Before I could get a better look at the individual names, the screen changed and displayed another batch of weapons of mass destruction in different cities; every 30 seconds, it would change again, revealing more and more cities worldwide.
"Renton, I'm seeing almost every class of Ballistic missile here, everything from tactical to intercontinental; and their payloads are also vastly different." Holding my chin with my left hand, I rubbed my face before narrowing my eyes to focus on the small writing.
"From what I see online, their designation corresponds with the size of the city whose name they match on the nosecone. These things all have the range to hit their targets, and based on the bunkers alone, I can't say if they are all in one area or all over the world." Renton clarified my statement while smacking away on the laptop's keyboard.
Catching onto our conversation's flow, my Dad soon interjected and tossed his two cents in.
"I see multiple silo types. It's not just one base; I can see four different types of missile silos they are being launched from. Desert, Water, mountainous, and what I assume to be an open snow field." Hearing his input, Renton and I turned and stared at him with confused expressions.
"Care to enlighten us, Pops?" I asked, one hundred percent convinced that he was telling the truth.
He moved closer to the TV and started pointing out small details like one of the silos had snow around the base of the Missile. In contrast, others had sand or different dirt or particulates, indicating each location's diverse climate.
"Not only are they set for specific ranges, but they were strategically placed. I want to know how that psycho moved all these weapons without anyone noticing." Punching the carpeted floor, I stood up and started pacing back and forth.
"Who's saying that no one noticed, Dean? It is likely that this madman either cleans up loose ends well or has higher-ups on his payroll to do it for him. Either way, it shouldn't surprise you that he pulled this stunt off, considering he did kidnap and execute two heads of state." Dad responded without tearing his eyes from the Tv.
Raising an eyebrow, I looked from my Dad to Renton and noticed it wasn't just me impressed with my Dad's attention to detail. Neither Renton nor I had caught the slight differences in each image, and once it was brought to our attention, it seemed to be all we could focus on.
Unfortunately, before we could gather more intel, the screen shifted, and that chilling voice we had grown accustomed to came through the speakers.
"Well, hello again, everyone; I hope everyone had enough time to locate one of my toys with their City's name on it."
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Carleigh shivering across the room when his voice came over the airwaves.
With a quick fade to black, a full-screen version of The Cyber Bombardier, Niklaus Fastay replaced the image of the missiles.
"You have just seen my Short to Long range Ballistic Missiles arsenal; as I'm sure some of you have been able to determine, these weapons all have a target; each one will be hitting a city without a doubt. To be clearer, every major city in the world has a bull's eye painted on it."
"Now, before you start to panic, let me nip some of these frantic rumors I've been reading in the budd. Not a single one of my toys is a nuclear-capable weapon of mass destruction."
Hearing this new information, Chase, Tristian, and Carleigh released an audible sigh of relief; however, Renton, Dad, and I stiffened as a single question floated in our heads. If the missles didn't carry a nuclear payload, what did they have installed on board?
"But Niklaus, if they aren't nuclear bombs, then what are they?" As if hearing our thoughts, Niklaus held up his right hand and treated it like a puppet while condescendingly speaking in a strange voice.
"Great, he's talking to himself now," I grumbled, only to be met by a collective shushing sound from Chase, Carleigh, Renton, and Tristian.
"Tsk tsk, Mini-Mi, these aren't nuclear weapons but something special, for you see, their payload is so much more important to the fabric of my new society than a simple Atom Bomb."
"Un, un, I see, I see." The hand puppet bobbed up and down, nodding like a real person.
"Contrary to a normal bomb, whose only goal is destruction, my special toys will instead rip apart the last bit of normalcy holding together the mundane lives of the people of Earth, and with my planned missile strikes, I shall single-handedly usher in a new era."
"An Era where ANYTHING is possible, and I'm not limiting things to just the imagination, things that no one would have ever thought were real, will overnight become the new norm."
"When I unleash these toys, I shall change the world and create something that even THE GODS' THEMSELVES WILL COME TO ENVY."
"For years, I have prophesized change; for years, I have warned the world's governments to prepare, and what did I get? Instead of praise, I was called a lunatic, a madman who could say nothing but falsities. Well, people of Earth, the time is now!"
With an exaggerated flourish of his hand, Niklaus clutched at the air, and the timer, which had been stationary in the corner of the screen, moved.
"There are now only five minutes left; the clock never truly stopped. It was just a sleight of hand to distract you from cowering in fear and panicking. That way, I would get my message to you before it began."
His words caused Renton's head to snap in my direction; he knew I had been keeping track of the timer and was looking to see if the new clock on the screen matched the time left on my wristwatch.
Gulping, I slowly looked down at my watch, and to my horror, the times matched perfectly.
Niklaus was telling the truth, but that wasn't what scared me; if he wasn't lying about the time remaining, did that mean all the fanciful words he used to describe his actions were true too? Was the world about to change?
Struggling to get a grip on my rapidly fluctuating emotions, I looked at everyone around the room to see how they were taking the news, and as expected, Carleigh had burst into tears while holding her sons closely to her chest.
Having received my confirmation, Renton had set aside the laptop and propped his elbows on his knees before resting his chin on a balled-up fist.
Upon further inspection, I saw his right hand trembling as it covered his clenched left fist.
His eyes scanned every square inch of the television as he analyzed everything he could, but it wasn't enough for him, and he knew he was powerless, which made him even angrier.
Our Father was the only person as calm as me; he was just sitting silently with his arms crossed over his chest.
Between his body language and the Stoney expression on his face, I recognized that my Dad seemed to know something none of us did, but what was the question?
"Dad, what aren't you telling us?" Unable to contain my curiosity, I spoke up, causing Renton's head to swivel toward me, then Dad's direction. Unsurprisingly, in his anger, Renton hadn't noticed our Father's reaction at all.
But luck wasn't on our side because Niklaus cut in with yet another fanatic speech before my Dad could answer.
"Each one of my toys will hit its mark within minutes after launch, and, although I would LOVE to tell you where they are coming from, that would pull back the curtain I have spent so much effort to create to keep a veil of secrecy on this project," Niklaus stated with a twisted grin on his face.
As he spoke, the screen transformed and split in half, revealing a singular, strange missile with the words Washington DC written in bold, golden text on the nosecone.
My eyes narrowed in rage as I understood that this was the missile meant for the Capitol of the United States.
"DAMN IT," Seeing this new missile, Dad stomped his feet and jumped up abruptly, startling everyone in the room, myself included, and causing us to look at him for answers.
"THESE AREN'T THE TYPE OF WEAPONS WE'VE MISTAKEN THEM FOR FROM THE BEGINNING! LOOK THERE!" Raising his voice, my Dad closed in on the TV and pointed to a symbol pasted onto the left side of the missile.
"Mother fucker…is that the god damn Biohazard Symbol!" Now on my feet, I raced to get closer to the TV and even placed my face against the flat digital display screen.
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