Chapter 12
The memory of his wife flashed in his mind once again. You look tired, why don't you rest a little bit with me? Shouldn't you ask for a vacation? It'd be nice to be with you again on the beach, dancing one more time…. He opened his eyes slowly like he just wanted to stay in those memories.
"Hey, Lucias…," said Lucas in an almost whispering voice.
"Hello, Lucas…," he said, not even getting up from the bed to look at him. Neither of the two spoke for a moment, almost understanding exactly what the other was going to say. Words were just confirmation of reality.
"Do you think we could've stopped?" asked Lucas.
"I don't know anymore," responded Mr. Waker.
"Not what I wanted to hear,"
"I know,"
"We didn't need to do any of this," began Lucas.
"We thought we did, at the time at least…but you can see how much of a lie that was," said Mr. Waker, giving a response Lucas didn't want.
"But what happened on that highway… Why? Why did it have to end that way? We could've done something!" Lucas yelled as he threw a chair across the room, destroying some important medical equipment. "That costs a lot you know," said Mr. Waker. Knowing those words weren't going to stop him.
"Again! It's happening again! Why do good people have to die!? I didn't sign up for this. We were supposed to be the good guys! But experiment after experiment and we just didn't stop. Why do we need an army? Who are we going to war with? Russia? China? Those two don't care anymore! We've had peace for so long so why do we have to destroy it? Why do we have to keep going?
"We're already too deep in so why does it matter? Just take what you can and go, what happens here will probably be the end of this job," said Mr. Waker, thinking of a way for Lucas to leave this place. It clearly had a great strain on his mind having to do job after job that made him do more and more horrific and terrible things. He just wanted at least one person to escape the jaws of Ouroboros, someone who didn't need to think about it later and live their life in peace. He knew that it wasn't going to be him so why not someone else?
"That's why I'm here, with one final job for both of you," and entered Mr. Arthur with the usual persuasive voice.
"Sir, I'm sorry about the equipment," Lucas said with his head down.
"Don't worry about that, I have better things to pay for. I want you out of the room and in my office while I talk about this new job with Mr. Waker," Mr. Arthur said with some other meaning behind it that neither of them could really figure out.
"Wait, we're not getting the same assignment?" Mr. Waker realised even in his damaged state.
"Correct! As sharp as ever, Mr. Waker! The two of you are getting two different assignments because the one that I'm going to give to you, Mr. Waker, you are particularly specialized in,"
"Well, farewell Mr. Arthur, farewell Lucias, good luck on your mission," said Lucas. Both Mr. Waker and Lucas understood that there was a good chance that neither of them would see the other ever again and neither could do anything about it.
"So what's this great mission you have for me that needs my amazing expertise?" Mr. Waker asked in an almost sarcastic tone.
"I need you to do reconnaissance on the main building and if it gets attacked to go and deal with it." Mr. Arthur said
" And what makes you think that I'm good for the job? I already failed twice. AND AGAINST THE SAME PEOPLE!" Mr. Waker said very bitterly.
"The reason why is because you are the best of my assassins, the only reason you failed against those two is because they are irregularities. We've never seen anything like them, Peter seems to keep evolving his gauntlet and making it stronger each time, and Olivia carries certain traits from her father that seem to have increased the deadliness of her gauntlet. Quite strange but still, you are my best and I need you to look after the main building because if they escape I need to make sure they don't get to the main labs and reveal everything. They are the only ones who have escaped and lasted this long."
"Wait, what about the one on the West Coast?" Questioned Mr. Waker.
"Don't worry, we are close to breaking him." said Mr. Arthur encouragingly.
"Look, I know you want to leave, you've done good work here. I'm truly grateful for what you've done for me and this company. You deserve to leave. You deserve another dance with Jane. So here's the deal, If you do this job I will set you up in a condo in upstate New York with a nice lake and no neighbors around. After this job you get the keys to the place and you and your wife can live out the rest of your days together in that great forest. Medical equipment will be supplied as well and you won't have to look back on this place ever again." he said. This was the best offer Mr. Waker had ever heard. Just what I have been wanting for so many years! A life without those damnable doctors or those hideous halls they use for a hospital. Jane won't have to suffer with those constant experimental treatments that just kill her faster. We could finally have that waltz she talks about. Mr. Waker thought.
"Make it a beach house on the side of Atlantic City and you have a deal." Mr. Waker said with hope restored to the old guard.
"Done, and don't worry about the costs, I can make the condo into a hostel and charge $15 per person." He said with a bit of jokeyness.
