Birth of a Phantom part 2

Pale white curtains fluttered gently inside a small and dim room, where Felix followed Maria into. Inside was a bed, a desk, a cabinet, and a locker.

Scanning the sterile-scented room, he noticed the framed map hanging on the wall, “A clinic?”

Felix placed his finger on the red dot with Chinese words, “This probably reads ‘You are here’, now if only it could point us to where the data center is.”

“We don’t know where that is yet.” Maria replied.

Felix took off his coat and whipped it, dislodging several metallic shards, “Then we should go look for it.”

“We’ll get there. This is just a detour.” She answered, already rummaging through the metal cabinet in the corner of the room.

“We’re wasting time. It’s possible that the other intruder has made it into the building.” He said in a stiff tone, putting his black coat back on.

“Painkillers aren’t gonna cut it.” She snagged a white lab coat from the chair, grabbed a syringe from the desk, and turned toward him with theatrical flourish. “So we’re treating you, my dear patient!”

“P-put that down.” His voice cracked, his mismatched eyes looked at the needle.

A wry grin formed on her lips. “Hmmm? What’s wrong, scared of needles?”

Felix averted his gaze, “N-no. They just… we don’t have the time for this…”

“Really?” She shoved him towards the bed and slowly brought the needle closer to him.

As Maria marched closer in a white coat, holding up a needle, he tripped onto the bed.

He opened his eyes, and Maria was gone. Replaced by Professor Tetsuya, holding a needle with a prismatic fluid, marching through rubble and yellow fire.

Memories forced their way into the forefront — A broken cage, yellow flames, and a scream that went, “You took the wrong vial!”

He blinked, and he was back in the darkness, back in the clinic. For just a few seconds, he was lost in the past.

“Felix?”

“Alright, ALRIGHT!” He covered half his face, “They… they make me uncomfortable, alright?”

“I see… I’ll put the needle down.” Her expression turned somber one as she watched his panic attack.

“Thanks…” His voice quivered.

“However, the ill must be treated!” She boldly exclaimed, holding back a chuckle.

“Huh?” His expression slowly got better, giving a resigned laugh, “Alright, Doctor Marie. I’ll put my trust in you.”

She took a moment to collect herself, her voice calming down, “You sure changed your tone quick.”

“I guess I’m just glad the two of us aren’t dead…” He said in a lax, relieved voice.

“Let’s try to keep it that way… For now, some first aid. You’re a mess.” she dabbed antiseptic on him.

“Ahk… that stings... Doctor Marie, do you think it’ll leave a scar?” With a click of his tongue, his eyes closed, unaware of the glowing blue haze that began to form around his wound.

Slowly, the wound began to close itself, and left only a small, patchy red mark. Bewildered by the light, Maria’s eyes widened as she quietly muttered; “So... we really are alike.”

“Hm?” He opened his eyes as the haze faded.

“All patched up. Don’t worry about it, mister-first-of-our-kind, nothing leaves a scar on us.”

She smiled and finished wrapping the bandages over his wound. Her gentle expression ended the conversation without any further resistance.

A metallic click echoed in the clinic as the holographic map once again projected from Maria’s watch.

As she scoured the map, she let out a sigh, “There’s a few guards on the floor below us. Put the uniform back on, we should ask for directions.”

“I don’t think that would work.” He said as he looked at the torn up uniform.

She gave him an annoyed glance before immediately changing to an irritated grin, “Maybe we should just beat the information out of someone.” Maria pulled out a knife from behind and walked out of the room.

Before she could step out of the room, Felix grabbed her by the wrist and pulled out his cobalt gun, firing it at the light bulb. The silent, concentric waves it shot out caused it crackle and malfunction.

“What are you doing—?”

“Shh…” He covered her mouth, pulling her into the metal cabinet with him.

“Is it the intruder?” She whispered.

An old, gruff voice could be heard walking towards their direction, “Yes, sir, I’m headed my way there.”

