Melissa forced a derisive laugh. “You’ve got to be kidding! Me? And I’m pretty sure your little broadcast showed the world exactly what your work entails.”
“It showed the mechanism we’ll use, for sure. But it didn’t show them why or what the new world will look like. The Teacher feels confident that you’ll be the one to do that.”
“I have to say, I’m a little disappointed. From what you said before, I thought your Teacher was some megalomaniac who wanted to build a world in his image, now he just sounds like a pseudo-religious nut job.” Melissa scoffed. Faster than Melissa could comprehend, the Ancillary shot out of her chair and punched Melissa so hard in the face the chair toppled sideways, knocking Melissa senseless for a moment. The soldier with the assault rifle approached, set the chair back up and put Melissa back on it. The Ancillary calmly sat down, her perfect face settling back into an expression of politeness.
“I’m sorry about that. I tend to react poorly when someone speaks ill of the Teacher.”
“That’s fine. I tend to react poorly when people try to kill me.” Melissa retorted, pain throbbing in her jaw where she was struck. The Ancillary laughed before speaking again.
“My men weren’t trying to kill you on the roof. They just wanted to give you a little, shall we say, motivation? We needed you downstairs. We needed proof that you still had the will to fight to protect the innocent, and the only way we could do that was to guide you along the narrative we wanted you to see. Roy is a logical first choice to rescue; someone with skills and training that are useful to you, and with his aid you could move on to rescue the rest of the hostages. That’s why they were kept alive; to see what you would do.”
“Because that’s what your Teacher wants, right?” Melissa shot back. The Ancillary smiled at her before speaking again.
“The Teacher is so much more than you believe right now. He has a great deal of love and compassion. He wants to build a better world for those who deserve it, those who are strong enough to be worthy. He wants to release us from the shackles placed on us by those who were simply born with wealth and power. You’ll learn more of us, I promise you. But not right now. You have proven yourself worthy of this little discussion, but you have more to do to be worthy of understanding the Teacher’s motives, Witness.” The Ancillary explained, then stood and turned, taking a step away.
“One question.” Melissa probed, making the Ancillary stop and look back at her.
“Yes, Witness?”
“You said he chose me. Is that why you chose this hotel? Because it’s where I’m staying?”
The Ancillary smiled at her before answering. “The truth is, my dear, your presence was just a happy little coincidence. If you hadn’t been coming here we would have abducted you from your apartment in London and brought you. If you’d been in one of the main areas when we unleashed the virus, one of our agents would have secured you, but you never left your hotel room. It was as the Teacher told us. You would be in the right place at the right time.”
It seemed crazy, but then again, it seemed very much on par with the rest of the day. It also made Melissa wonder just who this Teacher was, as it seemed entirely possible that she might have met him somewhere. A phone rang nearby and the soldier with the tablet computer took a cellular phone out of his pocket and held it expectantly for the Ancillary.
“I’m sure this will be someone from the FBI or some such organisation. It’s been nice to talk with you, Melissa. I hope we get the opportunity to do so again before I leave.”
“If I get out of this chair, I’m sure we will.” Melissa threatened, which made the Ancillary smile.
“I look forward to it. Come, Sebastian.” The Ancillary declared before she took the phone and walked out of the room, Sebastian following close behind. This left Melissa alone in the room with the armed soldier, who was eyeing her suspiciously.
“So, you call yourself the Reborn, eh?” Melissa asked him. He didn’t respond, instead he just continued staring at her.
“That’s a good answer. Do you have a name?”
He shifted uncomfortably. Melissa decided to change tactic.
“I can’t be the Witness if I don’t know what I’m witnessing, or who for that matter.”
The soldier shifted uncomfortably again, fiddling with the safety catch on his weapon.
“Jonas.” He eventually replied; his voice gruff and short and with a definite accent, but from where? Melissa wasn’t sure from one word.
“Jonas. Well, it’s nice to meet you, Jonas. Apparently, I’m the Witness.”
“Yes.” Jonas responded.
“Do you know a lot about the whole Witness thing?”
