The next ten minutes were spent meticulously putting out a certain chase. Troy did not skimp on the details, putting out everything he could remember, and some bits that he hadn't had the slightest clue of. The latter had been helpfully supplied by Adam, the AI seeming to have more of an overseer mood. Usually, the little guy would have corrected something said, making it clear that fact needed to be lined up linearly, yet there was not the slightest complaint from him. Curious.
Charlie looked entranced by the description. Or maybe the man was doing his best to not choke Troy out. It was hard to tell, that static expression telling nothing. The man just listened, not nodding or anything. He hardly even blinked. Troy supposed that was due for the course. Not every day that he came home telling of a death-defying run.
“That's about when I resurfaced from the water. It was not the proudest moment of my life, but I still take a little indulgence in the fact I could hold my breath for so long,” Troy said, beginning to end his little story-time. It was not the most pleasurable speech, his lungs having grown tired of the constant talk. Could also have been a side-effect of the aforementioned adventure, but who could really tell? It hurt and that was all that mattered in the end. “Lost my lunch, nearly froze to death, and now I have to live with the fact that I have a low constitution.”
His story ended there, him lying on a thin sheet, being comforted by a man who looked halfway to the path of demise. Fun. Not. But, it was what it was, and it certainly seemed to have held the older one’s attention.
“... You have done a lot today. Don't do it again,” Charlie said after a while. Troy couldn't have agreed more to the order. There was not a single bone in his body that was ready to take another jump, and all his muscles were already screaming in agony over the idea of taking another endurance run. He had outrun an enhanced person, and there was no way he would ever top that.
“Wouldn't dream of it.”
“Good. You shouldn't,” was said. Not by Charlie though. That man looked as surprised by the voice as Troy. No, it was Dr Hale who had uttered those words, seemingly awake from her slumber. How had they not noticed? Maybe the story had just been too good, distracting both far too much for comfort.
“Had a good few hours under your belt?” Troy asked, turning his head to face the woman. He even put on a small smile, showing a hint of teeth.
“I find such a task impossible when those around me seem to have an unnerving desire to shout at every possible opportunity,” Dr Hale said, plainly saying that everything said had been heard clearly. Troy wouldn't have guessed her to have been asleep the entire time. She was a good actor alright.
“You looked so deep in your slumber that I could not help but think that our voices would not be heard,” Troy said, putting on the charm just for her. He knew perfectly well how much it annoyed her, the slight twitch of her eyebrow telling a thousand tales. “But, now that I actually know that you are awake, I guess I could put in one final detail that I neglected to tell you.”
Brows were raised from both sides, Charlie going so far as to lean in a bit more than before. It was as if Troy was going to tell a dirty secret about the next-door neighbour or something. Oh, the memories.
“As you both know, we have been searching for a specific instrument. One that will be helping us more than we could ever hope for.
Welp… we’ve found it!”
What Troy was expecting from that news? Maybe some applause at first, some cries of jubilation, and then ending it off with a good old laugh as great friends. What he did not expect was that Charlie would immediately get up from his position, and power walk over to Troy’s bag, ripping it open to get what was inside.
Pill-cases fell to the floor. The paper on the outside was soggy, but the insides were likely as dry as always. Troy was still happy about getting those, as they would help with some of the problems they had faced as of late. Charlie… did not have the same attitude.
“Where is it? Did you leave it at the river?” Charlie close to shouted, having thoroughly inspected the now-ripped apart bag that Troy had carried around for weeks. The sight of its destruction brought pain to his gut, but he knew that it wasn't important now. The older man was already putting on his gear in vain. It was a hurtful sight to see.
“No… it isn't anywhere close by here. Walking there would take hours now,” Troy said, putting up his voice so that Charlie would hear. And he did, slowing down in his equipment. But he did not stop. He just needed to know where to go. There was no hint of him not going the moment he understood the location.
“Where? In the city? Did you hide it on the outskirts?” Charlie fired off, the questions coming right off each other. The man hardly took a breath afterwards. He was set on getting it this very second. Troy did not doubt he would run non-stop, maybe even use his enhancement to get there a bit faster.
“I lost hold of it when I was thrown through the window,” Troy said, internally wincing at the throat. He could still feel all the glass shards grinding up against his face. If he had been even slightly unlucky, his eyes would have been filled. Instead, he just got a few cuts here and there. Yet, there had still been more than enough to make his grip lose its power, letting the acquired item fall to the ground. “There’s next to no chance of it still being there, Charlie.”
“Then forget about that single one. You got it from the store. A store has more than one. If I hurry, I should be able to-”
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
“Mr Freeman, sit down and shut up,” Dr Hale said, getting up from her lying position. She had seemingly had enough, her face tensed in mild irritation. Oh, boy, that was not good.
Charlie, having been conditioned to always take the woman’s safety over his own, did as asked within the same second. The gear held in his arms was put next to him. The blood seemed to drain from his face, the older man’s body looking like it lost blood.
“If you go out there now, you will ruin what we have done until now. Could you not use that brain of yours, when you brag about that perceived intelligence so much. Troy was almost captured, after having disabled all alarms, and only having been there for two minutes. You have no equipment to handle such activities, and there is no way you could do it at the same speed.”
The older man looked ready to protest but was cut off by Dr Hale continuing. Her nose had begun to drip blood, but that only seemed to cause more fervour in her words.
