Chapter 7

Departure was two weeks away. Or was that one week? It was less than fourteen but more than seven days. I didn’t know how that was called in terms of weeks. Anyway, Jacy and her group of scientists had finally managed to figure out the issue with the safety module. Coming up with a solution to the problem? Not so much. The stabbing pain had been reduced drastically. I could finally last through a whole ten-minute session before I ran out of energy without feeling like someone was actively looking for my most painful spots. The pain was still there, but manageable.

The most current pressing issue was the amount of energy I had available. I wasn’t complaining or anything. Ten minutes was enough time to get out of prickly situations, or hold on till rescue arrived. It was just that, I wanted more. It was human nature to always want more of something. Everyone agreed on that. But there was a more realistic reason for my want. If someone managed to survive the ten minutes of carnage, then they could easily kill me with a knife to the throat. And I would have no energy left in me to offer much of a resistance. The safety module meant that I didn’t outright collapse on depletion. But it did nothing for my lackluster energy reserves. That was what we would be working on during the expedition.

One of the things the scientists had suggested was for me to stay with the nanobots in my system for prolonged periods of time. They wanted my body to get used to the nanobots. They hypothesized that the longer the nanobots stayed, the more ways my body would find of working with them efficiently. They expected it would have a huge impact on the pain I experienced during active use of the nanobots. I had argued that the lessened pain would be due to me getting used to the pain. They didn’t say anything to that, which was telling.

They were stumped on how to improve my energy reserves though. There was a limit to the amount of easily accessible energy the human body could store. Storing it in form of fat was not an option. They had looked at me like an idiot for suggesting it. It led to the rise of the option for outside storage. Like a pack, attached to my body and connected directly to my blood. As my energy reserves dropped, the chip in brain would tell the pack to inject a certain amount of energy dense fluid into my blood stream replenishing the used up energy. It would theoretically improve the time I could remain capable of fighting by a substantial margin. There was only one problem. I absolutely did not want an outside pack of energy attached to my body. No thank you.

That was what led me to where I was. Out in the streets, strolling like any average human out there. And I was average; except for my degree of insanity, everything else about me fell in the average range for a human. It was the early hours of the night, the streets were well lit. And the roads too. They had been lined with LED lights where the yellow and white lines used to be. They looked cool, I would give them that. Like those futuristic roads one saw on scifi series and movies. I guess they aren’t so futuristic anymore. But even with all those lights, there were still dark alleys here and there. It was astounding if you thought about it. Somethings would never really go away.

A large neon sign announcing a convenience store reminded me that I had been famished when I left the lab. I quickened my pace to the store. Already salivating. Something sugary was called for. No matter what they said, what I needed now was energy not nutrients. Inside, the store had a light number of customers which I was thankful for. I went straight for the energy drinks section and grabbed myself two half-liter cans of Energizer. And a half-liter packet of mixed Tropical juice. I had to wait for a few minutes as the customers ahead of me were served. As I looked around the store, I caught someone turning their head quickly. As if I had nearly caught them staring. At first it didn’t bother me. But then I remembered I was no longer the nobody I had been over five years ago. As private as I liked to keep my life, there were people out there too good at seeking out the best kept secrets. It had me worried. I was either dealing with someone who knew who I was and was awed by my presence. Highly unlikely considering other than been rich I hadn’t done anything positively noteworthy. Or, they were stalking me, planning to do something nefarious.

This was bad. Very bad indeed. Other than a shot to the brain or complete decapitation, I could be saved as long as no more than an hour had passed since my demise. And I doubted anyone out there knew that. But hubris could get me killed. So I assumed the worst and started planning of how to get out of it. This is what I get for trying to enjoy myself. I alerted my security guards by activating the emergency beacon. Then called up on chip to be on the ready in case things went sideways before they got to me. I had to buy them time, I thought five minutes should be enough for them to get here.

I could stay in the store or try to call for a taxi. Both of those options were risky. Staying in the store could make it easier for them zero in on me, and calling for a taxi could easily lead me into their trap. Two minutes and I was at the cashier. A bored teenager. Why was it a bored teenager? Would it hurt if the cashier was a jovial fellow? It could have helped in buying more time. Any attempt at chatting up a bored teenager would alert them to my awareness of the situation. Especially if they knew me well enough.

In my panic, I gave the wrong card and the bored teenager didn’t inspect it before running it through. Oh! Blessed mercies, the sound of a declined card was like music to my ears. Four minutes. I fished out the right card and handed it to the teenager. I carefully returned the declined card as the teenager inspected the new card before running it through. He returned it together with my receipt and I made my way to the door. Five and half minutes, and no sign of my security guards. I stopped by the dustbin by the door and opened one of the Energizer cans. And drank it slowly but not too slowly. I deposited it to the dustbin and made to open the second one. The lights in the store went out.

Shield.

