DWINDLING RATINGS
By Minimizer
Epilogue
Colonel Morris paced in frustration in the waiting room. He was sick of all these delays. Didn't he do everything his client asked? He delivered the miniaturizer, and from all the reports he was getting, the damn thing was working perfectly. Even if the mysterious "Buyer" needed the machine to earn enough money to pay the Colonel and his mercenaries their delivery bonus, he should've been able to do that by now!
Finally, a thin, hawk-nosed little man stuck his head out the door. "You can come in now, Colonel," he squeaked, ushering the visitor through the entranceway.
Carter Morris was not a patient man, and moreover, he didn't like having to visit the Buyer on his own home turf. He preferred a phone call and an anonymous wire transfer to his offshore account. For some reason the man wanted to meet him and his team personally, though. Since this was the only way the Colonel and his men could get paid, he had no choice to agree. In fact, if his troops followed their orders, they should already be here, waiting in the briefing room at the other end of the building.
"Here you go, sir," said the flunky on his heels. "Right through this door."
Carter nodded and stepped through the entranceway. The room beyond was partially in shadow. He reached automatically for a light switch, found it, and threw the lever just as the door clicked shut behind him.
He was standing in a small, featureless room with white walls. There was a door on the far side, next to which a picture window stood, covered in Plexiglas. A strange-looking man in a simple-looking suit stood on the other side, next to some kind of console. This was the mysterious "Buyer," apparently, who had no other name so far.
"Welcome, Colonel," said the tall man. His voice whistled slightly, as he had no front teeth. His face was also covered in very thin white scars. "Thank you for coming today. I wanted to thank you personally for everything you did to get me my miniaturizer."
"Just doin' my job," Carter said, walking over to the other side of the room. The door there was locked, unfortunately. "Now what's this all about? Can't I talk to you face to face?"
"Sorry, Colonel. I don't trust anyone these days," said the Buyer, who still hadn't identified himself. "I don't even like people to see my face. The less people who know I'm alive, the better."
"What's that supposed to mean?" demanded Colonel Morris, who was by now starting to get angry. "Who the hell are you, anyway?"
"Just someone who owes you a debt of gratitude," the scarred man went on. "You see, I knew that idiot nephew of mine would screw everything up. He never did have the guts to do what really needed doing. That's why I never told him who I was. As far as I'm concerned, he can rot in prison for the rest of his life. If he'd come with you like he should have, I would've rewarded him, but not now. Instead, I need to reward you by yourself." The Buyer straightened and flashed a dangerous-looking smile through the transparent wall. "That's why I'm granting you the chance to die with your men. You can go down fighting, Colonel, just like you always wanted."
"What the hell are you babbling about?" Carter shouted, banging ineffectually on the Plexiglas, which proved quite unbreakable. "I did everything you asked! My team can still be your greatest asset!"
"Sorry, can't take the chance," said the man as he threw some switches on the nearby console. A soft light began to shine all around Colonel Morris, which made him shudder automatically. "You're all known now. You were all on camera, and I can't take the risk you'll be traced back to me. Oh, incidentally, did you know there's a maximum level to miniaturization, Colonel? A maximum size threshold, if you will?"
"No," he replied worriedly, feeling a trace of fear for the first time in ages as his skin began to tingle ever so slightly.
"Yes, that's where you'll find your men," came the reply. "Don't worry, I took care of providing plenty of supplies and ammunition for you. You should find those very helpful fighting the creatures you'll be meeting at microscopic size."
"No!" screamed the Colonel, continuing to hammer on the door ineffectually, even though it was not growing steadily larger in front of him. "You can't do this! I helped you! You owe me! You owe all of us!"
"Yes, once again, you have my thanks. If you stick together and work as a team, I suspect you can survive a long time in the floorboards. At least you won't have to hide any more, Colonel. No one will ever find you where you're going."
The lights finally shut off above the Colonel's head, but he hardly noticed. He was on his knees now, banging on the gigantic door in useless frustration. None of his frantic, fading yells for help or mercy seemed to cause the slightest emotional reaction in the Buyer's face, until Carter finally vanished utterly.
The scarred man watched the former soldier of fortune disappear from sight with a faint smile on his lips. The last of Lou's mercenaries was gone now, to a place where the Colonel could never betray any information about his employer--if he ever knew anything at all. The Buyer didn't know for sure, but he wasn't taking any chances. After all, he was supposed to be dead. He couldn't afford to have his secret ever get out, could he? They'd hunt him down ruthlessly. Especially that FBI woman, Kate McLeary.
Yes, Kate McLeary! He owed her a lot, didn't he? She thought she was so smart, but she and her people never bothered to check his "body" all that carefully, did they? How many other men had his height, build, dental problems, and scarred skin? Not very many at all, except for the body double he used on those days he took his all-too-infrequent trips to the Compound. Kate and her Bureau friends never did find out about that, or the fact that his unfortunate doppelganger was the one they found with his brains blown out. At least he did have one good use left in him, didn't he?
Yes, Kate McLeary might be smart and resourceful enough to break up the Compound he worked so hard to found, but she wasn't invincible. Now that he had a miniaturizer, he could finally give her the reward she truly had coming. He missed his chance when Lou let her escape, but that wouldn't happen next time. All he had to do was set the necessary trap and let Kate fall right into it.
One of these days, he thought. One of these days, Kate, I'll have you right where I want you--right in the palm of my hand. You won't find escaping me quite so easy then, I can promise you that!
Grinning in anticipation, Ray Ellsworth shut off the miniaturizer controls and headed back to work.