The brink, p.20
The Brink, page 20
“No, this is not just about revenge,” Van Ness continued. “No, no. Not just that.”
Van Ness looked past Cafferty, lost in his own thoughts.
“I haven’t been lying to you all. It’s always been about defeating these creatures. Saving humanity that is worthy of being saved. But I might as well let them do my bidding first, right? To, as you say in English, kill two birds with one stone?
“No, this is about so much more than even just revenge or preservation. It’s about my purpose, my . . .”
Van Ness turned back and gazed at Cafferty.
“For you and I, hasn’t it always been about obsession? Legacy? Men like you and I do not stop. Am I incorrect?”
The words hit Cafferty hard.
Because . . .
Van Ness was right.
It was Tom’s obsession with legacy that ruined his marriage, his obsession with the Z Train that set off a chain reaction that led to its destruction, his obsession with Van Ness that led to his wife being captured. Cafferty would not stop. He did not know how to.
The look on Cafferty’s face told Van Ness everything he needed to know. A satisfied, understanding smile came across Van Ness’ face.
“You’re . . . not wrong, Albert,” Cafferty said. “But you understand what that means for you and me, right?”
“Yes,” Van Ness said, slowly nodding. “One of us must live.”
“And one of us must die.”
The men stared at each other intensely.
Cafferty saw the equal obsession. The equal motivation.
“Luckily for me, that outcome seems well determined, no? So enough conversation,” Van Ness said. “Shall we commence with securing my legacy?”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Tom watched as Van Ness spun his wheelchair toward the glass dome. The hybrid maintained its unbreakable grip on Cafferty, shoving him down the hallway to the operations center.
Every step gave him a deeper sinking feeling. Van Ness wanted Cafferty to watch the next few hours unfold. What was in store for Ellen—or had already been done—sent a chill down Cafferty’s spine. Van Ness had proven himself a showman, on top of a callous dictator and cold-blooded murderer.
Whatever he has planned next . . .
Van Ness approached Edwards in the middle of the operations center, Cafferty close behind, held in the powerful clutches of the hybrid. It seemed almost unbelievable to be here, in Van Ness’ lair.
“Not so unlike your Visitors’ Pavilion in New York City,” Van Ness said proudly. “The difference is your Pavilion sits in ruins at the bottom of the Hudson River. This headquarters, this vision, will go down for centuries as the beating heart of humanity’s victory.”
Cafferty looked up at the various monitors that showed the Foundation’s destruction of his country. Headlines scrolled across the CNN news feed of nuclear strikes in South Dakota and Nebraska and the panic ensuing in London. He struggled to believe it had actually happened. The lives lost. The potential nuclear fallout across the United States.
Van Ness is winning . . .
Bowcut and Munoz rested on their knees in front of him with pistols jammed against the back of their heads. At least Diego had regained consciousness. Sarah attempted to look around. A guard twisted her head back toward the screens.
Cafferty glowered at Van Ness. “You’re destroying the world.”
“No, Thomas. I’m preserving it in the best way I know how—by creating the world as it should be.”
“Nests fully destroyed in South Dakota and Nebraska, sir,” Edwards chimed in. “The other bombs are coming online now.”
“Other bombs?” Cafferty interjected.
Edwards motioned to a map with red dots under all major U.S. and UK cities. “Washington, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Boston, Manchester, Newcastle, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Dublin—”
“Enough!” Cafferty shouted. “Stop this madness, Van Ness!”
“But it must be done,” Van Ness replied without emotion. “The nests under those cities must be destroyed. Or the creatures will rise, I assure you.”
It became clear to Cafferty that Van Ness’ personal vendetta was not Foundation policy. He just wasn’t sure if that mattered—if there were nests under those cities, these fanatics would surely be okay with destroying them regardless.
