Elijah froze. Memories of his time in the laboratory, having needles break his skin and locked up in a dimly lit room afterwards came to him.
“Yeah. Sounds like you do not want that,” Feyi said with a smug smile. “If it makes you feel any better, those kids are drug addicts. Instead of giving them more drugs to abuse, we give them proper treatment. It is unorthodox but effective.”
“You could just take them to an hospital,” Temi softly said.
“Who would pay their bills? Their fingerprints are not registered either. It is the "corrective center" they will be sent to.” She quoted the air with her fingers.
Feyi continued to talk but Elijah had already zoned out. He gave a slight shake of his head and turned away from the two girls.
He can not live like that again. Not when he has come this far.
He felt a tug on his arm. Shrugging it off, he walked away.
Osun9/4/2030He felt guilty.It was his fault she died.Jessica might have been a good girlfriend but she did not deserve to die. She could have been a mother or a space police officer like she wanted to.It felt like yesterday when she always told him she wanted to relocate to Mars. Ire had laughed it off as a silly fantasy but he knew she could have made it.She was murdered instead because she was his girlfriend.He shook with sobs forcing itself out of him. He sank on his knees, looking up at the home she once lived in. Ire felt he should have never met her then she would not have died.“God, why?” He murmured.“Hey kid, what are you doing there?” An hoarse voice asked.Ire quickly wiped his face and got to his feet. He gave the speaker a small bow and hurried away. Reluctant to return t
GhettoOsun State1:54pmWhat in the world is up with this girl? If she wanted them dead, she could have just killed them so, Temi thought to herself as she gazed coldly at the girl.She closed her eyes and exhaled. They needed to get out of there. If only there was some sort of tool, she could use it.Her eyes snapped open as she stepped forward. Right beside the boy on the right was a fire extinguisher hanging on the wall. If she could just reach it...“Fine! We will give you what you want. You want money, right? You would have to help us too,” Temi said.She could feel disbelieving eyes on her as she stepped forward. Temi flipped her hair over her shoulder and gave a sultry smile. “If you help us,” she began, “Our organisation will pay you well. A phone call will settle everything.”“How do we know you won't call the cops?” Anya thumped the
Ovic Incorporation9/4/20302:00pmDr Yomi sat in his private office watching the video displaying on the screen.. It was a recording of the president attacking him. Of course, he had enhanced some bits with a few additional extras added via a deep fake algorithm that Dr Yomi had created.It was impossible to add this to the existing surveillance footage from the presidential villa, So Dr Yomi had made Cosmo hack into the villa security network and scrub a 6-minute segment of footage from the existing footage.The beginning and end of his edited video contained footage from the scrubbed segment at the beginning and at the end, but over half of what was in-between added in such a way that without original footage to compare it to would create enough negative publicity for the president that it would be a miracle if the military didn't step in and remove him before the week ran out.Of course, t
Area D Police StationOsun StateA few minutes earlier.“You're released,” Came the toneless voice of a police robot.What? Ire thought. That makes little sense. Unless Temi and Elijah—The robot continued to stare with its blank and beady black eyes. “Come on, little boy. Don't you want to go home?”Ire hurriedly got to his feet. The barred gate slid open as he stepped out. The police robot placed a finger on his handcuffs and it snapped open.“This man is going to take good care of you,” The police robot told him.What man? Ire wondered.The heavy steps of boots introduced a stout man in a navy green uniform. “Hello, Ire Johnson.”Ire let his eyes wander on the man until it settled on the symbol of his uniform; the NSS sewn in white on his left pectoral. He took a step back in fear, eyes wide.
This is stupid!Out of all the stupid things he has done in life, this tops the chart.Ire eyed the fried yam and tomato sauce suspiciously. What if the meal was poisoned? His stomach growled in protest. Throwing caution in the wind, he shrugged. Life has brought him this far. It would not matter if he ate something delicious before he died. Ravenously, he stabbed at the yam slices with his fork and wolfed it down.“Slow down, kid.”Ire bore holes into the driver's head and continued to eat.“Nok, call Dora,” the lady in red said.“Miss Esther,” The AI answered, “the Artificial intelligence, Dora, does not exist.”“What?!” Esther exclaimed, and the driver screeched to a stop. “What do you mean 'does not exist'? You called her some hours ago?”
