The old doctor’s ego was so impossibly large, the man would never believe that his system had failed. That his property was rebelling. That she had developed abilities the doctor didn’t know about.
Agent Bradford?
Agent Bradford tried to ignore the ugly voice that crawled up in the back of his head. It pulled at him, mocked him, teased him.
Agent Braaaaadfooooord?
“What?!”
I mean… you’re outside. Are you shy to come in?
“Fuck you! We’ll get you, just wait!”
Tsk…. As if you could take me down. You know you’re too weak, right? They’ve made me so damn powerful no MAN could ever get to me now.
“That’s what you think, you little bitch! We’re coming for you! We’re coming!”
So the backup team is arriving soon?
Agent Bradford was silent.
Oh? Agent Bradford… you haven’t called them yet? Geez…. And here I was thinking you were at least halfway competent….
He didn’t respond.
Here’s what you do, Agent Bradford. You get on the phone with Dr. Greer’s secretary. We both know you’re not important enough to have a direct line. Anyway, you call his secretary, and you tell her it’s a code 3751.
You tell him what I did to you this morning. Leave out the part about shitting your pants. If he doesn’t believe you, tell him I’m very sorry that his wife died last night.
“W-Wait…. His wife died last night?” Agent Bradford asked.
I’m afraid so.
“How can you— That’s halfway across the country! You couldn’t possibly—”
Couldn’t I? Who died and made you the expert? You’re practically still in diapers… or you should be, considering what happened this morning….
“You fucking bitch….”
You best get on that now, don’t you think so, Agent Bradford?
As suddenly as it had struck him, the voice retreated from his mind. For some reason, however, her words kept echoing through Agent Bradford’s head. She mocked him. She taunted him. It was as if she wanted the backup team to be here.
“The little bitch thinks she’s invincible. If she wants a fight, I’ll give her one!” he said out loud.
Agent Bradford took out his phone. He had the doctor on speed dial.
A woman’s voice answered. “Dr. Greer’s office. How may I help you?”
“This is Agent Bradford. I need to talk to Dr. Greer.”
“I’m sorry, Agent Bradford, Dr. Greer isn’t available today.”
“I know, I know…. But it’s a code 3751.”
There was no response.
“Hello?”
“I will connect you, Agent Bradford. One moment, please.”
Agent Bradford took a deep breath as he waited for the secretary to patch him through. Was this what his professional career amounted to? Relegated to arguing with secretaries and hoping the higher-ups would graciously offer him some of their time?
Apparently what he did wasn’t very important. It angered the special agent to his very core that Dr. Greer didn’t take him seriously.
Dr. Greer’s voice sounded through the phone. “Agent Bradford?”
“Yes! Hello, Dr. Greer!”
“Hello…. What can I help you with?”
“I’m calling about your Specimen #8. She has become unstable. She—”
“Is she still on the job?”
“What? Yes… but listen, Dr. Greer. She has attacked me!”
“Attacked you how, Agent Bradford?”
“She… she showed me illusions this morning. She made me think I was really sick and had to throw up. I thought I was going to die!”
“Specimen #8 isn’t capable of that.”
“She fucking is now! Or maybe she’s been capable of it for a long time. I don’t know, Dr. Greer!”
Agent Bradford heard the doctor’s skeptical sigh and it enraged him. That single sigh filled his entire body with a fury that was almost impossible to control.
“You don’t believe me, you motherfucker?! Your wife is dead! She died last night! Specimen #8 sends her condolences!”
“What did you just say?”
The doctor’s response was eerily calm. It was so quiet, in fact, that it threw the special agent off completely. The anger sank from his body on the spot. All that was left was a frightened man who was sure he had just destroyed his career by mouthing off to a superior.
“Wait…. I’m sorry, Dr. Greer. I didn’t mean to—”
“No, no. I don’t care about that. Did you just suggest to me that Specimen #8 could read my mind from halfway across the country?”
“She told me this not five minutes ago,” Agent Bradford said.
“Amazing! How spectacular! I honestly had no idea she had grown this capable.”
“Dr. Greer! She is attacking me! She’s taunting me!”
“To do what, Agent Bradford?” Dr. Greer asked.
“To get the backup team here!”
A quick pause snuck into their conversation. It came from the old doctor’s patient contemplation that no man had ever been able to hurry. Agent Bradford knew better than to try.
Finally Dr. Greer spoke. “Why do you think she wants to face off with the backup team?”
“She’s mad! Her ego has exploded! She thinks she’s all-powerful!”
Dr. Greer’s snickering filled the special agent’s ear. That vile, mocking sound felt even worse than Jane Elring’s voice inside his head.
“Oh my,” Dr. Greer said. “So it has come to this. The great escape!”
“I won’t let her escape! What’s the alternative, the backup team doesn’t come?”
“No, no…. Specimen #8 has forced our hand. We can’t not send the team, and we can’t send the team. An intriguing problem she has created for us, no?”
Agent Bradford was far from intrigued. He was angry, humiliated and, though he would never admit it, he was very afraid of the small monster holed up in the Toaves mansion.
“Dr. Greer? What do you want to do now?” he asked.
“There is only one thing we can do. We must trust in the system that we put into place. I will call the backup team. They will arrive at your location in half an hour. You will go in, find her, and push the button. Bring her back to me in one piece, if you can. If you can’t, you put her body on ice and call me right away.”
“Alright, Dr. Greer. I will stay put and wait for the team to arrive.”
“You do that, Agent Bradford. Good luck to you. I have a sense that you will need it.”
Dr. Greer’s laughter bellowed from the special agent’s phone.
“Amazing. Truly amazing! Across half the country! What a marvel have I created!”
Agent Bradford couldn’t listen to the insanity anymore. The madness, the ego that refused to implode on itself, it assaulted his senses in ways Jane Elring never had. With a few jerky moves he ended the call and put the phone back in his pocket.
The conversation had drained him and he made a vow to himself. This was his last job. He would be done after this one. He’d take the little bitch down. He’d fuck her up good. Agent Bradford would save his country from the terrible monstrosity hiding inside the Toaves mansion.
And then… he’d go home, fuck Becky until they were both sore, and focus his attention on his children. They had to be saved from the monstrosity that was his country now.
Jane Elring stood in the middle of the office, watching Arthur as the old man collected the final sheet of paper from his printer. His tired hands gathered the newly created documents and placed them in a small stack.