Entry

         Darling Munroe sat in the room barely believing his luck. After years of imprisonment and being only days from being executed he was being offered a chance at freedom. Why he was not exactly quite sure, but, Hell, why should he care right? He was shocked they had come to him at all. While his first name was Darling he was in truth anything but. He had done so many unspeakable acts that he was a legend, but not in a good way. He was despised by all. Even his own mother could not look at him without crying. Now they needed his help. Munroe could tell they were not excited by the proposition either, but they had no choice. It was him or no one.
         The fact was that some madman Munroe had once stolen from had just threatened to release a plague on every major city in the world in less than 12 hours. In other words, the world had about 12 hours to stop him or millions would die. Now, of course the authorities could search for the device that would release the disease but with the shear scale of the threat. It would be highly improbable that they could find every last device in time. As even one device going off could kill thousands and still lead to a pretty serious outbreak. There only hope was to either disable the device manually from the central core or acquire the vaccine. Both happened to be in one place. Somewhere in the Pacific was an island controlled by Dr. James Mafic. Mafic was a former scientist with the CDC. After a difference of opinion with his superiors Mafic left the CDC and started his own disease research lab, but not before he stole a few things and marketed them. He made millions for himself in the process. He used this funding to support his real passion: to create the first true global pandemic. Now it appeared that his dream was about to become reality.
“And this involves me why?” Munroe asked the man sitting at the other end of the table.
“Well Munroe, because if he succeeds you will die with the rest of us,” Dale Hawk said.
“In case you forgot guys I die in three days anyway, what’s two days to me?” Hawk went quiet, Munroe had a point.
“We are aware of that, which is why in exchange for your help in this matter we will set you free.”
“You guys are yanking my chain, there is no way the government is letting me out of this place, not a chance.”
“We don’t really like the idea, but you’re our only chance at stopping him.”
“What if I refuse?”
“Then everyone dies, including people you care for. I know you don’t care about your life, but what about there’s?”
“Sorry, nothing.”
”Your parents are still alive, what about them.”
“You don’t know much do you pal? My parents hate me, my father disowned me and my mother well, she can’t stand my face anymore.”
”But there still your parents I don’t think you wan to see them dead. Do you?”
“Maybe I do, maybe I don’t.”
“You would let your own family die just to spite us? You’re worse than I thought. This has been a waste of my time.” He said as he got up to leave. As Hawk grabbed for the door Munroe suddenly said,
“Wait?!”
“So you’ll do it?”
“Yeah, but only because I’d hate to see that prick Mafic actually get his way.”
“You really hate that guy don’t you?”
“Why do you think I broke into the place the first time?”
“All right then. Someone will be down shortly to take you to your briefing.” Hawk said as he left the room. Munroe could not believe he was actually doing this. Truth was he was not sure he could. In truth he had never broken into Mafic’s place he only said he had. Now he had less than twelve hours to get in and out of the place alive.
         As promised a little while later a guard came in and shackled him to move him down to the briefing room. As Munroe was lead down the hall he wondered what he was getting himself into. He also figured what did he have to lose? He was dead in a few days anyway might as well take the chance to be free, right? He was lead into a small room that faced a glass window. On the other side of the glass was all the materials for the briefing the person who would brief him and weapons necessary for the mission.
“Smart,” he thought as he looked at the glass referring to the fat that they did not let him in the same room as that stuff, “Real smart.” The briefing began and as he listen Munroe was shocked at what he was being asked to do.
         The mission was to land on an island in the Pacific only a few hundred square miles in area and loaded with jungle. The island was surrounded with mines so sea approach was impossible. The radar monitoring the island was also very topped only by the antiaircraft systems on the island, in other words air approach was impossible. The only way o get on to the island was an experimental teleportation device that successfully worked about sixty-five percent of the time. The other thirty-five percent result in the subject being vaporized. That was jut to get him on the island. Once there he would have to wade his way through the jungle, find the fortress and get past its defenses, which are quite considerable. Then comes the real challenge, finding the override and or the vaccine. He would have to do all of this in less than two hours. Why two you ask? Because night is of course the best time to strike the fortress and the sun does not set in that part of the Pacific for another ten hours.
         For Munroe there was no good news for this mission. Sure, they were giving him a bunch of high tech items to make slipping through security a little more simple but that did not take away the fact that a snowball had a better chance in hell than he did on that island, if he ever got there that is. As the briefing ended they loaded him for transport. They were going to send him to the island from Hawaii as it was the closest place capable of performing the teleportation. It seemed kind of silly to be worrying about distance but the way the scientist had figured it the farther the distance the more power required. The more power the more chance for vaporization. So in order to reduce the risk they decided to send him from the closest point possible. It would take a good three to four hours to even get to the base and once there the machine would need to be setup and calibrated, which usually takes days, days they did not have. So getting Munroe and the machine in place for the strike became of utmost importance. When Munroe landed in Hawaii he was relieved to here that construction on the machine had already begun and that it was mostly completed. The final critical pieces had arrived with him. With only eight hours to the deadline and six hours till launch things were not exactly looking up. They sent Munroe to a room to get some rest; he was going to need it.
