A little later Munroe and Rose, in the landrover, approached the entrance to Darlings. “Did you find plenty of ammo?” Rose asked Munroe.
“Yea, I got so many bullets in my jacket pockets if anyone shoots me I’ll probably explode.”
“Go out with a bang then Frank!” They both laughed, and then Roses face was serious. “Whatever happens next I want you to know I am grateful for your help, even if,” and she smiled slightly, “it hasn’t always been willingly given. I wouldn’t have got this far without you.”
Each looked at the other for a few seconds before Munroe replied, “Lets see if we can get a bit further.”
“Right.”

Munroe drove to the entrance, operated the remote control for the door, and drove in. As he alighted from the vehicle one of Darlings security staff greeted him, and

speaking in English the man said he was glad to see him back, as they had a serious security situation.
“Indeed you do.” Munroe said as he shot him. Rose now leapt from the landrover and signalled to the others, who immediately followed them into the building. They were in a large, open area, with several vehicles in it. Munroe led them to the door by which they enter the main section of Darlings complex, pressed the electronic switch, and as the door opened they entered, fearfully looking around them for any of Darlings staff. There were none in sight, but within seconds of the door closing behind them an alarm emitted a loud, screeching sound.
“Hell!” Rose exclaimed, “We’ve lost the element of surprise. Must be set to go off if more than certain number of people enter, or something like that.”
Two men appeared from a corridor in front of them, each carrying a rifle. But startled by the sight of so many people they hesitated. Before they acted they’d been cut down by a hail of bullets.
“Our new recruits are learning fast.” Munroe observed.
“Yea,” Rose replied before turning to the others. “Ok, as we planned, spread out and do as much damage as you can. And come back alive, I want to see you all again.”

Some hugged briefly, a few words of encouragement were exchanged, and then they dispersed down the differnat corridors in two’s and three’s.
“Miguel, come with us. We may need someone who speaks Portuguese. Frank, you remember the way to the communication room?”
“Think so,” he replied, and Rose told him to lead the way.

In his quarters Darling and Marie looked at video screens on which they could see the intruders, and gun battles breaking out where they encountered the security staff.

And on one screen they saw Rose, Munroe and Miguel.
“I told you Frank would betray us.” Though Marie spoke calmly her face showed her anger, “but you wouldn’t listen.”
For a second Darling did not reply, just stared at the screen. “You were right,” he said as he regained his composure, “I think you better deal with this personnely.”
“Oh I’m going to,” she replied, taking her gun from it’s holster as she spoke.
“What are you doing?” Darlings voice betrayed his alarm.
“You were once a great man, but you should‘ve have retired a long time ago. Your past it, time for the next generation to take over.”
“Marie no, you can’t!” were Darlings last words as Marie shot him three times in the heart.

Seconds later Rose, Munroe and Miguel stopped as they heard Marie’s voice coming from the public address system, speaking in Portuguese. They listened, and Miguel

told them she had told all security staff to kill the intruders on sight. And that Darling had been killed and she was now in charge. “There’s a new way of getting

promtion,” Munroe commented drily, “Kill the boss.”
Rose looked at him quizzically, then after thinking for a second agreed, “Yea, I don’t think any of our people could have got to him. Not yet anyway.”

Marie now used the internal phone to speak to the communications room. “Where’s the Deathbringer?”
“We sent it to the plantation,” was the reply, “as Mr Darling instructed.”
“Bring it back, whatever happened there is over. We need it here.”

