(day eighteen)
Jonathan’s life is at an end. Domino attends his funeral and, once the mourners have departed, kneels down and places a red rose on his coffin. She doesn’t feel so lucky now, not when she can’t protect the people she cares about; not when the person who used to help her get better is in a box. She thanks him for opening her eyes and helping her to focus inward instead of aimlessly wandering. He gave her a whole new perspective about who and what she is and for that she’ll always be grateful. Typical, she thinks, that she didn’t even get to the payback part.
As she stands, her mobile goes off and she answers. Siryn is on the other end, dressed in civvies and relaxing as she speaks with her old friend. She tells Domino that she’s managed to salvage a bit of information from the laptop she pulled from the fire. She says, “Ye say y’knew this Jonathan guy longer than ye knew me?” Domino replies that they did some importing and exporting. Theresa tells her that maybe she didn’t know him as well as she thought, as Jonathan was playing both sides, using her and others to ‘liberate’ precious items, only to sell those items to the highest bidder. “And that’s just the tip,” she adds as she taps away on her computer. Domino looks surprised, her face dropping as she asks if she has proof. Theresa tells her that she has e-mails, letters, files and she’ll get her hard copies. He was dirty.
This isn’t the news Domino needs right now but she knows she has to face facts. She rubs her forehead, partly in frustration, partly in disbelief and asks Theresa to go on. She reminds Domino that she had been asked to try and find Project Armageddon too. Well, she found numerous recent e-mails from someone identified only as Krusny Silyotka. Krusny is livid that that Jonathan hasn’t responded since the explosion and is doubting Jonathan’s ability to deliver the weapon at all. Coincidentally, she continues, the CD in his computer seems to be a blue map of the same operation. Domino tells her that she knows; Jonathan stole it from her. Siryn puts her feet up and informs Domino that Jonathan has 96 hours to deliver the weapon or Krusny will send his people to finish the job. Domino thinks Krusny is bluffing, for if he knew the weapon’s location, Jonathan wouldn’t have been necessary. She asks Theresa to respond and tell Krusny to be patient; all will be taken care of in the allotted time. “You’re gonna find this ‘weapon’ yerself?” asks Theresa. Domino says she was just talking to Jonathan about some payback and doesn’t have a choice anymore.
(day nineteen)
Inside the mysterious mountain, the man in the red robe sits behind a desk, looking at what appears to be a computer screen. Behind him is a huge window in the shape of a cross, just like the one on the mountainside. Three of his robed disciples bow before him, interrupting his meditation. They apologize to him, informing him they have just returned from their most holy mission. He prompts them to continue with their report. One of them tells him that they encountered the one called Domino and, as mandated, she was not harmed. Another says that her knowledge of Project Armageddon grows and she has possibly uncovered the location of the weapon. He adds that he has heard foolish doubts within their own ranks. Some think it may be unwise to allow her to live as her resourcefulness could yet jeopardize their efforts to protect society from itself. Their leader replies that this is all the more reason to allow her to continue to do their work for them. She does the labor while they reap the benefits. He asks them to tell the doubters that they are wise not to underestimate their catspaw and arrogance is a mistake they can ill afford, but so is disloyalty. His left hand is shown to be gauntleted as he watches two men prepare his costume. His skin is also flesh-colored while his disciples’ skin is a whitish/grey.
He stands with his arms outstretched in front of the large statue of Christ as the two men place a sash around his shoulders. He tells his followers that everything has gone according to plan. They have Domino and her vast resources serving their needs and the death of her associate will further her resolve. Vengeance will drive her to do the impossible. As he takes a mask, he continues to say that they will follow, capitalizing on her immaturity and her propensity for leaving loose ends. Domino will find what they seek; leading them to the door she leaves ajar, even as she passes unnoticed.
Placing the mask over his face, he continues to say that, under the guise of protecting them all, they allowed foolish hands to protect the world. Now, with those hands prepared to strike, they must reclaim what they see as the ultimate weapon. The fools would jeopardize everything for a military goal; the foundation of civilization could collapse. He reaches out and takes a sword in his uncovered hand and adds that they have searched for years at great cost and, if Domino has the skills to lead them to heir prey and gain entry without capture, they may yet succeed in saving the world. He kneels down, holding the sword vertically and asks his followers to pray for the wisdom and strength to succeed. He then stands and holds the sword out in front of him, saying that it has been foreseen that if they fail in their appointed task, their path ends in death. “Hear me Armajesuits! I swear you this - we will not fail!” Their place of worship is shown in all its grandeur, a massive church with the Christ statue dominating the room.
