A tablet was poised in my lap, the same chapter of a random novel on display since I had turned it on. My neck ached from the angle I kept my head at, low enough to have the cap conceal my face, high enough to enable me to peer beneath its peak. I'd been watching the same car circle the block, its sleek silver body reflecting the midday sun, tinted windows hiding the faces of whoever was inside from view.
Despite being one of a hundred or so identical models throughout the city, I knew it was the one from last night by the mark on the rear panel. The same people who had been monitoring her for as long as I had. I wondered what they wanted to do with her, convert or kill her. The latter was the more likely considering she had spent her life trying to find the cure. I don't think she'd jeopardize everything for their cause. I'd love to know who they were, to pay them a visit in my own time. Maybe they could answer some questions I'd had locked away for months.
Her apartment was one of the new ones that made up the medical sector housing, flashy with tinted glass windows and elevators. It looked sterile, bland but practical, designed in classic medical style. It looked like crap to me.
Our plan was simple; wait until she left the apartment, then, to put it bluntly, kidnap her and hope she came around. I'd managed to convince Avery to agree to my plan and she had offered the help of a dozen people. For a price. In exchange for her support, two of her people were to be escorted beyond the walls to join the resistance. More man power for me and the cause I figured so I wasn't going to argue with her. Getting the help appeared to be the easy part however since Beth hadn't moved from her apartment all morning.
Pulling out my phone I check again for the signal which blinks on the screen showing her phone was directly ahead. She hadn't moved though it wasn't entirely uncommon for her to stay in one place for long. I laugh through my nose and pretend to stretch my neck to glance up at her apartment. I found her habitual hermit-like behaviour both irritating and admirable. She was always spending long hours in places like the library or lab, researching the virus and looking for new information. She was dedicated to say the very least. On the other hand it was frustrating, she hadn't led us anywhere closer to identifying the donor, the virus free person we really needed to save, our real target. Truth be told we wanted that person more than her, but she was the first step to finding them. Spending the entire morning at home was a little out of character for her but even so I was convinced she was okay. If the government had already finished the job, they wouldn't be assigning their agents to circle an empty apartment, or worse, a corpse.
The phone vibrates in my hand and I look down to see a new check in blinking on the screen. I stare at if confused, then hear the acceleration. I look up in time to see the car as it pulls away from the apartment block heading the opposite direction, its speed increasing rapidly.
Looking back at the phone, the blinking shows shes used her key card to access the lab, but her phone signal shows is still directly ahead. Looking up at her apartment I shake my head, my jaw clenching from anger and surprise. Standing up abruptly, the tablet falls from my lap, hitting the pavement causing crack to shoot across the screen.
"Damn it Beth" I say under my breath, the anger causing my fists to shake. I doubted she had simply forgotten her phone the day her co-worker, the only other person to know of the lab results, was killed. She wasn't that big of an idiot. She'd figured out she was being watched and her phone was how, clever girl.
Punching in a number I hit dial, listening to the ring tone connecting through to the other line. I walk as it rings, heading towards the lab knowing they'll get there before I will. The concern I'd ignored rears its head, twisting my stomach almost as punishment for ignoring it.
On the other end she picks up without saying a word, her authority radiating even over the phone in silence.
"Its me" I say pausing, knowing full well the onslaught of reprimands about to be received. "We need to move on to Plan B".
YOU ARE READING
Inhuman (OLD VERSION; UNFINISHED - SEE NEW BOOK)
Science Fiction***CURRENTLY UNDERGOING MASS NARRATIVE OVERHAUL - PLEASE GO TO MY NEW BOOK 'INHUMAN (NEW)' ON MY PROFILE. I'VE DECIDED TO TAKE THE NARRATIVE IN A NEW DIRECTION AND WILL BE TRYING TO RETURN TO, REVISE AND ADD TO THE STORY MORE OFTEN. THANK YOU! *** B...
