The Life of Jacob Track (Book Two of the 33X Series)

Chapter Nine

CHAPTER NINE

February 19, 2015

Ben Hamilton knew by the tender age of eight, that he was meant to save the world. He watched all the superhero movies he could and knew he had to be one of them. He looked up to Superman, Spiderman, Batman, and all the other comic book heroes. He and his best friend Sammy would play cops and robbers as kids.  Ben would always choose to be the cop. He had no desire at all to ever be the bad guy. Good guys always won, the story always ended happily. That's the way it was and the way he would choose to live his life.

At 16, he came upon a one-car accident driving home from his part-time job. He was the first on the scene and called 9-1-1. The driver had impacted a tree and the car was quite mangled. Ben rushed to the car to look for any survivors. The drive was alive, but only just. Ben pulled the driver from the car and performed CPR. The man was alive by the time the ambulance arrived on the scene. Ben felt very accomplished and satisfied knowing that he saved a man's life. However, the next day, he heard the man had passed away in the emergency room. His heart and ego deflated tremendously. He knew that not everyone could be saved, but he had thought he'd done the right thing. He wasn't sure if he had, though. Sometimes it was more dangerous to move someone from the scene than it was to leave them until the professionals could help. Internal injuries were quite common, especially in car accidents. Ben worried that his actions had further hurt the man than helped. The thought haunted his mind from then on out.

In movies, they always made it so clear who the good and bad guys were. In real life, everything was much cloudier. He had random dark thoughts in his mind that he couldn't always stop. He worried sometimes that he was becoming too cynical. As time went on, he began to wonder whether his heart was always truly in the light, on the right path.

To try and stop any more bad thoughts, he joined the army at eighteen. He figured that if he could help save the world, then he was still a good guy. He loved being a soldier fighting for the good cause. During his time, he found hope again in the dark places of peace-keeping and war. Not all of it was good, but it felt right. There was a bigger picture to strive for. Knowing that helped tremendously when he did the dirty jobs, the bad stuff they never tell civilians. Even when he had to kill people in battle, he knew it was for a greater cause. Peace was more important, even if some had to die.

After six years in the army, he was asked to join Magnus' special team. He was promoted to Sergeant and partnered with Tyrell Carter. There were a few other soldiers to fill out the team, but mostly they all worked well together. Sometimes Ben would wonder if all their actions were correct or morally sound, however. However, he'd never ask his superior about a direct order. It was against protocol and his belief system.

He had been on the team for almost eight years, starting in 2007, and slowly felt himself changing inside. Not everything Magnus said felt correct to him. He began doubting The Program and its benefits. The further it went along, the darker it seemed to become. Larry's drugs felt very dangerous to Ben. He hadn't voiced his opinion yet, but it lived deep within his soul.

He loved America and longed for it to thrive, but an unbeatable, mindless group of soldiers felt like the wrong way to go about it. Free will was an important part of humanity. If they took away free will with 33X, the consequences would be astronomical if it came to light in society. Ben couldn't imagine many in today's society would ever vote for The Program to continue. The danger from possible side effects alone was enough to pull the plug in his mind.

It also scared him how much Tyrell, Larry, and Magnus were willing to sacrifice for the drugs and The Program. Larry had killed numerous people, fooled an entire community into thinking there was an undead boy, drugged his own niece, and planned an explosive escape from jail.

Magnus was the leader of The Program and so far, had made every decision to keep it going. He hadn't admitted it yet, but Ben was sure Magnus had killed John Woods, Larry's lawyer. Not to mention the numerous scientists they'd tortured to join The Program. But it was all hushed up, of course. The things they'd done would haunt Ben's nightmares.

Tyrell worried him as much as Magnus and Larry sometimes. Tyrell could be extremely violent at times and usually seemed to enjoy the torture he inflicted. The rest of the time, he was kind and likable. It didn't make sense to Ben at all how someone could flip their emotions like that.

When they extracted Zacchya from her boyfriend's house, Tyrell had especially scared him. After tranquilizing Zac, Tyrell then tranquilized Zacchya too. He then proceeded to make cuts on her arms and legs to leave a blood trail.

"Are you crazy? What the hell are you doing?" Ben protested as Tyrell made another cut.

"If they think she's dead, they won't look for her."

"You'd put an innocent man in prison?" Ben fumed angrily.

"It's not ideal, no." Tyrell shrugged as he cut Zacchya's arm again.

"It's not IDEAL? That's prison, man! No innocent man deserves prison! Especially a cop!"

"Help me move her. There needs to be blood in the trunk of his car as well," Tyrell said calmly.

"You're crazy, Tyrell. This is too far! Too far!" Ben couldn't understand how anyone could think those actions were correct. Zac was a cop, and seemed to be a good guy. No one deserved to be set up for murder.

"Oh, so I'll call Magnus then. He'll remove you from The Program." Tyrell smiled.

Ben knew that smile was a fake. The only way he'd ever quit or be removed from The Program was to die. He knew too many government secrets. They'd never let him live, ever.

He grabbed Zacchya's leg and they carried her to Zac's car. They squeezed out enough blood to make a large sized spatter. They ripped up pieces of sheet, as if he'd wrapped her body up to dump it, to leave some behind. It was a set-up, clear and simple. They left the scene to find Jacob.

Ben knew that he could never trust Tyrell again after that. Anyone who would set up an innocent civilian for murder was not a trustworthy candidate. Nothing could ever be that important. But apparently, Tyrell thought 33X and the soon-to-be-finished LZ Virus were important enough.

But sadly, there was no way to stop it. No way to stop The Program from growing in its mission. There was too much time and money invested in it. They would see it to completion. Nothing he could say or do would stop that, unfortunately. It was overwhelmingly sad and disturbing to him. He didn't want to live in a world with mindless humans, but it was surely heading there. Larry would perfect 33X and it would be mass produced within a year.

Some days being "removed" from duty sounded like it might be the best option. He couldn't see a positive outcome for the world. He was only 32 and should have a full life ahead of him. He was physically fit, handsome, likable, charming, and sincere. In a different world, he'd have more options. But the world he was sucked into was losing more options by the day. He'd follow orders like a good boy until a day came when he could see a way out.

Sadly, he'd never be the hero his eight-year old self dream of. He'd chosen a realistic life of good and bad decisions. He'd done what he thought was right most of the time. Mostly, it felt like his past younger self was disappointed in him, wishing he'd be the better man, the man he dreamed for so long. He secretly hoped one day he'd make his eight-year old self proud. Reality weighed heavily on his shoulders in his daily grind to make it.

He picked up his gun ready for guard duty. It was his shift to watch the subjects: Jacob and Zacchya. He looked into the mirror, wishing to see a better, stronger man. But he only saw the deep flaws. He only saw the man that wouldn't stand up for what he thought was wrong.

You've sold out to the man, Ben, he sighed. He headed down the long, gray corridors to the holding cells. He wouldn't save the world today. Today he was just a guard. It was just another day of compromised beliefs so he wouldn't be killed. It was just another day where he was like everyone else just trying to save his own neck.