Population Zero
Page 11
"I've been part of Heimlich's group for five years. I was in on his plan. I was given a different task. They sent me to dairy farms. I've been putting Progesterex in milk vats at some of the biggest dairy farms in the country. Dairy farms that ship products all over the world. I'd been at it for two weeks. I figured that if I put it in the milk, all of those women drinking milk during their pregnancies would find themselves experiencing premature menopause and spontaneous abortions. Heimlich didn't think it was enough. That's why he decided to put it in the water."
Todd still couldn't believe it. She'd paid for his plane ticket and drove him to the airport and now here he was, in Sao Paulo, Brazil where no one would be looking for him.
He walked down to baggage claim and a man in a dark suit stood there holding a small sign that said "Hammerstein".
Todd walked over to him.
"I'm Todd...Todd Hammerstein."
"Hi, I'm Vitor. Elizabeth sent me. There's a car waiting up front."
Todd followed Vitor to a small economy car that looked more like an oversized golf cart.
"It's electric. Environmentally friendly."
That was the last word he said as they drove through the labyrinthine streets of one of the biggest and most over-crowded cities in the world. They drove for two hours whipping in and out of traffic that made LA look like a quiet country road, darting down narrow streets at 60 miles an hour until they finally reached their destination. Vitor reached behind the seat and handed Todd a new messenger bag.
"This is for you. Elizabeth said you'd know what to do."
Todd took the bag and stepped out of the car. Vitor smiled at him as he looked into the bag, he must have known what was inside. Todd was pretty sure he did too. He looked at the twenty little paper bags stacked inside. He opened one and it was filled with hundreds of tiny blue pills with the letter "P" stamped into them. He smiled and looked up at the sign on the building and the acres of pools filled with water beyond it.
"Departamento de Sao Paulo do Tratamento da Agua"
Even though he had no idea how to speak Portuguese, Todd was pretty sure he knew what it meant just as he knew what was in those pills.
He walked around to the side of the building and scaled the gate, dropping down beside one of the vast pools of water.
He opened up a paper bag and began dumping the pills into the water. He opened the next bag and the next one, emptying their contents into the water basins. He was just about to open the next bag when a loud boom echoed in his ears and a burning pain speared through his back and into his chest. He tried to inhale and blood bubbled up in his lungs. Todd turned slowly as black spots danced before his eyes. The world tilted and shifted out of focus. He didn't need to see straight to recognize the person walking toward him aiming the gun at his head.
"Hello, Cathy."
The next shot knocked Todd off of his feet and into the water. Todd sank to the bottom of the water basin. He knew that he was dying. His lungs were filling with water and he had two bullet holes in his chest. He could see Cathy's face above him contorted in rage, the messenger bag still floating on the surface, the remaining paper bags falling out into the water and all those little pills spilling out of the bags and dissolving.
About The Author
WRATH JAMES WHITE is a former World Class Heavyweight Kickboxer, a professional Kickboxing and Mixed Martial Arts trainer, distance runner, performance artist, and former street brawler, who is now known for creating some of the most disturbing works of fiction in print. He is the author of THE RESURRECTIONIST, YACCUB'S CURSE, EVERYONE DIES FAMOUS IN A SMALL TOWN, SUCCULENT PREY, THE BOOK OF A THOUSAND SINS, and HIS PAIN. He is also the co-author of TERATOLOGIST co-written with the king of extreme horror, Edward Lee, POISONING EROS co-written with Monica J. O'Rourke, HERO co-written with J.F. Gonzalez, and ORGY OF SOULS co-written with Maurice Broaddus.
Wrath lives and works in Austin, TX with his two daughters, Isis and Nala, his son Sultan and his wife Christie. When he isn't writing or working he continues to compete in kickboxing events and train mixed martial arts competitors.
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
About The Author