Chapter 29 - The father's choice
Marcus glanced at Damien, his knuckles white on his rifle, his jaw twitching as he weighed the impossible odds. There were sixteen rifles aimed at their chests, four automated rotary cannons overhead, and no cover within twenty yards. It was a firing squad.
"Damien," Marcus whispered. "We take the old man with us. Give the signal."
"No," Damien said quietly.
Damien slowly lowered his weapon and dropped it to the floor. The heavy steel clattered against the tiles, echoing in the dead silence of the chamber. Behind him, Marcus and the strike team followed suit, disarming themselves under the laser sights of the Black Sun commandos.
"A sensible decision," Alexander smiled, stepping toward the spiral staircase to descend into the operating room. "You were always a pragmatist, Damien. That’s what made you my greatest creation. Step aside. Let the technicians finish the extraction, and I will allow you to live out your days on our private island in the Caribbean. A comfortable retirement for a retired warrior."
Alexander reached the bottom of the stairs, his cane clicking rhythmically against the tiles as he approached the titanium chair where Lily sat, shivering in terror.
"Grandpa..." Lily whispered, her small voice trembling as the old man reached out a gaunt, spotted hand to touch her hair. "You look like the bad man in Daddy's drawings."
Alexander’s smile faded into a thin, predatory sneer. "Children should be seen and not heard, little one. Your purpose is far greater than your petty consciousness."
He nodded to the head bio-engineer. "Initiate the primary spinal tap. Deep extraction. Take everything."
"Alexander, wait!" Clara pleaded, lunging forward, but two commandos seized her arms, driving her down onto her knees. "You promised! You said you would only take enough to stabilize you! You promised she would survive!"
"I promised you whatever was necessary to bring her to this chair, Clara," Alexander replied without even glancing back at her. "Lying to subordinates is the first lesson of statecraft."
The technician raised a long, pressurized pneumatic extraction needle, its tip glowing with a sterile ultraviolet blue. Lily screamed, thrashing against the restraint straps of the chair.
Damien stood ten feet away, his head bowed, his hands resting loose at his sides.
May you like
"You taught me that lesson well, Father," Damien whispered.
Alexander paused, turning his cold blue eyes toward his son. "What did you say?"
