Hu Lei felt the effect of the drugs wear away, but she did not open her eyes or even move. Instead, she focussed on the surroundings and tried to determine where she was. Acting before thinking of the consequences was what had gotten her in the current predicament.

The first this she noticed was that she was in a vehicle. She could feel the movement.

Unfortunately, she had probably been knocked out for some time, so she could not determine the distance or direction in which they had been moving.

"Do you think the sedative will hold her until we reach the dock?" A man asked in a low tone.

"You are overestimating her. She will be out for a couple of hours. By the time she comes to, we will be home-free on international waters." Someone responded with a laugh.

"The Boss warned us to be careful when dealing with her. Apparently, she was a subject who escaped from another research facility." The tone was conspiratorial.

"No way! That can't be right. I have seen some of those subjects. They are always so horrifying. I could not sleep for a week the first time." The man replied with a dramatic quiver in his voice.

The other man sighed with feeling.

"I have seen a lot of horrors since my times as a young soldier. But nothing can compare to seeing those things that barely looked human. I swear I saw Frankenstein once when we visited the old facility in Congo forest." The person had thick disgust in his voice.

There was a long moment of silence.

"It is Frankenstein's monster." The other man spoke.

"What?" There was obvious irritation.

"It is a common mistake. Frankenstein is the scientist who created the monster, not the monster. Although it can be argued that it is not wrong to refer to Frankenstein as the monster because of what he did." The response was filled with scholarly contemplation.

"No one wants a literature lesson, Frank. Are you the guy who wrote the book? How would you know what he was thinking?"

"The story Frankenstein was written by a young woman. Interesting fact, the story was inspired by a real castle in Germany. You know…"

"Shut up, Frank. I swear one of these days I will shoot you in the mouth." The other man was steaming mad at his companion.

There was another long moment of silence.

Hu Lei, who was on the floor of the vehicle felt so uncomfortable, but she had to remain still like an unconscious person. The stupid discussion had been distracting her from her body aches.

"So what's the actual story of Frankenstein?"

"Didn't you read it in high school?" Frank asked in superior shock.

He was mocking his companion, and the other man could feel it.

"I swear, Frank, I am going to shoot you."

"Fine, fine. You should know there are movies if you don't want to read. Of course, they lose something in the adaptation, but you can learn a lot."

"Great, I will stream the movie the next time I'm burning up in a desert while watching over Frankenstein's monsters." The words were sarcastic.

Another long moment of silence followed.

"You can also freeze in the desert," Frank replied, ignoring the sarcasm.

"What?"

"People think of deserts as only hot, dry areas like the Sahara Desert. But there are cold deserts. These climates are characterised by extreme temperatures and the lack of water, so a place like Antarctica qualifies as a desert." Frank responded.

"Antarctica has a lot of water. Ice is solid water, genius." The other man mocked Frank.

"That's true. There is a lot of water, but it is not available for use by plants and animals. Plus, there is very little rain, so it is still a very dry place, making it a desert." Frank explained.

The signature silence followed.

"That is quite interesting." The man finally said.

Frank grunted in satisfaction.

"You know I have always wondered why you are working these tough gigs when you have such a keen brain." The man added.

Frank sighed. "I tried a couple of things, but I got bored. Do you know how repetitive most jobs are? Nothing ever happens. I would have blown up a building if I kept at it."

"This gig is not that exciting."

"For you, maybe not. But for me, it is the best. I get to travel around. I have a lot of spare time to read, and I interact with interesting people." Frank laughed.

"I can't understand you. But to each his own."

Hu Lei continued lying uncomfortably on the floor with black lines on her face. The comedic duo might be the death of her.

They would probably say something so funny and make her laugh, or something so incredulous that she would just sit up and set them straight.

If it came to a fight, she could probably beat them as long as she took them by surprise. But she wanted to end this fight at its core.

She did not want to live in constant fear that her happy bubble would be broken.

She needed to meet the person behind her, constantly pursuing her.