Evil Genius (Part 11)

Chapter 3

Meg sat on the cot in the bedroom that was her prison and carefully rewrapped her wrist in the ace bandage. The idiot guards weren’t much for medical care. In fact they weren’t much for anything except following orders, preferably those involving putting their meaty, oversized fists into some poor sap’s nether regions or dragging some even more unfortunate soul by the hair out to the chopping block.

That thought made her pause mid-wrap. Tomorrow that unfortunate soul was going to be her.

She had made peace with that fact, but that didn’t make her indifferent to it. Even if this was hell on Earth and each day was agony, who knew what the alternative was? Then, of course, there was the anxiety involving the actual procedure itself. They say that decapitation is quick and painless. But they were also the same geniuses who at one time had decided that the Earth was flat, that leeches could cure diseases, and that the best thing for those nagging headaches was a simple frontal lobotomy. There was no getting around the fact that quite often, they ended up being completely full of shit.

But best now to put all that out of her head. She had made up her mind and that was the end of it. All she could do now was make herself as comfortable as possible and maybe try to think of one final way to slit Ivan’s wretched throat as she was led to her execution. And with that pleasant thought in her head, she resumed wrapping her aching wrist and finished just as her door opened and The Doctor stepped into the room.

Instantly her pulse quickened and her blood started to boil with revulsion, but she remained silent. She loathed his presence with every fiber of her being. The only thing that helped her maintain even a fraction of her composure was constantly picturing that stupid smug face of his drenched in a pool of his own blood.

But as he approached her, she saw that there was something different about him tonight. The walk, a mixture of pride and cockiness, was the same. The steely gaze was as piercing as ever. Yet, there seemed to be something else just behind it. If she didn’t already know that it wasn’t possible, she’d have sworn that Ivan the Destructor was actually scared.

He stopped a few feet from her and looked down at her.

“I’ve come tonight because, even though it goes against every impulse in my body, I’m willing to be merciful and grant you another opportunity to recant your previous refusal and carry on with our prior arrangement.”

Meg leaned back and rested on her good hand and looked up at him somewhat inquisitively. Definitely something different about him.

“Is that so?”

“Yes”

Meg laughed out loud, surprising both of them.

“This really bothers you doesn’t it? You destroyed the most powerful man on the planet and brought the world to its knees, but you just can’t stand the idea that someone actually said ‘no’ to you and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Meg was sure that this outburst was going to get her slapped, if not executed right here on the spot. Or at the very least that he was going to cut her off abruptly or walk out of the room. Instead he just stood their silently with a puzzled look on his face. So she continued, gathering steam as she went.

“God, you’re like a toddler being told to put the candy down. This is your version of a temper tantrum isn’t it? You just haven’t the first idea what makes people tick. I’m not talking about heroes like Terry, or ego-maniacs like Presidents and CEOs. I mean regular ordinary people that get up every morning and go to work not because they want to or because they think it’ll bring them riches or glamour but because there are people that love them and depend on them and that’s what they have to do to make sure that those people don’t starve and have someplace warm and dry to sleep. It’s called altruism you sad, miserable excuse for a man. But you wouldn’t know the meaning of the word if someone painted it on the side of a 100-foot cruise missile and shoved it up your ass. Oh no; if you can’t blow-up, maim, poison, rape, pillage, or stab it you’re just completely clueless. Other than actually doing one of those the only other arrow in your quiver is threatening to do one of those. Well, I’ve got news for you jackass. Threats only work on people who have something to lose, and you’ve already taken everything from me. My friends, family, career, Terry - they’re all gone thanks to you. The last thing you can take from me is my life, and I’ll gladly give it to you rather than have to endure that pompous smug look on your face for one more day! So that’s it Doctor, this is one round you don’t win because your arsenal is empty.”

She hadn’t so much said the words as chewed on them and spat them out. By the time she was finished she was out of breath and trembling, but she felt incredible. Whatever happened to her now, she would know that she had looked pure evil in the face, laughed at it, and told it how small it really was. There was some small morsel of triumph in that.

Now Ivan, still silent, slowly turned and walked over to the chair on the far side of the room and sat down. He leaned his head against the wall and fixed his gaze on her. No - not on her, Meg decided – through her. There was a vacant and distant look in his eyes, like he was somewhere else, and suddenly Meg was reminded of the night she had snuck up behind him in the Oval office and almost slit his throat. Now, with a tilt of his head and a slight adjustment to his gaze, he was back and looking at her.

“What about bribery?” He asked, simply.

Meg almost laughed again.

“Bribery?!?! Are you joking, or just terminally stupid? Have you not listened to a word I’ve said? You have taken everything that I care about in this world from me, and there’s nothing you can do to change that. What is it that you think you could possibly offer me that I would care about, short of your own head on a stick on the Mall?”

But instead of taking it in the mocking and insulting manner in which she had meant it, he seemed to have found her remark rather amusing. He smiled that famous icy half-sneer and slowly shook his head.

“Nothing, I suppose. To you, I can’t offer anything at all.”

And with that he stood up and made his way to the door and opened it. Without turning, he said, “Thank you Ms. Cortland, you’ve earned the right to keep your head for at least another night.”

As the door closed and bolted behind him, a feeling of dread washed over her. She had no idea how it had happened, but somehow in all that had just transpired she felt that she had someohow managed to help out Dr. Destructo. She immediately ran into the bathroom and threw up.