Down the dark sideOsun State10/4/2030Noon“What do you want?” The man addressed them. He towered over them with his tall and muscular figure. The man had two huge scars running down his left eye. What was more disgusting about his left eye socket? It held no eye!The large red rifle hanging from a belt on his hip helped increase his discomfort. Grateful for the table between them, the boy leaned back in his creaky black and wooden seat. The small store appeared clean except for the peeling paint on the walls, the handy tools and the rolls of black wires. Elijah fought the urge to swallow the lump in his throat. He could believe he thought Ire was the harbinger of bad ideas. It surprised him to see Temi took the helm.Shivers rippled down his spine. Taking a gamble with a dealer of illegal trade is a sure way to suicide. They could go to a pawnshop, but
Private LabOvic IncorporationNoonDayo held his head in his hands. The migraines ground into his temples have got worse. It was the kind that stopped all other traffic in the brain, as if suddenly all had met with red lights. His vision blurred as he tried to concentrate on the simulation of the RNA structure of the virus. He tried shaking the pain off, but it only grew worse. He wobbled as he got to his feet.He needed to find the cure. Time was running out. A glass of Lucozade Boost would rejuvenate him. All he needed to do was walk to the other side of the room. He took a step forward and lost the colour from his face. It was as if his heart had suddenly stopped beating and all the blood had run down into his boots. Then with another step forward, he crumpled like a puppet suddenly released of their strings.AsokoroA
Down the dark sideOsunBangTemi could not help herself. Her jaw dropped to the floor as she stared at Elijah. He crumpled to the floor as blood spurted from his torso. He gave her a look that seemed to ask what happened. His confusion changed to pain. Tears poured from his eyes as he held onto his stomach. He mouthed a word that she could not place.“Go,” he said, louder.What if she carried him? Would he lose more blood if she did?“Go.”The man approached them. She could not bear to leave him like this. He will bleed to death.“Temi, we need to leave,” Alpha urged. She felt the buzz of the Celo in the pocket of her trouser.If she could lift him without making the injury worse...“Go!”In a sp
The President's Private VillaAso RockAbuja“Is she awake? Did it work?” The President leaned forward to look at Third.Ire found it hard to address her as Fola since she tried to kill him a lot. The neurologist they knew as Dr Adams watched as the President bustled about like a mother hen.Third roused awake and looked at the President with a blank stare. She blinked twice and sat up. “Stephen?”The older man burst into tears. Ire grinned and nodded to Dr Adams. They were fixing Yomi's damages one by one. While there was no clear evidence aside from Temi's testimony, General Otunba remained Chief of the NSS. They locked scorpion behind bars, and Yomi turned up dead one night. Temi had been frenzied, calling it injustice, and Ire agreed. Ire met Temi on his way out of the Villa. “No news?”Temi shook her head. For the past year, they searched for their parents and Elijah. It was like they vanished from Earth. Perhaps they did if Elijah used the teleportation device. “They are goin
Ovic IncorporationAbuja“How about we recreate the vaccine you made?” Elijah suggested.“No. There is no time. We need to destroy everything here except for the footage of the truth about Ovic and its leader.” Dayo hacked a cough. He had put his wife back on the bed.Elijah leaned back to avoid getting infected.“I am sorry,” He said and cleared his throat. “There is a self-destruct button for emergencies.”“What sort of emergency protocol is that?” Esther asked, bewildered.“Have Nok set it on once the recordings are complete. Elijah, I need you to listen to me careful and remember the vaccine formula.” He listed them out, and Elijah repeated it with him.“Can we go now?”“I can't.
