FOURTEEN of THIRTY-TWO
*NOTE – Hello everybody, it's me, TheManFromMudos, and today I'm back again, as promised, with another chapter of 'Xavier'. Now, we may have gotten through thirteen chapters of this story already, but trust me, this one and the next are the ones that will really set the major plotlines of the story in motion. You may have noticed hints of these plotlines from Chapter 7 and onwards, but if not, feel free to go back and check them out before giving this one a read, if you have time. I would also like to point out that this was originally going to be the longest chapter of the story so far, coming in at well over 3,000 words. I initially felt that everything that I wanted to go into at this point should take place within a single chapter, and I still maintain that the effect of this chapter may have been more powerful that way. But alas, it was simply too much to take in all at once. So, I've decided to move the last few hundred words of this chapter to the beginning of the next one, which will be coming in a few days, by the way. Anyway, that's all I wanted to say for now. I'll leave you now to sink your teeth into this one, and please, don't hesitate to let me know what you think. So, as always, read on and enjoy. It's 'Xavier'. THANK YOU!*
'Though the Jupiter Mining Corporation is part of a specialised industry…' I read drearily, my eyes aching as the words began to blur before me. I was sure I'd read this sentence already. Three times, as a matter of fact. Or maybe I was just getting tired. Since bringing this book home from the library, I'd done nothing but read. I got up in the morning, I had breakfast and a cup of tea, then I sat down to read. At lunch and dinner, I stopped to eat, then sat back down to read. And finally, at bedtime, I went to sleep, only to get up again in the morning and read. I'd been doing this for three, maybe four days now, and I was getting nowhere. Things weren't exactly going well around the house, either. Katie and I continued to avoid conversation, and Xena still coughed, worse every day. And all I could think to do was read. To sit here, locked away in the spare bedroom, reading the same lines over and over, ignoring my problems like any rational person would.
It was about an hour or so later, at around four o'clock, that I heard a knock at the door. I tried to say 'come in', but barely mumbled, too tired to even attempt speaking at this point. The latch clicked and in walked Katie, holding a brimming mug of tea in her hand.
"Brought you a drink." She said kindly, walking over to the desk I sat behind and placing the mug down, taking care not to spill any tea.
"Thanks." I groaned, stretching with genuine effort just to reach the mug. Leaning forwards with a pained moan, I sipped carefully at the drink.
"So," Katie said with a discernible tone of concern in her voice, "How's it going?"
"Horribly." I admitted with a sigh, leaning back in my chair and staring at the ceiling. "I think this book was in the wrong section."
"What do you mean?" She asked, an eyebrow raised, although I suspected that she didn't really care.
"Well, most of it's about uniforms." I explained, flicking through the book as I spoke. "Colours and materials. Listen to this: 'Ashbridge Industries International – Seeding and Colonisation Division: Black nylon dress shirt. Black cotton trousers. White aramid belt. White woollen socks.' I know this uniform Katie, I wore it for years."
"So why don't you just take the book back?" She sighed, her tone still one of concern, although with slight agitation.
"Because this could be it, Katie." I replied, staring deep into the page before me. "It might seem useless, but this book could be the answer."
"How?" She asked, trying her best to remain calm and supportive. I, however, could not contain myself so easily in my current state of fatigue.
"I don't fucking know how!" I snapped, slamming the book shut and dropping it onto the desk with a thud. I leaned forwards, burying my head in my hands as Katie simply looked at me with bewilderment. I sighed heavily, and took a few deep breaths to steel myself.
"Sorry." I muttered, without lifting my head. I didn't want to look at her after this outburst. "I'm just tired. I'm so tired, Katie."
"Look, why don't you take a break?" She replied gently, placing a hand on my shoulder. "You've been at it for days, Matthew, you've barely left this room."
"I know." I said hoarsely, lowering my hands and staring into space. "I know. But I need to figure this out."
"So take your time with it." She replied, continuing to attempt a supportive tone. "Have a rest, get some sleep. Come back to it fresh in the morning."
"Have a rest?" I whispered slowly, although my tone and pace quickly started to rise as I became angry once again. "Every night, a dozen more people disappear. Do you have any idea what could be happening to them, right at this very moment? Do you?"
