“I’m sorry, Agent Pearson,” said Stewart, “But we can’t
openly talk about Didache or anything that took place in the lab. We could go
to jail for the rest of our lives. We signed government documents that don’t
expire for seventy years. Would you mind telling me where we’re going?”
“We’re going to Atlanta.”
“Why?”
“That’s classified, Stewart,” said Ryan, motioning
Dallas to join them. “Dallas, would you take Stewart into the other cabin? He’s
not feeling very cooperative.”
“My pleasure, Boss,” replied Dallas, separating Stewart
from the other two.
“He seems a little overly defiant considering the
circumstances,” said Ryan, returning his attention to Jeff and Randy. “Any idea
why?”
“Yes,” said Randy, “Because all this is his fault.”
“All of this?”
“Why the Marines are the way they are,” said Jeff.
“That’s a good place to start, Jeff. Why were Derek and
the others intentionally made into killers?”
“Jesus Christ, Agent Pearson,” said Randy. “Do you think
we did that to them on purpose?”
“I know very little about why any of this happened,”
said Ryan. “All I do know is that there are too many dead bodies lying in the
wake of what you did. I need to know why, Randy.”
“Stewart did it to them alone,” said Randy, talking
fast. “It was because he got dumped by his girlfriend. And really, she wasn’t
even his girlfriend. They went out on a couple of dates, and Stewart acted like
they were going to get married. He found out she was sleeping with another guy
at the lab, and he went fucking ballistic.”
“Randy, I need you to slow down a bit,” said Ryan. “What
does an ex-girlfriend have to do with Didache?”
“Everything,” said Jeff, speaking in a much slower
tempo. “She had everything to do with this. Her name is, I mean was, Bethany. She was an intern –”
“I know who Bethany was,” interrupted Ryan. “She was the
first victim. The Colonel had us believe she was random and killed near the
campus of Syracuse University. But we know she was killed near the dorms.”
“They lied to everyone, Agent Pearson,” said Jeff. “We
tried to speak up one time to the Colonel and he went through the roof. He said
we’d never make it to jail because Derek and Joshua were coming back to kill us
for what we did. He said he was the only person on the planet who could keep us
safe. That’s when he basically locked us up in the lab. We’ve barely seen
daylight since this thing started.”
“These past few months have been very confusing,” said
Ryan, “You and I need to sort this out. Tell me about Bethany’s involvement.”
“She didn’t do anything,” continued Jeff, “It was
Stewart. When he found out about the other guy, he swore he was going to pay
her back for cheating on him. I mean, he was really out there.”
“Focus, Jeff, please.”
“I need to tell you a little bit about what we did at
the lab first, okay?” said Jeff. “You’ll understand why very shortly.”
“I’m all ears.”
“I don’t know the extent of your knowledge, but –”
“Feel free to dumb it down for me, Jeff. I won’t be
offended.”
“We created extremely detailed computer models of each
of the Marines physiology. The software programs we use are more advanced than
anything else in existence. They were constantly being fed by biomedical
devices attached to each man. In essence, we created exact virtual replicas of
them. It’s so detailed and sensitive, that whenever they ate a meal, we could
track where each nutrient went by monitoring the virtual replicas. We could
monitor which cells were being replenished and which ones died. Are you with
me?”
“I am,” said Ryan. “You created a carbon copy of each
Marine in the computer program.”
“Correct,” said Jeff. “What it allowed us to do was
alter their physiology through genetic experimentation without affecting a single
cell in the real Marines. We’d introduce a round of gene therapy in the virtual
Marine and then monitor how it affected the virtual body. If the changes were
within specific parameters and deemed safe, then we’d take the next step and
introduce the mutated gene into the real Marines. And one hundred times out of
one hundred times, the real Marines reacted in the exact same way as the
computer models. The science and technology involved is light years ahead of
any published research.”
“I’m still with you, Jeff,” said Ryan.
“We’re able to tinker with any area of the human body
which includes the brain. Uploading genetic mutations to certain areas of the
brain can alter behavior. That’s where things really become interesting. It’s
also where Colonel Brown wanted us to focus most of our efforts. It became
almost elementary to change the physical capabilities of the Marines, but the
Colonel wanted to control their behavior. But behavioral modification is still
in its infancy stages.
