Disclaimer: Noblesse isn't mine.
I Am Tao (Part 21)
"Hwa!" Shinwoo stepped forward with the punch and used the motion to increase the impact. The punching bag swayed to the side, and he moved with it, cutting around the bag and jabbing his elbow into the back of it as it passed.
"That's quite impressive." The scientist watched from a safe distance as Shinwoo delivered another punch. "Even grown men have difficulty moving the punching bag like that. You must have trained for quite some time."
"Ah, I'm just good at this sort of thing."
"You certainly are." The scientist registered his badge for the competition. Ineligible for selection? It was the same for the other two. A waste, really, but Jameson was the second in command. There would be no disputing the arrangement. Even so, there were plenty of children to choose from. They wouldn't lack for qualified specimens. "Your time has been changed to seven o'clock. Sign in fifteen minutes early if you would like time to prepare. Do you understand the rules?"
"Just show your best fighting moves, right?" Shinwoo looked to Ikhan for help. He still hadn't read the contest regulations.
"Well, more or less. This is a character competition. Try to use the same moves that a character would." The scientist returned their badges to them. If they weren't eligible, there was no reason to give further instructions. "I am finished. You may go to the opening ceremony if you wish."
[-] [-] [-]
"Sorry to make you wait." Suyi checked her appearance by the reflection in the window. It was a poor method to use, but there weren't any mirrors in the office. "I hope Hansu didn't cause you too much trouble. There were plenty of drinks in the dressing room. He shouldn't act like that."
"He must be difficult to work with." Jameson waited by the door with his eyes trained carefully on the ground. Somehow, this seemed invasive. It was his office, he reminded himself. He didn't need permission to be here.
"He is!" Suyi ran her fingers through her hair and flipped it over her shoulder. "He's actually better now. His body guard lost a fight with an ajussi at my school, Ye Ran, and Hansu has been a little more polite ever since."
Jameson looked up at her in amazement. The behavior he had seen from that boy was an improved version? "If he bothers you while you're here, let me know. I'll take care of it."
"That's kind of you." She gave her hair one last pat. Finally, she was ready.
"As head of security, it's my job." He straightened his own tie and buttoned the jacket to his suit in an effort to look slightly more presentable. He would be on stage, too, even if it was just to protect the stars from the background. "You, uh, you look nice, kid."
"Thank you, Mr. Jameson."
She looked pleased, but the compliment felt unnatural to him. When was the last time he had flattered someone and meant it? The last time he had a normal conversation? Could he try something lighthearted? A joke? "Alright, let's go pick up that childish costar of yours."
A faint smile eased across her lips. "Don't let him hear you say that."
"Or else he'll throw a tantrum?"
"Mr. Jameson!" She shouted, still smiling because she knew it was true.
He let the banter die down as they entered the hallway. It would not bode well if his superior saw him this relaxed. Not for him and not for her. He had already bent the rules a little for her. Celebrities were protected. But her friends? The scientist already knew he removed their names from the selection list. He would have to answer for that later, but for now, those children were safe for her sake.
Once he reached the original dressing room, he carefully set a blank expression on his face. He would not give that boy the satisfaction of reacting to the damage he caused. He was so different from Suyi. She was respectful. He was resentful. He didn't deserve any of the courtesy he showed her.
Jameson walked through the door unannounced. "It's time."
"Oh, I'm ready." Hansu arrogantly folded his arms across his chest with a smirk. He had left nothing untouched. The couch lay on its back with the cushions thrown to the floor, and the TV hung upside down from its cord. Somehow, it had managed to stay plugged in and was now playing the news.
Jameson didn't take his eyes from Hansu. He had already seen the destruction from the security cameras, but this was new to Suyi. She glanced at the room and followed his unspoken lead with an equally unimpressed face. Even if he couldn't vocally praise her for it, he was proud. "Come with me."
"That brings the death toll to fifty-three." A nervous reporter announced from a corridor outside the special containment unit for contagious diseases. Obviously. She did not want to be so close, but the room made a good backdrop for such a serious report.
Jameson stopped. The news stations, he knew, were exaggerating the cause of the deaths, but the number of deaths should remain constant. Surely, they wouldn't lie about that. Were they trying to cause a panic? The true death toll was in the twenties, and with all of the awakened experiments dead, that number should not change. Then, there was S-17. He was moving, but he stayed away from other people as far as he could tell.
Hansu mistook the distraction as shock and clamped his hand on Jameson's shoulder. He moved in close to whisper snidely into his ear, "I warned you to keep your stars happy."
