Deadline

My throat felt dust dry, making it impossible to swallow. “You take that back,” I whispered.

Don’t listen to him, said George. All he’s doing is messing with you. He knows damn well that we would never have run. He didn’t expect us to.

“That’s easy for you to say, George,” I muttered. “You’re the dead one.”

Dr. Wynne’s eyebrows rose. “You really do talk to her. That’s… fascinating. I’d heard that, but I thought it was an exaggeration. Does she answer?”

I glared at him.

He raised his hands. “Now, son, I’m not trying to be insulting. I’m just interested. It seems a bit, well, crazy, if you don’t mind my saying it.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I’ve heard it all before,” I said flatly.

“We’ve said it,” added Becks. “Frequently.”

“Dr. Wynne?” Kelly sounded… lost. For the first time since she’d shown up in Oakland, she sounded utterly and completely lost. She’d been scared, she’d been confused, and she’d been angry, but she’d never sounded like that. “Is he right? Is what Shaun’s saying… Is he right?”

He half turned toward Kelly, lowering his hands. “It was never personal, darling. You have to believe that.”

She shook her head, eyes narrowing. “I don’t know what to believe… but I do believe you sent me out there to die. The facts aren’t on your side.”

“I suppose I should have considered this as a risk. They’ve managed to get to you, haven’t they? These silly people with their silly crusade against the status quo. Well, that’s why you went in blind, isn’t it?” He took a step toward her. “You know I never wanted to hurt you. You were one of my favorites.”

Her lip trembled as she looked at him. The urge to believe was naked in her eyes. “I just don’t understand.”

“Don’t worry. You don’t have to.” He smiled a little. “Just know that you helped me a great deal with my research, and someday—when the world is ready—your work will help a lot of people. Isn’t that enough?” He took another step forward.

“Stop right there,” I said, sharply.

And he lunged.

I never would have guessed that a man that size could move that fast. In the time it took to shift my aim, he grabbed hold of Kelly, swinging her against his chest, and produced a gun from his lab coat pocket, pressing it against her temple. She squeaked once, sounding terrified.

“Drop it!” barked Becks.

“I don’t think so,” said Dr. Wynne mildly. “But thank you for asking.” He took a step backward, dragging Kelly with him. “You know, Shaun, I would never have tried this if we’d hit our original target. I wouldn’t have needed to. Georgia would have gotten the point when Tate made his grand, villainous exit. She would have left well enough alone.”

“Don’t you talk about her!” I snarled.

I didn’t realize I’d stepped forward until Dr. Wynne tapped the gun against Kelly’s temple again, making a “tsk” sound. “Now, you wouldn’t want me to slip and shoot this little peach, would you? She’s such an earnest girl. Never could believe the worst of anyone. That’s why this was inevitable. She could be useful only so long.”

Mahir, meanwhile, was gaping. “You mean… I always thought he was a bit overblown at the end, a bit too much of a movie-reel villain. That was intentional?”

“No need to look for shades of gray when an absolute black-and-white is in front of you,” said Dr. Wynne, reasonably. “We offered you a perfect bad guy, with no motives to question and no thought required. You were just too damn dumb to take it.”

“Dr. Wynne?” whispered Kelly.

“Hush now, darling, you be still.” He took another step backward. “You like stories, don’t you? Here’s a story for you. Once upon a time, there was a young doctor who wanted to save the world. But worlds don’t save easy, and this one needed to be damned a little longer before it would properly appreciate salvation. Salvation came with… complications. So he agreed to help some men who knew better than the rest of the world. Men who would be angels. And he learned that a man who controls enough can become an angel, too, in his own time.”

“Okay, you win,” I said. “You get to be the crazy one. I give you the crown.”

Dr. Wynne shook his head. “Here’s another story for you—one that’s going to be the truth very soon. I was stunned when the security cameras reported a break-in. It’s fortunate I came to work on time or there’s no telling what sort of damage you might have done before I could stop you. Of course, we suspected you might have had some involvement with the outbreak in Portland, but it wasn’t until you tried to repeat the event here that we understood just how far astray you’d gone. Without your sister to shore you up, and without a conspiracy to chase, you simply couldn’t face reality. You started making monsters out of thin air.”

“Why is it you ass**les always feel the need to tell the media your evil plans before you kill us?” asked Becks. She sounded totally calm. I have never been more proud of her. “Is it a union requirement or something?”

“I thought you might like the truth before you died. You people are always so fixated on the truth. Like it’s more righteous than a lie, even when the lie protects what the truth would destroy.” His lips quirked in a regretful smile, making him look like the sympathetic figure who once greeted me with the news that I was going to live. I hated him even more for that. “I’m not afraid of being recorded. You can’t transmit from here, and it’s not like you’ll be leaving.”