Thirty Four Minutes DEAD (11 page)

"What a fucking hellhole to end up in, guys! I apologise that my country constructed shit like this".

The team undertook some MC vault-extension research after they had viewed the Designation, and then they retired to their respective sleeping quarters to rest before the midnight liaison with Mason.

Mason was waiting outside the area that housed the corpses. He looked rather ominous, dressed in black and appearing more gaunt than usual. He spoke with his usual succinct precision.

"Good evening gentlemen, we've had some more deliveries - in fact Chicago's spoiled you! She doesn't usually throw up nineteen corpses in less than twenty four hours, but the glorious South Side gang territories and a couple of RTA's have helped boost the overall body-count to a figure way beyond the average quota on this occasion. It isn't clear yet whether any of the RTA’s involved murder but our salvage squads secured them just in case. I'm afraid that one of the RTA victims won't be able to help you at all - an eighteen-wheeler has squashed his head to pulp. Unfortunately one side of wheels literally rolled over his body from nipple height upwards, so you can imagine what he looks like. The salvage squad that brought him in were on their first run, and as you know we don't send them out primed with corpse criteria until they have proved they have the right calibre for our work. Every squad has sent in some duds and only three crews know any specifics pertaining to our MC project.
 
MC specifics are closely guarded and only released to the selected few at this moment in time. Until our Global revelations, the salvage squads will always be 'fringe' project members and this will be secured by their ignorance.

“A couple of the gang-fight victims look a bit doubtful as well. One has received two headshots from an Uzi and the other received a direct headshot from a Magnum type pistol - thus two fifths of his head are absent! I thought I would give you the background to what you are going to see, because you probably wouldn't have anticipated the number of corpses. The way the bodies are collectively laid out makes the room look like a scene from a war film. The RTA victim is particularly graphic, Mr Ko-Chai - it might be wise for you to look away when you pass his bed. Okay gentlemen, shall we enter?"

As Vain's team entered the makeshift mortuary, they were initially taken aback by the stench of the preservatives that had been applied to some of the bodies. Whilst all the corpses had been located within the last twenty-four hours, not all of them had died within that time period. Indeed, two of the victims had gone into advanced stages of decomposition, making their appearance guignol in the extreme. The range of corpses backed up what Mason had said about the fluctuating levels of project knowledge evident amongst the selection squads. Some of the dead were beyond research suitability, having gone past the three-week period that would keep the MC-relevant sections of the brain fresh, or having received terminal injuries that physically damaged the aforementioned cranium areas. Tavini had shaken his head in disbelief as he passed one victim. The said victim had been decapitated and the head was absent. His comments pertaining to this particular corpse injected a wry black humour to the proceedings.

"Well guys, I guess a blind school selection squad picked up this one!”

The MC team examined the range of corpses that were laid out for them and they quickly devised an initial short list of suitable individuals. Their primary judgements were based on the external condition of the bodies and yet the internal condition was the key factor in ensuring a positive MC visual display. Each front line project member knew that the real test of victim suitability could only be determined once the vault splicer was embedded within the brain. Mason had a medical background that made him useful for identifying suitable victims and whilst he didn't have the specialist skills of Vain's team, he had developed a 'sixth sense' regarding corpses that were ideal for MC explorations. Each of Vain's team turned to Mason for advice on occasions and he seemed to warm to this leading light role.

After fifty minutes the MC team and Mason had narrowed their shortlist down to three individuals. The four men were just about to make their final selection when Mr Fray entered the room and expressed his desire for the team to select one of the gang-fight victims. He was obviously better informed than the MC team and knew something they didn't. His opening words were clinical in their tone.

"Good evening gentlemen. Explore Marco's mind. He's the fella with the Raiders jacket. One shot through his neck, two through his legs. He doesn't present any problems for exploration does he?”

Vain confronted Fray.

"We were just going to select the victim Mr Fray. We'd narrowed things down perfectly. Surely one of the two twenty something females will strike a chord more with global audiences when we show off our successes - they have more universal appeal for empathy generation than what looks like a South side crack dealer!”

"Things aren't always what they seem, Mr Vain. Marco Uccelli didn't hit the ground with the crack boys. He was dead three hours before that rumble! No, Marco used to be one of our best, a top FBI man. Then he made a couple of bad decisions with regard to the faith the FBI had in him and he became an embarrassment
 
- a serious security threat. The word went out that it might be better if Mr Uccelli wasn't around any more and for fourteen months he subsequently went into hiding. My boys were placing bets on who could nail him and two of our best guys were on his tail today - not teamed up, but two crack individual units. If you look at Uccelli, you will notice that the shot he took in the front of his neck has caused considerable damage, and yet we're certain that it was fired from a gun that only does substantial damage at close quarters. The chances are that he will have 'framed' his assassin in his memory camera and we will be able to reward the individual that finally got him".

"Does it really matter who finally pulled the trigger, Mr Fray? I can't see the big issue here. I mean the guy's dead just like you wanted - case closed, surely?"

"No, you've got to understand the intricacies of the situation here, Mr Vain. Once the word goes out concerning the removal of an ex-FBI boy, the top guys are put on the case, and several prefer to operate as individual hitmen. Yeah, the bulk of them are teamed up but Jensen and Mace preferred to work alone. Both of them have been in there from the start, with regard to locating Uccelli and you can bet your bottom dollar that both will claim the scalp. One will have won and the other lost. True, the FBI will see it as a bonus either way but now we actually have a chance to possibly prove who fired the fatal neck shot. We'll play the exploration back to the guys and if it's a good 'take', the 'who killed' question will be sorted beyond any doubt. You see, these two guys had one focus - Uccelli. They ate him, slept him, fucking
dreamt
him I shouldn't wonder. It's no surprise that both are going to claim his head. They were both pumped high on the end of the chase, and the bravado is going to take over. It's no good spouting team effort bullshit to them because both were wild card operators who worked as individuals. Uccelli is their exorcism. The guy who didn't fire the fatal shot will have convinced himself otherwise by now, and soon we'll get to the confrontation stage where the two will clash with each other. I want to eradicate this stage Mr Vain, as cancer in the ranks fucks up the whole operation. Seeing is believing, and Leif and myself want this issue clarified. I'm here on his behest, so your selection has been made for you. Right guys, the lesson endeth. This could be one fucking shoot out - I can't wait!”

