Prodigy (Complete)

Chapter Ten

Aris lived on the North side of the Green View Echelon, not too far from where Alex lived, so the three of them walked briskly to his apartment. Once inside, they had a chance to calm down and reflect on the situation.

"Maybe we're just being paranoid and nobody will notice we hacked the system," Aris said.

"Oh, they'll notice," Alex replied.

Before they left Alex's apartment, Alex activated the camera on her computer. Using her access pod, she established a live remote feed, allowing her to view her apartment from Aris' place. They all gathered around and watched. A few minutes went by and nothing happened; her apartment looked safe and sound. Aris lost interest and stopped watching.

"I think we're being too paranoid here, nobody's coming for us."

"Wait," Alex said in a hurried tone.

Aris rushed over just in time to see three armed guardians enter Alex's apartment. They spread out and searched the tiny dwelling. One of the guardians pointed to the empty drawers that were still opened. Another guardian pointed directly at the computer. They walked over to the computer and confiscated it, causing the feed to cut out.

"Still think we were being paranoid?" Milo said in a mocking tone.

"I think coming here was a mistake," Alex said. "It's only a matter of time before they search all the apartments on this floor.

"Alex is right", Milo agreed, "they were able to track me down me in this building in a sea of chaos. We must leave now."

"Guys, we can't go now, this place will be crawling with guardians. Besides, your image is probably being blasted on every monitor in this place."

"This is all your fault," Milo said aggressively as he grabbed hold of Aris and slammed him against the wall.

"Milo, relax, let him go," Alex said with authority.

Milo released Aris, but was still in his face. Aris caught his breath and straightened out his jacket.

"They shouldn't find you here because they don't know Alex and I even know each other," Aris said.

"How did you ever graduate with that puny reptilian brain of yours."

"What?"

"You moron, you're assuming they're only going to knock on the doors of people she knows. What's more likely to happen is they'll search every apartment on this floor, and when they haven't found her, they'll shut down the entire building."

"There's over a million people in this building on any given day," Aris retorted.

"It doesn't matter, trust me. They have ways of tracking people down." Milo's rage began to boil again, "Why did you have to mess around with the computer?" he snarled.

"Leave him alone, Milo. What's done is done. Now we just have to deal with the situation we're in."

"Hey, pal, your nose is bleeding," Aris ridiculed.

Milo raised his hand to his nose just in time to catch a drop of blood.

"What's wrong with you?" Aris taunted him. "You should go easy on the steroids; they're obviously making you a little high-strung."

"Milo, are you okay?" Alex asked. "Just tilt your head back, I'll bring you some tissues."

"That's the third nose bleed this week. I think it's the altitude up here, it's drying out my sinuses."

Milo took the paper towel that Alex handed him and held it against his nose to stop the bleeding.

"You know, since nobody is looking for me, and Milo is falling apart, I'll go on a reconnaissance mission and assess the situation."