A T. K. Holmes production… Inspired by true events…
The Meteor
BERLIN-1980
Edmund was a rather simple man. He lived in a 3 room apartment on Lichtenberger Street in Berlin, with his sister, Sophia. He worked as a chauffeur and she as a help-desk secretary for Gruppe 935 Branchen, Group 935 Industries. The pay wasn't that good, but it got him and his sister 3 hot meals and a cot to sleep in every night. As he drove them both to work, he took time to admire the car.
He had worked tirelessly on it himself. The company had given it to him as a Junker: covered in rust, with both bumpers missing and a horrible series of dents along the sides. He spent hours into the night for his first few days of work making it look presentable: buffing and smoothening the dents and scratches, gutting the ancient, moldy upholstery and putting in fine leather finish, scraping way rust and applying layer after layer of paint, gloss and wax until he could clearly see his own reflection in it. It was his pride and joy.
When they got to Group 935 headquarters, he dropped off his sister and drove into the matinence garage where he kept his car. It was equipped with all the tools needed for bodywork, repairs and fluid changes. His desk was in the corner, with it's ancient computer and phone. 'Here at Group 935 Industries, no expense is spared to give our employees the best work environment possible!' he remembered the lines from an ad for the massive conglomerate he worked for. As if. He sat down at his desk, opened up solitaire and put his feet up. The Bosses had no meetings scheduled for today. 'Least I get paid by the hour.' He thought to himself. But as soon as he put King to Queen, his phone started to ring. He picked it up, only expecting his worrisome sister checking up on him, as she did every morning. Who rang was much, much different.
"Edmund." A male voice on the end of the line. "It is Director Richtofen. Zou are ze company chauffeur, are zou not?" A call from the Director himself. This was highly unexpected. He never called anyone except for his highest advisors, so why call a worthless drone as himself? "Zou vill answer me, or I vill hang up." He said, voice anxious and annoyed. ".Ja,HerrDirector, This is Edmund Steil. Wasbrauchstdu?" he answered quickly.
"Listen carefully. I need zyou to retrieve a certain package for me. It is a little out of your vay, but since zou seem to be stumped on Solitaire…" Edmund quickly exited the game, "…I thought zis might have been a bit easier for you. After you retrieve it, I want you to deliver it to my office. Personally. I'm uploading ze location of ze pickup zone to your computer. The package is nearly impossible to miss, for it is most likely accompanied by one of my… friends." The director paused, as if thinking aobut his last word. "Do not fail me, or it is good bye to you and your sisters' benefits." And he hung up.
Edmund knew one thing aobut his job: Richtofen did not bluff, joke or beat around the bush. Whatever he said , he meant
The place was an old abandoned factory. Tall smokestacks, huge warehouses and a series of catwalks crisscrossed to make the facility. He had passed a sign on the way in: Waffenfabrik 935, "Der Reise". Weapon Factory 935, "The Giant". The factory had the same insignia on its smokestacks as there were on the side of his car; the insignia of Group 935. After circling the facility for a while, he found what he was looking for: another human, the only form of life that seemed to be present in this old, odd place.
As far as he could tell, the person was female, about his age with extraordinarily light blonde, almost silver hair, just touching her shoulders. All other features were hidden from view. She wore a trench coat- With 935s logo on its lapel, he noticed- that went just past her ankles, black gloves and shades, and a black felt fedora. She was holding a medium- sized package, wrapped in brown paper and tied with a string, and marked with red ink:
Klassifiziert: NIVEAU 10, Classified, Level 10.
He drove up to her and unlocked the back left door. She got in without making a sound; not even the rustling of clothes was heard. "So, is zat ze package Richtofen wants?" He asked the woman. She simply nodded. "So, zhen zyou must be one of his old friends, Ja?" he asked, trying to strike up a conversation with the eerily still and silent woman.
"Do zou alvays ask so many questions?" she asked in a quiet, almost whispering voice. "I used to be a cab driver in Berlin. Conversation vas kind of expected by my clientele." He responded simply. She was silent for a moment, then, "My Vati used to be his boss, und when he was at work, Richtofen, how you say, babysat me." She started, never quite making eye contact, "So, ja ve vere friends, once." Edmund took this in, "Und you had a falling out?" she scoffed, "He pushed and locked me and my father out of his life, left us to fend for ourselves… so to speak." She said, a scowl slowly spreading across her pale face. "So," Edmund started again, "I never got your name." She looked up from the package in her lap, "Samantha. Samantha Maxis."
