5. Reunited
Closing the door behind us, the Doctor walks to his desk before sitting down on his comfortable office chair.
"Take a seat," He points at the couch in the large office. Following his suggestion, I sat down; the comfortable softness of the cushions pales in comparison to my unyielding bed. Comfortably seated, I ask the Doctor for his question, "So Doctor, what we-" Before I could finish, he interrupts me.
"Please, call me Nikolai! Hearing you call me Doctor is getting old!" He says.
"Isn't that a bit unnecessary?" I reply, to which he grins. "Not at all! I just want you to call me by name! Unless you don't want to meet with your sister, that is." I click my tongue, annoyed by his subtle threat.
"Fine… so what was the question… Nikolai?"
"Very good, Fox; you've always been clever," He grins, which I roll my eyes. I remember the time when he forced me to answer some papers like I'm at school.
I slam my open hands on the coffee table, "Cut to the chase! Tell me what you want to know!?"
"So, impatient. Can't you see I'm trying to get it?" Typing on the digital screen on his desk, a projection plays on the white wall. As I watch the projection, I can see myself in the cell abruptly sitting upright on the recording; shouting, "Who the hell was that!?"
"Interesting behavior, Fox. So tell me, who were you shouting to?"
I sigh, "It was some kind of AI from a-"
"TBCI," Nikolai interjects.
"You knew?" I say surprised.
"Of course! I was the one who developed it!" He says with joy.
"You… were the one who operated on me?" I say, rubbing the back of my neck.
"Yes, I did, Fox."
"Why?"
From his usual cheerful self, he suddenly has a serious expression, giving me chills, "Because you need it."
"What do you mean I need it?"
"You have sickle cell anemia."
"Sickle cell anemia? Then how does the TBCI help me?"
"I assume that the AI has given you a run down right?"
"Yes."
"Good, then I don't have to explain everything from the beginning." Standing up from his chair, he walks to the sofa in front of me before sitting down. "Have you felt any sudden pain or fatigue in any instance?"
"No."
"That means the TBCI is working. 21 years ago, I met your father when he was still Second Lieutenant in the Zulaith army. He was my assigned escort when I was stationed at his base. At first, he was all business-like, but after a few days of chatting him up, we were casually talking like friends."
"Your friends with my dad?"
Nikolai chuckles, "We sure were! We've always helped each other out with work and drunk together every week at the bar. But after getting married, he retired from the military to be with his wife and had kids." He looks at me before continuing his story, "So we never saw each other for a few years, until he called me out of the blue."
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In a high-class hotel, Nikolai was at his digital desk typing, when an incoming call popped up at the side of his smart glasses. Seeing the name of the caller, he quickly taps the side of his glasses and answers with excitement, "Fox, my friend! It's been a long time!"
A gloomy voice answers, "Yeah, it has."
Concerned, Nikolai asks, "Is everything ok? You sound a bit tired."
"Yeah... I need some rest."
"You should! You sound like a zombie!"
"I will, but that's not the reason I called."
"So, what do you need?"
"I need help…"
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"And that's how your father asked my help."
"Dad, asked your help huh?" I say as I lean back on the soft cushion of the sofa, "But where is he now?"
Gesturing something in the air, the projection plays another video, "He was last seen dragging the wounded Ambassador into the capitol building which was discovered dead from burns and shrapnel. Your father has been labeled MIA(Missing in Action) ever since."
"He went missing? Why?"
"I have the same question, Fox. He always was dedicated to his mission and never broke his loyalty. I wonder what happened to him after the war ended."
"Right, the Zulaith military unconditionally surrendered after 3 months of fighting."
"That's inevitable, Fox. Your people were at a disadvantage from the start." After a short pause, Nikolai starts talking again, "Right! Now that you answered my question, it's time to uphold my end of the bargain!" Tapping the side of his glasses, he calls out to someone, "Bring her in please."
A few minutes later, there's a knock on the door. When it opens, indescribable happiness wells up inside me. "A-Amber… is that you?" I say, stunned, now seeing my sister grown up after being separated for 3 years.
"B-Blaze!" With tears streaming down her face, Amber runs up to me before barrelling into my chest, sobbing as she tightly wraps her hand around my back, "I-I miss you so much!"
Fighting back the tears, I gave her my warmest smile as she clings to me, "I miss you too, Amber," I reply, trying not to slur my neglected language, Awuri.
