42. I am going to obliterate them
Link blatantly entered the school kitchen. The ladies that served the food looked at him with contempt. The main cook smiled at him as she took the bread tray from his hands, she whispered a thank you and gave him a brownie. Link takes it kissing her hand and making her laugh in the process.
LINK POV
*That kiss was taking it a little too far, don't you think?
Not at all, life has shown me the importance of befriending the proletariat, they function like an ant colony, meaning they are trust worthy and capable of incredible feats of strength if ever needed. One very important bonus of this friendship is: that you now have eyes and ears EVERYWHERE.
Link quickly scans the cafeteria looking for Lee, he soon sees him waving. Link sighs and heads there. Lee notices that his blonde duplicate is not carrying a food tray, he points at Link's hands frowning.
"I am not hungry" Link answers as he proceeds to take a seat in front of him.
Lee raises both his shoulders quickly as if saying ¨if you don't care, I don't care either¨ and continues to eat, Link closes his eyes and decides that he can't keep stalling over this, he needs to tell him everything NOW.
"The information I am about to disclose demands absolute secrecy, you are not to talk to ANYONE about what will be discussed here, not even to your family, am I clear on that?"
Lee stops eating and looks straight at Link "I am listening" he then continues to eat without a care "don't worry about the secrecy part, I don't really have friends and my family is probably death"
His parents may be death? I… will get back to that later.
"Listen, regardless of my age, I belong to an organization that imparts judgement on people, this line of work often places me on danger's path. It's vital to keep track of people that could be potential donors, that is the reason why I am here talking to you, according to Zhongshan Hospital archives, you were admitted there 4 years ago, your health records strongly suggest that you could enter the donor program of the organization as my donor"
Rolling his eyes "Right… do you enjoy pranking people like this?" asks Lee suspicious about why Link knew about a Hospital in Shanghai.
"You don't believe me, I understand, I will prove it" Link takes out his cellphone and opens an app "dial your cellphone number and click send" Link states handing over his cellphone to Lee.
Lee looks at the cellphone, an unknown app is open and running, he looks at Link with distrust, how can he trust him? They don't know each other for that long, besides… its completely unsafe to share personal info like this, you become a target for scammers.
Link tries to reassure him by mouthing ¨just trust me¨ Lee sighs and nods, after dialing his number, he clicks send. In less than a minute his cellphone rings, but it does not display the number calling. He looks at Link in shock and answers, he quickly ends the call, a few seconds later his cell rings again notifying that he received a new message.
"What did I just agree to?" asks Lee exasperated "the lady that called just welcomed me to a program and hung on me, I don't even know what this so-called program involves"
"You agreed to a medic coming to visit you later today, he or she is to take a sample of your blood to verify if we are a match, if we are you will gain access to the benefits of the program, such benefits are listed on the text they just send to your cellphone" Link answers calmly
"You TRICKED ME, you got me enrolled on a doubtful program that conveniently demands secrecy, why did I trust you? You could be selling me to a mafia for all I know, how could I be so darn stupid"
Selling him to a mafia… that is a little TOO specific, I don't like where my head is taking me… I cannot overthink this, maybe he enjoys watching telenovelas. Mafia involvement is a recurring theme in Latin TV productions, isn't it?
Link smiles "I dare you to read what was send to you, in no way am I seeking to hurt you. My time here is limited and you are hard headed, hence why I opted to trick you into testing for this, I figured it would be faster and easier. If we are NOT a match, you can forget about everything and carry on with your life. But if we are, you still have to call them to accept or refuse the program. I am not forcing you into anything, read the info they just send to your cellphone, it provides details about the benefits of the program, and also the hindrances" Link ends lowering his volume.
Lee was about to grab his cellphone and start reading, but his hand trembled, this was too much… and happening WAY too fast for him to keep up. He places his face between his hands and takes a few deep breaths.
