The Prototype
1342 Words
Arthur Vance held the device like a priest holding a cross.
Red light. Small. Unremarkable. But Marcus knew what it could do. Rewrite any memory. Insert new ones. Erase everything. The ultimate weapon.
“You press that button,” Marcus said, “and you start a war you can't win.”
Vance smiled. “I've already won. The prototype is just insurance.”
“Insurance for what?”
“For my escape. For my family. For my future.” He stepped closer. “You think you've exposed the consortium. You've barely scratched the surface. We have facilities in thirty countries. Thousands of devices already implanted. You can't stop us.”
“I can stop you.”
“How? By killing me? There are a dozen men who would take my place. By arresting me? I'll be out in a year. By leaking more files? We'll deny them. We have the best lawyers money can buy.”
Marcus looked at Claire. Her hand was on her pistol. Damian was circling through the garden, trying to get an angle.
“What do you want, Vance?”
“I want you to disappear. Take your family. Your friends. Your crusade. Go somewhere far away. Stop fighting. Stop exposing. Stop being a hero.”
“And if I refuse?”
“Then everyone you love loses their memories. Starting with her.”
Vance pointed the device at Claire.
---
Marcus moved.
He dove sideways, drawing his Sig. Vance ducked. The device clattered to the ground.
Damian fired. The shot hit Vance in the shoulder. He staggered but didn't fall.
Marcus grabbed the device. “Call them off.”
Vance laughed. “You think that's the only one? There are hundreds. Thousands. Hidden everywhere. You'll never find them all.”
Marcus crushed the device under his heel.
The red light died.
“That's one.”
---
The FBI arrived twenty minutes later.
Arthur Vance was taken into custody. His men surrendered without a fight.
Marcus stood in the driveway, watching the convoy leave.
Claire came up beside him. “He was bluffing.”
“About the other devices?”
“About everything. He was scared. That's why he came alone.”
Marcus looked at the crushed device on the ground. “Maybe. Or maybe he was telling the truth.”
“Then we find them. One by one.”
---
The next morning, Sarah Vance arrived at the farmhouse.
Not Arthur's daughter. No relation. Just a coincidence of names.
She looked at the crushed device. “The prototype. I've heard rumors. I didn't think it was real.”
“It's real. And there are more.”
Sarah sat at the kitchen table. “The network has been tracking the consortium's facilities. We have locations in Europe, Asia, South America. But we don't have the resources to hit them all.”
“Then we prioritize.”
“The largest facility is in Brazil. The sss. Hidden in the jungle. They've been testing the devices on local populations. People who won't be missed.”
Marcus felt the rage build. “When do we leave?”
“Tomorrow.”
---
They flew to Brazil the next day.
Private plane. Kay, Damian, Claire, Catherine, and Sarah.
The jungle was dense. Green. Wet. The facility was a cluster of buildings hidden beneath the canopy.
Kay scanned for signals. “They have jammers. I can't get a clear reading.”
“Then we go in blind.”
Marcus led the way.
---
The perimeter was guarded. Not by professionals. By locals. Paid to watch. Paid to shoot.
Marcus didn't want to hurt them. He fired over their heads.
They ran.
The main building was a laboratory. White walls. Fluorescent lights. Rows of chairs with wires and helmets.
People sat in the chairs. Blank faces. Empty eyes.
“They're testing on them,” Claire whispered.
“We need to shut it down.”
Kay ran to a terminal. “I'm copying the data.”
“How long?”
“Ten minutes.”
Marcus looked at the door. “We don't have ten minutes.”
---
The guards returned.
Damian fired. Claire fired. Catherine fired.
Marcus grabbed a chair and threw it through a window.
“Everyone out!”
They climbed through the window. Ran for the trees.
Behind them, the facility erupted in chaos.
Kay held up the drive. “I got it.”
“Then let's go.”
---
They flew back to the farmhouse.
Sarah analyzed the data. “The facility in Brazil was just one of dozens. The devices are already in production. They're being implanted in people without their knowledge.”
“How do we stop it?”
“We expose the consortium. All of it. Every facility. Every device. Every victim.”
“That will take years.”
“Then we start now.”
---
Marcus spent the next week in meetings.
With the president. With the FBI. With Interpol.
The consortium's assets were frozen. Its leaders were arrested. Its facilities were raided.
But the devices were still out there. Thousands of them. Hidden in people's brains.
Elena Volkov worked on a counter-measure. A way to disable the devices remotely.
“It's like the vaccine,” she said. “But different. The devices are physical. We need a signal that can reach them all.”
“Can you do it?”
“I can try. But I need access to the consortium's network.”
Sarah spoke. “The network is still active. Hidden. But I know where.”
“Where?”
“A server farm in Iceland. It's protected by the consortium's remaining loyalists.”
Marcus looked at Claire. “We go to Iceland.”
---
They flew to Iceland the next day.
The server farm was in a bunker, built into a mountain.
Kay disabled the cameras. Marcus picked the lock.
Inside, rows of servers. Blinking lights.
Kay plugged in her device. “I'm in. Downloading now.”
“How long?”
“Fifteen minutes.”
The door burst open.
Guards. Armed.
Damian fired. Claire fired.
Marcus grabbed Kay. “How much longer?”
“Ten minutes!”
The guards kept coming.
Marcus fired until his magazine was empty. Reloaded. Fired again.
The last guard fell.
“Got it,” Kay said.
They ran.
---
The counter-measure was ready in a week.
Elena deployed it from a satellite. A signal that would disable every device. Everywhere.
Marcus watched from the farmhouse.
Claire sat beside him. “How long?”
“Minutes. Hours. I don't know.”
The phone rang.
Sarah's voice. “It's done. The devices are disabled. The consortium is finished.”
Marcus let out a breath.
“It's over.”
“For now.”
---
That night, Marcus sat on the porch.
The roses were blooming. The stars were bright.
Catherine brought him a glass of wine.
“You're thinking about the future.”
“I'm thinking about the past. All the people we couldn't save.”
“You saved a lot.”
“Not enough.”
She sat beside him. “It will never be enough. But it's something.”
Marcus looked at the stars.
“It's something.”
---
His phone buzzed.
A message from an unknown number.
“The consortium is dead. The devices are disabled. You've won, Marcus. For real this time.”
Marcus typed back: “Who is this?”
“Someone who's been watching. Someone who's proud of you. Someone who hopes you finally find peace.”
“Will you ever tell me who you are?”
“I already have. I'm your past. I'm your future. I'm the one who will always be watching.”
Marcus put the phone away.
Claire looked at him. “The texter?”
“Still anonymous.”
“Do you think they'll ever reveal themselves?”
“Maybe. When the time is right.”
She leaned against him.
They watched the stars.
The garden was quiet.
The world was calm.
And for the first time in years, Marcus let himself believe it might last.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD