I can’t believe what I’m hearing… I had no idea the extent of his endgame was this… this fucking crazy! Like Matthews said, you can kind of understand the basis for his plan — nobody wants any more war, any more famine… Why can’t we all just get along, right? But this… You can’t just kill the world and start from scratch!
“Adrian…” says Ruby.
I ignore her, staring at Matthews. “Who’s the enemy this time? Who’s Cunningham using to destroy GlobaTech and start a third world war?”
“Adrian…” she says again.
“Matthews, tell me! Who’s coming for us all?”
He stands and walks into the middle of the suite, the backdrop of the city lit up behind him through the window. He stands tall and takes a deep breath. “North Korea.”
Holy fucking shit…
I turn to Ruby. “I have to warn Josh…”
“Adrian!” she shouts. “We’re too late! Look!”
She points to the TV, and I stare at the screen. The sitcom has disappeared, interrupted by a breaking news bulletin. The volume is too low so I can’t hear the voice of the anchorman on the screen, but behind him is a live video feed from Shanghai, according to the caption below it. It shows explosions and fire and death.
Across the bottom of the screen reads the horrifying headline: NORTH KOREA INVADES!
Ruby’s right — we’re too late.
21
I’m watching in horror as more and more reports come up on the screen showing attacks, seemingly all over the world. China… Russia… India… Pakistan… even mainland Eastern Europe… North Korea has popped up out of nowhere and is shooting at peacekeeping forces — namely, GlobaTech — and civilians everywhere.
I look over at Matthews, whose eyes are watering as he stares at the TV screen. He’s shaking his head as if what he’s seeing is just a bad action movie and can’t possibly be real.
“No… no…” he mutters. “I can’t believe he actually went through with it…”
“Hey!” I yell, marching over to him and grabbing him by the throat. I walk him backward and pin him to the glass. “You don’t get to be upset, do you hear me? This is your fault. Yours! You’re the greatest mass murderer this world has ever seen, and this…” I point to the screen behind me. “…is all happening because of you!”
He finally breaks. His whole body shakes as he weeps in front of me. For a split-second, I actually feel bad for him. But I quickly remember he’s a piece of shit. I spin him around by his throat and push him away into the center of the room.
I look over at Ruby and hold my hand out. “Give me the gun.”
Without hesitation she hands it to me. Instinctively, I check the mag, work the slide, and take aim at Matthews’ forehead. “Any last words?”
Ruby takes a step back between the beds. In my peripheral vision I see her looking at me, but she’s also got a trained eye on the TV screen. It’s hard to watch, but also hard not to.
Matthews stares at me with tear-filled eyes, a grim determination creeping across his gaunt face. A few tense seconds of silence pass.
I see his gaze flick past me momentarily.
I see Ruby follow his gaze, a look of shock on her face.
Shit… Something’s happening behind me, isn’t it?
Everything slows down. All sound fades away. I push Matthews to the floor and spin around in time to see The European unhooking himself from a rappel line. He reaches behind him and brings a gun around into view and takes aim at the window.
How the hell did he—?
Time resumes its normal speed.
“Get down!” I yell as I drop to the floor.
I’m not bothered about Matthews, but I hope to God Ruby’s reacted as fast as I have.
The glass splinters and cracks before eventually smashing completely. The second I hear it, I jump to my feet, knowing The European will stop firing at least for a few valuable seconds while he steps through into our suite.
I meet him as he does, grabbing his gun hand, controlling his weapon. I raise his hand skyward and jab him in the ribs. He grunts through it and delivers a short head-butt to my face. I see it coming, but not quickly enough. I turn my head a fraction, so he connects with my cheekbone instead of my nose. It was a snapped blow with little wind-up and, consequently, little momentum.
But it still hurt like a sonofabitch!
I drop to one knee, my head spinning. I glance up and see he’s looking just as dazed as me, despite remaining upright. I fall flat on my back and look forward as I lash my foot out with as much power as I can. I catch him off guard and connect with his knee, taking his leg out from under him. I scramble to my feet as he hits the floor, and I see his gun skid away from us, across the carpet.
I position myself to deliver a kick to the side of his head, but he grabs my front foot and launches a desperate left arm into the side of my leg. The crook of his arm hits my knee. I buckle and drop again, landing heavily on my side.
Ah, shit!
We’re lying on the floor next to each other — me on my side, him on his back. He lurches up and drops his elbow on my face, hitting my cheekbone again. I feel the skin swell and burst instantly from the impact, followed by the warm rush of blood as it starts down my face.
I’m struggling to get my bearings — my leg’s killing me, and the cut on my face feels pretty bad, judging by how much blood I feel coming from it. I roll over onto my front as The European gets to his feet. He scoops up his gun and looks at Ruby before taking aim at…
…at Matthews? What the hell?
I frown, concentrating on trying to ignore the pain I’m feeling. I slowly drag myself up and rest on my right knee. My left isn’t cooperating, and I’m not sure how much pressure it could take. Losing the ability to stand is never good in a fight…
I look up at Ruby apologetically. She catches my eye and nods once. Then I see her descend into the madness I haven’t seen since Baltimore. It’s in her eyes. The crazy floods into them like a river of madness washing over her, taking over completely and allowing her to unleash her demons.
She pounces on The European, which I don’t think he was expecting. He fires a round, which thankfully misses anything of any consequence. And Matthews. He tries to take aim at Ruby, but she’s already got her claws into him. Literally! She’s on his back, her legs around his waist and her nails are sinking into the flesh at the base of his neck, drawing blood.
He lets out a growl and lashes out behind him, narrowly missing her head with his gun. She uses her weight and momentum to start spinning him, eventually dragging him to the floor. They land on their sides, and her grip loosens momentarily. He seizes the opportunity and flips over, pinning her down on her back. He’s inside her guard — her legs still around his waist — and he’s doing his best to land punches to her face and body.
She’s a talented fighter, no doubt about it. She’s strong, she’s composed… though, admittedly, at the moment she’s getting her ass kicked, but—
Oh, spoke too soon!