"Shut up." Jameson caught Hansu's arm and twisted it behind his back.
The reporter tensely clenched her microphone between her hands, but the perfect smile never left her face. Even afraid, she was a professional. "The hospital has offered a free clinic for anyone that may have come into contact with the disease. There will be a simple evaluation, and if you test positive, you will be given a series of shots. As I said, the treatment is free of cost. The hospital wishes to curb the number of casu-"
"Mr. Jameson?" Suyi's voice was like a whisper, soft and full of hesitation.
He released his hold on Hansu, and the boy tripped forward, already howling threats and lawsuits. No doubt, there would be reprimands for that move, but after what he had just seen, that would be the least of his fears. He had been suspicious of the media but something like this? He didn't need to understand the science of it to see that there were strings attached, and those strings were about to be cut. To have the foresight to make these connections? The boss, he truly was a genius.
"Are you okay?" Her eyes were wide with concern.
"I'm…" He put that expression on her face, and she was worried about him? This girl. She wasted that kind of emotion on someone like him? Was she kind or naive? It was already too late for him. "I'm sorry you has to see that. Please, follow me to the opening ceremonies. It's time to start."
[-] [-] [-]
The door was metal with a small window at the top, and a keypad rested above the door handle. He expected to hack the code sequence, but the door was already propped open with a cinder block. From the temperature inside, the building was not designed to host so many people at once. It was large enough, Union labs always had plenty of room, but the ventilation system couldn't handle the numbers. Doubtlessly, some union member, overcome by the heat, wanted to allow the breeze to travel through the hallways and cool the crowds.
To think, they prepared the way for him. Tao grinned mischievously. "I'm inside."
"Okay." Takeo whispered into the headset as he watched the tiny dot that represented Tao move through the building. Hundreds of other dots congregated in tight quarters and made it difficult to track the dot he needed to focus on. He specialized in tracking targets from a distance, but this was very different. He felt confined, blinded, by having his sight limited to the screen in front of him. He had no training in this, and his first experience would be a live mission involving children? If ever Tao should be at the controls, it would be now. "What do you want me to do?"
"I have a program for you on the desk top. Open it and follow the instructions. I'll tell you when to start." Tao gripped the magnets tightly in each hand as he darted from hiding place to hiding place. One sweep over anything electronic, and it would fry out the circuitry. First, information. "I need a clear path to the lab."
Takeo opened the folder on the desktop that bore his name and quickly scanned the contents. A combination of keys would activate certain applications. That seemed simple enough. He could easily do that much. "The lab is full of people. Tao, what's going on in there? I can only see children outside the facility."
Children. The thought seeped through his mind bitterly as the memory of his student bubbled to the surface. There was only one reason children would be in a place like this. The scientists weren't content with infecting just one boy. They weren't satisfied stealing his humanity. No, they needed more subjects to traumatize. More monsters for their cages. Tao rolled the tracker through his fingers. He would give them a monster. "Takeo, I want the kids out of here right now. Set off an alarm."
[-] [-] [-]
Someone rubbed against his shoulder, and Regis quickly sidestepped the boy to avoid a full on collision. "Excuse me."
The kid fell into a laughing heap on the floor. He sat up and pulled the mask from his head. "Hey, you're going to rip my costume!"
Regis turned away from the scene without looking to see who the boy was talking to. The children here seemed so cheerful. Didn't they know that they were dressing as experiments? Couldn't they see that the lives they wanted to imitate only breathed of despair? And for what? Strength? Power? Humans. It is only after they gain these things that they learn to appreciate their weakness. By then, it is too late to return to their former lives. Such a distasteful thing and to celebrate it?
No wonder M-21 hated that comic book. No wonder Tao and Takeo worked so hard to keep this a secret from him, but was it a mistake? M-21 would never trade ignorance for the chance to protect the children. Was it right, even for his sake, to make that decision for him?
The flow of children wove around the corner and threaded through a door. Regis moved with them, passing through the entrance, and emerging in massive sea of chairs. Someone brushed by him again, and he quickly walked forward. The children must be here somewhere.
"Welcome to the comic convention! Who's excited to be here?" A man shouted into the microphone as he worked the crowd from the stage. The room exploded into a series of applause and cheers. "In a moment, our special guests will say a few words."
Regis slipped into a chair at the end of the aisle. Hundreds of children surrounded him. Perhaps thousands. They sifted into the seats as the announcer continued with his speech. Where are they? Regis turned around in his seat and stared into the faces behind him. No sign of the three children he wanted. Maybe he should use his powers after all. If M-21 grew impatient, there is no telling what chaos would ensue.
