Project Z-1664: Chapter Five

The next day at eight o’ clock sharp, the conference of the President, Samuel and Greg, the Chief of Police and an Archbishop of the State began. It was of course a very private affair, and took place at the Whitehouse, with maximum security. Reporters from all around the world stood outside, watching and waiting for the conference to end. This event was international news, and a podium had been set up in front of the Whitehouse for a live broadcast of the results.
The conference lasted two hours.
The world held its breath as the doors opened after the meeting, and someone emerged from the room. The President handed a stack of papers to one of the assistants standing by, and went back inside.
A few minutes later, the Archbishop was seen leaving, an expression on his face which told the world what he though of this 'most heinous crime’. He was seen getting into a car, which was then driven away.
Then at last, Samuel and Greg stepped out into the sunlight, a broad smile on Samuel’s face, a worried look on Greg’s. They walked over to the podium, and Samuel stepped up to give his statement.
“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I am Samuel Hal, founder and the current head of Z Labs. As you’ve all no doubt heard already, the latest major project we’ve been working on was… a human being.”
Murmurs spread throughout the crowd. Before the reporters could jump in, he continued. “We were granted permission for this human testing a few years back. But we started off small…”

Just under an hour later, Hal had explained about the Project nearly in full. Obviously, there were parts that could not be disclosed, such as the incident of the Ziggy falling from the window and seemingly anything which involved Hartby or Elfy in any way.
“So, ladies and gentlemen gathered here today, you see this project, project Z-1664, project ‘Ziggy’, will go down in history!”
He leaned forward, gripping the edges of the stand, an enthusiastic- and somehow manic- smile on his face.
“Ziggy will be presented to the public when she is fit to be outside. As soon as she is in a perfect, healthy condition, you will see her. You will not be disappointed, do not worry.” he grinned.
“That is all.”
He bowed. The crowd went wild, every reporter trying to get to the stage for some more answers. They were held back by security guards.
Samuel left the stage, and walked to the car that Greg had standing by.
He got in, and sat in silence for a moment. Then, he started to laugh; he threw his hands in the air and laughed.

Hartby left the Chief’s office. Elfy was waiting outside. “Hey, what’s the verdict?” she asked. Hartby looked at the floor in silence for a few moments. “The Chief…knew all this was going to happen… he thinks I’m the best guy on the force to deal with this…” he sighed.
Elfy raised an eyebrow. “Deal with what?”
Hartby looked at her. “Ziggy.”
“What?!”
“Tell me about it. For some reason, the Chief thinks I should be her… ‘mentor’ when she joins us, which will be in a few days.” He walked over to a chair and sat down heavily. Elfy scratched her head. “So, Ziggy’s gonna join the NYPD after all? And do what? Can she even be an officer? She’s just a kid! Even if she is super-strong or whatever, no-one would take her seriously… just what is the Chief thinking??” she said, looking at the office door. Hartby shrugged. “I don’t know. But if I refuse, he’ll just pick someone else…and it’ll probably damage my reputation in the ranks…” He sighed, and put his head in his hands. “I don’t know what to do.”
Elfy sat next to him. “I think you could do it, after all, you’ve managed to put up with me for awhile!” she said, smiling. She patted him on the back. “I could even give you a few pointers on dealing with kids, I had to do a course on them and everything in my social work class.”
Hartby looked up. No matter what I choose to do, it’s going to change my life. Can I really do this? he asked himself.
After a few moments, he stood up, and entered the office again. Elfy went to the door and listened.
“-you have our gratitude, Sergeant. This won’t be easy, but I’m sure you are the best person to do this job. You can come back any time if you change your mind. Good luck.”
“Thank you, Chief.”   
Hartby came out of the office. Elfy nodded. “I’m sure you can do this! Remember, I can help if ya need it!” She winked, and walked off down the corridor.   

“OK Mr Hal, here she is!” announced Greg, as he led Ziggy into Samuel’s office. Samuel stood up instantly. “Oh, you look adorable!” he cried.
She was wearing a full NYPD officer uniform, though it had all been scaled down to fit her. She was only thirteen, after all.
“Ready for duty, sir!” She  saluted, then giggled. Samuel laughed. “Come here then officer!” he said. She sprinted over to where he sat, and he hugged her. “Ziggy…” he sighed.
“Yes, sir?” she asked.
“This is the start of a very important time for you. Being on the police force won’t be easy…but I want you to know, that no matter what, nothing will ever come between us! If you ever have any problems, I’ll be here for you.” he said. She nodded. “Yes, father. Thank you!” she said happily. Greg’s eyes widened. It was the first time he’d heard Ziggy call Samuel ‘father’, but it did make sense. He looked out the window. He shared Samuel’s concern, if anything happened to Ziggy, he was sure Samuel would be heartbroken.
It was a beautiful day outside. The sun was shining and the parks were full of happy children playing. Greg hoped deep in his heart that the world was ready for Ziggy.
“Let’s go, Greg.”