Again a voice, speaking in Portuguise, was audible from the loudspeakers,and Miguel told the other two what was being said. “Someone is using pictures from cameras to see where we and the others are and directing the gaurds to us.”
“Hell, and we can’t even see the damn cameras,” said Rose, “the wonders of microelectronics!  Darling seems to have thought of everything.”
She had no time to ponder on what their next action should be as four of the security people came round the corner in front of them, Munroe reacting instantly with a shot that put a bullet straight through the head of one. The other three dived back behind the corner they’d just emerged from and he and Rose jumped into a corridor leading away to their right, while Miguel leapt into another to their left. A stream of gunfire was sent down the corridor and Rose motioned to Miguel to run. As he did so Munroe indicated a door leading to a stairwell and they both hurried through, then up the stairs.
 “They’’ll have to split up to follow us all,” Rose observed. “As long as we can get

to the communication equipment. Where are we heading now?”
“I’ve no idea”, Munroe replied, “but lets keep going.”
It was at this moment that another voice addressed him, coming from the gallery above. “This way.”It was a man who spoke with an American accent, leaning over the bannister and looking down at them. Munroe and Rose glanced at each other, unsure what to do.
“Now!” the man shouted.
“He hasn’t tried to shoot us,” said Rose, “so lets do as he says.”
When they reached him, he pointed to an open door, they rushed in and he slammed it shut then pulled a large bolt into place to lock it. “This is the highest security part of the building, it’ll take an artillery shell to get through this door” Seeing Munroe staring at him, with his gun still at the ready, he hastily continued speaking, “Your safe here. I’m glad to see your both still alive, we feared you were dead. And I’m Professor Alan Ross by the way.”
“Er, right, pleased to meet you,” Munroe responded, still staring at him. And he was about to ask Ross what he was doing here when Rose nudged him.
“Frank,” her voice was quiet, its serious tone demanding his immediate attention, and he turned to face her, intending to ask what she wanted. But what he saw as he

now looked into the large, almost cavenous room they had entered was a sight that schocked him into silence. Just a few feet from where he stood was the edge of a pit, he couldn’t see how deep it was for inside it were people, people in the same state that  Hugo had sufferered. They were piled on top of each other, most alive, the sheer, smooth walls of the pit preventing them escaping. Their wide open eyes stared at him, hands reached up as if pleading for help, sounds like the whimpering of an injured dog emanating from their mouths. And the smell was appaling, of rotten flesh and human waste.
“Their subjects that have outlived their usefulness,” Ross told them, “not a pretty sight I’m afraid.”
“Subjects?” Rose enquired.
“Yea, like the one Mr Munroe here  saw shoot himself. This is how they end up, just, well, rotting away. We put them here as its easier than having mass burials, then we incinerate the bodies. We let a few roam the forest in their last days, with instructions to kill everyone they meet. What appear to be  walking corpses…”
“The walking dead ?” Munroe interrupted him.
“Yea you could say that,” Ross continued, “its what they look like to people, and that’s been useful. Tales have spread about zombies rising from the grave to attack the living and that’s helped keep prying eyes away.”
A few seconds of silence passed, Rose and Munroe both staring at the pit, and Ross, seeing they were disturbed by it, spoke again. “We do need to get down to business. Why are you here before I and my colleagues left? And is the army with you?”
Rose could not conceal her puzzlement as she replied, “The army?”
“Or whatever those guys are called,” Ross continued, “the plan was that when all of us scientists leave tomorrow, supposedly going to Darlings customers, the troops

move in. You know, the ones who have been hiding in the jungle, waiting to be summoned.”
Rose was beginning to get an idea of what Ross was talking about, and he clearly thought she and Munroe were informed on what was happening here. She needed to keep him thinking that, to find out what actually was going on.
“We had to come early, I’ll explain why later. Umm,” she paused to think, “things changed very quickly and I’m not sure if the army guys know we’re here.”
Ross smiled, “Then let me reassure you they do now.” He produced a small radio from his pocket, and continued speaking, “I used this to send a signal to let them know we needed them. It was intended only to be used if the lives of myself and my colleagues were endangered, and I thought that was the case. When the alarm went off I saw your people on our video, but at first didn’t notice you and Mr Munroe. So not knowing what was happening I called them. So they’ll be here soon. And it doesn’t matter much if we leave a day earlier than expected, the project is virtually completed, and its been a great success.”
Rose looked again at the sad sight in the pit. “Yea, so I see. And I can see why it was done here, not in the States.”
“Right” Ross laughed, “public opinion would not have reacted  well to this,” he indicated with his eyes the contents of the pit, “being done to fellow Americans!”
“So you had to come here, to the middle of the biggest jungle in the world, and use poor people, people nobody cares about.” Rose added.
“That’s it,” Ross replied, “and especially as the CIA had a long relationship with slavers here, who supplied us with all the raw material we needed. All that was then

