Ethan knox - October 2120
"You know his voice… how?" I ask.
Katie blinks rapidly, her fingers tapping nervously on the scraps of paper.
"I… I… I… he… voice… I… I know… from…" She pauses, shaking her head slightly, like the memory is just out of reach.
"From where?" I prompt softly, letting her take her time.
Her lips part, close, then part again. She swallows hard, trying to gather words that refuse to form properly.
"F… f-factory…" she finally manages, the word coming out broken and hesitant.
I frown slightly. "Factory?"
"Yes… yes…" She presses both hands to her temples now, eyes squeezed shut. "Where… g-gave… vial… vial…"
My chest tightens. The word vial hits hard. She must be talking about the counterfeit.
"You mean he gave you the vial" I ask slowly.
She nods frantically, then freezes, like she's afraid of saying too much. "Yes… yes… he… gave… vial… but… but… w… where?"
I glance at Isaac. He's quiet, arms crossed, watching the room with that usual calm patience.
My fingers press lightly against my own forehead, feeling the faint twinge of foresight. It doesn't show the exact moment, just the lingering sensation of something important.
Katie watches me, trembling slightly.
"I… remember… voice… yes… but… not… place…" she whispers, words broken and halting. "I… know… gave… vial… I… try… remember…"
I nod slowly, keeping my voice soft. "That's okay. You're doing fine. We'll figure it out together."
Her shoulders sag a little, the tension easing as I speak. She reaches for another scrap of paper and scribbles something quickly, crumpling it halfway, then holds it out to me.
I hesitate for a second before stepping over the line to take it and read her messy handwriting:
"Factory… room… white… big… locked… vial…"
Her fingers fidget again. "I… know… place… just… can't… remember… exact…"
I lean back slightly, giving her space. "That's enough for now. You remembered more than most people could in one sitting."
She looks at me, uncertainty and relief mixing in her eyes.
"I… I… sorry… I… couldn't…"
"You did more than okay," I assure her. "Seriously." My tone is warm, playful enough to ease her nerves, but there's an underlying seriousness in my eyes. "You just gave me the clue I need. That's huge."
Katie blinks at me, a small, hesitant smile breaking through the tension.
"I… yes… I… try…"
I nod once, softly. "That's all anyone can ask. And we'll figure it out. Together."
The room falls quiet again, the only sound the faint scratching of her pen against paper as she writes down every fragmented memory she can manage.
Even in this broken, halting way, she's giving me everything she can remember and that's more than enough for now.
After a while, the silence in the room starts to settle. I can tell Katie's reached the end of what she can handle for today. Her small, halting words have given me everything she's able to remember, and I don't want to push her any further.
I slowly rise from the floor, brushing invisible dust off my pants, and offer her a gentle smile.
"Alright, Katie," I say softly. "That's enough for today. Thank you, i'll be back."
She lifts one hand just slightly in a delicate, almost shy wave. It's small, but it feels… like progress.
I nod, giving her a reassuring glance before turning to leave. Isaac follows silently behind me, his usual calm presence a steady anchor.
Once we're outside, he finally breaks the quiet. His voice is low, measured.
"Why would that bastard be the one to give her the vial?" he mutters, shaking his head slightly. "Isn't he a board member of GeneX?"
I pause mid-step, letting the words sink in. I had been trying not to think too far ahead, but now… my mind starts ticking. "I'd like to know that as well" I reply slowly, more to myself than to him.
It doesn't make sense. Why would someone with that kind of power, someone so high up, hand out counterfeits of the very Lunex vials his company makes? He'd be risking everything, his position, his influence, even his life. GeneX wouldn't hesitate for a second to destroy him if they found out he was responsible for leaking their most valuable product.
I glance at Isaac. "It's reckless. Dangerous. And yet… somehow, he did it anyway."
Isaac frowns, folding his arms. "Reckless or confident. Maybe he thinks he can get away with it. Or maybe there's something else going on that we don't see yet."
I bite the inside of my cheek, thinking. "I wish I could just walk in there and ask him myself. But… facing him without Kai?" I shake my head slightly. The thought of standing in front of Christopher alone makes my stomach tighten.
He has this way of… I don't know, shrinking me. Making me feel small, like I'm nothing, like my presence is irrelevant. Even during the time we were… together, he treated me like I was beneath him, like I was some kind of pet he could control with words alone.
But with Kai there? Everything changes. With Kai, I feel… different. Protected. Stronger. Not invincible, but enough to finally hold my own, to stand up and refuse to be belittled.
Until Kai comes back, though… I can't risk it... I already miss him.
I glance at Isaac, who's giving me that familiar knowing look. I can see the wheels turning behind his sunglasses. Calm, composed, ready for action but patient enough to wait for the right moment.
"Until then," I say quietly, letting the thought hang in the cool air between us, "we do what we can and wait."
Isaac nods once. "Smart. Less dramatic that way."
I smirk, a little teasingly.
We start walking back toward the building, our footsteps echoing lightly across the courtyard. The tension is still there, thick, but the conversation with Katie has given me a thread to pull.
"Let's go tell Edmund what we've learned," I finally say. My voice is firm now, determined. "He needs to know the pieces we've gathered. And maybe… maybe he can start helping us figure out why someone like him would risk everything to hand out counterfeits."
Isaac lets out a short hum, almost amused. "Sounds like a plan, future boy."
And with that, we step back inside. The weight of the secret, the mystery of the factory, and Christopher's looming presence presses down, but I know we've made progress. Small, careful steps, but progress all the same.