Chapter 73: I Wish
From the corner of my eye, I saw Oliver whip his head over to where I was looking, and the two of us stood up and walked over to him.
"How is life with Hank and Jasmine?"
Giving a superficial smile, Oliver held up a hand and greeted Cale as we reached where the young boy was standing. Shooting a look at Oliver's hand, Cale shook it lightly before turning his head to look at the toilet openings. Clearly waiting for someone. He then faced us.
"Good. Hank and Jasmine have been really nice to me."
His eyes shot to the toilet entrance and back again.
"Thank you for that time. If it weren't for you, I might still be living there."
Passing a crooked grin at us, his eyes wandered back to the toilet again before stopping. The slight tension that was in his shoulders relaxed and he pushed himself off the wall with a small smile. Following his gaze, I soon spotted Jasmine wiping her hands with a piece of cloth before stuffing it into her pocket. Then, lifting her head, she met our eyes and immediately showed a look of surprise and delight.
"Dan! Oliver! Great to see you after so long!"
Bounding up to us, Jasmine smiled as she naturally slipped her arms around Cale's, and the four of us started walking towards the straight road.
"Thank you for your help last time! Could you help me thank Auntie Elaine as well for introducing us to Doctor Link? We've gone there several times after Daddy signed the adoption papers, and he gave us several tips to help us."
Jasmine leaned her head onto Cale's chest, a bright smile forming on her lips as she looked up at him with eyes full of hope and happiness. Losing against those eyes, Cale gave an indulgent sigh as he lifted a hand to pat her head, love and protectiveness shining in his eyes as he gestured for her to stop being so playful.
"That's great."
Watching the two of them interact with each other, I could feel a wave of peacefulness wash over my heart. This was it. This was what I had envisioned the future after the MDVA Act was abolished. Love, peace, and being able to live without a guillotine constantly hanging over people's necks.
Done teasing Cale, Jasmine refocused her attention back to us and tilted her head.
"Is there anything you need from us?"
Nodding his head, Oliver took a step closer to the new pair of siblings and lowered his voice to speak, his eyes cold and serious as he turned the pleasant atmosphere dark.
"Actually, we need to borrow Hank for a while."
Shooting a look at me, I hurriedly nodded and opened up the locket to show the two the note we received. Reading it, Cale furrowed his eyebrows as his smile disappeared and reached out a hand to take the locket.
"Who wrote this?"
Standing on tip-toe to look at the note, Jasmine asked with a frown. Above her, Cale noticed she was straining herself and passed the locket to her. And once Jasmine had finished reading it, she passed it back to me.
"The store owner I bought that locket from."
Reaching the straight road, we turned left and started walking to Hank's store.
"So you want Daddy to meet this person instead?"
Jasmine cocked her head, bumping into Cale softly. Reaching over, Cale patted her hair before saving the strands from being caught up in the buttons of his shirt.
"No. We just want Hank to be on standby near us just in case. She might have something important to say, but I don't want to risk our safety."
I saw Oliver shoot a glance at Cale's actions as he spoke. Catching that gaze, Cale looked over at him and raised an eyebrow. The two seemed to communicate with their eyes, Cale's warm look filled with confusion while Oliver's was cold as ice. Breaking the staring contest first, Oliver stuck a hand into his pocket as we neared Hank's store.
"Daddy!"
Seeing Hank's store come into view, Jasmine immediately detached from Cale's side to run over to her father. Abandoned, Cale took a step forward to follow her before Oliver blocked his route.
"You've been staring at me since just now. Is there a problem?
Lips raised into an unhappy pout, Cale's eyes flickered between Oliver and Jasmine.
"I just have to give you something in private."
Oliver removed his hand from his pocket, several pieces of paper folded in his hands. Passing it onto Cale, the boy gave Oliver a look of intense confusion as he opened up the paper.
"I don't see the reason why you have to give it to me in pri...vate."
Frowning as the title of the contract reflected in his eyes, Cale skimmed through the entire thing quickly before lifting his head to stare at Oliver.
"What's the meaning of this?"
"Exactly as it says."
Gesturing to the paper, Oliver kept one eye on Jasmine, making sure she was explaining the circumstance to her father, oblivious to whatever was happening here, while speaking with Cale.
'It's a contract."
"Yeah, I get that it's a contract. I'm just asking why are you giving this to me?"
His eyes narrowed in displeasure and a tint of anger surfaced as he asked Oliver through gritted teeth. Looking at his expression, I could understand where that anger was coming from. The gentle touch towards Jasmine, and the happy smiles that the two new siblings shared was like a scene taken out from a fairy tale. So beautiful, yet so fragile, as if with a single turn of a page, everything could come crashing down upon its inhabitants.
"You know why."
Faced with Cale's burning eyes, Oliver didn't budge. He didn't try to coax, didn't try to gently explain. There was no need to soften the punch of reality as it tore through Cale's paper-thin fantasy. All three of us knew that Cale couldn't reject this contract. Not if he truly cared for his lovely sister. The fantasy was over, this was reality.
It took a while for Cale to see past the unfairness of it all. However, after a short while, the red on his face faded as he woke up and carefully folded the paper, stuffing it into his pants pocket.
