Chapter 4 Faded Trust

The sight of his teammate covered by the white fabric is what welcomed his morning. Alongside his cadaver is the lethal injection that was found injected on his arm.

Henry shook his head, both in disgust and wonder. 'How could you do this to yourself?! You should have heard me out first before you decided to do this!' He thought and uncovered the man's face. Aside from the trace of dried tears, what he noticed is that he is smiling. Even in his death, he wasn't genuinely happy, though he looked satisfied with what he did.

"What time did you find him?"

"Just an hour ago."

"Who discovered his situation?"

"It was me. I was-"

"Why do you have to go to his place early in the morning-" He stopped as speculations started to give him a warning. He glared at the lifeless being. 'So, at the end, you had chosen to betrayed me as well,' he talked inside his head and covered him. "Never mind. Cremate him."

He clenched his fist as he thinks which of the two have happened: firstly, he was murdered after telling the others about his secrets, secondly, he can't work for him anymore. Thus, he preferred killing himself.

He headed to the laboratory room and hardened himself, throwing away all the weaknesses that will lead him to fail.

"Captain." He turned around to look at the newly comers, one after another.

"We have heard that we lost one of us. What did really happen?"

"We don't know yet. For now, let us proceed with the testing of these capsule cradles. We'll work on it later."

"Make sure you aren't involved in his sudden death, Henry." One of them eyed him warningly.

"What if I am?"

"I won't hesitate to avenge him."

He smirked as he opened the last capsule. "I may look like I can sacrifice some to save more, but I have never turned my back on someone whom I have put all of my trust into. You know that too well. But if I find out it is one of you who have killed him, I will give you a not peaceful death." He lay down on the bed, to personally instruct them how it works.

They followed him without talking. And he hated it, for he can feel nothing but failure, even though he hasn't started the real plan yet.

As the capsules closed, he remained laying down and waited for their cradles to sedate them. He tightly closed his eyes while they banged the walls, preventing them to get out of the bed.

"If you had been true to your word, I should have not obligated to do this," he remarked and stood up, watching them slowly giving in to sleep.

'Patients are now ready to be conditioned," the program declared when they finally got knocked out.

"Tell me, Program. Will you betray me, too?"

'Captain, I am the finest and is by far

the most perfect program that have ever been made. You have my loyalty. I will remain true only to you.'

He nodded and turned to go. "Emptied their memories," he ordered before leaving the room, as well as, he buried the recollections they have somewhere in the depth of his thoughts.

-

"How's the situation outside?" Henry asked the man who is holding the documents that he asked him to get for him.

"Everything is going smoothly as to what you have planned. So far, her being entrusted to that family wasn't a mistake at all. It has given her reasons to bite the bait. That man has done an impressive job. What happened to that one?" he drank his wine up and turned to him after taking his eyes off the photo pasted on one of the forms.

"I don't know, and I want to avoid knowing it yet. There are so much more that we should be paying attention to aside from that."

"How are the others? What did they say about it? Do you think it's one of them?"

Henry creased his forehead and looked away from the man's gaze. "I no longer know them. Like what I have said, there are more important things for us to work on first before that case. Anyway, that is what I wanted to warn you about, too. Be cautious to everyone. Never trust anyone. And one more thing, never mention him again. It has already happened years ago." He quickly shut his memory about the man.

"Are you sure you really want to entrust me the organization?"

"Younger generations needs to be headed by someone who's younger than I. It will give them doubts if they'll know that the one who's leading them is an old, dying man."

"Fifty is not yet that old."

He hissed inwardly. "You have no idea how the countless trials of those inventions have weakened my system. It feels like I am already aging ninety's."

"But those inventions are the reasons why you have the five of us."

"Still, that is still not enough to put an end to this. Euvy and my team are waiting for decades now."

"It wasn't your fault that the Space Administrations have become more active on observing the outer space. The best thing to do is to make things easier-help them out."

"It took me years to get this organization to be recognized and licensed to operate, so I could hire people to work for us. But that is not to help those people who know nothing about humanity and put wealth first before anything else! I will never lend them a hand!"

"Lux-that is your identity now, Henry. Thanks to that fallen one again. He has managed to get you a surname. What a rich-sounding surname, Yuscov!"

Henry gets the documents he's only interested to check and didn't mind the man's boastfulness.

"I'll pick her up the best team. Gather me the profiles of the teams we have hired."

"How about your uppers? They might get in your way again."

"That will never happen. Before everything starts, I will make sure that all of them have already conditioned."

The man clapped his hands and sat down comfortably on his seat, making him feel disrespected, but he chose not to mind his manners.

"You still have two long years to wait, Henry."

