Part Two: Weapon X

[WP] The mutations started to appear gradually. They were subtle at first. As the mutations spread they became more significant. As an investigative reporter, you discover that the mutations were not naturally occurring. The source was far more sinister.

*****

Derrick didn't know how to react to a strange woman who had somehow gained access to his house, so he went straight for the windows, looking outside and making sure no one suspicious was there before he closed the blinds.

"Two questions; instant answers or you get out, no matter who or what you know. Who are you and how the hell did you enter my house?"

The lady's smirk faltered, then she frowned and assumed a serious tone. "Anneliese Davies. I work at the hospital you visited this afternoon for your news report..."

He nodded, twirling my hand to signal her to continue.

"I'm an expert at picking locks, burglary, breaking..."

"I get the idea," Derrick muttered. "And why are you here?"

"Sorry, excuse the badass attitude I put on earlier," she smiled nervously. "I didn't know what kind of person you were, so I thought confidence - if not all a little bit of arrogance, was going to be my best bet. I'm here with information on the strange mutations - something you'd like to hear."

He frowned. "I heard everything I wanted to hear at the hospital today, and I reported it. Thanks, but no thanks. You can take your leave n..."

"I'm calling your bluff. That's bullshit, you and I both know that. Even if I hadn't overheard your exchange with your assistant before you took off, I saw it in the way you looked around, that hunger in your eyes. You're not just doing it because you want the biggest scoop. You want the truth, and I admire that. That's why I came here, I left work earlier than usual because I needed to make sure my suspicions were correct."

"And now that you've found out they are?" He asked

She smiled again, standing up.

"Then I can give you this...' she said, tossing an envelope towards Derrick. It was quite light, containing just a cuboidal object.

"Why would you package something like this in such a manner?" He asked skeptically.

"What? You're afraid I might be a suicide bomber sent by a mob to take care of you? And that's a letter bomb in your hands?"

His face was deadpan as he replied. "That can happen."

"Well, I'm up. Open it up and listen."

Derrick chose to take the risk, and luckily for him, the contents were just a hard drive. He connected the hard drive to my laptop and uploaded the single audio on the storage device before listening to it.

He was mind blown.

*****

The patient being interviewed was now dead, the cause of death being the most extreme case of the mutations.

His body had been distorted by several large tumors that suddenly started all parts of his body and proliferated to the point of death. But four days before his death, he was still able to speak, and the doctor recorded the dialogue.

*****

Anneliese: So how did you say this started? Patient: It was one week ago. A couple of men came to install something on the roof of my house. Said it was to maintain stable a internet connection. But I didn't receive any warning or update (cough) before this, so I turned them away. Besides, their vehicle seemed suspicious. A: That was all? P: No, the next day I saw one of them already climbing up the side of my house with a portable ladder. I forgot a few documents at home when I was rushing off, and if I hadn't I wouldn't have seen them... Sometimes I wish I didn't even see them. But I did. I attacked the ladder, forcing the man to fall on his shoulder. He must have broken it, from the way he hobbled off. Before he left, he just swore that I'd regret this. Said something about (cough) leaving me a (cough) Aarghhh!

A: we'll stop here for today. There's still a lot of time tomorrow and whenever to tell us you're story.

was damn sick, Derrick said to himself. "How can someone get so sick within a short period, without any underlying conditions?"

"That's the same question that made me investigate this. Normally, it shouldn't be possible, except there is a very infectious and dangerous agent causing this..."

"...an agent that has been specifically bioengineered to cause this phenomenon?"

"You're catching on fast. See this," she said, tossing Derrick a card. It was an ID card, and it belonged to one Sylvester Flynn. He worked for the Federal Institute of Biomedical Engineering.

"The man who fell from the ladder accidentally dropped this, and he also left his toolbox. Dropping this was a mistake, leaving the box was not." "So you're saying..."

"Sometime in the night, the toolbox exploded and he heard the sound, but didn't investigate it till morning. He said the whole area had this weird metallic smell, and he felt dizzy whenever he was around there. He did dispose of the toolbox and its contents, but...well you know the rest."

"And this isn't an isolated incident?"

"No. Other victims have also narrated some quite similar circumstances."

Derrick sat down, devastated. "Is the government greeting a biological weapon, using the public as guinea pigs?"

'Most likely."

Derrick stood up suddenly.

"If this is true, then we're not even safe here," he said, going to put his ear at the door.

But at that moment, the door was kicked in, and six operatives, armed to the teeth burst in, encircling the two, followed by a face Derrick knew all too well.

"You got that right, but it's too late," the Preside t of the NNC News Broadcasting Corporation said.

*****

Sorry, I took so long to post this, it's been a long couple of weeks.

What do you think? Like and comment.