The United Nations headquartersNew York.The doors glided shut behind them as Temi trudged with Scorpion into the lobby of the UN. The structure of the building looked like a book, but larger, taller, and more sophisticated.Scorpion and Temi took to the route meant for tours. Yomi had instructed Scorpion to linger before bringing Temi up to the General Assembly Hall.Temi eyed each mini flag with false curiosity. She identified a familiar green and white flag and exclaimed, “Nigerian flag.”Every person around gave her an amused look. Well, except Scorpion. He grunted and pushed her along.Temi let him push her across the hall. A chattering group of people walked towards us. If she could run through his people, she might find somewhere to hide. There was nothing to distract him with. The people were coming closer.She turned to face Scorpion. S
The Davidson ResidenceAsokoro1 at noonIre sat under the tree, unable to concentrate on one issue. On one hand was his captured family and on the other, his friend.After Elijah explained the truth to him, he left the room without another word. Elijah had killed those people. His friend was a psychologist and had nanoparticles running in his veins.Ire did not know what to do. The one who had helped him and his sister a lot was more dangerous than a thermonuclear bomb. There was nothing he could do except stand by Elijah's side, just like he did for Ire and his family. Besides, Elijah was family.A shadow stood beside his seating one. “I am sorry.”He lifted his head to look at his sad friend. “It is okay.”Elijah looked at him with surprise. “It is?”Ire rose to his feet and nodded. “It is. You are family. Let's go rescue Temi,
The Davidson ResidenceAsokoroTeleportation.Elijah had joked, but Ire took it seriously. Now, his friend searched for all theories on teleportation.“If my dad could bring my sister back to life, I can create teleportation,” Ire had said.His fierce dedication terrified Elijah and silenced him. He, Esther and Richard (and the Artificial Intelligence, of course) helped in any way they could.“The Bermuda Triangle is a splendid example!” Ire continued to blubber. “The earth's natural magnetic field interfered. This is because of hexagonal clouds creating 170 mph air bombs full of wind.”“So are we going to get ourselves a hexagonal cloud?”“No, silly,” he continued to read from the screen Alpha conjured. “If matter can go through magnetic fields at a fas
The Davidson ResidenceAsokoro“We have to get them out of there!” Ire yelled. He struggled not to burst into tears. Didn't they understand? It was his entire family in that man's control.“And we will,” Elijah said in that annoying, reassuring voice. To his chagrin, he felt himself calm at the sound. “We need a plan. If you just barge in there, we will end up in a worse situation.”“What do you have in mind?” Ire asked, concentrating on his friend, who laid his head on the table.“Figure out what Yomi wants to do with them first.”“He needs the cure to the Sevil Virus from them,” Richard spoke up. He leaned forward in his seat and steepled his fingers.“Which is Temi. But no one knows how he created the Personifid.”&ldq
Press ConferenceAbuja14/4/203010:00am“Yes, and thank you. Our finest contractors would complete the project by the end of the month.” Stephen finished with a charming smile.“Wait!” A reporter called, waving her mic in the air. Having got Stephen's attention, she said, “Mr President, you have made no comment concerning the accusation against you. Did you beat up Dr Yomi Adedeji?”Every person in the room hushed and regarded him with anticipation. This action unnerved him.“Do you think I would do such a thing?” He asked with a gentle smile.The people looked more confused than before. They whispered to one another and curiously eyed him with a raised brow. If he told the truth, they would believe it in a heartbeat without understanding his reasons. If he
Ovic IncorporationAbujaAfter he had patched up the incision he made, Yomi ordered Third to take Temi to her Dad. Halting in their steps, they faced a white door. Temi had never felt so nervous in her life. She was only meeting her father after a long time. The thought swirled around her mind, making her scared.If she told him all that happened in his absence, he would not be proud. He would frown and look at her in a disapproving manner.She trained her eyes on Third's black contact boots and not in the least fascinated by it. But since it took her mind off her father's disappointment, she would continue to stare. The shoes moved, and quietly Temi followed it.A loud crash and loud squeaking drew her attention. On the floor laid a syringe. “Temi?”“Dad.” She dared not look him in the eye.“What are you doing here? I thought I told you to—”
AsokoroAbuja11:35amThe ride to Asokoro had taken longer than Elijah expected. He took notice of the aristocratic structures that grew outrageously bigger and fancier with every building the auto-trans passed.It finally pulled to a stop some metres away from the Asokoro Island. Elijah trekked the rest of the way and stopped in front of the large silver gate. The plaque on the gate assured him he was in the right place.“How may I help you?” A soft, robotic voice asked.It dawned on Elijah that he did not know what name Ire called himself undercover. If he replied with Ire's name, he might get exposed. What was he going to do? Unless someone expected him to say Ire's name and have him locked up? This might really be a trap.Elijah backed away from the gate. How was he supposed to contact Ire now?“Things did not go as you planned?” Alpha asked.&n