Big Data: A Startup Thriller Novel

Chapter 83

         

I was lost. I tried to keep up with Alex, but he ran so much faster than me, and within a few yards, he'd disappeared into the fog. I wanted to shout. To beg him to slow down. But I didn't want to give away our location. I turned around. Phillip must have been having the same problem. I considered standing still for a few moments in the hope that Phillip would catch up, but something in my bones wouldn't let me stay in place. I looked back one more time, took my best guess about where Alex was, and ran.

Then I heard something that turned me to stone. Phillip was screaming. It sounded horrible. A scream of agony. Lord, how I wished Alex hadn't run off so fast. I was all alone, surrounded by rusty old shipping containers and I couldn't see. I wanted to give up right there. Doug could have me. He could kill me. We could get this whole charade over with. After all, once you're dead, all your problems are over. No more responsibility. No more loneliness. No more baggage.

I fell to my knees. Phillip kept wailing his long ugly cry. Whatever Doug was doing to him, it did not sound good. It was over. We had lost. There was nothing I could do now. I was a fugitive in two states. My company was little more than a mass-murdering tool for a psycho killer. And I still had no evidence to prove any of it. I had nothing. Not even a gun. Not even a phone. Nobody.

Then I felt it. A hand on my shoulder. I looked up. It was Alex. He had found me.

"Get up, Luna. This isn't over yet."

He was carrying a heavy lead pipe between his zip-tied hands. He handed me the pipe and made a grand gesture with his arms that split the zip tie apart.

So I wasn't down to nothing just yet. I stood up. Phillip's anguished yelps pierced the air like a foghorn. We approached quickly but cautiously. The screams led us back to the car and the crane.

I made out what looked like one of Phillip's shinbones sticking out of his pant leg. He couldn't stand. Doug must have dragged him back there. Evidently, he was stronger than he looked. Phillip lay near the crane, gasping in pain. Doug was standing at the console again, typing something. The crane began to move.

I ran to Phillip. Doug whirled around and pointed the gun at me. I stopped, just a few yards from Phillip and the crane. From there, I could see a trail of blood that led to a red pool under Phillip's body. His ankles were zip tied now too.

"I'm so glad you could join us," Doug said. "And where's the old man?"

I shrugged.

"This is for Simon, you motherfucker," Alex shouted, running up from behind.

There was a deafening gunshot. Alex and Doug fell to the ground in a skirmish I could barely make out through the fog. Blood showered the ground. Grunts and twists. Then I saw the lead pipe rise up and come down with a brutal crash. The skirmish was over. Doug tied Alex's arms together again, but this time, behind his back.

I ran to Alex and held him in my arms. He was unconscious.

"You son of a bitch," I screamed.

"Sticks and stones," said Doug.

The crane's hook block had positioned itself over one of the shipping containers and was gradually lowering.

"Now we can do this the easy way or the hard way. It's all up to you."

Doug leered at our huddled group.

"Go to hell."

The hook block grabbed onto the shipping container, and it let out a wailing creak as it was slowly hoisted into the air.

"Did you know that I didn't even have to program that crane to do this? It's a bit of a miracle, really. You should be proud. Ancien's doing all the hard work for me. I just had to let Gaia's Wrath know Phillip's physical location. Whatever happens next will be completely determined by just bits and bytes. Isn't that cool? Morality isn't even involved. Just deterministic inevitabilities. Cold, calculating mathematical equations. There's a certain beauty in that, isn't there? Not many people can appreciate it, Luna. But you should. If there's anyone in the world still alive who can appreciate that fact, it's you."

"Phillip," I yelled. "Get away from there. Quick. The crane."

Phillip looked at the shipping container. He looked around. He tried to pull himself away, but he wasn't able to do more than inch forward.

"Don't worry, Luna," said Doug, as he stepped closer to me. "You'll be joining him soon enough."

I broke away from Alex and grabbed the lead pipe. It was cumbersome and cold in my hands. Heavier than it looked. I couldn't lift it over my head, but nevertheless, I rushed at Doug, swinging the pipe hard. Doug stepped to the side, missing my swing by an inch. The momentum of the pipe pulled me with it, and I crashed face first to the ground. Doug laughed and pried the lead pipe from my grip.

I sat there with blood pouring from my forehead. I could barely see. I thought of Taye. Of his dead, bloodied hand. How brave that kid had been. He'd realized what Thor and Doug were doing and risked everything to stop it. And he didn't just risk everything. He paid the ultimate price. I, too, had died. But not like Taye. He had died trying to stop this madness. I died because I was stupid enough to fall into a dumb trap. But this was my second chance. I was on borrowed time. I wasn't going to waste it.

Doug dragged Alex beside Phillip, then kicked Phillip back into position. Phillip let out a sharp cry. The shipping container was now hovering directly over them. The fog was so thick it felt like rain was waiting in the air. I felt in my pockets. I had a plan. Doug turned around and came back to me.

"Now it's your turn. Let's not make this hard on either of us, dear."