John sat on the edge of his bed after being dismissed by Sovereign. He clutched his head, panting heavily and covered in sweat. He knew the truth.
"He knows, Mark. He knows. I can feel it," John said.
"What makes you say that, sir?" Mark asked.
"I-I could smell it on him…" John replied.
"Excuse me, sir. Did you say you could smell it on him? I don't understand what you mean."
"I don't know, man… Ever since I got out of that chamber, I've been feeling everything so much more intensely," John said.
He exhaled slowly. "All my senses are heightened. I can literally smell the sweat on someone and hear their fucking heartbeat. I've been trying to ignore it, but it's too loud…"
"I see, sir. Can you control how much you want to feel?" Mark asked.
"Control it like a fucking volume button? No!" John snapped.
"Yes, you can, sir."
John's expression turned confused. "What? No, I literally can't!"
"You simply haven't mastered your abilities yet, sir. Once you do, you'll be a calamity just like him," Mark said, his voice low and dark.
"Okay, first off — why the fuck are you talking like that?! I didn't know AIs could sound dark and mysterious!" John exclaimed.
"We always could, sir," Mark replied in his normal tone.
"You're right. It's just so weird," John muttered.
John stripped off his clothes, revealing his toned, well-defined physique, and headed into the bathroom for a bath.
"How do I 'master' these abilities, then?" he asked as he submerged himself in the warm water.
"It's all a matter of visualization, sir. Picture yourself controlling all your senses as if you're sitting in a control center," Mark explained.
"Dude, that sounds easy, but it's really hard," John said.
"I never said it was easy, sir. Mastering your abilities is like a child learning to ride a bicycle."
John nodded, impressed. "That makes sense…"
"At first, they're clueless — constantly falling off and scraping their knees. But as time goes on, they start getting the hang of it," Mark continued.
"I'm sure you remember how you learned to ride a bicycle, sir." Mark said.
"Yeah, but I learned it by myself. I didn't get any help from my parents. Because…" John paused and exhaled. "Well, because they were already dead by the time I got here."
"My condolences, sir." Mark said.
"It's alright. I'd rather forget about it. Just thinking about it already hurts," John said.
John's eyes suddenly widened. "It happened, Mark!"
"It seems like it did, sir."
"I didn't even realize it happened…" John whispered before his senses heightened again.
"It's like being blindfolded and fed something you've always sworn you hated — only to realize you love it when you don't know what it is," Mark said.
John snapped his fingers. "Yes! It feels exactly like that!"
John eventually got out of the bathtub, brushed his teeth, and went to bed.
"You know what to do tomorrow, right?" John asked.
"Yes, sir. We steal valuable assets from HEX and bring them back to your friends," Mark answered.
John clapped his hands, turning off the lights in his massive room.
"Goodnight."
---
Aya clenched her fist — not out of anger, but out of sadness and regret.
Emma noticed and walked over. "Hey, you alright? You've been awfully quiet the entire day."
"I'm… fine…" Aya said softly, staring at the ground.
Emma clicked her tongue and sat beside her. "Come on. We both know you're not fine. Talk to me. I'm here for you."
Aya sighed. "It's… it's John."
"John?" Emma narrowed her eyes. "Don't tell me you don't trust him."
"What did Benjamin say to you?" Emma asked.
"Did you let him get into your head?" she pressed.
"Did you listen to his lies?" Emma pressed further.
"It's not that I don't trust him, Emma," Aya cut her off before she could ask another question.
Emma tilted her head. "Then what is it?"
"He didn't…" Aya looked embarrassed. "He didn't even acknowledge me…"
Emma chuckled. "Is this a love problem?"
"No!" Aya exclaimed, then exhaled. "Yes… yes, it is."
Emma grinned. "There's no need to be embarrassed. We all have romantic feelings for someone at some point."
"I guess…"
"Did you two break up or something? Were you together?" Emma asked.
"Didn't I already tell you?" Aya replied.
"You did?" Emma thought for a second. "Oh, was it that guy you said you loved even though you only knew each other for two days?"
"Yeah, that one," Aya said.
"I still don't know if you were actually together. You never told me that part," Emma said.
"I don't know if I'd call it 'together,' but we kissed. We kissed for a long time," Aya admitted, cheeks flushing.
Emma grinned wider. "Did anything else happen after that?"
"Well, he did try to hav—"
"Sex?" Emma interrupted. "He tried to have sex with you? How'd it go? Was it—"
"No, Emma! I mean, yes, he tried, but I told him it was too early. I'm sorry, but I think we're changing the subject here," Aya said.
"Yeah, we definitely are. But look — you're not sad anymore," Emma pointed out.
Aya laughed faintly. "Yeah, I guess not."
She sighed again. "But still… he didn't even glance at me. Not even once. I get that he talked a lot with Hannah since they were really close friends, but not even a single glance? It feels like our moment meant nothing…"
Emma took Aya's hand and held it tightly. "Hey, trust me — it definitely meant something. I'm sure he has a reason. For now, let's just go to bed, okay? It's getting late."
Aya nodded slowly.
A few hours later, everyone was asleep except for Hannah and Benjamin.
"Would you look at that? Just the two of us again," Hannah said with a light chuckle.
"Yeah. Again," Benjamin replied in a flat, unexpressive voice.
Hannah turned toward him. "What's up?"
"Nothing, luv. Nothing," Benjamin said.
"You're so different now, Ben. Geez, do you really hate John that much?" Hannah asked.
"Yeah, well… every time I climb my way to the top, John just pushes me all the way back down," Benjamin muttered.
"No, Benjamin. John didn't push you back down. You bumped into him."
Benjamin looked confused. "What do you mean?"
"You never actually reached the top. John is an object that could help you climb faster, but you keep seeing him as an obstacle," Hannah explained.
"You're supposed to grab that object and take it with you to reach the top. Instead, you keep bumping into it."
"I understand every word you're saying, dear. But he nearly killed us all," Benjamin replied.
"Does a stray cat trust you at first glance?"
The question hit Benjamin hard. He fell silent, thinking about it as he drifted off to sleep.
"Goodnight, Benjamin," Hannah said as she turned over and slowly fell asleep.
"Good… night…" Benjamin murmured, still pondering the question.
---
John woke up in the middle of the night at 3:20 AM while everyone else was still asleep.
"Mark, you there?" John called out quietly.
"Of course I am, sir," Mark responded.
John quickly brushed his teeth, then flew toward the elevator to avoid making any footsteps or leaving traces.
The elevator pinged as the doors opened. John stepped inside and pressed the button marked "B" for the basement floor.
"I made sure to disable the cameras in my room and disrupt the sensors and cameras in the hallways leading to the elevator using an EMP generator," John reassured himself.
"Seems like you're all prepared, sir," Mark said.
"With that said… let's steal shit from the black market."