Page 91 of Sloth
One by one, little squares on the screens winked into existence. Two for each monitor. Six in total. Seven people, if you included Julius.
An Asian business man named Akiko Ito, a brown-skinned military man named Amare, the blond Brigit Johansen from Norway, and Mr. Andrews—a white middle-aged man from Australia. Roger Kelly from Ireland and José Garcia from Columbia were last to sign in.
With all seven present, there was a representative from each continent in the world. Seven who made up the Syndicate, with Julius at the head of research and development here in the States.
“I trust you have some good news for us, Mr. Alcott?” Brigit fidgeted with the bow-necktie on her white blouse. “As you can see, we are not getting any younger.”
“Yes,” the Australian said, arching an eyebrow. “We’re all waiting for an official report on the fallout of the base being compromised.”
“That wasn’t our only base. It matters not if we send a cleaner in.” The African waved his hands, dismissing the Australian. “I’m more interested in your latest development.”
“Agreed.” The Irish man leaned forward, eyes flicking to where Despair stood. “I’d like to have an actionable weapon before I die of old age.”
All six of them bickered amongst themselves.
Beneath his tailored suit, Julius’s shoulders tensed, but he didn’t take the bait. This had been going on for the decades since Despair’s birth. He was well versed in how to handle the pressure from his investors.
“First,” Julius said, taking control of the conversation. “Let me address your concerns about the integrity of our base.” He needn’t have raised his voice. It commanded respect simply by being. Conversation hushed. “We haven’t had any indication they’ve successfully penetrated the classified information, and the invasion allowed us to gain another blood sample of an activated soldier. That gives us four. Four complete DNA structures to help us unlock the puzzle to replicate the project once and for all. Even if we are behind in unlocking this puzzle, we now have four soldiers we can control by manipulating the proximity of their mate.”
“Four is not seven, señor,” José pointed out. “You promised us one soldier for each continent.”
“Four is over half-way there. We have time.”
“Time is precisely what we’re running out of.” The Australian shifted in his seat.
Akiko raised his voice. “Not to mention funds. These latest draw backs have been costly.”
“I’m well aware of this. I’m not the one who so readily suggested cleaning our base. We can salvage what is there. But all this aside, as you can see, they’re doing half our job for us.”
“How’s that?”
“Have you not read the reports I’ve sent through? Of course you haven’t. You leave everything for me to do, and then you whine about results.”
“You are not funding the operation. We are,” replied Amare.
Julius ground his teeth. “They have created their own virtually impenetrable armor, and one of them is basically invulnerable without it.”
“Your point?”
“Once we have them under our control, we can study them further and replicate. We will save money in our defense department. We can use their intellectual property for our own gain.”
“And when will that be, Alcott? When will they be in our control?”
“That day is coming. If you’ve read my report”—he pushed derision into his tone—“then you’d have seen that we’ve captured one of their mates, and the separation is garnering optimum results. One trip into the city, and she sent an entire bus load of people to sleep, simply by riding past.”
“One bus load?” Roger’s face grew red. “I can rid the world of more than that with a bomb. You’re failing to marvel us, Alcott.”
“You want to be marveled?” Julius’s voice rose an octave. “Imagine the destruction one of these soldiers will cause, simply by walking through a neighborhood. They can get in and out of airports undetected. They are a person, no trace elements to set off bomb detectors, no physical weapons to alert authorities, just a simple human being with the power to destroy inbuilt. And that is only one. As soon as we gain all activated blood samples, we will have the power to replicate an army of these soldiers. You will have your destruction, and then once the dust settles, you can rebuild your continent to your liking and your control.”
Silence. Then the woman said, “Yet, we are still waiting.”
“Well, if you wait just a few hours, you will see first-hand the destruction one of these unbalanced soldiers can create in a city. You will witness a taste of your future.”
With that final word, Julius cut the conference call. He stood, straightened his tie and jacket, then turned to Despair.
“I trust everything is in order for the demonstration?”
She nodded, but something had been bothering her. It niggled at her mind. “You said only seven were needed, but there are eight of us.”
