Aminu sits on the bus stop with his expensive earphones waiting for Padma to arrive. He asked her the day before which route he ought to take, but she suggested instead that they meet.

As promised, she arrives right on time and smiles. He turns off his music, Sade, and greets her with a shy smile.

Padma’s day started even earlier than it usually does. She couldn’t sleep at all, kept waking up. Her mind wandered to every possible question that Aminu could have about his new job. More than lying, which wouldn’t pose such a difficulty, hesitation would be detrimental and could jeopardize the entire thing. Even put his life on the line.

You don’t know what they are capable of. She remembers Marianne telling her. That they are set to having him and that nothing would keep them away from him. It’s better for Aminu, for his sake, that she’s by his side. Any slight resistance to answering his questions and he would sense she wasn’t being completely honest. That would be enough for him to leave. Him leaving isn’t a possibility that the Council could accept.

She went through every possible question. Every possible scenario. The specificities of the work they do there, how she could sugarcoat it so it would be just an omission rather than a lie.

The first thing that concerned Padma was the place itself. While the Institute had a modern aesthetic, their lab was inside a perfume factory. How would she explain to him that it’s somewhat secretive what they do, but that it isn’t wrong? That nuance, how to explain it properly? Aminu’s thinking is too black and white, she knows.

So, she practiced it. It’s a safety measure. That would be her sound bite. Safety measure against foreign spies, safety measure against national terrorists like Moore and the Angel of Death, safety measure against commercial theft, other private companies wanted their technology.

It was three in the morning when Padma realizes that she needs her brain to be fully functional.

Pull yourself together.

She turns her phone upside down, takes several deep breaths, smiles, and activates her ability. All the tiredness is gone. She gets up instead and sits in her living room, reading some scientific papers from Eurasia.

When the second bus they take finally stops, they walk for a bit and reach the factory. The sun has already set, but the streetlights haven’t turned on yet.

“Is this it?” Aminu looks at the entrance of the factory. It has a big yard with an electric fence all around it.

“Yes, it’s a safety measure, you know, keep it safe from enemies.”

“Enemies?”

“Foreign. National, like Rachel Moore and other private competitors. On the outside, it’s a perfume factory and inside a lab.”

“Oh.”

Padma takes several deep breaths, trying to control her heartbeat. She texted Saif on the way there, letting him know how much longer she’d take. An expensive SUV stops near them and opens the gate. The driver doesn’t even acknowledge them, but the rear window opens and it’s Madeleine Clark.

“Ikubor! Hello!” she waves enthusiastically. “do you want a lift inside?”

He accepts and they both enter Madeleine’s car. Inside, it’s a level of luxury that Aminu had never experienced. He had been inside the Parker’s Bentley and Abigail’s BMW, but they were regular, expensive cars. Madeleine had a window that separated her from her driver. The backseats were organized in a way that she could fit six people there, facing each other, the seats were more like couches and she had a table to put her laptop on.

“Do you want something to eat? Drink?” Madeleine smiles.

Apparently, it also has a mini bar and pantry. Aminu isn’t sure where. They politely decline the offers.

If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

“I’m glad I ran into you. Walking the entire yard would be so tiresome and it’s getting late, more chilly. Aminu, it’s not up to me, obviously, but I’ll put in a good word for you, you have so much potential and I’m sure the lab could use your brain,” Madeleine’s usual high pitch turned higher with the excitement.

Padma had the confirmation here. Running into Madeleine wasn’t a coincidence. Madeleine rarely spent any time here. No, this was planned, probably by Saif, to ease Aminu’s concerns.

Is it working? She tries not to focus too much on his face.

The driver parks near the entrance. They all step outside the car, and Madeleine uses her card to enter the building. Inside, Saif awaits, with a lab coat with Aminu’s name and a card for him too. Madeleine greets him, winks, and enters the elevator.

“Welcome, Ikubor. I’m sure you’ll like it here.” Saif offers him a handshake.

They get near the elevator and Saif explains to Aminu how to use the card. He places it on the reader, the doors open, and inside there’s only one floor that it can access.

“It’s a safety measure,” Padma begins. “mine is the same.”

Saif nods and presses the button to the minus third level. The calmness of the elevator ride is cut short when the doors open, the lab is bigger than the one at the Institute, and several people are running by and talking. Aminu activates the noise cancelling of his earphones and tries to avoid snapping his fingers.

When they get out of the elevator, Saif claps twice his hands, and everyone stops. There are over twenty people there, some younger than others.

“Good evening, everyone! I want you all to make sure to give a warm welcome to Aminu Ikubor. He’s an analyst at the Institute, works for me there, and is also an amplifier. Make sure that everything that he needs is met and treat him like he’s always been part of our team. That’s it, good work.”

The rush continues. There are people welding a machine, that Aminu assumes it’s what Padma explained, the one that will be connected to the mental controller and to him to move around.

Saif, Padma, and Aminu head to a quieter room where they meet Marianne Olsen and her advisor, Aymee Ortiz.

“Marianne, Aymee, this is Aminu Ikubor, the amplifier I told you about,” Saif says.

Mmm, poor boy. How lost you are! Marianne focuses on him and notices that he doesn’t meet anyone’s eyes. Aminu notices the physical closeness between Marianne and Padma.

Aymee approaches him with a hug and is immediately taken aback by his reaction.

“Sorry, force of habit! I’m the mental controller that you’ll work it. Aymee Ortiz, nice to meet you!”

Aminu forces himself to face her and meet her eyes and says that he’s happy to be there.

***

It’s early in the morning when the Council and their advisors all meet.

“What’s the status on our projects, everyone? Marianne, Saif, the machine?” Edward asks and he can feel the tenseness of the . Her eyes watching over every move.

“One week for completion of the machine,” Marianne says.

“Aminu Ikubor, the amplifier, has agreed to work with us. We met yesterday. We’ll run the tests with Aymee while the machine is being completed, so I’d say a few more days after it and it’s ready to go. Two weeks.” Saif checks with Padma the data.

“Two weeks?! Two weeks?!” The President of the United States slams her hand on the table.

“Mrs. President, if I may,” Edward lowers his tone of voice, “it’s better to wait two weeks and have a machine that works properly and is efficient, than rushing through this process and not having any results to show after.”

“Sure, Edward, that seems like it makes any sense. But being quite honest now, we have elections in November.”

“Mr. President, Mrs. President, mind if I step in here?” Laurence Pierce asks and Edward nods, “as Jessica can confirm, the posts and interviews of Jade Harris have made quite an impact. Not that first interview, sure, that one was disastrous,”

Jessica Miller chuckles in agreement.

“I mean, what was the girl thinking saying she understands Rachel Moore?” Laurence shakes his head.

Everyone across the room nods.

“Anyway, but ever since, the focus on Emily, the social media posts about missing her and wishing her well, we’ve seen an increase on anti-deviant speech already and some representatives have been keener to keep deviant rights out of the public debate for the next elections. We are confident that the first video, showing Emily Roberts and Abigail Parker being tortured, that we’ll show later this week, will have the impact that you are looking for.”

“There’s only one but here, Laurence,” Thomas says and everyone’s eyes focus on him.

“Which is?” Edward asks.

“The Parkers.”

“That’s right, Thomas!” Madeleine chips in. “I don’t have their money, or a child, for that matter, but if I did and I saw her get hurt, I’d do anything to have her back. All that money… I’m actually wondering if I should get into gun manufacturing.”

“Thank you, Madeleine,” Edward tries to say without showing his discontent, “Thomas, the Parkers are your responsibility. Keep an eye close on them and let us know if they become a nuisance.”