“Sergeant Hartby.”
“Mr Hal.”
Hartby looked down. Ziggy stood holding Samuel’s hand, smiling up at him. “Um. Hi there, Ziggy.” He smiled, and gave a little wave. Ziggy stood up straight and saluted him properly. “Good morning, Sergeant!” she said in an official tone.
Hartby was a little taken aback. Samuel smiled. “Hartby, I completely trust you. She is in your care…thank you for agreeing to do this.” he said, shaking his hand. Hartby nodded. “Yes, you have nothing to worry about. She’ll be fine.”
Samuel nodded, hugged Ziggy again, then got back in his car. Greg waved from the driver’s seat, then drove off. Hartby looked down at Ziggy. She had a blank look on her face. “Um, I think the first thing we should do is get you used to this place, eh?” he asked. Ziggy remained silent. “Um, Ziggy?” He patted her shoulder gently. She jumped, and saluted him again. “Sorry sir!! Yes sir, we should familiarise myself with this precinct, sir!!” she yelled. Hartby also jumped. “Alright, it’s ok Ziggy, calm down a little.” he laughed. “We’ll start off with my office, I guess…and we’ll introduce you to my superiors after…”
Ziggy looked shocked. “You have superiors?” she asked. Hartby raised an eyebrow. “Um, yeah, I’m just a sergeant, there’s the Chief of Police and some superintendents above me…”
Ziggy nodded. “Wow…I see. I’ve got many ranks to rise through, then!” she laughed. Hartby nodded, smiling. “Let’s get to my office then.”

As they entered the office, Hartby went to sit in his chair, and Ziggy looked around. She took some of the books off the shelf and leafed through them. Hartby cleared his throat. “So, Ziggy, um, how should I put this... how much ‘experience’ do you have of the police?” he asked. Ziggy turned. I am a fully qualified general officer, sir!” She saluted again, smiling. “But, my father says I need ‘Field Practise’, so should we do that?” she asked. Hartby frowned. Samuel already wants her patrolling the city? “Well…” he began, but then there was a knock at the door. “Come in.”
“Elfy, reporting for duty!!” she announced, as she opened the door. She gasped. “Ziggy?! Woah, I didn’t know you were here already!”
Ziggy stood and saluted. “Good morning Officer!”
Elfy giggled. “Aww, so cute!! Um, I mean-“ she also saluted “-And good morning to you, Officer! Good to have you on the team.” She sat down next to her. “So, how’s it going? You ok?” Ziggy nodded. “Sergeant Hartby was about to show me around the precinct!” she said excitedly. 
Hartby nodded. “That’s the best place to start, right? Although for some reason, it seems Mr Hal already thinks she’s ready for patrolling the streets…” he mumbled. Elfy shook her head. “Nah, new officers need to take it slow. You take each step when you’re ready, ok?” Elfy smiled at Ziggy. Ziggy nodded slowly. “Affirmative-I mean, OK, Officer!”     
Elfy stood up. “Let’s go then!” she said, opening the office door. Hartby stood and they left the office.

Samuel gripped the chair, a look of anger and pain on his face. “Sir, please calm yourself, I’m sure she will be fine!” Greg assured him. Samuel stood up so fast the chair toppled over. “THIS IS MY GREATEST EXPERIMENT!” he yelled at the top of his lungs. Greg was so shocked that he too, toppled over. Samuel stood in front of him, fists clenched, teeth grinding. He looked stronger, no longer the ‘fragile, delicate statue’. He was even trembling with rage. But the worst thing was his eyes. His eyes, normally bright and dazzling, were dull and deep, full of darkness that threatened to consume the soul...
Framed in the sunlight shining from the window, Greg saw the very image of a vengeful god, ready to strike...   
“My greatest experiment…my life’s work…my…my little girl…” He covered his face with his hands, still shaking.
Greg took a deep breath, and got up carefully. “But Mr Hal…if you feel she is so valuable to you, to all of us, then why were you desperate to…let her go? Why let her join the police, the NYPD, of all professions?” he asked slowly. 
Samuel stopped trembling. He spoke slowly, with a dark, malevolent tone that even made Greg shiver.
“She…is…my gift…to the…world… She…will…destroy crime…and save us ALL!!!”
He leant back and threw his hands up, letting loose a manic laugh that seemed to shake the very foundations of the building. Greg frowned. He took a deep breath, stepped forward, and slapped Samuel across the face.

