Glacious

The man before him was unlike any Mr. Holden had ever seen. His eyes were bloodshot, his clothes bloodstained, and the man was so tightly tied to the chair he was in, that Mr. Holden was tempted to loosen them.

The man, a convicted murderer, had spit forming behind the metal gag in his mouth, his chest was straining as he tried to break out of the bonds that held him. Mr. Holden backed off just a little and opened his briefcase.

He withdrew a small stack of papers and commenced reading them to the crazed man in front of him. "Atticus James Marlon, I am here to present you with an opportunity that will preserve you and your craft far into the future." The man coughed, and from the look on his face, Mr. Holden could tell it was meant to be a scoff.

"My employers offer you the chance of a lifetime, a chance to be frozen." The man stopped frothing, his eyes though remained angry, and his body remained straining.

"Your body will be frozen, with the hopes of being resurrected in two hundred years. My employers want to make sure crime stays in the world even if they cannot."

The man, Atticus, stopped straining and his eyes, while still bloodshot, appeared confused. Mr. Holden took this as Atticus considering the possibility.

"The process will allow you two days to pick a crew to work with, and time to say farewell to anyone you care for. You have ten minutes to decide."

Mr. Holden put the papers back in his briefcase, snapped the clasp shut, and sat down in the chair provided for him.

He silently watched as Atticus's face showed multiple different emotions. Sheer joy, confusion, hate, disgust, consideration, and finally it settled on determined. Mr. Holden signaled for the two guards in the room to remove the gag.

Atticus sucked in three deep breaths, spat out the saliva that had formed behind the gag, and looked straight at Mr. Holden. Mr. Holden felt the fear that Atticus's victim must have felt.

"Two days? Will I have a guard to make sure I don't get picked up? Or will I still risk being pursued?"

The tone suggested that Atticus believed in the latter question. Mr. Holden nervously smiled, "My employers guarantee at least two guards to follow you and delay any law enforcement who try to stop you from your final tasks."

Atticus's face switched with emotions again, consideration, anger, sadness, anger, determined. He grinned up at Mr. Holden. "Two days should be fine."

Mr. Holden signaled to the guards and they allowed Atticus's right hand some movement. Mr. Holden offered Atticus a pen, and he signed his name on the bottom of the page.

Mr. Holden tucked the paper into his briefcase, thanked the guards and left Atticus and his guards in the room.

---

The guards took Atticus back inside the truck he had arrived in. The black leather hood went back over his eyes, and the truck started again.

While he sat tied up against the wall of the truck, he mulled over the choice he had made. He knew it was a good choice as he would be dead in a month if he didn't agree.

He then turned his thoughts to who he would be bringing with him to this future the man had promised. He would need a man who could figure out strategy, a man who could learn new things quickly, a man who was an arms specialist, and maybe he could trick this system to save his family.

When the hood was rested from his head, all but one guard remained in the truck. The guard's face was slick with sweat and Atticus chuckled silently at the young man. He grinned his signature grin, and said quietly, "They leave you here to loose the monster?" The young guard's face blushed a little at the insinuated insult.

With a quick tug, the guard cut the ropes that held Atticus bond. Atticus remained still as the blood flowed back into his cold hands. The guard backed away and stood at the door leading out of the truck. Atticus waited and soon was able to move his arms enough to push himself up.

He eyed the guard and could hear jeering coming from somewhere outside the truck. Standing, Atticus tapped his legs until the pins and needles went away. He took a few hesitant steps to be sure he could walk and then made his way to the edge of the truck.

He halted next to the terrified young man. Atticus found this man ridiculous. It wasn't like Atticus wanted to kill such a young man.

He patted the guard on his shoulder and said, "Listen, I won't be here once that crazy guy freezes me. I won't be here to be scared of anymore, so enjoy this while you can." He slapped the guards back, and hopped out of the truck.

---

Atticus stood outside of a cozy looking bungalow. He could see through the window a man and his wife preparing dinner.

He watched them put the food on the table and finally sit down. He walked to their door and knocked. After a few moments the door opened and the man stood there.

Seeing Atticus, he quickly motioned to Atticus to come through the door. He shut the door quickly and called to his wife, "Presley! Come quick!"

