Living Proof

by Peter J Thompson

  “My name is Lena Dryer,” she said, “I’ve been a reporter with the Austin Star. And this is Ramon Willis—they’ve been calling him Hector Ramerez on the news.”

  Ramon’s stomach knotted. It was out in the open now. He waited for a shout or some sort of alarm. He tensed, waiting for the door to be thrown open and the authorities to burst into the room. But it didn’t happen.

  Morgan raised his eyebrows but spoke calmly. “I thought you looked familiar. You’re the ones they have the manhunt out for. You two are wanted for murder.”

  “But it’s not true! Everything they’ve been saying is a lie. We have proof.”

  Morgan was silent for a long time, thinking. Then, he said, “If Colonel Pope is involved, that could be possible.” He leaned forward in his chair. “Tell me what happened.”

  Lena took a deep breath. “I know how bizarre this sounds. I found it hard to believe myself, but it’s true.” She told the story, logically and clearly, starting with her visit to Ramon and how she’d watched him die. She told Morgan how Ramon was taken to the Johnson Installation and used as the subject of biological testing and how Lieutenant Green helped him escape. She told of how Ramon had contacted her and how they were thrown together. Lena detailed how they were hunted and explained that they hadn’t turned themselves in because they didn’t know who they could trust when everything said about them was a lie. She explained about Philip and the computer tape, how it showed proof that Pope was not only using death row prisoners and others for biological experiments but had developed some kind of super toxin.

  Ramon watched Morgan as Lena talked. He listened patiently, sometimes interrupting to ask a question or to have her clarify a statement. His expression stayed impassive throughout.

  “We know that the purpose of the experiments was to develop a new vaccine,” Lena said. “And we know the vaccine is for protection against a new super virus that the Installation developed. We have proof of all this. What we don’t know is what Pope, or the army, whoever is in charge, is planning to do with it.”

  When she finished talking, the room became quiet. No one spoke for over a minute.

  Morgan broke the silence. “That’s quite a story.”

  “But it’s true,” Lena insisted. “Everything…”

  They heard a knock on the door. Lena froze. Ramon’s muscles tensed. If someone was here for them, it was all over. He’d fight his best, but they were trapped.

  “Yes?” Morgan called.

  The door opened and the weaselly-faced man stuck his head in the room. “Sorry to bother you, Senator. But it’s six o’clock and we were about to lock up. I just wanted to make sure everything was all right.”

  “I’m fine, Jerry. I’ll lock up when I leave.”

  “Yes, sir. Goodnight, then.” He glanced suspiciously at Ramon a last time before closing the door behind him.

  For a moment, it was quiet again. Morgan sat back in his chair and steepled his hands to his face in thought. “That’s quite an interesting story.” He raised a finger to stop any interruptions. “And I don’t have any reason to doubt what you say, as extraordinary as it does sound. This proof you mention, did you bring it with you?”

  “We have it right here,” Ramon answered. He held up the bag, which contained the computer tape and the papers.

  “Excellent.” Morgan solemnly nodded. “You better let me have that. If I’m going to help, I need to have the evidence.” He stood up and reached over to get the bag. “Don’t worry. We’ll make good use of it.”

  Ramon felt uneasy. This wasn’t the reaction he’d expected. The senator was too calm, too willing to believe their story. And after all they’d gone through to get and keep the evidence, it was hard to give it up. Ramon glanced at Lena. She seemed puzzled too. Ramon hesitated, then handed it over.

  “Good. Let me see what I can do.” Morgan picked up the phone. He glanced up as he hit a number. “I’m calling someone who can help.” He turned his attention to the phone. “This is Morgan. I have something for you. Something sensitive. Come on up and we’ll discuss it.” He hung the phone up and glanced at his watch. “We’ve got a few minutes yet.”

  Ramon shifted anxiously in his chair. He didn’t know what he’d expected to happen, but this wasn’t it.

  Morgan moved around the desk toward the door. “We need to get you out of here and find you someplace safe,” he said.

  He opened the door and they followed him into the outer office. The room was now empty. All the workers had left for the night. Morgan glanced at his watch again, seemed to think for a moment, then sat down on the corner of a desk.