Once he got back to 935 HQ, he looked backward to face a rather peculiar sight: No one was in the place where Samantha was sitting just moments before, but in her place, a small box with a glowing question mark, a small card and the package that Richtofen wanted so badly. He first picked up the card, it read…
Consider this a well-deserved tip.
Sam.
He next opened the box, curious on what his bonus was. There was teddy bear, torn slightly at the seams, a button eye missing, holding a glass case, containing a small chunk of rock, spider webbed with cracks that glowed with crimsons, reds and oranges. He had no idea what to make of it, but he knew who could…
He cursed silently at everything. The fact that the building was 40 stories tall, the fact that the elevators could only move so fast, the people who had to go to different floors as him, and the fact that he didn't pound the "close" key whenever he saw someone coming. After a minute that seemed like an eternity, he finally reached the Directors office.
The director was an older man, with graying blonde hair and paling green eyes. He seemed anxious, even slightly annoyed when Edmund walked in the door. As soon as he saw Edmund, the director stood up form his char, almost tipping it, and asked him four words; "Do you have it?" Edmund held out the twine-wrapped package to his employer, and it was snatched up with lightning speed. "Sir?" Edmund asked, "There is something else zou may want to see." He held out the rock in the case. "The person who delivered the package gave me this. Said it was a tip." The director's eyes screamed awe, but his face remained as passive as ever. "Hmm, peculiar. Und zhis has, vhat, to do with me, exactly?" said the director still in partial awe "Well, I just want to know what it is."
The director sat back down and steepled his fingers "What that rock is made of is an extremely rare and rather peculiar element. I studied it once, long ago, and I must say, it has some… odd usages and side effects. However, I never got to research it completely, Und I would like the chance to continue it. I will give you ten thousand Euros for the rock." Ten thousand Euros. That was one year's paycheck for him and his sister, but still not enough to buy a good home for both of them. "Is it not worth more than that? If it is so rare, why not a higher price?" Edmund asked nervously. The Directors eyes squinted a bit, "Skeptical, are ve?" Richtofen asked with a smirk, "Well zhen, I believe some outside review is necessary." He tapped a few buttons on his desk and turned the monitor to face Edmund, on it were the faces of three other industrial giants. One, an American, the owner of Dempsey Arms Ltd., A Russian, head of Belinski Mechanics and the last, the head of the Japanese technology company, Masaki Solutions.
"Gentlemen," Richtofen spoke into a microphone, "My employee has found a fragment of ze Shi No Numa artifact. I put a price on it zat he disagrees with. Since zyou three are the only people to have extensive knowledge into this, place a price suitable for it." The American seemed to be peering at his computer screen, "Don't even bring me into this one, Eddy." He said with a scoff "There ain't enough Element in there for a single Ray gun shot." And the American blinked off. The Japanese man examined the rock, "This is not worth a single yen! The Element has been stagnant for far too long: see how the glow is crimson instead of red-orange? I'm sorry; it's just not worth it." And he blinked off
That left the Russian, "I have clients who are into these types of things. I give two thousand Rubles, no more, no less." Richtofen looked pleased with himself, "My offer still stands, if you vant it." After a silence, Edmund, feeling cheated said, "I think I'll hold onto it for now. It'll make a good paperweight." And walked as fast as he could for the elevator.
An hour later, he and his sister were fired from 935 Industries. No benefits, no last paycheck. Nothing. Richtofen made sure of that. He was still in his office when the men he sent to shadow the two reported that they were back in their house. He reached under his desk and pulled out a large, old and complex-looking weapon. The side was lined with vacuum tubes and it was humming softly. He would give Edmund one last chance: only this time, his payment would be the continuation of his life. He knew that Sam would be there, so he had the chance to kill two birds with one stone, or more appropriately, one bolt of lightning, he thought as he flicked a switch near the tubes, and sent miniature bolts of lighting crackling from the prongs surrounding the satellite-dish-like muzzle…
It was around ten when she came back, the woman, Samantha. He was awoke by a knok at the door- his house was small enough to hear the front door from the back room. It was Samantha, only without the disguise: her trench coat was unbuttoned, revealing a tatterd, bloodstained schoolchild uniform. She had done away with the fedora and shades, revealing her pale blue eyes and the rest of her silver-blonde hair "Edmund, look, vhat I'm about to say may sound crazy, by all standards, it is, but zou have to believe me ven I say zis: Edward is on his way, and he wants the rock. He'll kill you to get it." Edmund was shocked, and made no attempt to hide it. He hurriedly woke Sophia, and told her to go up to the attic and to stay silent.
