“What consequences?” one of Adams’s two hit men asked menacingly, a thin, bald man with a goatee, and wearing a long black leather jacket. The Administrator scowled at the man, so hard that the latter lowered his gaze, and became completely silent.
“I would be forced to call new elections, and to run against you.”
“You don’t have that kind of power!” yelled the old man, grabbing tightly the border of the pulpit with his fingers, like a vulture with its claws clinging to a carcass.
“You want to see if he can’t wake the dead in their graves? Oh, sorry, I forgot that it’s already the case,” said Johnny, with a mocking tone.
Joshua Adams blustered but didn’t answer, looking at them. Hiroto said, in a hushed, respectful tone, “I don’t want Power, but whenever I consider that the Community’s needs aren’t taken into account, I’ll use whatever means are necessary to stop you.”
The old Administrator had turned green, now, and he saw the Sensei and his student turn around, the Master continuing, “I wish you a good day, Administrator Adams.” The camera crew watched with him the two men go, opening the door of the studio. His Master having got out, Johnny, beneath the door frame, turned around and looked at Adams, smiling mockingly… and then slammed the door behind him.
This provoked a reverberation between the walls of the studio, which took many seconds to subside. Once silence was back, one of the crew men timidly approached Adams, and asked, “Should we get back to filming?”
The Administrator answered nothing, only watching him, furious.
***
Trespassing
Johnny approached surreptitiously the door, amongst the shadows of the dark corridor. As he approached the closed door, he was on guard, ready to turn around, in case someone would notice him. The only light, dim, coming inside the corridor, was from an outdoor lightning. Its pale, yellowish light went through a skylight, vaguely illuminating the ceiling.
He froze all of a sudden, becoming immobile like a statue, while being prone to bolting. At the far end of the long hallway where he was, he had discerned a silhouette. Someone has seen me!
He was tempted to retreat, but held back, not being sure that it was a good idea. He finally decided to wait for the person to approach. Was it one of Professor Harding's aids?
What could reason would it be possible for me to give, to explain why I'm here, at this hour... in the dark? Looking at the silhouette of the man or woman, who was standing there, still immobile, he wondered: by the way, what's that person doing here too, at this time of the night?
He squinted to discerner better the silhouette, and he approached slowly, shyly, going down the hallway.
He murmured a timid, "Hello,".
No answer… he continued to approach…
And suddenly, being now only a few meters away, he stopped…
And finally, after a few seconds, he smiled, and then chuckled.
He had been frightened by a black leather jacket, suspended on a hook!
Reassured, he turned around and walked toward the closed door, stopping in front of it. He took the doorknob, hesitantly, in his hand and, turning it, he pulled.
The door half opened, and he stopped his movement, surprised - or subconsciously disappointed – how easily could enter. He told himself, they haven't locked it! You don't even have, to ease your conscience, that excuse to withdraw... Coward!
His heart pounded in his chest, as he silently opened wide the door, which creaked. The squeak got on his nerves.
A figure moving in the dark, in front of him, having reacted at the noise. Jonny sighed, and approached the silhouette plunged into darkness. Here too, the only source of light was coming from an outer lumen, through the bars of the small window of the cell. He approached the cell and stopped in front of it, standing two meters back.
The young man swallowed hard, and murmured, "Hi again, Dad."
The silhouette which was in the dark moved swiftly, like a predator leaping toward its prey, and banged loudly into the bars. Two gleaming red eyes observed him, as he heard worrying growls. Johnny guessed more than he saw his father, who was standing behind the bars in the dark.
"Dad..."
The giant in the dark extended an arm toward him, his fingers taking the shape of claws, as he tried to grab his T-shirt, but Johnny was just off limits.
