by Ben Brown
Doc paused briefly.
“We know his methods are brutal. Anyone who doesn’t comply is killed. Once Dominic has implanted his nanites, it would be all but impossible for anyone to resist him, no matter how strong the person was. The nanites would eventually win out. He is also unlocking the codes on people with pathological and sociological disorders, such as his own. This will make them unpredictable and difficult to deal with, but deal with them we must.”
Zac started to pace the room. He knew what Doc was telling him was real, but how could something like this happen without anyone trying to stop it?
As if Doc could read his mind, he resumed his narrative. “A number of governments around the world are now aware of Dominic’s … let’s call it ‘research’, and they want it stopped. However, it needs to be done quietly. So they are funding us to shut him down.”
“Which governments are supplying the money?”
“I honestly don’t know. We are contacted through a third party, so we get what we need.” Doc seemed uncomfortable with this arrangement.
“Can you trust this third party? Are you sure the money is government funded?”
“The answer to both your questions is — I don’t know. I don’t know who we can trust, but I know this — we need the money. So we must dance with the devil.”
“Fair enough. Doc, I trust you and Lea, so that will have to do for now. So, shall we get this show on the road? When can you start the procedure?”
Doc looked at his watch then said, “We can start in about half an hour. It will take approximately two hours from start to finish. I will implant all the skills you may need. For example: self-defense and the like. Now are you sure, Zac? There’s no turning back once we start.”
Zac looked at the old man’s concerned face. He knew that everything he’d heard sounded insane. He knew that trusting these two people made no sense, but he did trust them. It was as if he’d been waiting for this moment his whole life. He knew that the decision he was about to make could cost him everything — but that didn’t scare him. What scared him was doing nothing. What would happen if Dominic was left unchecked? He felt sure that helping Doc and Lea was the right thing to do, no matter the cost.
Zac smiled. “I’m sure. Let’s get out there and bring your son home.”
* * *
It had been two days since the implantation process, and Zac didn’t feel much difference. He had more energy, but he didn’t feel much else.
“When will I see the improvements you told me about?” he asked Lea as he chopped some carrots in the kitchen.
Without warning, and with frightening speed, she picked up a potato and threw it at his head.
Without even looking away from the task he was working on, Zac caught the potato with his left hand.
“I’d say they’re kicking in,” she laughed. “I think it’s time to carry out your field tests, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I think you’re right,” he said, as he stared at the potato in his hand.
“After we’ve eaten, we’ll head down to the gym, then to the simulator. Enjoy your dinner; we’ve got a lot of work in front of us.”
The gym reminded Zac of his old school’s gym. Ropes dangled from the ceiling and exercise equipment was everywhere. Large wooden ladders lined each of the four walls. Zac felt a surge of excitement as he realized he would finally see what he was capable of, now that he might be running at his full potential.
Lea turned to him.
“Right, Zac, let’s see how fast you can get up to the top of the wall ladder, then across to the rope and down.”
“How do I get from the ladder to the rope? They’re at least twenty feet apart.”
“Simple, just jump,” she replied coolly.
“Jump? Yeah, good one …” He gulped. “You mean it, don’t you?”
“That is the least of what you’re capable of now. But we need to start small, so get moving as fast as you can.”
Without thinking, Zac was moving and moving fast. Faster than he thought anyone could move. His hands and feet barely touched the rungs as he flew up the ladder. As his hand hit the top rung, he felt himself push off the ladder and fly backwards towards the rope. His back was towards the ground and he couldn’t see the rope, but his right hand shot instinctively towards it. He knew he would catch it, and he did! He released the rope and dropped the fifteen feet to the floor, landing lightly without feeling the slightest impact.
He looked at Lea in wonder, feeling pleased with himself.
“Not bad. You were a bit slow, but not bad. You’ll improve. Let’s try out all the equipment.”
Zac spent about three hours jumping vaulting horses and leaping from one ladder to another on the opposing wall thirty feet away.
