Ethan knox - October 2120
"My apologies," Isaac says smoothly, still wrapped in Dr Williams' skin. "I was delayed."
Dr Langford doesn't answer straight away. He just stands there, staring at him like he's trying to read something printed under the surface.
Great... That's not unsettling at all.
I keep my posture relaxed, shoulders loose, like I belong here, like I'm just another guard counting down the minutes until a tea break that definitely isn't coming. Inside, though, something pulls tight. His gaze lingers too long, too sharp, and for a second it feels like he already knows Isaac isn't who he says he is.
But there are no sudden future snapping into place. Just that quiet pressure building behind my ribs.
"Let's not waste any more time" Langford says eventually, calm and precise.
Then he looks at Tessa.
"And this is?"
"This is my new assistant," Isaac replies. "Penny Buttons."
I have to physically stop myself from reacting.
Penny. Buttons.
That's… that's what we're going with.
I drop my gaze slightly, like I'm uninterested, but really I'm biting back a smile. If we survive this, I'm never letting him live that down. Tessa's eyebrow twitches in the smallest betrayal of her thoughts, but she recovers smoothly.
"It is an honour to meet you, Dr Langford," she says, stepping forward and offering her hand. "I'm a big fan of your work."
Langford shakes it, expression completely blank.
Something about that stillness settles wrong in my chest. It reminds me of Kai when he shuts everything down, when he forces his face into something controlled and unreadable.
But this isn't the same... Kai hides things, Joseph feels like there's nothing there to hide.
Now that I'm looking at him properly, I can see it. The similarities. The pieces of Noah… of Kai. It makes my stomach turn in a way I can't quite laugh off.
I'm used to filling silence, smoothing edges, throwing in something light to keep people steady.
Not here. Here, I stay quiet.
Langford doesn't even acknowledge me, and for once I don't mind. I can be background, I can be invisible... I've played worse roles.
He checks his watch.
"I have let Test Subject 002 spend some time with Noah," he says. "I expect him to start talking soon. Let's head to the observation room."
The words land hard.
Noah.
I keep still, expression neutral behind the mask. I can't react or let anything slip. Isaac and Tessa are the same, perfectly composed.
We follow Langford down the corridor, the space too clean, too empty as always. It feels like walking through somewhere that's been stripped of anything human, like even sound isn't allowed to settle properly.
After a while, he stops outside a door.
"Miss Butters may wait in here."
Tessa glances at me, and Isaac steps forward immediately. "I would appreciate my assistant staying with me. My wrists have been bothering me, and she's been helping with my notes."
That was nice and smooth. I am always impressed when he can act so quickly in stressful situations.
"You won't be needing notes where we are going," Langford replies. "If you need anything, your security guard can assist you."
"But-" Isaac tries to push, but Langford shuts it down with a look, and Tessa steps in before it turns into something bigger.
"I'm happy to wait here," she says easily. "I'll assist you when you return, Sir."
She's adapting, even if this wasn't the plan.
I shift slightly, unease settling in. We were supposed to stay together. Tessa's our exit, our safety net, and now we're splitting up in a place that screams bad idea.
"Good. Now let's proceed."
Langford turns and walks.
As we pass Tessa, her hand brushes mine, quick and deliberate, and she tucks her hair behind her ear, indicating her comms.
I catch it instantly and give the smallest nod as I move past. She may not be able to come with us, but she won't be kept in the dark.
We round the corner, and two armed guards come into view outside another door. Their grip on their weapons is tight, ready. The kind of ready that makes everything feel one step away from going wrong.
Before we reach them, Langford turns and unlocks a side door instead. He steps inside, and we follow.
The moment I walk in, I forget how to breathe properly.
There are guards in here too, but they don't matter.
The one way mirror does and what's behind it.
Noah.
He's tied to a chair, head hanging forward, white hair stained dark with blood. For a second, it doesn't feel real. My brain tries to reject it, like it's a bad vision I can shake off if I just blink hard enough.
Noah isn't supposed to look like that. He's supposed to be ten steps ahead, not… this.
A man steps forward on the other side and grabs his hair, forcing his head up.
My chest tightens sharply as his face comes into view. Blood streaks across his skin, one eye already swelling, his body slack against the restraints.
I move without thinking, a step forward pulling me closer, instinct louder than reason. I just need to get to him, to do something, anything-
Isaac's hand catches my wrist and pulls me back.
I glance at him, and the message is clear... Not yet.
I force myself to stop, even though everything in me is pushing forward, restless and burning under my skin.
Kai.
The thought hits immediately.
Kai is going to see this and it's going to break him.
Langford stands beside us, watching through the glass like none of this matters. Like Noah isn't his son. Like that isn't blood running down his face.
There's nothing in his expression. No anger, no concern, not even interest.
He just stands there observing.
I always knew Kai's past with him was bad. But seeing this makes it… real in a way I can't soften or joke around.
If this is how he treats Noah his favourite child, then what did Kai go through?
My hand shifts slightly, brushing against the gun at my side. The weight of it feels heavier than it should, like it's asking a question I've never had to answer before.
I've never killed anyone.
I've always been the one who finds another way, who keeps things from crossing that line. The one who smiles, who steadies people, who makes things feel less sharp.
