Do You Know Him?

"My teeth start aching just when I hear what you say. Why do you need such so much sweet? And anyway, when did you last sleep?" David wrinkled, their taste preferences with his older brother were like heaven and earth.

Daniel sat up straight and poked his head with his index finger, "This takes glucose to work hard. My brain is not a computer like yours, so forgive this ordinary mortal for his weaknesses. Moreover, I've practically not slept for a week."

"And how is he?"

Daniel realized that his brother was asking about Rick's condition, but he had nothing to say, "So far, nothing new. Corey has to spend the night in his room so that your friend's condition is relatively stable. Agh, I don't even have the strength to be mad at him, I want him to recover quickly."

"You have to rest, otherwise the consequences for your health, if an outbreak occurs, will be fatal," Nick looked at Daniel seriously. He knew that his uncle died shortly after the outbreak, but he certainly did not know the reason. Armand always avoided answering when Nick started a conversation on this subject.

"Oh, my charming nephew worries about my health? I'm so happy," Daniel shone with a contented smile like a Cheshire cat, "Don't worry, everything will be fine. I still have to fight for my love! So I don't plan to give up to any illnesses. Moreover, your dad is also not sitting idly by. By the way, what about the preparatory measures?"

David leaned back in his chair and took a sip of coffee, "In the process. I transferred all the offices of Lenali Enterprise to increased activity. If something goes wrong and a pandemic begins, as Nick said, then we will be ready for it in advance and will be able to minimize possible losses among the population. But I couldn't engage the security services, since they are all secretly subordinate to Marс Technologies."

"Hmm, well, it's better than nothing anyway," Daniel clapped his hands as Nick set a cup of hot chocolate on the table. "Let's drink for a successful outcome of our plans!" the man lifted a cup of drink into the air, brought it to his lips, and his face shone with bliss.

"David, the head of the research department asked what to do with students who received grants from our educational program. They should arrive in America in a couple of days. He doesn't know that Elena isn't here right now, and I don't know what to tell him."

"What kind of program is that?" Nick asked the men.

"This is one of Elena's projects. Gifted students from different countries, dreaming of becoming doctors, practice twice a year in our laboratories and receive knowledge from leading specialists," David said. He tried to keep himself in control, as the attempts to find Elena and Marcus were unsuccessful, and decided to focus on affairs that were within his power.

This information seemed familiar to Nick, as if he had heard about it somewhere. "Um, do you have a list of these students who received study grants?"

Daniel fiddled in his phone and handed it to Nick, "Here. What for?"

"I want to check something," the young man began to examine a long list of first and last names, broken down by age and country. The guy's breath stopped when he found what he was looking for. He clicked on the name of the girl and opened a page with her personal profile and photo.

"Oh God, it's her," Nick whispered. A girl of sixteen was looking at him from the photograph with a smile.

David and Daniel immediately bent over the phone in the guy's hands, "Do you know her?" David asked his son.

"Yes, this is Manisha. My doctor. More precisely, my future doctor. She said that she studied in America under some kind of program, but I did not even imagine that it was a grant from Elena. That's just...," Nick's face became sad, "After the outbreak, she stayed here forever and was no longer able to meet her family."

David and Daniel looked at each other, they immediately understood each other's thoughts.

"Tell the program curator to contact all the scholars. As for those, who have already arrived, let them be sent home at the expense of the company. Whoever has not arrived, let them reimburse the costs and buy business class tickets with a delay of two weeks. If all goes well, we will call them again at our expense. If... In general, otherwise, they will remain with their families," David ordered.

"Yes, Boss," Daniel saluted and returned to his chocolate, which filled the whole kitchen with a sweet aroma.

Nick looked at the men in bewilderment, they decided everything so quickly that he did not have time to figure it out.

David noticed the guy's confusion and smiled, "Aren't you back to change the future? If something happens, your doctor will be next to her family, and not alone in a foreign country. Well done! The first victory is in our hands. The future will not be the same as you saw it. So keep your chin up, Sean Nicholas Anderson."

The realization of this small change gradually began to reach Nick. He did not even imagine that like this, in a couple of minutes, he could change the future of one of the people that were dear to him. So he was not quite hopeless. The hope that he would succeed warmed his heart again.

"What if we turn our attention not to Marcus, but to his assistant?" this idea suddenly occurred to the guy, "After the outbreak, Marcus did not show up at all. All business was carried out by his assistant, Simon. If we can track him, we can find Marcus."

David thought about it, the idea was quite reasonable, but they did not know anything about this man except his name. "And how do we track down the one we don't know?"

"By his official name," Nick knew the name well, as it sounded from all sides like a mantra. But when he called Simon's full name, David's face changed in color.

The man took his phone out of his pocket, looked something up and handed it to Nick. The guy saw a photograph of a man, but looking closer, he recognized him. "Yes, this is Simon. Only I always saw him bald and older than here. I would have never thought that he could have such a hairstyle. Do you know him?!" it dawned on Nick.

David smirked, this discovery was no less a shock for him than the fact that Nick was his son.

Marcus knew how to surprise. The man still could not believe that the threads of his opponent tied him, as in a web, from the very beginning.

From the very beginning, even before meeting with Elena, Marcus has ruled him.

Daniel picked up his brother's phone and flipped through the open file. The name of this Simon also seemed familiar to him. And as soon as he saw his photograph and personal details, the man understood David's reaction.

"Holy shit," Daniel cursed and threw the phone down on the table.