Chapter 05
Isaiah P.O.V.
Isaiah felt a bittersweet feeling in his heart when he saw Paloma and Katie talking, while he was all for cheering his friend as she tried to seduce her crush, he still felt frustrated about his own dating life. Working in a secret Government facility in the middle of nowhere didn't really offer much in terms of dating options.
"Morning Isaiah" Tom appeared to his left.
"Morning" Isiah replied as Tom walked past him "Where are you off to?"
"Just strolling around the premises" Tom turned around but didn't stop walking, going backwards instead "taking in that fresh air, y'know"
"Sure" Isaiah waved Tom farewell and continued to their common kitchen area. Grabbing a banana and a muffin, Isaiah headed to his workstation, preferring to work and eat at the same time rather than waste time doing one thing at a time.
Isaiah's projects were his babies, he cared about them and was very excited about them coming to fruition, if an incident in his past had gone differently, he might have gone to Harvard or MIT and been working at a premiere tech company; but life always turns out differently than you imagine.
Currently Isaiah was working on two projects simultaneously, the emitters to deflect visual recognition had just started and was long way from being finished, but his second project was just a step away from success, Isaiah just had to figure out how to...
WEE! WOO! WEE! WOO!
Isaiah's thought process was interrupted by the klaxon of the alarm. "What the fuck is going on?" Isaiah asked aloud as he rushed out of his work station, bumping right into Paloma.
"What does that alarm mean?" Paloma asked Isaiah panickily "Are we being attacked?"
"I don't know" Isaiah's voice rose a few octaves with every word.
The two of them rushed down the hallway to see Katie and Doctor Boucher hurrying along and caught up with them.
"What's going on?" Isaiah asked as they rushed out through an exit.
Paloma P.O.V.
Paloma walked with a spring in her step today, happy to have beaten her own time in today's run. Katie, Isaiah and Tom preferred to use the gym for their exercises, but she needed the fresh air of the morning for her exercises.
Plus, her hair was flawless today, further uplifting her mood.
"Good morning Pal" Katie called out the nickname that only she was allowed to use, because is made Paloma's heart flutter when she heard it from Katie. "I see you're ready for the day already" Katie wiped the sweat off her brow, clearly having just left the gym.
"Yeah" Paloma cast an eye on Katie's sweat drenched figure "How's your shoulder feeling now?"
"Completely healed" Katie rotated her right arm by its socket "Like it was never hurt"
"Still, go easy on it for a few more weeks" Paloma cautioned her friend "I'm a surgeon, not a physician; It's best to be on the safe side"
"I have complete faith in you" Katie gave a dazzling smile to Paloma that took her breath away.
"I-I need to go, eat dinner... I mean lunch... I mean..." Paloma stuttered as she struggled to put her thoughts in order.
and like that Paloma's crush walked away.
And just like that, the Hispanic physician's mood did a one-eighty. "Idioto, Pendojo, Mierda" she cursed herself "Why can't you fucking speak properly?"
Glumly, Paloma entered the kitchen; after giving it some thought she made herself a bowl of grilled chickpeas and tofu strips with a side of avocado toast and a glass of tomato juice.
Paloma ate her meal in the kitchen area, while scrolling through the news feed in her phone; but she multitasked as she continued to lament how she made a fool of herself in front of Katie.
WEE! WOO! WEE! WOO!
The sudden Klaxon startled Paloma who almost dropped her tomato juice, "What's going on?" she rushed out of the kitchen area and bumped directly into Isaiah.
What does the alarm mean?" Paloma asked, trying to keep the panic out of her voice "are we being attacked?" Paloma had never admitted it to anyone but a small, irrational part of her mind was always afraid of being kidnapped by spies from enemy countries who want their research.
"I don't know" Isaiah shrieked, looking panicked himself.
"Didn't YOU design the security system of this place?" Paloma wondered but chose not to ask during these trying times. The two of them rushed down the hallway to see Katie and Doctor Boucher running in a particular direction, and caught up with them.
"What's going on?" Isaiah questioned as they rushed out through an exit.
Katie P.O.V.
Katie took a big gulp out of her water bottle as she treaded down the hallway. "Hey Pal!" she called out when she saw the only other girl at their facility, "I see you're ready for the day already"
Katie was still in her workout clothes while Pal had already finished her run and gotten ready for the day, a small part of Katie was also jealous of how Paloma's hair was flawless today; Katie had never been good at maintaining long hair.
The two women chatted for a bit. Paloma being the good friend she is inquired about Katie's shoulder and warned her to take it easy, but Katie assured her that she had full faith in Paloma's abilities.
Paloma was one of the few friends Katie had, as such Katie valued her very highly, and thus she had recruited Paloma into their operations when the doctor needed a surgeon to aid him.