"Don't you need parental consent for this" Lee finally asks
"No. As I said before, your involvement with SWORD has to remain a secret from everyone, that includes your parents, violation of the secrecy pact has… consequences"
"SWORD?" Lee asks rising his head
"Sentient World Observation and Response Department"
Lee scoffs "That is an acronym, remind me of SHIELD, that is a fictitious agency used in comics and movies. Come on, I thought you had more imagination" he laughs a little at himself for entertaining the idea of this being real.
"It IS a sister organization I admit, but let me correct you on one thing: SHIELD IS REAL, they hide conveniently under the guise of Marvel comics, but they are out there." Link answers with more patience that he knew he was capable of.
Lee shakes his head in disbelief, the bell rings signaling the end of the lunch break, Link starts to stand but Lee reaches to grabs his arm. Link stops and stares at him noticing he lacks color on his cheeks and lips.
"I… don't feel good" Lee says in shame
Fuck, what do I do? I did this to him… I should not have blurted out everything all of a sudden. But on the other hand, my forwardness and lack of hesitation helped me gain his trust. I think he believes me now; his brain is telling him to diss me though. I could diffuse all his doubts, but I need take advantage of his confusion; he may open up and tell me everything. But I need to keep him talking.
"I understand, you should go home, let me take you." Lee stares back at him with contempt "don't get me wrong, I am just a little worried, I don't want you crossing streets alone feeling weak and distracted…"Link says staring at him concerned
"Fair, if you don't mind skipping classes, let's go" he agrees avoiding Link's gaze
Lee stands grabbing on Link's shoulder for stability since he was feeling dizzy. He continues to use Link for stability even when they reach the street. Link doesn't mind at all, his idea of grabbing on his shoulder was infinitely better than him offering his arm for support, like he would a lady, Lee was no lady.
They walked for 8 minutes till they arrived to a VERY small house. Once they entered Link noticed the house was one big room that functioned as a dorm, kitchen and dining room.
"Are you renting this place or…" Link asks with curiosity
"I rent it, its small but I don't need anything else, and its cheap" Lee clarifies
"How are you paying for this? you are not old enough to work" Link asks
"My… family left some money to me; I need to make that money last until I am 18 and can apply for a job" Lee answers rather quickly, not wanting to dwell on that
"Your family… you mean your biological family or the family that gave you the last name?" Link asks giving Lee a side glance
Lee freezes a little, breaths in slowly to regain his calm
"I am curious you know, you don't look Chinese at all, or even half Chinese. How did you come to have that last name?" Link presses on the topic
Lee look at Link a little angry, but then he starts looking depressed and sighs
"If you don't want to talk about it, its ok, I will back off" Link says squinting his eyes a little
No, it's NOT ok, but if he needs time to open up, I won't press, but I DO want to know, the Chinese culture is very strict, I need to know what where the circumstances that allowed this to happen.
"I was sold to a Chinese mafia"
Link looked at his duplicate in shock, he quickly sakes his head trying to avoid all the ugly images that came to his mind.
"My father won a trip to Shanghai, then acquired a big debt at the hotel's casino, he was offered to settle it in exchange of me, they wanted to use me as a drug mule… nobody suspects a kid"
"Did they got to use you to transport it?" Link asks trying to keep his calm
"No, not as a drug mule, that would have been better I guess… look I" Lee interrupts himself to get a coup of water for himself
Lee's hands are shaking really bad, making it difficult to pour some water in a coup for himself. He hesitates about sharing that part of his life since is very dark, and he knows NOTHING of Link… but for some reason he feels like he knows him, that he can trust him. He smiles thinking he must be going crazy.
