Not on Her Watch

by Nicole Zoltack

  Nathaniel glowered at him.

  Laughing, Alejandro held up his hands. “Lo siento. I was joking. If she needs me, I’ll be there. She’s a tough cookie. She can handle anything.”

  “Oh, I know. I just don’t want her to ever be alone.”

  Alejandro nodded. “Being alone sucks, man.”

  Nathaniel punched him. “So my company doesn’t count?”

  Neil couldn’t tell where they were. The background was all grayed out. He only saw the two men.

  Again, the dream shifted. This time, Padilla was calling out the names for those who would be going to Grotto’s Bay. Nathaniel had been both eager to make a difference and disappointed. Shauna had just returned from another mission herself. Nathaniel had planned on getting fitted for a tux in case she preferred him to wear that instead of his uniform. He hadn’t thought she would, but it could never hurt to have his measurements. A tux could come in handy for other occasions in addition to a wedding.

  He never had time to get fitted. He’d had to pack and get ready for shipping out. At least Shauna had seen him off. That had been wonderful.

  And that might be the last time I will ever hold her or kiss her or love her.

  No. That wasn’t true. He loved her still.

  The longer he dreamed, the more memories came rushing back. He could only hope he retained them when he woke.

  And he did. The memories haunted him. What had awoken him? The other guards were still sleeping, Colonel Kronston Taer as well.

  A shadow in the doorway caught his eye. Neil—could he think of himself as Nathaniel now? Yes, he decided.

  Nathaniel sat up and glanced at the doorway. Doctor Despair stood there.

  The Colonel stirred, and as if they subconsciously knew this, the guards did as well.

  Taer stretched and sat up. “Time to eat,” he announced. His gaze shifted to the doorway and then to Nathaniel. “Doctor? Why have you joined us?”

  “After his meal, I wish to run a few tests on Ne—on Venom’s Vengeance.”

  “Of course,” Nathaniel said.

  “If you must.” The Colonel grimaced. “How long?”

  “Not more than a few hours.”

  Taer narrowed his eyes. “I need him,” he growled.

  “And you will get him once I am done.”

  Taer and the doctor eyed each other. It was interesting to watch the power dynamic between the two of them. Doctor Despair won, much to Nathaniel’s despair.

  To break their fast, they all ate omelets. The quiet affair unnerved Nathaniel. Clearly, the guards could not speak, and the doctor hovered nearby. He and the Colonel did not seem to be on speaking terms, and Nathaniel had nothing to say to them. His omelet contained steak again, and he hoped his sleight of hand to hide it went undetected. He had tucked the other napkin full of meat in his boot, and he did the same this time. If they were found in a trash receptacle, he would be discovered.

  Once he scrapped his last bite, the doctor gestured for him to follow. The other three men were still eating.

  “Not too long,” the Colonel finally barked.

  “Yes, yes,” Doctor Despair said, clearly frustrated and angry.

  Once they left the room, Nathaniel turned to him. “What kind of tests.”

  “Oh, this and that.” The doctor waved his hand.

  “What are you looking for?” he pried.

  “I wish to see how you are faring.”

  “You can ask me,” Nathaniel pointed out. “Just fine, by the way.”

  “Good, good, but I am a man of science, you see. A doctor.” He thumped his chest proudly. “Come.”

  The doctor ushered him into same room as before. “Let’s see… Remove your shirt, pants, and boots.”

  Nathaniel complied. Somewhere, he’d lost the sock he’d used as a peace entity with Alejandro.

  I’m a terrible, horrible person.

  He removed his other sock as well so that the doctor wouldn’t think anything of it. Carefully, he placed it in the same boot that had the scraps of meat in it. No matter what, the doctor couldn’t realize Nathaniel was skimming on his meat. Maybe he was being too suspicious, but it couldn’t hurt any.

  The doctor mumbled incomprehensibly to himself as he attached various electrodes to Nathaniel’s temples, chest, and back.

  “What are you monitoring for?” Nathaniel asked, trying again.