  Ramon and Lena hesitated, standing in the open, waiting for Morgan’s cue.

  “I have to tell you, nothing surprises me anymore.” Morgan smiled at them. “While we’re waiting, let me tell you a story. Do you know anything about Easter Island?”

  Ramon shook his head, but Lena nodded. “Yes, it’s the place with the statues of giant heads.”

  “That’s right, the place with the giant heads. The island is just a speck of land in the middle of the South Pacific, thousands of miles from anywhere. It’s one of the most remote places on earth. If you visited the island now, you’d find it rather bleak. It’s almost a desert. Just scrub vegetation, and a small population that up until recently was living at subsistence level—right out of the Stone Age.

  “But at one time, it was very different.” Morgan leaned forward as he talked. “At one time, they were very prosperous. You see, the islanders were a strong, resourceful race, and the island was graced with a forest of large palm trees. The natives used these trees to make a type of canoe. They could navigate by the stars and the ocean currents. They’d travel thousands of miles in these canoes, trading, picking up the resources they needed. And the island was fertile. They planted crops and the people thrived.”

  Ramon tried to focus on the words, but he couldn’t. His stomach was tight and his breath came short. He couldn’t place what it was that made him nervous. He turned toward Lena. She was listening intently but looked uncomfortable.

  Morgan stood up and began to pace across the office.

  “They lived a good life. This went on for hundreds of years and the population grew. It reached a peak of 9,000 people on that island. But that’s where the problems came in. You see, the island couldn’t support that many people. As the population grew, they had to cut down more and more of the trees in order to make more land for agriculture.” Morgan shook his head slightly. “Eventually, they cut all the trees down. But even then, there still wasn’t enough to feed everyone. A famine ensued. They ate all their crops, they ate all the animals on the island. The people were reduced to foraging. They ate all the bushes and even the grass, but it wasn’t enough. And with all the trees gone, they were stuck. They couldn’t build the canoes anymore…”

  “I don’t understand…” Lena tried to cut in.

  “In the end, they became cannibals. Eating each other to survive.” He spoke slowly in a controlled monotone. “Do you see the parallels, Ms. Dryer?”

  “No, Senator. I don’t—”

  “Our planet now has over seven billion people. We’re so insulated here we don’t see the problems. It amazes me how complacent we’ve become. The lowest among us live like kings. We have it all. But it doesn’t matter what we have. It’s never enough. We want more, always more. We live with our SUVs and our disposable razors, fouling the air, making mountains of garbage and sucking the earth dry. You think there are no repercussions for what we’ve done?”

  Ramon nodded to Lena and took a step toward the door. His internal radar was beeping like mad. He felt confined and closed in.

  “It seems that man’s capacity for evil knows no boundaries. Here in America, we talk about freedom, but are we really free? What we have now is the freedom to choose Coke over Pepsi. The freedom to consume and rape the earth.

  “An interesting fact--did you know that deformed frogs are being born at an alarming rate? It�
�s happening all over the world. I’ve introduced a bill to officially look into it. Scientists don’t know why it’s happening. They have some theories. It could be radiation from a hole in the ozone, or it could be the residual of pesticides that we’ve sprayed in their habitats. Either way, the blame is the same. It’s due to the acts of man. These mutations are said to be significant because frogs react to changes in the environment quicker than we humans do. We can put a man on the moon, but we can’t figure out what we’re doing to the earth. We’re doing our best to kill off the whole God damned planet.”

  Ramon caught Lena’s wrist as he moved to the door. There was something close to panic in her eyes.

  “I think we made a mistake, Senator.” Ramon held out his other hand. “Please give me back the bag, then we’ll be out of your way.”

  “I’m afraid that’s not possible.” Morgan moved the bag defensively to his side.

  Ramon let go of Lena and lunged toward Morgan, grabbing him by the collar. He reached down and pried the bag out of his hands. Morgan didn’t even struggle. Ramon took the bag and turned back to Lena.

  “Let’s go.”

  Morgan stayed where he was, up against the desk. “It isn’t like you think,” he said.

  They were nearly to the door when the knob turned. They froze. The door opened and a man stepped through. Ramon recognized him immediately. He had a broken nose, mirrored glasses, and a gun in his hand.

