The Fair & Foul (Project Gene Assist Book 1) (34 page)

“Enough,” shouted Juliane. “This entire story is ridiculous. The fire at the factory was an accident. It had to be just a terrible accident.”

"An accident. Just like when the generator exploded and just happened to burn Louis's wife, and only Louis's wife." Alan shrugged. “I am not surprised that you don’t want to accept these events, but it doesn't make them any less true.”

Juliane glanced around the room for support and once again found none. Those in chairs nervously fidgeted as if afraid to make eye contact.

Juliane turned toward Louis. He recoiled.

She pulled her hand back instantly. “You can’t possibly believe him.” Juliane reduced her voice to a whisper. “You know me. You know I’m not capable of something like that. Anything like that.”

Louis met her gaze. “When we first met, nothing was going to stand in your way. Why should I think that you would be any different now?”

“But he’s describing a brutal massacre of hundreds,” she shouted.

“Hundreds that you probably considered beneath your notice, or worse, a threat to the idea of your legacy.” Louis’s eyes tightened. “I’ve seen firsthand how you respond to those who threaten you.”

Juliane stared into his eyes, urging him to take back his words. Instead, Louis turned toward Alan, showing her his back.

Alan laughed. "So, Juliane, still convinced you two were meant to be together?"

“It doesn’t matter what she thinks," Louis said. "None of this does." A small beeping sound emitted from Louis's pocket. He smiled as he unfastened the buttons of his shirt. A large belt fitted with wires was exposed as he pulled back one side of the garment. Louis pulled another device from his pocket and held it out for everyone to see.

“It seems your time is up, Alan," Louis said with a smile. "That sound tells me that my associates have now placed devices similar to the one I am wearing near key structural positions throughout the building. I will only have to press this button to bring this entire building down."

Louis nodded toward the other members of the board who were looking around as if wondering how they had gotten into the room. “I wasn't originally going to target all of you, at least not at the same time, but when Alan invited me down here, it was just too tempting of an offer. However, I am not the monster some of your associates are. I'm willing to make a deal. If Alan tells me what happened the night of Elena's death to my satisfaction, I'll give the rest of you a sporting chance at survival."

“Tell him what he wants to know!” screeched Camille. She ran up to Alan, pulling him by his sleeve.

As if Camille can force Alan to do anything he doesn't already want to do
, Juliane thought. Camille would have had more luck convincing a shark that tofu was the better option for dinner.

Others in the room began pressing their backs against their chairs as if a few inches of distance could help save them. Juliane's stomach twisted. Damien, however, remained on the dais, looking as confident as he had from the time she entered the room. "Anytime you want to take charge, Damien," she muttered.

Juliane glanced at Alan. Alan appeared to be leaning toward Louis and the device. The smile plastered on his face was one of satisfaction, not madness. Alan wasn't acting surprised. He met her gaze, and his smile deepened. No, if anything, Alan had anticipated this development. For all she knew, he had orchestrated all the events leading up to this moment. But why? Why would he want to put them all in a position to be blown to bits?

Sarah equally looked nonplussed, although paler than usual. She must have had some inclination of what could potentially occur today.

“Now, Alan, I’ve been more than patient with you. Tell me what I want to know . . . now.”

“First, send Juliane over. She’s proven to have more than a few tricks up her sleeves, and I would hate for her to miss the rest of the show."

“You two really were made for each other.” The disgust rolling off Louis’s tongue was palatable. “You want her so badly even after all you say she’s done? Fine. She’s yours.” Louis shoved Juliane painfully toward Alan’s outstretched arms.

Alan whispered into her ear as he claimed her abused wrist, “You have always been mine.”

“Now that is settled, where were we? Oh yes, you want to know about the night of your unfortunate accident.” He nodded to Sarah, who proceeded to adjust the controls on the video monitor. “You’ve already been told what happened, but as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.”

Still pulling painfully on Juliane’s wrist, he dragged them both over to an open chair and forced her down into its seat.

