Project Armageddon

by Michael Stephens

  Abbie jumped at the sound of the door.

  Josh saw an agent look through the glass window of the door. He quickly dropped below the desk.

  “What happened?” asked Abbie.

  “They're looking in the room. Stay low and watch the windows. What’s the plan?”

  Josh peeked above the desk again. The agent was gone.

  Abbie whispered, “What do you mean?”

  “We’re in a computer lab hiding from the FBI and some nut job who wants to cash in on using your father’s magic juice to save desperate people without hope,” said Josh. “We should probably have a plan.”

  “My father’s plan was to cure the world of the very thing that took his wife, my mother, away from us. He didn’t want money or to leave it for some guy to promise them a cure depending on what they could afford.”

  “I was thinking more along the lines of how do we stay alive.”

  “Sorry,” said Abbie. “I’m beginning to see why my father called this Armageddon. It seems like there’s no right move with this thing. Save millions in the hope that it doesn’t cripple the world’s economy. Sell it, millions still die because most of them can’t afford it. It’s lose, lose no matter what.”

  Abbie rested her head in her hands, dejected.

  Josh scanned the computers that sat on the rows of desks they hid behind. It kick-started the wheels to spin in his brain. He was forming an idea on the fly, evaluating it, and then trying to improve it.

  Abbie continued to vent her frustration with the heavy burden her father bestowed on her.

  Abbie’s voice faded to incomprehensible background noise for Josh. At the forefront of Josh’s brain was the most ludicrous idea he could ever conceive. Several minutes later, while Abbie continued to describe her frustrations, Josh was sitting at a desk typing on the computer. The unfortunate part of his plan was that he could be seen and would expose his and Abbie’s location to anyone that looked through the window. At that moment, the FBI happened to be standing outside the window. Josh figured it was only a matter of minutes before they would see him.

  Chapter 69

  Abbie stopped talking when she realized Josh was no longer participating in the conversation. The familiar sound of fingers tapping on a keyboard caught her attention. She looked around and realized that she sat on the floor behind a desk while Josh sat at desk typing on a computer.

  “What are you doing?” she whispered.

  “I got an idea,” he said as his fingers typed frantically on the computer’s keyboard.

  Abbie stood up and joined Josh. She looked over her shoulder when both of them heard a voice from the other side of the window that said, “They’re in here.”

  Josh and Abbie looked at the window. They saw an FBI agent with their finger pressed against the window—pointing directly at them.

  “Damn it,” yelled Abbie. “Now what?”

  Josh stood quickly and held Abbie’s shoulders firmly, but with gentle kindness. “Abbie,” he whispered loudly to get her attention.

  Abbie snapped her attention to Josh.

  Josh whispered. “Look, I have an idea, but I need two things.”

  “What?”

  “First, the hard drive.”

  Abbie reached into her purse.

  Josh turned Abbie, so her back faced the window where Agent Walker now joined her other agents, to prevent them from seeing Abbie giving Josh the hard drive.

  She handed him the hard drive. “There, what else?”

  “I need time. The lock will buy me some, but I need you to lure them away. I need them to focus on you.”

  Are you fucking kidding me? thought Abbie. “You’re nuts.”

  “Do you want the cure to die with us, or leave here with Vogel?”

  Abbie shook her head. “How exactly am I to get them to follow me?”

  Josh glanced down at her purse. “They think you have a biological weapon.”

  Josh guided Abbie away from the windows back by the door in which they entered. He guessed the FBI would follow them around the corner and to the door. They did not let him down. FBI Agent Walker yelled, “Open the door,” through the narrow door window.

  Josh whispered, “Get them to follow you.”

  Abbie closed her eyes. She processed what Josh was asking of her. “I can’t do this.”

  Josh recaptured her attention with a confident but reassuring tone. “Yes, you can, Abbie. You can do this. I know you can.” He reached inside her purse and pulled out a single vial of Armageddon. He gently opened her hand, placed the vial in it, and closed her fingers around it. “You can do this.”

