by Allison Goh
“I’m in,” Brian said. “If what you’ve told me is true, and my parents are working with Orion on this…” Brian’s voice wavered as he thought of his conflicted past with his parents and their work. Running away and abandoning him after the Infinity Chip fiasco had hardened his heart against them completely. And to think that they were back and doing even worse things, his blood ran cold at the thought.
“I want to stop them,” Brian said, gritting his teeth.
“Me too,” Lyxa said, “If you guys decide that you need some political help, I can go to my father,” she said, sounding far more confident that she really was.
Lyxa was worried. Her father himself had the Infinity Chip installed. He had commended OrionWan-Nutrienas for volunteering to organize a rehabilitation effort. If she told him that that was all a sham, he would be furious and would want to stop Orion. But, Orion had just gained political favour as head of the new anti-terrorist committee and even had a seat on Congress. She wasn’t sure how much power her father had against Orion any more.
Max shot Brian and Lyxa a grateful smile. He instinctively hugged Brian and the two parted awkwardly once Max realized Brian looked uncomfortable. He really was grateful to him. It must be no small task to work against his parents like this. And the truth was that he was the originator of the entire Infinity Chip fiasco, though Brian didn’t know that.
It had been a risk letting them in on this but it looked like it was paying off. Only Ren remained silent. Max knew it was a difficult decision to make but with Paris’s influence on him, he hoped that he would come round.
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Brian clenched his fist tight. He was furious.
After Max told him that his parents were working at Sector A, Brian decided he had to contact them. He wanted to uncover the truth about them working with Orion, but deep down, he wanted to see if there was any hope of salvaging their relationship.
His parents had reluctantly met up with him. The guilt from abandoning him was apparent on their faces and while they apologized profusely, they refused to look him in the eye while doing it.
And to add insult to injury, not once did they bother to correct the scathing accusations he threw at them. Intentionally abandoning him after the mess with the Infinity Chip and now, working with Orion on the false ‘rehabilitation’ of the Infinity Chip patients.
His agenda for the meeting had been achieved. He had the answers to what he wanted to find out. Whether their relationship could be salvaged – No. And whether they were cold-blooded greedy bastards who worked for whomever paid them the most regardless of job scope – Yes.
At the end of the meeting, they even offered him money.
To compensate him, they said, for all his inconveniences.
His INCONVENIENCES?
His heart turned stone cold at that moment. His mother meekly offering him a wad of cash and his father, face flushed with embarrassment. As if they weren’t ashamed when they abandoned him the first time?
Brian struck the wall with his fist at the recollection.
His parents were cowards, money-grubbing cowards. The worst kind.
Lyxa was taken aback at Brian’s fury. Brian had come to her after the meeting with his parents and though he had yet to speak a word, his actions betrayed the depth of his anger.
She had never seen him like this before. He was always kind and meek, someone who hated raising his voice or even drawing any sort of attention to himself.
She handed Brian a glass of water, hoping to calm him down.
Brian momentarily stopped his tirade when he noticed Lyxa’s concerned expression. Taking a deep breath, he focused on her beautiful face to calm himself and gulped down the water.
“Thanks,” Brian said, “I shouldn’t have gone off my rocket like that… I’m sorry… I just, I just…” Brian said, his voice choked with emotion.
“I thought I was over it the first time,” Brian said, “But… I guess deep down, I still held out hope,” Brian said, staring at the floor, his shoulders slumped.
Lyxa placed a hand on Brian’s shoulder and squeezed it gently.
Brian forced himself to smile. He didn’t want to worry Lyxa.
“Anyway, I did get something out of it,” Brian said.
Lyxa looked at him in interest.
“They’re called InfinityBots,” Brian said. “Those Infinity Chip patients. My parents admitted to conducting experiments on them. Not sure what exactly, but they didn’t deny my allegations of brainwashing,” Brian said.
Lyxa was stunned. “InfinityBots?” she said, “Like some kind of robot?”
