This was bad.
Only afterwards did Farrow kick herself realizing she should have taken her chances and killed everyone in her scope, including the flea-bitten mongrel they called Maze. It didn’t matter, because after taking a breather to regroup her thoughts, she decided her next step would be to wait until dark when she would finish this, once and for all. She had a life, and she was anxious to get back to it.
Later that afternoon, when Dr. Williams’ name showed up on her cell phone, she ignored it. She didn’t want to talk with him until her mission was complete, and she sure as hell wasn’t going to be the one to tell him Dr. Winter had the “gift” that had so perfectly given him the upper hand in his quest.
Oh, hell no. She thought to herself, cleaning her favorite handgun with deft movements. She was not going to take the fall for Creed’s sloppiness.
43 Oldham’s Plot
“Commander Oldham, sir.” Esther stood at attention the moment she realized he was walking down the hospital corridor. He stopped directly in front of her, standing a little too close for a comfortable conversation. Esther felt instantly wary of her superior officer as goose-bumps formed on her arms beneath her standard issue uniform. Not letting any of her feelings show, she saluted.
“At ease, soldier.”
As it was ingrained in her, Esther immediately clasped her hands behind her back and spread her stance slightly. Her heart was pounding, but her facial expression gave nothing away. The commander never had been down here. Esther wasn’t even aware he knew of Dr. Williams’ daughter or her condition.
“Sir.”
“Soldier, I’m here to perform an inspection of the patient to which you are assigned.”
“An inspection, sir? I have not received any notification of an inspection.” If Esther’s guard was up before, it was screaming a warning now.
“The Director himself sent me.” He flashed an important looking document in front of the young soldier.
Esther frowned at the document. Never having encountered anything like this in the past, her mind was racing with possible protocol she was to follow. Maybe this is a test, she thought quickly.
“Sir, my orders are clear. I am not to allow anyone entry into this room without explicit orders from Dr. Kenneth Williams, himself. No exceptions.” Esther tried to speak with strength and purpose, when inside she was shaking with fear.
“I understand you’re just trying to do your job, soldier. You have to understand that I’m just trying to do mine, too.” He showed his teeth in a bizarre attempt at what was supposed to be a smile.
“Sir, no disrespect intended. I will have to make a phone call to confirm these orders.” Esther’s acting skills couldn’t stop her voice from quivering this time. Her hand reached to her pocket to retrieve her phone.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t let you do that.” His face curled malevolently and he moved even closer to the girl and grabbed her wrist with one hand and with his other hand, zapped her with a tazor.
With the fluidity of a highly trained Special Forces soldier, he caught her slumping body, opened the door to the patient’s room and dragged her body inside. He closed the door behind him softly.
The room was dimly lit by a side table lamp. He saw the small frame of a girl lying on the hospital bed. She did not move or make a sound. He walked to her bedside and looked into the face of the reason his Director was losing his edge. This weak, useless excuse for a human stood between himself and all his goals. The commander shook his head in disgust. Why didn’t Williams understand that this diseased body was his anchor, his Achilles heel, a thorn in his brilliant lion’s paw?
Weakness has no place in my Facility, the commander thought to himself. Nothing good can come from this gangrene.
As any loyal soldier would, he was feeling compelled to help his leader in any way so their end objective was achieved. Rudolph Oldham needed to help remove the thorn in his master’s paw; cut off the gangrene before it spread any further.
Yes, this had to be done.
He reached into his pocket to retrieve a small black case. Carefully, he opened it and removed a pair of large latex gloves. After slipping them onto each of his thick hands, his fingers returned to the case and found a specific syringe. He popped the yellow plastic cap off carefully placing the small piece back into the case before reaching for the I.V. tubing attached to June Williams.