Operation- Sleepy Kid

Chapter Three- Broken buttons

Jensin was in a good mood. If his trial period went well, then he could receive a promotion from being just an apprentice here at the research facility. It is nearing the end of the day now and nothing has gone wrong yet. Just a few more tasks and checkups and he's got that promotion in the bag. It would be needless to say that he was feeling a bit cocky about this. Yet, if all things in life went according to plan then the phrase "Pride comes before a fall" would not be necessary. In fact, that very saying could not be made any more true to life than in the case of Dr. Haydes.

Born in August XXXX, Jensin Haydes lead a life surrounded by his father's work as a scientist, investigating the properties of legendary and mythical creatures that hide from the eyes of most humans. On those rare occasions when his father stayed the night back at home, Jensin would often be told tales and stories of the things he encountered during his day. Tales of deadly beasts that hid under beds and closets that parents could never see for some unknown reason. Stories about special beings said to bring pure good luck upon those who deserved it the most. Creatures that roamed the nights, looking for victims to prey on. These stories scared yet enchanted young Jensin much to his mother's annoyance. As much as she loved Jensin and his father, she couldn't help but feel that this field of work was too dangerous and complicated for a young child yet knew better than to interfere with his dreams.

These simple yet fascinating adventures told to him, as well as his father's influences, inspired Jensin. He became set on becoming a scientist just to follow in his footsteps. Eventually, that dream led to a passion for Biology and degrees in Biology, Chemistry and Human Biology. He used his knowledge in the medical fields to become a researcher for tropical insects that spread diseases before being offered a position as a student apprentice at the Toi Mirai Foundation of Mythical and Otherworldly Studies. His time as a student apprentice was intriguing to say the least yet he still yearned for something more akin to the adventures promised. Hence when the opportunity for a promotion to apprentice opened up, he volunteered quickly.

He was now working more closely alongside his father and seeing more of what he had dreamed about. However, he still felt this wasn't the full picture. His thirst to see more became prominent in the way he went about the facility and his work. Every task given was done as close to the deadline or as soon as possible in the hopes of some odd event or encounter creeping up. So far, all he has been tasked to deal with are flowing creatures known as spirits and their hybrid-human children. He was more interested in the spirits than their offspring so opted to deal with the children quickly so he can focus more upon them and their interesting features.

Getting the opportunity for a promotion or to be a part of a new investigation seemed only a luxury to those fortunate enough to be offered. That was why Jensin was hurrying along with his tasks today for if he could make it to the meeting early then the chances of the position being offered to him would be greater. He had heard rumours of the investigation being more daring, more adventurous and more respectful than what he had been subjected to since he started working at the facility. Whether those rumours were true or not didn't matter to him at the precise moment. What mattered was that this promised more to see, more to take part in, more adventures to live through and tell the tale.

Jensin was now on his way to check up on yet another one of these children, striding across the hallway at a fast pace. He had left the kid on a machine that continuously pumped small amounts of an unnamed drug into his body while extracting a blue substance in the meantime. That process was due to run for a few hours before being checked and repeated for three more times. It was his job to start the first run and check on the second. During those few hours of running, he took the liberty of a small coffee break while updating some of the paperwork associated with the subject. A few papers were missing funnily enough, so he made sure to make a note of that to pass onto the higher-ups. He had an unopened disposable cup in his hand and another which he tossed into a nearby trash can as he walked along the long corridor in the direction of room XXX- the code of said kid. After he has run that second check, he only had one or two more small jobs to complete before the list was finished. He was just around the corner to being offered a greater position. Nothing could possibly go wrong.

Thud...

There was a sudden pain in the back of his neck. He made an attempt to turn around to see who or what that was, only to realise he had fallen on the side of his face. The only things he felt was his cheek upon the cold tiled floor and pain around the area he was hit with a fired needle. The rest of his body just felt numb, like it had been stripped of all it's senses. Cries for help were out of his reach. It was just something he wanted to do but couldn't. The fact he could see the world sliding along slightly concerned him. No wait, the world wasn't sliding along, he was. Someone was pulling his paralysed body across the floor by his ankles.

Jensin forced his eyes to look down, only to see the blurry outline of that someone's brown hair and white lab coat. A traitor? Right here in the facility? During training, every single apprentice, student, professor, doctor, ect. had been warned about the dangers of resistances and traitors that could spill or destroy their most vital pieces of research. If they see, know about or are attacked by a member then they should fight back and make as much noise as possible, either physically or through a special button kept in the shoulder of their lab coats. None of them had been told anything about what to do if those options were unachievable. The button had broken upon impact made with Jensin's body hitting the floor, pieces scattered here and there. All he could do was stay silent and hope that someone notices either his disappearance or that there was a security camera nearby.

The last thing Jensin saw before blacking out was the outline of a recognisable elderly figure at the end of the corridor. Recognisable in the sense that almost everyone knew his face and what he did, not who he was. The main cleaner of the facility. A quiet man who preferred to get on with the job rather than intrude on whatever else was happening. Jensin had hoped this man would see and get help. The cleaner would do the exact opposite- pretend he didn't see anything and clean up the scene. The pieces of the button and whatever else fell from his pocket was picked up and quickly disposed of. The only thing this mysterious cleaner would retain from the scene is a pair of black biker shades with one of the arms missing. Whatever happened to the missing arm wouldn't matter for now. He safely tucked the shades away into his own trouser pocket before edging away slowly with his broom and cleaning equipment, smirking as his associate is casually dragging Jensin away to an unconfirmed hidden location within the facility.