After a minute of hugging each other, we slowly separate from each other. "How heartwarming… two long-separated siblings reunited," Nikolai says with a smile.
With a frown, Amber spoke to Nikolai in fluent English, which surprised me; "What do you need, Dr. Nikolai?"
"I don't need anything, young lady. I just granted Fox's wish to meet you." Nikolai pats my shoulder, "Right, Fox?"
"Yes."
"But why now? You could have easily let us see each other for 3 years," Amber says with suspicion.
"The reason would be that the time has come for you two to escape."
"E-Escape? You must be joking... right?" Amber says with disbelief.
"I am not, young lady. I have already set my plan in motion and you'll be escaping tonight with Fox."
"Why do this for us? Aren't you going to be in danger if you do this?" I ask.
"I won't, I already have a plan for it." Standing up from the sofa, Nikolai walks towards the door. "I'll be back in an hour, I'll give you two some space to talk." And right after saying that, he walks out of the room, shutting the door behind him.
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[08:00 PM]
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After happily talking with my sister for an hour, we were escorted back to our usual place in the facility. Lying on my bed, I start thinking about what Nikolai said to us, "the time has come for you two to escape…"
Escape huh... I wonder what the outside looks like now? It's been a long time since I've been outside
Without warning, the lights went out. Startled, I quickly stood up from the bed. Placing my hand on the wall, I slowly walk along the cell to avoid colliding with my stuff.
"Damn, I can barely see," I mumble to myself
Suddenly, the AI in my TBCI chimes in my head, <Permission to enhance vision, Blaze?>
"Uh…" Hesitating for a bit, I then accepted the AI's support, "A-Accepted."
<Affirmative, enhancing vision.> An intense throbbing sensation assaults my eyes, forcing me to close my eyelids tight before it starts fading away.
"Goddamn it! Can you give me a warning first!?" I say as I grab my forehead.
<Apologies. The nanobots haven't been calibrated to give support yet. Starting calibration— calibrating— completed. The next use of support will be comfortable.>
"I hope so… I don't want to use your support if that was the case every time."
<Affirmative. Please open your eyes.>
Following the AI's instruction, I slowly open my eyes. Instead of expecting the hazy darkness, a sharp clear view of the cell surprised me. The supposed pitch-black room has brightened considerably, even noticing the colors in the dark, though it's slightly dull. Touching the desk with my hand, I carefully examine every scratch on the table, testing the newfound capabilities of my eyes.
I ask the AI a question, "How did you manage to do this? I'm pretty sure you need some kind of night vision equipment to see in the dark."
<By using the nanobots, we use it to restructure your eyes to focus as much light as possible while boosting the sensitivity of your photoreceptors.>
"But when the light comes on, isn't my eyes going to be too sensitive?"
<Negative. As soon as sufficient lighting is available, the nanobots will automatically readjust to accommodate the degrees of light exposure.>
Before I could continue speaking, a loud explosion rumbled through the facility, making me shake in my shoes. After the explosion, loud sirens and warnings start blaring, making anyone who was stunned alert and ready.
"I guess your plan is coming into play, Nikolai."
"Correct, Fox!" A familiar voice suddenly replies to my mumbling.
"What the fuck!? Nikolai!? How the heck did you reply!?"
"Language language, Fox! You still remembered that I made the TBCI, right?"
"Yes, but how the hell did you communicate with me!?"
Nikolai just chuckles, "That chip is one state-of-the-art technology! And it was mainly developed for military use! So obviously, it's going to have combat, comms, and data link capabilities!"
Piecing everything I know, I start to understand why I have this implanted at the beginning other than for medical reasons. "So you use me as your test subject for this chip!? Did my dad know this too!?"
"Of course he does! He's been with me since the development of this chip and knows its full capabilities. He was the one who suggested using the TBCI to cure you in exchange for becoming my test subject."
"Dad…" I sadly mutter to myself.
"Don't blame your father, Fox, he was trying to help you in the best way he can. Just thank him instead."
"I will."
"Atta, boy!"
"Thanks for everything, Nikolai."
"Don't thank me yet, Fox! We haven't got you and the young lady out yet so save it for later!" He says confidently.
"Ok, I will."
"Good! Now follow the instructions I give you and trust the TBCI! Its main purpose is to keep the user alive!" After saying that, the HUD starts projecting through my eyes, giving me valuable data on where to go. Suddenly, the door to my cell slides open. Giving me the chance to get out and head to the given direction.