Fray took his leave and left the four men alone to discuss the change in selection policy. Tavini spoke first, paying tribute to Fray's style of verbal delivery.

"Jeez, that guy sure knows how to win over an audience, doesn't he fellas? He walks in here, changes our plans and swans out - job done! He and Denison are golden, two of the same breed. I know he's not quite your sort of leader, Greg and Mishimo, but even you have got to admit that his presence is pretty commanding".

Ko-Chai answered.

"Yes David, the gentleman does indeed have a commanding presence, but he also has the power to change our selection decisions and I'm not likely to celebrate that factor am I?”

"I'm with you there, Mishimo. I mean what is the purpose of our exploration going to be here? To settle a rather infantile squabble between two FBI hitmen?”

"You're not reading the situation correctly, Greg. Fray was dead right about the tension that builds when two FBI guys are after the same goal. Someone's got to win and someone's got to fucking lose. Our role here is vital because this isn't an infantile squabble, it’s life or death mate! Both those guys were over a year in the hunt and if you let the rumours build the pressure could make one crack. Ask yourself what kind of guys these two are. They're the kind who are trained to kill, the kind that live on their nerves and the kind who compete with each other to the most intense level. What we uncover will add a degree of clarity that will hopefully close the matter once and for all. FBI inter-faction fighting is a bitch fellas, and what may initially seem a trivial war of counter claims could leave a guy on the slab if it wasn't for our project".

Mason seemed content to relinquish the spotlight he usually had when selections were taking place, and Tavini had managed to win over both of his fellow exploration team members to a fair extent. The exploration might not clarify things fully in terms of the visual awareness captured by the victim but everyone recognised the potential for illumination prevalent in MC project work. Vain's team commenced their exploration.

The ensuing exploration featured exactly the kind of visuals that Fray had been hoping for. Initially Marco Uccelli's memory camera highlighted both FBI men firing from mid-distance on adjacent street corners. The two were not together, firing randomly in the direction of the memory camera, and our viewing position by extension. The visuals were delivered in a jerky, fragmented style as they were determined by an individual who was running for his life amidst the ruins of Chicago's South Side region. The proverbial darkness broke the visuals on occasions when 'heightened' images weren't in evidence and after twenty-two minutes the screen only registered the presence of Jensen pursuing the memory camera's position. Jensen was running very fast and whilst gunfire had been returned from the MC position initially, now just Jensen's gun was active. Cries of pain suddenly rang out from Marco and the memory camera dropped to a ground level perspective. Slowly Jensen approached Marco's fallen spatial position. He held a pistol in his right hand and he brandished it menacingly in our direction. A bloodied hand wiped Marco's eyes, although it distorted the visuals for a short time as a red smear temporarily distorted the approaching Jensen. After Marco's MC lens cleared, the assembled project members witnessed Jensen being 'framed' in close-up, standing twelve feet away from the memory-camera position. He was revelling in his empowered position and when he spoke his words were music to Fray's ears.

"You've got ten seconds, Marco. Start counting out loud - you never know, I might change my mind!”

The gun appeared on the screen, from an ominous high angle.

"...five, six, seven…"

The bullet sunk into the man's neck.

"I lied, seven's my lucky number!”

The MC images didn't die instantly on the screen but lasted a further three minutes, featuring a concentration of sky gazing shots similar to Leah's visual display. A choking sound accompanied the images and when the death rattle finally sounded the images slowly faded off screen. Jensen hadn't administered the
'coup de grace'
and had even taunted the man as he lay dying. "I'll check out your wife" were Jensen's last words to Uccelli.

Fray was enraptured by Marco's HV retention and he proceeded to backslap each MC front line team member. He behaved in a fashion akin to a child receiving the present they had hoped for above all others at Christmas. His words were as ebullient as his actions.

"Stuff Mean Streets, stuff The Godfather, stuff Reservoir, this is the real thing, fellas! Yo, what a display. Jensen is a living De Niro here. I guess this is the ultimate way to solve a 'hit' dispute - what a precedent!”

Mason spoke from the margins of the explorations room.

"How are you going to display Uccelli's HVs Mr Fray. I mean, surely project security dictates that you can't have a mass departmental screening? Those in the know project-wise probably still number less than a hundred, and you have over three hundred persons in your FBI departmental area alone!”

"Don't worry Mr Mason, the screening will essentially be a private affair with Jensen and Mace being welcomed into the project fold after they have witnessed Uccelli's HVs. Seven other members of my FBI departmental area will also witness the event as they are already working within the MC project. Question answered, now let's have another look at 'cool-boy' Jensen - he was worth a fucking Oscar!”

The Chicago precedent had been set on the first night as far as selection was concerned. In the first three weeks the MC team did select some corpses themselves for exploration work, but more often than not Fray or Denison would choose a victim that was relevant to either FBI or CIA operations. Vain had started to feel that British involvement in the MC project was being pushed further into the margins as far as staffing was concerned. In London no new British project staff were forthcoming, but in Chicago new American recruits would arrive on the scene in pairs or trios on a daily basis.