"Matthew, please stop." Katie said solemnly, her voice beginning to tremble. "You're becoming obsessed. You've hardly spoken to me in days. Or Xena, for that matter." I simply slumped back in my chair and closed my eyes, breathing heavily as I calmed myself a second time.
"Is something troubling you?" Katie continued, crouching beside my chair and placing a hand over my own. Ordinarily, I would take this as an advance, but under the circumstances I could see that she was simply trying to comfort me.
"I'm fine." I muttered, although she clearly knew that this was a lie. She gazed at me with a motherly smile, and reluctantly, I continued.
"It's just…" I started, my voice shaky. "Let's say, for a moment… let's just imagine… that one day… Xena might not be here."
"What do you mean?" She asked, startled by the implications of this statement. "Is something happening between you?"
"No, it's nothing like that." I replied, shaking my head weakly. "Have you actually seen her lately, Katie? Have you spoken to her at all?"
"Well, she doesn't really speak, as such, does she?" Katie remarked jokingly. Ordinarily, I would have chuckled. But not right now.
"I'm serious, Katie." I told her with a sigh, my voice almost deadpan. "She's not well. You must have noticed."
"What, because she's coughing a bit?" She replied naïvely, trying to refute the possibility of anything worse. "Matthew, it's just a bug."
"A bug?" I chuckled, shaking my head and sighing for the hundredth time. "She's a Xenomorph, Katie, she doesn't get bugs."
"Then what do you think it is?" She asked. What did I think it was? Honestly, I hadn't the faintest idea. All I knew was that it wasn't right. Whatever was wrong with Xena, it wasn't normal, and it wasn't supposed to be happening. I'd never heard her cough before now. Not once.
"I don't know." I told her truthfully, my voice remaining almost silent throughout. "But how am I supposed to find out? We can't take her to the hospital, we can't call a doctor. She clearly feels like shit and I'm expected to just sit here and fucking watch as she gets worse, Katie."
"Matthew, I still don't understand." Katie told me with a shake of her head. She took a step back, folding her arms the way a teacher does when she wants her class to shut up. "If she's sick, then why aren't you spending time with her? Why are you cooped up in here reading when she needs you?"
"Because she's not the only one who needs me, Katie." I said solemnly, staring down at the ground as I spoke. "You need me. Xavier needs me. Amanda needs me. Yes, Xena is so… so important to me. But so are all of you. And I have to do this to keep you all safe."
"But you don't, Matthew, can't you see that?" She replied caringly. "You don't have to go out there and put yourself in danger to protect us."
"So what happens when I wake up one morning and you're gone?" I said bluntly. "What happens when our children are taken from us in the middle of the night? What happens then, Katie?!" I gazed at her sombrely for several moments, waiting for some reply. But none came. She simply stood there, looking down at her feet, refusing to even acknowledge the question. Refusing to accept the lingering threat staring us all right in the face.
"Exactly." I continued, my voice trembling considerably at this point. I saw tears begin to well in Katie's eyes. "And when Xena's gone-"
"Don't say that." She interrupted, her voice breaking up. She shook her head in denial, though she knew the truth. "Matthew, please don't say that."
"When Xena's gone…" I repeated, collecting myself as I fought to hold back my own tears, "That child's mother is gone. And then it's up to me. I have to raise him myself. How can I do that, if he could be taken at any moment? How do I look after him when that risk is always there, every day, for the rest of our lives? I need to stop this for him, Katie. Not for me, not to prove myself to anyone. For him, and Amanda, and you." The room fell silent then, for several moments. Neither one of us was quite sure how to continue the conversation after that. Katie simply stared at me with sadness in her eyes, knowing in her heart of hearts that what I was saying was the truth. Xavier was my priority now. He had to be.
"Dinner's ready in half an hour." She finally said, her voice barely more than a whisper as she turned to leave. "I'll call you down when it's done."
"Oh, and by the way…" She continued, turning back around as she reached the door. "That missing android that was on the news the other day…"
"The KT unit?" I asked, sighing as I picked my book up from the table and leaned back in my chair once again. "What about it?"
"Well, I was just thinking, you know." Katie explained, shrugging her shoulders. "Maybe it has something to do with all of this?"
