Saboteurs
Two men encounter danger while on the run from the law. One of them is gravely injured and loses consciousness. Believing his partner to be dead, the other carries on, unaware that his comrade's faint is due simply to pain and not any fatal affliction.
Left behind, the injured man slowly recovers; the growth in his appetite for revenge quickly outpacing the rate at which his strength returns. Nevertheless, it does, and eventually he carries on as well.
. . .
The two continue to flee separately. Both men struggle on their journeys, experiencing numerous close calls along the way and nearly fumbling their precious (albeit borrowed) freedom on many occasions. They remain at large, but often at great risk and frequently owing the success of their continued elusions to little more than luck.
. . .
Before long, their paths inevitably cross again. The abandoner is shocked to see the apparent ghost of his once-fellow-fugitive in the flesh; the sudden realization that he'd deserted him at a moment most dire immediately summoning enormous guilt. The recovered man—disregarding their complicated bygones—suggests that the two reunite their efforts, arguing that they each stand the greatest chance of buying the most possible time by re-joining forces. So, they proceed together; their shared slate evidently wiped clean by the depths of their independent desperations.
. . .
Eventually, the two encounter authority once more. Only this time, the recovered man intentionally foils their escape so as to ensure his accomplice's capture; retribution for the past betrayal by him. In turn, the abandoner is apprehended. The recovered man slips away undetected and does so in perpetuity, collecting crimes as he continues; committing another with each new back he stabs for the purpose of prolonging his own liberty.
. . .
In enough time, there are no men left unlike the recovered man—defined by spiteful agendas and permanent distrust. But their selected-for kind thrives, carrying on as heads-down practitioners of data-driven decision-making in the best interest of the company.