The woman came through the doorway of the kitchen, she gasped and quickly walked over. "Atticus I thought you had been incarcerated!" Atticus laughed a sharp laugh, "Just my lucky day, Presley. I've been given an offer. A way to survive. I was told to gather a crew, and head back."

The couple looked at each other, normally they wouldn't question Atticus's thoughts because they cared for him. But this time it was just too incredible. "Atticus, we can't. We can't come with you on this."

Atticus's face went from mostly pleasant to disappointed, "You don't have a choice." Atticus walked back to the door, and walked out. The door swung on its hinges and Atticus heard the footsteps of his guards rush the house. He waited by the van he had been given and waited for the first of his crew to be loaded.

---

Three stops later, Atticus motioned to his driver that his next stop was up ahead. He held up a hand as he walked towards the house. He didn't want to be followed in.

The door creaked open on its hinges, and he stood in the opening. A man and two children sat at a table. The man helped the children with what appeared to be homework.

No one seemed to have heard him enter. He quietly walked into the room the three were in and knocked on the wall quietly.

The man's head swung up, and his face went from terrified to joyful. The children leapt from their chairs and hugged Atticus tightly and he knelt to embrace them.

"Daddy," the children exclaimed, tightening their holds. He hugged them just as tightly, looking up at the man. The man's face was glowing with happiness, and soon he knelt and hugged them all.

They eventually sat at the small table, Atticus held the childrens' hands and looked at the man. The man spoke quietly and softly, "Atticus how did you escape?"

"Darnell, it is crazy. More crazy than me. I've been given a choice, and I chose to save us." Atticus quickly explained to his boyfriend and their children what to do. He kissed his kids and his boyfriend, then reminded them to act scared.

He walked out of the building, and signaled to his guards to go in. He steeled himself against the screams and sat in the van.

---

Mr. Holden looked at each of the people Atticus had brought to be on his crew. It wasn't honestly what he had been expecting.

There was a husband and wife, a couple generic thugs, a lithe woman covered in black spandex, and then there was an average joe with two children gripping his legs.

He turned his eye to where Atticus stood with his guards. He ran an appraising eye over him, and then said,. "This is your crew for sure?"

Atticus nodded, his face devoid of emotions. Mr. Holden felt unnerved by this and motioned his personal guard closer. "My employers will be here soon to make the final cut on your crew."

Atticus's eyes widened a little in shock, then settled into a brewing rage. "Final cut?"

Mr. Holden, now uneasy, replied, "Yes, we only have so much space."

"You never mentioned a final cut in the previous arrangements."

Mr. Holden watched Atticus's face slowly turning red, he quickly turned and his guard quickly followed him out of the room.

---

Atticus watched the two newcomers in business suits appraise his crew. The two guards that had been assigned to him, held his arms to keep him from doing anything. Atticus didn't want his strength wasted, and didn't strain.

The female nodded at the husband and wife, and a guard took them out the door. The male glanced at the generic thugs, pointed to two, and they were escorted out.

The female quickly withdrew a pistol and shot the remaining thug. The spandex woman was also escorted out.

Atticus felt his heart pound as they turned their eyes on his family. The female turned and looked at Atticus, "Mr. Marlon, why on earth would you want children to be on your crew?"

Atticus didn't hesitate with his reply, "Children are useful in many different ways for crime. No one usually suspects children of thievery or murder."

The female nodded, and the male said, "And the man? You have others on your team far more useful than this man." He raised his gun at Darnell.

"A man with children is suspected even less so. He could be a dad with his kids, or an uncle with his nephews or nieces."

The male nodded his agreement. Darnell and the children were escorted out. The duo turned to Atticus. "Mr. Marlon, we extend our welcome into the Glacious team."

The guards released Atticus's hands so he could shake the hands of the duo. He was then escorted out the door.

---

The room held one enormous tank of water. Hoses were attached and the crew was suspended above the tank. They had on neoprene suits, and were all holding the tools of their trade in waterproof cases.

A timer on the wall counted down to the freezing. Atticus and Darnell were side by side, and the children were on either side of them. The rest of the crew were staring into the tank below as if this was their last day alive.

When the timer hit thirty seconds, Atticus turned his head slightly to smile at his boyfriend and his kids. "See you in the future." He smiled, and then they were plunged into the freezing water below.