Nemesis

XVI - The Man Who Chose to Drop the Nuke

Nemesis

Chapter XVI — The Man Who Chose to Drop the Nuke

[Dedicated Song: Ethel Cain — American Teenager]

[01 November 2023]
[Elordi Residence]
[06:03]

"Tatiana, we need to talk." Kane's voice was uttered from the guest bedroom as he stood at the door. Despite the stillness the mass in bed displayed, Kane knew that Tatiana was awake, simply trying to avoid an inevitable conversation with a more sober mind. "What's there to talk about?" Tatiana asked with a voice muffled by the sheets. "You know very well what there is to talk about, you can't hide from it anymore. I think it's time you know what our movement is about and the progress I've made." Kane answered, earning grumbles of annoyance. "I'll take that as a yes." He soon added as he left the room.

Eventually, Tatiana emerged from the room to find Kane in the living room with two steaming cups of coffee on the table. She sighed as she took a seat on the couch beside her best friend, taking a small sip of the cup that was more full. "So, there's a lot to unpack, a lot more than last night." Kane started, causing Tatiana to frown.

Last night's memories were fresh in her mind and had no intention of fading. "I never exactly told you what happened to me after the crash..." He said and Tatiana stared at him with more interest in her eyes. "Wha... what happened?" She asked. Kane sighed as he thought back to eight years ago when he was much less wise than he was now. "When the plane crashed and I was one of the survivors, I was taken to New York to be nursed back to health, which seemingly went by with no hitches because I already had a fake identity; a British man escaping the destruction of his homeland after the attack by Russia." He said.

"I still had debts to pay off when I got discharged because trying to nurse a man with a broken arm and back and plenty of internal injuries wasn't a cakewalk. I still couldn't walk, however, hence the wheelchair. I thought about one way I could start making some money, which was designing weapons to help America win the war, which happened to be my job for six years." Tatiana was not shocked by that news, given that she had been observing him working for the company.

"In three of those six years, I waited for the Motherland, thinking they'd come back for me and bring me back home..." Kane sighed once more, staring at the cup of coffee ahead of him. "But they never did... and that made me fucking angry. Every weapon that I made then was one of the best I'd ever made, just to spite them for stranding me here, in enemy territory." Tatiana's eyes widened, there truly had been a time when Kane was just like her, angry at her home.

"But two years ago, I found out that these Americans stole the blueprint for the Tsar Bomba, long before we destroyed Florida. It all made sense to me, that was why they wanted me to build a better version, that was why we struck unprovoked." An almost maniacal smile appeared on Kane's face, striking a bit of fear in Tatiana's heart. "I did more research on the country and found out just how many corpses they stood on top of, and I was only helping to grow that list. So, I quit my job at Ares Tech, and just spent those couple of years in a state of limbo; not knowing which side to stand by."

Kane took a sip of his coffee, staring at the television screen in front of him. "But then I realized that maybe they didn't come back because we failed. Maybe they're watching, but won't do anything about us because we're failures, because I'm a failure."

Kane turned to face Tatiana, that scary smile having never left. "But I can change that, we can change that, Tatiana." He said, grabbing her by the shoulders. "I started building, making something to fix my back and then weapons, a mask and so much more to reclaim a glory that I rightfully deserve! Then, about a week ago... I killed Ashton Burke, sending the country into chaos."