The light from the streets illuminated a silhouette moving towards me from the aisle near the door. I took two steps to the door before something damp was placed on my face. I tried holding my breath but a punch to the stomach forced me to suck in air. Poisoned air. I just hoped it wasn’t something deadly. Another hand placed me in a choke hold. There were being thorough. My first thought had been to cast fire, before I realized that if the person holding me started burning I would burn too. My oxygen deprived brain was having a hard time coming up with a useful solution. Then,

Icicle. I subvocalized as I placed my hand on the person’s torso. But all I got was shards of ice falling to the floor. They were wearing armor. I needed something stronger, which I didn’t have since we had only practiced with the so called base elements: fire, air, water and earth. I thought of going back to fire before I remembered that their head was vulnerable. I tried lifting my hands but they wouldn’t cooperate.

Oxygen level too low.

I had run out of time. The last thing I remembered was seeing my last can of Energizer rolling to the streets as a taxi pulled over.

…[ JACY ]…

Jacy was working on artificial dense energy reserves when she saw the alert for the activation of Mativo’s chip. She didn’t think Mativo was stupid enough to try and use the nanobots without their supervision. He might not have liked the few times she had sedated him, but at least he understood the importance of their presence when the nanobots were been used.

“Andrew, what are Mativo’s bio readings?”

“What?” she had caught him off guard. “Let me check. Why do you ask?”

“I just got an alert that his chip was activated.”

This caused him to stare at her momentarily before returning to his console. Dominic and Park immediately moved to the main consoles used for monitoring Mativo’s bio status during tests. But those were showing nothing. Like they had lost connection to the chip.

“Call his security guards and see what’s happening.” She told Park as she returned to her console.

“Do you think he is dead?” Dominic asked as they waited for Park to finish talking with the guards.

“I don’t think so.” She told him.

“What’s going on?” Mbithe asked as she entered the observation room. “You all look panicy.”

“Mativo activated his chip.” Dominic told her.

“What? Why?”

“That’s what we trying to figure out.”

“The bio readings are not—” Mbithe started before she was interrupted by Park.

“He ditched them.” Park announced. “They tried pinging his emergency beacon, but it didn’t respond.”

“Jamming.” Andrew said. “That’s why we are getting nothing from his chip either.”

“So, he is not dead?” Dominic asked hopefully.

“No. But now we know with certainty that he has been attacked.” She told him.

“At least he has the nanobots.”

“They won’t help him much. Only buy him a couple of minutes. Then he will be completely defenseless.” Jacy turned to Andrew. “Try and figure out where the chip was when it activated.”

Less than a minute on the keyboard and Andrew reported back. “A convenience store in Down Street.”

“We need—”

“I know. What happened there at that time and where he could possibly be right now. I’m on it.”

“Okay.”

 

…[ MATIVO ]…

When I came to, I was sitting on a chair in a moving vehicle. We were still in the taxi, I assumed. Either I hadn’t been out for long, or it would take them long to leave the city. If that was what they were doing. It was the smart choice because a lot of people would be hunting them down. A lot of well-armed people.

I couldn’t figure out who would want to kidnap me and for what reason. I thought of waiting until I learnt who had had me kidnapped and why. But that would put me in a higher risk environment. If I could, I would try and escape when I still had the chance.

My hands and feet were bound independently with what felt like zip cuffs. Those will be easy to get out of. As for my captors, I tried opening my eyes the most I could while still appearing to keep them close. A deceleration let me know that I was sitting sideways. They had changed vehicles, most probably to a van. Smart. Though it was weird that they had taxi like chairs in a van facing sideways. It was always benches. Or they had a well off benefactor.

Finally, light. There were two people sitting on the opposite side with an empty chair between them. I was sitting on the middle chair on my side, and I could make out legs on both my sides. Four people in the back of the van and quite possibly, two more in the front. And given my luck, they had escorts.

Status.

Muscle power: 76/100

Signal speed: ~0.0012042s

Muscle efficiency: 90%

Stored energy: 18560calories

Muscle fatigue: 12%

Stored Oxygen: 183s

Would you look at that? I wasn’t as tired as I thought I would be. That forced nap must have worked in my favor. The stored energy left something to be desired though. Before the day’s test I had had over twenty-six thousand in stored energy. It wasn’t much but it would have to do.

Flash.

I quickly followed that with freezing around both my cuffs. They broke easily after that. If they had used metal handcuffs, it might have taken me a while. But not enough for what followed. I immediately jumped across to the opposite seat, imbuing fiery intentions into my hands. Fire awashed the two who had been sitting on that side. Two shots rang out but it didn’t feel like I got hit. It reminded me to shield up. The shield might not have been enough to stop a bullet, but it would slow it down enough not to cause fatal damage.

I quickly turned to the remaining two and went for the one near the rear of the van. They were starting to recover, and a powerful punch to my right thigh told me someone had already sighted me. Probably the ones on the front given how the other person in the back of the van was still clutching their head. I forcefully moved my target between me and the front of the van while simultaneously forcing icicles into their torso. The crunching of the icicles reminded me of their armor. In the meantime, they had gained enough vision to train their gun at me. I quickly slapped the hand holding the gun. A shot fired still, momentarily causing a ringing in my ears. I pushed through that with a face punch to his nose. I quickly grabbed the hand holding the gun forcibly bending it. I took the gun as it got loose and shot him point blank in the face. I kept hold of him as I shot at their recovering comrade. It missed as the van swerved left and right, but the second hit home in the chest. I added two more to be sure I caught something important. The guy sitting shotgun had realized that his comrades were dead and had started firing wildly. Most of his shots hit the guy I was holding while the rest missed. When I heard the gun click, I quickly fired four shots at his seat. The fire in the back of the van was spreading. All the seats on the one side were already on fire. And it was licking the shotgun seat. The black smoke of burning rubber and foam was choking and blinding. I could barely make out anything in the front of the van. And the driver was already coughing.

