac flying backwards through the air; pain seared through every inch of him. He watched as the blast ripped the small group of subjects to pieces.
As he flew over Lea’s head, she fell backwards from the force of the blast. Although she didn’t seem hurt, he couldn’t be sure.
Zac crashed, hard, into the side of a hut and slumped to the ground. His head was ringing and his face felt like it was on fire — in fact, his whole body felt like it was burning.
Suddenly, someone tackled him hard from the side. He felt hands hitting him from every direction; he tried to react, but the blast had disoriented him. A face came close to his and screamed at him.
Zac blinked his eyes, trying to clear his vision, and then he realized what was happening. The man was Jacobson, and he was on fire! Jacobson was trying to extinguish the flames that enveloped Zac’s body.
He saw Matt at Jacobson’s side — he too, was hitting at him with his bare hands, beating the flames into non-existence.
Zac grabbed Matt by his collar, pulling his head towards his mouth. His throat was burnt and sore, but he needed to talk. Matt’s ear was about an inch from his mouth.
“Get Lea!”
Matt looked back towards the battle, then sprinted off in Lea’s direction, firing his weapon as he ran.
“Damn it! That was a stupid thing to do, Zac!” Jacobson shouted as he extinguished the last of the flames.
Zac looked at him; he had tears in his eyes. “Are you crying James?”
“No, you stupid son of a bitch, the smoke is burning my eyes.”
Zac reached up and pushed him off. As he sat himself up and looked at his body, the acrid smell of burnt flesh filled his nostrils. In places his shirt and trousers had melted into his skin; with great pain, he started to peel the blackened material off. Old burnt flesh peeled off with the fabric, but underneath, new pink skin was ready to take its place. The pain was excruciating, but he needed to clean away the dead, hardening flesh. He roared with pain as he tore at himself.
Jacobson started to dry retch at the sight of the old burnt flesh being torn from his comrade’s body. A minute later, Zac had finished. His body was free of all the burnt material.
He knelt by Jacobson in the remains of his trousers, which now resembled shorts. His chest was bare and red, but its color quickly changed to a healthy pink. His boots were gone, along with his weapons.
Jacobson seemed to accept that Zac was okay almost without question; instead he now supplied covering fire for Matt and Lea, who were pinned down behind a small jeep.
Zac dashed off in their direction, grabbing a gun from the ground as he went. He slammed into the jeep beside Matt.
Startled, the young soldier turned to see who had just joined them. He looked Zac up and down.
“Good to see you sir! We sure do need your help.” He seemed completely unfazed by Zac’s completely healed appearance.
“I told him you would be fine,” Lea shouted. “I’m almost out of ammo!”
Zac poked his head out and over the jeep. Dominic’s numbers were now considerably reduced; however, they were still standing their ground. He quickly scanned the area looking for Dominic. Then, as if on cue, he appeared from a building and started to head for the battle. Zac ducked back down and turned to Matt and Lea.
“Matt, I need you to get Lea out of here. Tell Jacobson to give the order to pull back and await my signal. If I can subdue Dominic, I think the rest of his people may just give up.”
Matt nodded as he grabbed Lea’s arm. “Time to go, Ma’am,” he said as he prepared himself for the run back to Jacobson’s position.
As Lea and Matt headed off, Zac stepped out and into plain view of Dominic and his people. Guns instantly raised and pointed in his direction.
“Hold your fire!” Dominic screamed as he strolled towards the man he hated, the man who had foiled all his plans so far. All gunfire instantly stopped.
Zac looked to his left and saw Martinez waving back his men, gesturing to them to take cover. He looked behind him and saw Lea, Jacobson, and Matt taking cover behind a small mud brick wall.
Finally Zac turned once again to look at Dominic. He was only feet away — he looked serene and unconcerned.
“I greatly underestimated you, and it has nearly cost me everything,” Dominic said as he came to a stop. They were only inches apart.
“I’m sorry I’ve ruined things for you,” Zac replied as he watched Dominic intently.
“You know, Zac, there’s a good chance I won’t make it out of here alive. And if that’s the case, then I’m taking you with me.”
In a blur of movement, his fingers wrapped around Zac’s throat and began to squeeze. Zac could feel Dominic’s fingers stretching as they spread around his neck like an invasive vine.
Zac felt neither panicked nor concerned. All the malice he had felt for Dominic was gone; all he felt now was … pity.
He reached up and took the wrist of the hand which was attempting to throttle him. He began to squeeze and twist his arm, causing Dominic’s grip to loosen.
Dominic swung for his head with his free hand. Zac caught it with ease, then levered the other one from around his throat.
Subjects crowded around as they struggled, but none of them made any effort to intervene. Dominic lunged forward with his head, but its target moved too quickly. His strike went wide.
His neck stretched as he tried to bring his head alongside his combatant’s.
Zac twisted sideways, forcing Dominic down onto one knee. He released his grip on Dominic’s left arm, drew back his fist, preparing for his next blow — which he intended to be his last.
Suddenly the crowd around them scattered. Zac realized he could hear the scream of a chopper engine bearing down on them. He looked up to see a large helicopter heading straight for them. Its rotor blades only feet from the ground; it was crashing! And he and Dominic were directly in its path.
* * *
“Why is this taking so bloody long?” Sinclair yelled as the pilot readied the chopper for flight.
“As I said, it takes a full six minutes to open the hanger roof and raise the helipad to ground level. Then, and only then, can we board and start the engines. We should wait for them to warm, but that would add several more minutes. I’ll risk forgoing the warm up procedure — but that’s it,” said the pilot as the helipad crept higher. “I’m sorry, Miss Sinclair, but this is as fast as I can go. If I had had some warning, then I could’ve
been ready for you.”
“Do stop worrying, Jane. No one knows about these helicopters,” the clone said in an exact duplication of Dominic’s voice and mannerisms. “We are perfectly safe. Now let’s make our way to the surface so we can board.”
She, however, knew that there was another Dominic out there, and he knew all about these helicopters. It was he who she feared would find them.
The group, including the pilot, climbed up a narrow steel staircase that led to the surface. As they reached the ground level, the helicopter was just starting to appear from its subterranean hanger. It took another minute or so until the helipad locked into its final position which allowed for takeoff.
The pilot gestured to the group, indicating it was safe to board. He headed for the cockpit of the Agusta Westland A-109E and instantly began the flight checks.
“We’ll be airborne in five minutes,” he said.
Sinclair’s heel tapped away nervously as she waited for takeoff. They needed to get in the air before Dominic realized she was up to something. Her hand kept checking the hard drive in her pocket.
Finally, the two giant Turbomeca Arrius 2K1 engines kicked into life. Sinclair let out an audible sigh of relief as the massive 11-meter twin rotors began to turn.
The clone looked at her. “You see, there was no need for concern.”
She looked at it and smiled.
O’Brien still hadn’t realized that the man beside him wasn’t Dominic.
As the chopper began to lift into the air, the clone leaned forward to the pilot.
“Head out over the battlefield. I want to see how things are progressing.”
The pilot nodded and altered his course as the chopper climbed higher into the air.
Sinclair began to panic — if either the pilot or the clone spotted the real Dominic, the game was up. Sinclair looked at O’Brien, but said nothing.
O’Brien acted instinctively. He pulled his gun and placed it to the back of the pilots head. “Correct ya course. It’s too dangerous to allow Dominic anywhere near that battlefield.”
The clone reacted with the same lightning speed of its duplicate. It grabbed O’Brien’s gun, turned it on the Irishman, and fired a single shot between his eyes.