Dave Barsby [Barsby - Endgame

Dave Barsby

ENDGAME

This book is a work of fiction. Names and characters are the product of the authors imagination and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Copyright 2019 Dave Barsby

All rights reserved

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Thanks to

Tim Nicholls and Dave Clissold for weathering spoilers and allowing me to bounce ideas off them, and for helping with the cover design.

Hannah Pepper for her proof-reading skills (so any mistakes are her fault).

Caroline ODonovan for her winning bid in a charity auction to have a character named after her son Niall (and Hannah again for matching the bid to get her mums name in here).

Brendon Downie for being my unofficial workplace advertising exec and marketing manager.

The staff of The Lord Nelson, Derby for keeping me going with beer and chat.

Hera the cat for staying fluffy and adorable in her dotage.

And my parents for always believing in me.

ONE

The following is based on situation reports from

Captain Jack Stone and Agent Alecto

The fate of the world hangs in the balance. We are the only ones who can save it.

Its a bit dramatic, isnt it Jack? General Armstrong Miller asked me, frowning.

Youre not pitching a movie to a studio, Captain Stone Director John Pittman agreed.

That was my opening gambit in a briefing to the North American Security Response Units top brass, and already it was failing.

Down a long table Pittman and Miller faced me. In between them a holotower had been set up to project the image of Permanent Undersecretary Savreau, the highest-ranking American who knew of the existence of our secret organization. Filtering down the sides of the table were further holotowers projecting some of NASRUs section heads and area chiefs.

I know, I responded, absorbing the feedback from Miller and Pittman. I am aware it seems a little over-the-top. But I genuinely do believe this is the case. We could be looking at the end of everything we know, and I dont feel I can be overly-dramatic in this case.

I was now aware my argument was not being helped by the large OLED screen behind me. In big bold letters it displayed the phrase THE END PLAN. An idea my team, Agents Alecto and Hera, came up with. They were currently sitting beside me looking a little guilty.

People, Madam Undersecretary called, Its very late. Can we revert back to a quick, professional presentation please?

I nodded, and began my briefing. Images flashed up on the screen behind me to highlight each aspect of my theory.

Due to recent events you are all now aware of the Alpha-rated top secret activity known as Project Omicron, a NASRU experiment to create super-soldiers that included our own Agent Hera.

I indicated the beautiful young woman sitting next to me. She gave a quick, shy smile to the crowd. The results of her experiment five years ago didnt need elaborating on the enhanced intelligence and skills offset by an accidental wiping of her entire memory and an uncontrollable need to follow any orders General Miller gave her.

The one truly successful subject of Project Omicron was Zeus Jackson, henceforth to be referred to by his final nom de plume Daniel Stringer. As you are aware, his intelligence was enhanced to the extent that it seemed like he could predict the future via logical analysis. In many ways we are still unsure if he actually could on some level.

Stringer broke free from our facility here in DC three years ago. In that time three separate agents were assigned to track him down and bring him in, dead or alive, for further study. I was the third agent assigned, and six months ago I managed to take him down.

Didnt exactly bring him in for study, though, did you? the Undersecretary mentioned. It seemed this was still a sore subject on some levels. From what I understand, you vaporized him along with the passenger jet he was in.

Iprevented him from enacting his plan, I countered. Stringer wanted to usurp the current government and install himself as the new President. He started this with a series of targeted bombings on government facilities and followed it up by leaking details of systemic corruption within the corridors of power, up to and very much including the President himself. As you are aware from the ongoing countrywide protests, occasional riots, a few street battles between rival political opinions, the souring of international relations, etcetera, etcetera, Stringer very much succeeded in exposing just how rotten our current government is.

Captain Stone, I advise you to consider your wording moving forward, the Undersecretary told me. We all know the stories, and some of us have personally dealt with less than salubrious situations involving the President. But saying the government is rotten is still an opinion. Many out there still support the President, citing fake news, alternative facts, spiteful political differences and jealousy as among the reasons why the President is being unfairly attacked. Some of those people may be in this room today, so I advise you to present testifiable facts only.

Yes, Maam. Apologies. It was Stringers belief that our government was rotten and corrupt, and he leaked to the public what he saw to be the facts. This led to confusion and bitterness in the country, and a large percentage of the public no longer believed the President should still be in office. This is exactly what Stringer wanted. The next stage of his plan was to assassinate the President himself, then amid all the resulting chaos and battle for power emerge as the perfect new candidate someone who wasnt just for the people, but one of the people. As such, he believed in a year or two he would be installed as the new POTUS. Of course heermvaporized before he could assassinate the President, but enough damage had already been done to our political system and public perceptions.

That was six months ago. Three months ago saw the release of the Redeye Virus by one of our former, highly-regarded agents: Sebastian Keiler. The virus was initially developed to DNA-target five hundred prominent individuals.

Who? asked Pittman.

And how do you know that? the Undersecretary added.

We do not know who, I countered. But I believe it is safe to assume they were people, nationally and internationally, who were the greatest threat to The End Plan.

The End Plan? Miller shrugged.

I paused and held up one finger, indicating I would get to that aspect later. The reason why I know the virus was supposed to only kill five hundred, and why there is an End Plan, is because Keiler himself told me. The End Plan, from what I gleaned, was to create a new world order where the rich-poor divide, political corruption and maybe even the concepts of countries, borders and monetary systems were things of the past.

But the virus didnt just kill five hundred, NASRUs Mid-West chief Samuels pointed out. At the last estimate it killed nearly 150 million worldwide. Thats more than the Black Death and Spanish Flu put together.

Yes. Keiler and the Redeye Virus were supposed to be part of that plan to kill five hundred, but Keiler grew tired of the long, slow game. He effectively initiated a coup and took the Redeye for himself, altering it to be lethal to everyone. He then released it, hoping to speed up the end process by wiping out most of the planet and leaving just a few hundred thousand survivors to restart humanity using a new societal blueprint.

I know about this one, the Undersecretary interrupted. I became involved a little. So, a former NASRU Agent, Keiler, was going to kill five hundred people. He then changed his mind and decided to kill everyone. The CDC and your Agent Alecto managed to create a cure, but not before 150 million died. Thats 300,000 times more people than Keiler initially planned. Meanwhile you, Captain, blew up part of Los Angeles in your attempt to capture Keiler, but killed him instead meaning he couldnt be interrogated for extra information. In the process you saved the life of a popstar by faking her death, have been forced to let a journalist follow you on future assignments, and almost exposed both yourself and NASRU to the general public to the extent that I believe there is a popular meme out there of you jumping a motorbike onto an overpass. Is that a fair summation?