Chương 37: Tick Tock, on the Clock

"Elios, tell me some good news!" Mordak shouted when he walked into the room. Elios jumped at the unexpected interruption, dropping the instrument he held in his hand. He darted his eyes over to Mordak, the magnification lenses distorting his eyes, making him look cartoonish, almost insectile.

"Sir, I didn't hear you come in," he said, flipping the lenses up, revealing red rimmed eyes, and dark circles resembling deep bruises. Mordak loomed like a shadow made of overripe pumpkin and menace. He walked closer taking in all the sights, sounds, and… he paused wrinkling his nose… smells? What was that weird scent? It smells like a weird combination of solder and synthetic rubber, mixed with feces. It has overtones of a hint of lavender with musk thrown in for good measure.

Elios really needs to change his cologne, he thought, inching his way forward. Mordak walked closer as Elios turned back to the worktable. The steady hum of the overhead light was soothing yet annoying all at the same time.

"I'm making headway, but I'm afraid no matter what I do it's not realistic enough to pass off as a baby when we execute it." Mordak looked down at the ultra realistic looking doll.

"Wow! If I didn't know better I would think it was a real baby," he said, impressed by the workmanship.

"Except for, you know… the electronics hanging out of its stomach." Elios sighed, carefully picking up the tool he had dropped.

"That's the problem, sir. The internal components are crucial for the remote operations, but they compromise the realism. I'm trying to get the wires to look more like…" he broke off, "well you know… intestines." Mordak crossed his arms, looming over the table.

"We need it to be perfect, Elios. The plan hinges on the world believing this is a real baby, not a fake baby, or a made-up baby, or a maybe baby, but a real life baby."

"I understand, sir," Elios replied, grabbing a different small tool and gesturing to the exposed wires.

"I'm working on a casing that will conceal everything, but it needs to be lightweight and flexible. The movements have to be convincing." Mordak's eyes narrowed as he scrutinized the doll, his mind clearly racing.

"What about the sound? Does it squeal like a baby? Will it scream like a baby?"

"Yes, sir," Elios affirmed, flicking a switch on the doll. The room filled with the soft cries of an infant, eerie in their realism.

"The audio components are state-of-the-art. It will even respond to touch and temperature changes."

"But will it scream when I go to kill it? Will tears roll down its face? Will it bleed?" Mordak asked, rubbing his hands together. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Yes, sir, it will even look and smell like it messed itself after it's over." Elios said proudly"Good, good," Mordak muttered, pacing now.

"This needs to be flawless, Elios. My entire plan hinges on this being as graphically gory and as realistic as possible." Elios nodded, returning to his work with renewed focus.

"I'll keep refining it, sir. We'll make it work." He said reassuringly.

"If I may ask sir, what is the manner of execution going to be?" The tension in the room was undeniable, each man aware of the high stakes. As Mordak turned to look Elios in the eye, he cast him an evil smile.

"Well, I am going to rip its head off with my bare hands." He chuckled, that should be convincing don't you think? It will showcase my strength at beating the little monster, the people will love it, they will eat it up, they will see me for the hero that I am." He snickered.

"Very good then Sir." Elios said meekly.

"I will be sure to focus my attention on the neck area and make it look so realistic even you will wonder if you took a real baby's head off."

"Elios, did you take your meds today? You seem unusually mellow today." Mordak said, giving the doll another once over, then poking it to see what it would do.

"I saw Dr. Wentworth like you said, and he lowered my dose, but yes I took my meds." Elios said flatly.

"Well, I think you need to go back. Your dosage doesn't seem to be right. Don't worry, we'll get there." He said slapping him on the back hard. Elios winced at the pain.

"Yes, sir, I will stop by and see him once I finish up here, anything to please you."

"Good to hear, Elios, good to hear." Mordak said through a calculated grin before turning to leave. He stopped suddenly and turned back around.

"Anything new with Rachel and finding the baby?"

"Who sir?" he asked, confused then it hit him.

"No sir, Regina left for the day." Elios sighed, desperate to get back to work.

"What do you mean she left for the day?" Mordak asked, the annoyance apparent in his tone.

"Her mission is not complete until she finds that baby and brings it to me. Motioning to the doll he said, "I know we have this baby, but it would be far more satisfying you, know, if I ripped the actual baby's head off."

"Per your mandate, sir, female agents are no longer allowed to work overtime. They are to clock out on time." Elios reminded him.

"Oh yeah," Mordak said furrowing his eyebrows.

"I forgot she was a woman. Well, call up a man and get them over there and see if he can find me a baby." Mordak said, his tone rife with disdain.

"What's wrong with you Elios? Why didn't you think of that? You're supposed to be smarter than that. We know Rachel is a woman, and women fail. We should have sent a man in the first place. If we had, we would have the baby already and you wouldn't be making me my baby."

"Sorry, sir, you're right, I should have thought of that myself. I was not thinking, I will make sure to send a man agent over there tonight," Elios said, looking down at his shoes.

"Now, Elios. Now," he said pointing to his watch.

"Tick, Tock, you're on the clock." He added before turning to leave the room.

"Um, sir?" Elios called out. Mordak turned back to him, his face turning bright orange.

"What now?" He began, "I said, now!"

"But sir, the reason why we chose Regina was her ability to change her appearance to blend in. The other side is mostly women, fairies. How will we get a male goblin agent to remain undetected in a predominantly female fairy world?" Mordak stopped and pondered this.

"You know what Elios, I don't know, that's a you problem, not a me problem. Figure it out or I will find someone who can." He said point blank as he stormed out of the room.