THIRTY-SIX
I press the card against the screen. It shows Craike’s face, and the sheet of glass descends, sinking right into the floor. Juliet goes first, holding the gun in front of her. We all step through after her.
“Oh my—” says Juliet.
At the far end of the room is a small army of Stalkers. Rows and rows of them, all standing perfectly still. They’re all dormant. At the very back of the room, in a glass cabinet, is a Stalker made of white plastic. It’s bigger and chunkier than the others. My first guess is that it’s a prototype.
The rest of the room is taken up by a lab eerily similar to Juliet’s, albeit one that’s much cleaner. It’s filled with silver benches covered with neatly organized scientific equipment: test tubes, circuit boards, microscopes.
Sitting at one of the desks, peering through a microscope, is a man in a long white lab coat. He has thinning brown hair and a gaunt, bony face. Square glasses sit at the end of his nose, making his brown eyes look much bigger than they really are.
I step in front of the others, shielding them with one arm.
He looks up from the microscope. “There’s no need for that nonsense, Caden. I’m not going to hurt anyone.”
“How do you know my name?”
He stands up and makes his way toward us, walking around a peculiar device. It’s a circular pad, about a yard in diameter, that sends up a pillar of soft blue light. The base of the pad is attached to a thick gray cable that leads to a computer.
“Of course I know your name,” he says. “You have destroyed two of the most important advances in human history. Two of my creations. My children. You butchered them. So when you’re marched to the incinerator, and trust me, it will happen, I’m going to watch with a smile on my face.”
“What happened to not hurting anyone?”
“I won’t kill you myself, you idiot.” He turns to Juliet and bows. “Hello, my dear Juliet. My name is Dr. Scheinman, and I’m incredibly excited to meet you. A mind like yours, well, it’s like mine, rarer than one in a million. In the future, you will create as I have created.” His eyes focus on the Bolt Glove on my right hand. “And you already have. It would take an extraordinary weapon to destroy my extraordinary weapons. And you made this with minimal training in a shed in your backyard. You have so much potential, Juliet, and if you align yourself with an organization that can provide you with the right resources, you’ll conquer the world.” His eyes light up. “Speaking of, if you continue to create like you do, my employer will become interested in employing you. In fact, I believe they already are. The others must die, but you can live if you join us.”
Juliet crosses her arms. “Thanks, but no thanks. I have no intention of inventing things that assist slavery.”
He barks a harsh laugh. “But you’re willing to kill people? Come on, Juliet, you’re a creator, like me. You are as close as possible to the beings all those feebleminded religious people pray to. You are a goddess, Juliet, an inventor. It doesn’t matter what lesser people do with what you make, all that matters is that you made it.”
“You’re wrong, that’s all that matters. Also, you’re a murderer, so no offense, but there’s no way I’m going to take career advice from you.”
“How many people have you killed?” growls Dyl. “You created the Stalkers, right? They captured Love Interests and brought them back here to die. No, not Love Interests, they captured kids. Kids who are now dead because of you. You’re disgusting.”
The scientist rolls his eyes. “And you’re a gullible fool. But it doesn’t matter. What matters is that …”
I realize what he’s doing. He takes another slow step to the left. Toward the blue light.
“Stop him!” I cry.
It’s too late.
He leaps into the light. Pinpoints of blue neon illuminate each of his joints.
At the back of the room, one of the Stalkers lights up. The man steps forward, and the Stalker mimics his movements. It sprints toward us.
Dyl dives forward with his arms outstretched. He flies through the blue light, his arms wrapping around the man’s frail torso. The light flashes red as they both sail out of the column. They hit the ground and roll once.
“Get off me!” cries Dr. Scheinman. Dyl pushes him away and stands up. The scientist remains on the floor.
The Stalker is standing in the middle of the room, rigidly upright, but motionless. It’s now totally black.
I tilt my head to the side and step toward Dr. Scheinman. “You were controlling them?”
Tears fill his eyes. “They are not lesser for having to be controlled by me! They are the future.”
“They’re puppets,” I say. He winces like I hit him. “Just big, scary puppets.”
I recall the Nice’s head being cut off. I imagine this man’s hand squeezing, doing the deed.
“No!” he screams. “They are genius brought into this world! They are perfection! They are mine!”
“Shut up,” says Juliet. She walks to his computer. “And tell me your password.”
He glances at me, then says, “It’s Layla. It’s my—”
“No one cares,” snaps Juliet, putting her gun down on the bench. She types the password and the screen lights up. The sound of her fingertips hitting the keys is the only sound in the room.
Juliet leans backward and puts her hands over her mouth.
“What is it, Juliet?” I say.
She looks up. “I can’t access the files. It scanned my fingerprints and came up with an error message. It says the control program can only be operated by Dr. Scheinman. He’s the only one with a clearance level high enough.”
What does that mean? Why does she look so sad?
“I don’t get it,” says Dyl.
Juliet is shaking. “It means that that man”—she looks down at the doctor—“is the only person on earth who can control a Stalker.”
“Of course I’m the only one,” says Dr. Scheinman. “Do you think someone as smart as I am would trust the world’s most secretive spy organization? I did this to keep myself safe. If they could get rid of me, they’d do it in a heartbeat. I made sure that…”
His voice trails off as he realizes what’s about to happen.
I turn to Juliet. “Hand me the gun, Juliet.”
His face falls.
Juliet shakes her head. “Caden—”
“Just … just give me the gun, all right?”
She picks up the gun and passes me the handle.
I grab it and she meets my eyes. “Your thought is right,” she says. “It has to be done. It’s the only way to stop them. Getting rid of him will save so many people, Caden. It needs to be done. If you can’t do it, I will.”