A black sky-car lands near the entrance to The Pit. Rachel was the first person to get out. Marcus and Mr. Hawk soon followed after her. With haste, the woman approached the teens who were being questioned by the Berant City Police Department.
Without any regard for the police investigation. The woman spoke to the loud teen. "What happened to Mark?"
While looking down, Steve answered. "After the fight broke out, he got hit in the head. I tried to block the blow, but he pushed me aside. He was moving really fast."
One of Alex's bodyguards came forward. "Ma'am, we recorded the event. I have been instructed by my employer to provide all the aid I can. A copy of the recording has been given to the police." The man uses his comm-pad to project the event.
Everyone who saw the video was perplexed by Mark's movement speed and reaction time. Rachel saw the hit her son took on the head, her heart almost stopped. Even in the video, he looked like a blur. The whole event lasted 16 seconds.
The bodyguard speaks again. "I'm sorry we could not have prevented the event. It all happened too fast. By the time we reacted, your son was already protecting Miss Lambert. The man pointed at a worried Alex. A girl Rachel had not seen before sat beside the teen with the blue jacket. Rachel saw Alex without her hoodie or sunglasses. She was perplexed.
Rachel's words escaped her mouth unintentionally."The weird kid is a girl?"
Ignoring her remarks, the bodyguard showed the video of the time Mark was taken. The faces of the paramedics were somehow blurred, as if the light had trouble reaching them. It was the same for the black ambulance, only the shape was visible. "There is very little to go on." The bodyguard added.
Mr Hawk interrupted the man's last statement. "There is actually a lot if you learn to look. Both men are between the ages of 32 to 40 years. Both of them have Caucasian descent. One is five feet eleven inches. The other one is six feet and one inch. The way they move, the way they manipulate the equipment, and the patient tells me they have done this before."
At this moment, A voice was heard. "People, I know you are worried, but you all need to take a step back. The Berant City Police Department is already working on this case. These next hours are crucial to finding the victim. Please let me do my job."
Everybody turned to the man who was originally questioning the loud teen. The man stood around 5'9", had tanned skin, and brown hair. He looked to be in his late thirties. The man's dark brown eyes moved from left to right, looking at all the people in front of him. "My name is Detective David Lopez, and I have been placed in charge of your son's case." Lopez turns to Steve and resumes his questioning. "Now, young man, where did the paramedics say they took the victim?"
Steve answered the man's questions about the paramedics: "The shorter one said they were going to take him to Berant's Mercy Hospital."
The man repeated what the teen said. " The Mercy? Are you sure that's what he said?" That is on the west side of the city. Steve and the rest of the teens nodded in unison.
Detective Lopez directed his next question towards the mother of the victim. " Ma'am, to your knowledge, is there someone who wishes to harm you or your son. Maybe a jealous boyfriend or something?" His eyes fell on Marcus.
Rachel wasted no time in pointing fingers. "I think his grandfather took him." Her hand gripped Marcus's hand. They were ready to denounce Marcus's father for his actions.
"I'm going to have to ask you to elaborate." The detective asked while a small drone at his shoulder took video captions of the statement.
Back on the cell, Mark watched his map; once the three dots were out of this level would make his move. For some reason, the dots stopped at the cell with the green dot. They were there a long time. By Mark's estimation, a little over an hour and a half. The moment they started to move, Mark contacted the system.
With Mark's Mental command, he spent 2,000 points to loop the cameras and show empty corridors. Another 200 points got his cell door opened. As he walked the metallic corridors, he turned to look for the cell with the green dot. Spending another 200 points, he opened the door.
As he entered the spacious cell, the lights were off. Only the light from the door illuminated the area in front of him. The cell was really cold; it felt like a freezer.
He saw a table in the middle of the space, and various vials and chemicals lay on top of the table. He recognized one of the vials. It was the one Dr Parker used to draw his blood. A cough was heard in the back of the room. The door closed behind him, and the room fell into darkness.
"System, can you turn on the lights?" With 50 points, the lights in the room came on. The man at the end of the room was revealed. A man around 25 years of age. Mark had never met this man, but since the map showed him as a green dot, he needed to know who he was. With his right eye, he blinked twice. His jaw dropped when the man's information came out.
Back at Riggans Point, Marcus and Rachel finished telling their statement. " I will look into it, but without concrete proof, it will be your word against Dr Parker's word. I have heard of the man. He's the owner of Evolugen, which is a company with a lot of weight in the Lishean Commonwealth. It will be difficult to get a warrant and search his company's properties. The Detective was inclined to believe them. But he needed more than statements to do something.
Detective Lopez chose an easier path for the moment. He wanted to find the black ambulance as soon as possible. "In the meantime, I will use the cameras around the city to try and find the illegal ambulance."
But Detective, the vehicle shows as a blur; you will not see the ambulance. Marcus pointed to a flaw in the detective's plan.
Detective Lopez explained his strategy. We will look for a blur. The equipment can blur the image, but not make it invisible. Besides, if it's what I think it is, infrared sensors will see the vehicle just fine.
While the detective left to find the vehicle, a voice called to Mark's mother. "Little Rachel, I heard what happened. I came to see if I can help." Jack came from the direction of his shop. Rachel hugged the big man.
Rachel introduced the men accompanying her. "This is Marcus, Mark's father, and Mr Hawk, who is an investigator."
He nodded to both men. Jack recognized the military stance Mr Hawk used to conduct himself. To him, it was clear that this man had served. But now was not the time to ask about such things. "Do you have a description of the vehicle or the people who took your boy?"
Mr Hawk shared a copy of the recording the bodyguard gave him. Jack recognized the method they were using to obscure their faces and vehicle.