The latter watched him silently now, sadness on his face. The impressive colossus calmed down, moving slowly in the cell, like a big cat, walking in a feline way. And Johnny really had the feeling of watching a black panther, waiting for an opportunity to attack. The figure in the dark moved slightly, and Harry's head finally appeared. It was illuminated by the outdoor lumen, whose dim light went through the small barred window of his cell. The play of light, because of the bars of the window, cast vertical shadows on the giant's face, enhancing the cat-like appearance of his face. A low rumble erupted suddenly, and the head moved again, the pupils of the eye wide open, with, at the middle, a gleaming iris, red like a ruby.
The young colored man took a pistol out of one of the pockets of his jacket, pointing it in the direction of his father. The hand holding the weapon shaked slightly, while being aimed at the area of his father's heart. Perspiration trickling down his forehead. Johnny had a sad look on his face. Many seconds passed by.
Suddenly the young man's gaze hardened, showing now a strong willingness, and he sighed heavily. His hand quit shaking, and he then targeted Harry's head. The eyes of the colossus, who was completely silent now, looked at him with an intense look.
He seemed to be waiting.
To be hoping. The young man told himself, Is he still inside? Does he actually hope that I'm going to do it, somewhere inside that decaying, transforming body?
Johnny sighed and murmured, 'I'm so sorry, Dad."
"Don't do it!"
He flinched and almost shot by reflex, when hearing the recognizable voice, and he turned around.
He was then dazzled by an intense, white light, which made him gasp. Surprised, he scrunched his eyes together while trying to protect them from the light, by interposing an open hand.
Looking up, he realized that the overhead lights hadn't been turned on. Lowering his gaze, he understood that someone was blinding him with the lamp of a smartphone. The person lowered the beam, ceasing to blind him. That's when he was, at last, able to recognize Red.
She had been standing behind him, her phone in one of her hands. She looked sad as she watched him in the eye. The girl remained completely silent, now, watching him intensely with her green eyes... and he couldn't help but recognize a reproachful look on her beautiful face.
"Red? What... what are you doing here?" he croaked, not knowing clearly if he felt anger, or shame.
"What are YOU doing here, Johnny?" she whispered.
"I... it's not your business!" he yelled.
"Don't do it, Johnny... don't kill your Dad!" Despite the weak light her phone's lamp threw everywhere by reflexion, against the walls, he glimpsed a tear, trickling along one of her freckled cheeks.
He turned around, wanting to flee her gaze, and at the same time facing the colossus again, who remained silent.
"I must free him, Red... He's been rotting for years, in this cell, while he’s been slowly degenerating." He lifted up his arm and pointed again the weapon at his father's forehead's level.
"Stop, there is hope!" the teen girl shouted while taking the armed hand between both of hers, trying to lower it. Her efforts were useless, he was much too strong. She fought a bit, but he resisted. Finally, she released his arm. He knew, knowing her level in Martial Arts, that she could've made him drop the gun, but she didn’t. She actually respected his will, and he appreciated that.
"What hope, Red? Look at him, he's already one of them, or at least almost!"
He pointed precisely the barrel of his weapon at the center of the big man's forehead. He added, "My father has always asked me, since the beginning of the Plague, to kill him, bef
ore he would become one of those monsters, and after that, to burn his body!"
Red hadn't finished trying, yet: "Trust me, when he will be dead, it will be over. You will never more discuss with him... I miss so much my Dad, my Mom... Trust me, parents' phone calls and Xmas letters become much rarer, after their death!"
This last sentence, as stupid as is seemed, made Johnny chuckle nervously. But as he looked at her face, he saw that she wasn't in a mood for laughing. She watched him in a very serious way, and she continued, "Trust me, Johnny, I miss them so much!"
His gun still pointing toward his father's head, the young colored man winced, tortured interiorly, hesitating. There was a strange, dim light surrounding them, coming from the reflexion on the walls of the girl's smartphone lamp. It produced a weird and distorted projection of their four shadows.
Four? This thought made Johnny open wide eyes.
He briskly turned around and pointed his gun toward the fourth person, who was standing behind them.
"Stop, it's me!"