But right now, watching Noah bleed while Langford stands there like it's nothing, something in me tightens into focus.
The warmth doesn't disappear.
It hardens and for the first time, I'm not entirely sure where my line is anymore.
Langford glances at Isaac before speaking, as if this is all routine, as if what we're about to see is nothing more than a scheduled procedure.
"He is yet to tell us where Kai's location is," he says calmly. "But 002 will get it out of him soon."
The words settle like something heavy and cold in my chest.
Kai... Of course it comes back to him.
My gaze drifts back to the observation room, and this time I really take in the man standing there with Noah. He's older, maybe early fifties, tall and solid in a way that feels immovable. His dark hair and beard are threaded with grey, and his skin is marked with scars that don't look accidental.
They look earned.
There's no rush in him and no anger. Just a quiet, controlled stillness that somehow feels worse.
"Noah," he says, his voice level, almost patient, "the pain will end if you tell us what we want to know."
Noah lifts his head slightly. Even from here, I can see the weight in his eyes, the way his body leans into the restraints like it's the only thing holding him upright.
"I decline your offer" he says.
There's no hesitation.
Something tightens in my chest, sharp and immediate, like pride tangled with dread.
My heartbeat starts to pick up, each pulse a little louder than the last.
"Wrong decision" 002 replies, his tone flattening.
He releases Noah's hair and steps back.
For a second, nothing happens.
Then his hands begin to glow.
Red light curls around his fingers, building, shaping, and I feel my focus snap into place instantly.
The energy solidifies, forming a blade in his hand like it's the most natural thing in the world.
Weapon manipulation.
Noah tries to pull back when 002 approaches again, but it's useless. 002 grabs his left wrist, grip unyielding, and forces his hand down onto the arm of the chair. His fingers are spread out, pressed flat, completely exposed.
I take a step forward before I even realise I've moved.
Isaac's grip tightens around my wrist again, a silent warning, but this time it barely registers.
"Now," 002 says, almost thoughtfully, "which one should we cut off first?"
Noah's eyes widen, panic breaking through the exhaustion as he tries to wrench his hand free, but the restraints hold. 002's grip doesn't budge.
"Eenie, meenie, miney, mo…" he murmurs, tapping each of Noah's fingers with the blade, dragging the moment out like it's some kind of game.
My jaw tightens. This isn't interrogation it's just cruelty.
"…and I pick you."
The blade settles over Noah's pinky.
Everything in me goes rigid. Langford surely will but a stop to this.
There's a split second where time stretches thin, where I can almost feel the future trying to shift, trying to warn me-
and then he pushes the knife down.
It cuts clean through skin first, slow enough to make it worse, blood beginning to well at the edge before a sickening thud.
A scream rips through the room.
"AGHHHH!"
Noah's body jerks violently against the restraints, his voice raw with pain as he tries to pull away, but there's nowhere for him to go. Blood spills heavily from where his finger was, staining everything beneath it in seconds.
I freeze.
For half a heartbeat, I just stare.
No.
No, this isn't happening.
I drag my gaze to Langford, something desperate and furious rising up in my chest, hoping, stupidly that he'll stop it, that there's some line even he won't cross.
But he doesn't move. He doesn't react. He doesn't care.
Then, suddenly, Langford's gaze drifts from the glass to us.
It's subtle, almost casual, but it lands like a blade.
"Shall we go in?" he asks.
A chill runs down my spine before I can stop it, but underneath it something else rises, sharper, steadier. This might be it. The closest we're going to get.
He doesn't wait for an answer. Of course he doesn't. He just turns and walks past us, already expecting we'll follow.
The moment he's out of earshot, Isaac leans slightly closer, his voice low and tight.
"Our plan is going completely out the window."
Yeah. That's one way to put it.
Tessa's voice cuts through the comms, quieter than usual but edged with urgency. "We should leave. Now. Before it's too late."
She must have heard Noah's scream.
Of course she did.
My jaw tightens as I glance back at the observation window for half a second, catching the aftermath, the blood, the way Noah's body is still straining weakly against the restraints.
"But we can't just leave him in there" I say, keeping my voice low but firm. "You've both seen it. Langford isn't going to stop this."
The words taste bitter. Thomas told us that Noah was Langfords pride. His legacy. The one he wouldn't risk.
That idea feels almost laughable now.
He isn't protecting him... he's using him.
"If we leave now," I continue, forcing the words out steadily, "we don't know what else they'll do to him."
And I do know.
Or at least, I can feel the shape of it coming. Not a clear vision, not something I can describe, just that familiar pull in my chest that tells me it gets worse.
Isaac exhales quietly, the sound edged with frustration.
"Fine," he mutters. "But if we can't get him out safely, we leave him for now. Understood?"
I don't like it... Not even a little, but I nod anyway, because a failed rescue helps no one.
"Fine," Tessa's voice comes through after a beat. "I'll get ready. If things go wrong, I'll get us out."
"Got it" I murmur under my breath.
Then I straighten slightly, rolling my shoulders back, letting the last traces of hesitation settle into something more controlled.
"Let's go get him" I add quietly, more to myself... for Kai, than anyone else, before stepping forward to follow Langford.