The Hunters

Chapter Four: The Showdown

The July rain fell at a steady pace, and made Dr. Douglas' short walk from his taxicab to the front doors of the Scientific Institute a wet one. He was caught between two situations, as he wanted to rush to remain dry, yet he didn't really want to see what might have been awaiting him within. He looked around for Jillian, or more specifically her faked identity of Elizabeth Charles, and was beginning to feel some relief when he finally reached the fogged-over glass doors of the building.

"Good morning, Dr. Douglas!" The plucky young woman chirped.

"Oh, Ms... Charles. Yes, good morning."

Jillian's chipper attitude never wavered. "Did you forget that we had an appointment today?"

For a brief, fleeting second, the nervous scientist flirted with the notion of exposing her for who she was, but his common sense reminded him that Hunters killed without any thought of retribution. "No, no, it's just with the rain and all..."

She crossed her arms and chided him with the higher-pitched voice of her adopted persona. "Dr. Douglas! Did you really think that a little rain would stop me?" Although stated with sarcastic enthusiasm, her eyes carried a grim warning that only the nervous doctor could see.

"No, you are a punctual one, I'll give you that," he replied with a pained smile. "Let's meet in my office."

As before, Jillian followed him through each electronic check-point, and the pair eventually arrived in his office.

"Weren't thinking 'bout backing out, were you?" She asked slyly.

"I did think about it, actually, but ultimately I decided that I preferred to live."

"Smart man," she quipped. "You ready?"

"Yes, but I don't understand how..."

"Look," she sighed. "Doc Clark said that all I had to do was plug this thing into the mainframe. The virus stuff would do the rest."

"You will be monitored via closed-circuit cameras," he warned.

"Yeah, but I'm already wanted... well, at least I think I am. Hell, I might just be fucking up a perfectly good job. Don't matter no-how. All you gotta do is open the door to the computer room; I'll do everything else. Once you open that door, you can make up whatever story you want. A whole bunch of people saw me introduce myself as your intern, so you can say I duped you. Put all the blame on me, hell, I don't care, just as long as you don't interfere with what I'm doing. But if you get cold feet and try to screw me over when I'm in the computer room..." She pulled her lab coat back to reveal her pistol.

"No, I understand."

"Good. Open the door, then you can walk away and never worry about me again. If they catch me, which they won't, but if they do, I'll say that it was all me." She smiled. "Oh, one last thing. Leslie said that you only had a portion of the research, and without the data you can't duplicate it. Is she right?"

He nodded. "Without every piece of the puzzle, my knowledge is worthless. It would take decades to replicate it."

"Good enough, I guess," she shrugged. "I really don't give a shit, but this is what I was told to do. Now... after you."

The two left his modest office and again went to the elevator, where they arrived at the secure third floor. They walked down the hall as if it were just any normal day, where they were met at the computer room entrance by two armed guards.

"I'm sorry, what is this?" Dr. Douglas asked curiously.

"New protocol," one of the guards answered. "No one can enter without being accompanied by Mr. Tyler, the New Pennsylvania liaison."