Ethan Knox - August 2120
Edmund stands behind his desk with his usual hands folded neatly behind his back, looking so confident and in control that the whole room practically orbits around him.
Tessa is just ahead of him, leaning casually against the table as she speaks, calm, steady, like she always is when things get tense.
"We tried to find the gunman, but they were gone long before we could get close enough" she says. Her voice is soft, but it carries.
No one's spoken since she started explaining what happened yesterday. Daniel stays close at her side, protective in that quiet way of his. Ray and I sit together in the chairs facing Edmund's desk.
Kai's is at the back of the room, arms crossed, soaking everything in. He looks serious, more serious than I like seeing him.
All of this… it's worse than we hoped. Fake Lunex vials being sold as some mysterious "new drug," and people in Eastbury already have them. And if they're here, who knows where else they've travelled? The thought makes my stomach twist.
The tension just keeps building, like we're all holding our breath at the same time.
"So we have no other leads?" I finally ask, because the quiet is starting to feel heavy and I can't stand seeing everyone look so weighed down.
"For now. But we won't give up," Edmund says. His voice is so reassuring that, despite everything, a tiny bubble of hope lifts inside me. It does the same for the others too, I can see it in their shoulders easing, even just a little.
"What do we do now, then?" I ask, leaning forward a bit.
Edmund shifts, eyes moving to the back of the room.
"What would you do now, Kai?"
Kai blinks, clearly startled to be pulled from whatever deep thoughts he was tangled in. He straightens a bit, looking adorably confused.
"Sorry?" he asks, brow furrowed.
"How would you have dealt with this issue?" Edmund repeats, still completely calm.
Poor Kai tenses right up. attention has never been his favourite thing, and seeing everyone look at him… it makes my heart ache a little for him. He doesn't deserve to feel put on the spot like this.
I thought it was odd when Edmund insisted he join the meeting. Not because I don't trust him, of course I do, but because I didn't want him mixed into the mess. He's spent so much of his life in danger. I wanted him here for something better. Something gentler. A home. A family. Not another battlefield.
"Erm…" Kai murmurs, clearly unsure whether he should talk or keep quiet.
But no one stops him. Everyone's ready to listen.
Kai clears his throat, eyes darting nervously between all of us. I give him a tiny smile, hoping it helps. His shoulders drop just a little, enough to tell me he felt it.
"Well…" he starts, voice soft but steadying as he goes. "If it were me… I'd start with the man who was killed."
The room shifts. Everyone's attention sharpens.
Kai continues, hands uncrossing so he can gesture lightly, almost apologetically. "He had information you needed and someone clearly didn't want him sharing it. That means he was close to something."
He pauses, eyes flicking to mine for half a second, like he's checking if he's doing the right thing. I nod. Keep going.
"So," he says, taking a breath, "I'd retrace his steps. Everyone he talked to. Everywhere he went in town. He must've told someone something, even if they don't realise it."
Tessa's expression brightens a little. "A trail" she murmurs.
"Exactly," Kai says quietly. "Someone in Eastbury has access to these vials. Maybe a few people do, we don't know how many. But counterfeit operations usually rely on two things, steady materials and a safe place to work. That narrows down the possibilities."
Ray leans forward. "So you're thinking the killer is tied to the production?"
"Most likely," Kai says, rubbing the back of his neck. "Killing someone isn't a small thing. If they were willing to do that, they're either protecting the supplier or… they are the supplier."
My chest tightens. Hearing it out loud is different, heavier, but the way Kai explains it somehow makes it feel manageable. Like there is a way through all this.
Kai glances at Edmund before continuing. "I'd split the work into three parts."
Edmund nods for him to go on.
"First" Kai says, "we map out the dealers whereabouts for the last month or two. Who saw him, where he was, any suspicious behaviour. Someone must've noticed something, even if they didn't realise it mattered."
"Second" he continues, "we quietly talk to people who've been acting… strange. Maybe there are others have gone missing just like Bennet."
"And third… we find the counterfeit maker's workspace. They'll need equipment. Materials. A way to mimic Lunex's formula"
He finishes, looking down again like he's afraid he said too much.
Silence settles, not tense this time, but thoughtful. Hopeful.
"That's what I'd do" he murmurs. "well... uhm... that's probably what GeneX would have done."
I can't help the tiny swell of pride in my chest. He doesn't even realise how brilliant his mind is, or how much calmer the room feels now that he's spoken. But there is a part of me that tugs at my heart that this is how he was trained to think.
Edmund smiles warm and approving, the kind of expression he rarely shows.
"Thank you, Kai," he says gently. "That is exactly the kind of clarity we needed."
I glance back at Kai. He still looks nervous, but there's a little spark of confidence there now, something brighter. Something earned.
