Chapter 2 - The Choice We Made Part II

20 February 2041 - Lyndhurst General Hospital, City of Keri, Demeter

“.... There are risks, as you should know. There is a very real chance that it could result in the death of your son. There is also a chance that your son may not be the person you both remember him to be should it be successful.”

Slim chances. Though for this couple, they believe that hope, no matter how slim it is, should be grasped.

“What do we need to do?” asks the mother.

“Leave it to me madam, I will make the necessary calls.” says Kenney, before making his way out of the private room to make the arrangements. As he steps out of the door, Kenney pauses. “Sir, madam, can I get you both anything while I’m out here?”

“No.. no, thank you Doctor Kenney. We’ll be alright here.” replies the father. Kenney nods and closes the door behind him.

“What are we going to do Darron..? My baby isn’t waking up.. *sniff*.. perhaps.. perhaps if we went back to Nevrione.. we could..” whispers the mother, hands clutching her son’s, kissing it as tears flowed freely down her cheeks.

“Lashell, sweetheart, even if we went back, I don’t believe the Empire can help us any better.” says Darron, as he gently brushes back the light brown hair that has grown unkempt throughout the ordeal. “I have heard of MediVance. They’ve been extensively covered in the media for as long as I can remember. I can’t say that I am entirely happy of the prospect of leaving Hunter in their care, but I’m willing to take a chance where our son is of concern. As the kind doctor implied, it may be our only hope now.”

“.. *sniff*.. you’re right. We have to take this chance.. *sniff*.. It hurts to see him like this Darron. He should be out there having the time of his life.. meeting girls.. getting into teenage trouble.. seeing the world..” amidst the tears and grief, a murderous aura gently radiates off from Lashell, startling her husband. “It would have been more bearable.. much more bearable, if there was someone to blame.. *sniff*.. if only there was..”

“Hush now my love.. calm yourself. I too feel your pain, your grief and your anger. The sad truth is that it was an accident. Perhaps after today.. perhaps we can take the kids back to the Empire and visit Teacher. I think it will do all of us some good. Arron and Darell have been restless too. We can all use a break..” soothes Darron.

“You’re right.. I think that’s a great idea. I’ll give Teacher a call after we’re done today.” says Lashell as she looks up to Darron, her love for the family clear in her eyes. As she looks back at the still form of her eldest son Hunter, grief and rage continue to intertwine as the wheels start to turn inside her head.

A mother’s instinct is very rarely wrong. There is always someone to blame. There will be payment. A life for a life. Not even God would willingly step in to protect the one deemed responsible from the current holder of the title Empress of Blades.

**********

A dark blue BMW and a white van akin to an ambulance slows to a halt outside the entrance to the hospital. The first person to step out is a young woman. Wearing a navy blue suit with a matching skirt and black heels, she can be said to be mildly attractive. Her brown, shoulder length hair framing a heart shaped face accentuates her deep blue eyes. Her demeanour exudes confidence and experience.

The second person to step out is an elder man. His slim face looking slightly awkward with the large round glasses sitting on the bridge of his sharp nose. His small eyes and gray thinning hair that is combed back gives the impression of a bigger forehead. One hand is carrying a leather briefcase, while the other is pressed against his ear.

“Yes, we have arrived at the hospital. We’ll be meeting the Markells in a few moments.”. A short pause as the elder man listens to the party on the other line. “Yes, I don’t foresee any problems with the signing. Please expect us in two hours. Yes. Understood.”

Finishing the call, the elder man turns to the young woman. “Are you ready?”

In answer, the young woman merely smiles and proceeds into the hospital lobby, the elder man following closely behind.

**********

knock knock

“Come in.” says Darron.

“Sir, madam, the representatives from MediVance have arrived. May we..?” says Doctor Kenney while holding the door partially open, not wanting to intrude.

“Please come in doctor.” says Lashell, as she wipes the tears away and makes an attempt at looking presentable. “Forgive me, I’m a bit of a mess right now.” she said to her guests, attempting a smile.

“Mrs. Markell, Mr. Markell, my name is Astalya Kinova. I’m MediVance’s representative. This here is Sergi Bondeva. He’s one of the best lawyers in the city and we (MediVance) have retained him as our legal advisor.”

“Pleasure. You can call me Darron and this is my wife Lashell.” says Darron, shaking their hands as he leads the group to the sitting area consisting of two sofas and a coffee table while Lashell proceeds to make some tea.

“Please. Have a seat.” gestures Darron to the sofa, settling himself on the opposite side after his guests sat down. “Doctor Kenney has informed us of the risks, but I’d appreciate it if you can fill us in with all details.” Giving Kenney a nod of appreciation, Darron clasps his hands together as he leans slightly forward, giving the representatives his full attention.

