Book 2 - Chapter 47 - Business Calls

Phew... long day. Took me extra long to get the chappies out, but I got them done.

Once again, thanks for the patience over the last few days, I appreciate it.

As much as I enjoyed riding in Skyler’s car, I was thankful we had the new truck for the ride home. Even though we didn’t spring for any upgrades to the seats, or hover jets, the fact that the truck was constructed with Class I tech meant that the drive home was one of the smoothest rides I’ve ever experienced. I probably wouldn’t have noticed, or appreciated it, if it wasn’t for the fact that my entire body felt like I’d just been mauled by an entire horde of antithesis.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Skyler finally asked after glancing over at me worriedly several times over the last few minutes.

“I’ll live. I’m sure that Artymis would have warned me if I was in any real danger. Isn’t that right?” 

{Arty: What you’re experiencing is the final stage of the muscle enhancement treatment. Unfortunately this stage cannot be bypassed, your new muscle fibers need to be torn in order to properly integrate with your system.}

“You could have given me a heads up,” I grumbled.

{Athy: Although we had a rough estimate of when the process would complete, we didn’t have an exact time. We certainly didn’t expect you to give Skyler a piggyback ride for nearly an hour while running through the tunnels. That pushed you over the edge. Do not worry, we never would have let you come to harm. Grey was correct, the process was suppressed by adrenaline to prevent the process from going off in combat, and we could have provided you with a suppressor if it started to trigger while you were still chasing the antithesis.}

“See, everything was under control,” I announced to Skyler.

She just scowled. “It still would have liked to have a warning beforehand, or at least been given an explanation when Reina started experiencing the pain. From now on I want you to supply that information voluntarily, the instant it’s relevant. We shouldn’t need to ask about it, got it?” Skyler snapped.

{Arty/Athy: Understood.}

“Good,” Skyler huffed, before turning forward so she could concentrate on flying again.

“How long am I going to feel like this?” I groaned.

{Arty: No more than twenty-four hours. Thankfully your new muscles recover much faster than a normal human’s would. I would suggest you invest in some sort of healing system in the future, although it wouldn’t have completely prevented the pain, integrated healing would have minimized the amount of discomfort you experienced.}

“We’ll discuss that later,” I mumbled. “I promised Skyler no major changes without her input, and I’m honestly not looking forward to going through this discomfort again.”

{Arty: Understood.} 

I relaxed, leaned back into my chair, and finally started getting comfortable, when I was startled by an incoming call.

I considered ignoring it, and just calling whoever was calling back later, until I saw the caller Id. With a groan, and mental command, I let the call go through.

[This better be important Ayden.]

[Important? Holy shit boss, I’ve been trying to get a hold of you for days now. Everyone here has been so worried about you. We grew so used to you calling into the office multiple days, even on your days off, that when you dropped off the map we thought the worst had happened. The only reason we didn’t report you missing was that message Ms. Agatha sent out, saying only to contact you in the case of emergencies.] The gruff man on the other end of the line gushed. Despite being one of the most senior members of the Synthesis investigations team, Ayden had a habit of getting flustered when things didn’t go as planned. I guess he really didn’t expect me to pick up. 

[I’ve been extremely busy with something the last week,] I groaned, [But that’s really no excuse. I really should have found time to check in over the last few days. Especially after what happened at the court house.]

I paused as my brain finally processed everything Ayden had spouted off earlier.

[Please tell me we don’t tell me there’s another emergency in the Investigations department. I know I missed the last one, and you had to go over my head, but there’s no way there should be two emergencies in a week. There’s still antithesis outside the walls, and the city’s in a partial lockdown.]

[No! Well, sort of,] Ayden replied hesitantly. [It’s more… a continuation of the previous issue. There’s been a development in the Tanaka investigation. Your father’s gone from being a common fugitive to the top of the most wanted list.]

I bolted up straight, and immediately regretted it as my muscles all screamed in protest. Skyler glanced at me in concern, and I just waved to let her know I was fine before diverting my attention back to the call.

[Explain quickly. How the fuck did my father not only end up on the Cascadian most wanted list, but jump to the top slot,] I growled.

[I just got word from one of my contacts in the Cascadian legal labs. Apparently they were going through all the implants that were confiscated from your father and they found that some of the implants had antithesis DNA in them,] Ayden explained. [Specifically Model Seven DNA.]

[They found WHAT,] I mentally screeched. 

[Bio Circuitry. Although that proves that Tanaka industries wasn’t involved in producing these models, the government is now concerned that anyone that had been exposed to those implants might be vulnerable to antithesis control. They’re freaking out that more of this tech might be lost in the cities, and they need to know where it came from, yesterday.]

[Fuck,] I muttered. [Are there any leads?]

[Almost nothing,] Ayden replied. [All they’ve got is the model numbers, MON3452 through MON3455, and the fact that whoever manufactured this shit must have access to some bleeding edge manufacturing facilities.]

I groaned. [Make sure you reach out to the government and offer to assist them in any way we can. My mother wouldn’t want us to spare any expense on this,] I told him.

[Speaking of the big boss lady, should I inform her of this development or…] Ayden asked hesitantly.

[That depends, are there any new leads on my father’s whereabouts?]

[Nothing. I combed through the coastal sensor buoys, thinking there might be something on there, but those are optimized for identifying ships, and antithesis leviathans. If that submarine went near any of them it was exceptionally quiet, too quiet for me to pick up on the sensor feeds.]

[Great,] I sighed. [In that case, no, don’t inform my mother. If you let her know that not only is my father still MIA, but now on the most wanted list, she’ll spend another week obsessing over the situation. Send an update directly to Agnes. She’ll know the best way to break it to my mother.]

[Got it. Anything else?] Ayden asked.

[Yeah… I’m probably not going to be in the office for at least a couple more days. So I need you to take care of things while I’m gone. If you have questions, but can’t get a hold of me, contact Agnes first. She’ll either know what to do or be able to get a hold of me,] I said.

[I think I can handle that, especially if it’s only for another couple days. Everything okay?]

[Yeah… sort of. To tell you the truth I’m kind of working as a samurai right now, and I won’t be back into the office until the situation around town settles down.] I explained sheepishly.

[WHAT? You are?] Ayden replied excitedly.

[Oww… a little restraint please, you’re shouting directly into my brain. And yes, I am. Keep it to yourself for now though. I haven’t really had the time to figure out what I want to do after this incursion settles down, and the last thing I need is everyone fawning all over me because I’m a samurai,] I explained.

[They’re going to find out sooner or later,] Ayden warned.

[Maybe, but I’d still like to delay that until I know what I’m doing with myself,] I sighed. [Anything else you want to discuss today?]

[Nope, you’ve answered all my questions. When do you think you’ll be back in the office?]

[I don’t know, maybe later this week. It seems like we’re finally getting the antithesis under control,] I replied tiredly.

[Then take care, and… be careful okay? I’d hate to hear that you ended up on the incursion casualty list before you get back to the office.]

[I will. The worst of it is over, and I’m tired of all the fighting, so I’ll probably take it easy for a couple days. I’ll be back soo,] I promised.

[Then I’ll talk to you later,] Ayden promised before hanging up.

I sighed, and leaned back in my seat once again. 

“What’s the matter?” Skyler asked.

“You know, I kinda forgot we had lives outside fighting the antithesis before this all began,” I told her. “We probably should sit down and discuss our plans for the future when we have a few minutes.”

“You’ve barely had the time to sleep the last few days, when would we have time to talk about our jobs?” Skyler snorted. “You’re right though, we should talk. Maybe tonight we’ll have time.”

She glanced at me and smiled. “Something tells me you’re not going anywhere.”