required was a way of keeping the US at arms length, so if the work here did somehow become public knowledge Uncle Sam would not be implicated. That’s why that fool Darling was duped into thinking he’d bribed me and the other scientists into working for him.” Ross then added, in a slightly puzzled voice, “But surely you know most of this?”
“Yea,” said Rose, “But I wasn’t aware if the project was completely successful.”
“Better than we hoped,” Ross said, “Behind that door over there, down the corrider, two of my colleagues have got the latest subjects to be treated. It’s the newest strain we’ve produced, and overcomes a little problem we had. Though our treatment, as Darling likes to call it, destroys a persons will, memory, emotions and capacity for independent thought, it did have the drawback that it reduced their mental capability to that of a five year old. Now  we have overcome that and refined the treatment so a subject will not only obey but be capable of solving problems that might hinder them completing the task they’ve been assigned.” Ross laughed loudly, “I hope we get a bonus!”
“I’m sure you’ll get everything you deserve,” Rose replied. Munroe had noticed that her voice was toneless, her face expressionless and he wondered what she was

thinking, what she was intending to do.
“That radio, may I take it?” Rose asked Ross.
“Er, sure,” he replied, giving it to her.
“And these newest subjects, their down that corridor?”
Yes, fourth door on the left. I’ll take you there.”
“No, you stay here professor,” she replied, “You ready Frank?” He nodded.
“Ok, just have to do something before we go.” And with that she fired several bullets from her rifle through both of Ross’es knees, and as he fell, screaming in agony, she put a boot into his back and propelled him into the pit.

She then led the way to the door Ross had indicated, and finding it locked called out, “This is Rose Mcdonald, CIA. Let me in please.” The door opened slightly and a

man looked cautiously out, then he opened it wide to let her and Munroe inside. It was a laboratory they entered, and as well as the man there was a woman,  both 

wearing white laboratory coats.
“Sorry, but we heard shots…”  the man began, but was  interrupted by Rose.
 “There was a problem but its ok now.”
“And Alan, is he ok?”
“He’s fine,” Rose lied.
“Ok, I’m…” but again Rose interrupted him, “No time for intro’s. I take it those two,” she pointed to a young Brazilian man and woman who were seated by the far wall,

“are your latest subjects.”
“Yes. Their treatment was only completed a few hours ago and hasn’t taken effect yet, which is why their hands are tied. At the moment they still have self will. They

are vital to our work,” the man smiled slightly, “as we won’t have any more subjects to experiment on once were home in America, so its of the utmost importance they are got out alive.”
Rose looked at the couple. Both were no more than early twenties in age, unkempt, and evidently frightened. “Can they be cured?” she asked.
It was the woman who answered, “No, it’s not a desease caused by a virus or germ, but a nano elestronic and chemical process that works with the bodies own bio chemistry, so it’s impossible to create a cure.”
“So, Rose continued, “there is nothing  you can do to help them, right?”
“Right” the woman answered, “Why do you ask?”
“No reason,” Rose replied, then emptied the rifles contents into both of the lab coated scientists, the hail of bullets lacerating their bodies and smashing them  against the wall. The young couple both jumped up from their chairs, terrified by the gunfire, and Rose wanted to say something to them, so badly wanted to find a way to tell them how sorry she was about what had befallen them, but nothing that she could think of seemed adequate. So she turned to Munroe, “I don’t have it in me to do what has to be done, can you help me here Frank?” He nodded and she left the laboratory, waiting in the corridor.
The young man, speaking in English, said to the woman, “He’s going to kill us.” He looked at Munroe, then continued, “You can’t, there must be something that can be

done to help us.” His voice rose in volume, almost to shouting, “You can’t just shoot us!”
“You’ve both been infected with something that will destroy your bodies and brains, and nothing can stop it.” Was Munroe’s responce, and the young woman began to

cry. “He doesn’t care,” she sobbed, her words barely audible as she wept, and she then dropped to her knees, begging him not to  shoot.

