The Prime enjoyed the whirling hot tub jets pounding against his kidneys. With the urgency of the job interview over-again-he found himself in a state of total physical relaxation. Mentally, he was close to joyful panic. All of his plans were coming together. The prophecy was true. He would rule the world.
He had started the job interview hours before, when news came of Barnstable’s refusal of the preacher’s ultimatum and Updike’s treasonous speech-a declaration of war.
His Operatives within the dead army had radioed that Updike had called for a jihad. Absolute perfection! Further, Reverend Able Stoneworthy was with the Captain-the Tower Builder dead now. He had bullied Barnstable too much to hear that news earlier. The minister’s whereabouts had been a question for the last two days, and was an annoying reference in Vanguard’s reports. Reappearing dead and in cahoots with traitors gave the Prime authority to assume complete control of Archangel Tower. Absolutely, and inarguably perfect!
Better yet, Operatives monitoring the other arms of the undead army reported they were on the move. South and southwest by many, many miles they presented big, slow targets. Perfect! Perfect! Perfect! The Prime had just got off the phone with General Topp. He had set the time for the first strike. An air defense fighter would radio updated coordinates when required.
His Operatives from all quarters gave troop strength of some three hundred thousand in the south with the bare minimum of weaponry and mechanical support-and the majority of that was of an old and undependable variety. Southwest of that was a force twice that size with little in the way of heavy weaponry or artillery. The northern army and closest was the best equipped but it had not started moving yet.
Updike’s threat was empty-a zombie army up against the most powerful fighting air force and army in the world? The Prime was pleased. He would put on a show that would have his enemies shaking.
And any Divine or Infernal Powers that thought they could take over the world would see how far the Prime was willing to go to see that they didn’t. Updike thought his mission was of Divine origin, but there was still no sign that he had any actual support from that quarter. The Prime had already planned to question his captive about that after the job interview. Updike’s army must be the first move in the bigger game.
That was all he needed to fill him with explosions of happiness. Until today, he had been operating in the dark in a pentagram drawn of blood. His Demon Ally and captive gave him signs and riddles. Though he was pleased to see that his intuition was proving correct, such extravagant risks were difficult for him. Intuition had helped him to climb to the top, but it was a terrifying way to maintain the position.
The Prime had revealed his backup plan to Topp with some reluctance. Throwing his cards out there for a lackey to see left him anxious. But he had a Demon watching the General for signs of reluctance. Time. He needed time for the game to unfold. And he had little patience. It was all too much, and he was afraid that obsessing about it would micromanage it into the ground.
To distract himself he had continued with the job interview:
“ Do you have hot tubs in all the offices, Prime?” the pretty brunette joked, and crossed her legs. He couldn’t believe it, but he was actually drooling. That’s throwing her off. Wait till she has a look at my…
Her body floated a few feet away from him. The round lumps of her buttocks protruded from the frothing water. Even her death had not stemmed his passion. He and the Demon organ had taken her three times since. He didn’t mind the oily feel of her blood against his skin.
“ Get in the tub and I’ll pay you well,” he said and when she shook her head, he grabbed her legs and pulled her screaming toward the water. Raping her with the Demon organ was good; raping her with the Demon organ and his own had been… Heavenly.
His mind played to the events at 232 Towerview Terrace. His Operatives had nothing new to report. He tried to use his sated calm certainty to draw upon his intuitive resources. The evidence at the crime scene suggested something big had transpired there: unexplainable elements that encouraged the Prime to suspect an Infernal or Divine link. He checked himself, reined in his suspicions. The unknown still existed, after all. No sense being paranoid. But events were happening too quickly for the unexplained. An instinctive part of him knew that nothing was happening by chance now. Damn Vanguard give me facts!
The Prime looked at the wall clock, saw that 18 hours remained until a demonstration of power would be dropped on the southern army. The Prime made fists of his hands, punched them whistling into the swirling red water then: Ka-boom! A surprising tingle and heaviness returned to his groin. He looked at the woman’s body.
Something nudged his knee. Over the pale hump of his belly he saw that a jet of water had pushed her hand into him-he imagined making a circle of the lifeless fingers and… The Prime casually kicked her away.
He remembered the scene: at first her terror-screaming. That got both of him harder. Down she went into the tub and he was on her. Then she was screaming in pain. The Prime knew that since he had joined the Demon in Union, that something vital had changed about him. Not only had he been altered physically, something changed inside. Because the Union had added a second penis, it was easy to overlook the mental changes. But where he liked dominating people before he loved killing them now.
Before the woman died he discovered that the second penis behaved like a prehensile limb-impossible to control as his dark passions were released. It tore at her insides like an iron rake until something broke-answering his sexual grunts with a fount of dark blood. Amazed at first, but sated, the Prime had allowed her to slowly sink beneath the water, before resuming his bath.
It was unfortunate because she was pretty. And yet, who knew, after Blacktime she might be more open to his desires? If he truly believed he could become a god, he had to dismiss the sentimentality of ethics-he shouldn’t worry about loss or beauty. As he watched his secretary’s body a weight throbbed that needed release. He gasped- I’m a monster -tearing at his lower lip with his teeth. The Prime reached for the corpse. Perfect!