CHAPTER 4: Director's Life At Risk

Enzo's POV

My mind was hovering in the air amidst our travel as I am secretly thinking of where will we be taken by this car. It seems like this man beside me named Aiden Gomez was in a hurry that he didn't even give me time to appreciate myself for making it to my dream company.

We're currently taking this long and spacious highway with a rich line of trees alongside of it. Personally, it was really pleasant to see trees or even plants in this kind of areas, it just simply symbolizes how beautiful nature is.

In the middle of our trip to nowhere, this beautiful yet austere man beside me was just looking straight ahead while showing no emotions as though I didn't exist inside this limousine. Sir Aiden looks really stunning with his suit matching his white Chinese collared polo long sleeve as his internal clothing. Not going to lie either, this man can top the rank for being the most gorgeous man alive. But, before we go deeper into these strange thoughts, I just want to ask myself this question.

Why are you so into his features, Enzo? This is the very first time you have complimented someone for being good looking.

I was cut to my almost reverie when the car stopped in front of the high rocky mountain. As we alighted to the limousine, I became even more excited and amused when I see the bottom part of the mountain where there is one huge automatic gate and a big screen beside it. It looks like a secret fortress.

Without uttering any words, Sir Aiden stood in front of the big screen and then suddenly it scanned him. For security purposes, I guess? The next thing happened was the metal gate automatically opened. He strode the way to enter the place without bothering himself to look back at me.

I stood up here still. I will until further notice.

Am I even allowed to enter or would I just wait him here outside? I really don't know.

The Director was halted upon entering the fortress when he noticed me not following him. "What are you doing there?" he asked blankly.

"Am I allowed to enter?" I scratched the back of my head because of shyness and nervousness.

Is this really happening?

"What's the use of bringing you here with me if you're not allowed to come inside?" I gulped as he said those words then gave him a timid smile. He has a point there and I hate it here for being stupid as hell.

"I am sorry, thank you and I will."

"What?"

"I am sorry for being stupid, thank you for allowing me to get in and I will follow you from behind." I explained with a timid smile on my lips.

He just rolled his eyes before shaking his head in submission. "You're getting gibberish."

I was about to step my right foot forward when the man whom I dreaming of to work with just hold my hand now.

"S-sir." I retrieved my hand with all my force.

"Why?" he's asking me as if nothing's happened.

"A-ah, nothing. Let's go, don't mind me." my heart almost skipped a beat for what he did. I even felt my ears getting hot and my cheeks turning red. I am starting to sweat as well because of nervousness.

I stayed silent since we both entered this dark, cold and quiet place for I was busy feeling his touch to my hand. Why am I still feeling his smooth veiny hand considering it was just a quick touch? What made me feel even more strange about myself is the way he smells. An Amber noir scentㅡit smells like a sweet and sultry fusion of Mandarin, Jasmine, and rich amber with undertones of sandalwood and musk.

I slowed down a bit so I could see his back while walking, both of his hands were sunk inside his front pockets. After a couple of minutes, he stopped in front of the volt-like door. He positioned himself again in front of the huge screen to scan him and entered afterwards.

"What is this room for?" I asked while still following him from behind.

"You asked too many questions, to be honest and I hate it." my mouth automatically went shut upon hearing a streak of annoyance in his voice. Don't mess with the boss, Enzo.

My jaw just dropped when I saw the entirety of this huge metallic room, seemed like a big version of the motherboard.

"Wow, this is insane!" was all I could say while roaming my eyes around. This room is full of white light emitting diode, wires, machineries and batteries.

"Judging by your face, it seems like you've seen a God." he commented, deadpan.

"It's just wow, I can't believe that Gomez Robotics has this kind of technology. This is beyond my expectations!"

"This is what you get when you used your imagination as your base for your plan and converting that plan to possibility to make an utmost reality."

"That's pretty deep, sir." was all I could respond.

We continued to roam around the room until I saw sets of big refrigerator-like cabinets located at the center area of this room. There are numerous wires with different colors connected to them. Because of the amazement I am feeling, I decided to walk towards the metal cabinets and see myself how they function. I was about to step into the surrounding place of these metal cabinets when Sir Aiden stopped me.

