Murder Genes

by Mikael Aizen

  When she held up a bone and showed it to Immortal Leader, Jay began to slip away. He saw her eyes get big, and her hand palm the tiny yellow flag wrapped around a tiny metal spike ball. He saw her hesitate.

  And then he felt her hand, wedging something hard and spiky under his sweaty back.

  They had the Tag. Kaboom, you bastard.

  The next day, Bitch told him that Xiaos was dead.

  He said that it had been the most bloody brilliant fight he'd ever seen and that Xiaos had very nearly busted Immortal Leader's ass in two. He said that Immortal Leader had resorted to cheating, and Xiaos' head was blown into smitherines by a watching commander, right before he would've executed Immortal Leader with a kung fu neck break.

  Bitch also said that Xiaos' corpse was to be buried in a ceremony honoring him before the entire DPRK army. Jay and Bitch were given real meat, veggies, and water this time for the first time since their capture. Today they weren't cannibals. Immortal Leader claimed he honored Xiaos for his valor and that Bitch and Jay would be given a pass in respect for Xiaos.

  He said the fights were over.

  When Karah came to check on him, she told them that Immortal Leader had everything he'd wanted, his soldiers positioned, his weapons gathered, and the DPRK were ready to leave Morir tomorrow. Ready to invade the U.S.

  It was all over.

  Karah came with the translator at her side, there to make sure no plotting happened. "They have no idea what's going to happen, do they?" she asked him, probing at Jay's belly. It hurt, but nothing like it had the day before.

  "Who? The USA?" Jay lifted his head off the wall he'd propped himself on. "No, I don't think they have a clue. They've been bringing DPRK in, bringing weapons and supplies, bringing anything the fuckers needed, right under their own noses."

  Karah shrugged. "They had Hunter's help. He and some higher up diplomat has kept it under wraps from the start."

  "What does the DPRK want with the US anyway? Seems to me that they could've fight it out back home rather than way out here."

  "The DPRK hate the US more than any other country. Time and time again the US has stood in their way, and they believe that the prestige that the US has should be theirs. Immortal Leader thinks that if they take over the US on their own soil, the world will bend to his will. Misguided," Karah said, "but true."

  "Bastard," Bitch said, standing over them like he could do something.

  It made sense, if he thought about it. Karah moved to another part of his stomach. It hurt like hell. Jay cursed. "But what does Hunter get out of it?"

  Karah kept moving. "Hunter's never forgiven his country for putting him in here. He feels like this is his revenge."

  Revenge. It's always revenge, isn't it? "With you as his honey-bun?" Jay said.

  Karah shrugged, tilting her head and tapping across his stomach. It hurt. She pressed deep. It hurt more. She pulled out quickly. It hurt like burning hell. "I'm a survivor," she answered.

  The translator watched them without saying anything. Jay winked at him and the man frowned.

  Karah pinched him. "Can you feel this?"

  "Yes."

  "This?"

  "Yes, fucking yes."

  "Good." She pinched him in a couple other places.

  "Is he gonna survive, doc?" Bitch asked, looming.

  "Probably not." She wasn't joking.

  "What was the problem?" Jay asked her.

  "Peritonitis, your gut leaked into your abdominal cavity and infected everything. Without antibiotics, you're done. Especially in these conditions. Even with antibiotics..." she shrugged. Then she held up the sharp bone that looked like a part of a finger. "I found this, it penetrated your colon."

  "I feel better, though," Jay said.

  "Better compared to yesterday. Better that you aren't leaking half-formed shit into your abdomen. Better that you're not going to die tomorrow. But you're still getting worse and you're still going to die."

  "Not a chance then?"

  "Sure. There's always a chance. Same chances as you winning a fight against Immortal Leader in your condition." She waved at Bitch. "Make sure he gets plenty of water. Force feed him if necessary." She looked at the translator. "Jinn, tell the men to provide water."

  Jinn spoke to the guards in the room with a stern frown. "Is there anything else?" he asked.

  She gave him an expectant look.

