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Chapter 2
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Dinner is one of the few times the family is able to get together during the weekdays and despite her loner personality, Mia savors every moment with her parents. Foster parents, to be exact.
It still sometimes gets hard for Mia to believe but she's actually the adopted daughter of Sam and Regina Gates. Okay, not that hard really if one is being critical. They're both fair-skinned and she's black; and to top it, Regina is allergic to macadamia nuts and Sam to peanuts but Mia just can't seem to have enough of those two.
But whichever way it is, the Gates loves Mia like their own biological daughter and she doesn't hold any memory of having another parent or being in the orphanage. One of the perks of being adopted when you were just six months old, she always said to herself.
At the table that night, Sam is droning on about his day at work as usual and Regina is listening to him; or pretending to, as the case may be.
Sam works in a construction company and Regina is a secretary to the CEO of a local candy company in the area, which means they're never short of stories to tell; a polar contrast to Mia's one-woman life coincidentally.
"So, how was school today, Mia?" Regina asks after Sam is done; she likes Mia to talk before she does. "Did you meet anyone new?"
"There was no one new to meet," she replies with a careless shrug and an uninterested expression on her face; her default posture whenever she's asked to say anything concerning herself or her day. "Anyway, I got a C minus in my history assignment, if that can count for event of the day."
"Oh, I'm so sorry, honey." Regina gets up to give Mia a heartfelt sympathy hug even though the latter looks like she'll rather she didn't. "I know you worked your butts off on that assignment."
"Wait, isn't that the assignment that was meant to be worked on by two people?" asks Sam all of a sudden and Mia almost chokes on her dinner.
Thing is, she mentioned it to him only in passing during dinner the previous night and obviously didn't expect him to remember. You should have known better, Mia, she groans to herself.
"Is that true?" Regina asks, her eyes staying on Mia the way they always do whenever she's displeased by something she's done.
Now, Mia can lie and deny it. She has the opportunity. But she knows it's never a good idea with her parents. They always catch on. So, she nods affirmative.
"How could you do that?" Regina is now vividly angry.
"What was I supposed to do when no one was ready to partner with me?!" Mia shouts in her defense.
"Did you even bother to ask them?" she shoots back, knowing very well she didn't. "Mia, you can't continue to live your life this way."
In all her sixteen years of being a parent, Regina has never had anything to disapprove of in her daughter; except her ability to make friends, that is; or the lack thereof. She has thrown countless parties, hosted many dinners, championed many school events; all in the hope that Mia will meet someone that suit her enough for a friend. But that has never happened.
She has even pitched the idea of maybe seeing a psychologist to Mia but the latter argued that it'll take a lot of her connection skills- which she vehemently insists she doesn't have- to see the psychologist and so, Regina has to drop it.
"You already know that I don't like to mingle with people and you accepted me that way," says Mia in an attempt to appease Regina. "Why are you trying to change me now?"
"Because you'll never connect if you don't try," she replies. "Besides, there may come a time when you need help and your friends will be the only one around to provide it."
"Why would I need help from another person when I have the two of you?" asks Mia. She's just not understanding why Regina is so persistent on this "friends" issue.
"Because the truth is that you won't always have us, honey," she replies as she will an ignorant but dogmatic child, which she believes Mia is being at the moment.
"If you don't mind, I'll go finish this in my room." Mia gets up, grabs her plate, and takes her leave. It's either that or she continues to argue with Regina, and it's obvious that the latter isn't going to back down anytime soon.
Mia is already ascending the stairs to her room but she can hear the whispers of her parents' discussion, no doubt about her.
Mom just doesn't get it, she thinks to herself, I have no urge whatsoever to make friends. Besides, the most burning question coming to her mind, what can possibly happen that I'll need the help of another person?
Voices; at least that's what Mia think they are. In truth, they're a bit of everything; and they're stuck inside her head, waiting for the slightest opportunity to burst out.
Mia tosses helplessly around in pain as the cacophony inside her head goes up another notch. That's how her nights go on some days and she has no idea what triggers it. She doesn't even know what it is.
After so many failed attempts at keeping calm, she finally forces her eyes open, but that proves to be a very terrible mistake as the moment she opens her eyes, her headache goes immediately into the murderous mode; and her eyes can't even focus.
