Franky Is Lucky

I froze, my eyes slowly focused on the face of the gun man. He was sweaty and round faced, he looked like he was thinner than he was meant to be. He had a very short military haircut and glasses. He sneered at me over the top of the gun.

“Put the gun on the floor and kick it away from you.” His voice was authoritative but too scripted, like he had seen too many training videos and had memorized them all. I did as he said. I had to stay alive as long as possible. “What I wouldn’t give to shoot you right now, you crazy bitch.” Well thanks for the introduction and reassurance.

“And that would be because?” I had to stall for time, to get the hell out of here and I was frantically trying to get him to release his laser like grip on the gun so that maybe I could get to mine.

“Really? Are you really going to play coy?” What the hell was he talking about? I mean sure I had garden sheered his friends and shot the guy who barged into my office but he was still alive. Why was this so personal?

“Seriously guy, I am just a person who is being hunted. I am just trying to survive and I am sure your friends will live after a little medical attention. The longer you keep me here though the sooner they bleed to death, so how about we lower the gun and let me walk out of here?” I was trying to be rational, and after all the practice I had received earlier in the day it wasn’t hard to keep my voice level.

“You think this is about them? I don’t care about those idiots they got what they deserved obviously. No this is about my brother the one you killed.” I stood in stunned submission for a second. Which person was he talking about? Brent didn’t have any siblings. I didn’t kill Peter Green the agency did. Who the hell was he talking about.

“I am sorry for whatever you think I did but I didn’t do it.” I said this time letting my anxiety slip just a little.

“Oh that’s rich that is just peachy. Are you really going to tell me that you have no recollection of the people you have hurt?” He was flailing the gun but he saw my eyes divert to the floor where my gun was and he aimed rather quickly. Great he was fast on the uptake.

“How about I refresh your memory? He was a young intern who worked for AGH by the name of Matthew Betcher.” Great. This day was getting better and better.

“I had nothing to do with that. I am sorry for your lose but it wasn’t me. I didn’t know, if I had I would have stopped it. They played me just like they played him. He took his revenge too, he injected my blood into my best friend and now I get to watch her die unless I can do something to stop it.” I was pleading now, I felt dirty for giving into this man but I knew this was the only way to make him see that none of this was my fault. “I have to stop all of it. I am the only one that can, they are planning on using my blood to make a biological weapon. They could kill millions if not billions of people. Please you have to let me go.”

He looked at me with resentment. “If that is the truth then why don’t I kill you right now? I could end this all just by taking you out of the equation.” He was dense.

“Don’t you get it? Think of what will happen if you kill me. Especially, with a gun. Blood will go everywhere. Do you really want that? After you saw what it did to your brother?” I grabbed a knife out of the knife block off the counter he was stupid enough to let me get close. I held the knife to my arm. This would hurt but if it set me free it was worth it. “How about I just spill my blood all over this floor? You may be able to kill me but there will be blood everywhere, you won’t last long with that amount of blood. Your brother died from a simple inoculation what do you think a whole quart would do.” He was backing away from me now. “I could hit this vein right here.” I pointed the tip of the knife into the crook of my elbow. “This one looks like a squirter. What if I just plunged the knife in and aimed for your face? Do you think you could close your eyes and mouth fast enough? Do you think you could plug your nose? I could kill you and I wouldn’t even touch you. Do you want that?”

I thrust my arm towards him and he jumped back into the wall. I had him cornered. I was so full of rage. Rage, because I knew none of this was my doing. Frustration, because I had tried so hard to make it right, so hard to do the right thing. All I wanted was to make someone suffer like I was suffering. I wanted them to know what it was like to feel desperation, pain and anguish. I wanted that so badly right now. I stood there seething for a moment and as I made the decision to be a monster I heard a scream.

“NO! Franky No!” I whipped around and saw Amy running towards me, her face white, her eyes wild with necessity. She bolted towards me and in one fell swoop lifted the knife hand from my arm and disengaged my grip. When did she learn self defense? As the knife fell, we fell. She wrestling me to the ground, pinning me to the floor. She starred me down as she held me down.

“What in the hell were you thinking?!” She said with a roar.

“He has a gun.” I said through struggled breaths she was crushing my rib cage.

She whipped around just in time to see Matt’s brother taking aim and with the agility of a ninja she round housed him in the ankles and he fell to the ground, letting off a shot into the wall.

Amy got up with more speed than I expected and soccer kicked the gun away and in a split second had her foot to his throat. All I could think was… What the hell is going on?

I propped myself up on my elbows “Amy?”

“Not now Franky.” She didn’t look at me just shoved me off and turned to the helpless man on the floor.

“Now Garrison you know that it isn’t polite to break into people’s homes without asking don’t you?” What? How did she know his name? Jesus, what is this?

Garrison gurgled a little, she must have been pressing hard on his neck.

“Listen, I can crush your throat with my foot here and you can die a slow death, or you can tell me what I need to know and die a short death. What will it be?”

Jesus, Jesus, Oh God. What was happening? Amy a killer? Amy an interrogator? Who was this person? It surely wasn’t Amy.

“Amy what the hell?” I yelled from my spot on the floor.

“Shut up, Franky.” That made me furious.

“No! I will not shut up. What the hell is wrong with you?” I was up on my feet now. Amy dashed to the gun on the floor and in record speed had her foot against Garrison’s throat and the gun aimed at me. I instinctually put my hands up and she saw that I was in submission and continued talking.

“Now look Garrison, you have a choice and some questions to answer. Both are simple. What will it be?“ She released pressure from his throat and as soon as she did he gasped for air.

“Can I do this without dying?” His voice came out high pitched and prepubescent. I almost laughed.

“Umm… I would say no but we’ll see if I like you enough to let you live.” She looked at him menacingly. Who was this person?

“What do you want to know?” The fear was unmistakable in his voice even though it had returned to its normal octave.

“Good choice Garrison. Well I want to know first and foremost what you know about my friend here.” She waved the gun in my direction and I flinched.

“I only know that she is responsible for my brothers death and what she told me about her blood. I know that Aster, Grant and Hughes all want her for some project they are working on. That is all I know. I swear.” He said that last part gargled she had applied pressure to drive home a silent point about honesty. Amy observed him for a second, she cocked her head like a dog and looked at him with her doe eyes.

“Well Garrison it seems that we need to know more than you, yourself are willing to acknowledge are you ready for a nap?” And with those words she kicked him in the face knocking him out.

“Help me.” She motioned her head for me to come over and help her. We dragged Garrison to the couch and laid him there.

“Well what now?” I said. I had no idea how knocking a guy out cold would get answers but who was I in the interrogation department. Amy sat onto the couch and slumped into it suddenly. I rushed over to her.

“Are you okay? Amy?” I propped her up and looked into her eyes, they were blank almost, they had lost their shimmer.

She snapped back after a moment. “I am fine. I just need to lie down for a second and regain my strength.”

“Amy? Amy what is going on with you?” I was really worried now I had no idea what had gotten into her and left her and then it hit me like a ton of bricks.

“He can do that Amy? What the hell? Why would you let him?” I shook her letting her know she was not to fall asleep that I needed answers.

“I had too.” was all she said before she passed out.

I should have never left her alone. I had no idea Brent had followed us. I had no idea that she would let him enter her like that. I didn’t even know that was possible. I was so angry. She needed her strength, she needed to fight off the blood coursing through her veins and he had destroyed her. He had used her again.

As I sat there I realized all I could do was wait until she woke up to get some answers.