  Abbie took in a deep calming breath and exhaled. She gave Josh a slow nod.

  “You go,” he said. “I’ll find you.”

  Abbie looked Josh directly in the eyes. He had kind eyes, and they were honest. He really believes I can do this. “Don’t you die on me,” she said.

  Josh smiled. “And let you off the hook for fixing my car?” he said. “Not a chance.”

  She gave Josh a quick hug, a peck on the cheek, and went to work.

  “Hey, ass hats. Yea, you by the door. You want Armageddon. You want this,” she said as she held up the vial of purplish colored liquid. “Come and get it.”

  Abbie took off, running toward the windows so the agents could follow. They did. She took a hard left and ran to the opposite side of the room through the shelves and to the door on the opposite wall.

  Abbie looked toward the window. She made damn sure Agent Walker and the others saw her. She waved at them and yelled, “See ya.”

  Josh watched Abbie opened the opposite door and disappear into the hallway.

  “You two with me after the girl,” Josh heard Walker tell her men.

  She pointed to the other two. “You two get that door open and detain him.”

  Josh watched Walker and her men chase after Abbie. They appeared in the window, disappeared behind a section of wall, and then reappeared in the next window until they disappeared entirely as they tracked her down the hall.

  Josh returned to his seat in front of the computer, connected the hard drive to the computer, and started typing as fast as he ever could. He understood Abbie’s life depended on it.

  Chapter 70

  Abbie entered the hall with a vial of Armageddon in hand. She looked to her right, expecting to see Agent Walker and her cohorts. They weren’t there, but she heard their footsteps echoing throughout the hall…and getting louder.

  She raced down the hallway to the left. It was a long hallway heading back toward the center of the hospital.

  Abbie glanced over her shoulder. Walker and her men were in view and closing in, an advantage the long hallway provided. Abbie picked up speed as she saw the hallway break into multiple directions in front of her.

  Abbie shot to the left, dashed to the right, and back to the left again. She maneuvered around a scattering of people and small carts holding equipment and supplies.

  Abbie’s quick moves and dexterity increased the distance between her and the FBI. She saw the foyer area of the third floor where all the hallways met… by the elevators. She glanced over her shoulder again to assess the distance between her and Agent Walker. Not enough time to wait for an elevator, unless one is waiting.

  Abbie sprinted toward the intersection. Within a few feet, all three elevators came into view. The one on the left began to open.

  Awesome.

  Abbie ran as fast as she could.

  I should have enough time to get in and hit a button before they’ll get here.

  Abbie pumped her legs hard. She was doing everything to give herself more time, just in case the elevator doors needed time to close.

  Only a few more feet.

  Abbie approached the intersection when Vogel’s two large goons converged on her path from the left.

  One of the men quickly recognized Abbie. He wielded his hand back and slung it forward quickly. His powerful backhand connected with the side of Abbie’s face, jo
lting her to the floor.

  “Stop, FBI,” echoed from halfway down the hallway.

  The two men looked up to see Agent Walker and her men running toward them with their weapons drawn and aimed.

  Abbie slowly pushed herself upright. Her jaw and the side of her face pounded with pain like the worst headache and toothache combined. Abbie held the ground in a failed effort to stop the room from spinning. She blinked slowly and purposely several times before the room came to a pause. Her stomach lurched with nausea.

  Abbie felt precise pain just above her left cheek. She used her two fingertips to rub away the pain, but the area was wet and slippery. She pulled her fingers away, revealing fresh blood smeared across her fingertips.

  The urgency of the situation quickly returned to Abbie when she saw Vogel’s men and heard Agent Walker identify herself. Abbie scurried backward on her hands and feet, away from Vogel’s men.

  “Get the girl,” said the larger of the two men as he gestured toward Abbie. He then reached inside his jacket for his weapon.

