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Horatio was an ordinary guy with a regular job. Even his appearance was normal. He wore glasses and had short brown hair. He wasn't handsome or ugly, just average, which is what most people want to be anyway. A bit too slender, perhaps, but it's not easy for anyone to maintain the ideal body type these days, especially when you have a laboratory job, working non stop and eating pizza for dinner.

Horatio's job was relatively easy. He would receive packages of DNA containers worldwide, run the sequence and upload it to their data centre to find a similar match. Easy, tedious job, but it paid the bills and had an extra left.

Today, his colleague was late. He could bet that Day fell asleep again—great guy but terrible with schedules. Day spent too much time playing video games. Day was taller than him, with wavy hair and hazel eyes. He was an excellent lab partner, but he didn't take work to much seriously. It took some effort for Horatio to get through to him. They'd been working in the same lab since graduating from college. Their friendship had developed inside the lab, and they eventually became great friends, as long as Horatio didn't need Day on time.

Horatio was about to open the first package of the day from Mrs Schrodinger. The box contained two vials, one blue and the other red. He found on one vial a piece of cloth stained with blood. But the peculiar thing was their labels. One had the date from 2021, and the other from 2023.

'What the fuck is this?'; Horatio inspected the box more closely. 'It looks like some kind of bad joke.'

The date on the post seal was from 20th December 2021, and the address blew Horatio's mind. He knew the location, and he grabbed his phone, calling Day.

'Day here.'; grumbled a sleepy voice.

'Are you fucking with me!'; Horatio yelled.

'I'm sorry?' Day replied, confused.

'Mrs Schrodinger! Are you out of your mind?' Horatio banged his fist against the table. 'You just sent me a package with blooded fabric from your fucking address! Day, this isn't funny!'

'You're joking?' Day said. 'I have been living here for over ten years now. There is no Mrs I-Don't-Know-Who. And surely I didn't send anything! I don't even know any Schrodinger! What a silly name.'

'What? You tell me if I'm joking!' Horatio shouted into the phone.

'I don't know what you are talking about, dude.' Day sounded utterly lost.

Horatio took a deep breath and calmed himself down. 'We got a package with blood coming from your house.'

'Blood?' Day replied: 'Are you pranking me because I'm late?'

'Do you think I sound like I'm pranking? Where the fuck are you?' Horatio asked. Day didn't answer. 'Get your ass in the lab, or I swear on your mother I will report you to Dawn!'

Day laughed nervously: 'Yeah, don't do that, dude. I broke up with Dawn this weekend, and things got really sour. And I do still need the job regardless.'

'Well then, get your ass here right now!' Horatio hung up. His heart was beating hard in his chest. Something was wrong. So very wrong. He could feel it in his gut. He looked at the second vial and saw another piece of cloth, also stained with blood.

Day showed up at the lab two hours later. He looked tense, and Horatio was relieved to see him.

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'How did it go?' Horatio asked. 'I mean with Dawn.'

'She moved out yesterday.,' Day replied. 'But my now ex-girlfriend freaked out, made a fucking huge scene and tried to get back inside the house.'

Horatio nodded while listening. Now he understood the reason why his friend was so uneasy. 'Did she hurt herself?'

'No, nothing like that,' Day said. 'She only yelled and ran around screaming and crying.'

Horatio could feel the tension in Day's voice. Something strange was going on, and Day was trying to avoid saying anything more than absolutely necessary.

'So what happened after?' Horatio asked.

'I don't know. Dawn said she called me, and a girl picked up the phone.' Day rubbed his eyes with his hands. 'I never heard of any girl before. She called me a cheater and all that crap. I think Dawn is losing her shit.'

'Can we take a look at the samples, now?'

'Of course, man. Did you run the data already?'

Horatio nodded and walked to the computer screen. 'Yes, both sequences match perfectly with our database.'

'Okay, let's take a look at these results.' Day sat down on a nearby chair.

'Do you see it?' Horatio asked, pointing to the screen.

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'See what? What am I looking for?'

'Look carefully.'

Day leaned closer and stared at the screen. 'This sample belongs to a middle east female, and we have a name, very good.'

Horatio nodded and gestured for Day to continue. 'Check her name, please.'

'Fatima Zaidi, born in 2001, dead in 2022.'

'Now check the carbon-14 of the sample we have.'

'That is not possible!' Day blurted out.

'Carbon-14 decays over time. That blood sample is intact.'

'It can't be. It should have a decay of one year at least!' Day shook his head and stood up. 'There's some kind of mistake!'

Horatio said calmly. 'Recheck the date of death.'

'I cannot believe this.' Day felt dizzy. 'What does it means?'

Horatio shrugged: 'A glitch in the matrix?'

'Pardon?'

'Nothing, just a joke. Let's take another look.'

Day pressed the keys, and a new window came up. 'Holy shit.' Day's mouth hung wide open.

