by Allison Goh
Was this going to be the end? Ren thought. Was his father really going to win?
“Brian, Brian!” Kate said, which snapped Ren back to focus. “Listen to me! Repeat after me, 68 picket lane, 68 picket lane!” Kate said.
“What?” Ren said, utterly confused.
“Don’t ask why, just say it. 68 picket lane!” Kate hollered, her voice reached an outstanding decibel through the communication device.
“68 picket lane,” Ren said, hesitantly.
“68 picket lane,” Ren said, once more, louder this time.
Orion’s looked at Ren in shock. The gun in his hand was half-lowered.
“What did you say?” he said.
“Put me on speaker!” Kate said.
Ren pressed a few buttons on the device enwrapped around his ear. Kate’s voice echoed the room.
“Orion? No… Ken? Brother, it’s me! Katherine!” Kate said.
Orion was stunned. He stumbled towards Ren. He had to get closer. That voice.
Just as Orion was about to reach Brian, his hand reaching for the communication device, there was a loud sound and his knees buckled.
Brian froze in shock as his father collapsed against him, the weight sent them both buckling backwards and falling toward the floor.
He looked down in horror as he felt his shirt starting to get warm and wet. Blood was seeping from his father’s shirt into his own.
Paris stood above them. Both hands clasped around Orion’s discarded gun, aimed squarely at them.
Chapter 17: My brother’s Keeper
Jean, Ren and Kate anxiously waited outside the emergency operation room where Orion was being treated.
Two doctors came out and they looked worried.
“Mrs Wan,” they said, addressing Jean. “There’s some difficulties with treatment. Is there anything we should know about?”
“Yes…I mean, no….” Jean said. “Our medical team will arrive soon. Just keep him hanging in there for now,” Jean said.
The doctors looked at each other, confused for a second. But they went back into the operating room.
“Ren, you know your father’s like you?” Jean said.
“Yes,” Ren said, “I just found out when Paris shot him the first time…” Ren said, his voice shaky.
“I didn’t know too, until recently, after the kidnapping,” Jean said, glancing at Kate.
“We did our own investigations,” Kate said.
Ren turned to Kate. “Wait,” Ren said, “Before we talk about that, what were you talking about just now? How did you know about the song and what’s 68 picket lane?” Ren said, his eyes burned into Kate with intense curiosity.
Kate looked at Ren and Jean and let out a big sigh. She rubbed her temples vigorously with her fingers. She had a huge headache.
“Look, I don’t know for sure,” Kate said, “but I think… I think… that Orion is my brother…” Kate said.
Both Jean and Ren looked at Kate, their mouths agape.
“The song,” Kate continued, “The song was my clue. Our parents used to sing that to us when we were younger,” she said.
“What happened?” Jean asked, “Did you guys not grow up together? How could you not have known all these years?”
“We were separated when I was 6,” Kate said. “I don’t know the details but my parents were forcibly taken away from me and I was placed in a foster family. All I know is that my brother ran away and my parents told me to tell no one about him…”
“68 picket lane was our family address,” Kate continued, “I had a weird hunch and I just went for it… who knew…” Kate’s voice trailed off as she thought about what had just happened. Judging from Orion’s reaction, it seemed that he was familiar with the address. Could he really be her long-lost brother?
The whole thing was such a cruel twist of fate. The years of hatred she had against Orion now seemed misplaced. She didn’t know how she should vent her anger now.
Just then, a group of smartly dressed men approached them.
“Mrs Wan, we’ve brought the medical team,” one of them said, addressing Jean politely with a quick bow.
“Yes yes,” Jean said, getting up.
“He’s in there,” she said, gesturing to the operating room. “Do what you guys need to do,” she said.
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3 days later, Ren rested idly at home. He felt numb. He felt completely drained mentally though physically, he was great. All his flesh wounds had already disappeared. Nobody would have guessed he had been in a gunfight.
Ren chose to stay at home with his mother. Her presence comforted him. She seemed to be taking things in great stride. Paris had returned to her family home to be with her sister. She seemed to be avoiding him, and he had no energy to pursue her.
Orion was doing much better at the hospital. His personal team of doctors and scientists had managed to work miracles. The wound he suffered was extremely serious. Paris had shot him with his own gun, and those bullets were not ordinary ones. That gun was a weapon meant to take down the likes of Ren, physically immortal beings.
The authorities were still onto Orion. They monitored his progress at the hospital. Orion would presumably be arrested after he recovered but they all feared the one percent chance that Orion would somehow escape the law.
Brian recuperated at the hospital as well, having also been shot and by Orion’s gun no less. Even though the bullet didn’t hit any important organs, he was still in a coma. This was a testament of how powerful Orion’s gun was. Lyxa remained vigil at his bedside day and night and Ren was glad to see that Brian had someone at his side. In fact, Lyxa received a message from the Green scientists, who had been arrested from their involvement with the InfinityBots. They offered to take care of Brian’s medical bills. They seemed almost remorseful about the entire affair.