Still, Cafferty scanned the operations center for an empathetic face, anyone who would realize the madness of this situation and help him. All he needed was one person to come to their senses and flip. Yet he found only grim expressions. With the London device due to go off in a few hours and devices already detonated in the United States, those expressions were soon to be reflected by billions of people around the world, as they saw their friends and family murdered and their own lives descend into chaos from a never-ending nuclear winter.
The world was going to be covered in literal darkness, even as the Foundation claimed it was eliminating exactly that.
Rapid laser fire from outside the thick glass dome caught Cafferty’s attention. In the cavern, the creatures seemed to be stirring themselves into a frenzy, as if they could sense the coming apocalypse for their brethren.
Inside, he felt a similar frenzy and despaired at the fact that there was absolutely nothing he could do about it now.
He was going to witness the end of the world.
Van Ness observed how Tom seemed to collapse, the hybrid’s grip the only thing holding him up. He detested the creature standing there, even as he appreciated its power and purpose. This, he thought, was the only use for these things: as powerful tools to be utilized by those who knew what they were capable of.
Namely, himself.
The thought was a satisfying one, knowing he was one step closer to victory. To seeing his father’s dream realized. To seeing those who had broken something in Otto Van Ness broken themselves. To seeing his family’s legacy—even as he sat here in a wheelchair—made whole.
“If there is an organizational structure to these nests,” he mused, “if these creatures do communicate with each other . . .”
He stared out the glass.
“. . . they will remember this day for a long time.”
“Kill the asshole if you get the chance,” Munoz blurted out.
A guard slapped Diego on the side of the head with his gun, and he winced in pain.
Van Ness bristled at the language. His patience had almost expired with Munoz and Bowcut. They weren’t necessary anymore. They were just Cafferty’s foot soldiers, after all. It was one thing for the generals to still talk, but the cannon fodder? He caressed the laser pistol, tucked into the side of his chair, and considered whether to kill them before or after the main event.
No, I want them all to see this. They chose their side and would surely have shown me no mercy. Cafferty’s humiliation needs to be witnessed by his entire team. They need to realize how much of a fool the man they were following is.
They would live to see the world and the creatures die.
And then he would kill them personally.
Smiling tightly, Van Ness turned back to Tom.
“Shall we all check on your wife, Mr. Cafferty?”
Chapter Thirty
Van Ness hit a button on his control pad, and the back wall of the operations center parted smoothly, revealing a glass wall behind it.
Cafferty attempted to break free of the hybrid creature, but the clawed hand held firm.
“Let him see,” Van Ness said.
The creature released its grip on Cafferty but followed closely behind. Cafferty sprinted for the glass wall, which looked down on a sterile all-white room, kind of like the view of an indoor racquetball court from above, but with nothing quite so mundane happening below.
His eyes widened in disbelief.
“What . . . have . . . you . . . done?” Cafferty cried out.
Through the one-way glass, down below, a terrified Ellen Cafferty stood strapped to a steel pole. Several loops of rope had been wound around the front of her orange coveralls. On the opposite side of the room, just out of attacking distance, a snarling creature was strapped to another pole with graphene restraints. The jet-black creature was massive and powerful, with formidable claws, tail, teeth. Saliva dripped from its mouth as its primal instinct overwhelmed its senses—an instinct to break free from its chains and to kill humans on sight. It roared at Ellen and lashed its tail, slamming the ground by her shoes, even as it furiously clawed at its own restraints and screeched in agony at the low-level light that was cast on its body.
Halfway between Ellen and the creature, a single laser gun lay on the ground.
“You twisted fuck!” Cafferty shouted, spinning rapidly and lunging with all his might at Van Ness. With lightning-fast speed, the hybrid creature caught him, its claws digging deep into his arms, sending blood pouring down his arms and immediately stopping his attack. The hybrid pushed Cafferty’s torso back against the glass, spinning him around and pinning him there to watch.
The armed guards forced Bowcut and Munoz to the glass as well.
“One must live, and one must die,” Van Ness commented. “Isn’t that what we just said, Thomas?”