  Lena felt light-headed and disoriented. It was like she was seeing through gauze. It didn’t seem real. Somehow, she’d convinced herself that once they got to Senator Morgan, everything would work out right. She’d been sure that because they were innocent, they would be able to beat the forces at the Installation and clear their names. Up until the man walked in the room, she was sure they would stay alive. Now she knew that was just a dream. They’d come so far—farther than anyone could have expected. But it wasn’t enough. She’d put so much hope on Morgan. In theory, it had been so clear. The logic pointed to Morgan as their salvation—but it had all been a trap. She hated herself for being so stupid.

  The man in the mirrored glasses came into the room followed by a large, muscular black man. They both wore military uniforms; the man with the glasses had captain’s bars and a name-tag identifying him as Cain. The other wore lieutenant’s insignia. Cain closed the door behind him and gestured menacingly with the gun.

  “All right now, be good little rabbits and hop on over there.” He pointed toward the far wall.

  Lena looked at Ramon. His eyes were fiercely set. He nodded at Lena, then slowly backed toward the wall near the drop cloth. Lena did the same.

  Keeping his gun in position, Cain pulled out a pocket radio and hit the send button.

  “All units, this is Alpha. Hold your positions, we’ve got ‘em right here. It looks like we can wrap this up.” He released the button and pocketed the device. “Nice work, Senator. You handled it fine. Now we can get rid of this last loose end.”

  Morgan turned and looked at Lena. “I’m sorry it has to be like this. This is truly a sad occasion. But I’m afraid it’s unavoidable.”

  “Quit talking, old man.” Cain turned back to the lieutenant. “Cover me, Rev. I don’t want this guy to try anything cute.”

  Cain kept the gun in front as he walked straight toward Lena and Ramon. She couldn’t see his eyes through his dark glasses, but there was a slight curl to his lips.

  “You two have caused me a hell of a lot of trouble.” Without warning, Cain snapped his wrist, knocking the gun barrel into Ramon’s face, smashing his nose. Blood gushed out. Ramon instinctively jerked his head back, hitting it on the back wall.

  Lena cringed. She wanted to look away, but couldn’t. She felt she had to watch. Ramon brought his hands to his nose. His muscles tensed. It was obvious he was in pain, but he wouldn’t acknowledge it. He didn’t cry out or say a word. He stared hard at Cain.

  “So how does that feel, tough guy?” Cain brought his knee up sharply, smashing Ramon in the groin. Ramon doubled over in pain, but still didn’t make a sound.

  “Captain, please, there’s no need for this.” Morgan stood up from the desk.

  “Not now, Senator. This is old business.” Cain hit Ramon again, driving him down to his knees.

  Morgan kept talking. “Really, Captain, this is unnecessary. I know it has to be done, but it doesn’t have to be painful and you certainly don’t need to do it here.”

  Cain ignored him. He looked back at the lieutenant.

  “How ‘bout it, Rev? You wanna take a couple of whacks?”

  The lieutenant looked uncomfortable. He shook his head. “No.”

  Lena took a deep breath and tried to cleanse her mind. Her knees felt weak and her stomach churned. Soon the gun would turn her way and the bullet would follow.

  Morgan turned to Lena.

  “I’m sure you don’t see the reasoning for this, but you’ve got to look at the big picture. It’s truly a difficult choice. This is a form of radical surgery. Millions—no, billions will die—”

  The lieutenant appeared confused. “Wait—What’s he talking about?”

  Morgan continued, “But these people have to die if the earth is to live.”

  Cain turned away from Ramon, toward the senator. “Senator, it’s time to shut up.”

  Morgan kept on talking. “You see, by reducing the population now, we’re really saving the species. What may seem like evil is being done for the greatest good….”

  The lieutenant stepped closer. “What the hell is he talking about, Parker?”

  “This isn’t your concern, Lieutenant. The colonel has it all figured out. You just do your job and follow the orders and we’ll all be fine.” Cain turned back to the senator. “And I told you to shut the hell up—”

  “Most people would consider Abraham Lincoln to be our greatest president.” Morgan kept talking, ignoring the captain, looking straight at Lena. “Yet thousands of citizens, the nation’s best, died in order to achieve the greatest good. Like then, history will show that this is the proper path. This will be a new start. A rebirth, a chance to get things right.”

