Ticking Away Part 3

He was the first one in the office, as per usual. He flicked on the lights and sighed as he put his coat down on his desk and opened the board they had been putting their information on, "There has to be something else," He leaned back onto a desk and looked at all the documents there, "We have to have missed something, bomb-making has more than a single step, there needs to be more, but what? What else are we missing?"

Sarah walked into the office a few minutes after he had started working, "Sorry, I am a little late, William."

"No, I am early, like always."

"What do you think we should look for today?"

"Well, first of all, what did your chat yesterday bring up?"

"Something troubling, to do with the bomb," She sat down at her desk and a new file appeared on the screen, "This is a design of the bomb, but this is not something good."

"That is, oh god, that isn't good," He said as he looked at the plans of the bomb, "I am seeing a single emitter, they are making a single bomb, but where?"

"The insider had nothing on the location, his side was only working on the bombs, and nothing else, so we are in the dark about that."

"By the looks of it, it doesn't seem to be a simple bomb, the core, what is that?"

"I don't know, it is written in a coded language, so there is no way of really knowing," She explained, "But why would they make this bomb?"

"I'll let you in on something, I doubt that the bomb will hurt naturals, probably a bomb that affects connectors, like a mass EMP."

"Why would they only affect bots and enhanced?"

"Nature's Children, I don't know," They worked together nearly all day, with more and more information piling up about the use of an EMP in previous attacks, but none that would distinguish the core that the bomb would use and where is would be used from.

The clock ticked to 22:05, and Sarah had just left the office, yet he was still sitting, lost with the mountain of useless information they had, "Save the board, then clear this one and make a new board," The files were taken off of the board and he sat in front of an empty screen, "Pin map of Cityhall and overlap transportation, sewers and any known structures," The map appeared on the screen, "Display map of rally overlapped with Cityhall map," He sighed and looked at the 3-D map, "Now where could someone place a bomb to affect that rally? Many bots will be there, and there will be a stage, this is horrible, I can't think straight, so tired," He yawned, "Save this board," He got up and the screen turned off. He heard a noise in the office, "Who is there?" He called, pulling out his gun, "Show yourself!" A dark figure squirt out of his sight and into the archives of their office, "Stop!" He held his gun out in front of him as he walked towards the archives, "Show yourself!" He saw a man searching through documents, "Stop, stay there," The man glared at him and held his hands up, "Who are you?" The man lunged forwards as a blade popped into his hand from under his sleeve. He beat the gun out of William's hands and brought his blade to stab William. Using both his arms, he blocked the swing and ran his shoulder into the man's head, knocking him over. William placed his shin over the man's throat and pulled out his handcuffs and before realizing he had knocked him out, then handcuffing him.

He sat the man on a chair and held his gun in his hand he woke up, "Hello there."

"Fuck you."

"I am not here to interrogate you, but it will avoid you some trouble if you tell me why you were here, since you will already be taken to jail for assault and trespassing," William sighed, "Who are you?"

"Trevor Holt," His file opened on a holographic screen next to William, "I am 26."

"Why were you here?"

"You can't stop us, you will never stop us."

"Us? Nature's Children?"

"Who else?" He snarled, "You are natural, you should understand us, why would you fight against us? Enhanced and bots only corrupt us, if you turn me in, you are reducing our chances to gain power and to make this country a real natural society!"

"Tough luck, kid," He rolled up his sleeve and revealed his metal arm, "I ain't part of your group," Four armed and armored officers arrived from the stairs, "And your time is up," Sarah was with them and she walked towards William as the officers took Trevor, "Hey Sarah."

"What happened?"

"This guy was going through our archives, and he attacked me with a knife, but I blocked it," He realized that his sleeve was cut, "Or not entirely," He sighed seeing the cut in the cover plate of his arm, "Well, at least this arm doesn't feel pain."

"Everything else is fine?"

"Yep, I was going to leave but then I heard that guy, well, I will be heading home."

"Are you sure everything is fine?"

"Yeah, I have to change my plating on my arm and that's it, and eat."

"I'll drive you home, safer that way."

"I am fine, Sarah."

"William," She never called him William, always Will, unless she was serious, "I can drive you home, it is only 5 minutes, and at this time, the streets you pass through are not the safest."

"Fine, fine, if you say so."

He climbed into her car and closed the door, "What did he say?"

"What do you mean?"

"You were interrogating him, no?"

"Not really, but he spoke, talking about how we can't stop the plan, and that they want to cleanse the country of enhanced and bots."