The unknown crossed his hands in front of his face, as if it could stop a bullet shot toward his head.
"Bo?" yelled Johnny, rising his gun toward the ceiling, glad he didn't shoot by surprise. Anger came on his face, as his friend uncrossed his arms to expose a face showing fear.
"Bo-ris! Asshole, I was this close to kill you!" the colored man seethed, gritting his teeth.
"Sorry, sorry, Johnny, I didn't want to frighten you!" He became silent, his gaze following the gun in his friend's hand, which shaked nervously, sometimes pointing toward the dark ceiling, sometimes dangerously lowering it again toward him. Looking at the gun in his turn, the black guy pointed, finally, its barrel toward the floor. Looking his friend in the eye, he still saw fear in his gaze. Johnny told himself that he probably looked mad, so he decided to calm down. Despite of that, he hated to be disturbed, especially by his two best friends. Two potential witnesses of his coming mad - or wise! - act...
He opened his lips to speak and was interrupted by Bo, "Don't do it, Johnny! She's right, don't do it..."
He glared at the blond guy, and at the red-haired teen, and shouted, "If I must kill my father, it's my business, you..."
"No, it's mine!"
The cold voice startled all three of them. They looked nervously around, in the mix of dim light and shadows surrounding them.
Then an explosion of white light assaulted their eyes, making them gasp.
Red was blinded like the others by the intense white light, coming from the lamps of the ceiling. And she heard a kind of buzz. Looking up, she saw a webcam mounted high on a wall. The buzz sound was coming from it, as it was turning, turning its lens toward them. She saw the diaphragm of the objective lens became larger, such as an iris. Over it there was a blinking red Led, meaning that they were being observed.
She wasn't surprised when the door opened behind them, and Professor Harding entered, accompanied by one of his assistants.
He scowled at them three, making them lower their gaze, clearly ashamed. Unlike his collaborator who was in work clothes, the Scientist was wearing a blue silk dressing gown, and he had slippers. After he had severely scanned all of them, his attention focused on Johnny, whose eyes shifted, shame clearly soaring inside him. ... approached the young man, who lowered his gaze.
"Mister Jackson," Johnny raised his chin and, fighting his shame, looked him in the eye. The Scientist continued, "I saw and heard you, via our surveillance screen. You were going to kill your father."
"Yes," yelled the young man angrily, "He's been so unhappy, imprisoned like a beast, and all this for what?"
He pointed a hand toward the massive black man standing at the other side of the bars, adding, "All that for nothing! You assured me you would heal him, that he would not become one of those flesh-starving creatures, but finally, you failed!"
He stopped and sighed heavily, as all the other human beings - and his father, or at least what remained of him - watched him silently.
"My father wanted to remain human... and I want to respect his will," the young colored man murmured, finally lowering his gaze toward the floor, a mix of anger and sadness showing on his face. And now, he remained silent. No one added anything during a moment, looking at him, not daring to break the silence.
Professor Harding finally acknowledged silently by nodding, and he said with a soft voice, “Then, I think that you're ready."
Johnny raised his head and watched him, dumbfounded. He looked at the Scientist in the eye, waiting for him to explain, but the man in front of him remained silent, watching him intensely. He looked uselessly at his two young friends, waiting for one of them to give him an advice. An unnecessary time wait.
Finally, he said, "Well, I think you've lost me, Professor. Could you please clarify your thoughts?
"It's simple, Johnny," the man answered, stopping and seeming to hesitate, fidgeting with his hands in the two pockets of his bathrobe. His little game didn't escape the attention of the young girl, who said to herself, what has he got on his mind? It doesn't seem actually clean and straightforward...
"I have invented a process which can reverse the process of his transformation..."
"Oh my God," yelled Johnny, beginning to cry tears of joy, "Thank you, Professor, thank you... God bless you, and …"
"I haven't finished my explanation," ... said, using a tougher tone which made the young man's smile fade away, and he continued, "The problem is that the process of reverse transformation is dangerous, and could perhaps definitely, and completely, kill your father."