“You should know that Damien is very invested in the Sharks organization and takes the security and safety of his players extremely seriously. And, as any responsible owner, he had positioned several security cameras throughout the facility. Some of these cameras are fairly obvious, and that public footage he freely shared with the police. However, there are other cameras that are more innocuous.”

Alan paused as the image on the screen transitioned to a playback. The time and date stamp was clearly visible to all. Louis and Elena could be seen sashaying down the corridor, their arms interlocked. Louis stumbled and Elena pulled him back upright. Louis could be seen throwing his head back in laughter as the two stumbled out of the camera’s field of vision.

“Just what are you trying to prove with these? I freely admit that I was at the game and that I had enjoyed myself, but I know how to pace myself otherwise everyone would have heard a different story when the toxicology report was published.”

The video flashed, and the time stamp showed the image to be only a few minutes from the first scene. This time, Louis and Elena were one of the several couples loitering in the concession lobby. It had to be halftime and the moment of their confrontation. Juliane had no sooner placed the scene when the crowds parted and she could see Alan and herself.

There was no sound, but their body language spoke volumes. A security guard entered the shot several feet away. Juliane hadn’t realized that their conversation had been noticed, but it must have raised at least one person’s concern.

Juliane watched as Louis fell on her with Alan pushing him back toward Elena. It was just a moment, but in that moment, Alan’s body flickered and the video feed was temporarily disrupted by static. Louis and Elena were already on their way when the static cleared.

There was something different about Louis though. His steps, as they moved back toward the concession line, were straight and sure. Elena, on the other hand, appeared even more intoxicated. It was Louis’s turn to provide additional support.

“Are you going to tell me that you didn’t do something to me just then?” demanded Louis.

“Absolutely not,” scoffed Alan.

“I fired you and you wanted revenge. But it didn’t go as planned, did it? I survived your little trick.”

Alan roared with laughter. “Oh, Louis, you have such an inflated sense of self-importance.”

Louis growled, “I don't see the humor.”

“No?” Alan rubbed his hand over his mouth. "Of course you don't." The smile was replaced with bored indifference.

“Then let me explain this in a way you would understand. In order for me to worry about outdoing a rival, I would first have to recognize that an equal is in some way threatening my position. I have never been threatened by you. If I was, would I have ever agreed to upgrade you on that first day?"

"You expected the process would kill me."

"I accepted that outcome as well, but you surprised me. You may have made me reassess my opinion of you that day, but I still didn't view you as an equal or a true rival. You are as much of a rival to me as a sparrow hawk is to an eagle. Sure, they might both be at times interested in the same meat, but only the eagle has the strength and stamina to bring the larger game home.”

Louis's skin erupted into a sea of red. “So you were targeting my wife. What did Juliane do? Beg you to finish what she started in the lab? I can guess what she promised you in return.” Louis leered at Juliane.

Juliane reminded herself how terrible the loss of the private connection could be. Louis was only lashing out because he didn’t know how to control its loss. She wasn't his enemy, and if he would just calm down enough to see that, they could still walk out of this room. No one had to get hurt.

“Between you and me, you aren’t getting the better end of the bargain," continued Louis. "I've had better.”

A valve located behind Sarah blew, hurtling a piece of plastic into the room. Sarah called out as she was struck in the side. A hiss of steam escaped while backup controls on the equipment powered into their fail-safe mode. Juliane wished she could similarly lash out. Juliane felt her skin tingle and realized that she had called forth another electric web across her palms.

“I don’t think that is a good idea, my dear,” noted Alan. “The man is outfitted in an explosive belt. As much as I’ve always loved that brain of yours, I have no wish to see it on the outside.”

Juliane flicked her fingers and the web was dispelled.

“That’s better.” Returning his attention to Louis, Alan continued.

“You still have it wrong. Neither Juliane nor I ever plotted against your precious wife. Elena had already ensured herself a lifetime of suffering when she married you. Why should I harbor her any further ill will?”

