Game On

Part 2 - THE END OF ALL THINGS TO COME

Chapter 6

The beginning of the end

As he had driven away from Ellie-May for the last time , he felt a pain inside like he had never felt before . He got clear of the town as quickly as he could , when he was far enough away from people he threw the pick up violently off the road and into the scrubland in a billowing cloud of sand and dust , he exited the vehicle running , then he started to scream , on into the desert he ran , screaming with everything he had , no words , no rage , just abject misery , no more will to live , filled with self loathing . He ran until his legs no longer supported his body , he fell to his knees still screaming , tears streaming down his face creating mud with the dust he was covered by , he smashed his fists into the soft sand , over and over until he was too weak to continue , he allowed his body to collapse fully to the floor , huge heaving sobs escaping with every laboured breath until even they ran out on him . he looked around for some shade and crawled to a rocky outcrop . consciousness ran out on him too .

When he came to and looked at his watch it was only about twenty minutes later , his whole body ached from the outburst but nevertheless he picked himself up and walked back to the pick up , almost like someone else was piloting him , he got in and drove to the farm , showered and changed and drove to the airport . As soon as he was sat down on the plane and belted in exhaustion took away consciousness once more .

New York

Now there was no more pain , no more emotion, now he was moving with a sense of purpose , ducking through side streets and back alley's like a native . he had studied for this day like a student chasing a doctorate , it had consumed so much of him , his time , his life , more than a year had passed since that fateful day in England and the man he saw in the mirror now was a far cry from the man he had once been , nothing had been left to chance , everything was primed and ready , time to play his role . He arrived at a non descript lock up unit in an equally non descript back alley and let himself in . locking the door behind him he turned on the lights, inside the unit there was a large truck parked , he went to the rear of the vehicle and removed both the padlock and the micro fine filament from the door carefully following the cord down under the truck until his fingers found the secret switch that disabled the explosive device under the truck , nothing had been left to chance . He opened the door and entered the vehicle , automatic lights came on , there were boxes all down one side and a table and a chair down the other , there were clothes on the table , tactical gear , Kevlar body armour , and an unsettling array of bladed weapons from knives to swords via axes and throwing stars , all with a coloured label on them either green or red , though mostly red . he opened one of the boxes and started placing all the red labelled weapons inside , then he opened another box and laid it's contents of hand guns out on the table . Now fully suited and armed he puts on a big trench coat to conceal his appearance and exits the truck , carefully rearming the device and setting a timer in motion for 4 hours from now .

It is only two blocks to where he needs to be and he already knows the route to walk , as he rounds the last corner he can see the building in front of him , he reaches into his pocket and withdraws a hand held device with a screen , he taps the screen twice and the external security cameras deactivate .

John walked in through the main entrance and headed straight for the elevators with what appeared to be a parcel to deliver , as he reached the fourth floor he taps the screen a few more times and the internal tannoy system crackles into life . A familiar voice says " what if he started killing hostages right away? No mercy, no quarter. Meet our demands or the pretty blonde in the bellbottoms gets it the back of the head. Bam, splat!" it's a movie quote and many of the people in the building laugh assuming one of their colleagues is playing a prank . Another static crackle and another sound byte " Who do you love and who loves you ?" ...... silence ....... then  "It's show time" he tapped the screen once more and emergency shutters covered every single window in the building , now the entire building is his to command, as the noise of the shutters subsides the speakers crackle once more and screams can be heard from the lower floors . A new voice now comes through the system , it is Johns own voice , pre recorded and tinny . " For many years now you people have created your lies and your games at the expense of others , you have no clue as to the damage you do and you care even less , today you will learn the error of your ways , today you will learn the greatest lesson of your lives , how to die . this building is now completely sealed from outside interference and your lives are mine to command . In a few moments the lower floors will finish flooding with rapidly expanding foam , those caught in it are already dead do not attempt to save them , you will die too .