Samantha was stone faced, and had embers of hate burning deep in her eyes.
"Edmund, there is something I think you should know. When I said he locked Vati and me out of his life, and left us to fend for ourselves, he did just that: My father was a scientist for Group 935, a secret division of the Füher's SS. They were tasked with making weapons far beyond anything the Allies had. One of their discoveries was the Element 115, the element the rock I gave you was made of. One night, my father ran out of test subjects, so he had to use my dog, Fluffy. I walked in on the experiment, and tried to help her, but father had already begun the experiment, injecting several full vials of 115 into her. Father knew that the results would be unstable at best, so he ran into the test chamber to pull me out, but Eddy kicked him into the room, too. Then he locked the door, disengaged Fluffy's restraints, and walked away laughing to the sounds of carnage."
Edmunds eyebrows were high in his hairline. "So... what you're saying is that my boss killed you and your father, and that you're a… ghost?" he asked, incredulous. "Nein." She replied, "One of the more odd side effects of 115 is the reanimation of dead cells. The room was full of all forms of 115, and Fluffy was never one to stay still, even before she mutated." She said with a shrug of her shoulders. "Since I got contaminated before decomposition took place, I still looked normal, but I had the full power of 115 at my fingertips." Edmund was still in shock.
"Look, I gave you ze rock to draw Eddy out. Father has been talking to me, Edmund." She said, eyes closing for a second "Even in death, he's still over my shoulder, guiding me. He says it's time Richtofen dies." She opened her eyes, and instead of the pale blue irises, she had before, now they were a fiery yellow, burning with hate. "Please, help me get our vengeance, undzis time, you vill be revarded properly."
When Edward saw the house for the first time, he wasn't surprised. It was extraordinarily small, four rooms maximum, yet it was still a two story building. It had few windows, and thick brick walls. There were three doors, two of which were guarded by his hired gunmen. He would have to make sure they did not get past him to the front door. He silently slid open said door, and stepped inside. There was an old staircase leading to what seemed to be a small attic. The door was slightly ajar, and he could see some messy, dirty- blonde hair slowly moving around the corner. He brought his greatest invention to bear, and aimed at the door. The WunderWaffe DG-2's lightning bolt would seek out the nearest living thing that it was pointed at. "AufWiedersehen, Miss Steil."
He said quietly. His finger had just pulled the trigger when he was blindsided by his old chauffeur, Mr. Steil. Then, he heard her voice, consumed by hate and driven by god-knows-what type of power, but still the voice of the shy little girl he knew all those years ago: Sam. "Comfort your sister now, Edmund. He is mine." She was in the far doorway, wearing his old partner's trench coat over her old clothes. He instinctively raised his DG-2 to fire on her and pulled the trigger, but all he got was a small electrical buzz.
"Out of energy, are we Richtofen? vell, let me loan you some!" she said, rushing forward and grabbed the barrel of the gun. Suddenly, energy coursed through the gun, melting the metal components and burning the wooden stock, before she cast it aside. She punched him across the face with the force of a freight train, breaking his nose. "That was for my Father!" Breaking off three teeth, "For Fluffy!" fracturing his left jaw "For ME!" breaking his right jaw. She stopped and pulled her fist back, as lightning started to gather around it. She held it for a second, letting more lightning gather "Oh, and Richtofen," this is for Mr. Monkey!"
Sophia was on the floor, her hair and skin burnt, eyes still open in fear. Edmund knelt beside her, and silently sobbed for a minute before closing her eyes, and placing her hands folded on her chest. When he walked back downstairs, the front room was filled with scorch marks. In the center of it, there was another box, bigger this time, but with the strange glow and question marks as the one before. On it was another note:
I'll be watching you.
Sam.
In the box was another teddy bear, sitting on stacks of negotiable bearer-bonds in 935 Industries and a first class ticket to America. It's total value: $115 billion American dollars