Semblance of Eden 25 ~ El Topo

He could at least be scared. He could at least have the decency to pretend to be a little bit scared. But instead, he just smiles that dazzling smile at me, and he says, "My goodness. Did you have a rough day?"

And beneath the icy weight of his blue eyes, my gun hand gets heavy and I let it fall to my side. "Yeah," I croak.

"You're going to want a doctor to look at that leg, I believe. Fortunately, I have one on hand just for emergencies like this. If you'll wait until the commotion downstairs dies down, I'll be happy to buzz him up for you…"

"Marcus."

"Yes, Dominique?"

"What the hell are you still doing here?"

He tilts his head queerly to the side, and then he laughs. "Why you silly girl. I was waiting here for you to lead my would-be assassins into an ambush. A task which you have accomplished admirably, I would like to add. I can see now why Professor Darius picked you for his little spy game."

"They're going to kill you. They want you dead, Marcus."

He shrugs. "Well, I suppose they have their reasons. Luckily, you're here to protect me now, isn't that so?"

"You're not listening…"

"I am listening perfectly, Dominique!" he snaps. He's up from his desk in an instant, and I flinch back. I actually fucking flinch, like he's going to hit me or something. He'd better not hit me. I'm the only friend he's got.

"I think you underestimate my intelligence," he says. "I've seen the files that Professor Darius tried to keep hidden from me. He wanted them burned before he died, but I couldn't let that happen. Because that creature, the one they call Knives, that's big news. News like that, it's everyone's business."

"He was trying to protect people. He knew what would happen if word got out…"

"Yes," Marcus says. "A panic, I suppose. Most people are quite unreasonable. Not like you, Dominique. Or me. We know what to do with information like that. We turn it to our advantage."

"You don't understand. He's not just a power source for you to harness. He's alive. He's smart as hell, and he's dangerous."

"So they said about the Plants. But my ancestors were not afraid. They knew that we were human, and so we were exceptional. And it was our destiny to reign over everything on earth and amongst the stars. So while the greatest minds of their generation were cowering behind Geiger counters and peer reviewed journals, they found a way to cage those batteries, and harness them, and tame them. And look at what it's gotten us."

And I think of the desert out there, and how it doesn't even take a thing like that to make you realize you're insignificant. "Yeah," I say. "Just look."

Marcus laughs cheerfully. "Don't say that. Don't pretend you think that just anyone deserves what I have. Good things," he says, tapping his hand on the oak desk, "You have to earn. Or you have to take. And I'm going to take the crown right from Knives' head. I'm going to take the throne right out from under him."

"Darius knew the only thing we could do was kill him. Every moment we leave him alive is toxic to us."

"Darius lacked ambition. And, while his little assassination attempts against the creature were cute, I couldn't let them go on. Even a tiny yapping dog can land a lucky bite once in a while."

My eyes narrow. "Did you kill Darius?"

He shrugs. "Looks like you caught me. You're just too clever for me, my dear. I know you two were close, but don't try to tell me he was like a father to you or anything like that. He used you, and you know it as well as I do. When we brought you in from the desert and he saw that your eye had been damaged by the sand, he didn't even wait to see if they could fix it before starting injections of the Plant extract. You probably don't even remember, do you?"

"I remember," I say. But I'm not so sure.

"I didn't like it, Dominique. Even then. I respected you too much."

"Oh, shut up, Marcus."

"In fact, I still respect you. You've played a hell of a game, and even I can't figure out how much of it was skill and how much was luck. I know, deep down, you're still my girl. So why don't you come over here and wait with me, and once the shooting stops we'll go downstairs and I'll let you pump a few rounds into Legato's corpse?"

"I'm not going to help you get us all killed. He never would have noticed you here if you hadn't taken your father's experiments as far as you have. You've made so many fucking mutants that you can't even keep track of them anymore, can you?"

"I'll have you know, I have a very thorough records department, and quarterly audits. We're advancing by leaps and bounds here. If that were not the case, I would never have begun a regimen of Plant injections on myself."

I don't even see his hand move, he's so fast. Just one minute it's there at his side, the next it's stretched out towards me and there's a gun pointed at my face. A big heavy Colt revolver with sandalwood grips and muzzle that looks like it could blow a hole in the sun.

"Finest handgun ever made," Marcus says. And he laughs. "Held by one of the finest gunmen science can create. It feels just right in my hand, like an extension of my arm. So don't get any ideas, Dominique, because I never miss anymore. I never hesitate. I'm never too slow. And before you get any notions in your pretty little head about Legato and all the gory things he'll do to me, you should know that I've also had my central nervous system reinforced. Imagine, if you will, a green sheathe that fits neatly around brainstem and spinal column, and keeps my faculties well under my control."

"Gross."

"And yet, if this is what we can do with the batteries, imagine what we will be able to accomplish if we get a purer sample. One that is more compatible with human DNA. That's why I can't let you kill the creature. I'll go quite a long ways to stop that from happening. So, please, don't make me do anything I'll regret."

That gun in my face is making it hard to disagree, and it's not like I owe Marcus anything. It's not like it's my responsibility to make sure he doesn't go plunging headfirst into Knives' open jaws. And if I do what he says, at least I'll have a chance to get off this bum leg. But it kills me, you know? It really fucking kills me that he gets his way all the time.

I guess I'm probably about to let him shoot me out of spite, but just then there's a little sound, and the door opens. I don't dare let Marcus out of my sights, but I can see a little out of the corner of my eye.

I can see enough to know it's Legato.