The table was covered with her notebook, two fresh cups of coffee and an array of medical equipment. She felt a bit weird about giving someone of his size coffee, but he had insisted and one cup wouldn't kill him. Probably.
"Your heart rate and blood pressure seem normal. I still need a sample of your blood. Any prior illnesses that might be relevant?"
He simply shook his head as he extended his arm. She started to draw off some of his blood while asking more questions.
"When was the poison ingested?"
"Approximately 6 hours ago."
"And how old are you?"
"Does it matter?" He almost seemed like a normal child when he sounded and looked so defiant. She put away the test tube filled with the crimson blood and handed him a wound dressing.
"If you want me to help you, I need as much information as possible." It still felt surreal to talk to someone who got shrunken by her creation. Who would have thought that it was possible for someone to shrink? Where did all the excess tissue go? Does he still have his adult teeth? What about his brain? His physical abilities? Is it even possible to reverse it, to make him age several years in a few seconds? Her mind was racing, question after question filling her mind. Her initial disbelief was replaced by curiosity.
"16."
She nodded, added the number to her notes and paused for a moment. She was unsure if she really wanted to know the answer to her next question.
"How did it -"
"Feel? It felt like what I imagine dying feels like." It was the first time he looked a bit shaken by today's events. It was strange how composed he was. He might not be a real child, but being 16 years old wasn't much better. For god's sake, he was younger than she was. "I felt like I was burning, almost melting. That's what I remember the most. My heart had felt like it might explode because it was beating so fast. But you already know that."
She almost dropped her pen. "What?"
"I saw your face when Blondie mentioned the side-effect. You remembered something. So you knew shrinking was possible. Don't bother denying it. It would just be a waste of our time."
Shiho was taken aback. Who was he? Even Gin hadn't noticed it. No ordinary 16-year old would be more observant than Gin. For a moment she considered denying everything, but he had been honest with her and she felt like he deserved the same courtesy. It might be the last kindness he would experience in a long time, if not ever.
"We haven't tested the poison on humans yet, but I did some experiments on mice. All of them died, except for one." She remembered the poor animal, how it had shrieked and writhed in agony. For a second she imagined the boy in front of her in the same position, but quickly dismissed the thought. She couldn't think about the pain her invention was inflicting on others. Otherwise she wouldn't be able to continue her work and she was well aware of the consequences for herself and her sister.
"Fantastic. Why the hell was I the first test subject?"
"You weren't supposed to be. We have a test scheduled for the end of the month, but Gin can be impatient. When he heard that we finished production he just took a few pills." She paused for a moment. Why was she so careless? He was a civilian, he wasn't supposed to know anything about the organisation. She had to be more cautious with the information she shared with him.
"How did it happen?" She asked, not only to change the topic, but also because she was genuinely curious how he ended up in this miserable situation.
He seemed to search her face for something before answering. "I was following your two colleagues because they seemed suspicious. I didn't pay attention and the tall one attacked me from behind. There was too much police in the area, so they couldn't get rid of me with their guns and Blondie decided to use this new poison. I guess I got lucky in a weird way."
That is not necessarily the word she would use, but she could understand the sentiment. For some people being shrunk might be better than dying. If only he knew how much he would suffer before dying anyway. The moment he had his former body back and they had no more use for him, his life would end. He had seen and knew too much.
But somehow Shiho wasn't completely convinced by her own assessment. It felt like she was missing something. Why was he here anyway? She couldn't imagine a single reason why Gin left him alive, even after the poison had failed. He never hesitated to use his gun. And if there truly were too many police officers nearby, it wouldn't stop him. Gin was well versed in other methods to kill someone. Why risk so much by leaving him alive and bringing him here? Technically, Gin had used the poison without permission. Why didn't he cover it up by disposing of all the evidence? Was it simply curiosity? Or was it something else? The image of Gin carrying the boy to the headquarters popped into her head. It didn't make any sense.
And the behaviour of the boy was equally strange. He had already revealed that he was more observant than an average teenager. He must be aware of the future that awaited him. And yet he seemed more annoyed than scared, even in Gin's presence. The man who had tried to kill him mere hours before. How did he call him? Blondie? There was a difference between youthful carelessness and stupidity, but neither seemed to apply to him. Was he simply not afraid of death? Did he know something that might help him survive? Or had the apoptoxin messed up his brain?
"What is 17 times 3?" She blurted out.
"What?" His surprise quickly turned into outrage. "Really? You couldn't think of something a bit more difficult? I'm not really a child. My brain works just fine."