They came for Munroe about an hour before the launch time so he could begin the necessary preparations for not only the launch but the mission itself. When Munroe asked how the machine was coming he could not get a straight answer. All anyone would say was,
“The launch will be on schedule as planned.”
         But he knew, there was definitely something wrong. He continued to prepare for his mission as he saw scientist scrambling outside the room that contained the machine. When it finally came time for them to send him he was lead to the room.
“Were not ready for the subject yet!” someone shouted. “It isn’t safe, not yet!” An argument broke out between the military and the scientists. The problem was they were both right and they knew it. The machine wasn’t ready, but time was running low. They were already asking for a miracle sending him now. Any further delay could compromise the mission, but if he never made it to the island because the machine vaporized him they would be stuck as well. After twenty minute of tinkering the scientists were finally able to get the machine to ninety percent efficiency. The risk was now considerably high to Munroe. As he know only had a forty–five percent chance of surviving, but the strike time window had almost passed. It was now or never.
“Let’s do it,” Munroe said.
“While I appreciate your disregard for your safety Mr. Munroe there is a very good chance you will not see the other side of this teleportation.” One of the scientists said.
“What do I care they were going to fry me in a few days anyway. At least this way I get to go out in a cool way.” Munroe responded.
“Well, we care Munroe if you don’t make it we are out of options, you’re it,” Hawk said.
“Look, if I wait any longer I risk suicide on Mafic’s island. To me that risk is worse than this, just send me.” The scientists and Hawk looked at each other and the head scientist said,
“All right, fine. Prepare to send him.” After a few seconds the door to the machine open and Munroe stepped in. The scientists closed the door, set the coordinates and activated the machine. In the dark chamber Munroe saw a blinding light flash before he felt a warming sensation all over. He closed his eyes.
         When Munroe opened his eyes he was surrounded by jungle. He looked at his GPS deice to confirm his location.
“It worked,” he thought, “It actually worked.” Darling Munroe was now somewhere in the middle of the jungle on Mafic’s island. According to his briefing if they placed him in the right spot he should be about a half mile north of the fortress. He looked at the watch they had given him it read one hour and thirty-five minutes remaining. He had been in this jungle before and he knew if he was lucky he could make it out in less than twenty minutes. That was assuming he was where he was supposed to be. He had to get moving as time was not something he had a lot of.
         After fighting through the jungle for a while Munroe emerged to find the behemoth that was Mafic’s compound. He agreed that fortress was probably the better word for it. The solid steel ten story structure had been built to resemble a volcanic peak as to not attract too much attention from those who flew by. From the briefings Munroe had learned that a considerable amount of fire power would be waiting for him. They had under estimated Mafic. For mounted on the building was enough weapons to hold off a large battalion of trained men. Not to mention the numerous well armed guards standing around the bas of the fortress. Perhaps the best defense was the fact that there appeared to be no door. Fortunately for Munroe intelligence had discovered the location of the door. So he knew where it was but getting to it that would be another matter. He had cloaking devices to get past the guards, but most of the defenses used radar to located targets. He could jam those but he would still have to move and that would put the motion activated weapons onto him. The EMP he had with him could take out all the automated weapons but it would draw attention from both the guard outside and those inside as the sensors would surely notice such an event. Not to mention that he could not open the door he would need someone else to. Lucky for him tactically had thought of almost all of this and had given him a decoy. All he had to do was get in position. As he arrived at his spot he looked at the watch just over fifty minutes left. It had taken him a bit longer than he had expected to get here but had arrived just in time.
         Suddenly a huge object flew over the fortress taking some serious fire in crashed down just northeast of his position. As he hoped a call went out to the guards and Munroe activated the cloak device and jammer. The motion guns would be off because of the coming guard change. Sure enough the current guards moved out into the jungle and Munroe stepped out of the tree line and booked for the door as he approached he saw the door begin to open. Here was his opportunity. he waited for the troops to pass him then dove inside. It was after he dove that he saw the straggler. Munroe twisted away from the guard and barely missed hitting him.
Munroe breathed a sigh of relief found closest and turned off his jammer and cloaking device. After all he would still need to get out and they only had a limited amount of life. He hoped he would be able to get out with out them, but hey why limit your options? He took out the map of the complex he had been provided and went over his route to the possible locations of the override and vaccine. Now, Munroe may not have stolen from this guy before, but he certainly knew where things would be. He looked at his watch. Getting to the closet had taken him five minutes he now had little over forty minutes to get to override. That would be close to Mafic, wherever Mafic was the override would likely be. As for the vaccine it would either be in the lab or in Mafic safe. That pretty much pointed to Mafic’s office as the primary target. Mafic’s office was on the top floor and would likely be heavily guarded, what a surprise. Munroe got his weapons out and stepped out of the closet ready for the worst.
