Abomination

by E. E. Borton

  He turned his head to the side writhing in pain to see Jennifer still standing in the doorway. “He’s going to kill you. Run,” gasped Ryan, unable to catch his breath in his contorted position.

  “He’s not going to kill me, Ryan,” said Jennifer calmly. “And he’s not going to kill you either.”

  She walked over to a corner in the kitchen and recovered Ryan’s gun. She held it in one hand while putting the other on Derek’s shoulder.

  “He’s not going to kill you,” said Jennifer, looking directly at Derek.

  18

  Leverage

  Joshua smiled as the young woman returned to the backcountry shelter carrying a plastic container full of clean water. Her hiking partner gathered up the rest of the dishes they had used for dinner on the second night of their ten-day sabbatical. They started their scenic vacation journey on the Appalachian Trail at Amicalola Falls State Park in North Georgia.

  The couple boasted how they left their cell phones and any other modern conveniences behind to put as much distance as possible between them and the hectic pace of their normal lives. The boyfriend of the young woman was an Army Ranger and instantly felt at ease with the special forces Marine who claimed to be looking for a little distance himself.

  As the isolated hikers were cleaning up after their meal, Joshua startled his new friends when he jumped to his feet and walked out of the shelter. He jogged over to an open field illuminated by the bright full moon. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the sense of anxiety which overwhelmed him seconds before. Less than a minute later, he felt an unprovoked rush of adrenaline pump through his veins. He instantly knew the feeling was originating from Derek, but he couldn’t pinpoint the reason. If Derek had been killed, he would have experienced the debilitating pain similar to what he felt the exact moment Arrington and Elliot died. What Joshua sensed was something different, but significant enough to evoke the intuitive reaction experienced by some identical twins.

  The feeling left as abruptly as it arrived. Whatever Derek experienced, it only lasted a minute before his excited state returned to a manageable level. Joshua and Derek spent weeks learning how to control the intuitive response. If they didn’t, Alex would be able to intercept the non-verbal communication and be more effective at hunting them down. Because Arrington and Elliot were emotionally weak, Joshua knew they’d be easy prey for the only uninfected Marine from Didache. Joshua mastered the skill while intentionally leaving Derek less capable in order to remain the most powerful of the five super soldiers.

  Joshua sensed something was wrong with Derek and felt a sense of urgency to find him before the next designated rendezvous date in one week. But he had unfinished business deep in the woods with his two new friends. He heard the Army Ranger walk up behind him in the field.

  “Are you okay, pal?” asked the young soldier.

  “Yeah,” said Joshua. “I think the trail food was just trying to come out of me before I was ready,” he laughed, putting his arm around the soldier’s neck. “But there’s no way I’d let you think an Army stomach is stronger than a Marine’s.”

  “There’s no way a –”

  While he laughed, Joshua snapped his neck. The sound of the trauma which instantly killed the young man echoed in the still night and startled his girlfriend thirty yards away. She poked her head around the corner of the shelter, but didn’t see either of the men. She called out their names with no response. She turned around to dig out the flashlight from her backpack, but instead found Joshua standing in a dark corner. She could see his shadow from the campfire near the opening of the three wall shelter rise and fall from his heavy breathing.

  “Shit!” she yelled. “You nearly scared me to death. I told you two no creepy crap or I’d walk back to the car.” She paused, noticing something odd about Joshua in the dimly lit room. “Where’s my boyfriend?” she asked in a demanding tone.

  “He slipped and fell off the mountain,” said Joshua, taking a step forward into the light. “I guess that means you’re single now, sweetheart.”

  As the light revealed his mutated face, she screamed and fell back against the wall. Joshua calmly walked up to her and punched her in the stomach.

  “That’s enough of that,” he said, as the blow stole her breath and left her silent. “I’m sorry we can’t play, but I have to make this quick.”