"That effect is caused by the paint. We used equipment like that during the last war. I bet they were using sunglasses to cover their eyes." Jack's guess was spot on.
"Mr Reed, do you think we can track the paint to the owners of the vehicle?" The private investigator asked with an Idea for a lead.
"Well, I can make a few calls, but it's unlikely. We are better off asking the people around Riggan's Point, especially the lower levels. A lot of shady deals happen here at night. Almost everything sold in this city comes from here." With these words, both men left to search for leads.
Since there was nothing there for them. Marcus and Rachel decided to take the teens to their respective homes. They will later go to Rachel's apartment. They could do nothing else but wait.
Name: Bartholomew Cain (Subject C)
Species: Human. (Level 4 Species).
Abilities:
Strength: 20. Intelligence: 6.
Vitality: 18. Wisdom: 9.
Dexterity: 15. Presence: 6.
Skills: Unarmed combat 5. Ranged weapons 5. Bladed weapons 3.Mechanics 4. Vehicle Op. 5. Tactics 3. Survival 4. Cooking 2. Knitting 3.
Feats: Military Training, Survivor, Gearhead, Street Smarts, Berserk.
Special Notes: A special gene therapy has been given to this subject to stabilize his extreme mutations. It is recommended to scan this person again after changes are completed.
Mark could not believe his eyes. This man was his grandfather. Bart was literally bolted to the wall. Two metallic structures held his arms and legs against the walls and floor. Mark's grandfather was unconscious, and his body seemed to be going through something.
The Doctor's words suddenly made sense; he had known about Mark for eight years. Bart had been lost for eight years. Moreau had been using Bart as a lab rat for all this time. Dark thoughts filled Mark's mind.
A timely message from the system brought him back. "System suggestion: Move as soon as possible, the camera loop will be discovered soon."
"I'm not leaving him. Can you hack his bindings?" Mark was reluctant to abandon his grandfather.
The system answered with another message. "Helping this subject will hinder your escape."
Mark looked at the minimap. He saw hundreds of white dots throughout the different levels of the underground facility. They were all Moreau's lab rats. A bold Idea came to his mind. "System lets free them all. Or at least the one in the lab levels. Amidst the confusion, we will make our escape."
Mark examined his points. After hacking his way into this room, he had 49,439 points left. He needed a different approach to take over the black site. "Opening all these doors will leave me without TP and no way out. Do you have a suggestion?"
The system displays a less costly suggestion. "Upgrade Map function to level 3. This level grants you insights into map locations and basic information for the F.O.F. system."
Mark thinks for a moment. "I will have to do another design run; that upgrade costs 20,000TP." With a thought. The young man found himself in the design space once more. This time, he was planning on making two original designs to cover the cost of his planned upgrade.
Back in the lower levels of Riggan's Point, Jack and Mr Hawk made progress in tracking the source of the black paint. At the moment, they were going to have a ...friendly chat with a man known to be a smuggler of military grade equipment. A fellow who used only his nickname, Slick. He owned an antique shop.
The flamboyantly dressed Slick started sweating bullets when he saw Jack. Entering his establishment. "Mr Hammer, ...how nice to see you. Wha ...what can I do for you? I swear, I have not sold any more gas masks."
"I'm not here for that, Slick. I'm here because you sold L.B.C. paint to some people who kidnapped my niece's son. It's useless to deny it; the others told on you." Jack moved toward the man. Slick was forced to move backwards until his back was against the wall. With his mechanical arm, Jack pounded the wall beside Slick's face.
"I'm sorry about your niece's son, Mr Hammer, but I would rather face your wrath than face these people." Slick's face was full of sweat, and he was trembling, yet he did not relent. "The truth is that I had no choice, I was forced to sell them the LBC paint's formula and a few other things."
Mr Hawk saw a new angle and decided to intervene. He placed his hand on Jack's shoulder. "Mr Reed, it's clear that this man is more afraid of the other party than he is of you. Let's hear why."
Slick saw a chance and decided to take it. "Well, you see, Mister, while Jack Hammer can hurt me badly, maybe even kill me accidentally, these people will do far worse."
Mr Hawk saw that Slick took the bait. "What could be worse than death?"
Slick takes a deep breath. " Have you noticed that there are no vagrants around?" He looked at both men. "No, Nobody does. These people have been taking vagrants at night. They will only do that if they are performing experiments on people. I don't want to be a guinea pig."
Having given Slick a false sense of security, Mr Hawk pressed on with his questioning. "I know that people in your line of work don't usually use names. But a lot of you keep a record of transactions and drop points. Where are your records?
"I don't have any records." As these words came out of his mouth, Slick's eyes betrayed him. As an involuntary reaction, he took a small look at a painting on his wall.
Jack caught on to it. "Let's see what you have behind that painting."
The moment Jack got out of the way, Slick grabbed a small statue and started running for the door. Mr Hawk, who saw through Slick's subterfuge, tripped the not-so-slick man.
As he fell, the small statue broke on the floor, revealing a data storage device. Slick tried to grab it, but Mr Hawk stepped on his arm. Pinning the struggling man to the floor with his leg, Mr Hawk grabbed the device.
"Well, what do we have here?" Mr Hawk spoke with a mocking tone while looking at the storage device.
Jack had a look of disgust on his face. "There is no need to keep this piece of filth. Let him go. If I ever catch you here, I will make you wish for people to experiment on you. In fact, after I'm done talking to my friends, there will be no safe place for you in the Rapal System." Jack spoke with a violent tone.
Mr Hawk let go of the man's arm. Slick started running and disappeared into the night. The two men looked at the data storage device. "Well, Mr Reed, Lest see what's in here."