“And that is when you don't even consider the possibility that they have heightened the security. Do you believe that they will look at it passively, and only react when attacked? They will prepare for the next assault, and they will have somebody stationed. Troy has been going around the outskirts, and they have figured that out now. So… sit down, do nothing else than what you normally do, and don't go out when you know that you will fail.”
Dr Hale was forced to use some paper to wipe away the blood. Some of it had come down and dripped off of her chin. It looked disgusting, and Troy could only think that it felt similarly gross.
The woman was forced to lie down again, not of her own free will, but because her arms stopped supporting her. Charlie rushed to her aid, giving Troy a look that very clearly told him to stay put. The large man was the only one able to care for either two, and nothing would change that.
Troy just put his head down on the pillow again, looking up at the ceiling in wonder. They were getting closer to getting out of the city. Dr Hale would be healed soon enough. Charlie might even begin to smile again. They just needed it. The moment the gear would be found in their possession, Charlie could begin doing his magic. It would not be perfect, it would not work forever, but as long as they had it, they could redo it at any time it was needed.
‘You should not feel too guilty about losing the device. With the size, it would have likely caused your death in the river,’ Adam said after some time. Somehow, Troy was unsure whether the words were comforting or laden with undeserved dread.
“Guess that is one way to think about it,” Troy muttered softly. There were no real attempts at using sign language, his digits still feeling like they were ready to combust into flames. “Maybe there would have been another method of escape. Something that would have made it possible to bring over here.”
Such a path would have required you to have gone unnoticed. This possibility has been deemed near-zero when factoring in the need to grab the item itself from the store. By the time you had run out, you would have been noticed no matter what.’
“Then I should have gone in at another time,” Troy said, defending the wrong side of the equation. “The car would have been at another side of the city by then.”
‘Or it could have been lying in wait the entire time, making the timing of the break-in irrelevant. There is no way to know. You only need to remember that nothing you do will change the result and that you can only work ahead from here.’
Troy chuckled softly at that. It was like the AI had finally begun to accept philosophy as an acceptable profession.
“You're beginning to sound like those self-help guides,” Troy pointed out, working a small smile on his face. “I distinctly remember you criticizing them last week. Was there any change in perspective?”
‘My perspective has always been my own and always will be my own. There has been no change. It is only the interpretation of the subject matter which has deviated.’
“... You’re just in denial over having a changed perspective.”
‘I assure you that I am not.’
“That's what somebody in denial would say.”
… Troy knew he had pushed a button there. The AI might have appreciated the intelligent conversation, but when word-traps were used against him, there was a period of time where Adam was a bit… miffy about it all. Frankly, it was a rare occurrence to have. They usually did not have the opportunity for such a set-up, seeing as the AI usually diverted the talk away from it.
But, when the chance of it came, Troy always took it. There were some contradictions in that, him not wanting to start conflict, yet still doing his best to start it when the risk came forth. It was rare, okay? An experience not common. And Troy did enjoy doing it, to some degree. Outsmarting another through words alone, making them look a fool. Sure, it mostly devolved into stupid things, but there was a pleasure to be had.
And it wasn't even that bad, really. Adam would sulk about having lost in a social contest, yes, but the AI would be back on his feet within a few seconds. Troy had talked it over with him before. No hard feelings came from it, other than some minor negativity that would fade quickly enough. The AI could survive, jumping back into it after a moment of recollecting.
‘When do you believe we will leave for another excursion into the city?’ Adam asked, doing just as predicted. The little guy always had one subject needing to be asked about, always important enough to make Troy diverge his entire path of thought.
“What do you mean?” Troy asked. The question was weird, yes, but… was the answer not obvious? “Tomorrow? Maybe in two days. It depends on whenever I can move my body. It would not do good to jump down another cliff and not survive the journey.”
The last part came with a small chuckle. Here he was, only barely able to move, and already planning to try another jump. His body might have been able to build resistance to many things, but blunt pressure was something that he would never adapt to. There was not a bone in his body that did not fear. Maybe he should get some more calcium in his diet.
‘Physical fitness is important. I can agree on that side. However, Dr Hale brought up an important fact. They are beginning to grow faster in responding. We’ve had two close calls within two days. Do you not think we need to act before it happens a third time?’ Adam inquired. Troy had to take a moment to just think about it.
It was as the AI had said. Two near-captures within two days. It was not the worst they had tried out individually, but together… It did not look good. Really, there had been no problems with the current city before. Troy and Adam had always been able to stroll in without too much trouble. They had been slow to respond. And, that had changed now. They had picked up on the strategy laid out and were doing their best to attack the weaknesses.
“I can see what you mean,” Troy said, nodding his head in tandem. They did need to make some kind of change to their strategy. But… What could they do? Troy was not made for those kinds of brain-storms. “Any plans already in the mix?”
That was the good thing about having an AI inside one’s head. When in doubt, ask the one who can't physically sleep.
‘I do have a few ideas. Would you like to hear them?’
Looking over at the other two in the room, things seemed to have calmed down. No reason to stress, then. Troy just nodded into the empty air, letting the AI start on what would be a detailed plan on the level of a doctorate thesis. In other words, it would be a good hour or two before he got the chance to sleep.
Nothing too bad about that fact, but it was nice to know beforehand. Helped with calming the mind.