It's like she's seeing everything and nothing at the same time if that makes any sense. So many words, pictures, and a little bit of everything else dances all around her vision; and they aren't even consistent. It's as if someone somewhere is playing with a switch in her eyes; or maybe her brain actually, truth be told.
"Mom!" Mia eventually shouts when she can. "Dad! Help!"
Almost immediately, Sam and Regina rush into the room. They're used to her episodes already. "Come here, baby," Regina says and pulls Mia in for a protective hug, not minding that the latter is heavily drenched in sweat.
Sam brings out a syringe filled with a golden-yellow liquid and injects Mia with it, everything in her body immediately beginning to return back to normal.
The numb serum, Mia calls it. Whatever it is, it makes her numb to everything, thereby giving her brain time to reboot- or whatever it is it does- and nullify the killing noises in her head.
"Sleep now, child," Regina lays Mia back in her bed and tucks her in, "it's all over now."
As Mia's body relaxes and her eyes begins to close, she hears her parents whispering about something; and even though she can't pick much of anything else they say, her mind's still awake enough to hear when they mention a certain word that will go on to stay with her for a very long time to come. Tekna.
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Tekna, thinks Mia as she stares intently at the laptop in front of her. The word has been hovering in her mind for hours now but she never seems to be able to make any sense of it; developing into some sort of enigma for her ever since she accidentally overheard it the previous night when her parents thought she was asleep.However, finally admitting that her mind is obviously not going to get her anyway, Mia turns to the one thing everyone does when they're confused: the internet. She puts her hands to the keyboard and is about to start typing when she realises that she doesn't even have the slightest idea how the word is spelled.Goddammit!She groans.After some minutes of ruminating over it, she finally decides on a speech-to-text search method instead.
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“You know him?!” That’s the first thing that Mia thinks to shout after her initial shock. Now, she knows that most people will begin with questions like "What in the world just happened?"or"Where the hell did you learn to kill like that?" or something else along those lines.But Mia has never claimed to be like most people.“Yes,” Regina replies, a bit confused at her choice of question. “Andrew’s a friend.”“Wait, you’re friends with this demon?!” she shouts again. How the hell can Andrew be friends with Sam and Regina?She thinks and almost gives in to the temptation of murdering the boy who is her nemesis there and then.“Look, I know you have so many questions but I just heard those guys radio in for reinforcement,” Andrew says, cutting into Mia’s thoughts. “I suggest we leave before they arrive.”“No
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“You, my dear, aren’t just aTekna. You’retheTekna."The words ring in Mia's head like some alien language. It feels as if her mind can't make a decision on how best to react and so it doesn't- she just stares ahead with a numb expression on her face.Joseph means every word he's just said. Of that, Mia has no doubt; and the intense look in his eyes even then supports it, but not wanting to let herself be upended, she puts on her best mocking smile.“Wow, Joseph!" she says. "That sounds an awful lot like admiration.”“That’s because it is,” he returns.Before Mia can fully vibe the situation though, Joseph suddenly pulls out a gun and points it squarely in her face. “I’m going to do whatever it takes to keep you with me, Mia," he says, "even if you have to be in a cryogenic coffin for that to happen.”Mia's expression takes on that vi
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Mia wobbles three steps forward before finally giving up and collapses against the wall. She watches her blood stain the wall as she slides uncontrollably to the ground.There's no need to sugarcoat this, I'm a failure, she thinks to herself as she pants helpslessly on the ground. It doesn't take a genius to see that she has failed in her mission to subdue Joseph, and as a result, she’s going to lose her life and Andrew’s too; if he isn’t dead already, that is.Well, guess it’s divine justice that I should die all alone and with a hole the size of the Mississippi in my side too, she laughs at the image in her mind. Irony be that she caused her own death and perhaps a billion others too- it’s a no brainer that Joseph will find a way to remotely control her mind to launch the missiles like he wants.To be honest, she knows from the start she may actually have been alright had she not been so insistent on her freedom.