“Oh!” the involuntary exclamation was from Rose, waiting outside in the corridor, as she heard two gun shots from inside the laboratory. When Munroe joined her both

were silent for a moment. Neither could think of anything to say.
It was Rose who eventually broke the silence. “Do you have a spare cigar Frank?” she asked, and after he handed her one she lit it, and inhaled long and hard on it

before speaking again.
“It’s years since I last smoked.” She took another long draw on the cigar. “But thanks,” and then she laughed. “I was about to thank you for killing two innocent people, has the world gone mad? Or have I ?”  
She looked directly at Munroe, and continued, her voice firmer now, “Yes I am mad, I’m mad as hell!” Taking the radio Ross had given her she switched it on and spoke into its microphone. “This is Rose Mcdonald, CIA. Who am I speaking to ?”
A male voice replied, “Leuitenant Carl Jones of K Division, wait a moment while I do a voice recognition test.”
He looked at a screen in the dashboard of the military vehicle he was travelling in and saw the confirmation and Rose’s profile. “I see you’re a field operations controller Ms Mcdonald, that puts you in charge. What can I do for you ?”
“I understand your  on your way to Darlings complex, I’m there now. How long till you get here ?”
“About ten minutes.”
“When you got the signal from here did you contact the Pentagon ?” she asked.
“Yes. They said to move now, but other than that our standing instructions still applied.”
“Ok, I assume you have a map of the place so I’ll meet you at the vehicles entrance. I don’t think we’ll have any trouble getting there. I’ll be accompanied by a man called Frank Munroe.”
“Fine,” Jones responded, “We know of Mr Munroe. If you press the the red button on your radio it emit’s a signal we can home in on, just in case you can’t get to the

arranged meeting place.”
“Oh, thank you. Turning it on now. See you soon, over and out.”
“Ever work with K Division ?” she asked Munroe.
“No, but I’ve heard of them. Special forces unit assigned to the CIA.”
“Yea, that’s it,” Rose confirmed, “Their killing machines, carefully selected from within the forces, the best of the best at what they do. But their still only foot soldiers so it’s unlikely they know much of whats going on here, and that means I should be able to get them to do what I want. And I want your help to, I think you’ll be ok with this.”
She took her hand gun out of it’s shoulder holster, checked how many bullets were in it, then spoke again. “We’re going to kill everyone here, no one who’s  had anything to do with this project must survive. We’re going to rid the planet of this evil.”
“That would be fine with me,” Munroe replied, “if it weren’t for one drawback. The little matter of the Deathbringer.”
“Yea,” Rose said, shaking her head, “with all that’s happened recently I’d forgotten that.”
“We haven’t seen it here so it’s safe to assume we were correct in thinking it would be sent to the plantation,” Munroe added, “But it’s my guess it’s been called back

and will be here soon. Lets hope your guys can deal with it.”

