The doctor shivered slightly as he stepped out of his warm car. Gravel crunched beneath his feet as he walked towards the autoserve mart. The glass doors and windows allowed him to see that it was empty. He had chosen this location because he knew the area was rarely visited at night. He tapped the console on the door and it began to glow. A female voice greeted him, the monotone voice sounded cold and unwelcoming against the silence of the night.

“Hello, I hope you are doing well tonight. Please select your preferred identification method.”

The options pulsated on the screen awaiting his selection. His fingers fumbled in the cold as he tried to reach for the ID card that hung around his neck. Oddly enough he hated biometric scans and microchip ID implants. He would rather use the almost outdated technology for as long as he could. His refusal to use these new technologies had always been a source of ridicule considering what his area of expertise is. Even Dr. Collin’s would playfully chastise him about it. He smiled for a moment as memories of his old friend emerged. His phone vibrated and he nervously reached for it thinking it might be the guard who was watching Jax, or worse Creso could be calling him. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and was relieved to see it was just his alarm.

Although he was frustrated he forgot what he had started in the lab. He had extracted blood from Jax earlier and was waiting for it to reach room temperature so he could begin the centrifugation process. He pushed his phone back into his pocket, aggravated with himself. The blood would be of no use after so many hours. He would have to dispose of it and start over with a new sample.The female voice spoke again, please select your preferred method of identification. He looked back at the screen and selected a non-biometric scan. The female voice spoke again, “please place your device over the console and wait.”

The console glowed in recognition of the ID card. It only took a couple of seconds before the voice said, “Welcome, Dr. Nemeroff. Please enjoy your visit to ZMart.” The doors slid open and warm air rushed out. At least the store was warm and he could be comfortable while making his call.

He walked to the drink cooler and selected a bottle of water. There were several tables sitting in the open space. He sat his bottle down and walked to one of the food coolers and selected a sandwich and chips. The food bay opened and he removed the food and quickly returned to the table. He sat down at the table and tapped the mini console. He selected the option; privacy mode. A barrier materialized around him blocking the outside world from seeing or hearing him. He opened his water and took a couple of sips before beginning the daunting task of calling Fuchsia.

He didn’t dislike Fuchsia, but he had always treated her coldly because of jealousy. He pulled the paper out of his shirt pocket and his phone out of his lab coat pocket. He typed the number in and stared at the call button, he was worried she wouldn’t believe him. Prolonging the call was not going to help Jax though, so he pressed the call button. It rang three times and then someone said, “hello”. He recognized the female voice. He was silent trying to gain the courage to speak. Fuchsia said, “hello” again.

Dr. Nemeroff said, “hello Fuchsia, this is Dr. Nemeroff.” There was a silence on the other end and he worried she would hang up before he had a chance to say anything about Jax. The next words came out fast and rather loudly. “Please don’t hang up! I have information about Jax.”

Fuchsia spoke in a firm voice, “I’m listening.”

Nemeroff spoke quickly so he could keep her attention. “First of all. Jax is ok. I had to remove his tracker because it was destroyed.”

An audible swallow was heard from Fuchsia and her voice noticeably shook. “How could the chip have been destroyed? He would have had to have undergone a high energy electrical shock.”

Dr. Nemeroff cut Fuchsia off before she could continue and said, “his heart stopped. I didn't have a choice and had to use the defibrillator on him. He is being subjected to a series of lethal tests that have been ordered by Mr. Creso.”

There was a long pause before Fuchsia spoke again. This time disbelief evident in her voice.

She said, “Dr. Nemeroff, why are you calling me? Aren’t you working for Creso?”

The doctor placed a hand on his forehead and leaned forward. How could he explain why to Fuchsia? He needed to make sure she would trust him and know about his past mistakes. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and said “Dr. Collins was my closest friend and I owe it to him to make sure his son survives.”

Fuchsia said, “you know Creso will kill you if he finds out?”

There was a silence between them before Dr. Nemeroff responded. “I am fully aware of that, but I can’t let Jax stay here with Creso. He has suffered enough at his hands and I am afraid eventually Creso will kill him. Once he discovers and replicates the tech that is within him he will be of no use to him.”

Fuchsia asked, “how much does he know about Jax’s implant and other tech?”

“I have limited the information available to him. He knows Jax has an implant but he doesn’t know what it is capable of. He also is aware of his ability to regenerate but doesn’t know why yet. He keeps pushing Jax through lethal tests in order to see what he is capable of. I think he has also noticed that with each injury his body seems to be learning to speed up regeneration time.”

Fuchsia cried out over the phone, “what the hell is Creso doing to Jax to cause the process to increase so much?”

Dr. Nemeroff sighed and said, “let’s just say I’m worried about his mental state if this continues for much longer.”

Dr. Nemeroff could hear other voices over the phone. A male voice spoke. “Can you get us information on the facility where they are holding Jax?”

“What do you need to know?” the doctor asked.

***

After a long talk with the man who identified himself as Bren. He had a mission to collect as much information about the facility and guards as he could. He needed to do it quickly so they could rescue Jax. Dr. Nemeroff collected his stuff off the table and tapped the mini console to turn the privacy mode off. The barrier dematerialized quickly almost instantly. He collected his uneaten sandwich and grabbed another sandwich and drink for Jax. He knew that Creso was restricting the food being brought to him. He also had noticed he was extremely sensitive to smells and taste so he picked up a simple cheese sandwich and water. He collected the items and headed toward the door. The console at the door buzzed and the female voice spoke, “Thank you for your visit to Zmart. Please visit us again and have a goodnight.” He walked out the door and headed to his car quickly so he could return to the facility.

***

Creso sat at his desk, in deep thought while rotating a cylindrical device in his hand. The metallic object glistened in the light and caught the attention of the man who sat across from Creso. The man had quietly waited for Creso to give him orders. The silence was becoming extremely uncomfortable for the man so he finally asked, “do you want me to go get Dr. Nemeroff for you?”

Creso looked coldly at the man as he leaned forward in his chair. He tapped something on his desk and a holographic display appeared. The live video filled the transparent display and was visible to both men. Although it was slightly dark in the room it was still easy to see Jax’s figure as he sat on the edge of his bed. The young man stared up at the window above him; motionless. If it weren’t for the flickering of a single light one might think the feedback had frozen. Creso used his fingers to magnify and change the direction of the camera. The young man looked tired but relaxed as he looked into the night sky above him. A sound of a door opening alerted Jax and he turned his head quickly in its direction. He jumped up off the bed and approached the visitor. Dr. Nemeroff walked in carrying a bag and the two began conversing.

Creso smiled and looked at the man across the table from him and said, “send me the recording of the conversation between Dr. Nemeroff and the other doctor. There is no reason to stop them from paying us a visit. I will even be more than happy to provide them with the information they requested from Dr. Nemeroff. Of course, I want to make them feel welcome when they arrive, so there will be some small details left out.”