On the Run

12 - The Potential Program

The irksome sounds of metal grinding together came to a sudden stop; the lift shuddered violently for two seconds, startling Mia. She could feel the fresh air drifting in through the small cracks separating her from the abandoned city above. The metal doors cranked open, allowing a gust of wind to burst in. She shivered as the chilly air hit her skin.

She saw a small ladder off to the side and made her way over to it, snaking her fingers into the bars and pulling herself up. Once Mia reached the dirty ground, she climbed up and quickly left the ancient building.

"Lorenzo!" Her voice boomed around the empty streets. But there was no response. "Daniela!"

Mia looked around frantically, her mind racing with worries. She thought back to the soldiers she saw exiting the elevator just minutes beforehand, immediately thinking that they had gotten to both Lorenzo and Daniela.

She looked down to the ground and saw two sets of footprints leading off to the right, heading back down the mountain. Not wasting a second, she began a light run, following the trail of prints, keeping her body low, making sure each step was quiet.

She exited the street and saw Daniela's car still in the same place where they had left it, with both Lorenzo and Daniela waiting beside. Letting out a breath of relief, Mia descended the jagged slope at a fast pace.

"Mia!" Lorenzo pointed out, startling Daniela. She looked to where he was pointing and saw the agent heading straight for them.

Lorenzo felt a bit of weight lift off his shoulders after seeing that she seemed to be alright and not hurt. But there was the nagging thought that she had been detected and caught that was plaguing his mind, but he tried his hardest to not dare think about that.

"What the hell were you thinking, idiota?" Lorenzo said as Mia came to a stop in front of them.

"Scusa," Mia apologised breathlessly, "but I couldn't not go down there."

"Your little act could've gotten all of us caught," Daniela stated. Mia saw the look of disappointment and annoyance all over her face, but she didn't have time to start caring about petty things like disappointment.

"Down there, it's like some sort of hospital research facility," Mia explained, "there were rooms that all needed key cards to get into and I heard distant screaming caused by god knows what. It's also swarmed with heavily armed Soldati, but they could even have been mercenaries."

Lorenzo cursed under his breath and rubbed his head, not bothering to conceal the dread that had gripped him suddenly. All he could think about was his brother and what exactly is happening to him down there. Aside from Mia, Piotro was Lorenzo's only real family. The thought of him being tortured made his stomach turn and it made me terrified of what could happen to them. They've already been declared enemies of the country and none of them know just how compromised the DIS is.

"Did you find anything on my brother?" Lorenzo asked, getting to the point.

Mia shook her head, "I didn't, Enzo. But I do think he's down there. I found out that there is some type of program called the Potential Program and that only certain individuals were taken to the facility to, I guess, be put into the program."

"So, you think my brother is part of this program?" Lorenzo asked, trying not to sound hopeful.

Mia nodded this time, her own face showing a bit of a positive look. It was something small, but at least they had something to go off. The only struggle Mia was having with it was working out how Project Vindicta and the Potential Program linked together because to her, they seemed like two totally different things with very different outcomes and goals.