Eventually, Lea stopped him.
“It’s time for the simulator. You need to know that this will feel very real, it will be intense. We run the simulations with the safety settings off, so if you get punched or kicked you will feel it. You can get hurt.”
Zac nodded as she continued.
“Also, the simulator will be able to give the sensation you will get when you meet another subject in real life.”
“What do you mean?” Her comments puzzled him.
“Haven’t you noticed that you can sense my proximity, even if I’m not in the room?”
Zac paused to consider this question. He realized she was right — he hadn’t thought too much about the sensation. He’d put it down to the fact that he was falling for her.
“Yeah, I had noticed something but I didn’t think too much about it.”
Lea seemed annoyed by his response.
“Zac, you need to get more in tune with what’s going on inside you. Every subject can sense other subjects if they get close. They can also sense how advanced you are. This can be a help, but it can also be a drawback, for obvious reasons. However, handled correctly, you will be able to pick out subjects in a crowd, or in a building many rooms away, which will give you a heads up. If you practice, you will become somewhat empathic, which will help you read situations and help your reactions and judgment.”
Zac nodded, trying to look as intense as she did. He knew he needed to focus.
“Sorry, I will try harder. Let’s get to the simulator. I think I’m ready.”
She nodded and gestured in the direction of the next lesson.
Doc stood at the entry to the simulator. He was reading some notes as he waited for them.
“Right, Zac, here’s how it will work. I will attach electrodes and sensors to your skin. When you interact with the simulator’s holograms, biofeedback is sent to the computer. The appropriate sensation is then sent to the electrodes. This is going to be very realistic, and you must react as if it is real. I will be monitoring you from the control room and if things get out of hand, I will shut the system down. Do you have any questions?”
Zac was nervous, but shook his head.
“I’m ready. Let’s get started.”
“One more thing, Zac — you will be on your own in there. We need to see how you cope when you’re in a tight situation. Are you okay with that?”
Zac nodded as he looked at Lea.
She smiled reassuringly.
He entered the simulator. In front of him was a door with the word “Deli” written backwards on a glass panel. The panel took up the top half of the door. Zac walked through it to what appeared to be an actual street outside. The sun was bright. People bustled everywhere. He could have been on any street in any city around the world.
Doc had warned him about the realism, but Zac was still taken aback. He held his face to the sun. Closed his eyes and smelled the breeze. He could smell car fumes mixed with the aroma of a hot dog stand on the corner. He headed over to a shop and looked in the window. Inside was a row of mannequins, which were sporting dress shirts and ties. Zac then noticed a vendor’s stall, which was loaded with all types of colorful fruit. He strolled over to it, smiling and nodding to the passers-b
y. He picked up a bright red apple and studied it carefully.
“Take a bite. If you like, you buy some, yes?”
Zac jumped at the voice, then noticed a little old Italian man sitting by the stall.
“Sorry?”
“You try, if you like it, you buy, okay,” the old man said in broken English.
What the hell, it’s all fake; why not give it a taste, Zac thought, so he took a bite. He was disappointed to find that he could taste nothing. In fact, the second he bit the apple it disappeared.
“Zac, you won’t be able to taste anything because we haven’t placed electrodes in your mouth. Now, please get on with the simulation,” boomed Doc. His voice seemed to emanate from every direction.
The fruit vendor and his stall disappeared as Zac refocused on the task. He began to scan the faces of people around him. He spotted a woman about a hundred feet away. She returned his gaze. Suddenly, as if his eyes were a telephoto lens, her face became so clear that he could see every wrinkle in her skin. He could see the small hairs poking from her nose, then he seemed to zoom in even closer until her right eye was all he could see. Its color was an intense blue. Her iris began opening slightly, widening as an artificial cloud covered the simulated sun. Zac began to feel nauseous, as a feeling similar to motion sickness washed over him. He dropped his hands to his knees and hung his head, ready to throw up. Doc’s voice boomed out again.
