K-111 after getting the information from the mysterious girl, was intent on talking to C.C. about the matter of the scientist, considering the subject a probable danger.
On the way back he began to think and look around.
Among the gray and immense buildings, the empty and dirty streets and the brick walls with old inscriptions carved on them, he happened to look upward.
"It's strange though...
I wonder why the sky is always cloudy in this place.
For as long as I can remember I've never once seen the sun that wasn't clouded over, maybe that's why people down here are so pale."
But as he was deep in these thoughts he noticed that he had arrived below his boss's palace.
Without hesitation he went up, arrived at the door and entered.
"Listen boss, I've discover-"
"Where the fuck did you go?
I wasn't done talking yet, you were summoned to headquarters to confer directly with a Big Government official.
The higher-ups want to talk about the incident directly with you.
Now move, I'll give you the address, and leave the knife here, you can't go into the center armed."
"What do you mean in the center? I can't go in there, I'm a Machine Man."
"You have special permission, the barrier will not be activated on you, you will feel at most a pinch, nothing unbearable."
"I understand, but first I need to talk to you about something."
C.C frowned, and snapping his fingers said: "Move."
K-111, as if hypnotized, replied with a dry "Yes," and set off.
As he exited the building, the effect of the order wore off, since the boy had not rebelled.
He looked into the street straight ahead, and saw the center barrier, toward which he began to walk.
No Machine Men are allowed to enter the center, and from the outside the protective barrier shows nothing of what the inside actually looks like.
K-111 arrived at the border and stopped right in front of it, checking to make sure there was no one around to watch him.
He took a deep breath and looking at the sky again, with the feeling that he could never see it again, closed his eyes and crossed the passage.
A strong shock went through him, burning him superficially all over his body.
"A slight shock you say? Whatever."
Then with his gaze still upward he opened his eyes, and it was there that he saw it.
A clear, blue sky, with a bright, warm sun that blinded him at first.
Then he looked ahead and began to walk with an astonished look.
In front of him he saw the big, spacious street, the small, clean, white terraced houses with neat green gardens, all kept to perfection.
He saw the stores, the movie theaters, the public parks, the fancy cars, the people walking down the street with smiles on their faces, he saw the 4D billboards showing the trailer of the latest movie that had just been released, he saw the transparent tube system that carried food into people's homes.
But most of all he saw what was in the most central part of the metropolis.
An immense tower that exceeded even the height of any building in the suburbs, with a huge billboard at the entrance that read "LaTes."
Viewed up close it made K-111 feel like an ant, it was so tall that although there were no clouds, it was still not possible to see its tip, even at the farthest point from which it was visible.
"This place is amazing, I knew it was considered a paradise, but I didn't expect so much, you can breathe something...different here.
However, now I have to find that place and also suffer the dickering of the bureaucrat...what a drag."
Luckily for him, Big Government headquarters was just a couple of blocks away from the tower, and it took him very little time to get there.
"I forgot to ask them who I was supposed to fucking turn to."
As soon as he walked through the building doors, however, he was confronted by two men in suits, who motioned for him to follow them to an elevator.
K-111 the whole time didn't say a word, the tension was palpable, and he noticed that the men, who kept their hands crossed behind their backs, were in a cold sweat, and they were armed.
"I think anyone after hearing about the incident would not be comfortable being with me in the elevator, it will also be the reason why there are two of them."
Thought the boy as the elevator came to a stop.
Once the doors opened, one of the two pointed to a door that was at the end of the hallway, and finally decided to speak.
"He's waiting for you there."
K-111 looked at the man and smiled at him, in thanks.
Needless to say, this simple gesture scared the hell out of him, causing him to immediately close the elevator.
"Tsk, whatever, let's go."
K-111 walked down the long hallway, and thought there was a little too much silence for an office in the middle of business hours, but he didn't ask himself many questions; he already knew the answer .
Arriving at the door, he opened it without much thought and found a man sitting at his desk with his back turned.
"Good morning, i'm K-111 sir."
Without turning around the man invited him to sit down and so he did.
"Aren't you scared to have your back to me?"
"Scared? Ahahahaha."
The man finally turned around and approached the desk cheerfully.
He was short, thin, bald, and he had a long, thick red beard
"Why should I be scared boy, you're one of us aren't you?"
"You know how it is, not everyone likes to be confronted with a brutal killer, and I suppose you had me called here to blow up my heart or something right?"
"Blow up your heart? But I mean, who put these things in your head? Don't listen to those shits who accompanied you, here at Big Government we are fair people, and we know how to show gratitude to those who helped us.
You did a great job that night, took out a few dirty rebels and scared the hell out of as many.
Maybe your methods are not exactly orthodox, but then again, the end counts, not the means, right?"
"I suppose so, and I thank you for your praise, but then why am I here?"
"Because I wanted to congratulate you personally on a job well done, and I wanted to officially welcome you to the department, didn't your master tell you about that?"
"Actually no."
The man at that point stood up.
"Ahahahah he's always the same.
Oh right, I was completely forgetting to introduce myself, my name is Frederick Ziegler, and I'm the head of the secret department of Big Government.
It's a pleasure to meet you, KILLER-111."
The man then gave a fake smirk that was meant to convey the distance between the two.
"But now let's talk about the other reason I had you summoned here today."
Suddenly a deafening alarm interrupted the man.
"CODE RED, I REPEAT, CODE RED A GROUP OF REBELS IS HEADING TOWARD THE BUILDING."
K-111 and the man ran to the window and saw about 20 people from down the street, heading toward them, with ultraboost megaphones, and banners reading "FREEDOM."
The man turned toward K-111.
The boy's eyes were turned back again.
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