As Hartby, Elfy and Ziggy sat in the canteen enjoying some drinks, they suddenly heard a huge CRASH. Hartby and Elfy looked over just in time to realise that it was the noise of Ziggy running through the wall. Elfy swore in disbelief. “I know he said she has super speed and strength, but jeez, that was amazing!” Hartby gave her a sharp glare. “Rather than standing here gaping in awe, I think we should figure out what the hell just happened, don’t you?!” he yelled. Elfy nodded. “Uh yeah, but how’re we supposed to follow that?”
Hartby looked thoughtful for a few seconds. “Well, where would she go?” he asked himself.
Both he and Elfy hit the obvious answer at the same time.
Using the police siren -“Well it IS kind of an emergency!!” Elfy had protested- it took them just over five minutes to get to the Z labs. Hartby made his way straight to the entrance, where a crowd of people had gathered. He shoved his way through, to find that the glass doors of the reception had been smashed. There was simply a huge hole in the glass, and the metal frames that had previously been the doors lay just in front of the reception desk. The receptionists had disappeared. All that remained was a trail of broken glass leading to the stairs.
Hartby looked around in dismay. “…Did Ziggy really do all this…?” he muttered. Elfy caught up with him. “Unfortunately, I don’t think anyone else is capable of this, Sarge…C’mon, we better find them.” She tugged at his arm and headed for the elevator.

Samuel was on his knees, crying. In his arms he held Greg Baxter, now still and lifeless. The blood that ran from his neck was still warm… Samuel convinced himself that Greg could still be saved. He kept his head supported and had a blanket wrapped around him. “Greg, it’s alright, so it wasn’t completely successful? It will still work…” Samuel mumbled, trying to ‘reassure’ the body in his arms.

Hartby and Elfy stepped out of the elevator on the residential floor, when they heard sobbing. “Uh-oh. That sounds bad.” warned Elfy. Hartby nodded, and they moved along the wall of the corridor carefully. “It’s coming from Mr Hal’s room…” said Hartby, and they headed towards it.   
As they reached the door, both backed away in shock from the scene before them. Samuel was kneeling next to the window, with something- someone lying in his arms, covered in blood. Then, there was the more disturbing image. Thirteen-year-old Ziggy stood, perfectly still, in the far corner of the room, a gun in her hand and a blood spatter across her chest.
Her face was blank. 
Hartby slowly walked towards Samuel, watching Ziggy for any movements. As he got closer to Samuel, she walked right over to him. As a reflex, Hartby took out his gun, aiming it at her. She simply smiled, and saluted him. “Good afternoon, Sergeant!” she said. Hartby found himself putting the gun away. Elfy came and stood next to them. “Ziggy…what-?“ She couldn’t bring herself to ask what happened.  Hartby frowned and went over to Samuel. “Greg?!” he asked in disbelief. Samuel shook his head. “It’s alright Sergeant Hartby. Greg will be fine, I know it. Call an ambulance for him though, I’m not sure my team of doctors can handle this.” he smiled, seemingly embarrassed. Hartby could already tell that Greg was dead beyond saving. “Mr Hal… I’m so sorry…I can’t…” he managed to mumble.
Samuel frowned slightly. “Why not? Oh, you don’t have credit on your phone? No reception signal? Here, use mine…” He felt around in his pocket. Hartby sighed, and gently put a hand on Samuel’s shoulder. “…He’s gone. No-one could save him.” he stated with much regret.
Samuel’s face froze. “Greg…” he whispered.
Ziggy stood next to them. “What’s wrong, Father?” she asked quietly. Samuel looked up at her slowly. His face was a picture of emotional agony. “You…killed him, Ziggy…that was…a terrible thing to do…”
Ziggy looked genuinely confused. “Why? He harmed you.”
There was a stunned silence for a few moments. Samuel started to sob again, burying his face in his hands. Hartby nudged Elfy. “We need to give them some time alone…” he whispered. Elfy nodded slowly, and they made their way out of the room. Outside, Elfy called the forensics team while Hartby told the Chief what had happened.

Inside the room, Samuel sobbed until he heard the door close. Then, his sobs slowly turned to laughter. The same deep dark laugh that had been the last sound Greg had heard.
He turned to Ziggy, smiling up at her. “You killed someone…someone you knew well, all because he hurt me?” he asked. She nodded. “Yes, Father.”
Samuel looked down at Greg’s body. “Greg was the last person I would have chosen for this experiment…but it seems fate chose him… so we must be happy. Happy that one of the ‘tests’ is out of the way…” he muttered. “Ziggy.”
“Yes, Father?”
“You must only kill criminals from now on, unless I instruct you otherwise, alright?”
“Yes, Father.”
Samuel lay Greg’s body on the floor. “Thank you, Greg. I’ll show everyone; your life was not wasted. Thanks to you, crime will be abolished!”