Sellers went through the complex screaming out orders for everyone to hurry up because somehow he knew Joel would come back, and he might not come back alone. Sellers had already been blasted by his superiors for the breach in security that was created. All he needed was another eight hours. Eight more hours and everything here would be on its way to the alternate site. �Mr. Nestor, how long until you're finished?�
Mr. Nestor crawled out from under the main reactor-cooling tank. �About sixteen more hours.�
�Why?� asked Sellers, not at all pleased with the answer.
�The fuel rods have been contaminated.�
�When did this happened?�
�I figure since we set up shop here.�
�And why hadn't the diagnostics system picked this up before?� Sellers demanded, losing his patience.
Mr. Nestor grabbed a seat at the monitoring station and took a long drag from a cigarette. �The reason we chose this spot was the fact that this area was already contaminated with ambient low-level radiation. Just enough to cover the fuel rod's signature. The problem is that the fuel rods have somehow interacted and absorbed some of this background radiation. The diagnostics were designed to check for a difference in power output or mass not frequency. This could be the link to what happened to Dr. Barton and those other people. We spent all this time going over the formulas and equipment looking for a malfunction, but this slight change to the fuel rods composition could have been the one factor no one looked into.�
Sellers took in all what had been said and thought to himself, �This could save me and the project, not to mention a few side benefits.�
�I want those fuel rods encased right now. I don't care about their condition, just encase them. That's your top priority.�
Mr. Nestor nodded his head in acceptance. �Understood, done in an hour.�
"See to it." Sellers walked off down the hallway; he moved some boxes to the side and went into the isolation ward. Mr. Branson sat on a chair in the control room watching over Janice and Melissa in the ISO-room as they nursed each other's injuries in silence. The ISO-room itself was now empty of everything. There were still bloodstains smeared across the walls. The viewing window had been removed, so Mr. Branson had his weapon drawn for the ready. Sellers entered the control room. �How are our guests?�
�They're fine as long as they stay that way,� Branson said rather loudly and smiled as they jumped at the sound of his voice.
�Have you heard from Mr. Carlton? He hasn't checked in with me.�
�Nah, his phone isn't picking up.�
�I'm afraid we'll have to assume he's been compromised. Things haven't gone well. Call for a clean-up crew.�
Branson's eyes grew wide at the sound of that phrase. He picked up his cellphone and dialed.
"Yes?"
�Clean-up crew needed in one." Branson looked up at Sellers.
Sellers closed his eyes and nodded just once solemnly.
"Walk away duo, Strangelove, Missouri. Confirm."
The phone went dead. "You have one hour, doc."
Sheriff Tumlin stood in the middle of some twenty uniforms from his own force and from the state highway patrol. Standing beside him was Agents Byrne and DeWitt. Sheriff Tumlin raised his arms. "This is the situation: we may have a hostage situation in the making. We already have one person recovering back in Hermosa. Someone came after him and tried to finish the job. We don't have anymore information at this time, Agent Byrne.�
Madeline took over, "For now Agent DeWitt and myself are going to Bone Dry to assess the situation if any. If there is a situation, we will call for back up." With that said, Madeline and Beth got into their car and drove away.
Joel lay in the trunk of the feds car fuming and stewing in his thoughts. He had just polished off a jug of water that was stored in there for an emergency.
Sellers stood by the pushcart as Mr. Nestor loaded the last of the six fuel rods. "Good work; continue with the reactor and ship it as fast as possible." Sellers moved down the hall as fast as he could, considering the weight of the fuel rods. He went to the back area of the building were a cargo van was parked and ready.
Madeline and Beth stopped about a mile outside of the abandoned town of Bone Dry. They both moved on foot with their binoculars to a vantage point where they observed a large moving truck backing up to the side entrance of one of the buildings. Madeline looked at the truck for any markings. "The truck's clean. Can you see anything?"
Beth looked at the truck as it stopped. "No nothi... Gunfire!! They're shooting! MP5's silenced!" Beth grabbed her walkie. "We have gunfire!! We're going in!!"
Madeline and Beth ran back to the car and gunned it. Joel was slammed by the sudden acceleration to the back of the car's trunk. He felt it weave side to side. He braced himself until the car jammed to a halt.
Gunfire pierced the air not to mention one bullet punching through the trunk about 2 inches from Joel's head. �SHIT!� Panicked, Joel thought and the gunfire ceased. He pulled the emergency cord and pushed the trunk open. He looked around the area.
There were eight figures across the area in sand colored SWAT uniforms with ski masks. Three of them were faced towards the passenger�s broadside of the Crown Victoria. A hail of bullets were frozen in mid-air, some of the bullets were stopped, going mid-way through the car. Embedded in the sheetmetal, frozen the instant before it punctured the metal.
