Chương 128: Chapter 127 – Counter Intelligence

Elios made his way down the hall, feeling better than he had in weeks. He looked down at the two cups of emberbrew he carried, hoping Trula hadn't left yet. He loved this place when no one was here. He could actually hear himself think. So, what little secrets do you have, Trula? I wonder what juicy bits of information you have about Wentworth's side of things. What's the end game here? He thought. What new levels of depravity are we sinking to this week?

Blackwood had taken his concept of nanobot technology and warped it into something that no longer resembled his idea. His original plan was to devise a medicinal delivery system for chronic conditions. He believed he would make millions off the patent. The days of taking maintenance medications would have been over, the nanobots would simply attach to the host's DNA and systematically destroy the root cause of the disease.

He envisioned, over time, the nanobots would eradicate such devastating genetic conditions as Mitochondrial Cascade Failure, Neural Synaptic Compression Syndrome and so many other chronic genetic conditions. Eradicating just MCF and SCS would have cleaned out the hospitals and made the workforce in Blackwood's regime more productive and less costly to maintain. Blackwood, however, took Elio's tech and gave it to Wentworth.

Wentworth then modified the tech to not just destroy the faulty genetic coding, but all the genetic coding in the strand of DNA. In Wentworth's sloppiness he created something that didn't enhance the working public but decimated it. The pandemic killed millions, ultimately leaving employers scrambling to fill positions. The GDP had dropped to unprecedented levels, causing an economic crisis unlike no other. They eventually turned to Elios for the pause mechanism… not a kill switch, but a momentary suspension.

He delivered silently. Mordak claimed the credit for the so‑called cure, while the public remained oblivious to the microscopic weapon coursing through their veins. With a single command, Mordak could reactivate the nanobots. A silent apocalypse waiting in their bloodstream, undetectable and instantaneous. His heart sank as he got closer to the lab and realized the lights were off. New hope sparked when he saw that there was a small desk lamp on through the window.

Knowing his key card would no longer work, he rang the buzzer at the door. Hardscrabble made sure that Goblin Resources stripped him of access to anywhere other than their section, making him gaining access to other parts of the building challenging. Not impossible, because nothing ever was, just more challenging. He had to sweet talk a guard just to get into this part of the building after hours. He peered in through the glass hoping to see movement. He pushed the buzzer again, watching… waiting… hoping.

In the distance he saw sudden motion. Trula was walking toward him, dressed in biohazard gear, pushing an empty stretcher. Elios knocked on the glass door, motioning for Trula to let him in. Trula looked at him, his eyes vacant, his face expressionless. He walked to the door and pushed it open.

"There you are!" Elios happily called out.

"I was beginning to think you already left. I brought you some emberbrew." Stolen story; please report. Trula looked at him surprised yet confused. He hadn't seen Elios in months.

"Elios, do you need something?" he asked.

"No, your boss was visiting my boss, and I don't know, it just kind of hit me that it's been a while since we had an emberbrew together and chatted is all," he said, extending the emberbrew toward him.

"Oh," he said, flatly. Then he gave Elios a befuddled look.

"Your new boss? I thought you reported to Blackwood directly, and I know he's still here," he remarked navigating the stretcher back to the inner lab. Elios stepped out of Trula's way so he could scan his key card to open the door.

"Here let me give you a hand," then laughed, "or in this case a butt," he said, pushing the door open with his backside trying to balance the emberbrew in his hands.

"Thanks." Trula said, pushing the stretcher in the wide doorway.

"That thing is supposed to automatically open, but it never seems to work," he remarked, navigating his way around Elios. Once Trula was inside Elios followed, allowing the door to close with a thunk behind him.

"No, it seems that Blackwood decided I wasn't performing well enough to keep my job," Elios said, handing Trula the emberbrew. Trula took the cup and held it up slightly.

"Thanks for this, but after the day I've had, I could go for something a little stronger and more on the adult side," he said.

"Yeah, I've had one of those myself," Elios said, shrugging his shoulders. Trula turned away from Elios, bringing the cup to his lips.

"Betcha I'd win in the day from hell category my friend, did you kill something today, cover it up, then burn the evidence? Nah, I didn't think so..." he mumbled putting the emberbrew on the counter.

"Did you say something?" Elios asked. Trula turned back to him.

"I said, sorry to hear you had a bad day, Elios. I think that's just a typical day at the office around here lately. I can't remember the last time I heard anyone say they had a good day," Trula said, reaching for the disinfecting wipes so he could clean up what blood remained splashed around the dissection area. Elios watched Trula make his way over to a small area within the larger room. He had not noticed the splashes of blood and fluids when he had come in.

"Someone explode in here or something?" Elios asked, watching Trula carefully wipe up the remains.

"Or something," Trula said sullenly as he wiped. His shoulders slumped, his movements slow and heavy. He tossed the large wipe into the specially designated trash can clearly marked CAUTION BIOHAZARD. He did not look at Elios, and there was a tired resignation in the way he stood there, as if he wanted nothing more than to be anywhere else, with anyone, doing anything that was not this.

"What do you say I help you clean up in here and we go knock back a few at The Raven?" Trula looked up from his work.

"Seriously?" Trula asked.

"You've always shot me down when I've asked you to go to the bar. Why now?"

"Well, before I was management, it wouldn't look right being seen fraternizing with…" he began.

"The help?" Trula interrupted, sarcastically snickering.

"Well, yeah, for a lack of a better word. You know how this place is, Trula, it was never about you, or being embarrassed to be seen with you, or anything like that." He sighed.

"I actually like you and now that I'm considered one of the help, there is no reason why we can't hang out more," Elios said, before taking another swig of emberbrew. Trula stood silently contemplating. It felt like he was being played, but he decided he didn't care. After the day he had, he didn't relish looking for solace in the bottom of a bottle at The Raven alone. A little conversation while kicking a few back might be just what he needed to shake off the remnants of this horrible day.

"Okay, sure," he said.

"Biohazard gear is in the closet over there," he said, motioning to the closet on the far side of the room. Elios smiled brightly as he placed his emberbrew on the counter and turned around.

"Great, just give me a couple of minutes to gear up."