The Decay

Chapter 18 - Mr. Wiggums

18

Mike opened his eyes, disorientated. He yawned, stretching his arms. “Good morning, I see you're awake” said Anita. “Oh, hey Anita, good morning. Did you sleep well?” “I did, thanks. Haven't slept so much in a long time. You look like you slept well too,” she said. Mike nodded, yawning again. “What's the time?” asked Mike. “Half past noon. You've been out cold since last night,” replied Anita. “Yeah, not surprised.” He suddenly remembered the day before. “Oh, has there been any new from Team Charlie?” he asked. Anita shook her head. “Not yet, but they're supposed to report back some time soon”, she replied. “Here, I made you this,” Anita walked over to Mike and put down a plate in front of him. On it were 2 slices of bread with cheese and jam. Mike raised his eyebrows. “I... thanks,” he said, laughing. “What's wrong?” asked Anita. “Oh no, nothing. I'm just surprised you'd bother making me breakfast,” he replied. His cheeks were turning red. Anita laughed. “Oh don't be silly, I've been up for an hour and I got bored. Eat it before I change my mind,” she said, teasing.

Mike shielded his eyes as he stepped outside. The sun was bright, more so than usual. Together, Anita and Mike walked over to the shops to get some food. Anything to pass the time.

A few hours later, Mike and Anita were sitting on a bench, eating some fruit and soaking up the sun. Suddenly, a stranger ran up to them. “Mike? You're Mike, yes?” said the young boy, catching his breath. “That's me,” replied Mike. “I was asked to find you. You are to go to the council. Quick. From what I understood, it's bad,” said the boy. Mike bit his lip and nodded. “Anita, let's move it.”

Mike had a bad feeling. On reaching the entrance, he practically burst through the front door. The council was seated, grim expressions on their faces. A single, bloodied man lay on the ground, lifeless. “What happened?” asked Mike, worried. The old man sighed heavily. “Team Charlie found out what they were looking for, but were unable to recover it” he said, shifting his gaze to the man lying on the ground. “Both Anderson and Higgans were killed in action. Marquez made it back, but not much further as you can see. Considering the 2 bullets in his chest, I'm surprised he even made it this far,” he said. Mike passed a hand through his hair. “What did they find? What did he tell you?” he asked. The woman started talking. “A container. For the bomb. Not just a normal metal box, but rather a special electromagnetic amplifier designed to double the strength of it.” “Let me guess, they got their hands on it didn't they?” asked Anita. All 3 members of the council nodded. “Great,” said Mike sarcastically. “So what's the plan?” he asked. “Well that's the thing, Mike. We don't really have a plan,” replied the old man.

“Let's think this through,” said Mike. “A power-hungry business man hires dangerous mercenaries to gather components to build the first atomic bomb after the war. For power and to threaten people. What would he blow up?” he asked. “Who would he feel the need to threaten or control, and why?”

The old man scratched his beard. “We have recently received reports that a party of mercenaries has been heading South East. Keep in mind that our information radius is of about 3 kilometers from here so we don't know much about what lies beyond.” Anita frowned. “South East? The remains of Boston lie in that direction. The outskirts of what used to be heavily populated is maybe 7 or 8 kilometers away. Center town is at least double that,” she said. “I wonder what's left there. My guess is people started building settlements there as well. Maybe John has his own base there,” said Mike. “But how do you plan on finding it?” asked the young man. “I don't know, but we have to. And we have to deal with the mercenaries as well, once and for all,” replied Mike. “So what do you propose?”, asked the old man. “I don't know yet. Give me some time to figure it out. I'll have to speak with Sam and Christy as well as with anyone else capable of shooting. Give me a few hours and I should have an answer to that question,” said Mike. “Very well. Mike, Anita, we'll be expecting you back here tonight at 11. Good luck.” Mike and Anita both nodded before heading for the exit. “So what's your plan?” asked Anita. Mike looked at her and shrugged. “I have something in mind but I'm going to get more people involved, including some I'd rather not. Go back to my place, I'll be back soon.” As Anita left, Mike headed to the opposite side of town.

It only took a couple of minutes to find the house that he was looking for. The blue and gray house stood out among the other colours. The roof was half broken and several large holes in the walls had been repaired recently. Explosions. Mike had first met the owner of the house a few months back when Daniel had asked him to help the man with an errand. They didn't meet again until the team had needed C4. The very explosive that had been sabotaged by Daniel later. Alexander Wiggums was half a madman. He loved explosives and sometimes had little accidents with them, or at least that was what he called them. Mike took a deep breath and knocked on the front door. A short man with a long white beard and even longer white hair opened. If anyone looked like a mad scientist, this guy was surely the one.