Cafferty continued to fight, twisting his body back and forth, only digging the hybrid’s claws deeper into his own flesh.
“I take no pleasure in this, I assure you,” Van Ness said. “But you must learn that grief feels much like fear.”
Cafferty’s head twisted around. “I already thought the creatures had killed her once. I lost friends in the tunnels under New York. Seen death on a personal scale, and just saw death on a massive scale. Do you think I don’t know what grief and fear feel like? Go to hell.”
Cafferty scanned the Foundation workers who sat at the operations center’s workstations. All twenty staffers had fallen silent, mesmerized by the drama unfolding.
“Have you all lost your minds?” Cafferty shouted at them. “Have you?”
Their faces stared blankly at him, careful not to betray Van Ness in any way. He couldn’t understand how so many had bought into this demented plot. The world stood on the cusp of destruction and they sat there, passively watching.
“Your protestations to my employees are worthless, Mr. Mayor,” Van Ness said. “They understand the importance of this mission, and they are down here because their belief is as strong as mine. Your guilt will not work on them—there is nothing for any of us to feel guilty about.
“Besides, this is your doing,” he continued. “This began the day you stood in front of the press in New York City, declaring your intent to hunt me down. To let the creatures win.
“Remember that?”
Of course he remembered that day. That was when he, Ellen, Diego, and Sarah created the David M. North Memorial Foundation to expose Van Ness for the monster he was. He had thought it was a purpose that would be lauded and remembered. That all now seemed like a distant memory. Insignificant, even, compared to the rapid escalation of the last two days.
“What was it you said?” Van Ness asked. “‘I promise you this—I will never stop . . .’ Do you wish you had stopped now, Thomas?”
Cafferty’s eyes burned with hatred, but the words also fueled him. He wouldn’t stop until his dying breath. The problem was he expected that would come soon, and his last thoughts would be about his own failure.
Just then, Cafferty noticed the slightest look on Edwards’ face as he listened to Van Ness speak. It was a fleeting moment, but it almost resembled . . . doubt. The sickly looking number two shifted uncomfortably in his chair.
A high-pitched shriek grabbed Cafferty’s attention. He spun back and faced the glass. Below, Ellen rocked her shoulders frantically back and forth. The creature tore at its constraints.
Cafferty banged on the glass desperately, but his wife could neither hear nor see the operations center above. It was no use.
A rope finally slipped off Ellen’s right shoulder, and she freed her arm. She quickly tried to slip from the remainder of the restraints before the creature got loose and tore her to shreds. The twisted competition grew more and more desperate.
“This is going to be close, don’t you think, my friend?” Van Ness asked Edwards.
Edwards didn’t reply.
Ellen had almost freed herself. She uncoiled the rope from around her body. The creature gnawed at the last few threads of graphene. Both appeared seconds from freedom. Seconds from an attack.
Van Ness leaned forward in his chair. “I hadn’t expected it to be such a tight contest, though it does bring a mild level of excitement, yes?”
“Mild excitement?” Cafferty snapped. “You asshole, that’s my wife!”
“Facing what all of humanity would be up against if you had your way, Thomas.”
The creature ripped the last pieces of restraint free with its three sets of teeth. Ellen wriggled loose from the rope. For a heartbeat, they stared at each other, both free of the steel poles.
Cafferty held his breath.
Ellen jumped forward and rolled onto the ground toward the laser. The creature’s tail whipped over her head and slammed into the wall, tearing a gouge in the solid rock. Roaring in frustration, it lunged at her with all its might, but in missing, it had given her the extra second she needed.
She grabbed the laser and fired.
A red-hot beam sliced right through the creature’s chest. Thick yellow blood sprayed the pristine white room and spattered across Ellen’s face. The shrieking creature toppled backward, its torso hanging to the side, attached only by its left rib cage.
Ellen scrambled away, then fired another beam at the dying creature, instantly carving its limbs to pieces. She slumped back against the wall, heaving, tears streaming down her face.
Cafferty, too, welled up with tears.
