Thursday, November 29, 2012

I can't believe it's Thursday Already!

                   I love pics of the water, how about you? Leave a comment and let me know!!











Chapter Twenty-Nine ~


    The paramedic was on the CB again, trying to get in contact with Jacob Walsh. Jacob had told him to take the girl around the corner for a while and then double back. He'd done that, and had been sitting in the back driveway for over an hour. He felt guilty because he knew Jacob planned to kill the girl, but it wasn't like he actually knew her.

    She was beginning to move around, and Andrew knew he would have to give her some more knock-out medicine if the colonel didn't show up soon.

    "Where...am...I?" Amy asked weakly from the gurney.

    "You're back at the mansion." Andrew answered absently as he checked the mirror again to see if Jacob had arrived.

    "Oh no, you mean you're with the bad guys, too?" Her tongue was sticking to the roof of her mouth, and there wasn’t an inch of her body that didn't ache.

    "I'm sorry, but I need the money. You know how it is."

    "How can you be so emotionless? Are you really a paramedic, or is that just a cover?" her fight or flight mechanism was beginning to kick in.

    "I’m really a paramedic, but this gig’s gonna buy my drugs for a long time to come." He sat up straighter in the seat and spied Jacob Walsh sneaking up the driveway toward the ambulance. "It looks like the colonel has arrived." He put his hand on the door handle to get out and greet him, but never got the chance. The last thing he saw was down the barrel of a gun. He fell to the ground, and Jacob Walsh kicked him until he was out of the way.

    He slid up into the driver's seat, started the ambulance, and pulled it into gear. He drove around to the left side of the house, where Amy's room was.

    "Okay, this is how it's gonna work."

She couldn't see him because she was tethered to the gurney. Her heart was beating wildly in her ears. "Let me guess." She interrupted, "you're going to take me to the office and I'm gonna give you the thumb drive, or you're going to kill me."

    "No, that's not quite how it's gonna go. You see, Jackson burnt the thumb drive to a crisp. It's just a melted ball of plastic in his candle holder now."

    "Then what could you possibly need me for?"

    "You are my bait. I plan on catching Jackson to throw to the hungry wolves known as my associates."

    Amy's mind was trying to work, but the drugs had done a job on her. She was fuzzy-headed, and her mouth felt as if she'd been sucking on cotton balls. She tried to form a reply, but fell into unconsciousness.

                                              ***

    Jacob Walsh turned the ambulance off, un-shackled Amy Petersen and threw her over his shoulder. He carried her to the patio doors under her suite. All he needed to do was go in this door and carry her up the steps. He pulled her hand up and slid it through the fingerprint reader and watched as the little light changed to green for a fraction of a second, and the door lock hissed as it was released. He pushed it open, looked from side to side to make sure he wasn't being watched, and walked through the door. His paramedic buddy had been able to dismantle most of the security system, but he couldn't turn off the fingerprint scanner for some reason, and that was okay, because he had her finger to use.

    Jacob took her up to her room and tossed her onto the bed. He went over to the sliding glass doors and made sure they were locked before he punched a hole in the wall beside the metal frame. He pulled out the wires and jerked them apart. Now they wouldn't be able to get in unless they used the door in the hall. With only one door to guard, he was confident he could keep them all at bay while he executed his plan across town. The whole scenario here was just a distraction for his real plans.

    "Hey, come let me go. Surely you're not afraid of little old me, are you?" Amy said from the bedroom.

    "I know better than to underestimate you." He walked to the door and looked over at her. She was hand-cuffed to the bed again, and he smiled at her dilemma. "You forget I already know the trouble you've caused. We wouldn't even be here right now if it weren't for you."

    "True enough, but I'd be dead, now wouldn't I? That's something I'm not ready for, thank you very much." She pulled on her arms and legs to let him see she wasn't done fighting.

    "You're definitely a feisty little filly, I'll give you that. When I realized Jackson was in love with you, it made it easier to formulate my plan. It's near its execution as we speak." He pulled a cell phone out of his pocket and showed it to her.

    "What are you talking about?" Her heartbeat thumped in her temples. "Jackson destroyed the virus code. You can't use it now."

    "Did he now?" He asked with a vile smile.

    "You were duped, just like he was. Like they all were, for that matter." He laughed maniacally. "I couldn't have asked for a better plan."

    "It won't be known as a good plan if you don't tell someone." She cajoled from the bed. She was still woozy, and if she moved her head she felt like she was spinning out of control, but at least her mind was working.

    "You see, my darling little Amy..." He began. He stroked the little patch of fuzz under the middle of his lip, as if trying to measure his words. "The virus code he destroyed was already developed. The structure of the virus is intact and on a microchip. I can wipe out the whole United States if I choose to." He stroked his chin faster.

    "Aren't you afraid the virus will spread to other countries?" She knew she needed to keep him talking.

    I'm not afraid of that at all. I have an antidote. You see, what you're pretty little head hasn't thought of is that I embedded a recall code into the DNA of the virus itself. All I have to do is punch a code into my phone and the virus will go dormant. Of course, I'll be able to recall it at will..." He gave another crafty smile and a final stroke of his chin as he got up from the bed.