"I just had to make sure." She still couldn't rule out neurological changes. In most cases he wouldn't be able to notice them himself. They would probably need someone who knew him well to assess his condition better. Speaking of which -
"Is your family going to look for you?"
He laughed. "No need to worry. I live alone."
It didn't escape her how he dodged her question, but she decided not to probe further. He obviously didn't want to talk about his family and she could sympathise with him.
"Well, that's all for now." She took her notebook and stood up. "I can give you something to read while I start with your blood analysis."
It was unusually warm for a January morning. The sun was beginning to rise and Gin and Vodka were standing outside, both smoking a cigarette.
The fact that he had just learned the true identity of the boss was not at the forefront of his mind. He had more pressing matters that preoccupied him.
Gin was angry. Angry with himself for being careless, angry at the boy for simply existing and crossing their paths and angry at Sherry for creating a faulty poison. If only it had killed the teenager, then he wouldn't have to rely on her help.
He hated it. He had joined the organisation years ago and since then, he had quickly climbed the ranks. Even though most members with code names were on a similar level, his abilities still ensured that he took on a leading role for most operations. Occasionally Anokata or Rum interfered in his missions, which was irritating, but acceptable. He was loyal to the organisation after all and if it meant that he had to follow orders from his superiors, he could deal with it.
But this - this was humiliating. He didn't make mistakes. He didn't take orders from lower-ranking members. And he definitely did not babysit. Every time that boy opened his mouth, Gin had the overwhelming urge to shove his gun inside it and wipe the arrogance from his face.
He had initially thought that this new task would be more bearable because the boy wasn't really a small child. He didn't even want to think about having to deal with a real child. But the shrunken teenager didn't make it any easier for him. The boy was far too confident and he relished his power. He knew that he had the protection of his father, that he was untouchable, and he took advantage of it to the fullest.
Not only that, Gin had to reluctantly admit that it bothered him that someone was not intimidated by him, especially someone who appeared to be a child. It seemed unnatural. Even Vodka, the person he spent the most time with, sometimes appeared uneasy in his presence.
If the others in the organisation were to find out about it, he would never hear the end of it. Gin was determined to maintain his reputation and he already had an idea how. What had Anokata said? Teach that boy everything so he can become the newest member of the organisation. Gin's mood improved marginally when he remembered his own training. He would teach the boy everything. Even if he ran crying to his father afterwards, it would be pointless. After all, Gin was only following a direct order from the boss and no one could complain if he did his job flawlessly.
But even the prospect of getting revenge on the shrunken boy didn't appease him completely. He already knew that the next few weeks would push his patience to the limit. Sherry better hurry up with the antidote or he might lose his mind.
"I still can't believe that shrinking is possible." Vodka interrupted his thoughts.
Gin silently agreed with him. He had been more focused on his own situation and had paid less attention to this particular fact. He did not believe in supernatural things and shrinking was stretching the realms of his imagination. How absurd. Who would have thought that little Sherry was capable of creating something like this? Even if it was not intentional, he was still impressed by her abilities. She truly was someone worthy of a codename. Unlike her sister.
"Call Rum, we have to postpone operation Icarus." As if the situation wasn't already inconvenient enough, now they had the next problem on their hands.
Vodka looked at him in surprise. "Why? Everything is ready to go and we are talking about Billion Yen."
"Think." He threw his cigarette on the ground and stepped on it. "You know exactly what the end goal of the operation is."
"Of course." Vodka said, realisation dawning on his face. "Getting rid of .."
"Don't." Gin interrupted him. Seriously, how could he be so dense? "No details. If she were to find out about our plans, her reaction could be disastrous. You know what happened the last time. Let her finish her work and then we can deal with the rest." They had planned to finally get rid of Sherry's useless sister who had gotten fooled by the FBI agent and who now wanted to buy her out of the organisation. She was a liability. They had decided that now was the perfect timing since Sherry had just finished the APTX4869. Even if she were to throw a temper tantrum at the news of her sister's passing, it wouldn't affect her work.
But not anymore. She had a new, even more important task and they couldn't risk distracting her. Anokata's words had been more than clear - their future in the organisation depended on Shery creating an effective antidote. Even though the organisation had other scientists, no one was as capable as her. It was frustrating.
"I need to shoot something." Gin didn't wait for Vodka's reaction before leaving towards the shooting range.
Only when their steps were longer audible, did the person inside the building dare to move again.
Can you guess who the person is? Thank you for everyone who has read this story so far.
I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it.