“What the Teacher has told me.”
Melissa let out a long sigh. It certainly wasn’t easy to get him to open up. From what she could hear, he was French. The Reborn, Melissa thought, had quite an international participation. She looked towards the doorway as carefully as she could and saw that it was clear of any other Reborn, at least, for the moment. Melissa calculated that the Ancillary probably wouldn’t be back anytime soon as she had a lot to deal with. But that didn’t preclude any of the Reborn soldiers from coming along and bolstering their friend here. She would need to work quickly to get free.
Roy followed Jim back into the room; closing the door over but not shutting it all the way. Before he left, Roy wanted to find out where Jim had been this whole time and why he’d been out of contact.
“Where the hell have you been?” Roy demanded irately.
“Well, I’m happy to see you too.” Jim remarked with mild frustration in his tone. Donna had risen from the desk and rushed across to hug Jim as soon as he entered the room. She was now back at the computer, working on re-infiltrating the computer system after being shut out by adding Roy’s access card to the approved list.
“We thought you were dead.” Roy informed him with a shake of his head, though he still managed to keep an eye on the corridor. “I’m just surprised you didn’t get in touch with us all night.”
“I lost my radio when a bunch of those things jumped out of an elevator up on the fortieth floor.”
“What where you doing up there? I sent Kyle to do the guest rooms.” Roy probed, his brow furrowing.
“You lost contact with the kid and I decided to go look for him. We lost a lot of friends today and I didn’t want to lose him.”
“You found him?”
“No, I didn’t. I got stuck in a supply closet with those things outside trying to get in. I couldn’t fight them off; all I could do was wait. Hours later, I heard some voices and whoever they were, they took the infected away. Once I was sure the coast was clear, I started working my way down the stairs. It took forever, but eventually I got down to ground level. I thought the soldiers there were maybe the police or something, but then I saw they were rounding people up and taking them to the theatre. I managed to sneak back to the utility corridor and figured I should come and see you.” Jim explained logically. He looked tired, dishevelled and serious. But something was rubbing Roy the wrong way. It was incredibly convenient that Jim was back now. Something wasn’t right in his story, either. From what Melissa had relayed about the Reborn, they’d been very thorough in sweeping the hotel to find both guests and infected alike. Is it really possible they just happened to skip over the closet where Jim was hiding; especially since it apparently had infected right outside? It was possible, Roy thought, but it didn’t seem likely considering they had been so cautious in every other aspect of their plan. This made Roy a little suspicious, and when he thought back to what Donna had found, about who could have authorised the technical support people from Grove, he recalled that Jim had been working that night too. Roy decided to press him with further questions.
“So you came down the stairs, avoided the soldiers and got into the utility corridors. How did you get past the infected? Moreover, how did you get past the key card access doors? All of our access cards were revoked.”
“I�
��ve got to say, Roy, this isn’t the welcome I expected after crawling through hell to get here.”
“I’m sorry, Jim, but there was a woman who was working her ass off trying to help and I just heard her die. We uncovered evidence that someone was working from within to facilitate this whole damned event.”
“And you think it’s me?”
“I don’t know, Jim. The only thing I am certain of is that it’s pretty damn convenient that the moment we open this door, lo and behold, you’re standing in the corridor.” Roy explained bluntly.
“It’s that suspicious cop mind of yours that’s talking, Roy. I can’t imagine it’s kept you many friends over the years.”
“Maybe, but it’s kept me alive.”
“But not your partners.” Jim shot back. Roy glared at him, a flicker of fury rising in his chest.
“Jim.” Donna chimed in reproachfully.
“What? It’s true.” He snapped back at her, and then returning to Roy went on. “And why do you suspect me when it could just as easily have been Donna? She lives on that damned computer. She could easily have been working for them. She could’ve written the damn malware that destroyed the computer system; she’s got the necessary access and the technical expertise to implement it. I barely know how to send a damned email!” Jim roared.