“Fuck! Fuck!” The swearing of the driver reminded me that there was still one more person to deal with. The van had stopped swerving. We must have been out of the city bounds if the driver had been driving the whole time. Killing the driver was dangerous. The van could lose control and roll about. That action would through me all over. Breaking a lot of bones and maybe even my neck. I didn’t know how far away from the city we were. I might not get enough time to be rescued.

My energy had dropped below ten thousand. The shield would cut off at around five thousand. I had less than three minutes left before I became near useless. It needed to end it quickly.

“Stop the van and I’ll let you live.” A wild shot to the back of the van was the only reply I got. I released the shield, dropped the body I had been holding onto loudly and dropped to the floor of the van. That proved torturous, it was unbearably hot from the fire. I was already sweating from the heat of the flames. I quickly crawled to the driver’s seat, making as little noise as I could manage. The van had slowed down considerably when I reached my target. He was stopping. So I waited.

As the van came to a stop, I fired three shots at the driver’s seat before the gun clicked. I quickly rose up and went to grab their head before I realized they were already dying. I maneuvered to the front of the van, sitting in between the seats. The shotgun guy was slumped over the dashboard while the driver leaned over to the door. No other vehicle had approached. Either there was no escort or they were waiting to see who came out.

I finally allowed myself a few deep coughs, and my lungs burnt. I took the driver’s gun and checked its magazine. It still had plenty of bullets left. I quickly opened the shotgun door, pushing the guy out. The smoke cleared a bit before the fire got bigger. I moved to the driver’s side where the fire was absent, and slowly opened the door. The rearview mirrors had shown no vehicles behind. I got out and moved off the road.

The feel of fresh air in my lungs started another coughing fit. I let it run its course as I tried to put as much distance as I could between me and the burning van. Movies and exploding vehicles.

Minutes passed without any explosion happening. In fact, the fire seemed to be dying down. About fifteen minutes since I walked out of the burning van, a drone flew by. Then took a turn and came for me. There was no noticeable vegetation or trees that could offer any form of cover, I prepared myself for a confrontation.

“Mativo, it’s Jacy.”

Relief washed over me upon hearing her voice. I didn’t bother trying to talk to the drone. I just slumped down and lay supine on the ground. If the drone was here, they weren’t that far behind.

 

…[ JACY ]…

They were back in the lab, with Mativo asleep in the recovery room. He wasn’t injured much. Other than a bullet they had found in his thigh, everything else was okay. He was just exhausted. He even hadn’t used the chip too much. Other than the shield that is.

They had found him six kilometers outside of the city, lying more than hundreds meters off the road. The van that had carried him was burnt on one side. The unburnt bodies didn’t yield any information that could be used to determine who they were or who they worked for. Their employer seemed to have made sure they didn’t have anything that could be traced back to them. Their DNA, fingerprints and faces were taken. Their identities would be uncovered given time. Sadly, it won’t be before they left for the expedition.

Mativo had been conscious when they found him. Complaining how it had taken them so long to find him. They had tried, really they had. But between the multiple vehicle exchanges and finding the ditched emergency beacon, the trail had nearly run cold when the chip finally established a connection with the lab. Apparently, the fire had burnt the jammer. Mativo had fallen asleep on their way back.

It didn’t seem like they would be going home, so Jacy decided to call Frea tell her not to wait up.

“Hello,” she picked up on the first ring.

“Hey, I got stuck at work.”

“I figured as much. Do you think you will make it today, or is it an all-nighter kinda thing?”

“I’m not sure. Possibly I will stay the whole night. Don’t wait up.”

“When you do come home, there is food in the fridge.”

“Thanks. Goodnight.”

“See you tomorrow. Hopefully.” Frea said and then hang up the phone.

Jacy stared at the phone, wondering whether or not to make the next call. After a while, she just thought to hell with it and called.

“Helloo…” Kacy sounded half-asleep.

“Did I wake you?” Jacy was starting to feel bad for calling. But Kacy’s response washed those feelings away.

“No. I was trying not to fall asleep.”

“Why?” Jacy thought she knew the answer already but still had to ask.

“I was waiting until it felt right to call you.” Of course she was. “Today felt kind of important.”

“Thanks.” Jacy didn’t know what else to say.

“You’re still at work right?”

“Yes.”

“And whatever it was, is over?”

“Not really, but we’ve gotten a break. So you can safely go to sleep now.”

“Okay. Okay. You’ll call me tomorrow, after you wake up.”

“Yeah. Goodnight, Kacy.”

“Thanks.”

Jacy hang up the phone and went back to the observation room. Mativo’s bio readings were showing that he was waking up. It was going to be a long night.