  Jinn shook his head. "I could not. I'm sorry."

  "Damn it, Jinn," Karah sighed.

  Jinn bowed and stepped back.

  "What is this about?" Jay asked.

  "I asked Jinn to try and steal antibiotics for you. Jinn's a friend, or as close a friend as I've had here." Karah explained.

  "Making friends with brainwashed clones?" Jay asked. “You are desperate.”

  "No," Jinn interrupted. “Not all brainwashed.”

  "It's not easy for them," Karah said. "They're propagandized and threatened their whole lives. We'd be just like them if we were born under the same conditions."

  "If that were true, Bitch and me wouldn't be here. Xiaos would've died different, and Jinn here wouldn't be your friend."

  "There are always exceptions," Karah said. She was looking at his bar, and the two remaining bells.

  Jay glanced at Jinn and lowered his voice. “Thanks for... yesterday.”

  "Shut the hell up, Jay." Code for: Shut up or you'll give me away you dumb bastard.

  “But don’t think I’m going give you a free pass. It’s just you being you. Surviving. Choosing default means that you chose to do nothing, the exact same as me choosing to fight."

  Karah paused, probing under his back. "Like I said, there are always exceptions. Some of us never had our chance."

  "That's cause you missed it," Jay said.

  She shrugged. "At least I'll be alive."

  "Fuck that."

  Jinn approached again. "Are we done here?"

  Karah nodded. "We are, just let me check his other side."

  She reached under his other side, and he arced again. “I’m sorry.”

  “Fuck that.”

  She got up and Jinn bowed. "I'm sorry for the actions of my people," he said. "I wish you well in your next life and trust that even in Immortal Leader's next life, he may become wiser. Just as all of us must."

  "Fuck you too, Jinn. I'll see you in the afterlife." Jinn wasn't so bad, it made the DPRK sort of human. Sort of.

  Jinn frowned and joined Karah. They both left without looking back.

  Chapter 30

  I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do.

  -Robert A. Heinlein

  Kyle left the computer, closing his research on medieval torture devices. They were gruesome times, and they gave him a lot of ideas in killing Andre someday. Not that he actually would, that wouldn't serve his purpose.

  He left the library that looked more like a big coffee shop with a bunch of computers and big white information storage boxes in the back.

  He walked out across the street where the public transit was. This was his last stop before he'd get to Callie's.

  Kyle kept his mind on the people around him, the woman in white and what she'd look like if he were to stab her in the throat. The older boy next to him, what he'd do if Kyle punched him in the face and began choking him. The very old woman with the cane, what'd happen to her if he pushed her into the road to be hit by passing cars. He focused extra hard.

  Some of his ideas became amusing, and they became more and more creative and interesting. He wondered how he could get more than one person at once, or how he could make someone die before realizing it, or how he could kill someone in the slowest way possible. How he could do it without being caught.

  The whole time Kyle was thinking, he knew Andre was watching his brain signals, sweating and staring because Andre couldn't know where Kyle was a
t the moment and what he was planning. All he'd see would be murder and violence through the things that could read Kyle's mind and put them on the computer. And that made Kyle happy.

  After an hour of daydreaming, he took a nap. He didn't know what he'd dream, but he sure hoped that it would be about killing.

  Kyle rang the doorbell. He was in Colorado, in an apartment complex in Denver. The door with a silver "36A" on it opened. An old woman blinked at him. "Vhat you vvant?"

  He peeked in and saw a face he recognized peeking from behind a door in a narrow hallway. "Callie!" Kyle waved at her and pushed past the plump lady in his way.

  The old woman shrugged and went to a couch in front of the TV. "See?" she pointed at the TV, but he ignored her, walking directly to the door where Callie was. Callie had a shy smile and she waved at him.

  He walked into the bedroom and Callie closed the door behind him. She threw her arms around him with the biggest grin on her face. "Kyle!" She giggled. "Does father know you're here?"

  Kyle shrugged. "Maybe. I don't know." Probably.

  She grabbed his hands. "I can't believe your here! Was it hard to find?"