    "Why haven't you killed me yet?" Suspicion began to engulf her.

    "You’re finally figuring it out, aren’t you?" He asked with a smile so vile it made her skin crawl.

    "You didn't...you wouldn't..." She sputtered as her heart began to beat a tattoo against her chest as the full realization of what he'd done finally dawned on her. She was the first victim. I’m the host.

   "Oh, but I most assuredly did. When Jackson refused to return my thumb drive I decided the only way to get him to cooperate was to infect you with the virus. You see, I could've just removed the microchip I planted in you when he gave me the thumb drive, but he destroyed it. It's his fault you have to die.”

    "Why would you make a virus and not make a copy of it?" She asked weakly. Tiredness was overtaking her again, and she was trying to overcome it so she could think of what to do before this maniac not only killed her, but used her to kill millions of other people, too.

    "Do you take me for a fool, Ms. Petersen? I did make a copy of the virus, and of the genetic code I used, but that stupid terrorist killed the man who had the microchip with the information on it embedded in his hand against my orders. To make matters worse, the imbeciles cremated him before I could retrieve it."

    When his words sunk in, Amy couldn't help but laugh at how silly this whole thing sounded. "It sounds like something out of a cheesy end of the world story." Her voice was starting to slur, so she shook her head and winced in pain, but was glad she was fully conscious once more. "So how are you going to stop from getting the virus yourself?"

    "It's quite simple, really. I used my DNA in the original sample as a failsafe. My DNA kills the virus. That means my whole family is immune to it. It's quite brilliant, isn't it?"

    "How do you plan on stopping the virus from spreading to the whole world? I mean, if you can recall it from me, it's all well and good, but every person in the United States doesn't have a microchip embedded inside them." She was amazed she’d even been aware enough to think of it in her condition.

    He laughed in derision, as if he thought her silly to even ask the question. "There is another way to stop it, of course. It's simple as simple can be." He toyed with the little patch of hair under his chin again and continued, "All you have to do is eat some mud. Mud counteracts the whole DNA of the virus. Except for you, that is. If I activate the chip inside you, only the original antidote will work because you’re the host.”

    "Then why would you need to make an antidote from your own DNA that would make you and your family immune?" Her head was becoming fuzzy again, and she squeezed her eyes, trying to concentrate enough to put her thoughts in order.

    "Accidents happen, Ms. Petersen. What if I died after the virus was executed, and no one but me knew mud counteracted it? I don't want my whole bloodline wiped out. I never intended to infect any person with the host virus. I was going to infect a monkey as the original host until Jackson stole the thumb drive and refused to return it. If I’d gotten it back, you wouldn't be here right now with a microchip inside you that's going to be responsible for wiping out everybody in this city, and maybe even the whole country." He moved in agitated anger.

    "If you’re going to kill me because Jackson refused to give you the thumb drive, why am I still alive?"

    "Do I have to spell everything out to you? I trained him, Ms. Petersen. If I taught him anything, it was to make sure he has back-up documentation for everything he does..." He trailed off, waiting to see if she picked up his train of thought.

    "You mean you think he copied the thumb drive." While she was lying on what would most likely be her deathbed, mental pictures of the children were flashing before her eyes. It left her feeling sad and anguished. Jackson was the last to trail through her thoughts, but his image dissipated when Jacob Walsh interrupted.

    "That's exactly what I think, and what you better hope." He flipped his phone open, pushed a button, and waited for the person whom he called to answer.

    "Colonel Walsh! Where are you?" Jackson asked.

"I'm at your house Jackson. You might want to turn around and come back home."

    "Why would I want to do that?" He knew the colonel must have a reason to call him, and goose bumps appeared on the skin of his arms.

"Tell Jackson why he should come back home." He pulled her head up by the hair.

    Amy winced and said, "Jackson, it's me. You’ve got to come back. He infected me with the virus." Jacob grabbed her by the hair again and yanked hard.

    "Jacob, what have you done?"
    "I've done what needs to be done. This whole country is messed-up. They're immoral and selfish and I'm going to stop them."

    "Why have you infected Amy? She's done nothing to you. Why did you involve her in this?"

    "You refused to give me what belongs to me. I know you Jackson. I know you made a copy. Either you bring it to me, or there won't be anything left of your girlfriend but a greasy stain."

    "What happened to you, colonel? I thought you loved this country and the freedom it represents."

    "I love what this country used to be, son, not what it is now. In case you haven't noticed, the only 'freedom' this country stands for is that of the low-lifes. I'm going to change that, though," he finished on a maniacal laugh.

    Amy yelled at Jackson, hoping he would hear her from her position on the bed. "Mud is the antidote for everyone but me, Jackson. I can't be cured unless you saved the data on that drive. The host virus is in me, Jackson!" Amy screamed before Jacob walked over and stuffed a pillow over her face until she passed-out.

    "I'm coming Colonel Walsh, don't do anything to her. I'll bring you the copy." He knew he couldn't hand over the drive, but it would give him time to devise a new plan.

    "Good decision son, she's a good-looking gal." Colonel Walsh told him before hanging up the phone.