  “Don’t you worry about a thing,” the doctor said. “Now, I want you to watch this short video.”

  “And do what?”

  “Watch it.” The doctor smirked. “Aren’t you supposed to have excellent listening skills?”

  “I’m curious. That is all. And appreciative.” Nathaniel hesitated, wondering if he should mention that he knew another test subject had been unsuccessful.

  I can’t risk raising his suspicions. The Colonel is already acting strangely as it is.

  “You have helped me so much,” Nathaniel added. “Thank you.”

  “Ah, appreciation. That can go a long way. Perhaps you can teach… No mind.” The doctor pressed some buttons on his tablet and then held it out. “Watch these images. That is all you have to do.”

  He’s going to map my heart rate and my brain waves and who knows what else.

  Nathaniel swallowed hard. “That sounds too simple, Doctor. Won’t the Colonel be aggravated that you pulled me from an assignment to watch a video?”

  “This is an important test,” the doctor said with a scowl. “What happened to your gratitude?”

  Nathaniel flinched inwardly. He was not acting as they would assume Venom’s Vengeance would act. He could not help being afraid that if he slipped down that slope, there would be no return.

  The images were familiar ones of the battlefields. The screams and wails of the dying seemed louder than before. Somehow, he was able to smell the stench of loosed bowels, death, and decay. Nathaniel did his best not to think at all, but his heart had to be racing. He was frightened. He shouldn’t be. Or at least, Venom’s Vengeance wouldn’t be.

  Nathaniel risked a glance at the doctor. He was examining the printout of the results and frowning.

  Eventually, the doctor marched over and yanked the tablet away from Nathaniel. “Tell me why you are scared.”

  “Scared?” Nathaniel made a scoffing sound. “Check the readings again. I am not scared. I am sad.”

  “Sad? That may be even worse!”

  “You misunderstand. I am sad that war is inevitable because not everyone in the world understands and accepts our ideas. Peace is our objective, and yet they would rather fight. I pity humanity.”

  The tension in the doctor’s shoulders eased, but his eyes remained narrow. He was skeptical yet.

  “Once all those who prefer war are wiped out, a new dawn will come,” Doctor Despair said. “There is no reason for you to be sad that they should have to die.”

  He was blundering up and badly too.

  Nathaniel thought fast. “Again, you misunderstand me. I am sad that I do not think I will be able to handle all non-believers myself. I do not wish to share the wealth.”

  Now, the doctor laughed. “Is that it? I must say, though, that I am surprised you have not been performing well on your missions. From what the Colonel has told me, you have been a disappointment.”

  “I am a disappointment? Because the Americans are cowards and adept at hiding. I will lay a scourge on the entire island if that is what it takes to find and kill every last American here in Grotto’s Bay.”

  The doctor was smiling and nodding until he said kill. “Not kill,” the doctor said sharply. “Bring back here.”

  “Venom’s Vengeance prefers killing,” he said grumpily.

  “I am not surprised that you do, but orders are orders.”

  “Of course.” Nathaniel hesitated. How could he reassure the doctor he was on his side? “Doctor Despair, I do have one question for you.”

  “Go on.”

  “I do not know the limits of my own strength. I meant
to bring back that American female soldier, but I accidentally landed her in a coma. How can I prevent that from happening again?”

  “That will come with time, but do not worry about that.”

  “But I failed,” Nathaniel protested.

  Doctor Despair smiled. “You only truly fail when you give up. Have you given up?”

  “No.”

  “Good. Then do better next time.”

  “Am I free to go then?” Nathaniel asked.

  “Not quite. How has your appetite been?”

  “I am starving all of the time,” he admitted, which was the truth.

  “The protein will help with that. Make you feel full longer. How has your heart been?”

  Confused, Nathaniel shrugged. “It’s beating, I assume.”

  The doctor frowned, clearly not finding his remark amusing. “Of course it is beating.”

  “Even after a gunshot wound right to the heart.”

  The doctor slowly looked up from his tablet and blinked a few times in dismay. “Excuse me? I could not have heard you correctly.”

