Chapter 14 (Hiro's POV)
I'd been at it for hours, but it felt like days…. Searching every inch of the prison for any possible clue. Callaghan had planned his escape somehow, he contacted Enkei somehow…
Somehow…
Somehow…
The word felt like it was mocking me because all the answers I turned up said it should have been impossible. He had no line to the outside. Chief Cruz had confirmed that I had been the only visitor he'd gotten in the last six months. So how?
How…?
And yet, I couldn't deny what was happening.
"I've n-never been the man you wanted me to be!"
Callaghan's words were still haunting me. They were all I could hear when I closed my eyes…
It was why I couldn't stop trying to find the answers, bringing him to justice was all that mattered…
The sound of a cell door closing behind me seemed to snap me back to the present. The Chief frowned at me. "We've been at this for hours, interviewed everyone in the prison, and we're still no closer to cracking this…"
"Not everyone…" I whispered as I brushed past him.
There was one cell still left untouched. One inmate still left unquestioned.
"You really want to do that…?" he asked some hint of compassion in his voice.
"I have to…"
My tone left no room for him to argue. So wordlessly he led me down a series of hallways that wound deeper into the installation. We entered the heart of the maximum security zone where only one cell was housed. One meant to house a villain more dangerous than all the rest combined.
After issuing me clearance he stood aside as the door opened. Gathering my rage like a shield I stepped through. Sitting encased in a small prison cell was…Obake.
Stepping closer I balled my fist and slammed it into the transparent barrier between us. "Look at me!"
Abandoning the book he'd been reading, he slowly turned to face me. I'd been expecting the smile, the vindictive look of triumph, but it still was more than I could take…
"Why Hiro, of what do I owe the honor?"
"You tell me!" I shot back. "And make it quick!"
Without losing even a hint of composure he arched his eyebrows in confusion. "What would you like me to tell you, Hiro?"
"How did Callaghan escape?! What do you know about it!"
He pressed his fingers together thoughtfully. "And what should I know about that, Hiro? Could it be you'd like me to be responsible somehow? Would that be easier for you…?"
I winced, his tone cutting.
"Yes…it would be far easier, wouldn't it?" he whispered. "Easier than facing these…demons."
"You're the only demon here…" I whispered as my hands shook.
"Am I?" he asked with a smile. "And yet, what have I done? Aren't you the one burning your world to the ground? I can hear it in your voice, the seething anger that wants to consume you… Is it revenge you're after? Do you wish the consolation of hearing me say I'm behind this instead of your precious Callaghan? Would that make you feel better?"
I gritted my teeth. "The truth is all I want! Do you have any to share or not!?"
He stoked his chin thoughtfully. "Let me see, truth…? Truth is…rather hard to find, isn't it? What I do have is a thought-provoking question for you, Hiro. Tell me, if you can, what is the price of ignorance?"
"I don't have time for games, Obake."
This was getting me nowhere. What was I thinking trying to reason with a madman?
So I turned to leave, but he stopped me just short.
"The answer," he whispered. "Is everything…"
Without looking back at him I paused. "Is that a threat…?"
"No, just a friendly warning… Perhaps the next question you should ask yourself is what type of ignorance is currently infecting you?"
I scoffed as I glared over my shoulder at him. "Like you care one way or the other?"
He smiled thinly. "I've always cared about you, Hiro. You're not like the rest of them, so stupid and useless. I only wish you would stop hindering your potential."
"What you mean…?" I mumbled half to myself.
"Life has an unmistakable way of triggering those old unresolved conflicts within us. Those conflicts represent weakness, so much weakness… They cause us to cling to a decaying past when the future should be all we seek."
"The future you see is a lot different from what I want, Obake," I shot back.
He nodded. "Yes, I admit it is. That's always been a disappointment to me, that your brilliance is wasted on those ideals of yours. But…even now, I still hope, hope you'll see the advantage of my viewpoint someday."
I turned back toward the exit. "That's never going to happen…"
"Perhaps," I heard him whisper as I walked away. "Perhaps…"
Chief Cruz slammed the cell door shut behind me before glancing at me. "Any luck?"
I shook my head. "No, none…"
"Take a break, Hiro, you've earned one," he said with a friendly hand on my shoulder.
Finally, I stumbled outside and ducked into an alleyway. Leaning against the grimy brick wall I let myself slide down until I was sitting on the ground among the trash cans. Pulling off my helmet, I wiped the sweat that was beading on my forehead. Inhaling a jagged breath I finally reached for my phone.
There reflected at me on the screen was a simple line of text:
"Please be careful, I love you." - Karmi
I bit my lip as pain ripped through my heart. For all his insanity, Obake was right about one thing…
I was destroying the future for the sake of a past that was already dead and gone…
Admitting that to myself was the hardest thing to do, but it was true wasn't it?
I closed my eyes and exhaled softly.
Callaghan… I wanted to ask him why he was throwing everything away. I wanted it to make sense somehow. Before I knew it, that feeling had turned into an obsession. It was like holding your breath underwater, waiting, hoping you'd be allowed a breath of air. Except…the only person stopping me from breathing was…
Me.
Even if it didn't make sense. Even if Callaghan was beyond redemption. Even if…Tadashi was gone.