“Zac, this is Dr Skinner. Your heart rate is becoming elevated. Are you all right? Can you continue?”
Zac straightened up and looked towards the sky; he blinked hard, trying to clear his head.
“I’m okay, it’s passing now,”
Then a new sensation took hold of him. His skin started to tingle; he looked at his arms, which were covered in goose bumps. Zac looked for the woman again, but she was gone. Why had he taken his eyes off her? She must have been a subject.
He could feel another heart beating in his chest, then someone’s breathing began to synchronize with his. He looked frantically through the crowd — the woman was gone, but he knew she was still close — he could feel her.
“Excuse me, sir. May I ask the time?”
Zac looked down to see a young lad with dark skin and even darker eyes. He had a slight Indian accent and he was no older than ten or twelve. The sensations had passed and as Zac looked at the boy he wondered what his next step should be.
“Have you got the time please?” he repeated.
“Sure it’s …” As Zac answered, he looked at his watch, taking his eyes off the boy. At that moment the boy struck, with more force than Zac had ever felt. The blow hit him in his midsection, sending him flying backwards a good ten feet. Zac smashed into a wall with such force it caused the masonry to crack. He slumped to the floor momentarily, but was back on his feet almost as quick as he landed. He realized that the sensation he had felt wasn’t from the woman, but from this kid — and he was pissed!
“I’m going to kill you!” the boy screamed.
He lunged at Zac, launching himself into the air. He began to spin with his legs outstretched, like a tiny demented helicopter, aiming straight for Zac’s neck. Zac ducked and twisted to his left; reaching up, he grabbed his tiny attacker’s left leg and whipped him out of the air. Zac sent him crashing into the side of a nearby dumpster.
The dumpster rebounded from the impact and slammed into a door, causing the door to splinter. The crazed child landed on the ground, instantly flipped up and back onto his feet. He turned and dropped into a crouch, simultaneously pulling a large automatic pistol from his jacket. He fired four shots at Zac’s face, then jumped straight up in the air, aiming for the fire escape ladder above his head. He grabbed the ladder with his free hand as he pointed the gun in the direction he had just fired, but Zac was gone.
As Zac watched the boy fire the weapon, the world around him slowed — or at least seemed to. Everything slowed, except Zac. He seemed to go into fast forward, with all the time in the world to react. He could see the bullets as they left the barrel, spiraling towards his head; he sensed the boy’s intent. Anticipating his next move, he twisted around and used the wall behind him as a springboard to leap to the fire escape ahead of the youngster. As Zac flew through the air, he watched the bullets imbed in the wall he had just left. He landed on the window platform of the fire escape and looked down to see the boy still traveling through the air with his hand outstretched, ready to catch the ladder. As his hand hit the rung, the world returned to normal speed.
“Up here!”
The boy snapped his head up to look at Zac in disbelief. He was just in time to meet Zac’s fist rocketing towards the bridge of his nose. He fell to the ground unconscious. Zac jumped down beside him and felt for a pulse. The boy was still alive.
* * *
“My God, Doc, did you see that? His reaction times are amazing! He out performed Dominic on that test!” said Lea as she monitored the readouts with Skinner.
Doc nodded. “It looks promising, but the test has only just started. Can he keep up this level of performance? Let’s increase the difficulty in the next section. Increase the simulator speed, Lea.”
Lea nodded as she entered the necessary commands to make the simulator even more lethal.
“Stay alert, Lea — we will need to shut the simulator down in a heartbeat if things go wrong. I won’t be fast enough so you will need to do it. A split second too late, and he’s dead.”
