Liu sat in the chair next to Forrest’s hospital bed, drinking his cup of tea. “I suspected they might find at least one of the bugs, but now eight of the devices have gone down. I still wouldn’t worry. Even at this rate, it will take several weeks before we lose the signal completely.”
Forrest groaned. “You told me they wouldn’t find any of them!”
“They probably wouldn’t have if you hadn’t taunted them. As it is, we know how they’re detecting them, and they’re unlikely to have enough chemicals to spray every inch of the complex. If they have more chemicals brought in from the surface, they open the way for us to send in a fresh batch of bugs.”
“What about the bugs and transmitter in the ventilation tunnel?”
I didn’t say anything about a transmitter. How did he know? “The transmitter at the bottom of the shaft is shielded. It switches itself off if it detects a location beacon; then resets itself a few minutes later. If the beacon is still sending out a pinging signal, the transmitter deactivates again. It’s operative for a millisecond. Even if the beacon were right on top of the transmitter, it wouldn’t be long enough for the beacon to locate it.”
“And, in the tunnel…” Forrest prompted.
“The bugs in the tunnel won’t need light. I left them a supply of sugar solution to feed on. As their power supply runs low, they’ll fly back through the rockfall so they can feed. The system is good for at least another two years.”
Forrest was frantic. “I don’t have two fucking years you prick! I need another payload bug! What about the baby? Can we use it to our advantage?”
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Working together, half an hour later the tunnel had been sealed, and the lights turned off. In another hour, Wein and Gary had taken control of the bugs, and had flown them to the electronics lab. They now had another 124 more bugs to work with.
Richard walked into the ICU. “Sam, Dad is waiting for you in your office. I need to be alone with my wife.”
Sam stood, nodded and left.
For a long time, Richard stood and stared at Donna. She looked so frail and fragile – no spark of life. Tears welled in his eyes. He wiped at them with the back of his hand. Slowly he walked to the side of her bed and pulled the chair closer. He sighed deeply and held her hand against his face. He leaned forward and put his lips close to her ear. “Donna, I never felt love before you - not real love, and now… this hurts sweetheart.”
Although Richard wasn’t willing to accept it, this could be the end.
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Sam walked into his office. Gary and Sir Richard were there, waiting. “Richard said you wanted to talk to me.”
Gary handed Sir Richard the steel box he’d been balancing on his knee. Sir Richard placed it on Sam’s desk, resting his hand over the top of it. Sam glanced at the box and back at Sir Richard. Sir Richard’s tone was dry and absolute.
“Sam, you know what this is. You’re going to give this to Donna. What is said in this room goes with you to your grave. Understood?”
Sam swallowed hard. He glanced at the box and then back at Sir Richard. “Yes. It’s the virus, but this is not what Donna wanted. She was very specific with her wishes. We don’t know how this could harm her baby. I’m not going to….”
Sir Richard tightened his jaw. “Yes, you are, Sam! Whether you like it, or not, Richard is her husband, and this is his baby. We’ve discussed this. It was his decision and mine. Richard knows this is not what Donna wants, but if the virus works, he’ll still have his wife and child. He knows she may hate him, but he’s willing to live with the consequences.”
“Besides, Sam. I’m not willing to let Donna go either and neither are you,” Gary added. “Are you?”
Sam’s eyes glossed. He shook his head and stood. “No….”
They watched Richard through the glass.
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“Donna, I know this is not what you want. You might even hate me, but I’ll take your hate if that’s all you have to give.”
Richard’s voice broke; he swallowed hard. “I also know, when you wake up that there’s a chance you might not even remember me. I can live with that too, as long as I know there’s a chance, but you have to help me sweetheart. I love you Donna, more than I ever dreamed I was capable of loving anyone. You have to fight for us. You have to fight for our baby. I need you Donna.” Richard held the back of her hand to his lips.
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Sam swallowed the lump in his throat. “Time is running out.”
Sir Richard tapped on the glass. Richard looked up and nodded. Sir Richard, Gary and Sam entered the room.
“I’m not leaving!” Richard stated.
Sam nodded. He wedged the cap of the hypodermic syringe between his teeth and slowly injected the virus, into the IV shunt taped to the top of Donna’s hand. He kept his eyes glued on the monitor screen. Nothing happened. He glanced at Gary and sighed. “We probably won’t know anything, until morning, but if this is going to work, we should start to see some results by then.” Sam reached in his pocket and handed Richard the DVD.
Richard looked at it confused. “What is this?”