"I'm pleased to be here."
That voice! He spun toward the stage. Suyi charismatically swayed across the stage, and the audience already hung on every word. She smiled, and they were spellbound. Those on stage with her, equally as mesmerized, watched from the sidelines. One young man glared with jealousy as the older man next to him beamed with pride, and even the announcer missed his cue to take the microphone back. The sudden cry of a siren woke him from his trance.
"Remain calm!" The announcer shouted as he ripped the microphone from Suyi's hands, and the fear in his own voice triggered the crowd to panic. Children leapt from their seats and ran for the exits in a massive herd as they pushed and shoved each other out of the way.
There was no longer time to be subtle. Regis reached out with his powers, twisting and gliding through the humans until he finally touched a familiar presence. They're close!
[-] [-] [-]
"Jameson!" The intercom crackled above the noise, and the voice of his superior mixed in with the blare of the siren. "Report to the security office!"
The command could not be ignored. Using the intercom was an act of desperation, and the scientists would be aware of this. If even the head of the facility was stricken by fear, how could anyone else remain calm? This on top of the alarm? Was it S-17? Was he here?
"Hansu! Take Suyi out of here!" Jameson yelled, grabbing the boy's shoulders and meeting his eyes. This was more important than the tension between them. Hansu was still a man. He would protect Suyi in his place. "The back hallway leads to the loading docks! Exit from there! I'm entrusting her to you!"
Hansu nodded, forgetting his arrogance.
"Good boy." Jameson patted his shoulders and released him. "Take care of her."
"Mr. Jameson!" Suyi screeched, too frightened to move as some children climbed the stage in an attempt to escape the crowds.
"Suyi!" Jameson swept his arm around her and dragged her toward the back hallway. "Go with Hansu! He'll get you out of here!"
"Where is he?" She looked around, but Hansu was gone.
"That boy!" Jameson growled. "Never mind. I'll take you. You'll be safe with me."
[-] [-] [-]
The shrill of the alarm was deafening. It pealed through the air with a mind-numbing screech. He had heard this before. It was the high level alarm of an intruder. M-21 chased the sound toward the building, darting through the throngs of escaping children and using all his restraint not to call upon his powers.
The familiar swirl of Regis' powers curled around him, graceful and elegant in even this situation. It didn't feel threatening. It didn't feel like a battle. It was reaching, searching. Was it looking for him? The children? An escape? M-21 ran toward the source. It generated from the deepest part of the crowd, but the power was already dissipating. What happened? Why did he stop? Was the alarm related to Regis using his powers?
"You're that school guard!" The shout came from a clearing to his right. Hansu doubled over with his hands on his knees in an attempt to catch his breath. "I'm hiring you to be my bodyguard starting right now!"
"Where are my kids?" M-21 screamed over the siren. Children parted around him as they fled.
Hansu shook his head. What kids? Did he mean Ye Ran students? "Suyi's inside with some jerk security guard."
"What guard? Where is she?"
His voice sounded ferocious. She must have been the one he was looking for. Hansu took a deep breath, using the brief moment to calculate his revenge. "His name's Jameson. He's out of control. He attacked me in the dressing room. I barely made it out of there! He still has Suyi! They were heading toward the loading docks!"
[-] [-] [-]
"Takeo, what did you do?" Tao raced toward the lab and darted behind doors whenever someone came into sight.
"I set off the alarm like you asked." Takeo reread the instructions Tao left for him. Input specific keys into the program, and the computer would do the rest. He had followed the directions perfectly. "Alt-A-1 for the first alarm."
"I meant the fire alarm!" The hallway was clear for now. He had a straight shot to the lab. "This is their highest level of alert! If it weren't for the children, this place would be on lockdown!"
"I'm sorry. This is the first time I have done this." Takeo hesitantly placed his fingers on the keyboard. "What should I do?"
"Just don't touch anything!"
[-] [-] [-]
"Boss, the tracker shows that S-17 is inside the laboratory. May we have permission to terminate or capture the experiment?"
"Denied."
"Sir," he cleared his throat to rid the dither from his voice. Where was Jameson? He needed his subordinate at a time like this. "What do you want us to do with the experiment?"
"It has served its purpose. Let it be, and send the new list of eligible specimens to me."
"Yes, sir."
"Now, Mr. Ruze, unless you have something to report, I am a very busy man."
"Yes, sir, I understand."