BRAINSTORM

Chapter Forty - Fractions too late.

Jack rushed out of the security center, running down the corridor in search of Ellen's trail. Nothing. He hurried in a different direction, and there ahead he saw something shiny on the floor.

When he got closer, he saw it wasn't a pin. It was Ellen's python bracelet. He picked it up, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. He placed his hand on the door. This was the last one. If he"d effectively disabled the security, he wouldn't need to enter the code. Cautiously he pulled on the door to test it. A sigh of relief escaped his lungs when the door opened without resistance or the sound of alarms.

He passed through the entrance to the TR Center and was assaulted by the sound of terrible sobbing He raced toward its source, trying to ignore the visions of the macabre laboratory surrounding him. What he saw gave him chills.

As he neared the crying sound, he detected voices woven between the sobs, realizing they belonged to Dr. Maxwell and Ellen. Jack bolted toward them, staggering into the scene then stopped short.

The image hovered in space, as if they were all in stasis together and unaffected by the passage of time. Ellen looked magnificent and beautiful. Her hair streamed riotously around her. Rivulets of diluted black stained her face. Although tears spilled recklessly from some source deep within her, she looked powerful.

Jack shifted his focus to Maxwell. The present seemed to jerk violently and unfreeze. The singular sound of a bullet escaping from a barrel rang brutally into the air simultaneously with Ellen's terrified scream. Her body thudded to the floor.

Jack leaped at Maxwell. "You animal!" he spat. No words could describe Maxwell's evil. Jack ripped the gun from his grasp, aiming it at Scott's head. "I should kill you right here."

Maxwell sniveled incoherently, white with terror. If it were possible, Jack might have thought he regretted shooting Ellen. Jack peered into his disgusting, perverted little face. "I'll deal with you later," slamming the gun into the side of Maxwell's head, creating a nasty gash. The blow knocked him out instantly.

Jack turned to Ellen. He fought to remain calm as he noticed how still she was. Willing himself to focus, he confirmed his fear. Ellen had been shot in the head. This was no accident. Maxwell had been going for the kill. As Jack stared in shock at Ellen's unresponsive features, he knew the doctor had been successful. A pool of blood spread around Ellen's head. Jack didn't want to see any more. He averted his gaze and checked her pulse to confirm what was already obvious. Ellen was dead.

His anger seethed, calm and potent. He looked back over at Maxwell's inert but living body. It was unfair that this monster was the one still alive. Jack contemplated his options. Killing him wouldn't be the best way to avenge Ellen's death, although Jack was strongly tempted to do just that. He thought hard, setting aside his emotions.

Maxwell had used the birthday of CIRAS for all his security codes, despite the fact that it was an easy one to crack. Jack knew what to do next. The one thing that would be better than murdering Maxwell would be to kill the only thing he cared about—CIRAS. And that was exactly what Ellen would have wanted him to do. It was what they had planned on doing together. Jack fought back a sob.

Setting aside his anger and sadness, he saw that one of the nearby cells was empty, the door slightly ajar. A fitting prison for Maxwell. He picked up the gun, shoving it into his waistband, disgusted that it was the one that had killed Ellen. But he had to be practical. He might need it later. 

Jack dragged Maxwell by his ankles into the peculiar cell. He didn't want to acknowledge that the members of the TR group working on his project were kept in a depressing place just like this one. They were probably as deformed and distressingly pale as the younger ones here. There was no reason to believe they had turned out differently.