Chapter 15

I am not my Father. Selina Morgan.

Time/Area: NYC, July 7th 2013.

“I’m sorry Ms. Morgan,” The front desk woman said, looking down on me like some toddler from the fancy white counter, “But he won’t see you. He is in a meeting. Shouldn’t you be in school anyway?”

I sighed as I looked up at the roof of Synth Industries, thinking of some way to get around this lady. I did not just ditch some of my only friends to be rejected by someone who had flunked college so many times to have gotten stuck in Desk Duty.

Well, I had Hiru, but he wasn’t here right now.

I coughed, looking back at her, “I don’t care if he’s in a meeting,” I said, “I want to see him now.”

Just then, the elevator behind the desk opened, revealing a party of guys dressed in suits that appeared to have just been exiting the said meeting.

“That Synth doesn’t understand!” One yelled, his hands going crazy.

“Yea!” Another agreed, “If we continue the Electric Regulating liquid without a stable form of Genesis, a radiation leak will be the least of our worries. I told him that we should just WAIT for the Paris shipment to continue! The ERL liquid is a biological device meant to further the creation of Bio-laser technology, not some toy that he can just lose.”

I couldn’t hear the rest of their conversation since they had already disappeared behind the sliding glass doors of the lobby floor.

While the annoying desk lady was distracted, I quickly dashed into the elevator.

“Hey!” The woman turned around, heading towards the already closed doors at a speed that would make the eldest of grandmothers feel like Usain bolt.

“Cmon cmon!” I said, frantically tapping “close” as, even with her questionable pace, the cart was still only ten feet away.

“Now just what do you th-”

Click

I sighed a breath of relief as the Doors closed, shutting up that lady and possibly bringing peace to the world.

The elevator was as fancy as ever. It had rose colored carpet with pitch black walls, and even held those dim ceiling lights that Italian restaurants always used to set the mood. It honestly almost made me forget why I was here and instead made my stomach yearn for some kind of dish that ended in the word cuisine.

“What floor?” A male, robotic voice suddenly pitched from a hidden speaker.

I yelped as I cleared my throat, almost forgetting about this part, “Penthouse.”

“Retinal Access required.” It responded.

I groaned as a slit opened in the side of the black wall, an eye-shaped hole slowly being formed from the hidden layer of machinery behind the marble.

I slumped over to the slit, moving some of my blonde hair out the way as I brought my right eye to the base.

…

…

“Retinal Scan accepted, Ascending to..Penthouse..Floor”

---

The doors slid open, revealing the luxurious penthouse floor.

Golden chandeliers lit by electric fires hung from the ceiling, while plants held in black marble pots were spaced evenly beside every door in the spaces that led to guest areas. The floor was a vibrant moon color and a fish pond laid in the middle of it illuminated by floor LED. Beside the pond was a round table where a bunch of people wearing expensive looking suits were sitting down on black leather chairs, the wall directly beside them serving as one huge tinted window to look down on the middle class from.

They all stared at me as I walked over to them.

At the head of the table sat Synth Morgan himself, the leading expert in sustainable laser technology and founder of the Bronx radiation leak. Next to him stood Ms. Knight, his super cool Asian advisor, and a family friend. I was close friends with her son, Hiru Knight.

“We need to talk,” I said, glaring straight at Synth, “Dad.”

Dad rubbed his hairless head, “Let’s continue this talk another day gentlemen,” He said, waving his hand for them all to leave, “I must chat with my daughter.”

Once they were awkwardly huddled back into the elevator, with the exception of Ms. K, I sat on the chair across from him, taking a sip out of a coffee mug some dude had left as I did.

“What is it darling?” He asked, clearly annoyed that I had interrupted his meeting, “And since when did I say you could drink coffee.”

I put the mug down after taking another sip, “It’s about Energis.” I replied.

He shot up in his chair, “What did you hear?”

I couldn’t help but smile. This was probably the most attention I had gotten from him all week.

“My friend’s sister is Doctor Diamond’s assistant.” I started.

“Ah,” He said, “Yes...Doctor Diamond is the only reason Energis is even a problem.”

I nodded, “Yea, but I think Energis is testing something dangerous….like really dangerous.”

Dad raised his eyebrows, “Oh?” He queried, “Elaborate.”

I coughed, “Energis is working on a project that they’re going to test on humans.” I said, calling upon what Damien had told me earlier, “And it’s really dangerous...like...Walking Dead dangerous.”

He sighed, “Being able to get human tests done will definitely put us out of the race.”

I stared at him, dumbfounded, “That’s what you’re worried about?!” I yelled, “People might die!”

He shrugged, “I don’t deal in the world of If’s and Might’s darling, only reality.”

I couldn’t believe this, “But my friend s-”

“You think I’m going to believe your friend?” He asked, “Frankly speaking, I didn’t think you were capable of making any more than Hiru.”

Ms.K fidgeted, pretending to be interested in New York’s skyline we had all seen a billion times through the glass wall.

I ignored his remark, “You’re not even going to look into it?!”

Dad shook his head, “Maybe if I was bored,” He continued, “But I’m busy setting up shipments through Paris.”

I gave him a confused expression, “What are you ordering from Paris?” I asked.

“A special project called Genesis.” he replied, “This new version should stabilize the Electricity Regulating Liquid, or E.R.L, we’ve been working on. Its been slowed, probably because of idiots who don’t want to see me inevitably win this ISAC competition, but I’ve hired Ember Defence to help oversee and Transport the shipment.”

Draxon Ember not only did security, but his company also housed dangerous, sometimes even military-provided substances. Like bombs and other cool stuff.

I nodded, “You’d rather plan train shipments than stop a possible Mutant Infection?”

He rolled his eyes, “First off, It’s a plane shipment,”

I glared at him.

“Secondly, a Mutant infection? Don’t be dramatic darling.”

“You never listen to me!” I suddenly shouted, now fed up with him, “You never care about anything I have to say, not even when I’m trying to help you.”

“I don’t want to hear about this again!” He raised his voice, shutting me up, “If you want to talk about childish things such as mutants and interrupting meetings, go speak to your mother’s tomb! Bother her and not me!”

With that, he got up, and stormed out of the room.

I gritted my teeth at the table’s reflective white surface as I heard the last of his footsteps fade behind the door of the private office he kept in the penthouse.

I didn’t mean to yell so loud, but he didn’t have to bring that into the conversation.

I looked at Ms. Knight- seeing the concern on her face.

“Look,” I said, “I’m serious about the Energis thing!”

She looked to the floor, “I understand,” She admitted, “But there is nothing I can do.”

Then she added, “You do have to admit though that your claim does need more backing than...a boy’s words.”

I shook my head, “Well if something bad happens, do you think you could convince him to help out?”

She nodded, “Yes, I could try if the situation arises, but I can’t guarantee anything.”

Ms.K smiled, “You and Hiru both know how stubborn Mr.Synth can be.”

I sighed, “Thanks.”

She nodded, readjusting her silver edged glasses on her nose before chuckling softly, “It’s good to see that you didn’t receive more of his genes.”

I paused, looking down at the floor.

“Yes,” I agreed, “I am not my father.”