And for the first time since this whole mess began… I feel like we might actually have a way forward.
When the meeting wraps up, we all start drifting out of Edmund's office one by one, the tension in the room easing just a little as the door opens to the hallway.
But just as Kai steps forward, Edmund's voice stops him.
"Kai, could you stay a second?"
Kai's eyes flick to mine, then to Edmund, uncertainty flickering across his face before he nods slowly.
I glance back at Edmund, hoping he'll meet my eyes, tell me what this is about but his attention is fixed entirely on Kai.
What is going on between the two of them? They've already spent so much time alone in this office, talking about who knows what. And I hate how much that bothers me.
There's nothing I can say, though. Nothing I should say.
So as I pass Kai, I quietly brush my fingers against his hand, just a little touch, soft and quick. His head snaps down to me instantly, his dark eyes tracking me as I walk out of the room.
The door clicks shut behind me, and before I can exhale, Ray claps a hand on my back and traps me in a playful headlock.
"Your lover boy back there is very tactical, isn't he?" Ray says, grinning as he drags me toward the courtyard.
I groan dramatically and rub my neck when he lets go, tugging my shirt back into place."Lover boy? First Tessa, now you?" I say. Tessa walks past with a mischievous smile of her own, traitor.
Ray just shrugs. "With him around, we might actually find a way into GeneX headquarters."
A heavy dread curls in my stomach. I'm proud of Kai, I really am, but that pride is tangled with worry. The more useful he becomes to everyone here, the more likely it is he'll be pulled right back into dangerous work. The peaceful life I imagined for him… it feels like sand slipping through my fingers.
Ray must see something on my face, because he pats my back reassuringly.
"Ethan, don't worry. No one here is going to make him do anything he doesn't want to." He gives me a warm smile. "He's one of us now."
It helps. A little.But knowing Kai… they wouldn't need to ask. He'd offer. Every time.
My pocket buzzes suddenly and I pull out my phone.
Incoming Call: Christopher.
My eyes widen. Ray sees the name and sighs as he backs away.
"You need to sort that out. Quickly," he mutters, waving a hand as he heads off.
I check the courtyard, empty, before I lift the phone and put on my sweetest voice.
"Well, hello you," I say lightly. "Did you miss me that much that you had to call?"
"I did miss you, sugar," his deep voice purrs through the receiver. "You've been ignoring my texts… and it's making me want to punish you."
I let a soft little hum slip into the receiver. "Mmm… you sound tense. Been thinking about me that much, Christopher?"
"You have no idea," he growls, voice dipping into that low, hungry register he thinks is irresistible. "I've been imagining all the ways I could get my hands on you. Make you behave."
"Oh?" I whisper, leaning back against the wall, eyes scanning the empty courtyard again. "And what exactly did you have in mind? You know I like when you're… specific."
There's a faint rustling on his end, he's moving, pacing maybe, worked up already.
"You want specifics, sugar?" His breath comes out hot, uneven. "I want you on your knees the moment I walk in. I want that pretty mouth apologising for ignoring me."
A giggle bubbles out of me, light, teasing, the exact kind he likes. "Apologising? Is that all? You used to be more creative."
Another pause. A dangerous one.
"You keep testing me" he murmurs, voice a velvet threat. "One day, I'm gonna stop playing with you."
"Oooh," I croon, dragging the vowel out. "Is that a promises?"
He exhales sharply, almost a hiss.
"You're lucky you're cute" he mutters. "Anyone else talked to me like that and I'd already have their throat for it."
I shiver, not from fear, but from how intimately I know he means it.
"Well, good thing it's just me" I murmur. "And you like how I talk… don't you?"
"…Too much" he admits in a breath. "You drive me out of my mind."
"Mmm. Then come do something about it."
"Fine, tonight at our usual place" his tone fractures into something hot and sharp. "If you're not there, sugar… I swear I'll drag you out of whatever hiding spot you crawl into."
"Oh, daddy" I purr, letting my voice melt into wicked softness. "I'll be waiting right where you want me."
Silence. Taut. A heartbeat stretched too long.
"…Good boy" he murmurs, low and dark. "See you tonight."
The line clicks dead.
The moment I end the call, my shoulders drop and I let out a long, shaky sigh. My stomach twists with guilt.
I turn around and Kai is standing there.
My whole body sinks.
"Kai! that was a quick talk?" I attempt a calm smile, even though my heart is hammering.
He studies me for a long, painful moment, like he can see straight through every mask I've ever worn.
The guilt hits so hard it makes me dizzy.
"He didn't have much to say" Kai finally replies. His voice is… different. Just a little colder. Or maybe that's just my paranoia clawing at me.
Then suddenly he says, "I'm going to go for a run" and turns away.
My heart drops clean out of my chest.