“Possibly…” Brian said, he paused and thought for a moment. “Those two captives I examined seemed utterly devoid of emotion,” Brain said.
Shaking his head, Brian said, “Regardless, it seems that Max is right. Orion is planning something very dangerous and we need to stop him.”
Lyxa nodded, her expression grave. “I agree. Let’s re-connect with Max and we’ll decide what to do next.”
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Max received the news with little surprise but he couldn’t help but feel his despair mounting. He had already suspected the truth but now with confirmation from Brian, there was nothing else to doubt. Orion was building his personal army with the InfinityBots and the sky was the limit as to what he could do with them.
After prolonged discussion with everyone involved, it was decided that the best course of action to take was to get Congress involved. With the other Alpha5 dropping out, they had very little resources left. But to stop Orion, they needed someone or something with vast resources. Since they had real evidence of the unethical and illegal activities in Sector A, they felt confident they could convince the government to intervene.
That would be phase 1, to alert Congress. Kate knew that hoping for government intervention was a long shot and it would take time to convince them to act. So she had a secondary plan, a phase 2. But that plan was only revealed to Billy and Max.
Phase 1.
Lyxa journeyed to her father’s office in the city centre to test the waters with the information she had gathered, hoping he would come to their aid and inform Congress of the situation.
“Dad, this is serious,” Lyxa stared at her father imploringly. “I’ve told you all I know. This is first hand information. We know that Orion is experimenting on Infinity Chip patients. The rehabilitation project is fake!”
Mayor Wayne tried not to let his horror show. What Orion was doing was beyond his imagination. Preying on susceptible people who had already been cheated once by Alex Etak. To exploit them at their most vulnerable, that was low!
Mayor Wayne’s thoughts jumped to his own exploitation. The green vials of Ålpha locked in his safe came to mind. He proposed the anti-terror committee to Congress and nominated Orion as its head. Thinking back on the deal he had made, he felt disgusted. Even more so, seeing that action in light of all he knew now, he was taken aback at the extent of Orion’s manipulation. The move to chair the anti-terror committee and then gaining a seat in Congress, that was surely all part of his plan to climb to power. It was unnerving.
Mayor Wayne tapped his fingers absentmindedly on his desk.
“You’re sure that Orion was behind the Aculles’ murder?” he said.
“I’ve seen the culprits with my own eyes!” Lyxa said, “They’re InfinityBots! Brian examined them personally and he reported their abnormalities. This is not a joke! He’s controlling them in some way, he’s responsible for all of it!” she said.
The lines on Mayor Wayne’s face deepened as he thought about the situation.
He was willing to close one eye for some under the table experimentation. But if Orion was building some kind of army, he couldn’t condone that. But he needed those damned Ålpha injections if he wanted to control the Infinity Chip’s side effects. If he exposed Orion now, it would be sacrificing himself.
Orion really was a genius for exploiting this Infinity Chip situation, he thought. Experim
enting on customers on one hand and blackmailing him on the other. What a fucking genius.
Mayor Wayne cursed out loud.
“I don’t understand why you’re hesitating dad,” Lyxa said. She was getting frustrated at her inability to get through to her father.
“Orion is not going to slow down. He’s obviously got something far worse up his sleeve if he’s willing to sacrifice so many people on the way to get it,” she said.
Mayor Wayne remained stoically silent.
“Dad! Are you listening to me?” Lyxa shouted in frustration. “He’s got an army in there! If we don’t act now, if the government doesn’t act, there’s going to be far worse consequences. We can’t just stick our necks in the sand and pretend like nothing’s happening. We’re ALL going to get hurt if he isn’t stopped!” Lyxa’s face turned red from the exertion of delivering her passionate speech.
Mayor Wayne looked away. He was still undecided. To cross Orion was no trifling matter. Even if he didn’t need those Ålpha injections, to convince Congress to take action against him would be an uphill battle. If he were to fail and Orion to find out, his career, no, he would be over.
