Embers & Ice (Rouge) (30 page)

FIFTY-THREE

Jet
Slater truly believed he made the right choice. Dr. Wolfe gave him a tempting
offer, his power was better than any of the others and he always felt he had
the guts to be a bad guy, a villain. There was a darkness flowing in his veins,
and Dr. Wolfe noticed it. He called it potential. Jet was proud to be noticed,
and ever since he came out of the Orb with the mental girl, his creative juices
flowed hard and fast inside his mind. Being bad just felt natural to him. He
was born that way, unlike his idiotic princess of a brother. Jet was destined
to do great things with his power, to make men, women and children fear his
name. And he had Dr. Wolfe to thank for giving him a chance to prove himself.

But
after the others escaped, Jet felt a little less sure of the choices he’d made.
The adrenaline died down after the fight, and Jet was left to face the small,
dead body of the boy he killed. Sammy was his name. He looked like a little
angel asleep on the ground. Only his eyes were open and Jet was sure he’d never
forget the look of astonishment and pain there, and the glass eye that gazed
into nothing. It felt good to kill, sure, but the feeling afterwards wasn’t so
appealing.

Mikayla
stood beside him in Dr. Wolfe’s office days after the escape. She had been
quiet for a long time. He knew her well enough to see past her stoic
appearance. She, too, was doubting her choice to remain, to join Dr. Wolfe’s
side. But she trusted him. She said nothing.

Jet
faced the room that felt much smaller now that it was almost crowded with
people. He and Mikayla had their backs to the wall beside the desk where Dr.
Wolfe sat with his hands folded on the desktop. Jet felt on edge just looking
at the man. He appeared to be holding back a cyclone of rage. Even though not
all of them escaped – Hunter and Will were still in his clutches – the doctor
was furious that he’d let them go so easily. He seemed to believe his security
was enough, and without their powers, there was no hope. Clearly he needed to
keep his office better secured.

But
Dr. Wolfe held it together in the company of two official-looking men dressed
like generals. Jet guessed they were Chinese, but he couldn’t be sure. They
were completely robotic, emotionless men with pursed lips, clean-shaven faces
and eyes as hard as stone. They wore medals and badges that flashed in the
fluorescent lights. Dr. Wolfe put on his I-have-everything-under-control
expression and cleared his throat.

“Welcome
Gentlemen,” he said, all official-like. “Thank you for attending this meeting
today. I trust you had a pleasant flight?”

The
men glanced quickly at each other and nodded.

“Wonderful…
well, as you may know we had a little accident just a while ago with-”

“You
let out those mutants, didn’t you?” the taller one snapped. “The ones in your
little circus act demonstrations?”

Jet
grit his teeth hard, tempted to throw his fist into the man’s face.
Who’s he
calling a mutant?

“Yes,”
Dr. Wolfe said thickly, “Only eight escaped. We still have two very powerful subjects
here, and two others in secure lock up. Those that ran away were practically
harmless and have nothing to do with our operations in Death Cave 1.”

“I
heard you also had some difficulty with a raging dinosaur,” said the other in a
much thicker accent. One of his eyebrows shot up, as though he was amused to
even speak the words. “And several other test subjects were killed in an
explosion?”

Again,
Dr. Wolfe nodded forcefully. “That situation is completely under control now.
But as I was saying, Gentlemen, the escapees will be caught and detained again.
That, however, is not our main project.”

“Dr.
Wolfe,” the taller one said.

“Yes,
General Cheng?”

“We
aren’t here to babble with you all day long. What we want is a full status
report on your weapons project. Do you have a prototype available?”

Dr.
Wolfe’s face paled. Jet had never seen him look so vulnerable.

“I
do, but I’m afraid he’s not ready yet.”

“And
why is that?” Cheng spat.

“I’ll
let the person responsible explain that to you himself,” said Dr. Wolfe and he
pressed a button on his desk intercom. “Send him in,” he said to the machine.

A
moment later, two Men in White carried a bloodied, bruised and weary old Dr.
Rosenthal into the room. His hands were cuffed in front of him. The Men in
White shoved the doctor into the chair before the desk and backed out of the
room.

Jet
felt Mikayla tense beside him. She always liked Dr. Rosenthal. He used to tell
her that she would one day have one of the strongest powers in the universe if
she strengthened it with practice and never abused it. Abusing it could be
dangerous, he’d said. Jet thought he was a complete fool, and a compulsive liar
on most occasions. Jet wasn’t surprised when he heard the doctor was the one
who let that stupid queer out of his dog kennel and provided a clear escape
route for the others. He sneered at the man who slumped over in the chair.

“Hello
Albert,” Dr. Wolfe smiled. “I’d like to introduce to you General Cheng and
Officer Wu. Gentlemen, this is our very own Dr. Albert Rosenthal, leading
biologist and one of my old friends.”

