KOWALSKI.


CHONGQING, CHINA.


The chopper landed on the tallest building in the city–A Medex Corp branch– I stepped down. It was freezing cold, snow falling on us in rivulets. I pulled my fur parka tighter against me and marched into the elevator. Once in, I glanced beside me at Doc. He had a grim look on his face as he should. He adjusted his glasses. His hand shook, betraying his anxiety. 

The boss was waiting for us and he wasn’t going to be happy with the news we had to give him. The elevator doors slid open with a ding and we stepped into the massive office. It was done in white with grey undertones. Cold. Closed off. Just like its owner. There he was seated by his desk, his hands clasped in front of him. A young dark boy stood by his side, his face set in an expressionless mask. I gave him a once-over.

He was dressed in a pristine black suit with a black dress shirt, no vest, no tie, just the suit jacket over his satin shirt. His hair was shaved closely cropped on his head, a stud on his right ear. He had brown eyes, high cheekbones and full brows. Oddly enough, he looked familiar. I was certain I’d never seen him before. He looked dangerous, like a tiger poised in wait.

The scraping of a chair against the floor caught my attention. The boss stood with his hands clasped behind him, his eyes squinted in scrutiny. Not at me, at Doc.

“Tell me,” he ordered in a thick voice that spoke of a man who smoked one too many cigars. Doc looked at me, motioning for me to speak. I glared at him.

No way. I was not putting my neck on the line.

I faced forward with my chin up, staring at nothing in particular. I certainly wasn’t going to look into the stormy eyes of the boss. I had a feeling they were both waiting like tigers in the jungle for a slipup from either of us and then they’d pounce.

Doc, finally realizing I wasn’t planning on saying anything, spoke up. “The base...it was attacked by some group of teenagers and they managed to free them, sir.”

He lifted a brow. “Attacked by who?”

“Enhanced teenagers.”

“You’re telling me a couple of children attacked you and set them free?”

“They weren’t children. These were strong. They were able to spread chaos in a matter of minutes.” He dipped his hand in his pocket and took out a flash drive. “They turned off all the power but the backup cameras were still on and we caught some footage.”

“I’m not interested in that.” He waved it off.  “Did they get the girl? The Siphon.”

A tiny gasp of surprise sounded beside me. “Y-Yes.”

“You look surprised. You didn’t think I’d find out about that, did you?” He moved out from behind his desk. “At least one of you did his job.”

I looked down at Doc. He looked up at me in disappointment. His mouth set in a flat line.

“Something is baffling to me, Cedric.” He directed his gaze at Doc. “All those years ago, you had carried out the tests on those children and found them suitable to receive my gene. How did you miss her?”

Doc gulped. He adjusted his glasses. “I-It was a slight miscalculation, sir. Her X gene was dormant, I had only found out who she was of recent.”

“And then you decided to hide her from me,” he roared.

I flinched. His eyes flashed red as he breathed harshly. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and calmed himself. When he opened his eyes, they were back to their usual brown. He turned and headed for the floor to ceiling window that overlooked the city. He clicked his fingers and I knew it was over.

The boy stepped forward, raising his hands. His eyes turned black, shadows formed around his hands, a mass of dark energy that looked like thick black smoke.

“No,” Doc whispered. “Please, don’t. I have a family. Please.” He moved back and tried to run for the elevator.

It happened swiftly and when it was done, my eyes were wide open in shock. Black spikes flew out of the boy’s hands hitting Doc on his back. He fell to the floor, his face frozen in horror. Blood seeped out from his lifeless body, spreading on the pristine floor.

I looked back at the boy, his eyes were back to normal. He glared at me; I flinched. Sweat formed in my hairline, trickling down the side of my face. I felt too hot in my parka despite the cold weather. I dared not move an inch.

I heard a deep intake of breath. My eyes zoned in on the man by the window.

“What do you think of my office, Kowalski?” He had a cigar and a lighter in his hands.

I looked around the space, at the cabinet placed by the left side of the wall filled with an assortment of drinks, the white chandelier on the ceiling, the white settee with a polar bear rug in front of it.

“It looks great,” I croaked out and cleared my throat, licked my lips. “It suits you. I-Its a uh...great decor.”

He lit the cigar and took a drag from it, puffing out smoke. “I love the view of the city. You can see anywhere in the city from this vantage point.”

I nodded profusely, glancing at the boy. He leaned against the desk in a casual pose. The boss looked down at Doc’s body and sighed. “Grayson, get someone to clean up that mess.”

“Yes, Father.” He moved immediately and walked out. I froze as he brushed past me into the elevator.

He’s his son? What the hell have I gotten myself into?

Now that I looked at them, I could see the resemblance between father and son. The boss moved from the window back to his desk and stubbed out his cigar.

“Spread the word, a million dollars for anyone who brings me that girl and extra for the others.”

I nodded and turned to leave but his next words stopped me on my tracks.

“And Kowalski.” I turned. “Don’t fail me. You wouldn’t want to end up like Cedric there, would you?”

“No, Sir.” I was not ending up like him if I had anything to do about it.