CODES

T E N

"Woah..."

I wasn't sure what to expect when I walked into Xerses' apartment. Yes, I'd been inside before; that was obvious. Dinner with the Marshalls' was normal. I just never had a reason to go into his office. All the equipment needed for the work we did was back at the Restoration office. And if we needed anything extra, Province Hall or Prime would easily provide it.

Yet, walking into Xerses' office, lined with all of his personal computers, I felt like there was more technology here in a single room than there was back at the facility. There were wall-to-wall monitors, and keyboards of every size, neatly placed beside each other. A large LED screen showed a white screen with small black text appearing across the top. Perfectly placed, it read, "Morning, Xerses."

"Yo..." I listened as Xerses closed the door behind me. It clicked quietly. His footsteps were louder than the lock as he stepped beside me. As I looked at him, he smirked and rocked on his feet. All while I pointed at the computer screens in front of us. "How high is your light bill?"

"Light bill?" Xerses scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Man, I ain't paid for a light bill in who knows how long."

My jaw dropped as I watched him walk over to his desk as though he had said nothing wrong. When he looked back at me, saw my face, he lifted his hands up in his defense. "Wait, wait, not like that," he said, laughing. "Erica has this perk from her school days. To keep her computers up and running, Province pays for her electricity."

"Oh..." Walking over towards the large desk on the left, I let my hand pass over the flat keyboard. The white squares were warm under my fingertips. And as though the desktop on top of it noticed my presence, it powered on, welcoming me. 'Hello,' it read.

I couldn't help but smile. "You mean to tell me these computers aren't yours?"

"Nope." Xerses rolled in his chair. "I mean, that one is." He pointed at one at the right. "And that one." His finger motioned to the one above it. "But the rest of these bad boys? That's all Erica, man."

"Shit..." I laughed. "I mean, I knew she was a genius, but—"

"No. I'm a genius." Xerses pointed at his chest with his thumb. "Erica she's..."

I looked at him as his eyes rolled back and a smile lifted every part of his face. "She's a Goddess."

The look on his face, that smile, it was good to see. It was great seeing him happy, considering all he had been through. And to think he put it all behind himself so easily...

"All right, so," Xerses dropped his hands on his lap and looked at me, "you remember that headset Clark and Alex created a few years back?"

I nodded. I remembered. That headset was used to train each of the Peace members how to wield a weapon, and how to fight, all within a few hours under a virtual program. It was that same program where I got to know so many "rebels" from the digital war. Where I found the courage to confess my love to Clara, without fear, without regrets. I couldn't remember exactly why I'd held back, but I knew... something was keeping me from saying it.

"All right, cool." Xerses nodded and turned towards his desk. There was a small drawer at the bottom, one he opened and stuck his hand inside of. When he pulled back, there was a small device between his fingertips.

It wasn't the big headpiece I remember putting over everyone's eyes when I had to train them.

Pointing at it, I asked, "What's that?"

Xerses held it up in front of him. It was a simple sphere, black, with no markings. Yet, when he applied pressure, it flattened and expanded to the size of a quarter. I lifted my brows, amazed.