  *****

  Ryan sat on the kitchen floor with his back against a cabinet, trying to wiggle out of his own handcuffs. His ankles were bound together with a tightly wrapped extension cord. Derek hog tied him before stepping into the next room to talk to Jennifer. They spoke for a brief moment and then returned to the kitchen. Without saying a word, the Marine pulled Ryan up by his shirt collar until his feet were dangling off the ground. He stared into the FBI agent’s eyes only a few inches away from his.

  “If it were up to me, I’d tear you out of your skin for what you did to Peter,” said Derek, gritting his teeth. “But for some unknown fucking reason, she thinks she can trust you. Me trusting you is going to be a different story.”

  “The real question is, can she trust you,” said Ryan defiantly. “Does she have any idea what you are and what you’ve done?”

  “I use more energy scratching my ass than it would take to kill you right now,” said Derek, holding Ryan up with one hand while wrapping the fingers on the other around his throat. “So I suggest you stop pissing me off.”

  “Derek,” said Jennifer in a disarming tone. “I know you’re angry, but I need you to focus on what we talked about. You need to let this play out.”

  He released his grip from Ryan’s throat and put him back on his feet. He stepped back as Jennifer stepped forward.

  “We’ll answer every question you have, Ryan, I promise,” said Jennifer in the same disarming tone. “But if you push him, he’ll push back much harder.”

  “You have no idea what you’re dealing with, Jennifer. He’s a monster. He’s killed –”

  “He’s killed women,” interrupted Jennifer. “I know. He’s taken four and he’ll kill again in a little over a week. And if the thought enters your brain I condone it or I’m some kind of accomplice, then you’re only going to prove his point that this was a mistake. And when you do, you need to get far, far away. So clear your head and listen to what we have to say for just a few minutes.”

  “Looks like I don’t have much of a choice,” said Ryan, looking down at his restraints.

  “Neither did Derek,” replied Jennifer. “The difference being, he’s not going to kill you. He’s not going to hunt you down and shoot you like you did to his friend. This is a fucked up situation, Ryan, and I’m running out of options before he starts piling up bodies. Help me stop that from happening. Please.”

  Ryan could see the pained look on her face as well as hear the exhaustion in her voice. He always thought of Jennifer as a strong woman who didn’t take shit from anyone. It baffled him how she could be involved at any level with a man wanted for rape and murder, but he was more intrigued at what they had to say.

  “So, you’re just going to let me walk out of here?” asked Ryan.

  “It’s as simple as that,” replied Jennifer. “All you have to do is listen. If you know anything about me, you know I keep my word. You should also know I consider you a good friend and wouldn’t let anything happen to you.”

  Ryan looked down again at his bound feet. “It’s a little late to put that out there.”

  “What choice did we have, Ryan, really? Would you have just walked in here with a smile, sat on the couch with a cup of coffee, and took notes? No, you would’ve done your job and called in the cavalry. But after what happened to Peter and Richard, can you really blame us for being cautious?”

  “How do you know what happened to them?”

  “Because Derek can feel it when the others are hurt or scared,” said Jennifer. “I know it sounds crazy, but I was with him when Peter died. He doubled over in pain and told me you were killing him. He felt every b
ullet fired into Peter. But the worst part was Derek telling me he could also feel Peter’s fear. I believe him, Ryan. If you had been here when it happened, you’d believe him, too.”

  “Jennifer, I can’t just walk away from here,” said Ryan, trying not to deceive them. “You said it yourself. He’s going to kill another woman in a week. I can’t let that happen. I’ll protect him, but he needs to come in with me. I know people who may be able to help.”

  “That isn’t part of the deal,” injected Derek. “Are you that cocky, or stupid, to think I’m going to walk to my own execution? Christ, I thought you were smarter than that. This was a mistake.” Derek, irritated, turned to Jennifer. “This isn’t going to work.”

  “It’s not about me being smart, Derek,” continued Ryan. “It’s about you being smart. It’s about saving innocent lives.”