“Dad,” Lyxa said, her voice this time soft and pleading, “I’m asking not as your daughter but as a citizen. Aren’t you the Mayor? Don’t you have a duty to protect the people? Or have you forgotten why you even came to political office? Are you just as greedy and selfish as they are? As HE is?” Lyxa said, her voice hoarse and strained.
Mayor Wayne exhaled deeply. That struck a nerve.
She was right. His daughter was right.
She needed him. No, the people needed him.
This was no time to be selfish.
“Lyxa, I have to tell you something,” he said. He reached below his desk and unlocked his safe.
Looking at the case with only 1 Ålpha vial left, Mayor Wayne sighed, “You’re not going to like this.”
Chapter 13: Pleasure is the Bait of Sin
Phase 2.
“Billy, the eagle has entered the coop, I repeat, the eagle has entered the coop,” Kate spoke into her communication device as she forcefully dragged Jean Wan into the POD with her. It was a tight fit. PODs were usually only built for one.
Jean, stunned at her friend’s actions, started to struggle as she realized what was happening.
Noting Jean’s resistance, Kate took out a syringe from her pocket. Kate muttered “I’m sorry” before stabbing it into Jean’s neck, causing her to slump against her. Kate hurriedly shoved her into the POD and got in after her.
From a distance away, Billy received Kate’ message and got into his POD as well. He heaved a sigh of relief that all had gone well.
Once they arrived at their destination, Billy got out of his POD and went to Kate’s aid. Kate was getting out of her POD, half dragging Jean. Billy took over. He lifted Jean over his shoulder in one smooth manoeuvre and trailed after Kate, into the building that loomed over them. Once inside, they got into the lift. They moved quickly because they knew that Orion’s men was sure to catch up soon.
As the lift doors opened onto the highest floor, Billy got to work. He activated the security systems and started to block all exits.
Huddled into the room where they had prepared equipment and supplies before hand, Billy turned to Kate and said, “Now what?”
“Now, we wait,” she said.
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Ren and Paris raced to Kate’s secret laboratory, dazed by what Kate had just done. 45 minutes ago, Orion had discovered that his wife had been kidnapped. Perusing the security cameras surrounding his office, Orion’s eyes burned with fury as he got a glimpse of the culprit. It was Kate!
Ren had figured things out from Orion’s right hand men and without bothering to speak to his father, called up Paris, and together they rushed to Kate’s laboratory.
“What is going on!” Ren said, his spit narrowly missing Max as he shouted, his eyes swept the room in search of Kate.
Max stuck out his hands in self defense, “Calm down! Calm down!” he said repeatedly, shocked at his friend’s outburst.
Ren stomped his foot impatiently, “I’m listening. Where’s my mother? Return her immediately.”
“My mom has her,” Max said, “She’s alright.”
Ren scowled, his anger rising again as he confirmed with his own ears that Kate had indeed kidnapped his mother.
“Listen to me,” Max said, “My mom has a plan.” Max backed away, hoping the distance would help Ren cool off.
“Ren, calm down,” Paris said. “Let’s listen to what Max has to say. I’m sure Kate had good reasons for doing this.”
Ren looked slightly appeased by Paris’s words. He signalled for Max to go on.
“Calm down. This is not a real kidnapping,” Max said, “We have hard evidence of what Orion is doing in Sector A. He is creating an army with those Infinity Chip patients and he needs to be stopped.”
Max hesitated for a moment. “We didn’t know if we could trust you. But, believe me, we need your help Ren.”
Max stared at Ren earnestly who looked unconvinced.
“And don’t worry about your mom, she’s fine,” Max said.
Ren’s anger had dissipated somewhat as he listened to Max. In fact, over the past week, he too had been mulling over what to do with the information he had gathered from Max and Kate. He knew that what his father was doing with the Infinity Chip patients was very wrong. It was a breach of trust from the public, manipulative and unethical. And if he really was behind the Aculles’ death, that was unforgivable! He would be a murderer!
