*Blows dust off an old file to reminisce on the times when he actually updated* Dear word... It's been over a year since I actually wrote anything... I wonder if any of you even remember my little story. I suppose I could provide a plethora of reasons for why I have utterly failed as a writer in finishing a story, but for the sake of what is to come I'll simply request that you PM me for the specifics and a catch-up on how things have been in the "Great" Northwest as of late. And now to brush off yet another of my ever so old cliches.
I own nothing!
Chapter 36: New Beginnings?
Needless to say that in the chaos that followed after Jeb pilfered the avians, I was in no state to be trifled with. Hades did his best to try to put even the faintest glimmer of a smile on my face, and somewhere deep down his friendship resonated with me, but I had found myself completely preoccupied with another matter in its entirety.
It hadn't been twenty-four hours after Jeb had abandoned us all when it became no secret that in his hurry Jeb had forgotten something dearly important, something that I knew would one day come to haunt him for the rest of his natural life. He had forgotten his son, Ari.
I was nestled in my chair in the break room, my chin resting against a coiled fist and my elbows dug into the armrests. My gaze was fixated on the little child that sat before me, who looked back at me every half minute or so to see if I was still paying attention to him. Ari. There was an innocence in those eyes that I hadn't seen since I last gazed at Phoenix, and sad to say, it troubled me. How was it possible that the spawn of Jeb could be a mere child? What gnawed at my conscious like guilt was that Jeb had not only abandoned us, but his own flesh and blood. Was there nothing that man wouldn't do to achieve his ends?
Ari stacked a set of blocks into a tower, his amusement at what I'm sure he considered a grand achievement threw me back to my experience in Paris. The memory of his face covered in melted cheese made the corners of my mouth rise ever so slightly. I envied him, to the uneducated eye he was just an ordinary child, but upon further inspection he was a tabula rusa, unblemished and unscathed. He defied everything I had been exposed to, when I was his age I was being experimented on, I had known fear, I wondered if I was going to continue to think and feel the next day, or if I would be able to endure.
My gaze grew darker and as if he could feel my glare he turned his head towards me. He tilted his head just ever so slightly off to the side, analyzing the perplexing look I had on my face. Beneath that tranquil exterior his mind was no doubt judging me, attempting to conclude whether or not I would be a benevolent force or a chaotic force.
Just then Hades came into the room, his hair was a mess, as if he couldn't stop running his fingers nervously through it.
"We've lost all traces of him. It's like he did everything Locke had done down to the letter." My jaw clenched. Hades' eyes dashed back and forth between Ari and me. Hades chuckled. "It's like he's sizing you up."
"Children have no sense of self." I said rising to my feet. "However, they also have no sense of others or the permanence of matter." I paced over and crouched next to Ari. "Because of this, they are the most ego-centric, narcissistic, and fearful people we will ever know." I placed my hand on Ari's head. "And yet they are as close to perfect as we will ever be." Hades hooked his thumbs in his pockets. "It makes me wish I could still be like that." Very gently I began probing Ari's mind in an attempt to know if he had any idea of the significance of what was occurring around him. There were almost no words, just feelings and sensations. Hunger, persistent curiosity, and he was slightly on edge. He hadn't concluded if I would be harmful to him or not. But there was something else deep down in his mind, but it kept repeating itself, and that alerted me to its presence. He was longing for something... his father.
"I don't think you'll ever grow up entirely." I looked at him curiously. "You're too much of a child at heart." He crouched down next to Ari as well. "And that's all that matters in my book." He put his hand on my head. "Your like the little brother that I never had." That comment caught me completely off guard. After all that we had been through, to me, Hades had been nothing but a good friend, quite possibly the only people outside of my pack who I could trust one hundred percent. But that was just the immediate shock. To him, I was like family, a commodity that every Eraser sacrificed in the name of scientific progress. Naturally my mind progressed to reflect on what little family I had known in my pitiful excuse of a life. My pack was so much more then family, however only one person could truly be called family. Victoria. I was stolen from her when she needed someone the most, she genuinely loved me as a brother, as someone who she was connected to by just more then social experience.
My gaze drifted back and forth between Hades and Ari, I was dumbfounded and I had no clue how I was supposed to react to what Hades had said. He chuckled at the expression on my face and Ari remained blissfully unaware of was going on around him, that is until Hades' cell phone rang. He got up and took a few steps aside.
"Yes... He is?... Now?..." He shot me an odd look. "I escort them there now... Yes." The phone disappeared into his pocket and he hooked his thumbs in his pockets again. "Well I've got some news."
"Good news or bad news?" I said getting to my feet, Ari's eyes immediately tried to connect with mine.
"That will be for you to decide. Come on, I'm to escort you and Ari to the conference room." My memories of the conference room weren't the most pleasant, and so with some resentment I followed Hades. Before I even took my first step I felt a little hand clasp onto mine, Ari had a death grip on me, and the determination in his eyes told me that this was the way it was going to be. We followed Hades to the conference room, there was an air of uncertainty around him, setting me on edge.