  He grinned at her. "Not really. Computers are easy for me."

  She nodded and smiled at him in pleasure. She didn't say anything like she was happy just looking at him. "I'm glad you're here."

  "Me too." Kyle looked around the room. "Have you spoken to your--our father lately?"

  She shook her head. "No. But he sent me some gifts." She pointed at some pink teddy bears sitting on a bookshelf.

  There they were. How simple. Kyle would bet his life that the beady eyes of the bears were cameras and the ears, microphones. "I have some bad news," Kyle said. He sat on Callie's bed which was springy and soft with pink bed sheets that had Chinese words scribbled over them. Or maybe Japanese because Kyle couldn't tell the difference.

  She sat cross-legged and rocked on the floor in front of him. She didn't seem too concerned even though he'd said it was bad news. He wondered why. He realized that she was still smiling at him like she was just too excited to see him to understand what he was saying.

  "Callie, it's really bad."

  "What is it?" She tilted her head.

  "I'm really sorry. I don't want to have to tell you."

  She finally looked worried.

  "It's Jess and Ryant. Your house blew up and they were upstairs. They died in the explosion. Father and I were downstairs in the basement and so we weren't hurt."

  "Oh," she said. She sat, blandly staring at him for a long moment. Then she put her fists in her eyes and started bawling.

  Kyle came over and put his arms around her shoulders.

  She pushed him away. "Did you do it?" she asked, frightened.

  "Callie! No! Of course not." He'd been expecting this. He didn't blame her for thinking it, she was right, after all. He took her face between his hands and made her look at him, right in the eyes. She had her fists up like she was going to punch him. "No Callie. There was some kind of accident. Jess started the stove and blew the house up."

  Callie dropped her fists to her side and nodded. "OK." She started sobbing again, with little hiccups in between breaths. She didn't cover her face this time and the tears just dripped off her chin. Kyle wiped at them with his thumb.

  "I'm really sorry. I wanted to be here with you because I thought you'd already know. I wanted to comfort you."

  In between her sobbing and hiccups, Kyle heard a small giggle.

  "What is it?" he asked her.

  She giggled more. "I...after Jeff died, I cried." She hiccuped again and let out a tiny snort. She giggled harder as if laughing at herself. "But inside I was happy because it meant I wouldn't be hurt anymore, and that dad's experiment would be over. That's what I thought. I thought that if the experiment was over, dad would be a dad again and things could return to normal." She dropped her head and Kyle hugged her close.

  Kyle kept patting her on the back. "I understand. It's hard, and sometimes it's easier to laugh than to cry."

  That made her cry even harder but she stopped giggling. She shook her head back and forth while she cried. "Jess was always nice to me. Ryant, even though he was mean, wouldn't ever really hurt me. He tried to protect me against Jeff, once. Father made him stop."

  Kyle waited a while before he spoke. "What do you think of Father?"

  The crying halted. Like a water faucet that had been turned off. She looked up at Kyle with a look that scared Kyle. Because it was really, really mad and Kyle had never seen Callie look angry before. "I hate him," she said. "I hate him I hate him I hate him! It's all his fault and I know this is his fault. He hurt you for no reason, and he hurt all of us for his SCIENCE. He's the real murderer, not you, and I don't think he really even cares for mom!" She screamed the last sentence so loud that the door opened and Leena's head poked in.

  "Kyle? What are you doing here? You shouldn't be here," she said. "Callie? Is everything all right?"

  "Get out!" Callie screamed at the top of her lungs.

  Leena took a step in but Kyle glared at her. She stepped back out and closed the door. A few seconds later he heard her voice, talking on the phone. Didn't matter, Andre already knew where Kyle was. He had the cameras, and he'd just heard what his daughter thought of him too. Kyle hoped it hurt.

  He hugged Callie harder. "I hate him, too," he said. "But he's our Father now, and we have to try to understand him. He has a reason for everything he's doing. And even if we don't like it, we have to understand his reasons." He said it to show Andre that he was still playing his part, giving him what he wanted.

