“How many targets?” Alesha asked.
“Three.”
“I will discuss it with the others, perhaps they can be persuaded. You can consider me interested. But in the meantime, we need to talk about these upcoming shipments. Will they have antibiotics as well?”
Karl’s blood boiled the entire time he was listening. It felt like his anger had been growing thicker and thicker ever since he’d entered Fort Leddy, and he couldn’t take it much longer. The muscles in his fingers spasmed as he struggled to hold still.
Then he couldn’t anymore.
Confrontation
It was hard to explain, but the fury reached an erupting point in Karl’s chest and he couldn’t be still. He couldn’t sit there and listen to the man who had ruined his life discuss ruining it some more. He couldn’t listen to Stewart plot the murders of any more innocent people. He had to act.
“What are you doing?” Maynard asked. There was panic in his tone.
I’m not putting up with this anymore, Karl thought. I’m going to do something.
“And get us killed? You realize that’s what’s going to happen, right?”
I don’t care.
“Well you’re not the only one in here! What’s your plan, anyway? Go in guns blazing?”
Karl looked down at the handgun on his belt. He took it out of its holster and felt its weight.
Maybe.
“Karl, stop!”
But he didn’t. Against all the logic in his head, Maynard’s and his own, he rose from the dumpster, his gun level with his waistline.
“Karl!”
It was hopeless. Even if Maynard’s cries could bring sense back into Karl’s head, he had already moved into sight. The male Leddite beside Alesha noticed the psychologist moving. With an expression of alarm, the townsman was reaching for his own firearm. The others took notice of his sudden reaction and followed his gaze.
Before any of them could get their guns out, Karl had his raised on Stewart.
“Hold your fire or I unload the clip into him,” Karl snarled.
They froze with confused lethargy. Barely enough time had passed for the gathering to understand an intruder was among them, threatening harm, let alone for them to acknowledge his command. Still, they held their fire, realizing the peril Stewart was in.
“Karl?!” Stewart exclaimed. It looked like his eyes might pop out of his head. It was as if he had been boasting of being more powerful than the devil, only to find Satan himself behind him.
“Hello, Stewart,” Karl said. He steadied his aim on the traitor’s skull.
“Who is this?” Alesha demanded. “What is the meaning of this?”
Through trembling lips, Stewart managed to say, “It’s Karl Terrace.”
“The terrorist?” Alesha asked, her eyes also widening with terrible realization.
“Or so he’s told you,” Karl said. He stared at his former co-worker with such intensity that it felt like it could bore Stewart’s head clean off.
“What are you doing here, Karl?” Stewart said. His hands trembled a little as he held them up.
“Why am I here?” Karl echoed. “I’m here because of you, Stewart. I’m here because you ruined my life. Can you even understand what you’ve done to me? To everyone else? Would it even matter?”
Alesha made a gesture to her men, and they raised their guns to eye-level. Karl’s flesh was cold with icy fear as he noticed the motion and whipped his gun toward it.
“Stop!” Stewart shouted, waving at the Leddites. “Don’t shoot! For God’s sake, hold your fire!”
The men looked to Alesha, who gave a dismissive nod. They lowered their guns.
Karl was on the verge of tears. His whole field of vision vibrated intensely as he tried to focus on Stewart’s face. It felt like the blood vessels in his temple were about to explode.
“Now that I’ve caught you here, you know what the sickest part of it all is? That it doesn’t matter. There’s no way I’ll be able to get out of here alive. I won’t be able to tell the world the truth and clear my name. You’ll get away with it all. All the lives you’ve taken, all the lives you will take. I’ll never get to see you answer for it. Not really, that is. But before I decide what I’m going to do, I need to know one thing. Why?”
“‘Why?’” Stewart said. ” ‘Why’ what?”
“Why me! Why the lab! Why any of it? Do you just like to ruin? To destroy?”
“Karl, listen to me,” Stewart said. “I admit that I am planning to use you as a scapegoat for a future attack, but that’s all I’ve done! I have nothing to do with what happened at the lab. I thought that was all you. Everyone does!”
Karl blinked. He was starting to sweat, and he felt like he hadn’t closed his eyes in ages.
“What are you saying?” he asked.
“I didn’t frame you, Karl. At least not yet. As far as I know, you’ve organized two violent attacks, and I thought I could just pin another on you. If you’re saying that you were set up and you didn’t order the shootings, then I’ll believe you, Karl. Just put down the gun.”
“No,” Karl said. “No, I don’t buy it. You did set me up. You did order all those people killed. You had to. Who else could? Who else would?”
“I don’t know, Karl, but it wasn’t me!” Stewart replied. His volume was amplified by fear-induced anger.
Karl’s blood boiled to a bursting point. He couldn’t take it any longer.
“Liar!” he shouted.
He squeezed the trigger.
Spark
The bullet ricocheted off the concrete and whizzed off into the air. Everybody flinched and covered their heads when the shot exploded out of the gun, as if hoping their hands could protect them from a lead projectile.
“Karl!” Maynard screamed in his head. “What are you doing?”
I don’t know, Karl thought. His inner voice wasn’t scared or confused. It merely stated a fact.
There was a strange pause in motion while everyone figured out what had happened. Stewart