"I doubt it." I told her with a shake of my head. "A single android couldn't be behind this. Besides, Mavis' grandson saw more than one man."
"Who's Mavis?" She asked, a look of confusion on her face. Of course, I hadn't told her the full, unabridged version of the story Anne told me.
"Doesn't matter." I said, brushing away my previous remark. "Anyway, I don't see how there could be a connection."
"Well don't you think it's worth looking in to?" Katie continued adamantly. "You've got the book right in front of you. Look it up."
"Katie, this is a book of uniforms." I said, holding up the book to show her one of the pages. "Not androids. What can I possibly find in here?"
"Well, you could look for the company that makes the KT series, for a start." She remarked bluntly, unimpressed by my current attitude.
"Fine. If you really think it'll lead somewhere." I said with a sigh. Of course, I knew that the 'K' in 'KT' was short for 'Kovacs'. KES named all of their androids this way. So, I flicked back in the book to find the contents page, and ran my finger down the list for Kovacs Extrasolar Solutions.
"Right, here we are, then." I said, turning to the corresponding index page.. "Oh, and would you believe it? No mention of any androids."
"At least read the page first!" Katie snapped. I could tell by the tone of her voice that she really was certain she had a lead, here.
"Alright, I'm reading it." I assured her, studying the page carefully. "Now then: Aerospace Technologies, Light-Speed Research, Electrical Engineering, Bio-Warfare, Long Range Communications, Gravi- hold on." I hesitated suddenly, the words only just registering in my head.
"What is it?" Katie asked, now approaching my desk once again, apparently becoming eager that her little hunch may actually get us somewhere.
"Bio-Warfare." I repeated, looking back up the list to triple-check that I had read the words correctly. "That's biological weapons, surely?"
"Well, check it out!" She said enthusiastically. This was a very different Katie to the one who had condemned my obsessive behaviour mere moments ago, but I wasn't complaining. Finally, she seemed to be as invested in this as I was. And believe you me, I was pretty invested.
"I will, I will…" I assured her calmly. "Okay, Page 934… 931, 932, 933, ah! Page nine-hundred and thirty-four: 'Department of Biological Warfare'."
"Anything?" Katie asked the very instant that I'd finished my sentence. I'd barely even glanced at the page, and she was demanding a response.
"Just give me a second!" I told her with some annoyance. "Alright, we've got Security, Research, Testing, Development, Distribution…"
"And what about the uniforms; look at the uniforms!" She insisted sharply, her tone becoming more urgent still.
"Yes, ma'am." I replied through gritted teeth, becoming slightly overwhelmed by her urgency now. "Dark blue cotton, turquoise nylon, white silk, red polyester…" My voice trailed off as I reached the fifth item on the list. I glared at it in disbelief for several moments. Could it be?
"What? What is it, Matthew?" Katie demanded, leaning over my shoulder to try and get a glimpse at the page I was reading.
"Flash-Spun High Density Polyethylene, Full Body, Blue" I whispered, astonished. "Or in other words, a blue hazmat suit." I looked up at Katie in disbelief, only to see her shrugging her shoulders, seemingly ignorant to the fact that she'd just hit the nail square on the head.
"Katie," I explained, "this is exactly the uniform that the kidnappers wore." I was still in a state of utter disbelief myself, but Katie's face fell at this.
"Seriously?" She said hesitantly. Even she could barely believe the breakthrough she had just made. "I was right?"
"Yes!" I shouted cheerfully. "Yes, Katie, you were right!" I practically leaped out of my chair in excitement, tossing the enormous book aside and throwing my arms around her. Four days I'd been at it. Four days, but at last I had my first real lead. At last, I was getting somewhere.
"Oh, thank you so much!" I exclaimed, embracing Katie tightly. She returned the gesture, and for several moments we simply stood there in one another's arms. Soon, though, the excitement began to wear off, and I came to terms with what I was doing. A spur of the moment thing, but now was the time to end it. I tried to pull away, but Katie would not release her grasp. I cleared my throat purposefully to remind her of our current situation, but suddenly found myself drowned out by a much louder, and much more purposeful cough. A cold shiver ran down my spine at the realisation that we were not alone. The two of us fell silent, and I slowly turned my head towards the doorway. Needless to say, the embrace came to a swift end when I saw Xena standing there.