The vial of the genome soldier

The vial of the genome soldier



“So grand pops, what brings you here?” said the other young fresh faced patient who was in his mid twenties and dressed in green hospital pyjamas and standing on the cold tiled floor with no shoes on.

    “It’s a long story.”

  “Well we got all day, doesn’t seem like any of us are going anywhere soon.”

    “Well if I told you, you wouldn’t believe me.”

    “Try me, you got nothing to lose and at least standing here listening to you beats the boredom.”

    “Ok, here goes, but I’m telling you now , you’re not going to believe me.” 



#



“You working late again tonight Edwards?” asked Nixon.

  “Yes, just some stuff that I got to finish of, see you in the morning.”

  “Ok Edwards see you, I will be thinking of you tonight when I’m having a drink at the bar.”

I don't reply as I studiously study the chemical formula on the computer screen.  I wait and then I hear the sound of the door shutting as the last working scientist left.

    I got to get that damn DNA formula, thought Edwards.

    I quickly and quietly headed to the isolation chamber and picked up the small bottle of what looked like cough medicine but was in actual fact the DNA Genome  that his company had been working on for the last ten years and now it seems we got a break through only for me to steal it, thought Edwards.

  I quickly and quietly placed the bottle into my trouser pocket, went back to his computer and uploaded the formula to his flash drive and then deleted it from the computer.

    I exited the building and headed to my car.

    Nixon had been waiting in his car and now got out without me seeing him and entered the building and headed to the isolation bay, he’d thought Edwards had been acting strangely, there was something about him which didn’t feel right  to Nixon.

    When Nixon entered the isolation bay his hunch was proved right.  The damn DNA serum is missing, he thought.  Nixon logged onto his computer and realised the formula had been deleted from it.

Nixon picked up his mobile and dialled security.

    “Hello?” came a sleepy reply,

    “The DNA formula has been stolen by Edwards!” he screeched into the phone.

    The person on the other end became more alert.

    “Shit! I will put a call through to section 15.”

   

#



Yes!! Thought Edwards, I done it I gotten the formula that Liz wanted-she said she would do anything for me if I got her the formula, and now here I am taking it to her he flat.

  It had all started about six months ago, he remembered he had been having a drink at his local bar when Liz had walked into his life-the hottest woman he had ever seen.  He had been totally bowled over by her charm and beauty and couldn’t get her out of his mind, if he had been more discerning maybe he would have asked himself why such a ‘hotty’ would be interested in a geeky nerd like himself.

    There is something wrong thought Edwards, that’s cars been behind me for at least ten minutes.

    Then it dawned on him-They must know-I’ve taken the vial!?

    Edwards drove through some side streets to see if the car would go away but it didn’t.

    Then someone on the car behind put a flashing bulb on the roof of the car and a loud police siren wailed behind him.

    Edwards thought, no way, no flippin way! And put his foot to the pedal.  He knew he couldn’t outrun the car behind him and in that second had an idea-if I can’t outrun it-I will hide.

    He turned into a side street switched of his lights and engine and pulled up to the kerb, a few seconds later the car following him whizzed past.

  As soon as it had gone past, he pulled out his mobile and rang Liz.

    Beep…beep…beep, Liz answered her phone on the third ring.

    “Liz,” Edward said breathlessly with adrenalin still running though his blood.

    “I got the vial! But it’s too dangerous for me to come round to your place as that’s what they will expect.  Meet me at Flowerpot hotel on the outskirts of town and I will give you the vial.”

    “Aww thank you so much honey.”  Edward could sense the sweetness on her voice which alluded to the promise of sex.  I can’t wait to see Liz, he thought and switched on his car engine and headed to the hotel.







#

The next day Edward awoke in a hotel bed after the best night of his life.  Liz is such a goer! He thought after they had spent most of the night having sex.  He moved his arm meaning to place it on Liz, but there was something wrong, he opened his eyes and saw he was hugging a pillow, he looked around the room for Liz but couldn’t see her anywhere, maybe she is in the shower he thought but something about that thought didn’t ring true, there is no noise coming from the shower room.

    He got up and went into the on suite shower room and realised there was no one there.

    Just then his mobile rang; Edwards looked and saw it was from a with-held number.

    “Hello?” he croaked into the phone devastated and coming to the terms with the fact that he had been duped.

    “Bring the vial to the lab within one hour or your brother is toast,” said a cold emotionless voice. The phone went dead.

    He looked around the room for the vial and the flash drive, hoping against hope that it hadn’t been taken and then realised it had.

  He got up, dressed and tried to think of a way out of his predicament.

  I don’t have the vial or the flash drive! He thought, I’m screwed, God knows what they will do to my brother.

    Edwards sat on the bed with his feet on the floor and his head in his hands.  Trying to think of a way out, and all the while the minutes ticked by,10..20..30..40..50..

    His phone rang, and he saw it was a video call, the phone screen showed a picture of his brother’s house.  Oh God, no!

    He saw his brother get into his car and the next second it exploded into a huge fireball which rose several metres into the morning air.

    “Bring the vial or your parents are next.”  The phone went dead.

    Edwards was in shock and sat on the bed, Shit! They are going to kill my parents! He thought.

    He pulled out his phone and dialled his parent’s house.

    It was answered on the first ring.  A cold emotionless voice echoed down the line.

    “We have your parents; bring the vial to us as soon as you can to avoid the same fate which befell your brother befalling them.” The line went dead.

    Holy shit! Holy Fucking shit!

    He thought for a minute and realised that he couldn’t get his hands on the vial so his parents were as good as dead, but then he had a thought, Jennie and my brothers kids-maybe I can save them.

  He rang his brother’s wife, a distraught voice echoed down the line.

    “Roberts dead!” his brothers wife screamed.