Joel looked on the other side of the car. Madeline was crouched behind the front fender wearing her bulletproof vest. Her long red hair frozen in a cloud of thrown up dust. Her eyes closed tight as she held her 9mm with both hands and her teeth clenched hard.
Beth was behind the rear fender/trunk of the car. She teetered on her left foot because the bullet that missed Joel�s head had hit her on her right side between the straps of her vest. Her face showed her grimaced fear. Joel reached in trunk and pulled out the first-aid kit. He undid the straps and ripped the side of her blouse open. He saw that the bullet had just punctured her skin but just the tip of it was inside her. He pulled the bullet out and slapped on a pressure dressing to the wound.
Joel looked in the trunk again and found a bundle of restraining zip-ties. Joel waded through the frozen gunfight, he knocked every bullet he saw into the ground hoping it would kill it�s forward momentum. He stripped all three gunmen of their weapons, then the clothing, leaving them standing in their shooting postures with only their underwear on. He lifted each one and folded their legs and arms behind them, then zipped-tied their hands and feet together. He tilted them forward so that they land on their chests, effectively knocking the wind out of them. He went over and did the same to the other five gunmen scattered around the grounds, leaving them suspended in the air, zipped-tied in their underwear. Joel looked over the lab-coats but they were all dead. They were all shot in the head with multiple bullets. Joel went into the building past some of the lab-coats that were already shot, he turned down a hallway looking for that bastard Sellers. Joel reached a sealed door
Joel swore openly. He couldn�t open the door in this current state of time. The door had an electronic touchpad to open it. �Dammit!� Joel though to himself. The sounds of bullets firing shrieked in the air then stopped followed by a lot of muffled grunting.
�I�m hit!!� screamed Beth. She landed hard on her shoulder.
Madeline heard her partner scream then she heard the heavy sounds of bodies hitting the ground. She crawled over to Beth. �Where are you hit?�
Beth reached over and felt the dressing on her side. �Oh god. Thanks.�
Madeline looked at her in surprise. �I didn�t do anything.�
Madeline perked her ears up in the air, the sound of police sirens were heard coming from a distance. �No gunfire.� She raised her weapon and slowly peered over the fender. �I don�t believe it.� The sight of all eight gunmen in their underwear was the last thing she expected to see.
Beth stood up, she winced slightly, and was amazed at the same sight. �What happened here?�
Madeline looked at Beth�s pressure dressing then looked in the trunk. She noticed the pulled release cord and the empty water jug.
Joel tapped a button on the touchpad. A red light flashed then turned green as the sound of air rushed out. Joel opened the door and stepped in. He saw the blood on the walls and recognized it as his own. He looked over to the far corner and found Janice lying there in a pool of her own blood. �JANICE!!� He dropped his weapon and ran over to her. He cradled her gently in his arm. She weakly coughed up blood but she was still alive, barely.
Her thin face, pale and cold, turned to Joel, and she said, �Why?�
�Shhhh, save your strength. Don't talk.� Caressing her pale face, Joel felt his chest tightening. �You can't leave, we have to get married.� His heart raced. �You know the plan, grow old together and watch our bodies fall apart.�
She smiled for a moment then her eyes looked straight past his face. �I'm cold.�
He hugged her tighter. Joel felt the pain in his chest tearing him apart. He just sat there, feeling the pain, just holding her not wanting to move. He felt a hand on his shoulder.
Joel lashed out and saw Melissa scramble away. �He just shot her. We didn't do anything,� she said in a daze.
Joel yelled at her, �Help me!�
The words snapped Melissa back. She moved to his far side of Janice and found the bullet entry wound just below the mid-point of her ribcage. �There's no exit wound.� Janice felt Janice's throat. Oh no, there's no pulse.�
Joel's heart dropped. �Do something!!� Melissa took Joel by the arm; her face betrayed her feelings. �There's nothing I can do. She has a gunshot wound close to her heart. I can't do CPR without fear of the bullet causing further bleeding that we can't control. If we had the equipment here, I could've helped her.� She paused and then cried on Joel's shoulder, �She's gone.�
A gunshot echoed out. Joel heard the sound, it came from an open door on the far side of the control room. Melissa screamed out loud. �HE'S BACK!!� Melissa never saw Joel leave the room.
Branson stood over the body of Mr. Nestor. His 9mm in hand, Branson turned the corner and got smacked full in the face with a metal folding chair. The blow sent Branson to the floor, his gun slid back down the hallway just a few feet away.
