Amanita: Poison Shot

Chapter 44: Next-Gen Killing Machines

I managed to climb down the wall by holding to a water pipe that went down from Eros' bathroom into the sewage entrance, not far from his mother's beloved hibiscus in his botanical garden.

Needless to say, I fled from the Sappho's Residence back garden as if a tornado was coming after me. Nobody was coming after me, though. I guess they were in a maximum alert situation, which made me not a priority. I exited through the back door of the garden, and run back to Replica Ltd. because I still needed to show up for my afternoon shift.

The information I had obtained was so crucial and disheartening that I would've sworn that the spiders were burning in my jeans' pockets. Maybe it was just my conscience telling me to stop being afraid of everything and everyone around me, and do something worthwhile already. That was the reason why I decided to become the greatest drama queen in the whole wide world.

I was about to go into the building, and I rubbed my eyes a little, just to make the skin around my eyes and the whites a bit pinkish. Then, I went in.

"Oh, dear..." I whispered as I entered the waiting room where Miss Radica was at that moment, pretending to be speaking only to myself as if I was feeling ill. I coughed a bad cough, and then another one, also faking being embarrassed about being caught coughing so badly. "Sorry, I'm so sorry, Miss Radica..."

More awful, fake coughs came out of my mouth while I kept walking into the waiting room, making eye contact with her, as if I was spreading the chances of infection all over the place. Miss Radica's eyes nearly came out of their sockets in a sudden realisation that I was a potential source of infection to her dear clients, and that was why she stood up immediately and spoke harshly thus:

"Lock yourself in the bathroom right away, you moron! You could get our customers ill! Stay in there, and don't come out. You don't deserve this, but I'll send Dr Bentnose right away to check on you."

Perfect. That's what I wanted: some privacy with a clone doctor that I could lie to about how ill I was feeling. I rubbed my eyes some more, just in case.

Only ten seconds later, Dr Bentnose was opening the restroom door with a surgical mask over his nose and mouth.

"Now, what have we got here?" he gently asked me, not daring to come closer to me though. "Miss Radica says you're not feeling well, that you might infect our clients. Is that true?"

"I'm afraid so, Dr Bentnose. I'm sorry to be such a bother, but I do feel ill."

I coughed some more as if I couldn't help it.

"Yes, you're pale, and this bad cough... Oh, dear Apollo!" he exclaimed.

I guess I was still pale from the bad news I had unveiled only a few minutes ago.

"There's this friend of mine who's been recently ill. I guess he must've passed it onto me."

"Yeah, yeah..." he swiftly replied as if he was uninterested.

Clones hated it when you told them personal stuff. I was counting on that to make him think I was a burden, and that the best course of action was to sign a medical certificate for me and send me home.

"Have you got a runny nose? A fever? Any other symptoms?" he asked me as he took out a notepad.

"Yes, I've got a runny nose, and I do feel hot. And I've also got a headache."

"Look, we don't need to keep this for long. I'll sign you a medical certificate, and Miss Radica shall send it to the boss. You're done for the day. Go home and rest. You should take a couple of days off."

"Thank y-" I tried to thank him with fake politeness, but I couldn't finish.

"Yeah, welcome," he swiftly replied, already exiting the restroom.