Truth Stealers (Thief's Signal: Book 1)

11

Jag was being led through a labyrinth of winding corridors and rooms, by two security guards, Dr. Gregariza, and the scientist whom he had now learned was called Illgis.

Jag was told that the security guards were escorting him, because he was soon to be a human weapon. He would become a priceless possession to the company and against the Regime, the company's enemy. Or at least, the company's boss's enemy. Meta Mechanics Developmental was owned by The Preachers. Jag was reminded by Gregariza that if power of the government was to fall to the Regime instead of the Preachers, the galaxy would be a much darker place to live in. Thus, they were taking measures to ensure the Regime's defeat.

All the nonsensical ramblings about the conflict of political factions left Jag's eyes even more glazed over than when he had talked to Lucy. Instead, his mind was fixed on a more imminent idea: he was to become a human weapon!

"Jag," A woman's voice cut through Jag's thoughts, and he blinked to his left where he had heard the sound.

An elegant snake of brown braided hair wound its way down Jane's shoulder, enclosing a heart-shaped face with large eyes and even larger lips.

"Jane?" Jag replied unsure.

The woman walked straight up to him, ignoring the armed escort, and going straight for a hug, which Jag was both glad but uncertain about receiving.

"Mrs. Smolders, if you would please, we do have a rather tight schedule to follow here," Illgis said in his matter of fact way, but there was something hidden in his tone that Jag couldn't quite make out. He felt he should know.

Jane looked up lovingly at Jag with her huge, adoring eyes, sending him back to that moment that they had shared together in the bedroom. The damned same moment that he had remembered before he even recognised his own wife's name. He tried to smile back as genuinely as he could, whilst a part of him also wanted to push her away.

"Don't let them spoil your body too much," Jane whispered into his ear, "make sure you come back alive to me, Jag. And I'll make sure that it's worth it." She gave a mischevious last glance at Jag, before finally releasing him from her bear hug and standing aside to let the group through. Jag tried not to look back at her; he didn't need another confusion, another puzzle to solve.

The party carried on, through endless more winding hallways, before finally, thank god, reaching their destination.

Illgis penned a code into the keypad next to a large set of steel double doors. Then he took a small cotton bud from a pot suspended on the wall, swabbed a sample of the inside of his mouth, and placed this into a tube. The small glass container closed up and retracted into the wall for DNA testing. After a second, the red light above the door flashed green.

"Welcome to the lab," Gregariza peered down proudly at Jag as the double doors opened up.

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