"Please don't step in."

"Why?"

He pointed the flooring. To my confusion, I saw the floor tiles under these metal cabinets made out of thousands of small pieces of golds and it looks like a contact pins of SD card.

"This flooring with a touch of gold that we're seeing ain't just a simple floor, this is the brain or the main memory of Gomez Robotics. Meaning to say, all the information in the company are directly stored in here. This section is accountable and responsible for holding those important data."

"Woah, I just found that out one now."

"As you should."

Beat.

"Then, what is the use of those lights connected to the cabinets?"

"That is not just an ordinary lights." he went to the nearest metal desk and withdraw the...

"What is that?"

He didn't bother himself answering my question instead he used the remote control as the medium of responding to my concern. He took the tablet from the metal desk and started to use it as a remote control, I guess. My eyes widened when the floor started to drift apart and a huge metal cabinet came out of it. A bigger version of other cabinets in the surrounding area of the main memory.

"Wow!" was all I could say.

He clicked one more button in the tablet that makes the huge metal cabinet automatically opened. I was so surprised upon seeing a naked man who's soundly sleeping inside the metal cabinet. The existence of lights makes sense now when I noticed them connected to the man's body.

"Why is there a man inside? Is he still alive?" my right foot stepped backward when my heart started to beat abnormally. Why is there a man inside the metallic cabinet? "I am not aware that Gomez are assassins." I added while my voice cracks.

"Stupid."

"S-sir, I think I need to go." I was about to run outside when the door suddenly slammed shut.

"Mr. Romero, this is Francis 1.0." he introduced without being considerate with my dumbstruck-moment.

"What's with him?" I asked, exaggeratedly nervous.

"Later, you'll get to know the reason why he's here." he creeped the hell out of me when he showed me his emptied look.

A little while had passed when something important sunk in my mind, the reason why I chose to apply in Gomez Robotics is because I want to provide for our family, make my parents proud and to make sure that I'm in my path chasing my dreams.

"Wait, sir! That's not a real human."

"Who would have thought that an intelligent man like you would see this as a real human? We're not a slaughter house. Mr. Romero, for your information, I am the inventor of Francis 1.0. He is the first ever S.A.M. or Self Automated Machine that we made."

"But what is my purpose here? He looks like a complete package. I did think that he is already a human."

"Nice question, you're here..." he put down the tablet first before looking straight to my eyes. "You're here because he's still a dead humanoid robot." my face contorted in confusion when I heard his reason.

"What? I don't understand. Yes, I graduated from an exclusive and famous IT school in the country but that doesn't mean I was able to understand everything so easily. Can you please clear things up?"

"That CPU you're seeing is too big for a normal CPU but you know, there are still lacking in there. The chip that you need to formulate will be added up soon in the process of completing Francis 1.0. As you can see, there's no light indication in the phase 13 which is the 13th tile of the floor that says everything's completely done because all of us had failed to make the final chip. The chip we're really in need is the last thing we're constantly yearning to have to fully make Francis look like a human." and now I was able to understand his every words. It was nicely explained.

"You know what, sir, I want to be honest with you. This project is not as easy as you thought and I know that you're aware of it but I'm willing to do my best to program the final chip so Francis will be more believable in the eyes of the customers. That's my job, anyway."

"The reason why I hired you because I sensed earlier that you're a great man. We have the same state of mind and thus I accepted your application without hesitation."

I averted my gaze to the humanoid robot. "You know what confuses me, Sir Aiden? You have this huge invention, you've spent a lot of money just to finish this and yet you kept on failing to finalize the whole project? How is that so hard for you to finish it?" there's a streak of confusion in my voice.

"My mind is too complex if you just know. We have a lot of crucial thoughts running in our heads and it's too personal to share. However, I wanna share this one to you, I went to Hong Kong just to meet the man who can formulate the chip but before the actual work happens, he suddenly declined it. And I understand it now, because this job is meant for you, Enzo." He exhaled deeply before glaring at my eyes.