Ren looked at Paris and his heart sank. She looked worn out. The stress from her parents’ death had taken an immense toll on her. It certainly didn’t help matters that the primary suspect of her parents’ death was her father in law.
Ren sighed. It looked like whether or not he truly believed his father was capable of all those misdeeds, Kate’s plan was going to go on. At the very least, he should know what was going on.
“Explain yourself,” Ren said.
Max recounted all the information he had gotten from Brian and Lyxa from the past week. He told him about Brian’s confrontation with his parents, the Green scientists. Brian was able to confirm several of their suspicions. It was true that Orion was experimenting on the Infinity Chip patients who had submitted themselves to the rehabilitation project his company spearheaded. And these experimentees were called InfinityBots. They were being brainwashed to become soldiers and form Orion’s personal army.
This account was consistent to the evidence they had already gathered from Brian’s examination of the culprits of the Aculles’ murder Kate had captured and the videos Max had obtained from inside Sector A. It all added up.
What was significant was that this meant that the Aculles’ murder was deliberate. Paul and Patty Aculle’s murder was engineered by Orion.
Through the InfinityBots, Orion now possessed a powerful shadow army that could do the dirty work for him without any sort of repercussion.
And as if that revelation wasn’t bad enough, Lyxa uncovered yet another insidious aspect of Orion’s master plan. She discovered this when she went to seek her father’s counsel after they collectively decided to try and get the government’s help.
Lyxa found out that Orion had been blackmailing her father with Ålpha injections, a special formula that Orion had created – a cure to the Infinity Chip’s side effects. In return for these ‘gifts’, Mayor Wayne had nominated Orion as chair of the new anti-terror committee which propelled his meteoric rise in public opinion and his procurement of a seat on Congress.
This was but another piece in the puzzle that Orion was completing. One could only imagine the grand picture he had for the future.
He was building a powerful shadow army, gaining political might and already had an unrivalled economic monopoly. What he was planning to do with all this power was anyone’s guess. And from what they knew about Orion, it was definitely not going to be used
for humanitarian purposes.
All this information had left them overwhelmed. Especially after Lyxa’s visit with her father had failed to unearth a viable option, because of the Ålpha injections that Mayor Wayne needed, Kate decided to unleash Phase 2 of her plan.
Kate knew that with the current imbalance of power, it would be futile to go head on with Orion. The best way was for Orion to give himself up voluntarily. They needed to employ soft tactics, maybe even underhanded ones.
This was where Jean came in handy. Her kidnapping was going to be a bargaining chip. In exchange for her safety, they were going to negotiate with Orion and force him to stop his experimentation, hand over all the Infinity Chip patients and step down from all his ill-gotten political positions.
Ren listened intently. He was starting to make sense of Kate’s actions and he begrudgingly acknowledged the plan’s merits.
Paris looked deadly serious. The information verifying that Orion was behind her parents’ murder had hit her hard. Orion possessing an army of InfinityBots? That was truly terrifying. She evaluated Kate’s plan with scepticism. Would Orion really give in to her demands just like that? She doubted it. But it was worth a shot, she thought.
After a long pause, Ren spoke up. “Alright,” he said, “I understand your motivations. But are you sure my mother will be safe?”
“Yes, don’t worry,” Max said. “My mom would never hurt her. That was never the point anyway.”
“Ok, but I still want to speak to my mother, I need to make sure,” Ren said.
Max nodded. He led them into a room, where several laptops lay on the table. He gestured at the monitors, “See for yourself,” he said.
Ren rushed to computers eagerly. It was a live video stream. He saw Kate, Billy and his mother all in a room. Kate was staring at a computer intently, not paying attention to anything else. Billy shifted boxes about the room. His mother was loosely tied to a chair but she looked unharmed.
Ren waved at the screen, hoping his mother could see him.