Jonathan Staine stood on the balcony of the highest floor of the Staine Medical Research Facility. MI6 Agent Jack Carmine approached him, gun raised. He'd hunted him for years, and now he had him. Jack looked at the massive fall from the balcony. He was always scared sof heights, and that three hundred foot drop looked absolutely terrifying. Staine looked over at him with a bitter smile, as he pulled a tablet out of his pocket.
"Drop it, Staine!" Jack shouted, his finger on the trigger.
Staine pressed a button, and Jack heard the hum of the air conditioner start.
"Relax," Staine said.
"Drop it or I fire, Staine!" Jack screamed.
Staine pressed a second button on his tablet, and tossed it over the balcony.
"There. I dropped it," Staine smirked.
"What did you just do?" Jack said, grabbing his throat.
"The security system," Staine replied. "I've locked all elevators to this floor out."
"You should've done that before I got here," Jack said.
"It just would've taken you a couple of hours and a few locksmiths to get to me. Now, it's better."
"You're a monster, Staine. I'm taking you in, lock or no lock."
"I'm no monster. Monster's don't exist."
"If that serum had gotten airborne, it would've killed billions."
"Roughly seven billion, give or take a couple million. We were very careful not to go overboard. Roughly 0.01% of the population would've survived."
"That's barbaric, Staine."
"Look at the world. Corrupt governments crush the weak. People are divided by race, by religion, by belief, by class, by fucking everything. It's a dog eat dog, every man for himself belief system. And that's just people. Countless species are going extinct every fucking day. The planet itself, the entire fucking planet, is dying. I needed to sacrifice lives to save this world. When we're almost wiped out, we'll have to stick together to survive. We'll need to unite, and we'll have a fresh chance to do it right. Best case scenario, we make a new, utopian world. Worst case, humanity goes extinct and the Earth itself survives."
"You're a madman. Your utopia will never exist."
"It wouldn't have been by utopia. 0.01% of the world are immune. I'm not one of them," Staine said.
Staine stared out over the balcony.
"When I was creating the serum, we went through several failed attempts. The first prototype WOULD kill the target and no one else, but it was tremendously painful, and I wouldn't allow it to be used."
"Do you expect sympathy? You wouldn't torture billions with your death serum? Do you want a medal for that?"
"Not billions. But, I'd happily torture two. My sacrifice, my gift to the world... you took it from me. And I'll make you suffer for it. The prototypes. It's in the air conditioning unit. Enough to fill this entire floor."
"What? No, you'd never! You said it. yourself, you're not immune to the serum."
Staine grinned at Jack as blood dripped down his teeth. He doubled over, puking blood onto the carpet, before collapsing to his knees. Jack watched in absolute terror. Staine laughed, before breaking into a long, wet cough. He coughed up bits, then chunks, of solid, bloody pink meat onto the floor.
"Is that..? Oh God..." Jack said.
Staine continued to laugh as he vomited blood onto the floor. Jack stared at him in terror, knowing the prototype was in his blood. He was already dead. Jack stared at Staine, feeling the fear he felt as a child when his father took out his belt. The fall seemed so much less terrifying now.