(day twenty)
In the Florida Everglades, an alligator swims calmly through the river before being disturbed by a swamp craft being driven determinedly by Domino as the sun sets. She is wearing some hi-tech orange goggles and her standard costume. She thinks about her mission. She wonders which frightens her more; finding the woman behind those yellow memories and faded photos, facing a weapon supposedly capable of destroying entire civilizations, or doing it all alone. As the sun drops below the horizon, she cuts the engine and coasts her way in as she reaches her destination. She is close, she can feel it. Suddenly, a voice calls her to halt and a blinding light freezes her. She removes her sunglasses and momentarily catches sight of her assailants. Her craft then explodes in a huge ball of flame and smoke, shaking the swampland.
Three soldiers dressed in black fatigues and carrying heavy artillery watch as the flames die down. They stand knee-deep in the water as one of them tells Charlie to hose it down good as the General’s going to want to see evidence, charbroiled or not. Discovering what appears to be the body of Domino he replies, “Hey, it’s a chick. Your lucky day pal!” The third soldier says that maybe they should have waited before frying her. She got lucky and what’s left of the body doesn’t look half bad. Charlie tells them to get the body back to base and get an I.D. He’ll take care of the mess. The other two place the body in their inflatable, commenting on how heavy the body is, probably due to all the muscle on her. Charlie turns as they depart; reminding them to make sure the sentries know he’s coming through in a few. He doesn’t want his butt shot off because of them.
Back at their base, a bunker in the ground with watchtowers jutting out of the top, the General is shaving and orders his assistant to answer the phone. An American flag hangs beside him. The man informs the General that there’s a minor situation. Apparently, he tells him, some local, a woman this time, has breached their perimeter and their boys used cautionary force. They recovered her body and he asks if he wants an autopsy performed. The General asks why he is being disturbed over routine details, telling him to get the body identified. “Am I surrounded by a bunch of simpletons that I need to reconfirm standing orders?” he adds. His assistant tells his caller that the General says that they are a simpleton and to take care of it. Even if the dead woman is the sister of the first lady, he tells them, do not disturb the General again. If it is the first lady, then wait until morning.
Elsewhere in the bunker, Dr. McKay prepares to perform an autopsy on Domino’s body in the Forensics Department. He grabs a pair of scissors as he mutters to himself. He isn’t happy about having to perform another autopsy in the middle of the night. Bodies tend to show up and they have to move the whole base again. He can’t wait to pack. He looks at the body. “Female. Caucasian… I think. White paint has been applied to the outer epidermis, covering the entire body. Age…approximately early-to-mid-thirties.” Suddenly, he spots something unusual and runs his finger over existing scars lining the woman’s chest. He realizes that the body has already been autopsied. The body can’t be from tonight as she’s been dead for days. He looks round and asks who’s playing the joke on him.
The real Domino appears behind him, brandishing a pistol and says that would be her. She tells him that wasn’t bad joke considering she’s a deadly killer but, before he busts a gut laughing, maybe he should take a seat and a tranquilizer. She shoots the doctor and catches him before he falls. Although he’s passed out, she tells him to think positive; after all, when the Miami morgue calls he can tell them he found their missing cadaver. She releases a grenade and destroys the laboratory. The bunker’s staff are shocked as a plume of smoke billows up the corridor.
Soldiers are quickly on the scene and Peterson orders his men to put the fire out. He asks Tolbert how the doc is and ‘he‘ replies that he’s unconscious but alive. He orders Barrymore and Willis to put out the fire while the rest of them secure the area. He wants every room, corner and shadow inspected and tells them to shoot first and forget about any questions. The doctor is dragged to safety as they do so by Domino, who is dressed just like them, impersonating Tolbert. No-one notices her as she takes the doc into another room and whips the soldier’s uniform off. “Objective one complete,” she says, “The enemy is confused and disoriented. Now to make that work for me. Secure the Armageddon weapon then see if mom is actually hanging around.”