  “I was shot in the heart. I am fine. No scar or anything.” Nathaniel touched where the bullet had entered him. What had happened to the bullet anyway? Had there been an exit wound? Had his body somehow gotten rid of it? He wasn’t sure what exactly happened to his body when he healed. That he was able to heal like this was insane and terrifying.

  I can’t be invincible, though. The doctor is too smart for that. He must have a way to stop me or even kill me if I prove a threat to their goal of peace.

  “When did this happen? Why wasn’t I informed about this?”

  “It happened yesterday and I just informed you now. I apologize. I did not realize I was supposed to inform you of injuries considering they heal themselves. I am fine.”

  “I must collect more data,” the doctor mumbled as if talking to himself. “Lie back.”

  Nathaniel did as instructed. The metal table was cold, but he was shivering internally for another reason. If the doctor wished to operate to check his heart, he would have free reign over Nathaniel’s body again. Who knew what he might tamper with this time?

  Sure enough, the doctor came back over, now wearing gloves and holding a scalpel and a syringe. “A slight pinch and you will sleep,” the doctor said.

  “I would rather be awake,” Nathaniel blurted.

  “Awake? But I am to perform a minor procedure.”

  “How can I tell you about the healing process otherwise?”

  The doctor stared him down. “Tell me now or not at all.”

  “I bled more than normal,” Nathaniel said. “I felt no pain. I never do. It took longer to heal, I think. Then again, it was at point blank range so the wound was rather devastating.”

  “So illuminating.” The doctor rolled his eyes and injected Nathaniel. He didn’t even have time to fully hope that he would wake up as Nathaniel and not Venom’s Vengeance before he was out.

  >>><<<

  When Nathaniel woke up, he immediately felt along his chest. No scar. No blood. No stitches. Nothing.

  He sat up and glanced around. The doctor was not here.

  But the tablet was.

  Immediately, Nathaniel snatched it. It was stuck on a single screen, and if he tried to fiddle with it, it asked for his thumbprint. Instead, he scanned over the notes on that screen. What he read made him that much more uneasy.

  The doctor and Colonel both did not trust him. The doctor seemed to be obsessed with making more super soldiers. With the next ones, he does not wish to wipe out their memories. No, instead, he was going to implant false ones.

  They were onto him. Which meant that he was in danger. He could not stay here. He needed to make a move and now.

  Nathaniel grabbed his boots. Good, the food was still—wait. What was that?

  He removed a small item from his boot. What was it? Who put it there? It appeared to be some kind of communication device, but without knowing the frequency to broadcast on, he had no use for it.

  The Hidden Serpents hadn’t given it to him, or had they? Maybe it wasn’t a comms device at all but a means to track him? But the Colonel could have lied and said it was for any of a hundred different reasons. Venom’s Vengeance would have kept it on him at all times without an issue.

  Maybe it hadn’t been from the Hidden Serpents. Who else? Shauna? Was she looking out for him? Or maybe using him to find the base. If that was the case, she was even more intelligent than he previously thought.

  That would mean that the Green Berets would be here sooner rather than later.

  All the more reason to move now, especially considering the Colonel’s assumption that there will be an attack on the base soon.

  Nathaniel quickly dressed. As he shoved his right foot into his boot, he made his decision. Regardless of how close the Green Berets were, this was his time to strike. He could not risk spending more time with either the doctor or the Colonel. Yes, fear was motivating him, the worry either of them could cause him to fall back into that Venom's Vengeance line of thinking.

  Nathaniel had been a Marine. Now, it was time for him to start acting like one.

  Jacob, Leo, Sera, whichever ones of you are still alive, I'm coming to find you.

  He slipped out of the room and checked the next door down. It was locked, but brute strength made that a non-issue. The door swung open. Empty. There were combat boots on the floor, and he crossed over to them. They were bloodied, worn, and faintly smelled.