"Oh, wow, thanks," I said stammering.

"I believe that you can finish the project. We are the most willing to pay you millions just for that one chip. I am his inventor, but I can't complete him and I don't know why." the moment he said those words was also the time I neared him to caress his back. He sounds desperately sad.

"I will help you, sir." he quickly wiped his tears off before walking past me.

"Let's go," he said under his breath and there I followed him from behind again until we reached the exit point of the Main Laboratory.

Aiden was walking in silence as we walked past the exit point. Even though he's uttering no words, I could still feel the bag of internal conflict he has on his back. He seems like holding the heaviest problems in the world the way I observed him. I didn't expect that a successful man can still have this heavy bags of problems.

Amidst our walk, there's this one guide light on the wall that caught my attention because it's blinking endlessly.

"Sir, I think the guide light is malfunctioning." my voice echoed around the metallic tunnel-like when I said those words. I was about to near the light to check it when I suddenly noticed the keypad beside the blinking guide light.

"Don't mind it, let's go!" I was shocked when he suddenly talk out of nowhere. He almost gave me heart attack because of that abrupt retort.

I ran towards the same direction as Aiden was heading and from there I boarded inside his limousine. I don't want to be left alone here, though.

"Mr. Romero?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Everything you have seen in the main laboratory were all nonexistent and no single of information was left in your mind. Am I making myself clear?" my brows knitted because of his strange reminder.

"What do you mean?"

"You didn't see the main laboratory. You didn't know about Francis 1.0 and most especially you're not going to make a chip. Meaning, everything should be a secret." he's looking straight ahead while me staring at him at the rear view mirror.

"Y-yes, sir."

Our travel fell in silence until I no longer noticed that I fell asleep. I was woken up when there's a hard object hit my face.

"Ouch!" I grunted.

"That will be your company phone now." I automatically looked at the object he had thrown at me.

"Thanks." then I gave him a timid smile while scrutinizing this unique cell phone. This is so fucking cool!

We didn't spend a little longer inside the car when Sir Aiden asked me to alight on the car.

"Come with me. We will take a quick walk." my brows met their ends when he said that. Is he serious?

"Sir?"

"Should I repeat?" I suddenly felt afraid when I heard his tone matching his lackluster look.

We are in the park where people are having the best moments of their lives whereas we, walking down the stairs to reach the benchwood near lakeside.

"Why are we here?"

"Did I tell you earlier that you'll know everything about me, didn't I?" he looked straight in my eyes and this time, I am seeing different Aiden. Not the usual austere one. This new face of Aiden that I am seeing now seem scared and sad.

"Yeah," I was stammered.

"Someone's threatening my life. Anytime soon, I could vanish like a bubble." my curiosity suddenly turned me interested to his story.

"Is there someone wanted to kill you?" I cleared.

"Should I repeat?" I saw his usual self again but this time it made me laugh a little.

"Sir, I believe that you have a big problem butㅡ"

"Stop calling me sir when there's the two of us especially if we're out of the company."

"Ha? I can't do that, sir. You are my bossㅡ"

"Yes, I am your boss so I am commanding you to not call me sir." I smirked upon hearing his retort.

"Just kidding, sir... Oh, just kidding, Aiden." this time I saw Aiden genuinely smiled though it was a quick smile.

"I'm not yet ready to die. I'm still in searching of the person who killed my father and the person who wants me killed." I immediately feel the fear after hearing his side.

"Why these stupid people wants you killed?" I asked with full of curiosity.

"Obviously, position," he answered short and I nodded.

That's the common problem of rich peopleㅡpositions.

"That's why sometimes I am grateful for being part of the middle class in the society. The perks of being rich is sometimes betrayal comes not from your enemies but from your own family," I bluntly said while smirk was continuously running through my lips.

"Agree." I was halted when he agreed to my words. He didn't wait for my next response but he took the walk and left me here.

"What?"

Position? Maybe one of his family is betraying him.

That thought did not last long to my head when I decided to follow him from behind.

<a novel written by kuyasitan>