L.O.V.E.

Chapter 29 - Roone

'Could that be...?' Matt's voice trembles at the thought.

'Yep. That's no mistake. It is her.' I agree, after the helix locks become one with the darkness. Ilya, I hiss in my mind.

'Dude, what is happening?' He pushes himself from the desk and rolls in his chair.

It's bad enough that I lost trace of her, but with two targets missing, I don't see how we can get away with it; and what is worse, is that we have no idea what is happening. It feels like we are played and the enemy is always one step ahead of us. Could Ilya be a part of the Iron Guard? Why did she want Nerissa out of her lab? Then, I remember her face after she looked into the microscope. Could Ilya be interested in whatever she was researching?

'Roone, what's wrong? I can see smoke coming out of your brain.' Matt jokes again, yet this time he's not wrong. I find myself standing up, my hands turned into fists over the keyboard. I have no idea when I did that.

'When was this recorded?' I ask.

'A few hours ago. Why?' Matt looks at me confused.

'It might be already too late. Dress up. I'll tell you on our way.' I say, and with that, we both get out on the streets.

It's time I find out what Nerissa saw through those lenses. I saw her drawing her own blood earlier, and by the look on her face, it must have been something she was not expected. Moreover, I have a hunch Iron Guard was watching her long before us. Matt trips and almost falls to the ground after I let him hear my theory. I help him to his feet and we continue the rest of our trip in the shadows. The guards are scattered everywhere, making sure everyone got back inside after the curfew. The Moon guides our steps all the way to the Institute and from there, it's just a matter of seconds, until we sneak inside the building. I hope the cameras as still out, otherwise, we are doomed. As soon as we step inside her laboratory, I take out the small flashlight from my back pocket and search for the closest microscope. To my luck, the sample it's still in place and Ilya was not bothered to take it with her. Hungry to find out what was it that shaken Nerissa to the core, I pass the flashlight to Matt and look into the lenses. Although, the specimen is poorly lit, it's enough for me to understand what made her behave like she's seen a ghost, what really makes her the key in the trial. So many pieces begin to connect to each other. She told me the inhibitor didn't affect her whatsoever. No wonder she felt an outcast between her people, when her whole genetic information is programmed to live a different life. Nerissa doesn't have the slightest trace of the virus or the nanites in her bloodstream, which makes her not only immune to the infection, but a known case to the officials. They know about her and they omitted to tell us!

'Those bastards!' I let it our louder than I wished, my voice echoing outside the lab and into the hallway.

'What is it? Let me look.' Matt orders and shoves me away. It doesn't take long until he figures it out, his world turned upside down, too. Literally. 'Roone, they've tricked us!' It's all he manages to say from the floor.

The next hours drag painfully slow and we still have no clue about our targets. We split up to check their houses, which turned up to be dead ends. By the time we decided to give up, it was already morning and we were forced to retreat to Matt's house. We let the others know about the lies we've been fed, and with the notebook's contents having been already disclosed to them, it didn't take them long to connect the missing dots.

The next day is as gloomy as it can get, but I won't just stay inside not knowing she's safe, at least. I put on my hoodie and the leather jacket on top and get out in the pouring rain. From all the weather types they could have chosen, it has to be this dreadful one. I mean, why don't they make it always sunny with clear skies? They are already living a perfect lie.

It takes me more than usual to make it to the Institute, and with this foul rain, every inch of my body is soaked to the bone. The mighty gates come into view and I finally can breathe. She has to be here, I tell myself, sure that if she'd gone missing, I would have felt it somehow. I like to think there is this much connection between us. I was fifteen, when I knew Matt had broken his arm during training. I shrug my shoulders at the thought, and I almost miss her running through the gates and towards me. Thinking that I must be delusional, I rub the water from my eyes to have a better look. Nerissa is still coming in full force, drenched and terrified. What it is that she is running from? Certain that it won't take long until she'll recognise me, I hide behind the closest building. Now that I've found her again, I won't lose her from my sight. She stumbles in the heavy rain and takes unnecessary detours, yet it doesn't take long until I figure out where she is heading. The rain turned into a rather light drizzle by the time we arrive at the depot, and for the first time in ages, I let myself relax in one of the wagons, knowing she's inside and out of any dangers.

Time soon fades away, and I suddenly wake up to distant splotchy steps that are disturbing the serenity of the place. I bolt to my feet and get ready for attack, sure that I must have fallen asleep while monitoring her. My body moves like a feather between old coaches and engines, guided by the beautiful sky, above the translucent roof. Not far from where I stand, Nathan toddles around in the darkness. It still pisses me off they are so close to each other, and what's worse, is that this used to be my home. Talking about the Universe messing with your heart. I smile bitterly on my way back to Matt's. He'll be static to know Blondie is safe and sound.

'Thank God.' He breathes relieved, while letting his massive body fall heavily on the sofa.

A quick shower and a change of clothes, and I'm ready to get back in action. We both agreed to watch them closely from now on, and what a better place than from one of those old coaches?

'I can't wait for everything to finish and get back home.' Matt whines again on our way back, bringing up the very thoughts, I fought so badly to stay away from.

Instead of saying something, I fall prey to my weakness, and let my mind wander. Am I really that keen to fly home and never see her again? No matter how much I'd like to deny it, Nerissa has found a way to my heart and left a mark like no other. And now that I've learnt these things about her, not in my wildest dream I would have imagined, I have this feeling that our paths were supposed to intersect. Am I a man enough to admit I like her? Maybe too much. Am I ready to boycott this mission and throw my life away? Hard to tell. One thing is for sure, I'm not the same as to when we first landed on Earth.

We are half way there when the blast hits us. The shockwave is so powerful every single one of the windows around us shatters into pieces. We duck and cover our heads, letting the shards fall over us like a curtain.

'What the heck was that?' I shout confused.

The mayhem has started. Every alarm in the city got triggered and is piercing the skies. Hundreds of lights move chaotically from the top of the walls, searching the culprit who dared to break the peace. I, myself, am curious to see what happened.

'Roone?' Matt shakes my shoulder and points towards the depot. 'Wasn't that where we were headed?'

I follow his finger to the orange mushroom smoke that engulfed the whole terminal. Someone has blown it up and didn't care about the aftermath. My mind flies to Nerissa and I almost choke to death. Was she inside when it happened? Yet, the more I think of it, the more I find it unlikely. No one knew about the place, except her. Worse case, Iron Guard followed her there and blew it up after they've taken her with them. Better to know her alive and as a hostage, than turned to ashes.

'Come. It's time to kick some asses.' I say calmly, as I turn on my heels and start moving. No one destroys my home and gets away with it!

Matt stands up and cleans his clothes.

'It's about time! You don't know how much I've been waiting for these words!'

...

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