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“Is this the part where you kill me?” Andrew passes a look around Jacob’s men as they lead him down a deserted corridor. It’s thirty minutes after his rescue- if it can even be called that- and so far, the only interaction they’ve had with him is to cuff him and say, “Move.”He looks to Jacob. “You know, I don’t get it,” he says. “Why are you so scared of Mia?”“Of course not, Andrew. What ridiculous story is this?” he returns, scoffing. “I’m not afraid of Mia. She’s just a child.”“And yet, here you are.” Andrew shoots him a mocking smile. “Come on Jacob, you’ve crossed every boundary known to humanity in order to get her in your custody. Is that how much she haunts your nightmares?”“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Jacob’s voice takes on a threatening tone as he grabs Andrew by
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Mia’s gaze shifts from the footage of Andrew in his flooded cell to the world map of deathly red dots. A conflicted expression rests on her face. Do I want to save the world? She asks herself. Of course, she wants to. She won't have gone through all the trouble to resist Joseph if she doesn't want to. So now, the real question is, does she want to save the world at Andrew's expense? In all honesty, Andrew has become more than a friend to Mia in the past month; thinking otherwise is just self-denial. He has risked his life for her time and time again, and all without asking anything in return than she should remain safe. She owes him a lot. But can I let the world be destroyed just to save his life? She asks this time, sighing again as the conflict in her soul comes once more to the forefront. The truth, Mia knows that she will definitely lose Andrew if she goes along with Joseph's plan even if it is to save his life. No one wants to
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Jacob looks down at the endless ocean as the chopper flies past and marvels. No wonder Joseph decided to establish himself here, he thinks to himself, smiling. Truth be told, Jacob isn't that big a fan of waters, but this one feels different. Looking out, he can see that Joseph's choice of the Atlantic ocean is more than just for security. The sight of it actually fills one with an aura of power. Anyone will give anything to remain in the presence of that aura. But ocean thoughts aside, Jacob concentrates himself back on the simple reason why he's made the trip all the way to Joseph: he has Mia and he needs to get her back. Actually, it’s a plan that he has envisioned for a while. In fact, it’s the particular reason why he warned Joseph of Mia’s coming to begin with. Get Joseph to stop Mia and then take her away from him. He smiles to himself. Brilliant, just brilliant. “We’re approaching the building, sir,” the pilot’s voic
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A few days before Mia's arrival, Joseph is in his office doing his regular overseeing work when his office phone suddenly rings. A frown crosses his face as he takes a glance at the caller ID and sees no name or number on display, which isn't supposed to be possible.Thing is, all of Joseph's phones are tagged with a caller identification app that can hack into any signal- even military- and get him an identity, but the fact that it seems not to be able to work for this particular incoming call can only mean one thing: trouble.“Who's this?" he says cautiously into the phone.“Jacob Londermann,” comes the reply from the other side, “and I’m calling to help you, old friend.”“You!” Joseph grits his teeth so hard it's a miracle he doesn't lose one or two teeth. His heart gets torn between the feeling of anger at Jacob and excitement to hear his voice again after sixteen long years.However, a second lat
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Thing is, Mia has been able to find out beforehand that Joseph mounted motion sensors in the water. If they get too close to his base, they will run into the sensors perimeter and trigger them. With a little bit of Tekna magic though, Mia has equipped the ship with a software that can easily detect the sensors and thus, avoid them, which it just does. “Ladies first.” Andrew makes an exaggerated gentlemanly posture with a wide grin on his face as he points Mia below deck. “Enough with the drama already, Cameron,” she returns, deliberately brushing against him when she moves. Surprisingly, Mia realises that she sort of enjoyed the contact. In fact, for the past few days, she has been "sort of" enjoying various contacts with Andrew; and has been fostering cases for them too to be honest. Not healthy, Mia, she warns herself. Andrew should be the last person she wants to "enjoy." He's still the same guy that caused you trouble in high
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Somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Mia stares into the horizon as the cold ocean breeze whips across her face; a gentle reminder that winter isn’t far behind. It has taken a long time, and quite a lot effort, but she can finally say she has beaten Jacob fair and square; and now, she's ready to move on to her next target: Joseph Lewis. Finding Joseph hasn't been a walk in the park for Mia. The man is thickly hidden behind firewalls, shell companies, and general digital footprint animousity; and even with her Tekna ability out to play, following him ithrough all those veils still isn't easy. Fortunately, Jacob's data coin's information proves handy as despite the fact that the coin itself is a bait, and later destroyed, Mia is still able to make use of it- its source code, to be precise- to log on to and communicate with the other data coins in Alphatech; and by extension, use the company's servers and satellites to foster