Max recuperated at home. He only suffered slight injuries from the battle but the last thing he wanted was for authorities to delve too deeply into his identity. His association with the Infinity Chip was something he wanted to keep hidden.
Kate watched over him. She made sure he was eating and drinking but meanwhile, she herself had zero appetite and suffered through sleepless nights.
She couldn’t stop thinking about Orion, or rather, Ken, her brother.
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A week later, Kate showed up at the hospital to visit Orion. She had heard that he had almost recovered and was in discussion with the authorities about his future. This news had not been well received by the others as they feared that Orion, with his power and cunning, would once again escape the confines of the law and restart his plans.
As risky as this was, visiting him now, Kate knew she had to see him. She wanted to get down to the bottom of things. She needed to know if he really was her brother.
Kate entered the hospital ward. She tread softly and carefully. Outside the ward, she had been checked thoroughly by two burly men in suits, and she knew they weren’t law enforcement. They were Orion’s men.
Orion looked up from the bed when she entered.
Greeting her with a look of utter contempt, he said, “5 minutes, Kate. That’s more than generous coming from me,” he said.
Kate’s face turned red. Orion was still as arrogant as ever.
“Orion. Don’t worry, I’m not here to chit chat or enquire about your health. I want to know about…” she began. She paused as she struggled to phrase what she wanted to say clearly.
She continued, “Do you know 68 picket lane?” she said.
That got his attention. Orion sat up. He looked at her warily and said, “How do you know about that?”
“No one knows about that…” he hissed under his breath.
“I lived there,” Kate said, “That was my childhood home…” she said.
Orion looked white as a ghost now. He sat up straighter and leaned forward to get a good look at Kate. Orion stared at Kate’s face for almost a minute in silence.
Finally he said, “Katherine?�
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“Yes,” Kate said, tears spilling from her eyes.
Kate wanted to reach out to hug her long-lost brother but her anger toward Orion was still there, churning at the pit of her stomach. She didn’t know what to make of her feelings so folder her arms together, as if to protect herself.
Kate looked at the ceiling, willing her tears not to fall.
“Do you know what happened to our parents?” she said softly.
Orion’s face flushed. Then, the glimmer of uncertainty faded and he gave her a stone cold look.
Looking at her straight in the eye, he said, “Yes… I do know.”
Kate’s face lit up. “You do? What happened? Are they alive? Why were they taken away from me?” she said, questions poured out of her mouth one after the other.
Orion had regained his composure. He looked at her coolly and said, “I was the one who called the cops.”
Kate felt as if an anchor had dropped in her stomach. She looked at Orion in shock, her arms hung limply by her sides.
“That’s right,” Orion said. “I called the cops. Didn’t you know? They weren’t sterilized,” he hissed.
What? Kate thought. A million questions raced through her mind.
“Wait,” Kate said, “Does that mean… does that mean we’re their biological children?” she asked, her eyes widening at the realization.
Orion eyes turned stormy. His lips formed a thin hard line.
“No,” he said, “Only me.”
Kate looked at Orion in surprise. Actually, that made sense. That would explain their vastly different looks and colouring.
“But why?” Kate said, “Why would you do that? To your own parents? How could you?” Kate said, unable to understand the situation at all.
Orion pointed an accusatory finger straight at Kate.
“Because of you!” Orion said, his voice echoed around the room.
Kate jumped in shock.
“Everything was fine until you came along,” Orion said.
“They should have loved me more, but they liked you. A child of the genetic lottery, perfectly healthy, good at everything…” Orion said, his features contorted with anger as he muttered to himself under his breath.
“They got what they deserved. I don’t regret any of it,” Orion said, as he leaned back into bed, his eyes focused on something far off in the distance.
Kate was astounded by all of it. Orion was a biological child? He wasn’t a child of the Genetic Lottery? And most ridiculous of all, he turned in his own parents, no, their parents, to the police just because of a little jealousy?
Kate boiled with anger. She understood what it meant to have complicated relationships with your parents and how it could scar you. She created the genetic selection project for that very purpose. She hadn’t been enough for her foster parents, no matter how much she tried, and so she tried to create the perfect child, one that would live up to everyone’s expectations. But when she saw what Max had endured, she had changed her mind. She no longer cared about how intelligent or beautiful her child was, what mattered was that he was happy. And she realized that he would be happy as long as she was there to love him, every single day.
Kate walked up to Orion and lifted her hand, she swung her arm and her palm contacted his cheek with a satisfying loud smack.
Orion’s head jerked back in shock, and his eyes burned with anger.
“Don’t you see what you’re doing?” Kate said.
“You’re angry that your parents didn’t care about you. But what are you doing now?” she said, heaving hard.
“By doing all these things, by harming those innocent people, what do you get from all of this?” Kate said.
Orion puffed out his chest, “I’m going to be the most powerful man in Egalia. I’m going to show them. No one will dare look down on me ever again!”
Kate looked at Orion, her expression softened. “I pity you,” she said, “Can’t you see what you’re doing? You’re doing all these terrible things because your parents didn’t love you but what are you doing to your own child and wife now? They’ve completely turned against you!”