  Somehow, Nathaniel just knew these belonged to the Marine who had died during the brainwashing process. Or maybe from all of the muscle-creating blankets. Trauma had a way of devastating a person like nothing else.

  By the next door, Nathaniel heard a faint voice.

  "Why haven't you incinerated the body?" Colonel Kronston Taer sounded frustrated and furious.

  "I hope to discover why his body failed. The process for creating super soldiers is two-fold. They need the body, the strength, the endurance, and the healing. They also must have their mind conditioned. You and I both do not trust Venom's Vengeance. However, as he is the only successful candidate so far, we must keep him and use him as we can."

  "How much longer will he sleep for?" the Colonel grumbled.

  "About an hour. You and he both need patience."

  A grunt sounded.

  "You need to learn your place. You are merely a doctor."

  "Without me, you will fail and you know it. Nukes are one thing, and I know you would use them if you must. However, the point is to rule the world and its people. Unless you wish to rule the ashes?"

  "Maybe you should spend less time on the super soldiers and more time ensuring we can survive a nuclear blast and the radiation."

  "Yes, yes," the doctor said dismissively. "I do know how to multi-task unlike some who are all kill, kill, kill."

  "You mean capture for experimentations, capture for experimentations, capture for experimentations."

  The two roared with laughter.

  Nathaniel's stomach churned with disgust and revulsion. Loathing for them and himself had him ready to bust down the door. He could kill them both and end this once and for all.

  "He wants results," the Colonel was saying, "and he wanted them last year."

  "Science cannot be rushed," Doctor Despair complained. "This is both science and art. The body is a masterpiece, but I am trying to breathe new life into it."

  He? There's someone above the Colonel?

  That caused Nathaniel to step back. He hadn't thought about it until now, but it made sense. Normally, the military did not run the entire operation. A politician did. No one knew who was the leader of the Hidden Serpents, but Kronston Taer was not that man.

  I should kill him regardless. He is dangerous.

  But Nathaniel knew that if he were captured, the Green Berets would never be able to infiltrate and save the other Marines. He had to help them.

  Still, he lingered another moment.

  "Ah,
Sullivan. You showed so much promise. How can it be that you failed me?" The doctor sounded as if he was personally affronted by the soldier dying on him.

  This blow left Nathaniel reeling. He, Jacob, and Leon had all been so close. They had been like brothers. Now, Jacob was dead, and Leon was captured.

  So is Sera. That doctor is a little spitfire. I sure hope she's been giving Doctor Despair a lot of grief.

  Somehow even more motivated now, Nathaniel rushed over to the next door. It was unlocked, and no one was inside. All of the rooms along this hallway were structured exactly the same, and there were at least a dozen rooms if not more.

  Just think if the doctor gets his hands on that many volunteers…

  Nathaniel opened the next and rushed in. Leon was hooked up to all kinds of machines and instruments. His eyes were taped shut, and he seemed to be asleep.

  Wordlessly, Nathaniel yanked off an electrode. Within ten seconds, using his swift speed, all ninety-seven electrodes were off. He lifted Leon into his arms and turned to the door.

  The tongueless guards barred his way.

  "Move," Nathaniel said.

  They did move so far as they lifted their arms to train their guns on Leon.

  "You can't risk him. He's a test subject," Nathaniel said.

  The two parted, and the Colonel waltzed in and fired Leon straight in the shoulder.

  "The next goes in his head," the Colonel said.

  Even for Nathaniel with his speed and reflexes, the next moments happened too fast for him to stop them. The one guard took Leon from him and rushed away before Nathaniel could tell if he was healing or not. The other punched Nathaniel in the face.

  That snapped him out of the horrified, paralyzing trance he'd been in. He went to swing a punch, but the Colonel fired another shot. It pierced Nathaniel's thigh. A tranquilizer he realized as he slumped to the ground. The dose must be incredibly high for it to affect him.

  Just like that, Nathaniel was both captured and outed as a traitor and a threat to the Hidden Serpents. If they had a way to kill him, they would take it.

  But what if this act would be enough for the doctor to test his memory implantation on him?