Chương 53: Charlie and the Psycho Factory

Sampson Farthingsworth exited the teleport feeling exceptionally proud of himself.

"Charlie, you're back!" Elios squealed in delight.

"Mr. Blackwood is going to be so happy!" he said looking around for the baby, then noticed the bundle he carried under his arm. Sampson morphed back to his original form as Elios looked at him shocked.

"Charlie, you can't carry an infant like that… You could kill it. Give it to me." Charlie took the bundle and tossed it to Elios, who struggled to catch it without dropping it.

"Too late, it's already dead," he said casually, laughing at the panic on Elios' face.

"What do you mean it's dead?" Elios asked horrified, looking down at the bundle.

"Oh, no! What did you do to it?" Elios asked, panic filling his heart and face.

"I mean just what I said, it's dead. As in no longer living," Charlie replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"What difference does it make? I thought Blackwood wanted it dead."

"Oh, this is not good," Elios said, walking in circles, carrying the dead infant almost lovingly.

"The boss is going to kill us for certain! What did you do? Drop it? Smother it? What… did… you… do?" Elios asked, on the verge of tears.

"Relax, dude! Take a pill or something! I didn't do anything to it. It was dead when I got there. It died hours ago," he said.

"I did the job I was brought in to do. It's not like I had any control over whether the kid was alive or dead when I got there." Elios stared at him blankly.

"Have you ever actually met Mr. Blackwood, Charlie?" Elios asked softly.

"No, I've only been here a week," he said, shrugging his shoulders.

"He can't hold the kid being dead against me. I did what I was told. Infiltrate. Assess. Take the kid. Come back. Here I am with the kid, what more could I do? It's not like he would expect me to bring it back to life, now, would he?" Charlie asked, almost flippantly. Elios cast him a sympathetic look.

"Trust me, not only will he find a way to blame you, but then he will find a way to make you feel guilty about ever being born," Elios said, and then his eyes opened wide.

"Or worse, he is going to find a way to blame me because I sent you! Then for good measure he will have us both… well, eliminated from existence," he said, nervously beginning to pace. He could feel the muscles in his throat constricting around his airway like a hungry boa constrictor. Pure panic taking control.

"Dude, chill, I'm sure it will not be as bad as all that," Charlie said, propping himself up on the table, swinging his legs like a child.

"No, it will be worse, much worse," he whispered, trying to take in enough air.

"Just wait and see. He should be here…"

"Elios! I hear you have some outstanding news for me," Mordak said, cheerfully strolling into the lab as if a stage manager cued him in. Elios stopped mid-step, the look of panic turning to all out dread as he knew what was to surely follow.

"Sir," he began.

"So where is it?" Mordak asked again.

"Did you already put it in that containment thingy? I want to get a good look at this baby, stare it down, make it fear for its life before I rub it out of existence," he said, smiling brightly.

"No, sir, it's not in the containment unit, I'm afraid…"

"Well, where is it then?" Mordak interrupted, not giving Elios a chance to finish. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. He turned to Charlie.

"Who are you?" he asked. Before the young man could even open his mouth to respond he added, "Oh, you must be my new wonder agent, the one who got the job done!" he said, walking over to Charlie and patting him on the back.

"It's nice to see someone who actually does their job for a change."

"Sir," Elios interrupted.

"I have to tell you something, and well…"

"For crying out loud Elios, what is it?" he said, turning to him frustrated.

"Well, sir, I have some bad news," he began, trying to find the courage to tell him.

"Don't tell me you lost the baby in transport," he growled.

"If you lost that baby again, I will eat you for breakfast with my eggs."

"No, sir, we have the baby…" he paused, looking down at the bundle in his arms.

"Well, where is it then?" Mordak said, rubbing his hands together hungrily.

"Sir, it's right here," he said, holding out the infant's remains.

"I'm afraid that it's… dead sir."

"How can it be dead?" Mordak asked, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"That was supposed to be my job. I was going to be the one to kill it. If it is dead, then how can I possibly execute it?" he asked, trying to process the new development. He quickly turned to Charlie, "What… did… you… do?" he asked, pausing between each word for emphasis. Charlie looked at Elios, then back at Mordak.

"I…" he began.

"I what?" Mordak interrupted, taking a step closer.

"Were you told to kill the baby?" he said, his voice increasing in volume.

"How dare you," he yelled, moving closer.

"Does that little brain of yours…" he paused, moving closer still, "comprehend the..." moving to within inches of Charlie, who began leaning backward, color draining from his face.

"I didn't kill it!" Charlie shouted. Mordak looked surprised at the young man's seeming bravado, then turned to Elios.

"Did he just raise his voice to me?" Mordak asked, sarcastically.

"Because I would have sworn that this… insolent nothing just shouted at me. I mean, I could be wrong, but I don't think that I am. I'm pretty good at knowing these sorts of things. I'm pretty sure he just raised his… insignificant… little voice at me. He must not understand who he is talking to… I am after all… the greatest… bestest man that… ever lived." Elios looked down at the bundle, afraid to look at his boss.

"I'm waiting, Elios," he said, "Did he or did he not raise his voice to me?" Elios looked at Mordak, then at Charlie sympathetically.

"Yes, sir," he replied in a voice barely above a whisper.

"I'm sorry, sir, I just wanted to let you know that I wasn't responsible for the death. It was dead when I got there," Charlie said hurriedly.

"Was it now?" Mordak said, turning back to him.

"Who is responsible then?" Mordak said, more calmly. Charlie looked at Elios, then at Mordak.

"It died while in custody of two fairy agents. I guess it got sick and well… died," he said, quickly and softly. Mordak put his arms behind his back, nodding his head.

"I see," he replied, flatly.

"Well then, that is an unexpected, but not…" he paused, beginning to pace.

"But not an unworkable development." Elios and Charlie both looked at each other confused by his sudden calm.

"Who are the two incompetent fairies who killed my baby?" Mordak asked.

"Two chicks, Seraphina and I think her name was Celestia. Not sure, but she was hot, you know, for a fairy," he said, a wry smile forming on his lips. Mordak looked over at Charlie and shook his head, shaking off the young agent's remark.

"So, two female agents, who are obviously so incompetent that they could not care for an infant, are responsible for my dead baby," he reiterated, to no one in particular. Elios looked at Mordak cautiously.

"Sir, I still have our baby. I finished it, just as Charlie returned. We can still execute it and no one will be the wiser." Mordak turned to him.

"Okay, that's good," he said, still pacing.

"We have a fake baby to execute, and a real dead baby. I can work with this," he said, half smiling.

"I just need those two idiot fairies," he said, nodding his head.

"Sir?" Elios asked, unsure of what the fairies were for.

"You…" he said, turning to Charlie and pointing at him.

"I am putting you in charge of my new operation. Go home. Get some rest. Come Monday, you and Regina are going back in. You'll be in charge of course, because you're the man and far more capable of getting the job done. You will retrieve me those two fairies. We will execute them with the fake baby. This has now become a dangerous ring of fairy spies planning to invade our world. The people will love that. The baby died while we were rounding up the fairy ring leaders, so it won't be questioned."

"Yes, sir," Charlie replied happily.

"Dead or Alive, sir? The Fairies, sir… Dead or Alive?"

"Preferably alive, but dead if you must," Mordak said.

"You can rough them up or whatever, but being alive will get the crowds going."

"Yes, sir!" Charlie answered excitedly.

"Before you leave, let's take a little walk, shall we?" Mordak said, putting an arm around the young man.