Johann Martin Fischer

“I’m sorry, sir,” said Johann Martin Fischer. “I…uh…I forgot.”

Everything had been going smoothly according to Johann’s plan. He changed the power cells of the Umbrella without anyone noticing and it had gone into energy-conservation mode as expected, lowering the settings to a level he was certain couldn’t detect the Adumbrae traits of Erind, especially after she took the Suppressor. He also had checked the readings right before they started her tests. He couldn’t risk it with an actual Adumbrae in their midst.

Philip hadn’t come near his terminal at all, engrossedly chatting with Deen and their co-workers, spinning stories of their supposed encounters with Adumbrae—most of which were tall tales to make them look cool. As if the planet had aligned, even the extremely diligent Dr. Cornelio was absent for the day, a once in a century occurrence.

Had been.

Why had his boss shown up for work now?

And why had he checked the power cells?

That was a stupid question. It was something Dr. Cornelio was bound to do if he was present.

We were so close! Johann vented in his head. They stumbled right as they were about to cross the finish line. He swallowed his saliva as his hands grew cold, blood rushing to his head made his temples throb. He was about to find out just how much his plans were ruined.

“Martin,” Dr. Cornelio said, using his second name—his boss had lectured him that the name ‘Johann’ was given to male babies as a matter of practice in olden times, being differentiated by calling them their second names, “I’ve always told you that apologizing after the fact doesn’t have much use if we already let an Adumbrae run free because of our lapses.”

“I…I understand.” The plan wasn’t completely ruined just yet. The doctor hadn’t raised an alarm. No one has.

Either the scanner hadn’t detected anything, or no one had checked it, the latter being the more plausible reason as it was his and Philip’s job to compile and upload the reports during their shift. From the corner of his eye, he saw Erind walking out of the testing area with her back to him so he couldn’t see her expression.

Did she hear their conversation? She must have. What was she going to do?

More importantly, what am I going to do next?

“I know you understand,” said Dr. Cornelio, “it’s another matter when it comes to doing. I’ll be checking an issue with the main office, and then I’ll be free to sign Ms. Hartwell’s papers.”

“You’ll sign it, sir? Lt. Tetterton can do it if you’re busy. He’s been signing the certificates in your abse—”

“And now, I’m present. So, I will sign it.”

There goes another idea. Lt. Tetterton had the authority to sign the papers and was one of Johann’s back-up plans. The loud-mouthed head of the AIU, while well-versed in all matters Adumbrae, had little patience for the nitty-gritty technical side. He would sign off on certificates, fully trusting his subordinates. Dr. Cornelio was the complete opposite of that. “Yes, sir,” Johann said, his brain already working on another plan.

“Give me about ten minutes while I make an important call to HQ. Don’t interrupt me. And can you find Saffron and tell her to bring me coffee? She’s not answering her phone; perhaps she’s not at her desk.”

Johann couldn’t remember the last time he asked Ms. Saffy to make his coffee. It must be an important call. I have time! But not enough. “Copy, sir. I’ll look for Ms. Saffy, and have the papers prepared.”

Dr. Cornelio gave them a curt nod, dismissing them.

“Philip, can you handle the next batch?” Johann said. “Let me just make this up with Dr. Cornelio with Erind’s case. I’ll catch up.”

“Sure, bud. Don’t take it too seriously, you know how he is.”

“Yes, but I don’t want this to affect my quarterly evaluation.”

Philip scratched his head. “How come you care about that now? He never gives any of us a high rating no matter our performance.”

“Now’s a good time as any to start caring,” Johann said. “Maybe we should be more serious about this, especially when we have Adumbrae roaming around our city and killing people.”

“Going above and beyond?” he said with an unconvinced shrug. “You do you, bud. I’m contented with doing what I’m paid for. Go now, I’ll hold down the fort.”

“Thanks.”

Johann ran to the usual places one would expect to find Ms. Saffy. Deep in the Records section, the bustling Admin, at Lt. Tetterton’s office, or at the small cafeteria they were blessed to have the budget for. While he zipped across the building, he composed himself.

The beating of his heart shook his body like he was in a rave with a 1000-watt bass box blasting right beside him keeping in rhythm with his pulsating migraine. Deal with the problems one by one, he coached himself.

The most pressing concern were the digital report files of the test.

Erind’s certificates would contain tracking numbers of her test records in the system, so he needed to first compile the test records, including the Umbrella readings, and upload them into the BID database before presenting the papers to Dr. Cornelio for his signature. His boss was bound to check the numbers so faking them wasn’t an option.

Once the files were in the system, there was no way Johann, with his meager hacking skills, could fiddle with them. Even a battalion of top-tier military cyber operatives had no hope of breaching the BID database and altering files undetected. Which meant he had to tamper with the files before uploading them and having the certificates signed.

This was the biggest flaw of the system—ensuring the integrity of files uploaded from various sources all over the country. The BID couldn’t possibly check all of the files one by one. Strict laws were in place paired with severe penalties to deter people from uploading tampered files—people like me.

