Salvatori tapped furiously on the keyboard. The glow of the single flat screen monitor illuminated his pale and weathered features. All around him, Cho’s equipment hummed with life. A part of him pitied Cho. The man didn’t realize that, despite all of the technology in the world, a person couldn’t solve a complex puzzle without a keen mind and a clear focus. He knew that Cho was little more than a wannabe scientist with a drug addiction and possessed none of the qualities necessary for true success.
He finished the final stroke, and his finger hovered over the Enter key. He closed his eyes and let his finger fall. The countdown on the screen began to tick away the seconds. When the time reached zero, the facility’s fail-safe system would be activated—a small thermonuclear device designed to annihilate their creation if the creature were to become compromised in some way.
He found it strange that he wasn’t more frightened by his approaching death. He no longer cared about his own life. While he had sat alone in his cell, he had had ample opportunity to look back on his life and the choices that he had made along the way. He now knew that his involvement with Manifold Genetics, and in turn, this project were mistakes so large that they exceeded his ability to ever rectify them. He had been blinded by his own ego, among other things: breaking new ground in science, ushering the world into a new era, leaving behind a legacy, fortune and glory. The road to hell truly was paved with good intentions. His vision for the future had been corrupted, and now the greatest thing he could hope to accomplish with the last moments of his life was to undo all that he had done.
He closed his eyes and felt great satisfaction that within a short time everything would be set right. He had been unable to bypass the fail-safe’s countdown and detonate it instantly, but he had succeeded in disabling all of the system’s announcements and notifications. He had also disabled the de-activation mechanism. Unless Cho specifically checked, the man would never know that his death was approaching until it was upon him. And even if he did discover that the fail-safe had been activated, Cho wouldn’t have time to crack in and stop the detonation.
Salvatori pushed away from the desk and exited what was once his lab. He moved down a long, white hallway toward the bunker’s exit. He had one item left to accomplish, and then his victory would be complete. Cho had a personal transport, a specially modified Sikorsky S-92 helicopter, located on the roof of the adjoining building. He needed to disable the helicopter to ensure that Cho couldn’t escape with his research if he learned of the bomb’s activation.
Salvatori was only a few feet from the exit when Cho stepped around the corner from one of the adjoining hallways. Cho held a Norinco QSZ-92 semi-automatic service pistol in his left hand. The weapon was leveled at Salvatori’s chest. A wide grin cut across the maniacal young man’s face. The whites of his eyes were blood red. His breathing was fast and erratic.
“I’m proud of you, old man,” Cho said. “I didn’t think you had it in you.”
“You’d be surprised how much fight is left in this old dog,” Salvarori said, thinking of the countdown ticking down even as they spoke.
Cho issued a high-pitched chuckle. When he spoke, his words came out slurred. “It doesn’t matter now, anyway. You see, I went to retrieve you from your cell, because I want you to bear witness to my ascension.”
“What are you talking about? You’ve lost your mind.”
“Come, come, come. I’ll show you.” Cho gestured toward his lab with the gun. “I’ve done it, old friend. I’ve cracked the code to immortality. You’re going to watch me become a god, and then you’re going to die.”
25.
With the can of JP-8 jet fuel in his left hand, the FS2000 in his right and a couple of tools in his pockets, Knight ran in the direction of the abandoned car. He could feel the beast’s eyes on him. The sound of movement registered high above on his left, but he didn’t turn.
Then a thunderclap sounded on the pavement behind him, and his legs trembled from the sudden shockwave. The beast roared at his back. But still, he willed himself not to turn around. Not yet.
He pressed forward as fast as his legs would carry him, his own footfalls being drowned out by the heavy tread of the beast.
His heart throbbed against the walls of his ribcage, and his lungs burned with fire.
The pounding of the beast grew closer and closer—nearly on top of him.