They found Professor Schmidt 213 vessel that morning. I was there to see my previous vessel as it lies there on the woods ground. Its still wearing the lab coat and the same clothes I had on that night. The coroner came and pushed us aside.
"Make way for the death wagon. Where is 213? Why can't they die at the city and not in this darned place? I hate this job, I tell you." What surprised me was that the person who was doing the job is Senior Officer Cantor. He is now the new Coroner. But he does not recognise us at all.
"They swap made him a vessel; killed his identity and replaced with that of the coroner. Its close to what you did to Butler. But in this case, this is the works of Control."
I looked at the man who was shouting at my ears as of yesterday now picking dead bodies as his works. Its unbelievable life here. I would like to see this Control and do the same to him. But I was to be given the opportunity sooner than I I thought.
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"Officer Butler, Control will see you now." I followed the Secretary down the corridor admiring her back posture as she walked in front of me. She reached the double door and opened it for me. I walked in and find myself in a large hall with one desk situated at the end. It a glass top with nothing on it, and the man sitting behind is watching me. He is a older man with a thin lips and deep eyes, with his hair combed back to reveal his forehead. He is wearing a white suit with a matching tie that make him looking immaculate. Like the room he is devoid of any expression and even when I stood before him, he ignore my presence.
"Officer Butler. Please sit down. You are blocking my view of the screen." I took my seat and could not resist the curiosity to looked behind me. There are twenty screen on the wall above the doorway and they are showing different scenes of the city. They seemed to be focus on some vessels as they go about their works. One of the screen is focus on Professor Martha Kiln, my next intended target.
"Please focus your eye on Screen 5." I am looking at it as its showing Professor Martha Kiln. "I want you to follow, know her movement and report to me in a week. She is very crucial to my investigation of the missing Professor Schmidt 213."
"213 was discovered this morning." I corrected the person named Control.
"213 Vessel is what you found. I want the identity of 213. I want to know what did he do and why was he with Professor Martha the last few days. That is your mission. Fail me and you will end up like Cantor." The man named Control looked at me with his deep eyes and I think he is able to see beyond my charade.
I got up and nodded. I turned to walk out the Hall and to the Secretary Desk.
"He gave you another tough one, huh? I hoped you failed this one for the last date you left me on in the cold." The Secretary stared at me as I pass by her desk. It was then my memories of Butler surfaced on the relationship which we have once before. Its a hot and cold affair and we flirt in that manner. For some unprovoked move, I walked up to her desk and leaned over to kissed her lips.
"I will not failed, and I will be back as always. Dinner at the usual place." I turned to walked to the lift and await the unit to take me away. It felt vile and dirty to be here like you are standing before the execution squad. The lift door arrived and I stepped off the level of the Control Office.
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Dinner was the usual courtesy and so was the dessert which we had to fulfilled that evening with our desires.
"Butler, must it be you always who do these dangerous missions? Why can't he send Snide or Paul. They are equally good at it, but always you. I feel like you may not come back at all one day. And this is one of them." I let the woman whose name I did not even bother to asked since I met her this afternoon as the Control Secretary. She is not a vessel but an authentic entity like Butler was. But she does not know of who I am neither do I know of myself now.
"Hush. I will be back. So can we drop the conversation and let me minstrel you to another good rub of my well trained hands." She agreed and soon she was asleep. But I lay awake to reflect my next action. By dawn, I left her wanting me more and soon I was on my way to the University for my appointment with Professor Martha Kiln.
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"Mr Butler, I can assure that I heard nothing from Professor Schmidt that will make me suspicious of him. He is my colleague and a good researcher. We share notes and discuss out works almost every week. I met him only yesterday and we just discussed the dynamic properties of the chemical 54 with chemical A34." I remembered the workings on that when I was holding the identity of 213. We were still baffled to the results, but I had a clue just before I was misdirected to do complete the anti-serum. But now I find myself looking at Professor Kiln as she bend over to look at some chemicals in the spectrophotometer machine. I find her attractive as well as learned in the profession. I read her file; she is a prototype vessel when she was assimilated with the species together. For some reason she was never switch with other vessels and left in her original state since then.
"Officer Butler, I hope you find my rear view of your interest as it does not do much except removed my bodily waste." She caught me there. I apologize on my stare and tried to change the topic to the Professor Schmidt. "Well, he is here now in the next room if you want to know more." Professor Kiln has curtly left me standing alone in the lab which I am most familiar with. I scribbled some notes on her pad she has left behind and I walked over to see Professor Schmidt aka 214.
"I be darned as I could not remember what I was doing for two weeks in this lab. Its a complete blank and even my colleagues asked me of some works I promised them then, but I cannot recalled any. It like I was not here for two weeks. I asked Rose and she told me I needed a holiday from the lab. I owe her one as I been working for too long." That was Professor Schmidt as he packed his briefcase with his notes. He is leaving for a two weeks holiday with his wife. I bid him farewell as he walked away. If the Rose he is going out was the same one I saw I would not missed my work at all, but if she is the one I live for two weeks, I would prefer to see my lab mice than her.
I bumped into Professor Kiln in the cafe as she took the seat opposite me without asking.
"Someone wrote me an interesting line after I left the lab. It completed my analysis and I am amazed at the result. Did you see anyone coming into my lab?" She was quizzing me on the writing on the pad. I told her that I did see Professor Schmidt coming in later just before I left. But I am not sure. She left it at that and spoke on general issues. Soon I find myself talking to her like a working colleague. But she left for an afternoon meeting.
I got up and walked to the carpark. I had noticed the man following me since this I arrived at the University. He is now standing about five cars away from me. He looked away to see if there is anyone around and that was all I need to cover the distance.
"I won't try to move if I were you. My gun is pointing at your lower torso and it does make a nasty hole there. So tell who are you and why are you following me." I looked at the man who is standing not five paces away from me. He is dressed like a student and also carried a shoulder bag filled with books. His hair needed some trimming and so is his beard but it matched his looks with the round rimmed glasses.
"Don't shoot. I was just trying to talk to you. I know what is happening here. Its weird, man. They are experimenting with us. I needed to talk to some Enforcer or I could be next." He is ranting and getting edge while watching all around him.
I grabbed him by the bag and dragged him to my car. I pushed him and I drove with him out of the University grounds.
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