Thank God . . .
“Very good, very good indeed!” Van Ness began to clap. “What a show!”
In the background behind Van Ness, Cafferty noticed a distinct look of disgust on Edwards’ face. Once again, he wondered if he had a potential ally. Maybe. But then again, any normal person would find such a display revolting.
And any normal person would have seen the Foundation as reprehensible a long time ago.
Back inside the room, Ellen now stood, still breathing heavily. She wiped the creature’s blood from her face and silently began to gesticulate at the one-way glass above, obviously assuming Van Ness was watching.
Intrigued, Van Ness hit a button on the wall and a speaker activated.
“—ck you, Van Ness! You failed! FUCK! YOU!” Ellen shouted, filling the operations center with her defiance.
Seizing the opportunity, Cafferty yelled out, “Ellen!”
Van Ness quickly switched off the speaker, but Ellen’s eyes had gone wide, clearly having recognized her husband’s voice in that moment.
“It’s a shame. At least before, she would have died without unnecessary hope. Ah, well.” Van Ness turned his attention to Edwards. “My friend, will you please have Mrs. Cafferty disposed of now? The incinerator will do. Same goes for our friends Bowcut and Munoz afterward.”
Edwards nodded and motioned to the guards in the corner. They quickly left the operations center.
“As for you, Thomas, I believe everyone deserves a second chance. A rematch between you and my hybrid creature here. Perhaps you’ll fair better than you did in the elevator. But that is the third act. First, the show must continue.” Van Ness turned toward the workers manning their stations. “Status?”
“Mr. Van Ness,” a female staff member called from the console, “the bombs are coming online and will be ready for detonation in less than one minute.”
Cafferty looked at all the pulsing red lights on the screens indicating the location of Van Ness’ nuclear bombs.
“My God,” Cafferty said.
“No, not God,” he replied. “Albert Van Ness.”
Chapter Thirty-One
The overhead screens showed dusk falling on several American cities. The dark streets of London were mostly deserted, besides the gridlock on the highways as hundreds of thousands tried to escape the city. Most would not make it out of the bomb radius in time . . . and those who did would almost certainly be driving toward another bomb anyway.
Cafferty remained under the hybrid’s powerful grip, unable to break free in any way. Ellen stood below him in the fighting area, laser in hand, back pressed against the wall, thankfully still alive with the creature’s torn-open corpse by her boots.
At least he hadn’t had to see his wife torn apart by the creature. He was so proud of her, the way she had acted, and his heart swelled at how brave she was. But then it squeezed tight when he realized what Van Ness had just sent his men to do. Her bravery just meant she had delayed her death a little longer.
He deflated once more, knowing he wouldn’t even be able to display the courage Ellen just had.
Munoz eyed the tablet-like panel on Van Ness’ wheelchair. He used it to control the creature and seemingly everything else in the operations center. It looked like it was activated by the German’s palm print, though, which meant that even if Diego could snag it, it would be of little use without Van Ness’ hand. If he had time, of course, he could probably figure it out. But he didn’t have time.
None of them had time.
Bowcut and Cafferty stared wide-eyed at the world map displaying the nuclear devices coming online. Cafferty reckoned there were at least thirty bombs, though he’d lost count. The majority were located in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, with a few spread around western Europe. He couldn’t even dream of the devastation that would shatter parts of the globe. The millions of lives lost.
Cafferty looked up at the other monitors in the operations center. On-screen, news channels were covering the devastation in Lincoln and Rapid City. The drone footage was shocking. Both cities flattened, reduced to ashes and flames. It looked like the seventh circle of hell. Nothing remained except carnage and death. The radiation would take years to dissipate, rendering both cities uninhabitable for generations. In nearby cities like Deadwood and Sundance, the footage was even more heartbreaking: children’s faces burned, skin boiling from the spreading radiation; people blinded by the nuclear flash, wandering the streets aimlessly, covered in ash, their skin literally smoking.