Dr.
Rosenthal didn’t have the strength to look up at the officers, who stared down
at him as though he was a fleck of manure on their perfectly scrubbed black
army boots.

“Dr.
Rosenthal,” said Dr. Wolfe as he stood up slowly, crossed his arms behind him
and walked around his desk to level with the weak doctor. “Would you like to
explain to everyone in the room why you unlocked a very dangerous creature from
a coma and set him loose in the Death Caves to help the majority of our test
subjects escape this facility?”

Dr.
Rosenthal looked up with a great deal of effort and grumbled something under
his breath.

“I’m
sorry, I didn’t catch that?” said Dr. Wolfe.

“I
said… I didn’t have a choice,” he heaved.

“You
didn’t have a choice? Between what, recklessness or insanity? Do you know what
you cost this institution?”

Dr.
Rosenthal sighed deeply and started coughing as though there was something
large stuck in his throat. After a moment he pulled his cuffed hands away and a
string of blood joined his lips to his palms.

“You
also shot my weapon, Albert.”

The
old man said nothing.

“You
have made my associates very unhappy. They were hoping the weapon would be
ready by now. The royal family who are funding our entire institution are
impatient people. And though the American government have been scratching their
heads trying to find me here, I’m afraid it won’t be long until I am caught,
which makes all of us very uncomfortable. So unfortunately, I’m going to have
to tell them to come back another day when their weapon isn’t recovering from a
hole in his chest. You can imagine how happy they are about that, right
Gentlemen?”

The
officers glared at Dr. Wolfe, wondering just like Jet what point Dr. Wolfe was
trying to make.

“Well
Albert, whatever you were trying to achieve, it won’t stop my plans for Jack.
And it certainly won’t stop me from carrying out my mission.”

Dr.
Rosenthal nodded. “You’re starting a war, aren’t you Winston?”

“Very
good,” Dr. Wolfe grinned. “In a few more months, I’ll have enough weaponry to
empower the entire Chinese army. We will declare war on the American Embassy,
who think they are so patriotic and mighty. And you, my friend, won’t be able
to stop me.”

Dr.
Rosenthal let out a long and painful sigh. “I was afraid of that,” he croaked.
“So I’ll warn you now while I have the chance.” The doctor lifted his head and
looked Dr. Wolfe directly in the eyes. “When the wicked thrive, so does sin,
but the righteous will see their downfall.”

Dr.
Wolfe’s manic smile widened and seconds later, he began to chuckle.

“Your
God tell you that, did he Albert?” he asked. “I wonder where he is now.”

“You
knew this day would come.”

“I
didn’t want to believe it,” he said sadly.

Dr.
Rosenthal gave the man a pitying glare but replied with nothing.

The
officers cleared their throats, suggesting Dr. Wolfe get on with it, and so he
clasped his hands behind his back and walked around the desk. His oyster eyes
sparkled venomously.

“Let
us address one final issue, old friend.”

“What
might that be?”

Dr.
Wolfe’s grin widened. “How would you like to die?”

The
officers broke their tough façade for the first time since they entered the
room. They frowned quickly at each other before resuming their positions.
Mikayla made a small squeak beside him, but Jet had been expecting this. In
fact, he was prepared for it.

Jet
stepped away from the wall and met eyes with Dr. Wolfe.

“I’d
like to do it, Sir,” he said.

“Oh,
Jet. Of course, be my guest.” Dr. Wolfe stretched a hand out and then sat
himself down at his desk casually, as though Jet were about to perform a
presentation on the current stock market.

Blood
pumping in anticipation, Jet stepped around Dr. Rosenthal and looked down at
the hunched, sick man who was once a great mentor to him. In fact, Dr.
Rosenthal was kind to everyone. But if there was one thing Jet had learnt from
living in a place like ICE Incorporated, it was that rule breakers and
betrayers were to be punished. And what Dr. Rosenthal did was punishable by
nothing less than an execution.

And
so, it was an execution he received.

Jet
raised his right hand and pointed a finger at Dr. Rosenthal’s neck. The old man
met his eyes, and even though he knew he was about to die, he appeared almost
relieved. He took a deep breath, let it out slow, and gave Jet a small nod.

“There
is still forgiveness for you Jet,” he wheezed. “Don’t let evil steal your
soul.”

“Too
late old man,” Jet replied.

And
he drew his finger across the air, envisioning a clean blade slicing right
through the neck. There was a terrible squelch and a splash of blood fell upon
the desk. Red liquid spilled down the doctor’s chest as his head slid sideways,
toppled into his lap, bounced off his knees and landed face-up at Jet’s feet.

There,
his wise, compassionate eyes gazed up at Jet, at peace with death.

EPILOGUE

In
the room was a bed. The bed had real blankets and real pillows. The room itself
was sterile and bright, unnatural for the Death Caves. Someone had placed a
single sunflower in a vase on the bedside table.