Roy looked at Donna and saw the wounded look on her face. In a way, Roy knew it was decision time; he had to push Jim harder and see if he could crack him, turn his accusations towards Donna or let go and focus on the greater situation in hand. Although he didn’t have any evidence that cleared her, Roy felt he could trust Donna. She’d worked hard and her emotional attachment to him made Roy feel she wouldn’t betray him.
“She’s done a lot to work around the malware, Jim. I don’t believe it was her. I don’t really believe it was you either,” he offered. “I just know someone was involved, and unless they got themselves eaten or are still hiding out there somewhere, it has to be one of you two.” He insisted, but flashed a look of reassurance in Donna’s direction.
“You were working the night we think the malware was introduced, Jim, so was I. I’m sure there’s another explanation, but it makes sense that we’re both suspects.” Donna told him candidly, following Roy’s lead.
“How do you know it was even Grove who installed the malware? You could’ve done it before they arrived and made it look as if they had.” Jim rebutted.
An ice cold feeling hit Roy.
“Who said anything about Grove, Jim?” Roy demanded bluntly; between this and dodging the question about the key card access, Roy was certain Jim was involved in some manner. Jim stared him down. It suddenly became very tense. Roy waited to see what the other man was going to do. Without warning, Jim reached behind his jacket, withdrew a gun, and pointed it at Roy.
“I told them I wasn’t good at this spy crap.” He said gruffly.
“Why?” Roy demanded. “How could you be part of this?”
“Money. A whole hell of a lot of money in fact, the people funding this have deeper pockets than you can imagine. I’m sure they would do a deal with you, with both of you. They told me to come down here and shoot you, but I think I can convince them to make a deal with you too; all you have to do is get with the program.” He assured them, his eyes flicking from one to the other.
“You traitorous little bastard!” Roy declared vehemently.
“Oh please, Roy, you know the score better than anyone. I’m not retiring on the pension I’ll receive from this place. You’re still working even though you took retirement from the police force.”
“So the destruction of thousands of innocent people, plus your friends and associates, all either being eaten alive or infected with God knows what, that’s all just part of your retirement plan?” Roy asked incredulously. Roy took a step forward and Jim suddenly turned the gun on Donna.
“Don’t move one step closer.” Jim threatened.
“Jim, please.” Donna pleaded, her eyes wide with fear.
“It’s up to him, Donna. So, what’ll it be, Roy? Let a woman who’s so damned in love with you she follows you around like a love sick puppy die or reach a deal with me so that we can all walk out of here as winners?”
“I think you know the answer to that, Jim.” Roy said with a snarl. Jim shook his head.
“I’m sorry to hear that, Roy, I really am.”
“Jim...” Donna started but was cut short as Jim began to squeeze the trigger on the pistol. A fraction of a second before the gun fired, Roy leapt at him, grabbing his gun arm and trying to wrest the weapon from his hand. Jim fired a series of shots as Roy grappled with him, none of which hit either Donna or Roy. Unable to get the gun from his hand, Roy slammed his elbow under Jim’s jaw, disorientating him and sending the gun clattering to the floor.
Moving back, Jim swung his fist at Roy’s face, making contact and breaking the Security Chiefs grasp on his arm. Having found his target, he followed it up with a series of blows without a pause, before grabbing Roy’s collar and throwing him against the wall behind him. Roy slumped to the ground and although dazed after the sudden, brutal attack, looked to where the gun had hit the floor and realized he was a lot closer to it than Jim, who came to the same conclusion a heartbeat later. Reaching out swiftly, Roy snatched up the gun but unfortunately, as he pointed the muzzle at Jim, the latter changed course and launched himself at Roy, landing heavily on top of him and forcing the air from his lungs. Jim struck Roy’s face hard, making him lose his grip on the gun. He struck him again, further disorientating Roy and then he seized his advantage, lunging sideways and snatching up the weapon. He stood, took a half step back and aimed down at his former superior.
