The Disparate One

Chapter 21

Fier and Ray stared at the locked door. Ray was about to speak after he found Chap had hung up. Fier inched further into the banging door. The chains on the side swayed on every hit.

He looked at Ray who shook his head No, but it didn't pull him, instead, it made him move closer. It was when the knocking stopped. Fier kept his rifle on his other hand when his right hand hovered on the knob. It jiggled for a moment. His eyes widened, darting at Ray. The shaking sent shivers down their spine.

Ray tried contacting Chap but to no avail.

Fier stared at the knob, figuring that someone outside was picking the lock. He aimed the barrel on the door, shoulder level. His index finger rested on the trigger. Ray was shuffling around, pulling his hair when the call finally connected. His phone began to ring.

Then another phone rang. It came from the door.

The two were frozen in place as they carefully listened. The phone on the outer side rang again in sync with Oxford's. It took a few more seconds for Ray to process what was happening. Eventually, he murmured something as he stomped over to the door, unlocked it, and swung it open, revealing a familiar person in a lab gown.

"Oh! Right... forgot that... he is sick," said Chap, putting his pick locker back into his pockets, "For a second there, I was really worried when the door didn't open despite doing our secret knock."

Ray gently placed his hand on Fier's rifle, lowering it before letting Chap in. He led him to Oxford's bedroom where Chap was lost for words. He moved closer while asking if he still had any pulse. The two nodded. Chap gulped. He began having ideas on who was behind this.

"Alright," Chap huffed, "Let's bring him back to the facility," he then gestured to the two to give a hand.

The robot was about to get the holographic device in his bedroom but Chap insisted not to. Ray and Fier didn't know why or how they were going to bring him back to the facility. But since Chap was here, they figured there must be a way.

Fier slid his rifle behind his back before he and Ray lifted Oxford by his shoulders. The three now looked like they were assisting their drunk friend. Chap grabbed the tablet and his colleague's phone before waving at them to the elevator.

Chap closed the front door of the penthouse before boarding the lift. He brought out his own keycard and pressed it on the scanner. The door closed and they began their descent. During their ride, Chap explained that they will be arriving at the lower basement where he parked the facility's ambulance. He gave Fier a simple instruction, which was to return to the penthouse immediately once they got Oxford into the ambulance. This made the two glance at each other.

"...Ray, you're coming with me. It's protocol," said Chap, turning and handing Oxford's residence keycard and phone to Fier.

Ray looked down, disappointed that he would be leaving his buddy, hopefully for a while. He assured Fier that he would return once everything was over. Fier even promised to not leave the penthouse and wander around the city alone. Chap furrowed on their conversation.

"I-it's a long story," stated Ray when the elevator doors slid open.

Chap brought out a tiny flashlight when they stepped out into the dark, concrete corridors surrounded with leaky pipes, tiny streams of steam jetted.

Their grunts of carrying Oxford, or dragging, echoed in the empty corridors. Minutes later, they took their last turn where at the end was a pair of harsh lights. It was an ambulance, parked at the entrance of a tunnel. Chap opened the back where they placed Oxford onto the stretcher. They closed the door and locked it.