Seth fingers wound around the chair’s metal arm rests.

“I suppose we don’t understand each other then,” the lawyer said. “Said in your file you were a smart boy, but they probably meant academically smart. You know, not the real leader sort. You’ll make a fine add-on to somebody’s trophy case someday.” The lawyer took one last look at his tablet before pocketing it.

The security officer watched the back of his hands a moment before nodding to his secretary, avoiding making eye contact with their victim. Their job here was done, and it hadn’t gone the way they had planned.

Seth didn’t want to say what he been thinking. He didn’t want to bring up the horrible idea that these people were actively trying assassinate a child through her reputation; assassinate him by association. There were people who would gain, but the prospect that these three would want any part of ruining someone on hearsay seemed so over-the-top. If he dared to say the words out loud, they’d have a sound bite. His words taken out of context to incriminate his friend. Their saviour.

“Can you afford to not have me in the game?” Seth ventured. His confidence surprised him. It was a long shot. “Let’s talk hypotheticals.”

“Mr. Wright, you’ve failed to notice that this negotiation is over,” the lawyer smirked. The delight in the cruel man’s eyes betrayed his motive. He wanted to see Seth squirm, worry over his future, and eventually succumb to the needs of the one true path set before him. If Astral had taught him anything over the past few months is that the path he was shown was set by someone else, someone who would gain, someone choosing their teams in a fight no one knew anything about. His options were infinite, if he’d open his mind to them.

William’s lie was bound to be discovered. “Did you cross checked Daamon’s application? I had to provide a genetic sample when I applied.” The sample was a part of the requirements of his sponsorship. He hadn’t objected on account that he had assumed DNA submissions were part of the entry requirements.

“At the time there was no need for her to provide a sampling. Given the seriousness of the accusation, we can’t be expected to take her word for it. A request has been submitted, and consequently denied. Would you believe vetoed by not only her family, but the Council itself, and the Red Order. I’ve never seen anything like it in all of my career. Does that sound like someone who doesn’t have something to hide?”

“Why the Red Order?”

The security officer said, “her religion has a few restrictions: no blood transfusions, organ donations, implants, genetic replicas, just to name a few. Not strange considering they want a pure human species. Oh yeah, that also include no cyber enhancements.” He gestured to his secretary who scowled, his aide’s fingers hovering over his tablet mid strike.

The secretary pulled his burrowing gaze from his superior to Seth. “It’s a stupid rule. I’ve seen what they do to survivors. Their treatment of soldiers who have been dismembered is inhumane.” The secretary lingered on the memory longer than he should have. The lawyer jerked toward the security officer, his gaze narrowed in a silent command that the officer chose to ignore with a slight sympathetic bow of his head. The secretary continued, unable to move past the memory until his thought had been shared. “As though having our legs and arms chewed off was because we were… sub-human. Unworthy. I.. I shouldn’t talk about it. Sorry.”

The lawyer straightened his pressed jacket and stroked the smooth glass surface of the projection screen. His dark predatory stare fell onto Seth as he addressed the secretary in a smooth calm that promised trouble. “Mr. Steel, we have no further need of you for this interview. I highly recommend that you put in for additional counselling. You clearly need it.”

The secretary jolted from his seat. Were they using him as an example to prove how disposable he was in the grand scheme of things? They were going to ruin this poor man for speaking out of turn. For speaking about the war, Seth realized. The war was something that just wasn’t talk about, at least not in a useful way. It’s a shame that…? Did you hear that…? So and so, lost their son the other day, such a shame. It was unpleasant conversation that affected other people, and would never affect them. How dare they incite guilt over the necessities of survival? We all do our part, there’s no sense in wallowing in self-pity.

“Don’t worry about it, Steel. I still go three times a week,” the security officer told his aide, his tone soft as though talking to a brother in need of reassurance. He kept his attention on Seth. “Sometimes it helps if you have a good doc, you know someone whose been, whose seen. I can see if my doc will have you if you want. I need you to report into work first thing tomorrow, you hear. We’re short-handed.”

“Yes, sir.” Orders received, the secretary waved his hand in front of the lock sensor and exited, careful to avoid making eye contact with anyone, living or reflected.

Seth fought the urge to shift under the security officer’s tightening jaw, his face had gone red with the effort to retain control.

The lawyer continued, “The allegations are serious… on both sides. If the student is Enhanced and has actively denied her condition, she and members who have aided in keeping her condition a secret will face criminal charges. That will include you, Mr. Wright.” Look how easy it was to destroy a man who didn’t know his place, his cruel smile said.

“By the sounds of it, you have evidence enough to support your claim,” Seth said, “You don’t need me. I’m just here as a formality. I’s dotted and T’s crossed. I don’t have any evidence, circumstantial or otherwise that will improve your case. What I can tell you is that the ordeal last month really shook her up. If there’s something she’s hiding, the people who tried to kidnap her will know something. Have you guys had any luck finding them?” He suspected that they hadn’t learned anything new, let alone that they’d tell him. But he was involved. It was natural for him to ask questions.