'That is the last thing. This girl was a victim of murder. Mrs Schrodinger sent us two vials, and I bet you a pizza that the second vial belongs to the killer.' Horatio smiled. 'And we have the chance to catch him. Well, at least help to catch him.'

'Why would anyone send us something like that? This is not a forensic lab.'

Horatio agreed. 'I don't know, but that blood must be from a real murder case. Let's keep going.'

They continued through the rest of the files. The victim and the killer were side-by-side on the screen with all their ancestry data, address, bank details, and any existing data.

'What should we do now?'; asked Horatio.

'Call the cops.' Day spoke unhurriedly.

'Right.' Horatio nodded. 'I'll call them now and ask them to come to the lab.'

Horatio took his phone, and after two rings, the operator answered.

'Police Departement. How may I help you?'; greeted a young woman's voice.

'Hello, I'd like to report a crime, I think.' Horatio paused and glanced at Day. 'It seems to be a homicide from 2021 or 2022. We aren't really sure.'

'Okay, sir. Can you describe the situation to me?'

'Yes. My name is Dr Horatio Clock, and my colleague and I have a package delivered to us containing two vials of blood samples.' Horatio described the contents of each vial and where they were from. 'We discovered the DNA matched Fatima Zaidi, who died in 2022 from stabbed wounds. By coincidence, the other vial has a matching profile too.'

The operator became silent after hearing Horatio's description. 'Thank you for contacting Pi WTL department. Sir, I understand you are calling about a serious matter.'

'It is indeed,' Horatio replied. 'May we talk to a police officer or someone that handles this type of case, please?'

'Sure, hold on.' The operator put the phone down, and the typing sounds replaced the background noise. 'Please hold on.'

Horatio paced back and forth on the floor, waiting patiently. He knew how difficult it was for someone to give information on a murder investigation from all the shows he saw on streaming services. They were dealing with human remains, and nobody wanted to break protocol or whatever it was.

Finally, the operator returned. 'Sorry, sir. Your request is being forwarded to WTL's main department. The inspector assigned to your time area will be informed as soon as possible. He will contact you soon. Remember, today is the tomorrow Pi worried about yesterday.'

Horatio thanked the woman, a bit confused and hung up.

'So, what now?'; asked Day.

'Now we wait.' Horatio said. 'I hope the inspector calls us back quickly.' Horatio sat down at his desk and rested his elbows on the surface.

'Did she give you the name of the inspector?'

'No.' Horatio shook his head. 'But hopefully, we won't need to talk to him.'

'Let's hope you're right.'

Horatio placed his face in his hands and sighed. 'Do we have to stay here?'

'I don't know.' Day looked up from his phone. 'Probably not. But I think it's important that we are here in case the cops want to talk to either of us.'

Horatio nodded: 'Maybe we should call Dawn?'

Day frowned. 'No way! Fuck off!'

Horatio laughed.

After an hour, the phone rang. Both men jumped out of their seats.

'Hello?' Horatio answered.

'Hi, Schrodinger speaking, it seems you have something that belongs to me.'

Horatio gasped and held the phone away from his ear. He was becoming pale, sweating profusely. The name of the inspector was Schrodinger.

'Give me a moment. I'm having trouble hearing you.' Horatio cleared his throat. 'Who is this?'

'Schrodinger, I belong to the WTL department.' The voice was distorted as if from behind thick glass. 'Where is the data?'

Horatio hesitated before answering. He was trying to figure out what to say next when Day decided to intervene.

'Who are you?' Horatio asked.

'Just give me the stuff, and we can forget about this whole thing.'

Horatio took a deep breath and passed the phone over to Day.

'Listen!' Day said. 'We have no idea what you are talking about. If you don't tell us what is happening, we will contact the cops. The real police!'

'Fuck off!' Schrodinger smirked into the phone. 'You have no idea what is in your hands. Just be good boys and let the grown-ups handle it.'

Horatio went back to the phone. 'Okay, let's try this again.' He cleared his throat and began to speak slowly: 'We received one package today, and both vials contained blood samples. One of the vials belonged to a middle eastern female who died in 2022. And the other was a match for a male.'

'Wow,' Schrodinger interrupted. 'This is pretty much exactly what I already knew.'

'What is that supposed to mean?' Horatio asked.

'Leave the samples and all the data related at your reception, and I'll pick it up later. No harm done.'

Horatio had a hard time believing what he was hearing. 'Are you sure about this?'

'Yes.'; said the voice on the phone: 'I will be there shortly. Please leave the doors unlocked.'

Horatio and Day exchanged glances. Why would someone ask to leave doors unlocked?

A female voice informed: 'Thank you for contacting Pi WTL department. Your call is important to us. Remember, today is the tomorrow Pi worried about yesterday. Until next time we meet.'; the call dropped.

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