Their Guardian

Chapter 22

*Third-person POV*

Joe and Noella were currently unconscious, strapped down to tables. They both had blood smeared across their bodies from the tests they had been subjected too. Nicky was the exception, he was unlucky enough to be awake. 

Just outside the room, Copley was having second thoughts. The moment he locked eyes with that girl he knew he had made a mistake. She knew it too, that's why she attempted to crucify him with her words, and she largely succeeded. When he saw that necklace he knew exactly where she was from, and the guilt residing in his chest grew exponentially. 

"How long will the testing take?" Copley spoke quietly.

"Until we have results we can replicate." Merrick was unbothered. 

Nicky groaned in pain and his monitors beeped, signally his distress. A sample was currently being taken from his chest cavity, and he was not given any pain medication. 

"Do you feel the wound trying to close?" The doctor spoke with no emotion, continuing her work unhindered. 

Nicky balled his hands into fists and continued to groan at the pain. 

"You don't need them for that." Copley protested. "You've got the samples, blood, tissue, DNA."

"Well, you know the concept of proprietary data, and they're the product." Merrick moved closer to Copley. "They go in the vault. They stay there under lock and key. "

"For... ever?" 

"We can't have them strolling back out into the world... into my competitor's laps. If this takes years, maybe decades, what does it matter to them?-" The sample was removed from Nicky's chest and he sighed in quiet relief. "-If we can unlock their genetic code, the world will be begging is for the key" 

"Remarkable." The doctor remarked, still examining the now closed wound. 

Nicky was breathing heavily. "You will not be able to give him what he wants."

"You think I go too far? That I am unethical?" She put the sample into a container. 

"I would say immoral."

"I believe this can change the world." She spoke confidently. 

"A fine justification. I've heard it so many times before."

The doctor scoffed before looking down and walking away. 

Joe gasped as he woke up from his extended slumber, pulling at the tight restraints that held him down. He quickly looked over at his husband calming down when he saw him. He looked at the doctor stomping away before turning back and sighing. 

"As much as I like watching you sleep, I'm glad you're awake." Nicky spoke tiredly, risking a glance at the girl across the room from them. 

She was still sleeping and likely would be for a while. Sedatives always hit her hard, something they had learned with their first encounter. 

Joe sleepily looked at his husband. "Bed head?"

Nicky laughed at his antics, mood lightening immediately. "Nicely tousled." 

They laughed for a few more moments before Joe groaned again. Nicky sought to keep the mood light. "Do you know, I was thinking about Malta."

"What time in Malta?" Joe watched him. Nicky gave him a knowing smirk and Joe smiled more brightly. "Oh, that time in Malta." He laughed again. 

Nicky looked away sadly, before speaking in Italian. "We should go back there."

"That would be nice."