Re-Vamp

Capítulo 26 : Arnaud

The atmosphere in the makeshift laboratory was tense, with the cartel's chemists and doctors moving back and forth among the modest analytical equipment. In the center, on an examination table, lay the shredded and lifeless body that Riquelme's men had brought in.

"Are you sure this was the one that massacred our men?" The deep voice of Solano, the head meth cook, sounded skeptical. "It just looks like another filthy gringo."

Zapata, standing next to the table, nodded grimly. "Believe me asshole, I saw it with my own eyes. This thing moved faster than a jaguar and tore several of us apart before we managed to take it down."

Solano narrowed his eyes and leaned closer to the corpse, examining it with a critical eye. "Well, whatever it is, it sure looks like it got the shit kicked out of it..."

"Bah, shut up everyone and concentrate on figuring out what the fuck this is!" Riquelme's booming voice resonated in the laboratory as he made his entrance, eyes sparking. The drug trafficker advanced to the table and looked in disgust at the shredded remains. "Well? Have you found out anything yet?"

The scientists shifted uneasily under their boss's inquisitive gaze. One of the doctors, a short, bald man, swallowed hard before stepping forward.

"Um...well sir, we've been conducting some analyses and...the truth is the results are most strange..."

Riquelme narrowed his eyes impatiently. "Strange how, you idiot?"

The doctor broke out in a cold sweat before composing himself and turning on the small screen connected to an old digital microscope. "You see...when examining the tissue samples at the cellular level, we've found behaviors that defy all logic..."

Microscopic images of strange, deformed cells appeared on the screen, their structures branching and intricate. "These...should be blood cells, but as you can see they have very complex structures. It's almost as if they were microscopic machines..."

"Machines?" Riquelme arched an eyebrow, dubious. "So you're saying this isn't a fucking living being but a...robot or some bullshit like that?"

The doctor shook his head frantically. "No, no, don't misunderstand me boss, it is a biological organism, by machinery I mean deliberate machinery or structure, I've never seen such complex behavior at the cellular level. Its cells seem...optimized for extreme survival and self-repair."

He clicked a button and the images changed, showing other cells of an almost cancerous appearance but with coordinated behaviors. "Observe, these should be normal tumors or cancers, but instead of growing and destroying everything in their path, they seem to be working together with the rest of the body to repair damage... If this is a living being, it hit the mutation jackpot. This is no longer adaptation, it's true evolution."

Riquelme, who had been listening with a dazed expression, shook his head. "Hold on a damn minute...are you telling me this guy's cells are like robots or something?"

♢ ♢ ♢ ♢

Dr. Gálvez observed with growing frustration as the idiotic narcos furrowed their brows in incomprehension. Of course, how could they understand something so revolutionary with their obtuse minds?

'Stupid ignoramuses,' he thought with contempt as Riquelme opened his big mouth again. 'They have one of the greatest biological discoveries in history right under their noses and they can't even understand what I'm telling them.'

He shook his head slightly, controlling his outward expression of disdain. He couldn't afford to defy those armed brutes if he wanted to stay alive. He took a deep breath and adopted a tone of condescension, like one explaining the obvious to a slow child.