  “Shut the fuck up, Ryan,” grunted Derek. “Jennifer thought you’d listen, but you’ve obviously already made up your mind about me.”

  “Derek, please,” exclaimed Jennifer. “Getting angry isn’t –”

  “He’s not going to listen, baby. He’s going to leave here and call in his death squad to take me before he leaves the driveway. He’s going to take you. I won’t let that happen,” said Derek, taking a step toward Ryan. “For the record, fed, if one of you puts a finger on her, I’ll end all of you.”

  Ryan narrowed his eyes as he noticed the color leaving Derek’s face. Faint blue streaks started appearing across his forehead and down his cheeks to his neck. His captor began to breathe heavy through his nose, resembling an animal snorting a warning to its adversary. Derek raised his hand and pulled at his front teeth.

  “Stop it!” yelled Jennifer, stepping in front of Derek. “Both of you. Derek, I want you to go into the living room. Give me one minute with him, please.” She put her hands on his face as her eyes were welling with tears. “Please. Think about us on the beach in Bora Bora for just one minute. After, you can do whatever you want with him. I won’t stop you, angel.”

  Derek reluctantly turned and walked away. Jennifer had won her minute. She opened the kitchen drawer and pulled out a pair of cooking shears. She cut the cord around Ryan’s ankles and removed the cuffs from his wrists. With a puzzled look on his face, she handed him his gun.

  “If you’re not going to listen, put a bullet in us now,” said Jennifer, defeated. “I’m so fucking tired of trying to convince him there’s a way out of this. I’m so fucking tired of everyone hunting him like an animal and not giving a shit about what they did to him. Before this happened, he was the most gentle, sweetest man I’d ever met. They’ve made him hate himself so much he’ll barely touch me. A man so full of love and kindness can’t even hug me without feeling the pain of what he’s done. We’re on the edge here and one tiny step from going over. You’re the only one that can give us hope.”

  Ryan watched the tears run down her desperate face and felt enough sympathy to holster his weapon. “I’ll listen, Jennifer. I promise.”

  “Thank you,” she said, as they both walked into the living room. Derek jumped to his feet, alarmed at seeing Ryan free from his restraints.

  “Sit down,” ordered Jennifer. She was through with the tears. Even Ryan was startled by the force of her command.

  “Something tells me you should be more afraid of her than me,” said Ryan.

  “You have no idea,” replied Derek, taking a seat.

  *****

  A black Suburban pulled up to the curb at the arrival gate for the airport in Atlanta. Colonel Brown and four men mounted the vehicle being driven by Alex Tifton. They drove several miles before the Colonel spoke.

  “No more mistakes, Alex,” said Colonel Brown. “Not only did we miss the opportunity to end this, you managed to hand over the entire Red Team to Ryan. I still can’t wrap my head around how badly you fucked up, Marine. But I can’t dwell on that. I have to fix this myself. Right now, I’d rather have a troop of fucking boy scouts running this operation. Is your head on straight, son? Can I count on you to finish this mission?”

  “Yes, sir,” replied Alex. “You can. I won’t fail again.”

  “You can’t fail again. Do you understand me? You cannot fail again.”

  “What do you need me to do?” asked Alex, obediently. “Do we take out Ryan and his team?”

  “Luckily for you the Deputy Director of the FBI still has no idea he has Dr. Anderson or our men. Ryan doesn’t know who to trust, so he’s running the show under the radar. But that won’t last long. We need to find Dr. Anderson, and we need to do it fast. If we take her out of the picture, Ryan won’t have shit. He has absolutely no evidence against us. We can still point the finger at the scientists who are crying like babies for us to protect them. We’ll simply hand them over when this thing is through and you and I will walk away.”

  “Ryan has help,” said Alex. “The guys that set us up at the decoy house were pros. She may not even be in the state.”

  “They weren’t FBI, and that’s a good thing for us,” said Colonel Brown. “We’ll know who they are soon enough and we’ll get our morons back. But first things first, we need to get our hands on Dr. Anderson.”