  “Parker, this is crazy!” The lieutenant’s voice was a booming baritone.

  Cain’s face was red with anger. “I tol’ you to shut the hell up!” In one fast move, he raised the gun, pointed it at the senator, and pulled the trigger.

  Thwack. Morgan staggered backward, his chest stained red.

  “What the—” The lieutenant recoiled in shock.

  Lena gasped. Ramon staggered to his feet.

  Suddenly, Cain was cool again.

  “Be cool, Rev. He was a loose end. Eventually, he’d be a thorn in the colonel’s side. It’s better this way.” He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and quickly wiped down the gun.

  “This is insane—”

  “We’ll talk about this later. Now’s not the time.” Cain finished wiping the gun, turned toward Ramon, and tossed him the gun. “Here you go, killer; you’re about to make the news again.”

  Ramon caught it instinctively. His nose was bleeding, his face a mess. He stood unsteadily on his feet, pointed the gun at the captain, and pulled the trigger.

  Click. Again. Click.

  Cain laughed. “I’ll bet you wished you’d a done that the last time. There were bullets in it then.” He reached down to his holster and pulled a second gun.

  “What the hell is goin’ on, Cain?”

  “Relax, Rev, we just caught ourselves a couple of assassins. It all wraps up nice and saves the colonel some problems later.”

  Lena felt weak and dizzy. The whole scene was surreal. She leaned over, bracing herself on the desk. She closed her eyes as she tried to clear her head. The lieutenant was in Cain’s face yelling now. It was obvious the plan had come as a shock to him too. Lena opened her eyes again, her nose puckered. She smelled the strong odor of dead cigarettes. Her nose was right above the weaselly guy’s desk, and he had an ashtray right on top. And right next t
o it was a cigarette lighter. She palmed the lighter as she stood back up.

  “When were you going tell me, huh?” The lieutenant was in Cain’s face, shouting. “I should’ve been told a long time ago, Cain.”

  “Calm down now, Lieutenant—”

  “This is bull, Cain!”

  Lena looked at Ramon. Though shaky, he was back on his feet. He’d been beaten, but was still defiant. She could tell by his eyes that he was looking for a way out. They were too far from the door. Even with the argument going on, they wouldn’t stand a chance if they tried to run. Cain could turn and cut them down before they reached the door. Ramon saw her grab the lighter. He slowly crouched back down, The drop cloth at his feet was piled with the painter’s equipment, including a metal can of paint thinner. Moving slowly so he wouldn’t attract attention, he unscrewed the can’s top.

  “The end of the freakin’ world and you weren’t going to even tell me about it?”

  “This ain’t the time to discuss this, Lieutenant.”

  They were still going at it hard. Ramon tipped the can, spilling the contents on the floor. The puddle flowed toward the door, making a line across the room, slopping onto the piles of files. Ramon nodded to Lena, motioning toward the door. She nodded and started edging over.

  Moving slowly, they were halfway to the door when Cain stopped in mid-sentence, wrinkled his nose in recognition, and turned toward them. He knew something was wrong. He swung the gun at them.

  “Get the hell back –”

  Lena flicked the lighter and the fumes ignited. With a whoosh, the flames shot up, cutting the room in half with Ramon and Lena on one side and their captors on the other. They dove for the door as the room quickly filled with smoke. Ramon fumbled with the door handle, trying to get it open, when Cain fired. The bullet hit the glass of the door, shattering it. The door opened and Ramon burst through with Lena a step behind. They stepped into the hall and ran as the fire alarm began to scream.

  23

  Ramon’s nose was bleeding hard, making it difficult to breathe. Blood dripped out steadily, and the membranes were swelling, closing up. He tried to breathe through his mouth, but it felt unnatural and limiting. It made it harder to run. He was at full throttle now. But with his shortness of breath, he didn’t know if he could keep it up. Once again, they’d faced death and won. It was a miracle they were still alive. But the odds always evened out in time. He wondered if their luck could last.