* * *
The tingling in Zac’s skin came over him much quicker this time. He spun around just in time to catch the wrist of the woman he had seen before. Her fist gripped a large knife, and she swung it at him! Zac hit her in the middle of her chest with his right palm. He held on to her wrist as she dropped to her knees, gasping for air. With next to no effort, he swung her above his head by her arm and slammed her into the dumpster. Zac released her as his feet left the ground. He rotated in the air, almost horizontally, as he brought his left elbow down on her head. He landed in a kneeling position and saw that she was out for the count.
The tingling hadn’t abated; Zac knew he had more work ahead of him. He also knew there wasn’t just one subject after him this time. As he started to run, he looked up and decided he needed to head up the fire escape, to the roof. As he reached the top of the building, three large men arrived at the bottom. All three stopped and looked up at him.
Zac knew this would be close. He turned and ran as fast as he could across the roof, launching himself off the side of the building. He sailed through the air, then hit the roof of the adjacent building. He rolled and looked back at the roof he had just left. Two of the men were already there. Stop messing around, Zac, you’ll get yourself hurt! He took off running again. The two men followed. The other remained on the ground waiting to block his escape.
Adrenalin pumped through his body in waves. He felt no fear, only exhilaration. He smashed through the rooftop door, which led down into the building. He headed down the stairs at a full run. Zac knew he needed to take out the two guys behind him. He heard them burst into the stairwell as he came level with the door on the fourth floor. He decided to make his stand — he headed into the hallway and waited for them to catch up.
The hallway was much the same as any other apartment building that had been built in the 1920’s. The art deco style screamed sophistication. Tasteful reproduction paintings hung on the walls between each apartment door. Refined furnishings also lined the hall with an unsettling repetition. Chair, door, table and so on, all the way down the hall on both sides. A large window sat at the end of the hall. Zac ran over to it and looked out. The window ran from the street level entrance all the way to the roof. At the entrance stood the third man, waiting for his two companions to drive Zac out, and into his grip.
The door from the stairwell burst open. Zac turned to see two burly men enter the hallway. They looked like twins. They were massive. The two giants moved in unison, heading towards him at a run. Time slowed again.
Zac head
ed for them, not waiting for them to reach him. The guy on the right was already pulling a gun, so he would be first. Zac dashed toward one of the many large leather chairs to his right. At a full run, he dropped onto his back and began a lightning slide across the polished marble, hitting the chair with his feet. It took off as if fired from a cannon. The chair hit the goon, whose gun was now fully drawn. The impact from the unlikely projectile knocked him flat. As the man hit the floor, Zac was on him. He brought his right foot down in a powerful kick to the gunman’s left cheek. As his foot made contact, the thug dropped his gun. Teeth and blood gushed from his mouth.
The second thug was turning to meet Zac, reaching for his weapon. The unconscious man’s gun was at Zac’s feet. He swooped down and grabbed it, but as he straightened back up, the second man was facing him — he hit Zac on the left cheek with his gun. Zac slammed into the wall, dropping the gun he had just retrieved. The giant grabbed him by the throat with his left hand and lifted him as if he were a toy, Zac’s feet at least two feet off the ground. He placed the barrel of his gun on the bridge of his nose …
* * *
Lea’s hand hovered over the emergency fail-safe button as she watched the ensuing battle.
“Come on, Zac, come on,” she whispered.
* * *
Zac drew his legs up and let loose with both feet into his attacker’s chest. His assailant flew backwards, dropping his prey into thin air. Zac crashed to the ground, luckily landing next to the gun he had dropped. He grabbed it with his right hand and rolled onto his back. The giant was flying towards him again. He had lost his gun, but he had murder in his eyes. Zac fired one round, which hit him between the eyes. The back of his head exploded, spraying brain and bone all over the expensive wallpaper. Zac’s reality returned to normal speed. He got to his feet and ran to the window. He was beat, but he still had at least one guy left to deal with.
“Hey, buddy, you’re not going anywhere!”
Zac stopped in his tracks. He hadn’t noticed the first man getting up. Zac turned in his direction; the giant goon was moving towards him fast.
