Three Months Later – President (Former Senator) Angus Mengsk’s Headquarters
“No…” said President Angus Mengsk into the COM, and then paused as the other began to speak.
“NO!” he said again, pausing again when the other tried to put a word in edgewise.
“I don’t care about rumors on the street! That does not concern me right now, what does concern me is re-establishing our colony! I don’t care what some immature punk has to say,” yelped Angus Mengsk into the phone, “NO! I don’t want to hear any more! NO! I’m spending tonight with my family! NO GODDAMNIT!”
The official on the other end of the line opened his mouth to speak but before his message reached the president’s hand mashed the ‘End Call’ button, and the visual image went blank.
***
17 Floors Below – Security Room
“But Mr. Pres –“ and then was forced to stop as the image of Angus Mengsk in front of Captain James Carter flickered, and was replaced by blackness.
Carter slumped back into his cushioned chair, and sighed. The two officers on either side of him stared at him awkwardly. As he turned towards them though, each frantically looked away and began to wildly search the vast array of screens situated in front of them for anything unusual.
“Jeff…” began Carter slowly, as the man to the right continued surveying the cameras.
“Jeff, I want you to post double security… assign three of our best men to the Presidents quarters, take everyone off break, post them wherever they’re needed.”
“B-but sir,” replied Jeff, his face looking creased and worried, “the President just said to—,” but then stopped as Carter turned and looked at him, his face hard, “Yes sir,” he said, punching in a few buttons, while he muttered under his breath. “Sir are you sure we won’t ge—“
He never finished his sentence as the door slid open behind them and a figure stepped in, a pistol held in his hand. He fired just two shots. Each of the security guards’ heads exploded with a crack as the bullet pierced through their skulls, and sent bits of bone, blood and brain spraying out of their foreheads and onto the screens in front of them.
Instinctively Carter reached down and whipped his pistol out of its holster, while at the same time forcing the chair to fall to the side, himself still on it. Above him a bullet shattered on of the screens sending sparks and pieces of glass raining down upon Carter, who was now lying down, the chair in front of him, pistol in hand.
A few sharp hisses interrupted the near-silence as three bullets spit from the assailants gun, followed by a few dull thuds as it ripped through the chairs soft fabric, to find it’s way into Carter’s stomach on the other side. Carter screamed as the bullets pierced the non-vital areas of his chest, and blood dripped from his wounds.
He lay their groaning, his glazed over eyes facing the ceiling. The last thing the saw was a long black cylinder that never quite came into focus before his head exploded in a burst of red blood and brain tissue.
It is done.
Good.
***
Outside
Across the street from the President’s fortress-like mansion the sniper loaded a single shell into the rifle, with two letters sloppily painted in dark blue, LD. Pulling back the bolt on the rifle the figure smiled as the new round chambered.
Taking quick aim, and choosing his target carefully he let the one bullet spew forth, a suppressed burst of fire sending it upon it’s way, leaving only rippling air in it’s wake.
Across the street a giant mechanical Goliath walker toppled over forward, it’s foot stopping in mid step, as all of it’s systems blinked red on the display, each labeled with the word ‘Offline’.
Inside the pilot screamed in agony as the glass cockpit shattered and the metal backing crushed in behind him, forcing his spinal cord into an awkward and twisted position. He tried to wriggle free but his body would respond.
Guards gathered around the fallen and broken walker, unable to help the screaming pilot inside because the cockpit had shattered off, and the walker was molded into the shape of the ground, effectively imprisoning the pain-stricken pilot.
It would have been hard to notice the figure that stalked by silently in the shadows, sneaking towards the guard door that hung open in the side of the building.
Invisible, the figure stepped through the doorway, stalking quietly down the halls until he came to a door, two guards on either side of it. Reaching down for the pistol that was still in its holster, never having been used, he advanced.
Quickly he pulled the trigger twice, and two corpses replaced two men. Grabbing the security card off of one of the guards he swiped it down the slot and the door slid open before him. Quietly he ascended the stairs upwards towards the Presidents quarters. Another closely followed him. Neither spoke nor thought.
The door on the fifteenth floor slid open before the two assassins. Two corpses were left in their wake, their expressions frozen in silent screams.
Around every corner a security camera swiveled and rotated searching for any sign of the invisible assailants. It found none, for obvious reasons.
As they neared the Presidents quarters the two ghosts took separate ways… one heading to his room… one heading to the presidents private security room where in fact the staff was preparing for his arrival, the heat sensing cameras (which, unfortunately, the president could only afford to put into his own quarters) catching every move.
However, the ghost was not unprepared as the door slid open in front of him and bullets spewed into the opening. Only heightened reflexes saved the ghost from annihilation as he quickly dodged back the way he had come.
Quickly snatching a bio-grenade from his belt he launched into the room sending it ricocheting off the wall and into the room. There was no time to react as deadly parasites were launched all around the room, burrowing into the guards skin and infecting their blood stream with egg sacs that not only reproduced, but produced nurturing liquid poisoned the host. All in less than a minutes time.
Screaming was heard for a few long moments as the guards writhed and spasmed into pain on the floor, the poison now infecting and disintegrating the red and white blood cells, as well as riding them to the brain were the poison quickly spread burning the soft brain matter.
Once they had finished sucking their pray, these parasites could not survive in the open air for more than a few seconds. Finding no one else to infect they soon shuddered and died.
The ghost stalked into the room surveying the aftermath and wallowing in the sheer horror of it all, watched with pleasure the twisted screaming shapes of the mangled, wrinkled bodies. Tapping a few buttons on the control console all the cameras in the president’s quarters shuddered to a halt, their sensors shutting down.
