Kai Langford - September 2120
The van shakes as we move through the streets, and I can feel the tension in the air. Everyone seems nervous, and I wouldn't be lying if I admitted that my own chest feels a little tighter than usual... not just from the electric shock.
Ray and Tessa sit in the front, leaving Ethan, Daniel Issac (disguised as Christopher) and me in the back.
"Could you not have done that once we got there?" Ethan complains, his voice carrying a mix of irritation and unease.
"No, I needed to make sure it looked perfect, which is why I had to do it while Christopher was there," Issac says calmly, flicking his lighter in a way that's almost hypnotic.
I catch myself wanting to pull out a cigarette, just to calm my nerves, but I had promised Ethan I'd try to stop. I glance at him, feeling a mix of longing and guilt.
"Can you at least put a bag over your head or something? It's making me feel sick just looking at it" Ethan continues, frowning.
Issac responds with a middle finger, and I can't help but wince. Just like Ethan, seeing Christopher's face unsettles me, but I force myself to focus elsewhere.
My eyes drift to Daniel. He's staring out the window, jaw tight, like he'd rather be anywhere else. I remember the argument back at the school just before we left. Tessa insisting on coming with us and Daniel trying to stop her. Now there's this quiet tension between them, and it makes my chest ache a little for all of them.
Ethan, ever the spark in these tense moments, tries to lighten the mood. "This is so boring. Should we play a game?"
In unison, the van's occupants reply with a flat, "No."
I can't help but smile at Ethan's shocked expression, my chest warming just seeing him like that.
"Oh, come on!" he protests, leaning toward the rest of us.
"You'll just cheat like always," Daniel finally says, sneaking a glance at Ethan before looking back out the window.
Ethan blinks, genuinely surprised, and I can't help but let a small, quiet laugh escape. I've seen him cheat before, using his sight, and honestly… I love that he's so clever, even if it means he's predictable.
I shift slightly, moving closer to him without thinking, just enough to remind him I'm there. If anyone gets out of line or worse, if something happens to him, I'll be ready. Always.
"We're here," Ray says as he parks the van in a narrow alley a few streets away from GeneX.
The air shifts. All of us turn towards Issac as he adjusts the comms in his ear. Daniel powers up the computer, and two screens flare to life along the wall. One shows the map of GeneX headquarters. The other reflects us back through the tiny camera hidden in Issac's tie.
"Okay. Everything looks like it's working," Daniel confirms.
Issac grins. "Well, show time." He pulls out his sunglasses, that familiar little flourish but Daniel snatches them before he can put them on.
"Hey!" Issac protests.
"First, it's night. Second, Christopher wouldn't be wearing sunglasses," Daniel says, tucking them neatly into his own pocket.
Issac sighs, then opens the back of the van. We all watch as he steps out.
"Good luck," Ethan calls, warm and encouraging. "You've got this."
Issac throws us a confident smile. "Of course I have this." Then he shuts the door and heads off toward the building.
We crowd around the monitors while Ray and Tessa lean in closer. Issac's voice filters through the comms, calm but focused.
The GeneX logo appears on-screen, and my stomach tightens. I keep my expression neutral, but inside I'm counting contingencies. If anything goes wrong, we move.
"I'm kind of nervous for him," Tessa admits quietly.
She's usually the calm one, the steady centre. Hearing that from her only makes the weight in my chest feel heavier. This might really be one of their most dangerous missions yet.
"He'll be fine. He's a professional," Ray says, voice steady.
On the screen, Issac approaches the front entrance and is stopped almost immediately by security. They study him for a moment, then recognition softens their faces.
"Mr Oswald," one of them says, giving a respectful nod. "May I see your invitation?"
Issac slips a hand into his pocket and pulls out a slim envelope. The guard removes the card inside and runs it through the scanner.
No one in the van breathes. Time seems to go by slowly then suddenly the machine beeps. The guard hands it back. "Enjoy your evening, Mr Oswald."
Issac accepts the invitation without a word and walks inside as if he owns the place.
The screen floods with light and movement. People drift everywhere, laughing, talking, clinking glasses, wrapped in expensive suits and glittering dresses. I lean a little closer before I realise I've moved.
Maybe Noah will pass through the frame.
Even just once. Just long enough for me to see that he's all right.
Issac moves deeper into the hall, making his way toward the lift. Along the way, guests greet him, shake his hand, speak to him like an equal and he falls into Christopher Oswald's persona so smoothly that even I have to remind myself it's still Issac beneath the mask.
Everything seems to be flowing perfectly, until a figure steps directly into his path.
My stomach drops, cold and hard, and the breath catches in my throat.
Joseph Langford.
"Shit, why's he there?" Daniel mutters. "He was meant to be tied up elsewhere."