This last sentence struck a chord with Orion.
It was true that his family had forsaken him. He had sacrificed his wife and his own son had teamed up with the enemy against him.
He thought about what he had done all these years, trying so hard to gain power and prestige. What was it all truly for?
At first, when he had run away at 12, he had been racked with immense guilt for betraying his own parents. But how was he to know? He just did it in a moment of anger. He didn’t know the consequences. His own parents had planned to abandon him anyway. How else was he supposed to react?
What started out as a rebellious stunt quickly became serious as he realized that his identity as a naturally conceived child could never be discovered.
His parents were taken away by the authorities and his young sister was separated from him. He was left all alone to survive.
He first lived in the sewers when he was on the run, and his phobia of being unclean remained till this day. After a few weeks, he got caught stealing from someone’s kitchen but he was lucky, an elderly couple lived there and took him in. And from there, he worked his way up from scratch, fighting tooth and nail to succeed in life.
But, by any measure, Orion in his 30s was already immensely successful. No one who have guessed or dared to reveal his humble beginnings. He had covered it up so well, it was impossible to discover who he really was. He should have been satisfied.
Orion realized now that he carried the chip on his shoulder as an excuse. The resentment against his parents and sister had long gone. His actions now were to feed who he had become. A proud and sadistic man who got off wielding his power over others.
He had married Jean because she was subservient, useful to him.
He engineered Ren’s birth so he could have a chance at immortality.
What a monster he had become.
A single tear fell and wet his cheek. Orion touched his face. It had been years since he cried. Crying was for fools he always said, crying was for the weak.
He wasn’t weak.
He was strong.
He wept.
Kate looked at Orion. His shoulders heaved as he sobbed. He was a wreck.
She stepped forward and cast away all her prejudice and anger. She reached out and embraced him.
Not Orion, the diabolical mastermind, but the 12 year old, whose only crime was to be born outside a flawed system, a flawed system which demanded perfection from its inhabitants.
As Kate hugged Orion, Kate promised herself. No matter what, Orion was her brother, she would stand by him from now on.
Chapter 18: Ohana Means Family
2 years later, the citizens of Egalia got up like clockwork at dawn, eager to start their day. While the city looked the same from the outside, inside, the shift among the elite had caused drastic change. With the loss of Orion Wan and the Aculles, the dynamics of the Alpha5 changed greatly. Most of the other pioneer CEOs of the Alpha5 took their cue and retired. They much rather spend time with their family. The events of the past few years had put things in perspective for them.
As the Alpha5 downsized their operations and divided up their shareholding to numerous smaller stakeholders, the monopoly on Egalia’s economy loosened and small businesses begun to thrive and flourish. Egalians experienced hope. For once, their future paths in life seemed uncertain and that was a good thing. No longer did Egalians feel that they were merely cogs in a wheel, time slipping from their fingers as they put in their designated work hours at the Alpha5.
Kate and Jean remained best friends, their bond stronger than ever.
Billion, strangely enough, had started to come out of his shell and his presence was now expected at all the key social events.
Max was glad to see his parents, though no longer together, happy. Meanwhile, he had taken it upon himself to revive Etak Inc. and regain control of
the Infinity Chip technology. First, he dismantled Sector A and the horrible experiments going on within. Those that could be saved from the InfinityBots were rehabilitated into society but unfortunately, most of them were already too far gone. The Infinity Chip had now been officially banned on humans, but research was underway to find a way to fuse it with machines. Max took great care to ensure that the research done was transparent and ethical.
Brian worked with Max in his development of new technology and he even consulted his parents from time to time. Of course, this was done during his visits to prison where they were serving time for their crimes. One good thing did come out of the events, Brian was now officially dating Lyxa and he couldn’t be happier.
Lyxa looked to be following her father’s footsteps. She was busy making preparations for the upcoming elections. Her anti-corruption campaign had been extremely well received. She was determined to reform the city for good and ensure more accountability within the system.
Ren and Paris were divorced now. Ren struggled to come to terms with his immortality. He resigned from all his executive positions and was now taking a sabbatical somewhere in the mountains.
Paris and Pamela still helmed the Nutrienas empire, which had now split from OrionWan. They kept the Nutrienas name in honour of their parents. Pamela had actually begun planning for a sweet shop, something unheard of since Nutrienas pills were invented. Candies for the soul, she called them. Everyone could use a little sweet now and again, she thought, especially her sister. She held out hope that Paris would reconcile with Ren one day but for now, her company was going to suffice.
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It was Saturday and Kate stepped out of her house at the usual time. She was going to prison.
Well, calling it a prison would be a bit of a misnomer. Kate smiled as she was ushered into the luxurious waiting room. It would be impossible to ask Orion to give up all the trappings of wealth and power.
Orion entered the room, dressed in comfortable clothes. Orion had aged somewhat, now that his immortality injections had been taken away from him but his face was radiant as he reached out to hug his sister.