Lashell approaches the table bearing a tray with five small cups and a pot of Earl Grey tea. “I’m sorry we don’t have anything else available, I hope this is acceptable…”

“Mrs. Markell, thank you. It’s perfect.” smiles Astalya as she proceeded to pour tea into the cups. A moment of silence passes as each one of them takes a sip. Noticing the expectant expressions on the Markell’s faces, Astalya continued.

“MediVance is prepared to shoulder all of the expenses related to your son’s treatment. He will be placed in a facility not too dissimilar from this hospital setting, where he will be cared for 24 hours a day by a team of individuals who will be dedicated to his well being. We are at the forefront of state-of-the-art medical technology and techniques so your son will not be lacking in any type of resource.

As Lyndhurst General Hospital can be considered an affiliate, given the length of time that passed without significant improvement to his condition, MediVance will reimburse you 85% of the total expenses incurred to date. Please do not think of this as a handout. You can choose whether or not to accept, but know that we do feel somewhat responsible for the lack of progress.” Astalya pauses briefly, ready to answer any questions. Seeing none coming, she continues.

“Despite what you may have heard or read of MediVance in the media, I can assure you that all of our doctors are certified medical practitioners, all of whom have graduated from the most prestigious academies across the world. We have a very stringent selection process when it comes to our staff, regardless of the function they will be performing within the company.

Rest assured that we are not entirely doing this out of charity and goodwill. Your son is a very unique case and we at MediVance are in the best position to both assist you and profit in the long term. I say this now as we don’t wish for you to have the wrong idea. We value honesty. I believe disclosing such information is integral to you having full faith and trust in us to do our job should you decide to agree.

Once we are successful in treating your son, we will have further advanced our own technology and techniques. It also provides us a foundation for treatments that may occur in the future, thereby helping those who find themselves in a similar situation.

There are risks, as Doctor Kenney may have highlighted. A number of our techniques and readily available solutions are at best at the beta stage. A majority, though they have been proved successful, has not been approved by the NHO due to the inherent danger of being modified into a biological weapon.” another brief pause. ‘They’re very strong willed and are taking this rather well so far.’ she thought.

“We would have to run tests to determine if any of our current technology is compatible with your son. Should none of our current techniques suffice, we will have to invest in research to figure out a new solution. How any of these will affect your son, I cannot say. I just want you to be clear that neither I nor MediVance, can guarantee positive results.

We do have several other conditions that we need you to agree and adhere to for the duration of the treatment. If none of these conditions are acceptable to you, then I’m afraid we won’t be able to help.” having concluded her explanation of the terms and conditions, Astalya pours herself another cup of tea.

“... I see. What are these conditions?” asks Darron. Lashell on the other hand, simply sat quietly. Her pain and sadness visible on her beautiful face, her light blue eyes distant as if trying to remember better times.

Astalya glances at Lashell, hesitant to continue.

“It’s okay.” Darron tells Astalya, noticing her hesitation. Grasping Lashell’s hands he indicates to the representatives, “Please continue.”

“As I mentioned, there are several conditions. The first, is that you cannot have any contact with any form of media with the intent to discuss your son’s case. The second, is that custody of your son’s medical files will be solely under MediVance’s care. Upon agreement, we will procure all the related files, so you don’t need to worry about that. Lastly,” a brief pause. Astalya looks at Darron with firm resolve. This is the most difficult part of the agreement. “you cannot see your son until the treatment is deemed complete. In this case, the term complete encompasses both success… and failure.”

At the implied meaning, Lashell’s eyes snapped towards Astalya, a cold menacing aura slowly gathering in her immediate personal space. All it took was a heartbeat and it was gone. Darron had dispersed the aura using his own, pushing a warm calming effect towards his wife. Neither representatives noticed the exchange. It was far too subtle and the change was swift.

Minutes pass by. Kenney who was becoming uncomfortable with the silence attempts at distraction by refilling his cup with tea.

“We agree.” says Darron, with Lashell simply nodding her agreement.

Letting go of her breath she didn’t know she held, Astalya smiles and nods to Sergi. The latter starts pulling out documents from the leather bag.

“You will find everything that we discussed in these two pages here,” indicating at the first two pages laid out on the table, “the conditions of the agreement are stated here.” points Sergi to a third document. “These, are copies of these three documents. Although I say copies, they are all originals, with authenticated signatures from the CEO of MediVance.

The four of us will sign on the respective lines where your name is indicated on each copy. Doctor Kenney will sign on each page as Witness. Hereafter, MediVance will retain one copy, my firm will take the other and the remaining copy belongs to you.”

To Darron and Lashell, it felt as though they were selling their son to the devil. They knew, deep down there was no cure. In order to make the cure - or at least the chance at one - they have to agree for MediVance to use their son as a test subject. It was either that, or hand him over to the Reaper himself.