  “Do you think he’ll lead us to her?”

  “As long as I have his daughter, he’ll do anything I fucking tell him to do.”

  Colonel Brown turned around in his seat and glared at Scott Wilson. As soon as he realized Scott was feeding Ryan information, he had Alex abduct his ten-year-old daughter from her bed. Scott sat motionless in the back seat, staring out the window thinking about his child being held at the lab. He’d do whatever it took to keep his little girl safe.

  “Are the vehicles at the hotel?” asked Colonel Brown.

  “Yes, sir,” replied Alex. “Stocked with weapons and gear.”

  “Good. Are you listening, Scott?”

  “Yes, I’m listening.”

  “You’re taking this car after we reach the hotel and driving straight to Ryan’s. I don’t care how you do it, but get him to take you to Dr. Anderson tonight. The GPS transmitter will do the rest. Once we have the doc, I make the phone call that sends your little girl home. Are you clear?”

  “I am,” replied Scott. “What are you going to do with Kristina?”

  “You should be more concerned about what you’re going to tell your wife if you fuck this up.”

  Scott moved into the driver’s seat after they arrived at the hotel. The Colonel gave him final instructions before they went inside. Thirty minutes later, Scott pulled up to the FBI house.

  “Hey, little buddy,” greeted Dallas at the door.

  “I need to talk to Ryan.”

  “Good to see you, too,” said Dallas. “But he’s not here. Anything I can help you with?”

  “Get him on the phone, Dallas. I need to talk to him right now.”

  “Okay, come on in,” said Dallas, dialing Ryan’s number.

  “Hey, Scott,” said Tom, shaking his hand. “What’s going on?”

  “I really need to talk to Ryan first.”

  “Sorry, Scott,” said Dallas. “He’s not answering.”

  “Where is he?”

  “He went to talk to some of Derek’s family out in the boonies. He’s probably just out of cell range. I’m sure he’ll call back soon. Take a load off. I’ve got some cold ones in the fridge. You look a little tense.”

  “Is Michelle with him?”

  “No, she’s with Kristina at the safe house. Why?”

  “Michelle’s the only one watching her? Are you people mental? Alex is out there looking for her and you have one fucking agent protecting her?”

  “Whoa, chief,” said Dallas, putting up his hand. “She’s got a little army around her.”

  “A little army?”

  “Yeah,” said Dallas. “A buddy of Ryan’s from his old unit owns a top-notch security group. Those guys are better than some of the FBI SWAT teams I’ve worked with. She’s in good hands.”

  Scott immediately saw the opp
ortunity to get his daughter back earlier than he’d hoped. He excused himself to the back deck of the house to make a phone call.

  “He’s not here, Colonel. He’s going to be out of touch for a while.”

  “Finally, a fucking break. Good work, Scott. You make this happen tonight and you’ll be having breakfast with your little girl in the morning. Listen, things are going to start jumping there in a few minutes. You’re a smart guy. Use it to your advantage.”

  Scott ended the call and walked back inside. “On second thought, I’ll take that beer.”

  19

  Without Remorse

  Underneath a pile of splintered wood in Jennifer’s dining room, Ryan’s shattered cell phone couldn’t alert him to the several messages in the queue. He leaned forward in his chair as Derek and Jennifer sat holding hands on the sofa.

  “What do you know about the Didache Project?” asked Derek.

  “In a nutshell, the military contracted civilian geneticists to build super soldiers,” answered Ryan.

  “Basically,” agreed Derek. “But it’s a little more complicated than that. Five of us were selected out of about a hundred volunteers. Every few weeks, we’d be injected with another round of gene therapy designed to make us stronger and faster.” Anticipating his question he added, “It wasn’t like steroids. We didn’t have to exercise any harder to build muscle mass or keep what we developed. The way it was explained, our muscles and organs were being enhanced at the cellular level. They were being genetically mutated. It was important to them that we looked like typical Marines, but with atypical abilities.