Outside Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Number One sat in his chair, his frustration, anger, and disappointment, threatening to overwhelm him. Years of planning had been for naught, the news reports spreading of celebrations in the streets, of once distrusting neighborhoods, embracing one another despite their cities still being in chaos.
It was over.
They had failed, and he stood alone on the Assembly Council. He tore his eyes away from the news report and returned his attention to his computer, skimming through the files on the final three candidates he had chosen for his new Number Two. They were all good choices, though there was no guarantee any or all of them would accept the offer to join, for it was a lifelong commitment, with no way to change one’s mind.
He remembered when he was Number Twelve, so many decades ago. It had been exciting and terrifying, but as the years progressed, and he slowly worked his way toward his current position, the excitement had worn off, the fear had disappeared, and the overwhelming responsibility had taken over.
The future of mankind rested on his shoulders.
An awesome responsibility. A responsibility he couldn’t bear alone.
The door opened behind him and he motioned to the end of his desk without looking. “Just put it there, Margaret.” He continued to read the file when he finally noticed his coffee hadn’t been delivered.
He glanced over his shoulder and suppressed a gasp, though he feared his eyes betrayed his true feelings. “Nadja Katz.”
She bowed slightly. “Number One.”
He squared himself in his chair, gripping the arms, his knuckles turning white. “I assume you’re here to kill me.”
Katz nodded slightly. “You assume correctly.”
He sighed. He had always believed he would have been killed by one of his predecessors, but when he had made it to his current position, he had lived under the assumption he would survive until his body finally gave out, never again worrying about assassination.
Anonymity had its advantages, though as he had discovered when he finally became Number One and had been fully briefed, the truth wasn’t completely what he had believed.
“May I implore you to change your mind?”
“No.”
“But in killing me, you risk an organization that has been around for longer than you can imagine, bettering mankind.”
Katz stared at him, unmoved. “You should know me enough to know that I don’t care about mankind, or its betterment.”
Number One’s head slowly bobbed. “No, I suppose you don’t.” His shoulders slumped. “Then I suppose this is the end.”
“Yes.”
He raised a finger as the thunder of choppers sounded in the distance. “Ahh, I assume that is the team sent to arrest me. I wonder how they will react when they find me dead, rather than brought to justice.”
She stepped closer. “They told me where to find you. And how could I have possibly got here before them?”
His eyebrows rose slightly. “Interesting. Then I was always to die.”
She raised her weapon. “The Assembly is finished.”
He smiled at her. “No, my dear, the Assembly is eternal.”
She put three in his chest then two in his head as the computer beeped, a silhouetted image appearing.
“Number One, I must speak with you.”
THE END