It is safe. Go now.
Good.
On signal the second ghost advanced through the hallway,l arriving at the door to the presidents quarters where four armed guards stood watch each wearing a small transparent visor, information flitting through it.
Quickly the ghost’s gun snapped up, as did the guards. The ghost fired one shot before he was forced to dodge back around the corner from which he had just come.
The ghost was forced to retreat even further down the hall as a grenade bounced around the corner and exploded sending shrapnel and fire down the hallway, threatening to engulf the black figure.
Meanwhile the other ghost was making his way towards the president’s quarters where the ghost was fleeing down the hallway to escape the fire that came spewing forth. As the ghost rounded the corner he came to a sudden halt as six armed guards fitted with the same visors as the other four rushed through the doorway heading in the same direction as the ghost.
One, glancing behind him caught only a glimpse of the heat signal before spider cracks laced his visor, and blood covered his companions, who saw only a gaping hole in the back of the guard’s head. Two more fell before the others reacted and forced the ghost to disappear round the bend. The survivors hurried in pursuit. In their haste, they didn’t see it coming… another parasite grenade.
Quickly the guard was infected and fell to the floor screaming in pain as his brain decayed within his skull. The other two guards did not stay to watch any more, putting enough distance between themselves and the parasites. The ghost sprinted after them, his suit providing ample protection from the bugs.
More are coming.
As the two guards rounded the bend each was greeted with a different sight. One saw a long black cylinder, the other saw a black figure, now un-cloaked holding a gun to the other mans head. A noise behind him caused him to spin around. Now they both saw the same thing. Two hisses split the silence. They both saw nothing.
The other four guards still held their guns at the ready as the ghosts only remaining bio-grenade bounced around the corner. The guards turned to run but found nowhere to go, the door to the president’s chambers blocking their very escape.
The ghosts put bullets into each of their writhing bodies as they passed by, opening the door up ahead. Stepping in they saw nothing except for the door to the president’s balcony hanging open.
Quickly the ghosts ran towards the door. Outside the president his wife and his young daughter, Amelia, barely seven stood close to the edge watching something.
Before they could take aim, three long ropes uncoiled from the roof, a soldier attached to each. The first stretched his hands out to the little girl. She hesitates, but was reassured by her parents that they will soon follow. She clambered onto the soldier, only to recoil away as blood spurted onto her angelic face and onto her newly combed brown hair. Screamed and crying she backed away towards the glass door.
Quickly the other two guards spun around in an attempt to find the assailant, but to no avail as two more bullets spit from the assassin’s gun finding their way into each of the guard’s heads.
Slowly the ghosts marched forward grabbing the screaming girl by her hair and yanking her to her fight, while in the same moment drawing a long machete from its sheath.
“MOMMY,” screamed the little girl through choked down tears, “DADD—“.
She was cut short as the knife sliced through the skin on her neck and wound its way through the rest of it, eventually emerging at the other side, her body dropping to the floor.
It was a nightmarish scene as the one black ghost stood, his hand and the knife stained red as fresh blood flowed from the small girl’s neck, her face caught in eternal pain. Walking over the second ghost, snickering as the wife cowered against the rail, drew his knife.
Thrusting himself in-between the ghost and his wife, president Angus Mengsk put up his hands to fight the ghost. Alas, he was a politician, not a fighter, his attempts were all but in futile. The ghost blocked his punches with ease and in one swift action grabbed his arm and snapped the bone in two. Angus Mengsk screamed in pain and fell to the floor.
He was forced to watch as the ghost marched over to his cowering wife grabbed her by her hair, forced her struggling form to his feet. In one motion the ghost sliced through her neck, decapitating her, her body toppling over at the feet of Mengsk, who was hoisting himself up, but found himself kicked down by the ghost that had murdered his child.
“Our employer isn’t happy with you Angus.”
Suddenly a searing pain gripped Mengsk as he the knife touched pushed sharply into the skin under his chin, causing blood to drip down his neck, staining his suit. Angus Mengsk prayed as the knife severed his head from his lifeless body.
Guards rushed into the room and over to the balcony but found nothing, except the bodies of the president his child and his wife, there heads were never seen again.
***
“President Angus Mengsk of Korhal, his wife, Julia, and his seven year old daughter Amelia were found dead today on the balcony of his house. This came as a shock to many of his misguided supporters. It was just a few months ago when he lead a ruthless war against the confederacy in an attempt to break away from the confederacy, for reasons unknown.”
Then the camera shifted from the young female reporter to an older male who continued the report.
“Security camera recordings show that Angus Mengsk was himself the murderer of his wife and daughter and then committed suicide after he realized what he had done. Here’s the tape now.”
Starting small and growing larger to occupy the whole screen a black and white image flashed up showing Mengsk’s young wife and daughter walking out onto the balcony and looking out at the stars. Shortly after Mengsk followed, the camera just getting a glimpse of the maniacal smile on his face. In his hand he held a pistol.
Slowly he advanced behind his wife and child, and then asked softly, so softly in fact the cameras could barely pick it up.
“Honey?”
“Yes dear?” replied the wife turning around.
She turned and found herself staring down the barrel of the pistol. A scream was about to gurgle out of her throat when Angus Mengsk pulled the trigger and the video screen went black, returning to the two reporters.
“The rest of the tape was not suited for public viewing.”
“Next… Telepathic humans, could it be more than just fantasy, could it be reality, government begins investigations.”
Switching off the view screen the Confederate President smiled wickedly.