"They tried inserting some bags with coke up my rectum, but they could not fit them through my anus, they said they needed to loosen me up a little, and the best method to do it was to rape me"
"Tell me they didn't get to do that to you… please" Link implores him
"Don't worry, I don't remember any of it. The lady of the mafia lord entered the room and discovered what they were doing to me, she is a mother so this made her furious, she demanded them decapitated on the spot, but the lord just fired them. Apparently, I was pronounced brain dead by when I arrived the hospital, but the lord's lady refused to give up on me and kept me connected 4 years. When I woke up from the coma, my physical features had changed apparently, and I had a major memory loss, I couldn't remember anything, not even my name or my parent's faces…"
Lee takes a deep breath before continuing with his narration
"All I am telling you now is what they told me, I don't remember any of it, guilt is the reason why they kept paying the hospital so many years, and pity is why they raised me as their own for 2 years. Then I heard they were being hunted down by another mafia, when I asked about it the lady protected me by sending me to America with some money, that is why I am safe, but not sure if they are still alive"
They killed him, Robert died that day and the goddesses used the empty vessel to place one of my duplicates… I don't need a fucking DNA test, he is me, I am sure now. I need names of the people who killed Robert, I am going to make them pay for this.
"You know… I studied a little of psychology, and let me tell you, there is no way you don't remember, your brain can trick you but the body remembers" Link says whit finality
Lee stares at Link a little terrified by the idea, up to this day he had chosen to believe he was lied to "I… can't bring back the memory of it, but I have dreams about it often… if what you say is true, maybe they are not dreams" he shakes his head furiously "But I don't know how the mind works, so I can't be sure of anything" Lee says trying to avoid breaking down.
I AM GOING TO OBLITERATE THEM, AND I AM GOING TO FUCKING ENJOY IT.
"Lee, I am going to ask you for something, I need names, and a physical description of them, do you remember enough to do this for me?"
"I don't know names, I kind of remember the nicknames they used to refer to themselves. And I made a drawing of their faces… as part of therapy, why do you what that?"
"I belong to SWORD, that is above all, an observation and response department, and I swear I AM going to respond."
ZELDA POV
I thought I was going to be bored out of my mind, staying behind all alone doesn't sound fun at all, but I am having a blast. I have learned more about the appliances my cellphone has, and before leaving, Link showed me where and how to watch movies on it. He did that to prevent me from doing something stupid, he said.
What is he afraid of? That I could end myself? He should not be, I am too much of a coward to do it, I need external assistance if I want to carry it out, and I already burned that bridge. Besides, I am having so much fun, I am enjoying myself despite what happened with my dad, or with Kenia. I now realize that I am more than a wounded child, and I have the potential to be the person I always dreamed I could be. I don't want to die anymore.
The door knob turns, Zelda stands on high alert, but relaxes when she sees Link entering.
"WHY WAS THE DOOR OPEN?" Link yells at Zelda without turning from the now closed door.
Wow… he DOES have a choir voice, I knew it. I am glad he trusts me enough to let me hear him, BUT it's not good that he used it because he got angry at me, I made a mistake, but it's not that big of a deal, there is something more here… what happened?
Zelda approaches him slowly, putting on a shameful face
"I am sorry, I thought to leave it open since you no longer had the keys, but you are right, I should have closed it… is everything ok?"
Link turns from the door to her, his eyes closed as he leans back on the door
"I talked to Lee, he will accept the program I am sure, but it weights me knowing why he will accept. I won't say anything else about this topic" he clarifies staring deeply at her
Fair, I won't ask about it… I wonder if Lee is ok, at least it doesn't appear that they fought
"Ok, I am sorry for the both of you, but it's still good news, right? we… you can help him a little right?"
"Yes, I suppose" Link opens his eyes to look straight at her "this really doesn't scare you?"
Zelda grins at him and shakes her head "it sounds cool actually, I like it" she answers truthfully
Link grunts a little, then retrieves the brownie from one of his pockets and hands it to her
"Before you ask, I tend to befriend the service people wherever I go, they are a great source of information"
Zelda laughs "I suspected something like that, I mean… you didn't befriended Chacha because she is cute, did you?" Link smiles confirming what the princess said "THIS… they gave it to you right? YOU should eat it then"
"I can't"
"Just a small bite, I eat the rest" Zelda encourages him
"You don't mind doing that?"
"Of course not, you DO have your shots, right?" Zelda jokes lifting her eyebrows.
Link growls at her as opens the wrapper of the brownie and takes a bite, then hands her the rest with fake disdain.