“I’m guessing Donna’s last will and testament.” Sam locked his eyes on Richard’s. “I can’t tell you what to do, but I feel you owe her that. Don’t you?”
“Donna is not going to die!” Gary insisted. “This will work!”
“Yeah - well, we don’t know that for sure - do we?”
“Look what her other treatment did for Melissa and Alan!”
“Gary, we’re not dealing with the same thing here, Mate. Donna is dead. Every cell in her brain has been destroyed. We’ve already gone against one of her wishes – the baby.”
Sir Richard held up a hand. “This isn’t helping.” He looked at Richard. “I think we should watch it.”
“You can watch it in my office,” Sam interrupted. “I’ll stay with her. If there are any changes, I’ll let you know.”
Richard looked down at the jewelled case, and toyed with it as he read the familiar writing. ‘Just in Case,’ it read.
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John Liu paced the floor of Forrest’s hospital room. He was stunned. Minutes after he’d told Forrest the bugs would remain functional for at least two years, he’d lost contact with all of them. He’d watched as Sir Richard’s team brought plastic sheeting to the rockfall and proceeded to seal off the tunnel. This didn’t bother him. The bugs were capable of gnawing their way through a plastic sheet, but he hadn’t anticipated what happened next.
They created a second barrier, inches apart from the first one and filled the gap between the two sheets with fire extinguisher foam. Liu’s bugs couldn’t cope with the foam filled gap. It destroyed their circuitry, rendering them immobile.
This did bother him, but he reasoned that the bugs inside the barrier would look for another fuel source within the complex. There would always be food in the kitchen, even if it was in the bin. It was when they’d created a second foam filled barrier at the other end of the tunnel that Liu realised he’d been beaten. There was no way the bugs in the gap could refuel, and those inside the complex wouldn’t be able to transmit across the gap. Once the lights in the tunnel were switched off this battle was lost.
Forrest should be dead by now, but he’d kept hanging on to life. Liu awaited his uncle’s instructions, but they hadn’t come. Had he been abandoned – set up and framed to take the fall?
Maybe it was time for plan B – but Liu didn’t have one.
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Richard didn’t want to leave Donna, but if this was the end, he felt obligated to honour at least one of her last wishes. He leaned over and kissed her forehead. “If you must go, don’t leave while I’m gone,” he whispered.
Sam waited until they’d left. He pulled a chair next to Donna’s bed and took the envelope from his pocket. He stared at it. His eyes filled with tears. “I’m not sure I want to know what’s in this. I’d rather be destroying it.” He unfolded the letter and started to read. She’d penned it with her own hand. To him, a symbol of what he meant to her.
‘Sam,
This is hard to put into words, and if it seems a little jumbled, please forgive my feeble attempt at baring my soul. I have strong feelings for Richard. I won’t deny that, but I fell for you, too. The minute I looked into those dancing aqua eyes, you connected with a part of me that had died – my soul. I didn’t want to love you. In fact, I tried very hard not to love you, or Richard.
After Jared, I was numb. I didn’t care anymore, and because of that I learned to be selfish. To use whatever kept the pain at bay, sex, mainly – raw animalistic magnetism. I took what I needed from you, and from Richard, and gave little in return. I pushed both of you away. Now, I feel guilty for not being honest with either of you, or myself.
I love you, Sam. I wish I’d had the courage to tell you that to your face, instead of like this. It’s not the same thing I felt for Jared, but you were right. I could have learned to love you easier than I could ever learn to love Richard. While I told you, ‘no strings attached’, I guess I was wrapping you up, in a cocoon. That was unfair of me, but like I said, I was selfish. When I stopped being selfish, it was too late. I found out about Rich, and he became the center of my universe.
I can’t explain the bond I have with this unborn child. It’s more than a mother’s love. It’s like he’s part of my soul. I can’t hear his, but I know he hears my thoughts. He’s going to be very special, Sam, and that’s why it’s so very important that he be born. Richard knows how I feel. We talked, but he doesn’t agree with me. He doesn’t have the connection with Rich that I do. It’s the same connection I have with Beth, Jared’s daughter – my daughter. Again, I won’t try to explain it. I just know it’s there.
I hid the pain, but sometimes, it hurts so badly that I can’t breathe. Loving two people is like being caught, between Heaven and a star. I’m sorry I hurt you. I’m sorry you heard me say my wedding vows. I didn’t mean them. It took every ounce of courage I had to say yes.
You gave me the courage to do what I had to do. Now I hope I can do the same, for you. You have to let me go, Sam. You have to let me go, and save this baby. He’s all that matters, now.