"Yeah and you can name the lake Crystal Lake to get more customers." Mr. Waker said with the same tone. As the two laughed together Mr. Waker could really only think of how this seemed too good to be true but he didn't care anymore, he just wanted to be rid of the wounds and dance a final waltz with Jane like they did so many years ago before she fell ill to her sickness.
* * *
"Alright, so what's this great mission you have for me that needs my amazing expertise?" Lucas said in not too dissimilar a tone to the one Mr. Arthur used when on camera.
"You're just like your brother, you know that?" Mr. Arthur said while pouring a cup of coffee. "Coffee?" he asked
"Nah, I don't like coffee. I'll take hot cocoa if you have any." Lucas said but with a bit of fatigue in his voice.
"Something seems to be bothering you. What's on your mind?" Mr. Arthur asked
"I–after this job, I'm leaving with my brother to wherever he's going."
"Alright, that's fine with me, but I need you to actually do the job in order for that to happen."
"Okay. What's the job?" Lucas asked, a bit eagerly.
"Well it's a two-parter: 1. I need you to do the next experiment since your brother is still healing from his wounds and 2. I need you to hold down the fort for me here while I'm on a business trip."
"Where you headed?"
"I have to meet with the dipshits in Atlanta. They can't do anything right over there." Mr. Arthur said still sour over the prisoner break out.
"Well, at least we took care of it…" he said but that made the memories of what he did on the highway come back and made him feel depressed again.
"Thanks for being comforting. That's something I like about you, you do what you can for others, and that's why I need you here because you can make sure everyone does what is necessary!" Mr. Arthur said with a bit too much enthusiasm. On seeing his own mistake he recoiled a bit of his voice to get back to a better voice.
"So, what's in it for me? You're just going to let me go after this? Not trying to keep me around?" Lucas said, seeing right through the flattery.
"Being sharp must run in the family if both of you saw that coming. Well I'll give you the keys to your brother's beach house and you can stay with him, that's what you want right? Or is there something else?"
Lucas hesitated for a moment. Thought of the peaceful life that he would have with Mr. Waker and seeing Jane again and how it would be nice to just not think about this ever again, and play Marvel Vs. Capcom with his big brother.
"No…I don't think so…maybe a pizza but no I think I'm good," he said, practically telling himself to shove those feelings back down where they won't bother him.
"Good! Now that we are in accordance, I will be leaving. Remember, if our prisoners get out of hand, you have my full permission to kill them. I only need a few things from them and Alex's research and we'll be good."
"Wait!" Lucas yelled before quickly regretting it. He was too deep in now so he had to speak his mind. "Could we keep them alive? Maybe turn them into assassins? They've already shown that they are great at fighting, and if we could control them, it could be a great help to the plan."
"I've already thought of that but it's too risky to brainwash them because of how uncontrollable they are. Plus, having Peter as an assassin would be terrible because of his addiction."
"So, you're just going to get rid of them just like that?"
"You're trying to protect them right? I know that you have some sentimentality towards people but in this line of work we don't think about that. They are the enemy. They are the new experiment. They are NOTHING. Does it really matter what happens to someone if you can't stop it? For now, be like your brother, think of the good that will come from this, you'll be free and not need to think of this afterwards."
Lucas was filled with terror and in his mind he screamed Protect Peter and Olivia! Tell him that you're changing the deal and making it so that Peter and Olivia won't be harmed! "If those two try to escape you will kill them without recourse," He ordered with the voice of a cannon. Come on! Say it already! Tell him to change the deal! Lucas begged himself but he just couldn't make himself move and act upon his thoughts. He was too scared and filled with fear. Mr. Arthur put the cup of hot cocoa on the desk in front of Lucas and an evil look came over his eyes. "If you divert from these conditions at all, I will see to it personally that you wish to be dead. Do I make myself clear?" He said with a look that froze Lucas in place with his head down.
"Yes, Sir," Lucas said as Mr. Arthur left the office with an overwhelming pressure in the air and fear choking at Lucas with the threat of death as a slumbering spirit. If he moved, it would awaken the spirit, and he would be tossed into its jaws with all the others he had thrown in himself.
As Lucas left the office and wandered the halls, he couldn't stop thinking about what he felt in that office. What could cause something like this to happen? He pondered the possibilities and came to a conclusion. He has a Gauntlet, but what kind? Does it have to do with the Sulfur Project? I never did learn what that was about… He remembered a long time ago when he first got his Gauntlet, he was told that he was part of a new project that would create only the strong. I guess that's what the Sulfur Project is. To create a monster like him…and me. He continued to walk as he thought of how there really was no escape from the jaws of Ouroboros. He would just have to do this last job and make sure ran as far away as possible to never see that monster again.