But ten minutes wasn’t going to cut it. He already wasted a couple of minutes looking for Ms. Saffy.

More time. I need to make more time.

“Saffy? You just missed her,” grumbled Grumpy Tony, their loyal but cranky janitor since time immemorial. He pointed down the hallway. “She went back to her spot.”

“Thanks, Tony!” said Johann, running in the direction Grumpy Tony pointed. After mulling it over for a few seconds, he took out his phone and texted Erind, “Everything is under control. Will take some time. Just wait there.” He decided not to add ‘don’t run away’, although he really wanted to.

He wasn’t sure if she’d do anything stupid…or violent. She was mostly still Erind, I hope, but she was an Adumbrae too. What if the Adumbrae was already in control and had other plans to keep itself safe? What if she’d attack this place?

No, she won’t do that. She was still under the effects of the Suppressor, and she had no Diluter. Even the Adumbrae inside her would be muted somewhat...should be. They hadn't used the Suppressor on an actual Adumbrae before.

Why am I helping an Adumbrae? That question made him slow down.

If Erind was exposed and caught, then he’d also be arrested. Yes, he should help her. That was enough of an answer for him.

“Ms. Saffy!” There she was at the cubicle of Marissa, a couple down her own, discussing something on her computer screen. He slowed down as he approached them, inhaling deeply to calm himself. “Ms. Saffy…Oh, hey, Marissa. Sorry for the interruption. I’m just going to ask Ms. Saffy something.” The curly haired brunette rolled her eyes at him. She still hadn’t forgiven him the last time she nearly had gotten into trouble because of his hacking misadventures.

“You look quite haggard.” Ms. Saffy peered above her violet rimmed glasses. “We were about to finish,” she said. She explained a couple more things to Marissa, then went back to her cubicle, waving for Johann to follow her. “What is it? Is Dr. Cornelio giving you a hard time?”

“Yes—no…maybe. Wait, how did you know?”

“Intuition. The doctor’s been acting weird. Absent yesterday, late today. No call informing us he won’t be able to report for work. And according to his wife, he didn’t come home yesterday. Marital problems?” Ms. Saffy shook her head, reminiscent of Lt. Tetterton’s favorite gesture. “It’s not my place to speculate. Anyway, whatever the issue is, it’s sometimes unavoidable for bosses…or for anyone for that matter…to bring their problems to the office.”

“Is that what’s happening?” Marital problems? There might be something here he could use.

“We both know what Dr. Cornelio is like, but he’s also human. Just give him a pass if he’s too hard on you today.”

“Thanks for the advice. You’re definitely an institution in this precinct, Ms. Saffy.”

“Enough of that. What can I help you with?”

“It’s just that Dr. Cornelio wants you to bring him coffee. He’s busy right now in his office with a call.”

“Only that? I thought it was something serious.” Ms. Saffy sighed, looking at the ceiling. “Although, it might be serious if he’s asking me to make his coffee again. Okay, I’ll get on it."

“Should we call his wife?” he blurted out as Ms. Saffy was about to leave. She gave him an incredulous look. “I…uh…I think she’d want to know that Dr. Cornelio is safe.”

“That’s up to Dr. Cornelio. I know you have good intentions, but it’s inappropriate to stick our noses in their affairs.”

“Err, yes. You’re right as usual, Ms. Saffy.”

“You should go back to the lab. From the look on your face, you have a lot of fires to put out.”

“Yeah…I’ll just stand here for a minute to…catch my breath. I ran around the building to find you.” He stared at Ms. Saffy's back as she walked away, making sure she was going to the pantry. Then he looked over at Marissa’s cubicle. She was hunched over, pouring over a thick folder. The other cubicles weren’t occupied. A few people passing by the hallway. They didn’t look his way.

He went inside Ms. Saffy’s cubicle and pulled out the thick notebook in her center drawer.

D for Deslys. There was no entry of Deslys. It must be under Cornelio.

Jackpot! There was the name of Professor Deslys and what he presumed to be her personal number.

Ms. Saffy’s mention of marital problems sparked a genius plan of a possible way to distract Dr. Cornelio and buy himself time. Genius or stupid? Now was the time to find out. If Ms. Saffy wasn’t going to do it, then he had to do it himself.

He called the number with his phone as he sprinted back to the laboratory. Please pickup, he prayed. Please don’t be in class. The ringing continued. He might need another plan. What should—?

“Hello?” a warm woman’s voice answered in a professional tone. “Who is this?”

“Good hello, er, I mean good afternoon, ma’am,” he stammered. He tried to steady his breathing even as he ran. “Professor Deslys?” He hadn’t talked to her before, so he was unfamiliar with her voice. He gave a vague explanation that he worked for the AIU without giving his name. “I remembered Lt. Tetterton mentioned you were looking for Dr. Cornel—”

“Yes! Do you know where he is?” Professor Deslys said, her calm demeanor drastically changing. “Is he there?”