         He pointed the gun ahead of him and emerged from the closet, closing the door behind him. He found no one in the hall and moved toward the elevator. When he got there the doors opened to reveal a car full of guards. Munroe fired a few shots as he ran away from the door of the elevator. As he ran down the hall he saw the door for the stairs. He stopped fire a few shots down the hall at the approaching guards. He grabbed for the door handle it was locked. Munroe aimed his gun just above the handle and fired then kicked the door open. As he began running up the stairs he heard the guards coming up behind him. By now he was sure word had spread that he was in the building as he rounded the fourth landing he heard shots hitting the handrails. Just before he reached the eighth floor he saw guards emerge from the door. Munroe raised his guns and fired into the group, then turned and ran back down to the seventh floor. It was empty and Munroe sprinted across the floor. There was another stairway on the other side if he could reach it he night stand a chance of getting up the remaining floors. He glanced at his watch as he ran. Twenty minutes if he could make it to the top floor he would be fine, but that was the trick. It would not be easy. He pounded through the stairway door an was relieved to find it empty he quickly round the eighth and ninth landings. As he got to the tenth he found no one waiting for him. He reloaded his weapons and took a deep breath.
         Munroe emerged from the stairway to find himself in another empty floor. How could that be? Then it hit him Mafic’s office was only accessible by the elevator. He went for it and was surprised to see that it actually moved. As the doors opened he saw no one. It was a trap, he knew it but what choice did he have. Then he thought of something. He tossed a device in the car pressed the eleven and the door closed he then got out another object attached it to the ceiling. He waited ten seconds he heard a BANG upstairs followed by an explosion where he had placed the device on the ceiling. Munroe had sent a bomb on the elevator and had just blown a large hole in the ceiling that separated him from Mafic. He grabbed a grappling gun out of his coat and shot it through the hole. Instantly he was pulled up to the eleventh floor. He disengaged the wire and dropped to the floor. Drawing his guns as he landed and pointing them at Mafic’s desk. Mafic responded by clapping slowly and said,
“Well done Munroe, I didn’t know you had it in you.”
“Cut the crap Mafic the override, NOW!” Munroe responded.
“I’m afraid have no idea what you’re talking about. Now put down those things will you?
“You know damn well what I am talking about Mafic, the override for your devices, you’re bombs. That go off in…” he looked at his watch. “Two minutes.”
“Override? Why would I have an override? What possible need would I have for it? Why would I wan to cancel my lifelong dream?” Munroe realizing the truth lowered his weapons.
“There is no override is there?”
“Nope, never was. Who would ever give you that idea?” Munroe could not believe how stupid could he have been, of course there was no override. Mafic was way too sick for that and as the man had said this was his dream. Then he realized something and raised the guns and said,
“It doesn’t matter about the override because that was only one of the objectives. My other was the vaccine and I now you have that. Not even you would be stupid enough to make a disease with out a cure. You won’t parish from your own creation. No, you made a vaccine, if for no other reason than profit and self-preservation. Now where is it?” Before he could get an answer the watch beeped.
“Times up, Munroe.”
“The vaccine Mafic,” he said cocking the guns, “Now.” Mafic realizing that his life really was in jeopardy said,
“Okay, okay its in the safe.”
“Open it.” Munroe said as Mafic headed to the safe and began opening it. Once he had extracted the vial. Munroe said,
“Hand it over.” Mafic slowly moved over to hand Munroe the vial. Just before Munroe got a hold of the vial avoice said,
“I’m afraid I can’t let you do that James.” Then a shot rang out and Mafic fell to the ground. As he did the vial left his hand and went hurtling toward the floor. Munroe dove for it but missed. The vial hit the ground and smashed. Munroe turned around to see the shooter.
“You,” Munroe said.
“Yes me,” Dale Hawk said.
“Why?”
“Simple I am a recent partner of Mafic industries, I stand to make quite a bit on this deal. As for the mission, well I felt there should be some evidence that we made an attempt to stop James.”
