Kyle seemed unaffected by my outburst. "You think I would lie to you?"
"Is that a rhetorical question? You're not my father! You filth!"
"330417291559, is that enough proof for you?"
I felt all the blood drain out of my once burning face. He knew my barcode. Despite the fact I didn't have it anymore, he knew it nonetheless. It was the very thing that could control me beyond the clutches of Manticore, for it would always be there. Always part of the stinging memories. Trying to regain my control of the situation, I countered, "So? Lydecker knows our barcodes, and he's not our father. You're still a liar."
Kyle rose to his feet, but wasn't any taller than I. In fact, he was slightly shorter, but he didn't seem to notice or care. Of course, I noticed because this height difference gave me an advantage over him. "What about the physical resemblance?" Kyle hissed, his face pressed close against mine. "Your girlfriend even mentioned them back in the bar. You know it's true. Quit denying yourself the truth. It's not very honorable like a soldier should be."
"Where's Lydecker?" I asked quietly, knowing what I had to do.
Kyle laughed. "Like I really would tell you. All that matters is that you're coming back to Manticore."
"No!" I screamed, my loud voice cutting through the stark silence. "I would rather die than go back-"
"Would you like to meet your mom?" he asked me.
"What? No, I don't, because you don't know her! You're a filthy lying-"
"You think if you just push all the truth away it's suddenly going to disappear? I'm not going anywhere, Zack. Just like Manticore will never leave you. You can erase the barcode, but you can't erase genetics-can you?" He smiled, and, for a split second, I thought he was going to reconsider his option in taking me back. He actually seemed like he genuinely cared about me. Reaching up as if to touch my hair, he said, "They did a good job on you…I did a good job on you."
I slapped his hand away with more force than necessary. "No, I created myself, you only tried to destroy the person I was."
Kyle sighed, almost sadly. "That's where you're wrong." He paused and I saw, with my precise vision, that he was slipping a gun out of his denim jacket. I would've moved to attack, but the next thing I knew, there was a gun pointed directly at my face.
"You won't kill me," I told him.
"Of course not, you're far too valuable for that." That's when I noticed that he wasn't holding a regular gun, but a tranquilizing one. It was a much cruder model than Manticore's, but it would do the job for him nonetheless. "It's been nice, Zack." He smiled cruelly. "I'm just sorry for all those missed Father's Days."
"Consider it a present," I sneered. Without warning, I kicked one leg out, knocking the gun away. It fell to the carpeting below and Carly scrambled to get it. Kyle began to rush away, but I grabbed him by the back of the neck, and we met eyes. Father and son.
"Good bye, Dad."
"You won't kill me," he said, echoing my statement only seconds before. It was over before he knew what had happened. His head rolled loosely on his shoulders, neck broken, and the body fell to the ground below, his eyes rolled upward in their sockets.
I turned away, not sure whether to cry or to laugh. He had been my dad my entire life, even though I had never known it. And now I knew. It was something that not very many of us were able to find out-our parents. What I had done to him had been cruel, I would admit that, but it was necessary. Despite our ties together, he would've taken me back to the place that haunted my nightmares and always would.
Carly approached me, laying a comforting hand on my shoulder. I felt the tears forming in my eyes. Damn emotions. "You know," I whispered to her, staring at the body of Kyle and not looking at her.
"I know enough." She watched me closely, struggling to contain my sadness. "He was father. You have a right to cry," she told me sympathetically.
As much as I may have wanted to cry, I couldn't, not in front of her, of course. I swallowed the hard lump in my throat and turned away from Kyle. "He was a man that shared some DNA with me…nothing more."