“I’m sorry, Roy.” Jim said, sounding almost sincere as he prepared to take Roy’s life. Suddenly, Donna leapt towards Jim, swinging her arm down like a club and knocking Jim’s outstretched arm downward as he pulled the trigger. Roy felt a sudden, agonizing pain in his leg, and saw a rapid expulsion of blood as the bullet blew straight through just above his knee. Donna roared in fury and swung a fist at Jim’s face, but he countered, punching her gut hard and then followed it up with a strong blow to her face, sending her reeling backwards. He raised the pistol and fired roughly in her direction. Donna was already in retreat and, hoping to prevent a second shot in her direction, Roy swung his uninjured leg around and swept Jim’s feet out from under him. The gun dropped from Jim’s left hand as he hit the ground and slid a few feet to the side. Roy crawled quickly towards it, leaving a bloody trail from his wounded leg, and once he retrieved it, rolled onto his back and aimed in the vague direction of where Jim had been only a moment before. However, he was too late; Jim was already bolting out of the security room door. Roy fired a quick barrage of shots, but they impacted against the door and wall harmlessly. Breathing heavily, Roy looked around for Donna and saw her legs protruding from the side of her desk.
“Donna?” He called out anxiously, but there was no response. Then he heard a disturbing, gurgling sound. He tried to scramble to his feet, but the pain in his knee from the wound sent him sprawling forward with a cry. He crawled towards her with his hands, and when he reached her legs, carefully inched around her. What he saw when he was finally able to see her face nearly broke his heart.
Donna had been shot in the neck, and although she was holding the wound, blood was spurting between her fingers. Her eyes were wide in terror and when she tried to speak, she spat blood out of her mouth, all over her pretty face. Roy dropped the gun and scrambled on his hands and one good knee until he was beside her, then he took her in his arms. He tried putting one of his larger, meatier hands over hers as he did so, hoping the pressure would do something to keep her alive.
“Press on it tight and hold on Donna. You’re going to be fine. You’ll be fine!” Roy assured her, his voice breaking on the last utterance as he realized his lie. He could see from the look in her eyes that she was utterly terrified. She knew she was going to die, and as her lifeblood flowed o
ut between their fingers, her face turned paler. She reached up with her other hand and gently touched, Roy’s cheek, her warm, wet blood smearing a path across his skin. Tears burnt his eyes as he looked down at the dying woman, but he held them back and met her gaze. She tried to speak, the words being lost and turning into nothing more than a sad, pathetic gurgle of wet vowel sounds. She coughed more blood onto her face, choking as she desperately tried to tell Roy what she’d always wanted to tell him.
“I know Donna. I know.” He whispered softly, holding her closer to him. He would never have crossed the line with her; he loved his wife too much. But in this, her final moment, Roy leaned in and planted the softest of kisses on her forehead, as a father would kiss his daughter. He pulled back and smiled at her. Donna’s hand started to slip from his face, but he saw that she didn’t have that fearful look in her eyes anymore. She looked... satisfied, was the only expression Roy could describe it as. Then her face slackened a little and her eyes began to glaze over.
“Hold on, Donna. Stay with me.” Roy pleaded, but Donna was slipping away. She looked serenely calm in her last moment, actually breaking eye contact with Roy as she if she saw something over his shoulder. Then the light left her eyes and her limbs went weak and slack; her hand flopping from his face to lie on the cold ground. Roy stared into her face as she passed and wished so very much that he could have done something differently. In his wild moment of grief, he almost wished he could’ve loved her as she did him. Lying beside her in a pool of her slowly expanding blood, Roy wished a million different things. But wishes wouldn’t change what had happened. Donna was dead. Melissa was dead. Almost everyone he worked with was dead. The only person he knew for sure who was still alive was Jim. It wouldn’t be too long before that woman, the Ancillary, discovered Jim had failed and then she would send her men to kill him. Roy wanted to go home and be with his wife, but looking into his future, he couldn’t see that possibility. So he made a decision. He wasn’t going to die lying down. Gently lowering Donna’s body back onto the ground, Roy reached for the gun and looked resolutely towards the door. Before he began to move towards it though, he turned back to Donna and promised that before he died, he was going to see Jim dead for what he’d done. No arrest, no trial, no procedure... this time, it was time blood for blood.
A World Reborn: The First Outbreak Page 16