  Callie gave him a horrible look. "What are you doing?" she gasped.

  "What?" Kyle said. "I'm just saying..."

  "He got to you too, didn't he? Jess and Ryant would say the same things, that dad was a good person and that he had a reason for doing the bad things that he did. And then they would lie to me to trick me. They always talked in the same voice, saying the same things that you just did." She stood up. "They lied and told me things so that I would do things that I didn't want to do. That's how they got me to tell lies to you, even though I didn't know I was. He's tricked you, hasn't he?"

  "No Callie. Your dad didn..."

  "Then they aren't dead, are they? You're lying just to make me act a certain way like I'm part of an experiment, aren't you?"

  "No Callie. They are dead. I'm not lying to you."

  Her eyes snapped to the stuffed bears on the bookshelf. "Those are cameras, right?" She ran to them and grabbed the bears, opened the window above her bed and threw them outside. She stopped moving and stared out the window.

  "Callie! Look at me!" Kyle said.

  She kept looking out the window.

  "Callie. I don't know if those are cameras. But what I do know is that your brother and sister are really dead, and that Father doesn't even know I'm here. I came to make sure you were OK because I was worried for you. That's it." He felt the lie through his teeth. He'd come for other reasons, but he needed her to believe him. Because if she believed him, it confirmed that she trusted him and cared for him--even if he was a liar.

  The truth, of course, was that Kyle would never kill her. He just wanted Andre to think he would, to get Andre back for killing Del and playing with his head. Andre wanted science so Kyle was giving him science.

  But also...for Callie. Because he loved Callie more than he had any other person and because she was the only one who actually cared about him and wasn't trying to hurt him. Now that Del was dead, Callie was all Kyle had left.

  "Callie. Do you remember? We're going to get married and have kids of our own someday. We just have to be extra honest to each other so that we can fall in love and grow old together and your father won't be able to stop us. It'll just be us. You and me, Callie."

  Callie turned around from the edge of the window and searched his eyes.

  "Callie, I haven't been completely honest with you. But I'll tell you everything if you trust me."<
br />
  Her eyes flickered emotions. Deep things that made Kyle worry.

  "Callie. Don't." He walked toward her.

  She rocked backwards, just a little.

  Kyle jumped at her as fast as he could, his arms open wide.

  She leaned back again.

  And then she fell forward into Kyle's arms. Crying.

  They were both crying. Hugging each other and crying. "You promise, right?" she asked him. She bit her shaking lip. "We'll get married and be happy and extra honest with each other starting now? And you'll be different than Dad is? No experiments?"

  Kyle nodded. "Yes. I promise."

  She nodded and bit her lip again and went back to hugging him.

  Kyle reached for the window and closed it with one hand. They held each other and cried, both of them together. Kyle felt good about crying, because he hadn't cried for Del yet and now he finally was. He told Callie how he missed Del, and how much he hated their father and how much he wished the experiment was over and how hard it was to be a duck, especially now. It felt like his heart was suddenly free.

  But he didn't tell her that he'd killed Jess and Ryant, not yet. He would, but right now it just didn't matter.

  "I love you, Kyle. Even if we don't get married, we'll always be best friends." She pulled away only after it felt like they'd been crying together forever.

  Kyle nodded and spoke, meaning every word. "And I'll always love you, too."

  Public Security came through the door holding tasers. They surrounded Kyle and Callie with bug eyes, scared behind their thick uniforms and helmets with visors. One of them edged forward. "Kyle Mollinda?" he said.

  "Kyle Alexander, or Kyle Nelson. Not Kyle Mollinda," he answered. Is this it?

  "It's him," another one said. "We've seen him on TV. Should we rush him?"

  "No," the first answered. "Shut up, Kenner. Kyle Mollinda, you're under the arrest for the murder of El Sanderson, Marke Davis, Sam Borne..." Sam Borne? Ah. The cowboy-man he'd left for dead. "...Jeff, Jess, and Ryant Mollinda, and," the man glanced at Callie before continuing. "The attempted murder of Callie Mollinda."