After the surgery, the teenage couple would often have incredible migraines and relentless irritation in their eyes.
They eventually found a sympathetic doctor, who treated them often over the following years. He developed a lens that soothed their everyday pain, an act the couple were eternally grateful for. When they inevitably conceived a child, they got in contact again for advice. He agreed to help, and even made a coloured lens the child could wear (when she is old enough) so she can blend in with society. As long as she isn't born in a hospital, the government will have no records of her existence, giving her a clean slate and a fair chance.
They had nearly made it to the doctors home far outside the city, when the car crashed.
There's a knock at the door, and Dr. Hampton is greeted by a battered and bloody man, holding his newborn baby. The mother is nowhere to be seen.
The doctor does a full check on the baby, and pronounces her a perfectly healthy and happy little girl, if maybe a little hungry.
They'd been walking for hours, of course she's hungry.
The doctor was prepared for a delivery, he knew the day was coming. He prepares some formula for the baby and asks the father if he can see to his wounds.
No reply.
When the doctor approaches, he simply asks
"Are you hurt?"
With that, the Father finally breaks down. The weight of the entire situation finally hits him full force. He grieved alone, until a loud cry from his baby that night forced him to bury his feelings deep inside, for the sake of his child.
They prepared for departure the very next day, the doctor filled a hefty gym bag with baby formulas, foods, medicines and various supplies for the father to take with him. The baby was given an "all-in-one shot", one of the last great advances in medical technology before the world chewed up its resources. Conspiracy theorists were convinced that it could change your DNA from the inside. Ironically, their blood was already tampered with, and the shot just massively boosted the immune system- effectively eliminating things like the common cold. The Government wants their workers to be efficient, after all.
The plan never was to stay long, the couple had purchased a getaway house not too far from here to take the baby until she's old enough. The house is near a popular holiday destination, one of the last beaches in the country with recognizable sand. Just a nice little vacation home as far as the government should know, and by some godly luck the baby was due near Christmas.
They kept their noses clean, worked full time and paid taxes. Most importantly they never tried to get the story out to the public, they knew they would be back in that lab if the right person believed their story.
The government made that very clear before releasing them.
The only person the couple ever confided in was Dr. Hampton, as their eye problems always left him searching for answers. Once he knew exactly what they went through together he could finally treat them effectively. He wouldn't have believed them, but it completely checked out with their symptoms. The irritations were all around the iris, microscopic scratches on the cornea. Their eyes were operated on. Poorly.
The constant burning sensation must have been a veritable hell on earth.
The doctor didn't sleep until he finished developing the lens. It couldn't reverse the damage, but the thin layer of medical gel would soothe the pain, making daily life bearable.
Now, as the family of two prepares to leave Dr. Hampton's house, a state of the art black Ai-Mobile pulls into the driveway. The father quickly hides with his baby while the doctor tries to hide his scattered medical equipment.
Dr. Hampton puts on a brave face, and confidently opens the door with a warm greeting as two very official looking men in black suits get out of the car in unison.
"Evening officers! How can I help?"
They appear very courteous and polite, returning the warm greetings.
"Apologies for inconvenience. There has been a crash not far from here, I don't suppose you've heard anything around?" The official asks, lowering his glasses slightly.
"I haven't heard anything yet." The doctor replies, sweat forming on his forehead. "Is there a way I can contact you if anything changes?"
"Just use the emergency line if you hear anything, dispatch will let me know. Appreciate the cooperation, doctor."
The official gives a polite nod with a smile, and turns around to walk back to his car.
The doctor wipes his forehead and takes a deep breath of relief, when the baby suddenly begins to cry loudly.
There's a brief pause, before the official whips around and shoots Dr. Hampton point blank in the head with a silenced pistol.
He begins expertly clearing the house, checking every corner but bee-lining to the sound of the crying baby. his partner circles around back securing exits.
The official makes it to the bedroom door, it's locked.
Without a moment's hesitation he kicks the door, keeping his gun ready.
The second kick gives a loud cracking sound.
Without breaking his rhythm, the agent goes for a final hard kick when the door unexpectedly opens, causing him to lurch forward off balance. The father is pressed against the wall next to the door and catches him square in the face with a hard elbow, flooring him. Before the official can recover and raise his weapon the father has jumped on him in a top mount and hammer fists the man's face as hard and fast as he can until he stops moving.
He quickly takes the man's pistol and frantically points it at the back door. His face is splattered in drops of the officials blood, his eyes are wide and his hands are trembling with fear and adrenaline.
The officials radio comes through, asking if the package is secure.
The father begins to think, then quickly goes to the unconscious official and grabs the radio.
He then shakes the official awake, groggy and groaning in pain, definitely concussed.
The radio chimes in again, asking "is the package secure? Over."
The father tells the official to reply but he can barely talk.
Panicking, the father looks at his baby. Still crying.
The radio chirps one last time, requesting backup.
There's a bang as the back door is kicked open. The second official enters, gun raised and ready.
After quickly checking corners and clearing the first room, the official calls out down the hallway "identify yourself and come out with your hands up".
After getting no response, he takes a step down the dimly lit hallway towards the bedroom. The agent sees a man burst out of the room with shocking speed and gets a shot on target before it slams straight into the wall.
Immediately following the body, the father peeks out of the doorway and frantically unloads his whole magazine into the distracted agent.
With no time to lose, he grabs the agent's loaded gun and prepares to leave.
He will have to take the Doctor's car. It's an older model, not self driving. Good. That means it's not on the network.
The government clearly knew they had a baby. The father knew having a house hours away from a retired Doctor might be suspicious. Especially if that Doctor was on record treating both of you in the past.
But how did they know she was even pregnant? How did they know we would come here?
They would need some sort of super detective on the case to figure it out, but why now when there's been nothing suspicious for years?
The phone call… of course.
They must have noticed when the Mother called up in a panic after realising she's pregnant. Of course, she didn't forget that the government records every phone call for later use, and she was very careful with her wording despite the stress. However, the fact that she called up her doctor out of the blue after nearly a decade, then months later bought a small condo within a days drive of his house, was sure to raise a red flag.
As much as the couple hated the thought of making a traceable phone call regarding a top secret pregnancy scare, they had no real choice.
Hampton was the only one they could trust to deliver the baby, as well as create a contact lens off the books in this day and age. The kind of quality only an optometrist can provide, and so illegal that only a true friend would even consider it.
He disappeared from the city years ago.
They just had to call, get his address, and hang up as fast as possible. They could explain in person, away from the prying ears of the government.
They really thought they got away with it.
Now the doctor lays dead on the floor, and I'm taking his keys.