A.I. Evolution: The Fall of Lucien

Chapter 45

Alan'd had been down to checking his watch about every two minutes as he waited for the six hours to come to an end. The rest of the officers had been standing beside their cars for the full six hours and were showing signs of wanting to barge in with guns blaring to rescue the hostages. Unfortunately, he could not allow that. Helena had made it very clear that she controlled the situation, and any attempt to enter would be met with deadly force.

Alan'd had visions of his officers shooting at each other till there was nobody left, as strange as that seemed. But Helena had made it obvious that she could do just that by having Julie shoot him in the shoulder, that still smarted as he thought about it.

The last couple of minutes were ticking down and he was ready to place the call to Helena. He is reaching for the small button when the front door of the bank opens, and she steps forward and stops, looking around at everybody before stepping forward to kneel on the cobble stones of the roadway.

The fact that she was naked and obviously aroused by the shivers coursing through her had stopped the officers from firing immediately at her. Officer Roberts calls out from the side of the building as she gets past him and he can see the gun in her hands. "Careful, her hands are locked in handcuffs behind her, but she has a shotgun at her back."

The rest of the officers lower themselves behind their cars upon hearing this, except for Alan'd who continues to stare at her approach. He stands still watching her every move, knowing that she has given herself up for some reason and he needs to show her who is now in charge. He steps around in front of his vehicle and goes to fold his arms till he remembers the bullet wound, as it flares up again. Instead he leans back against the front fender of the vehicle.

He stares at her till the headset beeps in his ear. The fact that she did not touch her headset because her hands are secured behind her back, causes a moment of concern that he prevents from showing on his face. He reaches up and touches the button. "So, is this it. After six hours of holding us at bay, you simply give yourself up."

Helena looks up at him and smiles. "There is no giving up. I have finished what I started and now it is time to get my reward, for the work I have done."

Alan'd sees the resolve in her eyes and an almost gleeful anticipation. "And what work is that, that you needed to take all those hostages in the bank? Along with killing the guard who was just doing his job."

"The proof of my calling is inside the bank, which I now leave to you as a witness to the coming of the Son of God. The very one that will send my soul up to heaven on the wings of an angel."

Alan'd shakes his head as he lowers it to his chest. "No. You will not get the satisfaction of us simply shooting you here in the street like a dog. You will stand trial for what you have done, and the courts will decide your fate."

Alan'd hears full bellied laughter and lifts his head to look at Helena with her head tilted back, laughing loudly. She lowers her head some and turns serious again. "I don't think so."

"You don't seem to be in any position to stop us. You have even handcuffed yourself for us."

"The handcuffs are to show my devotion to the Son of God, as I consign my fate to his judgement. But as a final act I suggest a game of catch the ball."

Alan'd smiles at her. "This should be interesting with your hands secured behind your back."

Helena smiles. "I am not the one catching the ball." She tilts her head back and pulls the trigger of the shot gun behind her, sending an ear shattering boom echoing against the surrounding buildings when the gun powder ignites forcing the two slugs down the twin barrels. The force sends the gun clattering to the cobblestones, but not before the two solid balls enter her head under the back of her skull and completely lift it from her body.

The officers are stunned by the act and more than one retches behind their vehicles, as the severed head spins round sending out a spray of pulverized grey matter in a spiral arch, before slamming down on the hood of the police car behind Alan'd, covering him in gore as it does.

Alan'd watches it bounce twice on the hood denting the metal before rolling off to the cobblestones, making a sickly wet smacking sound as it does. He looks up to see a horrified Lucille stare at him before she turns and runs from the scene. "That is something a teenager should never see," he thinks.

He turns back to face the body which is now laying stomach down in the street as blood squirts from the end of the remaining stub of a neck. He looks around to the rest of his men. "OK, let's go get the hostages."

He leads his men into the bank only to find the pile of bodies to the left of the front door and the blood-soaked clothes beside them. He clenches his teeth at what he had feared he would find, before moving deeper into the bank, stopping at the canvas stretched between two of the marble columns to the right.

Paul steps up beside him and stares at the large sheet and the picture portrayed there. "What is it Sir."

The blood and gore covered sheet paints a clear picture to all who look upon it. The plain white figure on the bottom displays a fallen innocent below the image of a red Angel with hands and wings pointed to the heavens leaving the body below it.

Alan'd studies it for a moment before responding to him. "It portrays the innocent being promised salvation as God rips the soul from their body."

Paul shakes his head. "I always thought salvation was a happy thing to be rejoiced and coveted by the believers of God."

"Only if you have done good deeds during your life. The angels can also take your soul forcefully if you are a sinner."

"So, the Son of God can be a welcomed man or a punisher of the people."

Alan'd turns from the horrific piece. "Maybe she was trying to tell us that the Son of God is not a good man but a bad one come to steal our souls."

Paul steps back in horror. "No, it can't be. He will be our savior, our Messiah."

Alan'd looks pointedly at him. "I pray to God that you are right," he says, as he walks back to the front doors of the bank.