Scavenger

5. END

                  

Connor Theiry.  His name was Connor Theiry.

It struck me as to why I found him so familiar on the way to his office.  Connor used to wear the title of chief surgeon at Scott Memorial, my family's hospital.  When my mother earned her doctorate and began working in her new position, she had replaced Connor within a year.  I was six years old when he attempted to murder my mother.

Following the chaos, after everything went quiet, it was as if Connor had fallen off the face of the earth.  I guess that it wasn't as true as I'd always wanted it to be.  Here he was.

I was seated facing a large mahogany desk, clothed with several office supplies.  Connor was spinning slightly in his chair, holding his pen to the corner of his mouth, scanning every inch of me.  "Anastasia, correct?"

"Connor," I smirked. "It's a pleasure to see you again."

He sat up from the chair, his back erect, as he said, "No need for the sarcasm, darling.  I knew that you'd recognize me.  It was only a matter of time that we were to meet again, yes?"

I didn't respond.  He raised his teacup from the desk and brought it to his lips, the steaming liquid sliding down his throat without so much as a wince.  He noticed my glaring at him and said, "My apologies.  Tea, darling?"

I sneered toward the porcelain teapot sitting in front of me.  Connor laughed at my expression toward the question at hand.  "Honestly, Anastasia, do you think I would go through all of that trouble to bring you here only to poison you?"

He had a point.  Carefully, he grabbed the teapot with his left hand and poured the liquid swiftly into a clean white teacup.  Holding it by the edges, he held the steaming cup out to me.  I took it from his grasp placed it on the desk in front of me, allowing time to cool.  Finally, he spoke.

"You're wondering why you're here, yes?"

"Yes," I said plainly. 

With that, Connor stood from his desk and turned to the large velvet curtains that fell perfectly creased behind him.  He reached up, drew them back, and spoke proudly, "Anastasia, I'd like to personally welcome you to the headquarters of END."

I stood from the chair and found myself staring into a wide laboratory buzzing with scientists from across the world.  The stations were set of differently, some creating different colored liquids, medications, and solutions.  There were others that were bent over microscopes, observing different cells, then projecting them on a screen for the entire lab to see.  A woman holding a dropper filled with blue liquid slipped two drops into a beaker, then stepped back calmly when it went up in flames.

I heard Connor whisper from my side, "Remarkable, isn't it?"

"What are they doing?" I questioned.  I hadn't had the chance to witness the various discoveries for much longer.  When Connor shut the curtains in my face, I took that as my cue to have a seat.

Once I was seated, Connor turned to me and said, "I've been building this astonishing team for over ten years.  Since the day that I was falsely accused of trying to murder Dr. Scott, to be exact."

"You did," I said, my face expressionless. 

He glared at me, and I eyed him, smirking.  He cleared his throat and said, "As I was saying.  "END" stands for Eliminate Needless Disorder.  As you can so clearly notice, this world is a joke.  I urge to observe how ultimately corrupt humanity is becoming.  They are coming to believe that they can rule this world on their own terms, dismissing every act of goodness done by the higher powers that stand above them."

"I know," I said. "And your point is?"

"We've been researching ways to wipe this disorder from our earth for over ten years.  Finally, we've made the unearthing of what our role is in working toward achieving a population built from only the utmost perfect humans."  

He'd told me that his team of lab monkeys had been researching and experimenting for over ten years.  It took my five seconds to realize what he was getting to.

"Disorder among human can't be controlled," I said. "It was a natural evolution.  You can't force everyone into perfection, if that's what you –"

"Anastasia," he said calmly. "In order to eliminate the disorder, we need to take on the large burden of destroying the human race."

Something in me had snapped.  I raised from the chair and slammed my fist down onto the center of his desk, spilling his tea with the force I'd impacted.  "You can't just murder everybody, Connor," I hissed. "Trying to take my mother away from me was one attempt too many."

He threw his hands onto my shoulders, shoving me back into my seat, screaming, "Sit down, Miss Scott!"

I dug my nails into the wood that made up the side of my chair, exasperated by his behavior.

Working to wipe up the spilled contents of the teacup, he continued calmly, "That's where you come in."

Tossing the wet towel into the trash, he smiled to me and said, "You see, Anastasia, we were long since aware of our role in our quest for a perfect earth.  That is why it had taken this tremendous amount of time.  We've spent the last ten years scouring the world for the perfect humans that will be able to assist us in our mission.  Now, we've been able to find twelve."

Folding his hands across his desk, he spoke softly, "You, Anastasia Scott, are one of them."

I broke into a fit of laughter, crying out, "Me?  You think I'm perfect?  Oh, Connor, I'm sorry to inform you of the only tragic flaw in your study."

He pursed his lips into a smile, raising his eyebrows to me.  "You're not perfect, darling, but you're the closest that we've got to it.  You'll fight for us, Anastasia.  It may take just a bit of convincing to get you to join the right side, but you'll come to see the truth.  You'll see."

I hissed, leaning over the desk, "I'm not going to join your team of mass murderers only to see through that you get what you desire.  What you want is wrong.  What makes you think I'd do anything for you in the first place?"

He moved his chair slightly to the left and tilted backward, crossing one leg over the other to rest his ankle on top of his knee.  "You never allowed me to explain the reward," he said simply.

He had my attention.  "What's the prize?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest. 

Connor's eyes trailed to the locket hanging around my neck. 

"You get your sister back."

The statement hit me like a train.  I was frozen to the chair, unable to breathe for the sake of two outcomes that could possibly unfold from this.  Either he was telling the truth, and I'd have to go through great danger and self-betrayal only to see her again, or he was lying, and I'd be spending the rest of my life wallowing in the false hope that Connor was feeding from the palm of his hand.

Even I knew which a more likely outcome stood to be.

His smile was wide, and his gaze was deceiving, like a snake luring its prey into a trap right before swallowing it whole.  "You're lying," I hissed between my teeth. "You're..."

I closed my eyes, unable to speak another word.  Ashely had been gone for over five months.  It was impossible.  Believe me.  I've tried everything... 

I heard Connor stand from his seat, the smack of his heels against the hardwood floors.  "I'll leave you to the decision, Miss Scott.  Allow me to call in my personally favored guards to escort you to dinner."

"Dinner?" I whimpered, raising my head to look at him.  I was like a helpless child, unable to think or fend for myself. 

"With the others," he said calmly.

Just as two guards piled through the door to escort me out, I found myself tearing from their grasp to get to him.  "There are others?" I screamed.

Connor's gaze was sympathetic.  "I thought you already knew that, Miss Scott."

The doors were slammed in my face and he was out of sight.