For Darron and Lashell Markell, giving up was never an option.

**********

20 February 2041 - Markell Residence, City of Keri, Demeter

It was early evening by the time Darron and Lashell came back home. They had watched as the nurses at LGH wheeled their son to the back of a white van marked MediVance. Two men dressed in black coverall and kevlar vests stepped out of the van to assist. Both were armed.

The Markells understood the need and appreciated the security. What they didn’t know and see, was that after the BMW and the white van exited the hospital grounds, three other cars of the same make came to life. One had strategically positioned itself as the lead car ahead of Astalya and Sergi. The other two formed the tail following the white van. Inside each of these vehicles were four armed guards, members of MediVance’s private army.

The drive home for the Markells was quiet, neither spoke, lost in their own thoughts. The Markells live in the upper valley, a mere fifteen minutes drive from the hospital. As they pulled into the entrance of the gated community, the guard, recognizing them had waved them on. Rows of houses passed by on either side until they reached house number twenty.

“Mommy, Daddy you’re home!” yells an excited Darell. “Is Hunter okay? Mommy don’t be sad.”

Lashell simply smiles and hugs Darell. “I’m alright kiddo and so is your brother. Listen, we’ll be going on a trip soon okay? Daddy suggests we all need a bit of a break and I think it’s a good idea.”

“Where are we going Pops?” says Arron. He had run down the stairs from his bedroom having heard Darell yelling.

“You know how you’ve been wanting to visit your mother and I’s teacher?” smirks Darron.

Arron’s eyes widened, mouth making an “O” shape. “No way! Are you for real?! Hell yeah! When are we going?” Unable to contain his excitement, Arron was rearing to go.

“Have Nana help you and Darell pack. If anything we’ll stay at a hotel near the airport tonight. Your mother and I need to sort out travel arrangements. Don’t give Nana a hard time alright?” says Lashell. “Nana, can you oversee their packing and make sure they don’t forget anything they’d look for?”

Nana is an portly, elderly woman that has been in service at the Markell family for generations. Although a housekeeper, she is considered family and is one of the most trusted advisors for Darron and Lashell, especially in times of marital turmoil. “Don’t worry dear, they’ll have everything they need.” says Nana in a sweet, grandmotherly voice as she ushers both kids up to their bedrooms.

“Honey, I’ll go make the call to Teacher. Can you sort out the necessities?” asks Lashell as she walks off to the kitchen on the first floor.

“Yep. No problem, I’ll have it together before the kids are done.” Darron calls up. Taking out a large duffel bag from the small storage room next to the main door, Darron heads out into the garage.

With the car parked outside the house, the garage was currently empty. Darron makes his way to a broken lever on the left wall, just past his workstation where tools of all sorts were cluttered in a heap. Reaching the lever, he pulls and releases three times until he hears a soft click. He then heads over to the opposite wall, duffel bag in hand.

Stacked against the wall are wheeled metal containers holding hostage many of the kids toys. After moving these out of the way, a long rectangular panel can be seen on the floor. Pushing softly against the panel, a gentle hiss can be heard as it slowly lifts up to rest against the wall.

Inside, two sets of blades resting in their sheaths await their master. Gently lifting the top-most item, one would notice the gold marking on the sheath, in direct contrast to the pitch black colour of the rest of the body. The mark denotes three swords, hilts close together with the blades fanning outwards, sealed within a circle. This signifies that the holder has been recognised as having reached the apex of Blade Mastery.

Weighing just over two kilograms, it is considered as one of the more heavier blades in Minas Vici. The blade alone is 80 cm long, slightly longer than most of the blades at the Institute. The single-edged curved blade tapers off at the end with twin, wide blood-grooves along the sharp edge. The hilt itself is a work of art, featuring a circular guard and a square, black leather wrapped grip stitched with a gold lining.

Shaking himself off from admiring his ‘partner’, Darron careful packs the rest of the blades into the duffel bag. Having emptied the storage and replaced everything as it were, Darron mentally takes note of the arsenal he is currently carrying. There are two sets, with each set comprising of a single 80 cm blade of the same design and six 20 cm blades without a guard.

As he made his way back into the house, Darron’s thoughts turned dark. There was another, more pertinent reason for suggesting this trip. He knew very well that Lashell wanted someone to blame. He is determined to find that someone for his wife.

It was time to go back to the Empire.

Author's Notes:

Today I found myself 2/3 of the way to finishing Chapter 4. I figured that even with the planned stuff-to-do for Easter break, I can safely finish it to my satisfaction. Tried to play around with having a PREVIEW, but I think I'll abstain from doing that again since editing it to full won't inform you, the reader that it has been completed.

Do share your thoughts with me. I've read works that are far slower paced than this, but this is my own personal preference.

Thanks for reading.