Primal Gambit

Chapter 57: Darwin Heads North

He rose from the desk with a calmed aura of anticipation. The chessboard that had adorned the tabletop for the last few weeks bore the fatal end of the white set – all the chipped black power surrounding the King, prepared to pounce at any given moment. As the puppeteer behind the entire operation pulled various strings of using concise propaganda to infiltrate the minds of his pieces, and his phone to position those pieces, the layout of the board slowly changed.

The journal he had used to record the location of his pawns had finally been shut, tucked away in some forgotten drawer that he would only look over once he was in his promised place of power – to soak in the nostalgia of a perfect plan that deceived even the most attentive and ruthless of men. It was that moment that he thrived in – wanted to stay in, live in, and die in. At that point, when he had connived and double-crossed his way to the very top of the food chain, he would have fulfilled the promise he had made to himself. To climb the ranks of free men and enslave them under his reign was his initial goal; the closer he came to that point, the more he began to witness how his story would likely end.

He threw a heavy overcoat across his shoulders, the mock fur brushing up against his medium-length parted brown hair. In a small pack he placed the most essential of items for his survival in The Outskirts: spare filters, spare rounds, and a canteen among other necessities. Hugging his thigh tightly was a holster, masking a decently weighted six shooter. His masquerade had his puppets thinking of him as a pacifist; once he arrived, the last layer of his cover would finally burn away. He'd have to remove his glasses once he got outside, the prescription goggles within his mask serving the same purpose.

Thunder cracked behind lightning in the distance as heavy wet snow pummeled the city. Though the weather could have been better, Darwin let it be. There was nothing he could do to change it. In his imagination, this night would have transpired with a vibrant yellow sun setting in the background: a rich sky of pink and orange, parted by puffy clouds. The snowy ash would have to do.

His ride would soon arrive under the cover of night, parting the sky in rotors that chopped through the clouds and left naught but wisps of what once was. It would be difficult to make out the sounds through the pattering of snow and booming thunder, but their timing had always proved impeccable in the past. They'd be at the rooftop soon.

Before shutting out the lights, Darwin made his way over to the desk one final time. There, he lifted a half-smoked cigar from a clogged ashtray and took one last drag. Once he replaced it, the lights were out and he shut the door behind him. The roof was only a few stories from his apartment, and as he moved toward the stairwell he could make out the sounds of the wind whipping against the building outside.

He wondered if it would all play out how he had planned. The stairs seemed to go on forever as his mind reviewed all the aspects of the night that had the potential to unfold improperly – unfurling his long-devised contract and ruining his reputation in the process. Such a drawn-out contract had room for many open seams, each one with the ability to tear a hole in the entire operation. If things went awry, it would be the end for Darwin. Sighing as he ascended the steps, the wary man could not help feeling as though this would be the final departure from his home.

As he neared the hatch that would release him to the howling wind and harsh weather, he could hear a noise more mechanical than that of the thunder. Though the mechanized growls bled into the sounds of the harsh weather, Darwin knew they were not produced by the same thing. Thumping engines coursed the skies as the mastermind attached the mask to the back of his head, simultaneously struggling to pull the furred hood up over his head. Flakes of blustering snow stabbed his cheeks like needles before his gloved hands lifted to his face. After rubbing the goggles of the mask, he looked to the dark sky in order to see which direction the Reaper would arrive from.