"Two short years," he corrected. "Do you think I am that careless to let anyone come to my organization without me conditioning them? I would never let that happen."

The man just stared at him. For the first time after not feeling it for long years already, he felt fear whenever he is with him and the other two of his men. They're eluding so much threat, yet he can't dispose them-just not yet.

"When we'll be having her here?" He changed the topic.

"Soon, very soon."

"Will she recognized-I mean, do you think she remembered something from her past?"

"I don't think so. She literally started a new life. One that she has never had before."

"Are you sure we can really make her come here?"

"Henry, money do the things that no human can do. We are offering her something she needs, something she can't say no to. That alone is already enough to lure her here. The question you should be asking is what you're going to do with her when she gets in the organization."

"She deserves to have a good life-a bit longer at least. Until then, everything should be kept secret from her."

"Talk to the others then. They have to be oriented about it. I prefer not to clean anyone's messy workings."

"Aren't you getting along well with them?"

The man smirked. "That is not part of my job. My purpose is just to work on only the ones that have been ordered me to do. Aside from that, I'm not concerned about theirs."

Henry took a deep breath as he calmed down himself. "Update me once she has agreed to be our member."

"Don't you want to meet her yourself?"

"I would love to. But, just not yet."

"You are so faithful to Euvy, do you? Are you afraid that you might have forgotten her and stay with her clone instead? I can't blame you for thinking that way. Besides, younger is always better-in everything." The man grinned cunningly.

That's when he lost his temper. Henry stood up and grabbed the man. "You have no right to compare Euvy to anyone. Know where you stand. You are nothing but just one of my masterpieces. Don't think so highly of yourself!"

Instead of getting intimidated, the man laughed and let go of his grip. "Masterpieces," he repeated to that single word. "Most of what this organization has been your masterpieces, Henry." He walked towards the door and before leaving, he turned to him. "I will no longer wonder if you yourself is a part of your masterpieces, too."

He was about to speak when he turned his back on him. "I will be the one to interview her. Worry not. I will be easy on her. Time flies so fast. Years have no power against it, and nothing is on par with it. Wait until then."

As the door closed, he weakly sat down as he stared at the file; wondering if he has done the right thing, or he has just worsened the situation they're in.

He flipped the pages over and over again, he

saw nothing but perfection. "I hope you can forgive me for doing this without your consent, Euvy," he uttered as he gazed away.

"Program!" he then called.

'Yes, boss?'

"Record everything I have to know. I will be in the shadows for now."

'Copy, sir!'

He sighed frustratedly as he counted the years-it's already long enough, and yet, he has to wait another more. The chance that Euvy and the rest are still alive is still unsure.

"How I wish I have never trusted anyone ever since. Maybe that way, this has not happened."

'If you hadn't cared for Euvy, you should have not known what happened to the mission. It was because of her why you insisted on being with them. And that is because you have trusted love, Henry.'

"Are you blaming me then?"

'I am not. And I am not blaming any person here. But, if there is something blamable, that is love-that is caring far too much.'

"You don't know what it is like to be a human. You will never know how."

'I have a core that is a human. That human's ideals are my ideals. I may not know the feeling, but I am certain, I can name it. Basically, I am an existence that can only think but can't feel.'

"One's humanity is what makes someone care. Should I throw away my humanity then? But that is the reason why I am doing this-I have someone whom I have promised I will come back to!" He rested his head on his palms to hid his tears.

'There you go. That is okay to keep it, Henry. But not everyone you meet deserves to see how humane you are.'

He didn't say a word. He's so focused on what is the best thing to do.

'You have started and have invested a lot in it already. If I may suggest, you better stick to your plan and never let your guard down.'

"I am trusting you. Once she's here, inform me right away."

He then opened the data of a certain team and included the information about the person with it. "This is where she'll be assigned to work on," he stated and signed the papers.

'Why that team? That one has just been newly established.'

"That is why I am putting her there. She'll be safe with them."

'How can you be so confident?'

He looked at the badges that will be given to the team. "I have prepared everything for her coming. She'll be in good hands with them."

'Is this some kind of cheating?'

"It isn't."

'But it seems like it is.'

"I have just made sure that if things get out of hand, everything can be settled without her getting harmed."

He smiled as he touched the name. "What a wonderful being. What a coincidence." He breathed in a lungful of air before glancing at the program. "I can feel it. It won't be easy, but the name says it all. We'll be having a good victory."

'Not that I am contradicting you. But that is still years away from the future-'

"And is years away from the past. We are already ahead of that time. I am certain, all we have to do now is sit back and watch things happen."

'Not unless someone mess up.'

"We'll dispose anyone who would get in our way-if they are not essential to the organization. But if they are, conditioning will handle them. Well and empty."