“There aren’t as many controls set up to monitor how it
could adversely affect them. In fact, there are no controls in the virtual
Marines at all. The only thing we could do was verify if there was any damage
to the brain matter itself. We couldn’t tell him how they’d actually react in
real life, but it didn’t sway his position. He pushed us every day to find a
solution.
“We created another virtual model that we could attach
to the existing version which gave us very basic tools to alter behavior
genetically. That’s when Stewart created the Vampire model.”
“Okay, now you’re losing me,” said Ryan.
“He was fucking around and created a virtual model which
would turn them into vampire like soldiers. He basically uploaded genetic
mutations and made them hunt down and kill Bethany. It was his way of getting
revenge on her for cheating on him.”
“You’re saying he programmed them to murder his
girlfriend?”
“Only in the virtual models,” said Jeff. “It’s important
you know that. He never intended it to actually be injected into them. It was
an accident.”
“An accident,” said Derek with a growl. “Do you have any
idea how many lives you’ve ruined because of your accident?” He stood up and
moved closer to Jeff. Derek’s face began to turn pale. “Do you have any idea
how many women have been murdered?”
“Women?” asked Jeff confused. “Bethany wasn’t the only
one?”
“We believe as many as twenty,” said Ryan, putting his
hand on Derek’s arm trying to calm him down. “They’ve been taking victims exactly
six weeks apart to the day. They couldn’t stop themselves.”
“Stewart told us he dated her for six weeks before she
cheated on him,” said Jeff making the connection. “He must have programmed a
loop in computer models. I didn’t know. I swear to you, I didn’t know.”
Derek closed his eyes and lowered his head. The color
began to return to his face and he took a seat next to Ryan. “I can’t believe
we’ve been through this hell because of a relationship gone bad. He may not
have known about the others, but I still want to tear him out of his skin.”
“Easy, Derek,” said Ryan. “We need him in his skin to
answer a few more questions. Jeff, continue. So this was all an accident.”
“I think so,” said Jeff with a shaky voice, “When he
found out the technicians mutated the genetic material and gave it to the
Marines, he freaked out. He just walked in circles slapping his head and said how
stupid they were for not verifying the order.”
“The order?”
“We create the recipe, we don’t cook it.”
“Okay, you may have dumbed it down too far,” said Ryan.
“Sorry,” said Jeff. “We build the schematic which a
different department follows to create the real genetic material. We’re not
hands on. When we complete an order based on what the military medical team
requested, they take what we created on paper and alter the actual genetic
material. They’re the ones that put the material into the Marines.
“Stewart never should’ve been fucking around in the
program, but none of us thought it would work. When the computer model
indicated that it had a chance to succeed, we put it on ice until we could do
further testing. Not because we wanted them to kill Bethany, but because we
discovered how to genetically modify behavior. Do you have any idea what a
monumental breakthrough that is? For science geeks like us, it would be like
finding life on Mars.”
“You didn’t find life on Mars, Jeff,” said Ryan. “You
just managed to end a bunch of them here on earth. Nearly thirty people have
died because your buddy was pissed at a girl.”
“I’m sorry,” said Jeff. “It was a stupid thing to say.
I’m just a little nervous.”
“You should be,” said Derek. “It doesn’t matter how this
happened. Just because we know why it happened isn’t going to change the end
result. All I know is, day after tomorrow, I’m not going to be able to stop
myself from killing again. I get to look forward to being a monster for the
rest of my life.”
“Joshua didn’t tell you?” asked Jeff with a puzzled
face.
“Tell me what?”
“The mutation is completely reversible.”
“Reversible?” asked Derek, needing clarification.
“Joshua was in the room when we told the Colonel,”
continued Jeff talking faster, “He said he wanted to be the one to tell you
guys the good news. The next thing I know, the Colonel tells us you went nuts
and took off. He said you just snapped and threatened to kill everyone involved,
starting with us.”
“No, he didn’t tell us,” said Derek. “Joshua did tell us
you were planning on spiking our next round of therapy with potassium chloride.
Of course we ran.”
“That’s very good news, Derek,” said Ryan. “How do we
make it happen, Jeff?”
