Chapter 50
Private Stingray Bathysphere - Outside Paupers Drop
Edward sat and watched through the large glass canopy. They had settled the Bathysphere into a stationary position beside one of the large windows that looked in on Paupers Drop. He'd watched the ADAM flood in, and watched the carnage that followed unfold. He clasped both hands tightly, and sat back into the leather seat.
The excessive use of Plasmids, by a large concentration of splicers with a vast supply of fresh ADAM, had now resulted in a large fire - an inferno that was consuming the Fishbowl Diner and spreading quickly. He sighed, "It's going to take forever to get them under control again..."
Boxer just grunted in agreement. "Do see a return to normality after this shit-show?" He sarcastically snapped. Edward flinched at the abruptness of the remark.
"As long as Jack Ryan is dead, yes." He picked up his radio, and switched to Bear's frequency. "Excellent work Bear - you got us back on track just in time!"
Bear replied almost immediately. "Sir..." He was about to continue, but in his desperate bid to maintain the illusion of confidence, Edward interrupted.
"Now have your men take Dr Wells and my re-programmed Genetic Key back to my office in Hephaestus. We have some serious damage control to do... I want you meanwhile to personally lead the team to quell the fighting in Paupers Drop and make sure Jack Ryan is dead. I want his Body - you hear me?" His mind began to race away with itself, thinking of what he would do next. "
"Sir..." Bear tried again,
"Quickly Bear, I need you in there now. We need survivors - as many as possible, but Jack Ryan can't be one of them!" Edward demanded.
"Would you shut up, he's trying to tell you something, if you'll fuckin' listen to something other than your own voice..." Boxer growled, turning in his seat to glare at his master. Edward was stunned, and certainly scared. Whilst fighting to hide the fear Boxer filled him with, Edward turned up the volume on the radio.
"Sir... Wells is dead. Shot herself. She never turned control back over to you before she did it. We're stuck."
Edward took the news as well he would a punch to the face, and swore. "Fucking hell! Fuck!" He began to kick the floor and slap his own face in a rage, tearing at his hair. "What is it with these people? What is fucking wrong with them?" He shouted back down the radio at Bear.
"Round up whatever fuck-wit programmers you can find still alive down there and send them to me instead. But I need you to hurry up and get to the drop - bring me Jack Ryan's corpse, now!"
Atlantic Express Depot
The Express Carriage had taken them to the end of the line, and finally rolled into a maintenance bay in the central Atlantic Express hub. The lower levels were entirely flooded, and the lights were failing. The small group sat huddled together in the carriage, as Jack sat and watched the little girls playing with some number bricks and dolls they'd managed to hang on to.
"Do you ever remember being that young?" He asked the two Big Sisters sat beside him. Ellie had come along the most with expressing herself, and was the first to answer.
"Not really. I remember faces - a woman, and a man with strange eyes. A big nasty man with a shiny head who kept telling them off. I remember dreaming - I used to dream of angels all the time. Dancing angels." She quietly explained.
"I remember the lady with the glasses... she was scary. She told us to stay away from Eleanor. Eleanor used to be my best friend." Beth added.
"Are both of you ready to see the sun?" Jack asked, finally. "Ready to leave Rapture?"
The girls exchanged nervous looks, and didn't answer at first, looking down at their feet. The group of little sisters seemed to prick up also, listening eagerly.
"The surface is a bad place... scary." A little sister began to cry, clutching a teddy with only one eye. Jack remembered how Ryan and his ilk had worked hard to instill a fear of the surface world in the young, to stop them ever pining for it, and to prevent any childhood curiosity growing strong enough to turn into action when they were older.
"The bad people told you that, because they were scared of the surface. But it's better than Rapture, I promise you. It's very, very big! But there are lots of nice people, very nice people." Jack gently explained to the crying little sister, hoping his words would bolster Ellie and Beth's agreement already to follow him back to the surface. He turned to them, and made a decision.
"Girls, I need you to do something now for me. Take these little one, and get them to a Bathysphere. We must hope that whatever happened in Minerva's Den didn't end with them being locked back down. I then need you to take them up top-side, up to the surface."
The two Big Sisters looked terrified, "The surface, without you? We can't! The Bad people may get..." Beth began to protest.
"There will be no bad people when you get there Beth. There won't be anybody at first - we are a long way from the rest of the world. I need you to get these girls up to safety, away from Rapture. When you break through the surface, there will be a tall tower - a lighthouse." Jack explained.
"Like in the ride - like in 'Journey to the surface'?" another little sister asked, worried.
"Yes! That's right, that very lighthouse." Jack smiled, and ruffled her hair playfully. "I need you all to wait for me there. Take some Pep Bars and water - any food you can find on your way to the Bathysphere. Then wait for me inside the lighthouse."