"Are there any instructions? Anything I have to prepare myself for?"
"Not for now. The research centers in High Street are still under strict watchful eyes, so the project has been halted for the time being. When it starts up again, we'll be sure to inform you."
Oliver dropped his hands to the side, his ice-cold face melting as a small smile crawled up his lips.
"Although you might have to prepare yourself for some blood tests when the project resumes. Don't worry, we'll properly inform everyone involved of the risks associated with everything. If it's too much, you can choose to sit out on some of the tests."
Ghosting the outline of the paper in his pants, Cale nodded his head faintly as his eyes naturally gravitated over to Jasmine, who was in the process of helping Hank shut the store down early. They were tying up the bags full of flowers, securing precious ingredients and equipment under lock and key, before sprinting towards us.
"Am I allowed to tell them?"
We both turned around as Jasmine and Hank neared us. The two were sweating, their faces ruddy as they bound over. Hands extended towards Hank, Jasmine pulled her father forward, urging him to hurry up as they crossed the street towards us.
"You can. In fact, the papers you have right now are the drafts for the contract, not the final version. When the project officially begins, we'll prepare a set for the parents too, since this sort of thing involves everyone. Not just the individual."
Reaching us, the father-daughter pair huffed as they took a second to catch their breath. Then, once enough air had filled her small lungs, Jasmine attached back to Cale's side again, her face red and sweaty, but with a glorious smile as she looked towards us and gestured for us to lead the way.
"Thank you."
Cale bowed slightly to Oliver, his actions causing Jasmine to shoot a confused look at him. However, after switching gazes between Oliver and her brother, she decided to push the questions for later as we walked towards the warehouse.
"So this is where the faction meetings take place."
Stepping up to the warehouse, Jasmine breathed in awe as the large building towered over her, casting her into shadow. When we had last seen this beast in the night, the tall roofs had been covered by the black sky. But now in the day, its true form showed itself.
Entering the large warehouse, we scanned the area for any space that Hank and his family could hide. There were columns and columns of boxes stacked up near the wall. However, opening them up, they were all filled with chairs used for the faction meeting and the occasional folded table. Grabbing several shorter columns, Hank carefully shifted them to make a small space enough for him, Jasmine, and Cale to squeeze into.
"This will have to do."
Sliding into the space, the three of them made themselves comfortable before Hank reached out to pull the boxes close around them, leaving only a small gap for them to stare out of and observe us.
"Be careful. If there's any danger, just signal to me and I'll rush forward."
Behind the tower, Hank's concerned voice rang out as a sliver of an eye peeked through the gaps. We nodded our heads, reassuring them one more time, before taking a step back and standing at a spot not too far or close to the tower.
"Is this area alright?"
Whispering to Oliver, I placed my hand on a nearby stack of boxes as I forcefully calmed my nerves.
"Here should be good. They won't be able to hear us, but it's right in their line of sight."
He nodded to me before turning his head towards our backup. However, his gaze wasn't on them, but on the space right next to them.
"She's back?"
"Yes."
I breathed a sigh of relief and shot a glance at where Oliver was looking at.
"Are there any updates? Or did she only ask someone to spy on Jeremy?"
Retrieving my hand from the box stack, I casually asked as my eyes shot to the entrance of the warehouse. The sky outside was currently tinged a blood orange, about the time when the morning and afternoon stores in the market would close shop and make way for the night shops. Alcohol and sometimes less-than-legal substances would be brought out, smartly displayed on the storefronts in a way that would only allow those in the know to spot them. No more children would trot down the streets, buying candy and sweets to eat. It was the adult's time to play.
And it was time for the locket store owner to show up.
"Ava said she did manage to find a system that was free enough to tail Jeremy so that part is covered. As for any updates..."
Oliver's eyes drifted to a space near us, his head giving a curt nod before he naturally returned his attention to the warehouse opening.
"The reforms rocking the research centers seem to be over. At least for now. Protesters are still lying low just in case this is a trap in order to lure them out, however, the systems think that those in High Street have decided to shift their focus...elsewhere."
"Elsewhere?"
I tilted my head slightly, one eye on the lookout, while the other eye checked out Oliver's expression. It was cold but sympathetic, the red lighting bouncing off his face as if dying him in blood. And a sad but sarcastic smile hung on his face.
"Mark and James. They managed to distract those people in High Street. But it'll only be a matter of time before they're caught."
Obsidian eyes tinted with blood turned towards me, reflecting light off them like a sword used in war. Within those deep deep depths, I could see the wrath and frustration churn, coagulating like sinners scrambling for a rope out of hell. It was dehumanizing. It was humiliating. But most of all, it was unforgivable that all we could do was wait.
"Is there really nothing else we can do?"
The harsh whisper sneaked out of my lips, a cry for help into the darkness that was silence.
Oliver tore his eyes from me, shifting them onto the empty space beside him. For a split second, I could see the bottom of his shirt scrunch up, as if a hand was gripping onto it from beside him. Slowly, he turned his head back to the warehouse entrance, his face a mask of emotionless sorrow as he watched the sun set.
"I wish."
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