Agatha led me back to the surface, specifically at the parking lot. The lights there were dim, but it was manageable.
"I could've sworn Dad already fixed it," I muttered.
Agatha stopped at a small corner far from the surveillance cameras. It was the place where we would hang out secretly whenever she had an information she wanted to share in haste.
A top secret information.
Agatha scanned our surrounding once more and turned to me.
"You have to run away," whispered Agatha.
I flinched. "Wait, what? Why all of a sudden?"
"They're coming to get you, Kurt."
"Oh, is this because of my visits? Lily only has me as her company, and I'm not breaking any rules anyway . . . usually."
"Far from it. You stole that weapon, right?"
I shook my head. "What weapon? I've not touched any assault rifles for as long as I can remember. Let alone stealing it."
"Project Aegis," muttered Agatha.
"What of it?"
"Don't play dumb, Kurt. You stole one of the Aegis containers, right? The one that they wanted to put inside Lily," said Agatha.
I clicked my tongue. "So, they've found me out already huh?"
"Why you do it? It's unlike you at all."
"They want to put a second Aegis in Lily! Can you imagine that?! She's not gonna survive to have another one. You've seen the effects of her first Aegis. It's breaking her mentally," I said.
"Just because of that?! Are you insane? Your crime can get you killed!" exclaimed Agatha.
"I might as well be dead then," I mumbled.
Agatha caressed her forehead and then stared at me. "Then, you want to leave Lily on her own? If you die, no one else will visit her. You're the only one."
I felt like someone had punched me in the stomach from that.
'How could I forget?' I thought.
"She needs you, Caesar. You doing this does not help her condition. I'm sure she would've survived the second Aegis implant if you had let it happened," said Agatha.
"How do you know she would've survived?" I asked. "I'm not just gonna let her die like that. She's . . . lonely."
"I suppose." Agatha held my hand in hers and an object slipped inside.
"This is . . ."
"Aegis container. It's the one you stole from the scientists. Take it and give it back to them. At least, your punishment will be less severe," said Agatha.
I looked her in the eyes. "Or I can just run away as you said. Doing this will not prevent my neck from being chopped off. But if I do that . . ."
"You'll leave Lily behind," continued Agatha. "You should try, Kurt. If it does not goes well, you can run away after that. Heck, take Lily with you when that time comes."
I blinked a few times. "You're not wrong, General Ife. I could try that. If I survived until the end at least."
"So, you understand what you've to do?" asked Agatha.
"Take this back to them and get Lily and the kids out of their prison. Got it."
I slid the Aegis container inside my trouser's pocket and stepped into the parking lot. Agatha followed behind and I could not help but think about the scenario that would play out, once I got back inside.
If there was a chance for Lily to be saved, then I could only hope for the best.
Dad would get pissed but that would be his problem.
Not mine.
My feet shuffled slowly across the graphite, anxious about the outcome of it all.
"Kurt!" yelled Agatha.
"Huh?"
Out of nowhere, soldiers in black poured out into the parking lot with their assault rifles aimed at us.
"Don't resist!" said one of them.
I counted and there were five soldiers in total.
It was clear I was at a disadvantage.
"What's all this about?!" I demanded.
"His Supremacy's order. Follow us, Corporal Kurt Holm. And you, General Agatha Ife, stand back," said the one I assumed to be their leader.
"Please explain what is happening here," said Agatha. "Where are you taking Kurt?!"
The leader glanced at her. "His Supremacy declared General Kurt Holm a traitor to the Great Corporate United."
"What?! Hey! I'm not--"
A soldier nudged me with his rifle and I scowled.
"General Kurt Holm stole a top-secret weapon from the underground factory. It's an offense that's worthy for an execution," said the soldier.
"Execution?!" exclaimed Agatha.
"I know what I did, but at least--"
Three of the soldiers threatened me with their rifles and I shut my mouth.
"Follow us," said one of them.
I did as told and Agatha was left far back behind me. The leader and the other soldier kept her from moving.
"Kurt!" shouted Agatha.
"I'll be fine!"
The soldiers dragged me to a secluded spot far away from the parking lot. There was no one there, and no source of light either.
"This is far enough, I guess," said one of the soldiers and he hit me in the head with his rifle.
I stumbled to the ground as my vision was obscured with dark spots.
"Kill him," he said
"The leader said that?" questioned another one of them.
"Of course. I don't know why he didn't want to do this himself. Though this is His Supremacy's order, so there's that."
I struggled to keep myself from falling unconscious, taking in as much air as possible.
'My father wants to kill me?' I thought.
"Shoot him," demanded one of them.
They distanced themselves from me with their rifles clinked in response.
"They really want to kill me . . . damn," I mumbled.
I was about to beg to them when my body shook violently from all the bullets.
I dropped to the ground when they stopped shooting.
"Let's head back. He's dead for sure," said one of them.
They all left me lying on the graphite, my blood pouring over and tainted its black. I gasped and inhaled desperately. Trying to stay alive as long as possible.
'I cannot die like this,' I thought.
The Aegis container had rolled out of my pocket in front of my face. Its faint, yellow glow was my only hope.
I grabbed that container with my teeth and swallowed it bitterly. It went down my esophagus but got stuck halfway to my stomach.
I was gagging.
And it was not due to my blocked windpipe, but because of the container that stabbed at my flesh from the inside.
I could feel it drilling its way into my chest as my vision got blurry from the pain.
I did not know why I thought of Lily at that point. Although one thing for sure was that I need to help her and the rest, as much as I could.
Being lonely was never a good thing, and by watching over her for a long time, I was certain that she needed someone to be there for her.
So I had to survive that ordeal, no matter what.
To help her, and those who were in desperate need of my assistance. I want to be there for them.
The Aegis container burst from inside my chest, and the feeling of hundreds of strings attaching themselves to every part of me was excruciatingly painful.
I gritted my teeth, grinding at its enamels as I waited for the pain to dissipate.
The first thing I noticed after a few minutes was my wounds. My muscles puked out those bullets and healed themselves instantaneously.
And my chest felt very light as if the container was not there in the first place.
I got back up fairly easy and examined my body.
Other than my bloodied jacket, there was nothing that stood out to me.
"Huh? Just like that? But damn, it hurts like hell. Won't ever try that again," I mumbled.
But then I realized something.
If I were to go back like that, it would be alarmingly strange.
A dead man coming back like nothing had happened to him.
"What do I do now? Do I just go back, and help Lily? If Dad had decided to kill me, then it wouldn't matter if I was still alive. I need . . . a new identity."
I hung onto that conclusion.
It was all that I could think of. A separate person altogether. It was no use in getting myself into my previous life again.
Kurt was no more.
He had long been dead.