This announcement completely disappointed Johnny, who opened wide eyes, but remained silent. Many seconds passed by, and Red decided to ask the question which bothered his friend, and that he clearly, didn't dare ask.
"What are the chances of success, I mean, his chances of survival, Professor?"
The man turned his attention to her and, briskly, said, "Forty per cent... perhaps fifty per cent, if he's lucky."
Johnny looked at him, aghast, and as the Professor again paid attention to him, he looked glacially cold and continued, "If your father survives the treatment, and although there are a few, hummm…, side effects, he will return to his previous state , that of being a normal human being."
"My father isn't a "normal" human being," Johnny interrupted him by yelling, "He's a colossus, a giant, a warrior, who has defended the Community during many years!" The Scientist nodded, seeming unimpressed, and answered, "Of course, I know that. At least, chances are that you'll find again your father. The one you thought you had lost."
"But… you said that the treatment could kill my Dad!", the young man shouted.
"You were ready to kill him, anyway, shouted back the Scientist, "and don't lie to me: you were caught on our infrared cameras!"
This reminder startled the young man, who, breathing heavily, approached a nearby wall, and he leaned against it.
Tears rolled out of his eyes. He looked into space with lack-luster eyes, he leaned against the wall, his back rubbing it.
Red and Bo approached him silently, sadness on their faces, while the man wearing the bathrobe continued to watch them coldly. He looked like an entomologist watching, with the eyes of a professional, ants interacting.
The young girl crouched near Johnny who, sadness visible on his face, continued to look in front of him, at the naked wall.
After many seconds, he acknowledged her presence, and he asked, continuing to seem to look far away, "Red... what would you do if you were me?" There was a catch in his voice.
She sighed, closing her eyes, and reopening them, she looked at him again before answering, "I'm not you... but one thing is certain... you wanted to kill your Dad a few minutes ago..."
The colored man looked at her with disgust. In fact, he wasn't disgusted by her, but by himself. He looked at Bo, who was standing near them, waiting to hear his opinion. The muscular young blond man, in return, had a look at him, pouting, and in response, shrugged his
shoulders.
Johnny lowered his gaze toward the floor and, sighing heavily, murmured, "OK, Professor, you've won. I accept."
"A courageous, and intelligent decision!" the volume of the Scientist's delighted voice startled the young man, who hadn't realized that he had joined them.
He raised his chin and saw that his field of was invaded by something which was dazzling him. Squinting his eyes, he realized that a data pad was hanging in front of his face, held by the Professor. His view adapting, finally, he read the text which was visible on the illuminated surface, reading aloud, "Acceptance contract for experimental procedure."
"You can sign the contract with this stylus," said the Professor, who was giving it to him with the other hand. The colored young man swallowed, and then swiftly took the stylus and the pad with shaking hands, signing it nervously.
Immediately, the stylus and the data pad were almost ripped from his hands. Then ... shouted, while looking at his aids, who, joining them, were three, "OK, we've got the green light, guys!". Prepare the surgery table!"
He looked severely, as if they were naughty children caught out, at the group of young people, who were looking at him almost dumbfounded. He scowled and told to them, "You may quit."
Johnny stood up with difficulties, and looking at each other, the three friends left the room.
***
Surgery
"Has the patient been prepared?" asked Professor Harding, while washing his hands carefully, using a special anti-septic soap. He was wearing a pastel green uniform for operating block staff. A surgical mask of the same color lowered under his chin, he concentrated his efforts on the cleaning of his fingernails. Thus he followed the classical technique for disinfecting hands, an essential stage before any surgery worthy of the name.
Time passed by and, as he was now drying his hands, the Scientist turned his attention at the aid to whom he had posed his question. The fear on the face of the little man, with his thin mustache, who remained mute, intrigued him. He immediately understood that something was happening.
BESIEGED (HUNGRY Series Book 2) Page 3