Soon enough the two women parted ways as Paloma's went off to have her breakfast while Katie went on to hit the showers. It took Katie only a few minutes to be done with her morning routine; a lasting effect from being in the army. The first thing Katie did afterwards was check up on Doctor Boucher.
"Good morning doctor" Katie entered the man's study.
"Good morning Katie" the doctor was cleaning his glasses when Katie entered his study. Katie had always found the Doctor's study bizarre due to its mixture of old and new.
The doctor sat behind an old fashioned wooden desk, where he was surrounded by multiple screens. Half his study walls were covered with books while charts and touch screens peppered the other half, to Katie the whole study felt jarring.
"We just got a call from Saint Heart Memorial" Doctor Boucher explained "There's another person available for pick up tonight"
"Alright" Katie nodded "Another specimen will help us determine whether their process had been set perfectly or if Tom Cassidy was an anomaly"
Suddenly, lights started flashing on one of the wall screens, a siren started playing in the distance. The doctor stared at the screen in shock for a moment before he pressed a button and stood up abruptly
"What the hell is going on?" Katie questioned Doctor Boucher, only to be shocked by the answer.
Doctor Boucher P.O.V.
'Dear Anthony' the email opened on his computer read
'I Hope this letter finds you in good health; as we had predicted, Project Rogers is being shut down in its entirety. Alan was the one to go after you, and then they fired Meredith, I know that my days here are numbered as well, yet I find it oddly comforting, as if a great burden has been lifted off my shoulders.
I hope that you are well, and have found a way to continue your work.
Regards
Iqbal Baksh'
Anthony Boucher leaned back into his chair as he contemplated the contents of the email. "At least Alan got fucked over as well" Anthony consoled himself. He was still bitter about the firing, but in a way the lack of governmental supervision had freed him up from his constraints and allowed him to progress much further with quick human trials.
"I guess whatever happens, happens for the best" Anthony consoled himself before he went back to his crossword, answering a call before he finished the crossword.
"Good morning Doctor" Katie entered his study, as she always did for an update on their work.
"Good morning Katie" Anthony was cleaning his glasses when she entered "We just got a call from Saint Heart Memorial; there's another person available for pick up tonight"
"Alright" Katie nodded "Another specimen will help us determine whether their process had been set perfectly or if Tom Cassidy was an anomaly"
Suddenly lights started flashing on Anthony's screen, and a siren started paying in the distance. Anthony glanced at his screen, only to be startled to the core "It's too fast" he panicked "I thought I had more time"
"What the hell is going on?" Katie questioned him.
"Tom Cassidy is trying to escape" the two immediately exited the office, running in the direction the alarm was triggered. Isaiah and Paloma came from behind and joined them as they continued to rush.
"What's going on?" Isaiah questioned as they rushed out through an exit.
Tom P.O.V.
"HELP!" Tom hollered "HELP!" Tom felt like a mountain was being pressed against his back, crushing him against the ground.
Way behind him, the Doctor and other popped out of the exit, and noticing Tom, rushed to him. "What happened?" Paloma asked when she saw Tom lying on the ground, shouting for help.
The four of them couldn't directly approach Tom because they were separated by a tall chain link fence. Instead they went around to the gate and rushed to Tom's side.
"What's wrong with him?" Paloma asked, seeing Tom struggle on the ground as if a great weight was pressed on top of him.
"It's those concussive pads isn't it?" Isaiah questioned the doctor.
The Doctor ignored Isaiah and leaned down near Tom's head. "What are you doing out of the compound walls Mr. Cassidy?"
Tom pointed forward "rescuing a bird" the others followed his finger to see a fallen, twitching sparrow, a few feet ahead.
"Oh" the Doctor pulled out a remote and pressed a button, and suddenly, the mountain like weight disappeared from Tom's back.
"Ahh" Tom didn't even have the strength to turn around. Instead he just lay there on the ground; "What the fuck?" he breathed out.
"I thought we installed the concussive pads for the soldiers to use, not to keep them under your thumb" Isaiah looked disgruntled.
"Are these the two pads we set on his back?" Paloma questioned the Doctor. During the operation, she had set up the pads as the Doctor had asked, not questioning its use.
"Those pads can generate a steady stream of concussive energy that were originally meant as a weapon for soldiers to use as weapons" Isiah glared at the Doctor.
"I needed a failsafe to ensure that our government project not be leaked, or run away" the Doctor defended himself "my superiors demanded it"
"Enough" Katie intervened "Let's get Tom in and see if there's any permanent damage before we rip a new one to each other" she and Isaiah hoisted Tom up by his arms onto their shoulders as all five of them headed back inside the facility.
The Doctor glanced back at the still twitching sparrow whom Tom claimed he wanted to help, but left behind without a second thought, but refrained from saying anything.