EPILOGUE
A shadow crossed the wall behind the security desk. The guard was carefully checking each view screen and didn’t notice the movement behind him. The figure crept stealthily down the hall and darted around the corner. He moved at a purposeful pace, his boots barely made a sound as he walked. He was darkly clad and faded easily into the black shadows that filled the halls this night. There was hardly any light at all. They had locked down this level of the security building and all but the essential lights were off. It didn’t matter. He was accustomed to the darkness. Even comfortable with it. It wrapped around him like a protective cloak as he made his way to his destination.
He stopped in front of the heavy door. The patrolling guard was walking away from him, rounding the far corner. He slid a plastic card into the laser locking mechanism. The door clicked open. He slipped inside.
Jane Morris lay sleeping on her the cot in her cell. The brush of air across her cheek woke her. Her eyes fluttered open. Someone was in the cell with her. She focused on the tall figure looming over her. Her eyes grew wide with fear. The blood drained from her face.
"YOU! Oh God. Please no-"
She said no more. Minutes passed.
His task complete, the shadowy figure slipped out the door and hastened down a dark corridor. Eyeing the hallway behind him, he backed around the far corner. He collided with someone else. The two men scuffled with each other. They slammed into the wall of a dead-end passage. A dimly lit bulb cast away the shadows.
"You? What the hell are you doing here?" Jason hissed.
"You’re too late. She’s already dead." Zoltar grinned.
Jason held him firmly by the collar. "Dead?"
"Don’t worry. It was far from painless. You would have approved." His eyes gleamed.
Jason was fuming. This was personal. Why did Zoltar interfere? This was going to be his closure. His own ending to this particular story. He had planned to show her what a deadly mistake she had made. Now he was robbed of the chance. There was still an upside though…
"This is my lucky night." Jason said, gripping the other man’s collar tightly.
"I don’t think so. I won’t be taken here. I can’t afford that."
Jason shook his head. "Why? Why kill her? I thought –"
"Yes, many thought she could be useful to us. I disagreed. Spectrans do not use biological warfare to conquer their enemies. My people would support me in this. I explained this but - it didn’t matter. An attack was scheduled for tomorrow night. I had no choice but to kill her before an attempt was made to capture her. I am acting on my own. If the Lum… if they knew I was here against orders, I would be executed."
"What kind of shit are you trying to pull? You know full well what she knew…"
"Yes and I know full well what she is capable of. Let’s just say that you aren’t the only one familiar with her particular – talents."
"You!?" He was incredulous. The enemy of my enemy.
"I was next on her list. I will not tolerate being threatened. She blamed us both for her husband’s death."
"Then he did exist."
"Yes. And you broke his neck. But that’s all. We let her work in our labs, hoping to use anything she came up with for our own people. We have many – injured. He could see and speak at first. I was impressed with her idea to re-establish the links in his spine by using synthetic neurotransmitters. But when I saw what was happening to him…"
"She did it?"
"Of course you idiot. Did you think a simple broken neck could cause blindness and deafness? She didn’t do it on purpose, but when she realized what was happening it was too late. She couldn’t blame herself, so she chose the next easiest targets. She gathered up all of her experiments and disappeared. This was the first time we heard from her since."
"Why are you telling me this?
"Maybe I have an idea what happened to you. It was effective, but not my style. Since I cheated you out of the chance to kill her yourself – well, I thought there was no harm in telling you."
Jason couldn’t believe his ears. Did Zoltar actually have a conscience? Could he actually feel sympathy?
"I still can’t let you go!" Jason whispered.
Foot steps approached.
"Oh you can, and I think you will. How are you going to explain what you were doing here to your Chief Anderson? What will you say when he asks if you were the one who killed her?"
Jason did not answer. Good point.
The guard was nearing the passage.
"I’m about to vanish without a trace." Zoltar popped a little capsule out of his mouth. "I suggest you do the same." He tossed the capsule into the hallway. It exploded and thick smoke choked out the rest of the light. Jason felt his fingers grasping air instead of cloth.
He smiled.
"Next time."
Jason disappeared into the thick smoke. He was going home to sleep. He had a race tomorrow.