Chapter Six:
Music flowed down like soft, white wings. Stress fell away, hypnotized and entranced. Eyes remained shut. Fingers moved up and down in the air as if leading those playing before him. Tranquility was sweet, chasing the descendants of Moby and VAST. Then, the phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Rudy?"
"John?" Rudy Lom sat up in his chair. He threw a nut up in the air and caught it in his mouth. "What's going on?"
"Have you heard from Dorian?"
"Dorian? No. Why?"
"Is that music I hear? What are you doing?"
"I am… Was listening to music." He pushed a button on the pad beside him, and the music abruptly stopped. "And popping my nuts."
"Excuse me?"
"My nuts. I mean. Not my nuts. My peanuts." He smacked himself on the forehead. "Peanuts as like cashews and walnuts…"
"I get it. Look, I'm on my way."
"What's going on with Dorian?" He shifted in his seat.
"I'll tell you when I get there."
"Okay." The phone call ended. "Stupid," he cursed at himself. He sensed someone nearby. "Dorian?"
"Rudy."
"John just called about you, and…" Someone else stepped into view. "Dr. Vaughn?" He moved his hand toward the pad beside him, but Dorian aimed his gun at him. "Dorian? What are you doing? What's going on? What did you do to him?" He now faced Dr. Vaughn.
"First off, it is so good to see you, Rudy, and please, call me Nigel."
"I asked you a question, Dr. Vaughn."
"No, Rudy. I'll ask the question. Where are the memories that you extracted from Dorian here?"
"I don't know what you are talking about." Dorian clicked the safety off. "Wait. Wait. I have them. Why?"
"Because, Rudy." Dr. Vaughn was now face to face with him. "You're going to put them back."
"And why would I do that?"
"It's simple. If you don't, Dorian will shoot you."
"No. He won't." Dorian fired, missing Rudy by an inch. "Dorian!"
"I'm sorry, Rudy. I really am."
"Would you like to test me again?" Rudy swallowed hard and shook his head. "Good. Now, get to work." Dr. Vaughn stepped back.
"It will just take me a few minutes to do that. Dorian, could you lie on the table here, please?"
"I will sit," and Dorian sat on the table with his gun still trained on Rudy. "Why do I need these memories, doctor?"
"Answers."
"Okay. Just one more moment." Rudy tinkered with the now exposed circuitry in the back of Dorian's head. "All done." He slowly stepped back.
"Dorian?" Dr. Vaughn stepped closer. "Can you access them?"
"Yes. Accessing them now. I see…" He fell silent.
"Dorian," Rudy whispered. "Dorian?"
"Give him a moment."
"The child. It's a ten-year-old girl. She's dying."
"I need you to access the last memory. Let it take control."
"What are you doing?"
"Not now, Rudy." The gun twitched in Dorian's hand, and Rudy inched back. "Let him remember."
"Those aren't his memories."
"No, Rudy. They're hers."
Dorian was now standing beside the hospital bed. The child played with her toys. The room was lit up with sunlight despite the blinds being drawn. He heard voices and turned to see two doctors enter the room. He recognized one of them.
"How are we doing today, Lily?"
"Good." She continued to play with her toys.
"I heard that you didn't have a good night."
"It's fine. It won't be much longer now." She looked at him. "I'm not scared."
"You shouldn't be." He squeezed her arm. "We're going to take some blood, and do some more tests. Like we explained before, your DNA is unique, and we might be able to help you."
"I hope so."
The door opened behind them. He was the first to see who it was. He moved in front of the child, trying to protect her, but a bullet flew through him, barely missing her. The other doctor screamed. She tried to run, but she was gunned down. Then, the gun turned on the child, but she didn't blink an eye.
"I'm not scared," she said. "I'm not scared of you, dad."
"I'm not here to kill you, Hera."
"My name is Lily."
"Not anymore," and he took her up into his arms and left the room.
"Hera?" Dorian snapped back to reality. "You knew her."
"I did." Dr. Vaughn seemed sad. "I lost the love of my life that day. I nearly died. After that, I swore off humanity and focused on the synthetic souls. Lily's DNA inspired me to pursue that. I failed in saving her, but I thought that I could still save the world." He poked around for a moment in Dorian's head and then closed him back up. "I was wrong, and she's back."
"Why did her father call her, Hera?"
"It's like with Prometheus. He saved mankind with the gift of fire, but Hera? She's the opposite. Her gift to mankind would be its destruction. I was hoping in the last recordings of her mind that we could catch a glimpse of what he intended on doing to her. I guess that was my answer."
"That she would destroy us," Dorian asked, and the doctor nodded. "How?"
"I wish I knew." He turned toward Rudy, who had managed to sneak away. "Dorian."
Dorian moved quickly. Rudy had a head start, but he was faster. He snuck around him, and Rudy barely turned when Dorian's hand flashed through the air. He found the pressure point at the base of his neck and rendered Rudy unconscious. Then, he picked up the limp body and carried it back over to where the doctor was. He gently laid his friend on the table. His gun was still in his hand, but he refused to aim it at his friend.
"Don't worry." Dorian glanced up at the doctor. "I don't want him dead."
"That's a good thing. I would hate to shoot you before getting answers." John appeared behind the doctor with his gun trained on him. "I'm surprised to see you, doc. What brings you out of hiding?"
"Hera," Dorian replied.
"Is that so? I would love to pick your brain." He glanced over at Rudy. "Dorian, what did you do to him?"
"I gave him a Vulcan Nerve Pinch." John stared at him. "Like this," and Dorian charged him, struggling to reach his neck.
"Dorian, what is wrong with you?" Keenex struggled against his partner, who then put him back in a sleeper hold. "No…" He started to pass out. "Dorian," and then he was gone.
"Why did you make me do that?"
"Relax, Dorian. I don't want him dead either."
"Well, who do you want dead, doctor?"
"Insyndicate," he responded. "They opened Pandora's Box. The only difference is that there won't be any Hope left for us." He started to leave but then looked at Kennex's unconscious body. "Take him with us. We might need him, but get rid of his tracker first. I'll wait outside."
Dorian watched him leave. He struggled to not follow his orders, but his body betrayed him. He found himself now holding Kennex in his arms. He didn't want to hurt him, but he dug out the tracker. He dropped it onto the floor and crushed it with his foot. Then, he carried his friend outside. "I'm sorry, John. I really am," and the door slammed shut behind him.