“Yes sir, I’m here… there appears to be a mess.” An old guard replied through his radio as he entered the clinic. He tried to flip the switch on the light, only to see the light bulb was broken.

“Huh? It’s broken?” The old guard cautiously stepped into the room, looking for the intruders.

Jammed inside the cramped cabinet, Felix held his gun close to his chest as he whispered, “One step closer…”

But Maria grabbed his gun, nodding in disagreement.

“Got any more ideas from your movie?”

The footsteps got closer.

“Maybe…” she whispered back as she pushed his gun back down, “We’re still in uniform, aren’t we? We need directions, so close close your eyes for a sec and trust me.”

Felix complied and closed his eyes. Grumbling as a tight sensation squeezed his body, wrapped in rope.

“Follow my lead.” She whispered, drawing in breath and yelled out; “Help, help us!”

His eyes shot open, looking at her with a panicked expression. He gulped and did as she instructed, “H-help! Help us!”

“Sir, I think I found something. I’ll call back in a moment.” The old guard spoke through the radio in his hand, slowly approaching the supply cabinet.

As he opened it, the two agents fell straight to the floor, both tangled in wires.

“Huh, what the?” The old guard scratched his head.

“H-help…”

Sweat rolled down Felix’s face as the old guard grumpily stared down at them.

“…What happened here?” The old man scratched his head.

Maria struggled as she spoke in a soft and sultry voice, trying to warm up to the guard, “S-sir, the intruder got in, so we decided to hide in here!”

“What were you both even still doing here? Didn’t either of you hear the alarms?” The guard expressed in an irritated curiosity as he began to untangle the wires.

“I was um… he was wounded, and I was treating him, when suddenly…” She quickly tried to come up with a story as she squirmed, trying to keep her disguise hidden from the guard’s sight.

The old guard raised his eyebrow for a moment.

“Cough. Fine… fine, I get it.” The old guard grumbled in an understanding tone. “I don’t mind keeping this a secret but… It’s common knowledge not to do those things during work hours, you know.”

A vein pulsed in the temple of Felix’s head.

“D-do those things?” She asked.

“You youngsters today can’t hold it in, can you?” He said as he pulled out a knife.

With a sudden crackle, a voice came out of the old man’s radio, “Did you find the intruder?”

The old guard began cutting the two of them out of the rope.

“No, sir. Just a couple of brats tied up in the cabinet… Yeah, I know, it’s the second time it happened. Same place, too. Kinky? Yeah, I agree.”

“Kinky? Sir, I think you misunderstand. H-he was shot.”

“Sure, that makes sense... still.” He answered disingenuously. “There, you’re free now.”

Felix coughed as he got up on his knees, “Do you know where the intruder escaped to, sir?”

“Not sure, but I believe that he’s headed to the server room. But everyone all says that it’s safe there and no one can open the database anyway. Bunch of stuck-ups won’t listen to me.”

“Which is… where?” Maria added as she also got up.

“Don’t you know anything? It’s in the top floor.”

“On the left wing or the right wing?”

“What’s with all these questions? Why are you speaking in Engli—?” Before he could even face them, the air rippled with a silent pulse. Like shockwaves on water, invisible concentric rings had struck him from behind, instantly incapacitating him.

Felix lowered his cobalt gun and caught him before he could fall to the floor, placing him on the bed, and grabbing his bag.

As he scoured through, he pulled out a piece of paper. “This is…”

“He dropped loot?” She asked.

“A map.”

“Bit surprised people still use physical maps.”

“I know some people who prefer physical things over holograms.” He searched the map, “Looks like we’re headed to the top of the building.”

A transmission crackled, “Can you hear me, is anyone there?”

Felix picked up the transceiver and pinched his nose, “S-sir, he was shot. W-we need medical assistance, asap.”

“Medical? U-Understood. Just stay where you are.” The voice over the transmission answered.

“That should buy us a bit of time.”

“Nice acting skills.” She perked up.

“Hm?” He looked at her with a clueless expression, then grinned, “Learned it from you.”

Without wasting another moment, the two agents made their way through the construction site.

~