Test Subject: 016 - September 2120
"So you want us to monitor his movement for now and only intercept if he gets close to the subject?" 009 asks Williams. I barely listen.
Every nerve in my body is buzzing. I want a mission. I need one. The sparks crackle beneath my skin, itching at my palms, desperate to burst free. It's been too long since I've been allowed to let loose properly.
Most people in this facility are painfully dull or they're scared of me. Can't blame them. They know I'd wipe the floor with them without even trying.
004 never was like that.
He could take the full force of my explosions and stay standing. Training with him actually meant something. Now I've got all this pressure building inside me with nowhere to release it.
Why did that idiot have to go missing?
He was always so quiet, distant, and always keeping to himself, but when it came to missions, he was flawless. A ghost when he needed to be, a weapon when it mattered. There's no way someone like him just got taken. It doesn't add up.
…And the fact that I miss his stupid face, even just a little, makes my blood boil.
"Yes. Make sure he goes nowhere near Noah Langford," Williams says calmly from behind his desk.
Noah Langford... They really think we're stupid and that we don't know whats going on out in the real world. But we've seen his face before... the same face as 004.
I tried asking him about it once. He didn't even dignify it with a response. Just walked away like I hadn't spoken.
And of course they're both Langfords. Dr Langford is a one sick bastard, using his own family like lab rat.
"And if this target does get close?" I ask sharply. "Are we supposed to kill him?"
"Not until after the summit," Williams replies.
Tch. Boring.
"Anything else we should know before deployment?" 009 asks, focused as always, hanging on every word.
Williams sighs and turns to his computer, tapping a command. The hologram above his desk flickers to life.
My breath catches.
004's ID photo stares back at us.
CLASSIFICATION: DANGEROUS — TERMINATE ON SIGHT.
"What the hell is this?" I snap, heat flaring in my chest.
Williams avoids my gaze at first, then looks between me and 009. "004 has deserted his position. He is now classified as a traitor and a risk to GeneX."
I whip my head towards 009. He looks just as stunned, but he keeps it together, barely.
"Dr Langford believes 004 will attempt to make contact with Noah Langford," Williams continues. "If 004 appears during your surveillance of Christopher Oswald, he is to be terminated."
Even Williams doesn't sound convinced, but it doesn't matter. No one disobeys Dr Langford.
When we're finally dismissed, I storm down the corridor, fists clenched so tight my hands tremble. I need to blow something up. Anything.
"016!"
009 jogs after me and grabs my arm. I spin on him, fury written all over my face.
"You need to calm down," he says quietly.
"This is complete bullshit," I hiss. "004 is one of Special Division's top operators. There is no way he just abandoned us."
009 glances around, checking for guards. "I know. But you also know we can't go against orders." His voice drops. He looks… tired. Hurt.
I grit my teeth. He's right, orders are orders. Doesn't mean I have to like them.
"I know," I mutter. "I'm not stupid. It's just-" I cut myself off, then exhale sharply. "How could he leave us like that? We were a team."
009 looks away.
And in that moment, I realise he's thinking the same thing I am.
If 004 really did run away, he didn't just betray GeneX.
He betrayed us.
We walk the rest of the corridor in silence, the kind that presses in on your skull. My hands are still buzzing, heat rolling beneath my skin like a live wire. I shove them into my pockets to stop myself from blowing a hole through the wall.
009 finally breaks it. "You're thinking of doing something stupid."
I scoff. "You say that like it'd be new."
He shoots me a look. "I'm serious, 016."
"So am I," I snap back. "You really believe this? That 004 just snapped, ran off, and suddenly we're meant to put him down like a rabid animal?"
009 doesn't answer straight away. That's answer enough.
"If we see him," I say slowly, "I won't hesitate."
009 turns fully towards me. "That didn't sound convincing."
"Because it isn't," I growl. "If he's really a traitor, I'll end him myself. But if this is another one of Dr. Langford's twisted games…"
I don't finish the sentence. I don't need to. The explosion imagery flashes in my head anyway, bright, violent and final... If I can win against him.
We walk into the garage. The smell of metal and fuel hits me instantly. Our gear is already laid out, neat and impersonal.
009 walks over and checks his weapons with methodical precision. "Our objective is surveillance," he reminds me. "Christopher Oswald only."
"For now," I mutter.
As we head for the transport, I glance back once, just for a second, down the corridor leading deeper into the facility. As if 004 will emerged from the shadows and join us for our missions like he usually does.
004, wherever you are…
You'd better have a damn good reason.
Because if I see you out there, I don't know whether I'll hug you…
or blow you to pieces.