“Yes, ma’am. He came to wor—”

“Thank god he’s alive!” she said. “Can you give the phone to him? I need to talk to him.”

“I-I’m actually not supposed to call you, ma’am. But I thought you should know he is well.”

“What? Who is this? Hold on, how did you get this—”

“Please call the office if you want to talk to him.” He dropped the call and then turned off his phone so she’d have no choice but to contact their office. He hoped Ms. Saffy was on her way to give Dr. Cornelio his coffee so she wouldn’t be able to stop the call getting forwarded to their boss.

Now, to see what I can do with Erind’s files, he thought as he entered the room with the computer terminals.

Johann pulled a chair, turned it around, and sat on it backward. He plugged in a USB into the port of the terminal, and took one last look through the glass wall in front of him to check if anyone could interrupt him. Philip was testing a couple of people. He seemed to have pulled Kempis along to be his temporary assistant. The other technicians were working inside the other rooms, or maybe just pretending to look busy because their boss was around.

Let’s do this! he yelled in his head to encourage himself.

Johann put a timer on his phone for seven minutes, cracked his fingers, and got to work. He barely blinked, staring intently at the screens, his eyes starting to tear up. He didn’t even bat an eye when he noticed that the Umbrella did detect anomalies. He didn't pause to analyze them even if he was interested. It didn’t matter what they were, it was imperative they were deleted as soon as possible.

His hands flew over the keyboards, the clicking of the keys a symphony that lulled him into a trance.

Beep…beep…beep…alerted his cellphone. Seven minutes already? He grabbed a random stack of papers on his way out.

Dr. Cornelio was expectedly in his office, seemingly having an intense discussion on the phone. Johann couldn’t hear what he was saying because of the sound-proof glass walls, but it was apparent Professor Deslys managed to reach her husband.

As for me, I’m not supposed to know anything about that.

Johann took a deep breath, thinking to himself, I hope I’m not shooting myself in the foot with this. Then he knocked on the door. His boss looked up with an annoyed snarl. He waved the papers. The doctor shooed him away and turned his swivel chair around. The message was clear.

My plan worked! Hell yeah!

Even in this tense situation, he couldn’t help but feel elated over a small victory. If his boss actually asked him to leave the papers for signature, he would’ve been dead.

Johann ran back to the room with the computer terminals, hoping that no one entered and noticed what he was doing inside. He didn’t know how long Dr. Cornelio’s wife would keep him occupied.

Back to work! He gritted his teeth in a mad grimace as beads of sweats formed on his forehead despite the aircon blasting cold air in full. There were times he realized he was holding his breath. This was the fastest he had ever worked. If he normally worked at this pace, he would have full scores on his quarterly performance, even with Dr. Cornelio rating him.

“And send!” he said. A huge grin was splashed across his face as he watched the tampered files upload to the BID database. He stretched his body, savoring the relief his tense muscles felt, allowing himself to exhale a satisfied groan.

“Martin.”

Johann nearly vomited his heart out. He jumped up from his chair. “Sir! You’re here, I, uh yeah. I thought you were still on the phone so—”

“Where are Ms. Hartwell’s papers?”

“I’m just printing them, sir.”

“Hmm? I thought you already had them prepared?”

I forgot about that! “Yes, I did…bu-but I reprinted it because there are some uh…unclear things…the paper folded.”

“Just give those to me.”

Johann hastily gathered the correct papers for Erind’s clearance. “Here, sir. These are ready now.”

Dr. Cornelio’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t say anything, taking the papers from him.

He sighed in relief. His boss wouldn’t know that he changed them, and he didn’t have any reason not to sign these.

Kempis suddenly appeared at the doorway, blocking Dr. Cornelio. “Oops, sorry. Nearly bumped into you there, sir.”

“Don’t run inside the labs,” Dr. Cornelio said.

“I was rushing because you might forget this.” Kempis rummaged inside a file cabinet and pulled out a piece of paper. Dr. Cornelio inquiringly tilted his head and reached for it. Kempis explained, “The computer printed this after I changed the power cells. I’m not sure what it is about, but it might be part of the test records of that lady inside here earlier with that beautiful blonde friend, so I kept it.”

Johann clenched his jaws to stop himself from reacting. His hands uncontrollably shook as he hid them behind his back. His heart raced, there was ringing in his ears.

“Thank you, Kempis,” Dr. Cornelio said. “Martin, pass by my office later to get this. Ms. Hartwell might’ve been waiting for some time already.”

“See you, sir,” Kempis cheerily said, waving at the doctor. He turned to Johann. “You okay, bro?”

Johann didn’t move. Shitshitshitshitfuckfuckfu—

“Bro?” Kempis approached him.

“Sir!” Johann suddenly exclaimed. He shoved Kempis aside and ran after his boss. “Dr. Cornelio, sir! Wait!”