“Well, the easiest way would’ve been back at the lab,
but you seemed to have removed that option.”
“Thank you for the observation, Jeff,” said Ryan. “What
are our other options?”
“You said we’re going to Atlanta?”
“Correct.”
“That gives us a couple options,” said Jeff. “We have
the material and the knowledge. The CDC or even Emory University has the
equipment and staff. Do we have access to either?”
“Not at the moment,” said Ryan. “But we will. How long
will it take?”
“Five to seven days before he feels any effects,” said
Jeff. “He should be in the clear after a few weeks.”
“Looks like you’re still going to be taking that long
nap, Derek,” said Ryan.
“Actually, that’s a good idea,” said Jeff. “If he’s
unconscious and paralyzed during the peak, it should pass in a day or so.”
“That’s the day after tomorrow, Ryan,” said Derek.
“Where and when do you plan on sedating me? And then after, how do you plan on
getting us access to the CDC? In case you forgot, you’re pretty much a fugitive
like me.”
“Don’t worry,” said Ryan with confidence. “I have a
plan.”
“Are you going to share it with me?”
“Sure, as soon as we land. I have a couple phone calls
to make.”
“Ah, as soon as we land. Again, this is the part when
you tell me I’m just going to have to trust you?”
“That’s worked out pretty good so far, hasn’t it?” asked
Ryan.
“So far,” said Derek with a weak smile.
The plane landed at an airstrip outside of Atlanta. Ryan
was relieved when they walked off the aircraft without an army of federal agents
waiting for their arrival. The welcoming party consisted only of Michelle and
Tom.
“How was your trip?” asked Tom, greeting Ryan with a
handshake.
“Productive,” responded Ryan. “Nice work with Joshua.
You made a believer out of Derek.”
“I really can’t thank you enough,” said Derek joining
the reunion. “I really don’t care what happens to me at this point. Jennifer
being safe and not living in fear is all I wanted.”
“You’re welcome,” said Michelle. “She’s going to be
staying put for a little while, but you’ll be seeing her soon. Tomorrow’s going
to be a very interesting day.”
“He doesn’t know,” said Ryan.
“Oh, this is going to fun to watch,” she said.
“What does that mean?”
“She means telling you about my plan.”
“Well?” asked Derek, staring at Ryan.
“The only way we’re going to get access to the CDC and
get you better is to bring you in.”
“This is what I get for trusting you?” asked Derek,
perplexed at Ryan’s idea.
“Hey, it’s you and Jennifer who opened my eyes to the
effectiveness of the simple plan.”
“Simple, not stupid,” said Derek. “And I have to tell
you it sounds stupid. You’re going to hand me over to the deputy director? He’s
one of them. I’m a dead man if I go into custody.”
“You’re not going into custody,” said Ryan. “I said I’m
bringing you in. What I mean is we’re going to the Atlanta field office and
meet with the agent in charge. I’ve known him for years and I trust him.
“Think about it, Derek. You’re still wanted for rape and
murder, and they’re going to have a few questions for me about assaulting a
military lab and killing a Marine Colonel. Those are fairly considerable
weights hanging over our heads. If we run, those questions won’t get answered,
and the deputy director will still be in control. Not to mention you won’t get
the help you need.”
“We can figure out another way to reverse the effects,”
said Derek. “We have the scientists; we just need to find a lab. It can’t be
too hard after what we’ve been through.”
“What about after?” asked Tom. “What do we do after?
Join forces and live our lives on the run? I agree with Ryan. We do what isn’t
expected.”
“And if they don’t believe us?” asked Derek.
“We shoot our way out.”
“That’s the only thing about this plan that makes
sense.”
“I’m joking, Derek. I’ve put a little more thought into
it than that,” continued Ryan. “We’ll have an exit strategy, but we won’t need
it.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“The Colonel and the director almost succeeded because
it was contained within their offices,” explained Ryan. “Exposure is what they feared
the most. They used their power to keep a lid on everything. We’ll use ours to
blow the lid off. Even if the Atlanta office can’t wrap their heads around what
happened, they’ll be asking more questions than the deputy director can dodge.
After all, even he has a boss. A boss who coincidently worked in the Atlanta
field office before moving to Washington.”