  Abbie turned over, made it to her feet, and ran away from her attacker. She made it twenty feet before she looked for her pursuer over her shoulder. She saw him, but his partner caught Abbie’s attention when she saw him raise his weapon and point it down the hall toward the oncoming FBI agents. That’s when she heard loud bursts of gunfire ricochet through the halls choreographed perfectly with the jolts of bullets that ripped through the man’s body.

  Part Three

  Chapter 71

  Abbie darted for the stairwell exit. She slammed her shoulder hard to open the door.

  Ow.

  She grabbed the handrail and sprinted her way down the stairs.

  I need to get out of here.

  She heard the door on the floor above her open, followed by hard-soled shoes pounding the stairs. Her pursuer was right behind her. Abbie continued her quick pace down the stairs toward the first floor. She heard Vogel’s man close behind.

  Abbie burst through the first floor exit door. She did not have time to check the signs on the wall as she could hear a man’s footsteps getting louder. She picked a direction and ran. She heard the same door she just exited open behind her a few seconds later. The man gained on her.

  She ran down the hall pulling carts, equipment, and anything else she could find in the path behind her. Her stalker was not as fast as her or nimble. He tripped over several of the obstacles Abbie left behind.

  Abbie turned the corner that led into a long hallway. She ducked into the first room on her right. She assessed her surroundings as she caught her breath.

  I need somewhere to hide.

  A quick look around the room revealed a door to her left, open enough to show a toilet and a sink. She saw another door a few feet down from the first, which likely lead to the adjoining room. There was a patient bed with a curtain, health monitoring equipment with a glowing green light showing it was ready and waiting for input. Next to the bed was an IV pole on wheels, a mobile overbed table, a wash sink, and a crash cart with a defibrillator and supplies for reviving patients.

  She heard the stomps of loud, running footsteps outside the room door. Abbie rushed to the other side of the room, pulled the curtain around the bed, and hid behind it.

  Abbie knelt, scared. Her breath heaved. She heard the door creak open, and a heavy foot failed at an attempt to be quiet. It sounded too close to be the hallway door.

  He must have entered through the side door.

  Abbie began to tremble uncontrollably. Her breathing was loud. She covered her mouth.

  What the hell are you doing, Abigail?

  Abbie’s aggressor searched the room for Abbie. He saw the bed, the curtain, the glowing monitor screens, and the IV pole but no sign of his target. He slowly crept to the other side of the bed, ready to pounce on what was hiding behind it. He lunged around the foot of the bed—nothing. Nothing surprised him.

  The man looked around for alternatives. It was quiet. He scrutinized the corners and potential hiding places when he noticed the door to the bathroom was cracked. He cautiously walked toward the bathroom when a sound back by the bed caught his attention. The quiet sound of energy dissipating like that of a television screen going dark.

  He took another scan of the room. Something was different. The monitor no longer glowed—just dark and black. He leaned back to get a better angle of the wall and its outlet. He saw the plug lying on the floor… and then it moved.

  Abbie quietly but frantically worked to free the cord that wrapped around her ankle and shoe. Once released, she softly breathed in through her nose to calm herself as she waited for her foe’s next move. That’s when Abbie felt tight grips around both ankles followed by her body suddenly being jerked backward.

  Abbie’s lungs helped produce a loud, piercing scream that included a multitude of overtones of terror.

  Oh, my God. I’m going to die!

  She planked on her stomach, under the patient bed, facing the door she entered. She clawed at the linoleum with her fingers looking for anything she could use for leverage against the strong goon that tugged her from the opposite direction. Blood from her head wound now mixed with tears as she continued to scream.

  Abbie’s hands desperately grabbed and clawed for anything she could find under the bed. They finally found a sturdy metal underpart of the bed. She used the bed to her advantage and pulled with all her strength, but Vogel’s man was too powerful for her. With each tug on Abbie, he pulled her and the bed closer to him.