Joel smacked Branson again with the chair. �GET UP, MOTHERFUCKER!!� He clipped Joel in the legs and smashed his fist into Joel's chest. Branson got up and kicked Joel hard, twice in the ribs. Joel hooked onto Branson's leg and sunk his teeth into the muscle until it gushed. Branson howled in pain and fell down. Joel grabbed him. He felt the searing pain in his chest again and screamed in pain with Branson. Branson broke away. Joel collapsed on the floor clutching at his chest. Branson scrambled across the floor and picked up his gun. He reached over and placed the barrel next to Joel's temple.
�Click�
Nothing happened.
With a bloody smile, Joel said. �Welcome to my world.�
�Fuck!� Branson threw the gun only to see it hang up in mid-air just a few feet away.
Joel clipped Branson and rammed his elbow into his gut. Joel got up, his vision bleary, he grabbed the suspended gun and pointed it right at Branson and just thought.
�Bam!!�
The bullet tore right through his skull. Branson flew back to the wall dead before he hit it.
Joel dropped down to his knees feeling empty and alone. He felt his life was over whether he lived or not. After a while he thought just one more time.
The words Freeze and Surrender were yelled out by the sound of numerous voices. The voices made their way throughout the building. The police had secured the area and searched for survivors. Agents Byrne and DeWitt were surprised to find Joel in the building. Beth moved on looking for any other survivors despite her wound.
Madeline stayed with Joel and questioned him as the paramedics were patching him up. �How did you get here?�
�I hid in your trunk. By the way, you should change your emergency water. The stuff's stale.�
Before Madeline could reply, Beth returned, she looked sad as she said to her partner. �We found Janice. She's dead.�
She placed a hand on his shoulder consoling him as the paramedics carted her sheeted body past them, Melissa was by Janice's side crying. One of the paramedics pulled Beth to the side and quietly confided to her. �There's something wrong here. According to the witness, the victim was shot about an hour or so ago, but the body has severe rigor-mortis.
Joel overheard the conversation. He could not believe his ears. �I want to see her.�
Joel got up, but Madeline pushed him down gently. �Take it easy.�
Shrugging her off, he grunted, �No!� Joel reached over and touched Janice's hand.
He felt something, almost like a little static shock. He felt the same pain in his chest as before when he held her in his arms and thought to himself. �Oh dear god, she's alive. She's frozen like when I stop time.�
Joel clasped her small frail hand and prayed.
Slowly, Janice moved her other hand and touch Joel on the cheek. �Don't cry.�
�SHE�S ALIVE!� One of the paramedics yelled.
The paramedics tore Joel away as they and Melissa poured over Janice, trying their best to keep her alive. It was barely a minute later, when the ambulance ran out, with Melissa helping a paramedic, of Bone Dry heading to Hermosa as fast as possible.
Sometime later that night, Sellers stopped at a truck stop somewhere on I-40. He threw his smashed cell-phone into the trash and dialed a number on the pay-phone after shooing a roadside hooker away.
�Yes?� Answer a voice on the other end.
�This is Sellers. I need a pick up in Vegas. I have the rods.�
�This project has been compromised. You have some explaining to do, Dr. Sellers.�
�I know but I have some unexpected results to show the board.�
�You have twenty four hours to be at the site of the Ranchero Casino.�
�Understood.�
Joel sat in the Hermosa Clinic waiting room. His stomach was in knots. Everyone had finished questioning him about all he knew which was not much in the first place. The police only found one other survivor. She was already on a gurney with a head bandage on, suffering from a severe concussion. They transported her to the clinic and placed a guard by her room. Melissa sat by his side. The medical team thanked her but removed her when she arrived at the clinic. She sat there hoping, praying for the best.
�Mr. Gonzalez?� asked a doctor removing her surgical mask.
�Yes?� was all Joel say.
The doctor looked at him straight in the eyes. �She's in critical condition. The bullet lodged itself by the spinal cord, but we were able to remove it. She survived this long, which is a miracle considering the severity of the wound, but I believe she'll pull through. She's a tough one.�
�Can I see her?�
�She's unconscious, but I'll show you to her.�
She led Joel and Melissa to the ICU ward. Janice lay in her bed with tubes and IV's all around her. She looked so small with all the machines around her. Joel knelt by her bedside and took her hand. He gave thanks when he felt Janice squeeze his hand.
AUTHOR�S NOTES:
I would like to thank everyone who has helped me in writing my first complete story. Especially Iron Nick for his tips and proof-reading and Celebrity MC for posting them for all to see. This story will continue but I would like to hear hints and suggestions on where the story will go. Thanks Echso