Book 2: Preventing Londinium

Jake's Return

I'm in shock. How is Jake alive? I watched him get shot 10 years ago by Karim. I walk over to him and ask the first question that comes into my mind. "Jake, is it really you?" I ask. He looks at me and holds out his hand, giving me back my Concealer Ring. He has tears in his eyes, but he doesn't speak. I ask him to speak, but he points at a scar on his cheek and opens his mouth, revealing that he lost his tongue when Karim shot him, but medics had saved him from near death. As I embrace him, Sarah runs into the alley and embraces him aswell. The next thing I know, we are bringing Jake into my apartment.

After calling into work sick, I sit down with Sarah and Jake to have a catch up. We both tell him about what we have done for the past decade. But then I think of something confusing. "Jake?" I ask, "Have you been awake this whole time? As in, for the entirety of the past 10 years?". He looks apologetic for a few moments before nodding. I am infuriated! I grab him by the collar with both hands and hold him against the wall. "YOU COULD HAVE FOUND US!!! YOU COULD HAVE LET US KNOW!!!" I yell at him. Sarah pulls me off of him and calms me down. I point at him informing him that "You better have a darn good reason to have hidden for all this time, Jake.". He starts to get really emotional. I have never seen him this way but, as I go to comfort him, he runs past me and down the stairs. I quickly instruct Sarah to follow him, as I equip my Concealer Ring.

I leave out of the window again, and run after him and Sarah. I spot them turning right at the end of an alleyway and, instead of following them, I sprint the same way as them but on my street. As I get to my local petrol station at the end of the street, I turn towards the street that Sarah and Jake are on, and run until I end up next to Jake as he turns onto the end of street aswell. Jake tries to go on the path so that we lose track of where he is in a crowd, but he has clearly forgotten about my prosthetic eye. I scan for his location and spot where he is. I aim my Concealer Ring near him at a gas pipe on the wall, and fire at it when he's at a safe but risky distance from it. The blade hits the pipe and the sudden force of the gas causes Jake to tumble over the hood of a car. As I walk over to him, I use the new technology that I got 2 years ago to recall the blade directly back to the ring (handy for when in a big brawl) and conceal my weapon. I place Jake over my shoulder and head on back to my apartment, tying him to the door once we are there.

He wakes up about 10 minutes later. I expect him to be calm, but he instead goes berserk! He breaks free with ease, runs at me and knocks me to the floor! I roll away from his next attack, but since I haven't needed to fight in just over a decade, I'm very rusty. I try to fight back, but I am eventually overpowered by him, and he grabs me and tosses me towards my window. I catch myself and manage to block a strike with my left hand and punch him in the nose with my prosthetic hand. He goes flying into my wall and I quickly bind him so that he physically cannot move. "What the hell was that?!" I say whilst catching my breath. Sarah asks if I'm ok, and I reply with "Yeah, just not used to fighting anymore.". Her response was simply "I can tell.". I look over at Jake and he seems to have calmed down. "Now, I'm only going to ask you this one more time," I tell Jake, "so why have you been hiding away?". He nods backwards, so I check the back of his neck, only to see a small timer. I know what this is. It's a KillCode. Designed by Héctor Alcártzo 4 years ago, KillCodes were made for government use only. They either have a timer, a switch, or both. If they have a timer, when it hits zero, it (because it's connected directly to the skin) sends an excruciating and lethal shockwave through your entire body. The same thing happens if the switch is flipped.

I carefully untie him and ask Jake a few questions where I give him 2 options using my hands, and whichever hand he points to, is his answer to my question. Using this method, I determine that his KillCode has only got a switch. I ask him who put it on him, but suddenly, an explosion goes off outside, and Jake points out of my broken window, indicating that it was the people outside who placed it upon him. He goes to hide from them while Sarah and I head out to investigate.