Prodigy Eternal (book 2)

Chapter Nineteen

“I can’t believe what I’m hearing,” Alex said, as she shook her head in disbelief.

“Please, let me explain,” Glitch pleaded. “We refused his offer immediately since none of us had ever really been motivated by money. We had already created new identities and new appearances, so we were quite content on starting over with our new lives. Even with everything he had taken from us, I underestimated the lengths he was willing to go. He has considerable resources and will stop at nothing to get what he wants.

“One day, I went back to my apartment and the door was ajar. I pushed my way inside and noticed right away something was wrong. There were obvious signs of a break in, but it wasn’t clear whether my Dalia was home at the time. I quickly searched through all the rooms and before I could contact her, I received a call. The distorted voice on the other end told me he was The Fox and that he wished I had cooperated. I could hear Dalia’s muffled cries in the background. He told me he had taken her and would hold her hostage until we deliver him the patch.”

Alex was shocked again as the story was much more intense than she had originally thought. She wanted to console Glitch, but also wanted to see where Aris’s loyalty lay. “Toshi, please tell me you knew nothing of this,” Alex asked Aris.

“I swear, I’m hearing this for the first time, just like you.”

“Believe me, Toshi had no idea.”

“Yuri reached out to me one day,” Aris said, “and of course was asking about you. It seemed like innocent curiosity at the time, but now I know it was much more than that. I explained some of the craziness you were experiencing, and he offered us a solution by way of body modifications.”

“So how do you know Dalia is still alive?” Alex asked.

“The Fox sends proof of life each week. But now that your brain is no longer working the way it used to, I’m afraid he will do harm to her since he can no longer get what he wants… unless we give him something of equal or greater value.”

“Which is?”

“Since we failed to deliver the patch, we had to resort to plan B…” Glitch paused and bowed his head in remorse. “We used your eternity patch.”

“What!” Alex shouted, causing everyone to look.

“Hey… Aoki,” Aris said, “You may want to show a little restraint, we’re in public, remember?”

“You hacked my coding device?” Alex said, barely lowering her voice.

“Yes, but to be fair, you live in a house full of hackers, that kind of thing should be expected.”

“No, it’s not. I trusted you people. You betrayed both mine and Aris’s trust.”

“I’m sorry, Alex, but I had no other choice,” Glitch said. “I’m sure you would be willing to do anything to save someone you love.”

“I knew there was something about you guys. Ever since I met you, I picked up on it. Being aloof when I asked certain questions, disappearing in the mornings, conducting private meetings… you don’t think I saw all that?”

“I don’t know what to tell you.”

“Tell me it’s not too late,” Alex demanded.

“Yuri is making the exchange as we speak.”

“So that’s why you brought us all the way up here,” Aris said, finally clueing in.

Without wasting any more time, Alex ran to the elevator and boarded just as it was about to head back down. Aris rushed after her and slipped through before the doors closed.

“I don’t believe this,” Alex said, paying no mind to the other elevator passengers. “We must stop them before it’s too late.”

“Let’s just calm down,” Aris said. “I’ve never seen you this worked up before.”

“I’ve never felt like this before. It’s like my emotions are in overdrive.”

“You don’t think it has to do with the… you know what?”

Alex took several deep breaths before responding. She could feel the blood start to boil and needed to calm down. Emotions and irrationality were just as much the enemy in situations like these.

“The way my brain produces and processes neurochemicals is changing,” Alex said. “I seem to be much more at the mercy of my impulses. I feel aggressive and irrational at times when I would ordinarily be passive and thinking rationally.”

“Let’s not get too crazy. I need you to control yourself. Besides, the eternity hack wasn’t even finished. We may be overreacting.”

When the elevator reached the ground level, Alex and Aris sprinted through the busy streets and back to the subway. It was somewhat reminiscent of their situation a week prior, but with consequences far more dire. If the eternity hack were to fall into the wrong hands, it could drastically change the landscape of humankind forever.

Retracing their steps from earlier in the day, the pair eventually arrived back at Yuri’s place. This time when they approached the door, it had been blasted off its hinges. Aris put his hand in front of Alex, preventing her from entering the house. Without speaking, Aris and Alex coordinated their movement to the side of the house. Aris was still synced up to Akino, so he issued a command from his access pod. Moments later, Yuri’s robot exited the house and greeted them.

“Hello, sir, is there anything I can do for you?” the robot asked.

“Akino, is there anyone in the house?”

“No, sir, no one is in the house.”

“Is it safe to enter?” Aris asked, speaking quietly.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t understand. Please repeat your command.”

“What happened to the front door?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t understand. Please repeat your command.”

“Aris, I don’t think he’s programmed to answer questions in that kind of detail.”

“Okay, let me try again. Akino, where is Master Yuri?”

“Master Yuri is not home.”

“Aris, give it up, let’s just go inside,” Alex suggested.

Alex and Aris bravely entered the house, unsure what may still be lurking inside. It was hard to fully trust a robot with their safety so they proceeded with caution. They first discovered the grind lab had been completely ransacked. Some of the equipment remained, but was smashed to bits. Everything else was gone, most likely stolen. When they went upstairs to their room, they discovered their coding device was also missing.

“What do you think?” Aris asked. “Was this a robbery or did The Fox not accept their deal?”

“Could be a third option — the gang left and wanted it to look like something bad had happened.”