Somewhere in the streets of what was once known as Manhattan to the world, in a small facility, there was something strange and sinister going on. Guarded by a group of husky men who looked like ex-convicts, a young scientist by the name of Will Furtivin was anxiously working on a weapon—a weapon so powerful that it could easily wipe out the whole human race from the Earth, with no chance of any surviving. He knew it would be the worst genocide ever. Beads of sweat rolled down Will’s forehead as he shakily placed the final and most important piece in place. It clicked as he pushed it in. He screwed it in as tightly as he could and made sure one more time that all the parts were intact. Then his left hand instinctively grabbed for the detonation key.

It wasn’t his plan to be kidnapped by the strange men. He didn’t even want to make a weapon with such great power. But after much pain and torture, he just had to give in. But it wasn’t exactly the torture that brought him to this. After the convicts realized that he would rather die than make a weapon that would destroy the whole world, they threatened to kill his family and his fiancé. Of course, anyone would do anything for their family, so Will gave in.

He couldn’t escape because he was guarded all the time. Even during his work, he had shackles on. If he would try to escape or do something rash, the shackles would immediately secure his hands together. He didn’t care though. Anyway, they promised him freedom if he finished the task, and he believed them.

“The final Scope is finished,” Will finally choked out as he clutched the key that had the button that could detonate the terrible bombs anytime, anywhere. Why had he even succumbed to this madness?

“Wonderful, Mister Furtivin, I knew you would finish it,” the man behind the development beamed as he emerged from the dark corner and applauded the scientist for finishing the task. Nobody knew the man’s real name, not even his men. In fact, he never told anyone his name or maybe he didn’t even know what his name was. He was a burly man with brown skin and sharp eyes. He had a clean cut and almost always had a cigar in his mouth. A snarly smile spread across his face as he spoke with that heavy, gruff voice. “Now where is the master key?”

Will closed his sweaty palm on the key. His dark blue eyes stared apprehensively at the man. “How will I know that you’re going to keep your promise?”

“Just give it to me!” the burly man roared as he lunged for Will. “Did you think that I would keep my promise? Of course not!”

Now Will, just 27-years-old, didn’t like the sound of that. He had a whole life ahead of him. Back home, he had parents, siblings, and a fiancé to take care of. He didn’t want to give the key to this dangerous group of men anymore.

Knowing that he had been tricked, Will impulsively made for the door. It was solid metal, and the only thing he could do was helplessly pound his fists on the door. At that moment, he knew he was a goner.

The man shook his head and gave a light chuckle as he took a rifle from one of his guards and pointed it at the frantic scientist’s back.

“Don’t do it. Please,” Will begged as he greatly increased his grip on the key. He suddenly didn’t want to die. He wished he could turn back the clock to where they forced him to make the weapon. He wished that he could have just allowed them to keep him captive for the rest of his life. If he died, the whole world would be in danger. What would these men do if they took hold of the key? He already knew that war was around the corner, but he didn’t want to give in to the evil plans of these men.

But it was too late for that. The man clamped his powerful hand on Will’s shoulder to turn him around. Then he fired the bullet straight into his heart, and the scientist sank to the ground, the key still clutched tightly in his left hand. With his dying breaths, all he could think about was the future of his world. He couldn’t let the key fall into the men’s grasp. He had to hide the key, but where could he find such a place? As his eyes slowly closed, his fingers brushed a crack in the floor. Perfect. The last thing he did was wedge the key into the crevice in the floor before the man grabbed Will by his neck and growled, “Where is it?”

Will gave no answer but noticed that the man’s eyes seemed frightened, terrified to be exact. He realized who, I mean, what was controlling these ex-convicts. As blood began to force its way up Will’s throat he uttered a few more words, “They’re here.”

Then the man gave Will one final blow to ensure his death, and the scientist was no more.

Quickly, the man ordered his men to find the detonation key. It took some time to find the key, but in the end, they managed to recover it. Although the gang still has the key with them, there has been no threat of the Scope being dropped, but it’s possible now…