When we arrived Hades held the door open for me, Ari refused to let go so he came in right behind me. The Chairman was sitting at the far end of the table which came as no surprise to me, his fingers were laced and his eyes were closed, I could sense his eyes moving underneath their lids, judging where I would be when he did open them. I sat down not far from him, Ari looked up at me and I sat him on my lap, he continued to cling to my arm, his head facing the door and Hades. The Chairman cleared his throat and opened his eyes.
"In the wake of Jeb's unforeseen departure from the company, we've decided that we should not pursue him or the avians." He paused, waiting for me to respond.
"What about-"
"The boy?" He cut me off. "He's to remain here, under your supervision." He got up and turned around. "We plan on making the most of him in due time, however he is not to be harmed or tampered with in our current situation. Jeb will not so lightly abandon the only free flesh and blood he has, he will come back someday..." His voice trailed off with his thoughts. "As for how you will conduct your raising of the child, we have decided to let you choose. Of course you will be under constant watch. We haven't forgotten your little experience with that madman." His jaw clenched.
We don't want another madman on our hands.
The room went silent. We were both analyzing the severity of what had just been communicated. The Chairman had just handed over Ari to me, as if he was some sort of assignment or project. How was I supposed to handle a child? Until recently I had no memory of my childhood, how could I raise one myself if I wasn't even old enough to be a father? Not only that, but The Chairman didn't trust me, none of the higher-ups did. They were afraid of me, of what I could become. They were using me; not just me, but Ari as well. They were using him as bait to get Jeb back, and me to get Locke to start dropping clues of what he was planning.
I heard Hades shifting uncomfortably by the door, his hand was already gripping the handle, all to well aware of the painfully short visits that the board of directors would often privilege us with. The Chairman's gaze seemed to pierce through me, as if he was attempting to stare down Hades, Ari, and myself in one swift blow. Ari began to tremble, and a damp cold sweat from his palms was soaking through the sleeve of my suit.
"Felix, he doesn't look well." Hades said with a great deal of concern. I shook my head slightly, his comment snapped the tension in the air and I sunk into the chair a little bit. Ari, in an attempt to readjust himself, slipped out of my lap and onto the floor; seeing this as an opportunity Hades opened to door for us to leave. This time, I was the one stood up first and left that cursed room behind. Ari chased after me and when he finally caught up automatically attached himself to me. We paced back to the break room in silence, and when we arrived Hades let out a heavy sigh.
"Am I the only one who thinks that he's nothing but trouble?" Ari looked at Hades' sudden expression of opinion with a great deal of concern about whether the comment was directed towards him.
"Careful Hades, he's sharper then he looks." I retorted in Ari's defense. Hades rolled his eyes jokingly and took seat on the couch, I sat in my chair and Ari went back to his blocks. I directed my attention back to Hades who was looking at Ari. "No you're not. It seems that he's been the bearer of bad news since the beginning. I doubt that he really wishes this on us, but there is a level of disgust that I can read off of him, it's as though on an unconscious level he enjoys disrupting our lives." Hades flashed me a quick glance.
"And you got all of that from just being in the same room as him? You really need a vacation." I smirked at his jest, he was trying to cheer me up, it's not like I could shoot down his attempts, but there was a sincerity that I couldn't turn down. I did need a break from it all, lately my life had been one catastrophic series of events that never seemed to end.
It was at that moment that the door silently swung open, The Chairman entered with his head held lower then usual. I could feel an uneasiness about him, anxiety and discomfort. He cleared his throat roughly, readjusting his tie when he was done.
"Forgive the intrusion, but I'm afraid that our meeting wasn't finished." Hades had turned so he could see both of our faces, Ari paid us no mind. "In the wake of current events, I wish to extend an invitation to the Institute for you and Ari, you would be free to stay for as long as you saw fit." He stopped, broke eye contact with me to glance at Hades and Ari, and headed for the door as slowly as he entered. Pausing at the doorway, the corners of his mouth rose like man who's just cheated successfully in a game of chance. "Oh, and my son will be there as well. I'm sure he would be most grateful for your visit." He closed the door and Hades clenched his fists.
"Who does we think we are?" The tone of his voice told me he didn't expect an answer. "Felix I'm getting sick and tired of all this madness, would it kill them to tell us a bit of truth?"
I didn't quite know how to answer that. In my mind I thought that it just might do the higher ups in if they did speak the truth, but that wasn't the only thing that caught my attention. The way he had addressed Isaac was too ominous for my liking. It was almost as if it was a purposely baited afterthought. A trap? Coming from The Chairman of all people it probably was. But I couldn't just turn it down, it was an opportunity for me to see Isaac again, and maybe get some truth or answers from his cryptic little mind. Besides, I'm sure Ari would like to see him again, it has been a long time since they last saw each other.
"You know what Hades, it just might. It just might..."
Revamped plot for the win! During my extended absence I still did have the occasional though about where this story could go beyond what I had already intended for it, the good news is that I get to include some of the new material immediately; for those of you who do by chance remember this sad excuse of an author, you'll remember a devious fiend who always has a plot twist or two up his sleeve so be on your guard. The minute details are as important as ever! Please continue to read and review. TBC, so all in due time.