"As expected," She started her car and began driving, "I should've waited and left with you."

"No, the time alone made me realize something, that I will explain to all of you tomorrow."

"Okay, well, that is fine with me, at least you didn't get that hurt."

"No, just a few pieces that need to be changed."

He opened the door to his apartment and saw Alex, still awake, sitting at the table with her computer in front of her, "I'm home," He said as the door closed behind him and he placed his coat on its hook and walked into the living room and leaned over the couch and kissed Alex's cheek, "Hey, how are you?"

"Hmm? I am fine, how are you?"

"I am fine, just need to change a piece."

"Really? What happened?"

"Nothing, just need to change a piece," He said removing his sleeve and glove. She noticed the tear in his sleeve and put her computer screen down and got up to follow him into the room. He sat down at the workbench that they used to work on their bot parts and he began unscrewing the plate that was the cover to his forearm. She leaned against the wall behind him, "So, did it damage anything?" He looked at the structure of his arm and then tested his hand, "No, everything is fine."

"Can you explain the gash on your plate?"

"Oh, Alex, um, how do I start?"

"In any way, but you explain this," She grabbed the plate of his arm, "What even makes that? You didn't fall, it would be uneven, did you get attacked?"

"Let me explain, please," He sighed, "I was working late, and someone got into the office and began going through our files, I tried to stop him and he attacked me with a blade, I blocked with both of my arms to knock his arm away and the blade probably hit my left arm and I didn't realize it."

"Are you sure you are okay, Will?"

"Yeah, I was able to subdue him after that, old cop training came in handy."

"I am happy you are fine."

"Can you help me out with this?" She walked next to him and picked up the new, smooth and unscratched plate and placed it on his arm and began to gently screw the holder in place and then let the piece move down and slot into place, "Thank you, Alex."

"What would you do without me?"

"I would have more trouble than now," He smiled at her and then got up, "Thank you, Alex, I'm going to eat something."

"I made you some food."

"Really? Thanks, Alex," She smiled as he got up and turned the light off of the workbench, "What were you working on?"

"Oh, that is for the interview I have with senator O'Donaldly."

"Trumph O'Donaldly?"

"Yeah, him, the fascist piece of fucking shit."

"I don't like him either, but please don't, like, um, get angry at him."

"I know, I have to tune down my emotion and talk about the flaws in his arguments, about crime, about jobs and about the resources bots use."

"What did he say again?"

"That bots murder naturals 15% more than naturals murder bots, when it is the opposite way and the number in 50% more."

"Oh, wow, I have not been following politics at all."

"Yeah, but I really hope I can keep my cool," She sighed as she placed her computer on the table next to William as he took a bowl of pasta from the fridge, "He is a misogynistic, botophobic, vile person."

"I know, that is the little I have heard about him."

"I hope that my work will make him lose more votes."

"Is this interview only on channel 4?"

"No, nearly all news channels will broadcast it."

"At what time?"

"It starts at 10:45, and ends, I think, yes, it is an hour long."

"What day is it?"

"In two days, on Monday."

"Cool, I'll be sure to watch it."

"You are going to take time away from your research and instead watch me?"

"Why would I not?"

"I don't know, to save the city?"

"Hey, okay, no, one hour won't make me fail in my research."

"Aww, you are sweet."

"This is good, thanks for the meal."

"Of course, I made myself food, so I made some for you."

"And I thank you for that," He said as her fingers sped across the keyboard, "I was thinking about something."

"Go ahead, I'm listening."

"I didn't feel pain in my arm, does that mean that bots don't feel pain?"

"Enhanced don't feel pain, we feel pain, it is hard to get a hang of, but we do end up feeling pain after a little bit of practice, my brain reacted to my body's pain."

"Oh, I didn't know that."

"Well, like naturals, people think we are so different, but you know, we aren't really," She smiled at him, "I can't believe the luck I have."

"Well, I guess that I am part of why you feel lucky?"

"Yes, you guessed right," She got up and closed her computer, "I am going to bed," He got up and took his plate to the sink, "Are you really going to watch me interview the senator?"

"Yes, I said I would and I am a man of my word."

"Well, that is good enough for me," She said as she walked towards their room. He walked into the room soon after her and began changing, before pausing and looking at his left arm, "What is wrong with your arm?"

"I don't know, that guy, he talked about bringing an end to the non-naturals, what could that mean?"

"A lunatic, just sleep, and please tell me when things like that happen," She kissed his cheek, "You don't need to hide those things."

"I just hope it won't happen again."

"Good night, Will."

"Good night, Alex."