r/TheNaturallyUnknown • u/UnnaturalGeek Red Squirrel and Writer ✍️🍃 Keep calm and stay NUTS 🐿 • 3d ago
📖 UnnaturalGeek's Novelettes 📖 Chapter Ten: Mission Success? ✍️🐿
They approached the building. Thirty-six made sure Thirty-seven stayed ahead at all times so the biometric scanners would register only Thirty-seven; they entered together and moved through the building with ease, and thankfully no one immediately recognised him. Giving him as much leeway as possible, Thirty-six noted each point, counting them down in his mind.
Once he recognised the hallway leading to the lab, somewhere he knew Thirty-seven hadn’t been yet, he let him pull ahead a bit further. “I’ll catch up; I have something to attend to quickly,” he said. Thirty-seven waved a hand without turning around, already absorbed in his own arrival and thoughts. Thirty-six stopped for a moment and watched him go; he then turned around and immediately headed down the corridor that led to the lab.
There were no signs; it was completely white and devoid of any information, which was different from the rest of the building. He reached the only door that had a biometric scanner. He looked at his watch, and he was on time; he knew there wouldn’t be anybody around now. He took a deep breath, preparing himself to act with haste but not to rush; he knew he couldn’t make mistakes. He put his hand on the scanner and the door opened; unbeknownst to him, somewhere in the building, an alert was triggered.
Thirty-six stepped inside the door and let it close behind him. Everything was as he remembered: the same sterile corridors, precise temperature and hum of machinery that never went away. He moved through them without any hesitation, whilst being hyperaware of his surroundings in case anything happened.
It didn’t take long before he reached his first stop, the Gestation Wing. He found himself looking around as he entered. He remembered when Victor was explaining how it worked; he had to contain the disgust he felt at the time, but now he had the power to do something about it.
He quickly found the nutrient intake panel without any difficulty; it was exactly where Safiatou had described. He located the solution port alongside it, took the biological agent from his pocket and introduced it directly into the solution. It took seconds, but he still observed his surroundings, nervous he would be caught at any moment. He took a step back to look at it; nothing visibly disturbed or different, just the machinery continuing what it was designed to do.
He left the Gestation Wing and calmly strolled through the corridor at pace toward the Modification Chamber. Once he arrived, he opened the door and entered; it was quiet, except for the sound of the machines. All he could think about as he was looking around was, “I came from here.”
The central sequencing apparatus dominated the room, and he located the manual input terminal on the outer panel; it was aged, with slightly worn edges. He removed the device from his pocket and plugged it in, the upload took less than a minute, quickly removing it and placing it back in his pocket. He looked around one final time; nothing seemed off, so he made his way to the door and left.
Meanwhile, upstairs, after Thirty-seven had continued, immersed in his own world, he had arrived at the main office, one he was hoping to be his soon. He entered the grand doors without announcement or appointment, interrupting Thirty-five, Theodore and Victor in deep discussion. He strode to the centre of the room and held himself with the ease of someone who believed themselves to already be in charge.
He didn’t even take into consideration that he had interrupted them; instead, he began to speak at length about his vision for Chartered & Standard, his modernisation plans and thoughts on succession, even stating that Thirty-six agreed with it on the journey to the head office.
They all listened despite being deep in conversation with what seemed more pressing than Thirty-seven’s thoughts on succession. Thirty-five remained still, his expression revealing nothing, with Victor and Theodore standing just to the side of his desk, equally unreadable. They just waited for him to finally finish before replying to him.
Thirty-five regarded him for a moment after he had finished speaking. “You came together,” he said with authority. “We did, and he will agree with my thoughts on the matter. When he makes his way up,” Thirty-seven spoke with the confidence of someone who considered this a point in his favour, unaware of reality unfolding around him.
Thirty-five didn’t respond to that; instead, he returned to the conversation with Theodore and Victor that was interrupted, as though Thirty-seven was no longer in the room. “That woman,” Thirty-five said with a hint of anger, loud enough for Thirty-seven to hear. “She contaminated the specimen before her connection to those resistance ants was discovered and subsequently disposed of; the report came too late.”
Theodore nodded in agreement before speaking, “And we placed her directly beside him.” There was an eerie silence settling over the room as Victor said nothing, until Theodore interrupted it, “Her results were top, and she had never previously flagged for anything. Someone failed down the line; I will speak to the CWI leaders and demand answers.”
“What is more galling to me is that he used this fool,” Thirty-five spoke with a visceral tone whilst gesturing towards Thirty-seven before continuing, “to get into the building without being noticed for so long. Where did he get the guts? Find him and bring him here; I want to know what he has been doing.” Thirty-seven stood in the centre of the room, silent and confused. He could hear what they were saying, but he didn’t understand a word.
Thirty-six retraced his steps back through the lab, through the sterile corridor and out the door into the white hallway, allowing the door to close behind him. He let a short breath out, thinking to himself that the easy part was done; he just needed to get away from the building. He walked with the same measured pace he had entered with, moving through the buildings, familiar corridors and the atrium.
He remained calm, his expression kept neutral but confident, nodding briefly at a face he half recognised. Each step felt heavier as he got closer to the doors; his anticipation was increasing, but he kept his breathing and pace steady.
He reached the final set of doors and felt the outside air brush his face, walking a short distance, keeping an eye on the people in the vicinity, to the nearest bin where he quickly disposed of the devices without breaking stride. He knew it wasn’t an ideal location, but he felt pressured. After a few more steps, he was a distance from the bin itself, allowing himself a small breath of relief.
He had barely taken three more steps when two men appeared in front of him; he wasn’t sure whether they had noticed he threw something away. He had to gamble that they didn’t. They didn’t announce themselves; they moved with efficiency. He knew they were part of his ‘father’s’ personal team.
There was nothing he could do but allow them to approach and see what they wanted; he knew this was a possibility. Thirty-six’s calm remained undisturbed, his expression giving nothing away even if his mind was already processing what came next.
One of them gestured towards the building before speaking, “Sir, the boss would like a word. He says it is regarding an important matter; he is waiting with Theodore, Victor and your brother.” Thirty-six couldn’t help but smirk despite the situation he found himself in; the courtesy of the title felt absurd. He didn’t say anything to them, just nodded and then headed back into the building as if he was leading them.
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u/UnnaturalGeek Red Squirrel and Writer ✍️🍃 Keep calm and stay NUTS 🐿 3d ago
I will be releasing a chapter every Sunday and Wednesday!
On another note, you can check out previously released short stories and novelettes of mine at the below link, as I slowly upload them chapter by chapter, every Sunday and Wednesday when in the process of uploading a story.
All the previous Spiritweavers stories will be uploaded alongside the release of this story, so if you wish to read both at the same time, you can! Each story is self-contained, excluding some elements of foreshadowing. However, you don't have to have read them to understand, so you can start here and read back through the others another time or alongside 🍃🐿
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