I want to thank my beta reader sarcasticroker86 for his or her help with the reviewing...
Jack saw the schools of fish swimming alongside of the bathysphere, as if the device were something that had been there all their lives. The trip was becoming long, but the boy didn't mind too much. He had never been outside Point Prometheus in his whole life. He had been able to watch the schools swim above the roofs, but never so close. The bathysphere began ascending a tunnel.
"Aww…" moaned Jack. He would had like to see more schools, but his guess was that wherever this place he was arriving in was, it would be interesting.
He opened the door of the bathysphere and walked up the stairs. He looked at the map of the routes of Rapture Metro system. Wherever he was he hoped it would be far from home. Jack kept walking until he was outside of the station. He stopped and read the sign.
"Arcadia, Rapture Metro" he murmured. He remembered the name. Mama Tenenbaum said that it was where she went there to think. Maybe he will find her, he smiled at the thought but… maybe she would just return him 'home' and he didn't want that. He half turned and stared walking away from the station, ogling at all the plants and flowers that were in that place called Arcadia.
He reached the area by the name of Rolling Hills. He laid in the ground and felt himself to begin to roll downhill, laughing as he reached the bottom. Again he ran up the hill and rolled down. He was getting dirty, his pants and hair were already a mess, but he really didn't care. He got up and continued into Arcadia.
Jack kept walking until he heard some voices.
"I telling you, I don't know how Ryan could put her uncharged. I mean, I'm as good botanist as her! I simply don't get it"
"You complain too much. It's not so bad not been the boss. At least we don't have to deal with him," said the second man and chuckled a little. "Now let's return to work. We still have to look after these plants."
Jack watched the two men working. One was blonde with green eyes and spoke in a strange accent. The other had dark hair and light brown skin. He wondered what they were doing, so he peaked in more until he was almost at the men's shoulders. It was in this position the two men turned and found him.
"Hey there, boy," said the light brown skin man smiling at Jack.
"What? A kid? What are you doing here? Didn't you read the sign? Employees only!"
Jack took a step backward, ashamed of what he had done.
"No I didn't see it," murmured Jack.
"There is no problem Nicolai, it's not like he's going to burn down all Arcadia. By the way I'm Mike," the man introduced himself. "What's your name, kid?"
"Jack."
"Would you like to see at what we're working on?" asked Mike.
Jack nodded energetically.
Nicolai shook his head and murmured, "Whatever… As long as he doesn't interrupt, I had no problem."
Jack observed how the two men work in the plants; looking after them, cutting them, filling some forms, spraying some substance on them that he wonder about. When the men noticed Jack's curiosity, they decided that the boy could help them a little.
How much time it had passed Jack couldn't really tell. He was simply enjoying being there, helping Mike and Nicolai. A strange grunt was heard by the two men; they looked at each other and then looked at the small boy.
"Are you hungry?" asked Mike.
Jack nodded.
"Ok, I will take my lunch time now and take the report to Langford. She'll be please with the development of the Gallica" said Mike.
"Alright then, I guess you would be taking Jack with you. Good luck boy. Don't make her angry. I'll go and arrange the plants in the Tea Garden," said Nicolai.
They parted way, Mike and Jack heading toward the Research Center and Nicolai toward the Tea Garden.
Dr. Depardieu was a simple man with a gentle soul. He had black hair and deep blue eyes; he was good looking but not a Hollywood star of that time. He still wondered from time to time why he had joined the Little Sister Project. Maybe it was because he wanted to make bearable the suffering for the girls. Or maybe it was because he wants to make them more human, so that they would understood that they were doing something awful. Either ways he was stuck in the Little Sisters Project, for good or ill.
He entered his office and turned on the coffee machine, looking over his appointments. He was to look after Samantha, Judith, Sue and Soledad. For what he had read in Dr. Alexander reports, the girls were having problems when they eat, mainly he believed it was due to the newness of their Sister life. It had only been three days since these girls had become Little Sisters. Although the symbiosis was perfect, the slug sometimes didn't transform every single bit of food into ADAM, leaving it susceptible to mix ups, and therefore not being useful. He gave a sigh, a simple diet would do it. Still, he would go to see the girls.
He reached for a cup of coffee, he really like the smell of the coffee in the morning. His door open wide, and his eyes stared up to meet the new figure in his office.
"So you really want to see me that bad, collègue" he said, joking "Or maybe it was that you wish to spare sometime with me alone, Mon chéri."
"Scheisse, don't be ridiculous, Depardieu" the woman spoke with a thick German accent.
"What is it then, Tenenbaum?" he asked.
"I don't know, Suchong is really agitated, and he wishes to speak to you."
"Me? The brats' doctor… that's bizarre. He usually never asks for me unless is necessary. Alright I'll go. You lead the way, chéri."
The two met Suchong in his office. Suchong looked at them. He looked even crazier than before, or at least from Depardieu's point of view.
"So what am I good for?" asked Depardieu.
"You most know where the brats would go if they escape this place. I mean, you treat them; you know how they think. So tell me, where the boy could have gone!"
Depardieu looked at Suchong, he could seen the desperation of the Chinese doctor. Still, he never like how Suchong referred to them 'brats'. He hate it, in fact. But it must have been something very serious for him to call then brats in front of him. Suchong usually called them children, although he despised them.
"I don't know where the petit garҫon could be, but I can tell you if le petit Jack won't want to be found, he won't be found," said Depardieu.
"Jack escape? How could that happened? You where suppose to be looking after him… have you told Fontaine?"
A death silence invaded the whole room.
"I don't know he just escape… Damn child, he should be in a tube."
"Calm down, Suchong. Il n'est pas de problème" said Depardieu.
How could he, that Frenchman tell him, Dr. Suchong to relax? The Chinese doctor hated him as much as that simple mind Kraut.
"It's not a problem," Suchong spoke the words slowly, his voice venom. "That child is running wild in Rapture, who knows what Fontaine would do to us if he find out, and you are telling me that's not a BLOODY PROBLEM!"
Suchong stormed out of his office leaving Tenenbaum and Depardieu behind.
"At least we can be sure of something: he is an intelligent boy" remarked Depardieu.
"Scheisse, in what problem had he put us…" said Tenenbaum.
Depardieu simple chuckled and left Suchong office alongside Tenenbaum.