They returned to the door they had entered by, again passing the pit with it’s ghastly contents,  and descended the stairs, Rose leading, Munroe behind, each alert and holding their gun in the firing position. When they left the stairwell to enter the corridor they had run from earlier, Munroe guarded their rear, with his back to Rose as she cautiously approached the turning that led to the corridor from which they could reach where the vehicles were kept. So he was not looking at her when Marie appeared suddenly from behind the corner she was about to look round.  Moving to quickly for Rose to have time to react  Marie put the whole weight of her body behind a kick to the chest that sent the American woman reeling till she hit the far wall. Hurt and stunned Rose sank to the floor, her gun falling several feet from her. Munroe turned in the same instant he heard  the noise of the fracas and saw Marie  holding Miguel with one hand and her hand gun in the other. Miguel wrists were tied behind his back, he’d obviously been given a severe beating and looked to weak to offer any resistance, while either side of Marie stood two riflemen, each with his weapon aimed at  him.
“Hello Frank,” said Marie in a calm voice, sounding as if she was genuinely welcoming him, “We saw you two coming down the stairs on the video and we waited to greet you. We thought you and Miguel might want to say goodbye to each other.”
In a croaking voice Miguel said he was not afraid to die.
 “Good” Marie added then put a bullet through his head. She still held onto the dead man, using him as a shield between herself and Munroe.
“Marie,” Munroe spoke quietly and urgently,  “there’s something you need to know before you get your men to kill us. Your angry about your ancestors being brought

here as slaves and  you’ve every right to be, though you have a strange way of showing your emancipation. But you’ve been used, just like a slave, Darling,s whole set up has been arranged by the CIA, you’ve all been duped, and the American army is on it’s way here now, they’ll arrive in a few minutes. Your only chance of surviving is if you leave right now.”
There was silence for a few seconds and then Marie burst out laughing, a spontaneous outburst that she struggled to stop. “Oh Mr Munroe,” she managed to say between her laughs, “if your going to try and talk your way out of this you can do better than that! So,” she was regaining control now, “the CIA organised Darling,s set up. Can you now tell me why they sent you to try and stop us?” This was something Munroe did not have an answer for and there was a short silence until Marie spoke again. “Lost for words ? Never mind, let me tell you what happens next.” Her smile disappeared. “It’s end   game Frank, time to die.”

“Thank god you guys are here!” Rose shouted, looking down the corridor Marie and her men had come by. They all looked round, providing Munroe with the chance he

needed and he instantly shot both of the riflemen in the head. He would have got Marie to if she hadn’t reacted almost as quickly, hurling Miguel,s dead body at him to obstruct his fire while she leapt behind the corner, and after firing two shots she ran. She hadn’t been looking where she was shooting and the bullets missed Munroe, and he took a deep breath.
“Good thinking Rose, but that was close!”
“Yea,” Rose got to her feet, “If she’d told her men to shoot us on sight that would have been our lot. But she wanted so much to enjoy ending our lives it gave us a

chance. I thought if I could distract them for a second you might be able to dispatch them, though it’s a pity you didn’t get Marie as well. Still we’re alive.”
“Yea we’re becoming a good team,” added Munroe.
“And it’s a pity about Miguel,” Rose knelt down by his body as she spoke, stared at him for a few seconds, then sighed and stood again. “What do you think Marie will do now?”
“Probably go outside and use one the other entrances to join up with the security people. I think we can take it that if she felt able to come and deal with us personnelly then it means the attack by the guys from the plantation hasn’t gone well. If any are still alive their probably being hunted down. Oh,and are you ok?”
“Yea. I think that kicks left my bra size a couple of inches smaller but I’m alright.”
Rose picked up one of the rifles and they began to make their way to where they had arranged to meet the soldiers.
 
“The real hurts inside,” Rose continued, “I’m having difficulty coming to terms with what my country has done. And yours as well, as from Ingrids involvement we can

take it as said that MI5 knew what was happening here, even if she hadn’t been told the whole story. To find a technology that does what we’ve seen to people, and then to use poor people in a third world country to experiment on with it.” She shook her head.
“Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised,” Munroe replied, “the USA and the UK both have a long history of being merciless when pursuing  their own interests.”
“I know, but we claim we’re civilised now, but,” she paused “and then we do something the Nazi’s would have been proud of. And god only knows what uses its

intended  to put this abomination to. Well not if I have anything to do with it, and these guys from K Division can help us destroy this place.”
They had now reached the exit, only the camourflage being between them and the forest. “Ok, lets wait for them here,” Rose said, “And, of course, for the Deathbringer.”