Inside one of the bunker’s raised watchtowers, Stan and his colleague receive news about what’s happened. Stan receives a message on the radio while his friend says he has a bad feeling about this and points at the computer screens, telling him that Sector 7 just went code orange. The med center is a total wash; fire bombed and their orders are to hold their post. Stan is frustrated that they’ve been in ‘Satan’s armpit’ for six months and when something finally happens they get stuck on mosquito watch. His friend replies that he’s crazy; he’s had his share of combat experience in the special forces and asks him to trust him that it isn’t that glamorized Hollywood crap either. He’s perfectly happy to get out of there if all he has to gory about are mosquito attacks.
A footstep is heard outside and Stan’s colleague steps over to the spotlight, pointing it outside and tells Stan that he heard something. Stan replies that he’s just scared and decides to check it out, heading out of the tower and into the grassy marsh surrounding the base. His friend calls after him but Stan replies that he knows he has a bad feeling about this but he should grow a backbone. He stops and looks into the trees, which are lit only by moonlight now, and hears nothing, not even a frog croaking. He turns to taunt his colleague a little, telling him it would send shivers down his spine. “Oh wait, you ain’t got a spine, right?” he turns back and finds standing before him one of the Armajesuits wielding a sword. Stan’s colleague spots them but it’s too late for Stan. Behind the first one stand around twenty-five to thirty more of them, all armed with swords.
The General has now made his way to the operations center and is pulling a back shirt over his muscular torso as he tells Peterson, who is looking at a large screen, arms folded behind his back, that he doesn’t like being awakened in the middle of the night by an explosion in his own facility. He wants to know exactly what happened, how security was breached and who, besides Peterson himself is to be assigned to permanent sewer detail for allowing this to happen. He turns to face the General and informs him that the medical lab is on fire, the fire being a result of the blast he heard. Dr. McKay was alone when the explosion took place and was performing an autopsy on the civilian they found on the perimeter. The General asks if the doctor is alive and if he’s been questioned. Peterson salutes, replying that the doctor has momentarily disappeared. The General turns and orders Peterson to go to code red. Only essential personnel will remain in Sector 7 to control the fire. All others will be redirected to the Project Armageddon corridor. Peterson tries to tell him something but the General tells him not to wait until he has a problem to solve a problem and reminds him to give the order to “shoot to kill.”
Domino, meanwhile, has taken out more security guards and hacked her way through a computer controlled access door with the laptop she carries in her backpack. She removes the rest of the bulky soldier’s uniform, leaving her in little more than a skin-tight, black leotard. She puts on the goggles and changes their settings, turning them green which allow her to see a laser grid criss-crossing its way down the corridor in front of her and she thinks ‘bingo.’ She doesn’t hesitate for a second as she begins a gymnastic tumble, gracefully leaping, turning and pirouetting her way through the gaps in the lasers before arriving safely at the next access door. She uses the incredible strength in her legs to hold herself upside-down outside the door which has the words ‘Project Armageddon’ written boldly on it.
Okay, she thinks, what have we here? A combination lock. She changes the setting on her goggles again which allows her to see the residue of fingerprints used to open the door previously which stand out in blue. The prints allow her to narrow the code down to just a few hundred thousand possible combinations. She holds her breath and reaches out, pressing the buttons randomly and hoping lady luck will pay her a visit. She does, and the door swings open as Domino smiles, opening the door further.
In the operations center, one of the staff informs the general that the security seal to Project Armageddon has just been compromised. He becomes agitated, asking by whom. He asks where the squadrons are that he deployed to that sector and wants them there immediately. He also demands to know what’s going on at the front gate. He wants bodies, telling his men to shoot anything that moves on sight. He doesn’t know who or what has dared to enter his base but they’re not leaving.
Domino, meanwhile, enters the room and whips off her goggles. She points her gun in front of her but, as she focuses on what is inside, her eyes widen and a look of shock and surprise covers her face. Standing before her is a small child, wearing an Umbro shirt and standing in what appears to be a playroom. The child looks like a small version of Domino, complete with one black eye, who tells her “Hello.”