Lying
on the bed was a man. He could have been asleep, but it was difficult to tell
because his face was so mutated by burns that no expression he made could ever
be clear. Hunter looked at the man and felt the fire squirm.

“What
is this?” she muttered to Dr. Wolfe who stood beside her. They looked in at the
man through what she presumed was one-way glass from a dark room with a desk
and control panel. Behind her was a table covered in a black cloth and two
chairs.

It
was only a day after the last time she saw Dr. Rosenthal. Will returned while
she slept. They were fed a few hours later and taken to a room at the end of
the corridor that served as a bathroom. Guards hosed them down to get rid of
the blood and dirt and gave them fresh jumpsuits – they smelled clean, but they
were splashed with dark stains.

She
and Will talked on and off about things that kept them sane, like whether the
others made it to Dr. Rosenthal’s house in Seattle or if they decided to split
up and go home to see their families. She fell asleep with Will’s voice filling
her mind.

Sometime
later, Dr. Wolfe came for her. Expecting to be taken to a surgery room, Hunter
was surprised when he led her to a separate part of the Death Caves. It did not
look like a cave at all. It was cleaner and Hunter felt dirty just being in it.

For
a moment, she wondered if the sight before her eyes was the result of her
powers. Was she was responsible for this man’s injuries? Was the doctor trying
to shove more guilt down her throat?

It
was too much to handle. She stepped away from the window. “Why are you showing
me this?”

“I’ve
had some spare time on my hands in preparation for the beginning of our
experiments. I assume you’ve been wondering why I haven’t taken you from your
cell since I put you there. Please, have a seat.”

He
indicated to the chair. Hesitantly, she sat down opposite him and couldn’t stop
herself from glancing to her right at the man through the window.

“Will
says you changed your mind about experimenting on me.”

“More
or less,” he shrugged. “I may still need you as an extra body, but now I have
something much bigger in mind.”

She
turned her head and gazed at the doctor, fear filling her faster than water in
a dam.

“Does
it have anything to do with Dr. Rosenthal?”

In
the dim light, Hunter could still see the hurt appear on the doctor’s face, and
at once she knew that he was gone.

“You
killed him, didn’t you?”

“I
did not,” he said and cleared his throat. “But Albert is no longer with us,
yes.”

“Why
did you-”

“That’s
enough.
”

Her
throat closed up instantly at the harsh snap of his tone. She clenched her
fists in her lap and avoided his eye, and all thoughts of the kind doctor as
well.

He
sighed. “I couldn’t allow Dr. Rosenthal to live after he betrayed me for the
second time – this time costing me just as much as shooting Jack Holloway in
the back. He was my life-long friend, yes, but… I had no more chances to give
him.”

Even
though he was clearly heart broken, she still felt no pity for him. I
should
not be the only one in this hellhole feeling guilty.

Dr.
Wolfe pulled from his coat pocket a tiny silver bell. The sound of the chime
rang painfully in her ears. A moment later, two Men in White entered carrying
trays of food. It was not the regular gray goo Hunter was used to – this was
real food: Mashed potatoes, roast beef with gravy, steamed vegetables, bread
rolls and cubes of butter, even a bottle of red wine from the south of France.
It was dark in the room, so one of the guards lit a long candle and placed it
in the center of the table.

Though
the food smelled overwhelming, Hunter couldn’t look at it. She wanted to vomit.

“Please,
eat.” He held out his hand and indicated to the meal.

Hunter
didn’t move.

“Wine?”
He poured them both a glass.

“Dr.
Wolfe, what is this?”

“I
pride myself upon my ability to remember my patients, Hunter.” He put the
glimmering glass in front of her plate. “But that patient beside us I never
cared too much about. We found him before even Joshua arrived. He doesn’t have
any special abilities that we were able to uncover, and he used to look much
worse. Thanks to Will’s ability, we were able to heal the worst of the burns.
I’m afraid he won’t ever be rid of the scars, but he is alive at least.”

The
doctor sliced through his tender beef in smooth motions. Hunter thought for a
split second about stabbing him with her own knife, but she was too distracted
by the patient lying in the bed.

“I
did this, didn’t I?” she breathed in disgust. “I burnt him.”

“Oh,
you definitely had something to do with this. But that’s not the reason he is here.”

“Why
then?” she asked.

“I
once thought that he might develop abilities after the accident he was involved
in. There was an existing element that you are already very familiar with – you
remember Feucotetanus, don’t you?”

She
stared in shock, the pieces starting to click together.

“Yes.
Feucotetanus protected this man from dying that night. I didn’t realize how
much it truly influenced his survival until you returned to ICE. One of my
scientists recently found traces of something very interesting in his blood
flow.”

“What?”

“You,”
he said.

Hunter
looked from the doctor to the man and back to the doctor. What he was saying
didn’t make sense.

“I
don’t understand. How is that possible?”

Dr.
Wolfe smiled at her through the luminescent glow of the candle. “Because,” he
said. “That man is your father.”