“But…”
“What’s the matte, did you seriously think we were going to let you go? Truthfully we picked you because we knew you had bluffed before. We wee sure you would fail. You surprised me; I expected a lot less from you. That trick you did to get up here, brilliant. All of it was for nothing though. Goodbye Darling Munroe.” Hawk said before firing a shot at Munroe’s head. The bullet went right though him. Hawk fired again, nothing. Munroe reached for his watch and pressed a button something beeped and suddenly there was an explosion underneath Hawk’s feet. Hawk was knocked back by the explosion and fell through the original hole. When he landed on the tenth floor he was immediately shot by a smiling Darling Munroe. Who then said,
“I never trusted that guy.” There was only one place left to go for Munroe, the lab. It would have the vaccine the stuff they were going to market. It was the only chance for success now. Of course he could steal it for himself and sell it. No, then he would be just like Hawk or Mafic no, he would get it to the authorities. He had thought about abandoning ship now that his deal was likely dead. Being free would be any fun if everyone else was dead though. No he would help save this pitiful planet. Then who knows?
         He had to focus now that the virus had been released he was burning critical time the sooner he got the vaccine to the CDC the quicker they could reproduce it and distribute it. The lab was below ground to shield it from attacks. He would still have the whole place looking for him. Currently on the tenth floor he had to make it down about twelve or thirteen floors to get to the labs. He had also broken the elevator with his little bomb trick, or had he? Come to think of it Hawk had to have gotten to the top floor somehow. He pressed the button and got nothing. Not wanting to wait and deciding the stair would be guarded Munroe opted to go down the shaft itself. He pulled open the doors and climbed out in to the shaft. He then climbed down the elevator shaft it was a long climb but he wanted to make his entrance into the labs as secret as possible. After all there was a lot of fragile stuff down there and it would be really bad if he broke it.
         When Munroe reached the bottom of the shaft he pulled open the door and peered out. Fortunately most of the technicians were concerned with their work and did not see the door open. As for guards there were two, that he could see, one on each side of the door. Munroe reloaded his weapons and pulled open the doors he propped them open wide enough for him to get his body through. Then he stuck his head and upper torso through quickly firing two shots one at each guard. Both were direct hits and he pulled himself up out of the shaft. Immediately he was hit in the leg by a shot from a third guard at a desk. He fired back but the guard ducked beneath the desk. Munroe scrambled for a place to hide seeing none he fired a bunch of shots and rushed his adversary. The guard again ducked beneath the desk and as he did Munroe cloaked himself. When the guard popped up he saw nothing but the hall. Two shots rang out near the desk and the guard fell limp onto the desk. Munroe uncloaked himself and set to find the vaccine. He pointed his weapons at the first technician he saw and demanded,
“The vaccine for the disease, where is it?”
“It’s all around you, what do you think we’re making down here Kool-aid?”
“The original sample, the one you’re making the copies from.”
“Okay, Jones go get him the original. Not that it matters, you’ll never make it out of this place alive. Security will be all over you in ten seconds and your three floors below the surface. But, hey give your best shot. Here.” The technician said as he handed Munroe the vaccine.
“Thanks,” Munroe said as he turned to leave. As he did he secured the vaccine and headed to shaft he climb back in. He planted a bomb in the shaft and climbed up to the second floor. Figuring they would be looking for him on the first floor.
         Once on the second floor, Munroe took one last second to rearm. Then he walked down the stairs. He peered through the door to find the entrance hall full of guards. Munroe grabbed a bomb opened the door and threw it. He waited or the explosion then grabbed his weapons and kicked the door open. He then opened fire on the hall downing many of the surviving guards. He ran through the hall firing sending guards scrambling. It was then he realized that the door was still closed. He sawn the control panel to his right and ducked behind a desk it was near. After trading shot with the guards he worked his way to the panel. While dodging shots he hit the button to open the door. As the door opened he turned on his cloaking device and the jammer. As on the other side of the door was still some rather formidable guns and forces. He also grabbed the EMP device and threw it ahead of himself just before he got to the door. The EMP pulsed knocking out at the outer defenses. Munroe kept running in an attempt to out run the guards before his cloaking device wore off. He did not have much longer. It wore off just before he hit the tree line and the guard behind him opened fire as parted the thick leaves. As he was running he pressed a button on his watch and seconds later the entire structure behind him exploded. Once he reached a clearing he called into the main base.
“Beam me up Scotty,” Munroe said.
“Do you have the vaccine?”
“Yes, I believe so.”
“Transport on the way”
“What you can’t just beam me out of here?”
“I’m afraid that is a one way trip.” Munroe waited patiently in the jungle for transport. Finally the helicopter showed up and Munroe got in.
“Do you have the vaccine?”
“Yes”
“Hand it over”
“Get us out of here first.”
“We need proof.” Munroe took the vial out of his jacket and showed it to the man in the chopper and put it back then said,
“You get it when I land somewhere safe.”
“All right get us out of here.” The chopper flew to Hawaii and when it sat down Munroe got out he was met by an FBI agent. The agent gave him release papers and Munroe handed him the vial. The agent took it looked at. Then handed it to another agent and said,
“Get this to Atlanta ASAP.”
“Yes sir.” The other agent said. The first agent went to turn to Munroe but Munroe was already gone.