Chapter V - Mankind
"Do you really think that we will let you have the control over these weapons and end the world?!" The US president said.
"I'm not going to end the world." Jon said. "I'm merely cleansing it."
"By killing everyone in it."
"Oh, no. Not everyone. I'll give humanity a chance to survive, if you let me have the launch codes."
"Never! The US Government will never negotiate with terrorist."
"And the Government of France!"
"And Italy!"
"China!"
"United Kingdom!"
"Russia!"
"And Japan!"
Everyone chanted their refusal to Jon's only demand. One by one stood up and defied him. Jon just watched them. As he listened to their chant, his lips curved into a smile. Then he started laughing, a laugh of pure mockery.
Everyone stopped until the hall was filled only with Jon's disturbing laugh.
"Then what, Mr. US President?" he asked. "What are you going to do with almost a thousand warheads stationed across the continent?"
He turned to the Chinese President. "And China seems to have quite a handful of nuclear artillery. What about United Kingdom and Russia? North Korea?
How many warheads does this world have?"
His eyes moved back to the US President. "You and I know very well that a nuclear war is imminent, no, inevitable. It will undoubtedly wipe out every life here on earth. If you will agree to give me access to those nukes, I'll let human race to survive."
"NO! We created weapons to protect our people! With these weapons we have attained peace for many years now!"
"Doesn't it sound ironic? To protect humanity, you created something that threatens its very existence. How many have you killed for your country? Have you forgotten the innocent lives spent on pointless wars? Have you forgotten Nagasaki and Hiroshima? Pearl Harbor? And Saigon?"
"We will never forget them." The US President said. "As we have not forgotten the duties and responsibilities we have for our country and its people."
"Hah! Sweet words! Don't you see what mankind has done to this world? And you dare say you're trying to protect it! You're slowly killing it! And when nothing of this world is left, we will be next. The whole human race will suffer greatly. What am I doing right now is giving everyone the luxury of dying a swift and painless death."
He scanned their faces looking for any response, but they were only silent.
"If after an hour you still won't give what I demand, I'll start putting bullets in your head one by one."
"Go on with it. Kill us. You'll just waste your time waiting."
"I certainly doubt that you would want to die yet. Have you ever wondered what the bracelets are for?" Jon asked. "It's a device that reads your pulse. And each one of it is a trigger to a bomb that planted in New York City. If your pulse stops beating, a bomb explodes. Since there are 57 of you wearing it, there are 57 bombs scattered around the city that will go off once I'll blow your brains out. Now, how many lives will you waste for the kind of peace you believe in?"
"Bluff! We will never give in!"
"It seems like you don't believe me. Then let's have a demonstration." He pointed a gun to the French President and pulled the trigger. The hostages screamed in horror as the French President's body dropped dead on the ground. A few moments after, the bracelet beeped. Then a faint explosion was heard.