The E.M.I. had been brought in as a response to the Academy’s failure to keeping the heiress of Omega Corp. safe from a crime that hadn’t happened; at least not in the way that he and Astral had described. When Astral went off-grid, the Daamon’s agents set to work just in case reinforcements were needed. After a brief conversation with the E.M.I. recovery team, they felt that for the public’s safety, they should leave out the hidden program chamber and the demons. The head of the Daamon family saw an opportunity and latched onto it. Now Astral had troops, Hunters capable of hunting on her behalf, capable of defending the students from husks or worse. He was interested in how they would manage this scenario.

“We’re not at liberty to discuss an ongoing investigation, which I might add, that neither you nor she have given the Academy much to work with,” the security officer said. “If she had something to hide, the E.M.I. have been all over the area. If there was a trail, it’s long gone now.” He was sure that the E.M.I. was interested in finding the underground researchers. Any organization that was willing to help meant more resources to tap into. He couldn’t see the E.M.I. blocking out security in their own territory, but then again, he didn’t understand how the agents could just stand there while Astral was beaten.

The security officer continued, “Having an unregistered Enhanced roaming about presents a serious security risk. You’re in your fourth year, you should be studying the Enhanced Rebellion soon. Take a good look at all the innocent people they killed. People like you and me. Don’t get me wrong, they sure are handy in the war zone, but it wouldn’t be the first time I heard of an Enhanced who murdered their squad and made a bid for the wasteland. You can’t trust those people.”

Seth had heard stories over the years, but he hadn’t given them much thought. He had grown up with Enhanced as caregivers, not a single one lasting longer than a couple of years, just long enough to get his heart broken. His father had a taste for Enhanced lovers. He imagined many of the elite carried similar fascinations; the urge to dominate knowing that they weren’t allowed to say no. No, meant pain.

His last nanny’s scream echoed in his mind. He blinked away tears. She was Enhanced; why hadn’t she struck out at his father with the power everyone feared they possessed? He always suspected that the stories were exaggerated superstitions.

“I don’t have what you’re looking for,“ Seth stated. He felt like he was sitting in the mirror, watching himself.

“Look you self-entitled pompous jock!” the lawyer’s hiss rattled.

“John,” the security officer said, his tone was firm as stone, “You’ve made your point. I think our boy here gets it. Loud and clear. As for you Mr. Wright, this is not a debate. This is the way things are. You’ve got your mind made up, so let me leave you with this piece of advice. You keep an eye on that one, she is not your friend. For now, I get where you’re coming from. So let me put it like this: my door is always open. Nothing needs to go on record. But a good guy like you… You need to know what’s coming before they take your future from you.”

“If what you say is true, you have to consider that there will be consequences,” Seth was struck with a sense of deja-vu. He heard his own voice in his ear, older, speaking to his superiors who valued his insight. He had been hunting her for years. He couldn’t make a move without having her sever a major arm of his network. What did he know now about her that had been just as true then? “Her family is not Enhanced, or else they wouldn’t hold their positions in government and business. Think on that. How much does Omega Corp. control? We know they branched into demon shield technology a little over a decade ago. But they were prominent before that weren’t they? What do you think will happen if you knock their princess off her throne? You ruin her, sure. Whoever is making a grab for Omega Corp. may be able to manage something when the current head of the family passes. But what happens in between? Does our soldiers’ gear suddenly get lost in transport? Does the food supply to the capitol get renegotiated at a premium due to a sudden short fall? We know they provide food for the top-side, so that means the Academy receives food from Omega Corp. I suppose you hadn’t noticed the brand on the food cubes. Let’s just say, they can make people like you and me, very uncomfortable for a good long time. I really don’t think the powers that be will cave to your character assassination before the bulk of the spoiled teenage population manages to whine to their equally entitled parents. Parents who vote. Parents who donate generously to the Council’s Academy.

“I’m not helping you not because I don’t want to, it’s because I don’t need to. If I show my hand now, and the good ethical representative of the morality committee of the Academy caves to social pressure, my hand is played. I can’t change that. So thank you for your invitation to have me think long and hard about what side I’m on, and how seriously I should think about my future. My future is mine, and mine alone. I’m not wasting it on you.”

The false serpentine smile had transformed into a scowl. “We’re done here.”

The men shuffled from their chairs and lead Seth out with the lawyer at the lead already on his device communicating to his superiors. He couldn’t catch the snippets of venom that the man spewed to his superior, but he was more than angry. He was rattled. In between spits of rage, there were whispers of plots that needed hiding. A trail for someone else to follow.

The officer gave Seth’s shoulder a firm pat with a slight reassuring squeeze. “No, hard feelings. For what it’s worth, I’d call for an appeal on this verdict. There more than a few fans who could cause enough headaches for us here in security. Lay a little pressure on the G.C.” He added with a wink.