Prodigy Eternal (book 2)

Chapter Thirty-Two

The crew covered their positions well, dispersing throughout the large ship and trying to stay orientated in the labyrinth of vast hallways and rooms. There were no signs of The Fox anywhere. The communication lines were open so any sounds picked up from the receivers would reverberate in everyone’s ears. So far, nobody had said a word.

Every detail of the luxurious yacht gave off the impression of opulence. The traditional gold fixtures, white marble, and polished wood accents tied in nicely with the modern technology. The boat more closely resembled a high-end hotel and left little to the imagination as to how a former government scientist could afford such an expensive yacht. The obvious conclusion to draw was that he had acquired it through some sort of illicit means.

Mara and Alex came across an elevator made almost entirely of glass, but opted instead on taking the spiral staircase. As they winded around, Mara kept an eye on Alex since she was noticeably fatigued.

“Stay by my side,” Mara whispered.

Entering into the bowels of the yacht, Alex and her mother were alone. Mara noticed the security cameras immediately and knew their cover had been blown. With controlled breaths, and gripping a small tranquilizer gun, she crept closer to a sealed door. Alex was behind her, but was unarmed.

“Stay back,” Mara whispered, gesturing for Alex to step aside. She too positioned herself away from the door.

Touching the scanner box located on the wall, the door slid open. Even before looking inside, Mara and Alex could hear the muffled cries coming from inside.

“Arlon, it’s me, Alexandra,” Mara said, announcing herself by her birth name. “I don’t want to harm you.”

There was no response.

Using a borrowed access pod, Alex projected a hologram of herself. As soon as the hologram entered through the doorway and into view, three bullets ripped through it, becoming lodged in a distant wall. Upon hearing Mara and the three gunshots, the crew came running.

“Didn’t anyone tell you not to shoot on a boat?” Mara said.

“The next bullet I’ll put in her brain,” The Fox shouted.

“Please help!” a voice cried. Alex recognized it immediately as Taranya. As much as Alex didn’t like her, she wanted to do her best to save her.

“Let them go, Fox,” Alex announced from behind the wall where she and her mother were standing. “It’s me you want… and I don’t think you want to kill me.”

Alex stepped through the doorway with her hands in the air.

“Alex, no!” Mara said, snatching at her clothing, but since Alex’s clothes were still wet and snug against her body, Mara had nothing to grab on to. She instinctually followed behind her daughter in an effort to protect her. After they entered the room, the door sealed behind them.

“This ends here,” The Fox said.

It was the first time Alex laid eyes on The Fox in person. He was much taller than she had imagined, but everything else was reminiscent of her vision. He even wore a pair of circular glasses — undoubtedly for their heads-up display rather than their ocular enhancements. In his hand was a small handgun, which he held firmly against Taranya’s temple. His other arm wrapped around Taranya’s throat, negating her struggle. On the floor were Yuri, Link, and Dalia — bound and blindfolded.

“You’re right, this does end here,” Mara said. “I won’t let you release the eternity hack to the masses.”

The Fox chuckled insincerely. “I may be mad, but I’m not crazy. If the eternity hack were ever released to the public, it would unravel the entire social order… and as a Leader, there’s nothing appealing about that.”

“What happened to you, Arlon?” Mara asked. “You used to be one of the good guys, remember? We used to be friends.”

“You’ll have to forgive me if I don’t remember all the good times. My memory from those days is still a bit fuzzy. When a person’s memories are taken from them, they are nothing but a shell of the former self. Now twenty years later, here we all are, alive and well. It’s funny how life comes full circle sometimes, isn’t it?”

“What do you want? The kidnapping, hacking people’s brains… it all seems a little—”

“Villain-esque?”

“I was going to say delusional, or psychotic, but villain-esque works too.”

“Isn’t it obvious what I want?” The Fox said, “I want what Maxim took from me.”

The rest of Mara’s crew was waiting on the other side of the door. They could hear the conversation, and with Mara’s eyewear, they also got a visual of the situation. While the only thing that separated them from the others was a flimsy door, they wanted to proceed with caution. In such a delicate situation with an unpredictable adversary, the fear was that if they barged in aggressively, it may spook The Fox and cause him to open fire. The best approach was to hope Mara and the others could somehow diffuse the situation without anyone getting hurt.

“Maxim Morrison may not be perfect, but at least he earned the people’s trust and respect,” Mara said. “You’re a coward who manipulated your way to the top.”

“Maybe I wouldn’t have had to do that if Maxim didn’t rob me of my essence. See, one day Maxim approached me with a wild idea. He asked me if it were possible to create a computer algorithm and upload it into the developing brain of his unborn child. At first I rejected the idea, but was eventually persuaded to comply with his request. Naturally, I modelled the algorithm on my own brain since it was all I had access to at the time. As it turned out, your brain became the most complex the world has ever come to know, and developed abilities that far exceeded my own.

“Maxim realized what kind of power this algorithm held and didn’t want anyone else to know about it. He had my memory wiped, and I went nearly twenty years without even knowing. I continued to work loyally alongside that soulless monster, until I heard about you. You fascinated me, Alex. Your intelligence and mysterious family origins captured my imagination. Then when it came out that you were the daughter of my long-time friend Maxim Morrison, I was completely enthralled. I watched you on the news, standing beside your mother — a face that my brain struggled to remember. I began to have these flashbacks, which triggered suspicions that my memory had been tampered with. And when it came to light that you had developed a technology to access dreams and repressed memories, I couldn’t resist the urge to follow up on this hunch.

“I purchased one of your dream recorders, and after some trials, was able to get back some of the memories that had been wiped. Imagine my surprise when I discovered my connection with the famous Alexandra Gray. I was beside myself with pride. But then a darkness set in… a vengeance that consumed my every waking moment. I tried to ignore it, but it persisted. The nagging voice in my head told me to take back what was rightfully mine.

“You see, the secret algorithm is still locked within your DNA, and once I finish studying it, I will have computation abilities that will rival your own. I’ve tried to recreate the algorithm countless times, but so far I’ve been unsuccessful. Once I get that back, there’s only one more piece of the puzzle to put in place before my life will feel truly complete. With Maxim gone and the Leadership position vacant, I intend to get back what was taken from me. I deserve it all — the money, the recognition, the power, and of course, immortality.”