“Then what exactly did you do? Answer me honestly, and I will leave this room, taking my vest and the detonator with me.”

“I know you would like to believe otherwise, but I’m really not a terrible person. You clearly had too much to drink that day. All I did was introduce a program which would redirect the existing alcohol in your bloodstream so that you didn’t make a complete fool of yourself. It is that simple.”

“You didn’t want me to be drunk?” Louis sounded incredulous. Juliane had to agree with his assessment.

“Seeing you in the news, happy, sad, or otherwise distracts Juliane, and I want her focused. The way you were acting was going to get you noticed by the gossip channels, which could then undo weeks of progress. That could be all the reason I needed, or maybe I did it just to prove I could. You should know now that I enjoy experimenting. In either case, there was nothing nefarious behind my motivation.

“But you interpreted my gift as a challenge. Rather than slowing down, you eventually outpaced my program. You passed out while driving, and we all know where you were when you woke up. Only by then, my program had caught up and the alcohol was out of your bloodstream. There. Mystery solved.

"You, Louis, you are the sole cause of your wife’s death. Shake your fist at technology all you want, but technology could have actually saved her. She's gone because of your irresponsibility, and no amount of exploding labs will bring her back.”

The red sheen of Louis’s face had burnt out and only the color of gray ash remained. He looked down toward his belt and scanned the room. With meticulous care, he casually covered the belt with his shirt and returned the detonator to his pocket.

Louis’s shoulders dropped, and he suddenly looked as if he had aged twenty years as he turned toward the board members. “I made a deal. Truth for a sporting chance. If I am not in the room with you when the explosives detonate, then you will still have a chance to make your way back to the surface.”

Louis turned and made his way back toward the elevator shaft. Juliane struggled to run after him, but her wrist was still held in a manacle-like grip.

“Louis! Please! You don't have to do this,” Juliane called out.

Louis turned as he reached the doors. His eyes met hers, and in that brief moment, she saw all that might have been drown under an infinite sea of regret and sadness.

“So now what?” asked Sarah.

“We wait,” replied Alan.

“What? Down here? Did you not hear Louis say that several bombs are going to go off any minute?”

“There’s no safer spot to be. Why do you think I worked so hard to get us all down here?”

“I understand why you and I are here, but why did you invite
him
down here too? I thought the plan was to drive Louis to those anti-tech serpentine nut jobs and make a few billion as the ACI tanks. Personally, I—for one—would prefer not to be blown to bits before I can spend my fortune."

“Juliane needed to hear the truth. And you heard Louis; we won't be blown to bits down here. We have a sporting chance.”

“Being buried alive isn't high on my to-do list either. Why put us at risk?” Sarah asked.

“Were you not paying attention?”

“To what, you professing your undying love for Juliane? Oh yes, that was made perfectly clear."

Alan snorted. “To the presentations today.”

“What about them?”

“We are in a room filled with several personal cryogenic chambers suitable for space missions. There are enough for all of us. All we have to do now is take a nap. It's that simple.”

“We don’t know that Eithan’s little toys work.”

“They work,” stated Eithan.

“You see. Nothing to worry about. Now, how about you pick out which one would suit you first? I don’t imagine our friends upstairs will allow us too much more time to argue.”

Sarah glanced toward the elevator doors with longing in her eyes.

“An elevator is probably not where you want to be when the explosion begins.”

Her forehead creased while she considered his words. She rubbed the darkened spot in its center before shrugging and ascending up the dais. She traced her fingers along the length of the canister before stepping in. Others began following her cue. Alan stepped into a cylinder as the lights flickered. A sound like thunder could be heard above. Alan blew her a kiss as his lid closed and the LED showed the device activating. Soon, only Damien—who had assisted placing a still vegetative Durham into a tube—and Juliane were left.

The ground began to shake as additional devices were detonated above. Bits of ceiling tile began to drop like autumn leaves. Damien placed his hand on the side panel of one of the last cylinders. “There isn’t much time, Juliane.”