    “Where are you?” Edwards asked.

    “Me and the kids are at my mums.”

    “Ok, don’t go anywhere I will be there as soon as I can.”



#



Edwards pulled up to the front of his brothers mother in laws house and ran up the drive.  He banged on the door impatiently and waited breathlessly for the door to open.

    His brother’s mother in law-Deborah opened the door and he rushed into the sitting room where-Jennie his now dead brother’s wife and her two little kids Jake and John aged 4 and 6 sat quietly and subdued sensing how upset their mother was.

    “Come with me and bring the kids, we got to get out of here as fast as possible.”

    “What? What are you taking about go where?” 

    “There is no time to explain, bring the kids and get into my car; your life depends upon it.”

    Jennies face suddenly hardened when the idea that her two beautiful little boys might be murdered came into her mind and she picked them both up and ran with Edwards into waiting car.



#



A few hours later they had made good speed and were travelling down the motorway as fast as the law would allow his car to go.

    “Where are we going?” asked Jennie.

    “As far away from anyone who knows us.”

    “Why did they kill Robert? Who killed Robert?” asked Jennie keeping her voice just low enough so her children in the back seat wouldn’t hear.

    After several hours of driving when the cars petrol gauge was showing nearly empty, Edwards pulled onto a motorway hotel.

    “We can fill up hear and get some rest here.”

    As they got out of the car her two children started to cry.

    “Daddy’s dead.” Said Josh who was six years old and thee oldest.  “I heard the noise of the ex-plo-sion,” he said slowly and then started to cry and Tim the younger of the two also started to brawl loudly.

    Jennie picked them both up and hugged them close which went some way to quieting them both.

    Within half an hour they had booked into a two bedroom room. Jennie asleep with her children on one bed and Edwards on the other bed.

 

#



Edwards was awoken by a noise of someone retching and being sick.  He opened his eyes and noticed the early morning sunlight was trying to break its way through the curtains. 

    He looked over to the bed Jennie and his wife were seeping in and noticed that Josh wasn’t there and then he heard it again, the unmistakable sound of someone been sick violently sick. 

    Who the hell is that? He thought as he realised it must be Josh.

    He got up and entered the shower, inside was Josh on all fours and had spewed out large amount of sick.

    Edwards noticed that a bottle of bleach lay next to Josh and then it dawned on him, that Josh must have drunk the bleach. 

    “What the hell you doing?” Edwards shouted.

    “Daddy’s dead…he got killed in an ex-plo-sion, I want to die too!”

    Now Jennie had been awoken by the sound and entered the shower room.

    “Oh my God!”  she screamed and went to where Josh was sitting on his knees and retching his guts  out. 

    Jennie hugged Josh’s little body and cried out in anguish.

    “Josh, you mean the whole world to me. Please don’t try anything like this again.”

  “It’s my entire fault.”  Edwards stammered “It’s all my flippin fault!”

    Jennie turned towards him.

    “What do you mean?” she asked but Edwards remained silent unable to bring himself to tell Jennie the truth.

    “Why is it your fault?” Jennie asked again.

    Edwards phone started to ring.

    Ring…ring…ring…

    He answered it. A cold emotionless voice echoed down the line.

    “We know you don’t have the vial of the Genome warrior or you would have brought it to us.  We are prepared to let your parents live for now if you hand yourself into us and let us know what happened to the DNA genome warrior vial.  You got one hour to call us and let us know where you are, or we will change our minds and not be so reasonable.”  The phone went dead.

    Jennie had heard the whole conversation.

    “What did you do? “She asked, “You stole something from your research lab and for that they killed Robert?!”

    Jennie became hysterical punching and slapping Edwards feebly as all the fight had already been taken out of  her and then she collapse on the bed in tears.

    “You…Basta..rd!” she said low and frailly.

    Edwards just stood there and realised the only way to save his parents and his brother’s wife was to hand himself in.  They will kill me for sure, but under the circumstances it’s the right thing to do he thought.

    He picked up his mobile phone and dialled the number that had appeared on screen and was in the phone’s recent call list and gave his where-abouts.

  “We will be right there, don’t go anywhere,” said cold emotionless voice on the other end and the call ended and the soulless dial tone echoed into his ears, Edwards sat there and thought about his fast approaching death. Shit, they going to kill me for sure!  How the hell do I get out of this?

    “Jennie,” said Edwards, “Gets the kids, get into the car and go back home.  You and the kids are safe now.”

  Jennie weakly and relieved picked up the two small children and headed out the door. Not with even so much as a good bye thought Edwards.

    He sat on the side of the bed and counted down the minutes, 10…20…30…40…

  As Edwards thought about his fast approaching death he had many regrets, I’ve never been married or had kids and a family, I haven’t been promoted to top position of my job. I haven’t been on holiday as much as I would have liked and seen the seven great wonders of the planet.

    There was a knock at the door.  Edwards got up and opened it.  Two men in black suites with dark sun glasses stood in the doorway.

    “We are section 15 and we’ve come to take you away.  Don’t worry we are not going to kill you.  Your girlfriend who you gave the vial and flash drive to, she’s now worm food and pushing up daises and we got the vial and flash drive back too.”

    “Thank god!  Does that mean I’m free?” asked Edwards half not believing what he had been told.

    “Well we are not going to kill you but that doesn’t mean you will be free.  You such a loony loser falling for that honey trap, we decided to put you away with the other loonies, you going to spend the rest of your life locked up behind closed doors of a loony bin.” And both the men laughed.



#

“Grand pops, you really must be a loony if you expect me to believe that nonsense?  That you had a ‘genome warrior’ DNA in a vial?”

    “I told you, you wouldn’t believe me.”

    “I might be crazy but I’m not stupid.”



THE END