Mama was right. Love is the only real truth, and I’m glad I knew yours, if only for a brief time. Don’t give up! You may never find someone who loved you more than me, but maybe you’ll find someone who’ll try. Please forgive me, for not being honest with you.
Always, Donna.’
Sam propped on one elbow, his hand resting on his forehead as he scanned through the letter again; parts of it had run. He imagined Donna, her tears streaming from her eyes onto the page. It broke his heart. She was willing to live in misery to protect him, and the ones she loved. He carefully folded the letter, put it back in his pocket and looked at her. “Sweetheart, please don’t do this to me. The only way I want to see forever is through your eyes. You are my Heaven and my stars, Donna. I love you.” He held her hand against his cheek and cried silent tears.
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Richard sat in the chair behind Sam’s desk and put the DVD in his computer. He closed his eyes briefly and prepared for the worst. Gary and Sir Richard gathered round. After a few seconds of static, Donna’s image came on the screen and she began to speak.
‘Well, well, well if it isn’t the Three Stooges together again for one final curtain call.’
Despite the morbid mood, Gary covered his mouth and chuckled. Richard and Sir Richard looked at him in confusion. They didn’t get the joke.
‘Right about now… I’ll bet Richard and his father are scratching their heads, trying to figure out what I meant by The Three Stooges. Since there’s a strong chance I won’t be around to do it; Gary, please explain it to them, someday.’
Donna sighed. ‘I’ve done my usual, started the show with a laugh, like a good entertainer, but now it’s time to get serious. I never have been one to beat around the bush, and I’m not going to start now. I cannot and will not do what you’re asking me to do. I can’t deliberately deceive Forrest into thinking we have given him the cure when I know in my heart, it’s going to kill him in the end. I know you don’t see it this way but to me, it is murder, plain and simple, and I won’t be a part of it.’
‘I don’t know what has brought us to where we are now, or what may or may not have happened to me. Let’s just assume, for the sake of argument that I’m dead, and what you do to Forrest now well, I guess there’s not a lot I can do about it, any more than I can control what you do or don’t do with the virus. But please consider this, if you give him the cure only to kill him; he still wins because he has brought you down to his level....’
Silent tears slid down Richard’s face. Sir Richard swallowed hard and fought bitter tears.
‘…and there’s no going back after that. There can be no greater good in deceit and no truth in lies. The Order has to be challenged. Someone has to make a stand, and I’ve chosen to be the one by refusing to produce the killer drug. I can’t destroy what I vowed to protect, and I’m asking you to please, please, reconsider.’
‘Sir Richard, one man can make a difference. Be that one man. The World can find peace with itself if someone will just try. It doesn’t need an Order where people like Forrest can so easily gain the upper hand.’
‘Richard… you’re my husband, and whatever you do with me, my life is entirely in your hands. I love you and I trust you to do what is right… even if that means you have to let me go, to save the baby. You know my views on that.’
‘Finally… Gary what can I say? You have always been there, always looked after my best interests, even when I didn’t have the brains to do it for myself. Don’t weep for me. You were the brother I never had. I will always be with you. I love you. I love you all. Take care of each other and go on with your life. I’ll tag along and guide you to the end of the journey.’
Donna’s eyes filled with tears. She kissed her fingers and pressed them to the camera lens. A few seconds later the screen went blank and filled with static.
Richard put his head in his hands and groaned.
“It’s going to be all right Richard you’ll see,” Gary assured him.
To a man about to lose everything he ever dreamed of having, Gary’s words were falling on deaf ears. Finally, Richard raised his head and got up. He turned to Sir Richard. “I have to get back to my family. You have to talk to Grandma. She needs to know.”
Sir Richard wiped his eyes and nodded. “I’ll take care of that now.”
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Sir Richard pressed the door panel to Lady Triplet’s quarters. The doors slid open. Lela, one of Sir Richard’s upstairs maids from Triplet Hall that he’d assigned to look after Lady Triplet greeted him with a smile. “Good evening, Sir Richard.”
“Hello, Lela. Is Mum still up?”
“Yes, Sir. She’s in the parlour, working on her cross-stitch sampler, for Master Richard and his wife. Shall I announce you and make some fresh tea?”
Sir Richard swallowed hard and softly smiled. “Yes, to the tea, but I’ll show myself in.” He kissed Lady Triplet’s cheek.
Lady Triplet put her sampler aside and studied his eyes. “What is it, Richard? How are Donna and the baby?”
Sir Richard crouched in front of her. “I have bad news, Mum.”
Lady Triplet’s eyes turned to two eclipsed moons.