Couldn't I still breathe, couldn't I still live?
Wouldn't he want that more than anything…?
They were all questions I thought I'd answered years ago, and yet, here they were again. Spinning inside of me like blades, cutting deeper with each turn. Because the pain from the past felt like a living thing, like the only piece of Tadashi I still had. Maybe a part of me…didn't want to let go… Didn't want to be free from that hurt, because it kept the past alive. Even if it made me childish, I wanted to be angry, to be depressed… I wanted everyone to see it on my face, to know that I still wasn't okay.
To keep suffering, a part of me must have thought it was the least I could do to honor Tadashi's memory…
But it reality, it was just easier for me to cling to the past so tightly. Because letting go, moving forward, it was what really scared me more than anything…
"Hiro!"
At first, I didn't think her voice was real. How could it be…?
How had it ever been…? And yet, when I opened my eyes, she was really there in front of me…
"Hiro, I've been looking everywhere for you! It's really serious, Momakase-"
But I stood and cut her off. "It can wait."
Karmi just blinked at me before trying again. "But the city is in danger and-"
"It can wait," I repeated more earnestly. "It can all wait…" I whispered as I looked into her eyes. "First, I have to make something right…"
She seemed confused, but at last, I wasn't. Pulling her into my arms I just held on tightly without saying anything. I wanted to apologize, I wanted to explain everything I'd been feeling lately. But those words never came. Maybe there was no way to explain it all? Maybe it didn't even matter?
All that really mattered, was each moment to come…
I just wanted to tell her I'd finally figured that out.
I felt her own grief translated through the touch. The way her arms stiffened at first before softening with each revealed layer of vulnerability. She was trembling because of her own demons. The fear of being left outside my life…somehow I understood it all without her saying a word.
"I'm not going anywhere…" I whispered as I felt her tears mingle with my own.
"Y-You better not…" she playfully threatened me.
Finally, I smiled. "Not a chance…"
Pulling away she smiled back, the both of us savoring one last moment. One last moment before the world probably exploded into more crazy chaos. I didn't relish the thought of more San Fransokyo drama, but at the end of the day, we'd find a way to handle it.
Together, we always did…
Our meeting with Krei about his apparently nanobot-infected brain chips went about as well as I thought it would. First, he didn't understand what we were saying, then when he finally got it he was offended. But after going round and round for a while, he got us a meeting with the inventor Makoto Watashi.
On the surface, she seemed credible and friendly. She denied ever being in the company of Enkei or Callaghan, calmly insisting that our source of information must have been mistaken. Then she went on to explain that the nanobots Karmi had discovered were in fact supposed to be there. A least apparently. They played a role in helping the chip interface with neural signals inside the brain. I wasn't sure I believed her, but she went so far as to show us the original patent that outlined the operation of the nanobots.
So it wasn't exactly a hidden feature, we just hadn't known about it. At the end of the day, I wasn't sure what I believed.
When we all met back at HQ, I explained as much.
"I don't know what to think about any of it," I admitted from my seat at the conference table.
"The patent is sort of convincing," Gogo added. "But are we really supposed to believe Momakase just invented seeing her with Callaghan?"
"I don't know," Wasabi mumbled thoughtfully. "I'm definitely no friend of having a chip in my brain, but can we completely trust Momakase either? I mean she was and still kinda is a villain, right?"
"Maybe she just mistook someone else for Dr. Watashi?" Honey Lemon said.
"I was never a fan Momakase," Karmi spoke up. "But she did help us before, without her, Aken and Di would have probably gotten away with their plot last time. Can we really discount her so easily?"
"Trust," Baymax added calmly. "Should be based on someone's recent actions, not on their past."
Opinions seemed to be split, so we all finally glanced at Fred, wondering what he thought.
He noticed all eyes on him and paused for dramatic effect. "Callaghan… Momakase… Obake… We're surrounded by old villains with complicated ethics and motives. Not to mention new enemies with unknown origins like Enkei, but we should still count our one blessing."
Gogo scoffed. "What that Noodle-Burger Boy isn't involved? That's definitely a blessing."
He frowned playfully. "Don't poke fun, Gogo, that's still a really sensitive topic!"
She smirked. "Right, how could I forget…"
"Anyway," he changed the subject. "What I mean is, we at least have a lead! We might be totally confused, but we can still take action. Momakase said she saw Enkei and Callaghan at The Hydra which means it might be rife with clues. I see a major investigation arc coming!"
"Agreed," I nodded. "It's the only lead we have. The prison turned up absolutely nothing, so it's at least worth a shot."
"It could be a good idea, Hiro," Baymax agreed before pausing. "However, could we please go together this time? I do not like it when you try to investigate alone…"
The sadness in his voice broke my heart a little, and I realized all over again how selfish I'd been lately.
"Sure, buddy, you bet." Then I glanced at Karmi. "None of us are going to go it alone anymore…"
Fred jumped to his feet in excitement. "We've risen from the ashes and are beginning our emotional redemption arc!"
I wasn't sure if I'd put it exactly like that, but I did feel better.
I glanced around the table at all the familiar faces of the people I loved. No matter what the future held or what had happened in the past, I was thankful for right now.
A right now that I could spend with my friends…