Phase 23

David's Perspective

All the retrieved files that Mandryx managed to get from Mister Lex's system have been posted in our shared system. Included in those files are video recordings, soft copies of papers, and photo documentation. San volunteered to handle all the recorded videos with the video recordings that we captured along our journey, Mandryx chose to handle all the photo documentation, and since I'm the only one among the three of us who loves reading, I'm put to handle all those papers.

Since that horrific experience on the cliff, Mandryx has been quiet, like he didn't even bring up a word connected to it. San and I chose to wait for his opinion regarding it, as we know he didn't expect that, perhaps witnessing such a horrible scenario makes it hard for him to digest since he has looked up to his grandpa since he was a kid. Even I didn't expect Mister Lex to do such a thing to that extent, feeding innocent people to his satisfaction. The way he just left that area without looking back or even showing any remorse shows how evil he was, he's a murderer.

It has been three days since Mister Lex commended his investigation regarding the captured footage of someone sneaking into his territory. I didn't see the footage, but I know who it was. Mandryx and San are the only people I know who have the guts to do such a thing. I'm currently in my dorm taking my day off at work since I already finished my contribution to the light saber and my report regarding it. I'm in front of the wall glass, facing the vast darkness of the ocean, trying to connect the dots on what was written in those papers by Mister Lex.

In the middle of my thoughts, an incoming call echoed in my room. "Should I answer the call?" Mr. Hologram asked. I didn't turn my gaze on him, but I signaled him to answer it.

I heard a rattling sound coming from the caller, but I stayed silent. "Lists of names," were the words I first heard from the caller; it was Mandryx.

I walked to my work space and sat on my chair, waiting for the continuation of his statement. "Your name was written in it; it says that those who were there are the targets."

I checked the images he sent, there are thousands of names listed there, including my name. "Targets of what?" I asked, as there wasn't enough information shown in the image.

"That's what I'm wondering; I also saw a similar last name to yours."

"Which last name?"

"Brock."

I scanned the images and saw the name he's referring to. Written in there is a name familiar to me but I don't remember who the owner is, Kylan Jace, Brock. Then, along the way of scanning all the names, I saw a name similar to my father, Landon Zane, Brock.

"Are there any pictures of these names?" I asked, wanting to confirm the owners.

"There are some; I'll send it so you can check."

I wait for the images to be sent, only 20 images were sent, meaning the majority of those names are unknown by face. After browsing the photos, one of them caught my attention, and my heart pounded when I recognized the owner. The image clearly shows my father's face, I'm sure about it because I saw his tattoo in his jugular notch, where my mother said there's a scar hidden under it.

"This one's my father," I informed Mandryx by resending to him that image. "And this one's the captain who sent us here from the surface," I continued, resending another image of the owner of the name Kylan Jace, Brock.

I also saw my face in those images, confusion swallowed me whole as to what kind of target we are. I opened my camera's lenses when Mandryx asked for them, and I saw an unfamiliar background behind him.

He looks confused as well. "Where are you?" I asked, unable to contain myself.

He looked around and back to me. "Back to our station, I'm in my room as well as the office. I didn't have the chance to bid goodbye or inform you regarding my departure from your station as your Mother already sent someone to pick me up."

"It's okay. What plan do we have regarding all these?"

"Honestly, I don't have any. Let San join us so we can discuss his and your part," I did what he asked by inviting San to the call.

Messy hair, dry lips, a pale face, unfixed reading glasses, and a lazy face were the characteristics of the one who answered our call. "I'm literally sluggish today," San whined, disappearing completely from his camera.

I chuckled when his feet showed on his screen, his hallux peeking through his sock's hole. "Your style kind of stinks, San," I hyped, teasing him.

He turned his position, peeking half of his face on his camera, glaring at me like a woman in a period. "You—how could you judge my sock's appearance? This one is branded, you know."

"Quit the pouting, San; it doesn't suit you." This one was Mandryx's teasing as well.

"Is this the reason you invited me here? How cruel of you!" I laughed as to how he reacted, but then I realized I wasn't supposed to show more of my regular emotions in the middle of this confusing situation.

I cleared my throat as they both looked stupid, staring at me with a smile. "So, ahm, let's discuss my part."

They didn't argue about it and didn't point out what had just happened even more. I glanced at the papers scattered on my table, some of them have scribbles as I take down notes on important information that has possible connections to Mister Lex's motives.

To begin with, I lift a single sheet of paper and show it to them. "I listed all the names mentioned in all those papers I've read for the past three days; I looked them up at the company's profile, and all these people are from the company with higher positions." I halted and showed another paper. "This one is the list of unfamiliar creatures they planned on raising and releasing in the vast ocean."

"Wait, planned?" San asked, and I nodded my head as an answer.

He remained silent, digesting what I had fed him. "Meaning, all these creatures we are trying to discover were all planned and created—" I started trying to explain it piece by piece. "The company is using Mister Lex's skills and abilities to create these creatures we are after, but I didn't know the reason behind all this."

I continued explaining my findings to San and Mandryx. "These papers also contain information about various experiments and research related to genetics, mutations, and biomechanics. It seems like they were trying to create highly adaptive and versatile creatures, perhaps for some sort of military application or controlled environmental manipulation."

San interjected, "And the video recordings we've gathered might be connected to these experiments. Those creatures we encountered all these years could be prototypes or results of these experiments."

I nodded in agreement. "Exactly. It seems like Mister Lex's involvement with this company goes beyond just being a supplier of resources. He's deeply entwined in their operations, and these documents suggest that they were even using him as a test subject for enhancing human abilities."

Mandryx chimed in, "So, if you're on their target list, it could be because you know too much about their operations and what they're planning. Maybe they see you as potential threats or obstacles, but how is that possible if you're just new in this industry and don't even know anything?"

San added, "Or they could be concerned that you could expose their secrets to the world. That's why they're trying to eliminate anyone who might have knowledge of their activities."

I looked at them both with a mixture of confusion and concern in my expression. "Hypothetically speaking, what if my father is somewhat involved in something that opposes the company, or perhaps he possessed something that can expose the company to the world that they are actually the reason why my father's accident happened? The company knew my background, so maybe they thought I knew something, so they lured me into this mission."

Those are just hypotheses, but it might be possible that they are true and might put me in so much danger, so I have to be cautious.