  Abbie quickly threaded her arm through her purse straps and latched onto the bed with both hands. She ferociously kicked her captor with both feet like she was swimming a 250-meter Olympic race against Michael Phelps. One foot finally landed hard into the center of the man’s chest, knocking back into the wall.

  Abbie scurried under the bed and out the other side.

  Vogel’s man got to his feet. He rounded the end of the bed to chase after Abbie when the portable overbed table slammed into his groin. He bent over in pain as his forward momentum toppled him over the table. He hit the ground with a thud. The man winced in pain, but he quickly dispensed his anger and the table that had tripped him up.

  Abbie slammed herself against the room door and grabbed the handle with both hands. She flung the door open, but an unseen force slammed it shut. She turned. Vogel’s goon removed his hand from the door and wrapped it around her throat.

  “Give me Armageddon,” he said in a very caveman-like voice.

  Abbie struggled against the pressure of his hand against her throat. She was pinned to the door. She perilously reached for the crash cart, grasping for anything to help her situation. She heard the whirl of the defibrillator charging.

  “Give me Armageddon,” he said again.

  Abbie felt his grasp tighten. The man’s thumb pressed hard into the carotid artery of her neck, just under her jawline. The pressure made it difficult for Abbie to breathe. The edges of her vision began to close and narrow like she was watching the man’s face through a lens.

  She recognized she was moments away from passing out. With one last boost of energy, she brought her knee hard north into the man’s groin.

  The man instinctively released the firm grip he had around Abbie’s throat. He leaned over.

  Abbie’s hands wasted no time attending to the dark purple handprint around her throat. Several quick gasps of air invigorated her. She snatched the defibrillator paddles. She slapped each paddle on each side of her assailant’s temples and discharged the defibrillator.

  Abbie held the paddles tight to the man’s temples and discharged 100 volts to his body in under three milliseconds. She watched as the man who tried to choke Armageddon out of her fell lifeless to the floor with red burn marks on his temples from where the paddles had done their work.

  Abbie did not know if he was dead or alive. She did not care. She muscled the door open past the limp body of her aggressor and darted through it to continue her mission to find an exit.


  Chapter 72

  Abbie did not realize the sheer size of the hospital’s first floor.

  Maybe I should have left the basement every now and then. How the hell do I get out of here?

  She ran through the hallways making rights and lefts as needed until she saw a sign on the wall with a directional arrow toward the pharmacy.

  There’s a loading dock by the pharmacy. That means there’s an exit. Now would be a perfect time for Agent Walker to show up.

  Minutes later, Abbie found the hospital pharmacy. Just ahead of its entrance were the double doors that led toward the loading dock and a ramp to the exit.

  Abbie ran to the end of the hall, slammed the push bar inward, and leaned hard into the door to open it. She quickly shaded her eyes from the bright sun that beat down on the loading dock. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the bright light. When her surroundings cleared and came into focus, the image of Darius Vogel walking up the loading dock was crystal clear.

  Shit. Really? I can’t catch a break.

  Abbie reversed her direction into the loading area and hid behind a palette of boxes.

  I can give him the vials and live, or he can kill me and take the vials. Abbie pondered her thoughts. I’ll take my chances.

  Abbie ran for the loading dock doors. She cut the corner around a stack of boxes when her purse snagged the edge of a cardboard box, toppling over several others.

  Abbie let out a scream when she heard the gunshot followed by the sound of a bullet ricocheting near her location. She crouched but kept running towards the loading dock doors that led back into the hospital.

  Vogel caught Abbie’s sprint toward the doors. He fired off three more rounds at Abbie as Abbie pulled open the door and disappeared behind it. Vogel followed Abbie’s path to the doors. He opened the door and noticed two bullet holes—his handy work—in the door. The hallway that led to the hospital was more interesting. A crimson trail of human life glistened down the hall and ended at the pharmacy door where a nice smear of blood lead into the pharmacy.