Everyone's eyes flick toward me. My heartbeat kicks up painfully, thudding in my chest. I hand automatically reaches to my neck. As if the collar would suddenly appear again.
My thoughts start spiralling and then Ethan's fingers suddenly slip into mine.
He gives my hand a gentle squeeze. When I meet his eyes, he offers a small, reassuring smile.
"It's okay" he murmurs.
I nod. He's right. My father isn't here. He's just pixels on a screen.
"Mr Oswald" my father's voice cuts sharply through the speakers, and all of us instinctively look up.
"Dr Langford" Issac replies, cool and composed.
"I'm surprised to see you here. I was informed you had been… taken elsewhere." His tone is the same as always, cold, precise, almost like he's bored.
Daniel swears under his breath. Of course 009 and 016 would have reported the abduction.
But Issac doesn't miss a beat. "Let's just say they tried. Funny, really, that someone arrived right after our conversation about your Noah."
His acting still impresses me. He studied Christopher for days, every gesture, every inflection and it shows.
My father seems to accept it as well. "Yes. Very strange," he says, as indifferent as ever.
"Speaking of which, where is Noah?" Issac asks casually.
Before the mission, I'd asked him to keep an eye out. Not to talk or to approach him. Just… not to miss him.
At Noah's name, my father's shoulders tense, barely, but enough.
"He's preparing for his presentation," he answers flatly.
"A shame. Well, I must be off. People to greet."
Issac slips away, breaking the moment like a thread snapping.
He lets out a small sigh through the mic, the sound thin and shaky through the speakers. "That was close" he whispers.
"You did great" Ray answers, steady as ever.
On the second monitor, a red dot crawls its way through the blue lines of the GeneX blueprint. Daniel's fingers move fast over the keyboard, switching between levels, zooming in and out.
"Issac, you're close to the lift," Daniel says, focused. "Take it up two floors, then enter the emergency stairs."
Issac slips through the room with barely any effort. He moves like he belongs there. But as he approaches the lift doors slide open before he even presses the button.
Noah and Finn stand inside.
The air in the van shifts. Tightens. I feel every pair of eyes turn toward me again. Before I even register the movement, I shove Daniel gently aside and grab the mic.
He shoots me a sharp look, ready to argue, but I speak first.
"Issac." My voice cracks slightly. I swallow. "Can you… ask him how he is?"
Daniel sighs beside me, quiet but he doesn't fight me.
Issac clears his throat "Noah, how have you been?"
"I'm well. Thank you for asking, sir," Noah answers.
My shoulders loosen. I hadn't realised how tense they were. My lungs burn as I finally exhale.
He sounds steady. Healthy.
Alive.
Satisfied with that tiny scrap of reassurance, I step back, letting Daniel slide back into the chair.
Ethan watches me, too carefully, then lifts a hand and cups my jaw, his thumb brushing beneath my eye.
I didn't realise I'd been holding my breath until my chest aches.
Seeing my father again already twisted something inside me. But Noah-
Noah is different. He's always been different.
He's grown. More composed than the boy who used to sit hunched over lab notes at two in the morning. But he still has the same messy white hair, the same sharp black eyes.
And the smile, small, and polite.
He was happy.
Happy without me.
A weight settles in my chest, it's heavy, but strangely calm. The decision forms on its own, clear and inevitable.
He doesn't need me tearing back into his life like a storm.
If I had imagined this moment, I thought I'd feel torn apart when I finally decided whether to tell him I was alive. Instead… I feel relief.
"Kai, are you okay?" Ethan murmurs, stroking my cheek.
I lean into his touch without thinking, nodding. "Yeah. I'm fine."
He doesn't believe me, I can see it but he lets it go.
"Okay, I'm in the staircase. Get ready," Issac says over comms.
I lace my fingers through Ethan's and squeeze once before pushing the van door open. The night air rushes in.
"Be safe in there, guys" Ray calls, lifting a hand as Tessa, Ethan, and I drop down to the pavement.
"Tessa," Daniel calls quickly. She glances back. "If anything feels off, come straight back. Don't argue."
She gives him a small smile and a nod.
We move down the narrow alley, shadows stretching long ahead of us, and head for the back entrance of GeneX.
The building looms above, familiar and threatening.
I turn to them both, the alley lights casting long shadows across their faces.
"Stay close to me and do exactly what I say. No arguments." My voice comes out steadier than I feel.
Tessa nods immediately, jaw set. She understands the risk.
However, Ethan hesitates. His eyes flick towards the building, then back to me, stubborn and worried.
"Ethan" I say, just enough warning in my tone.
He exhales, shoulders dropping. "Fine."
Before I can say anything else, the back door clicks open. Issac steps out with that familiar grin like he's just finished a casual errand instead of infiltrating a corporate fortress.
"Told you it would be easy."