Chapter 11

"Heard there was a commotion at your base" Mr Deccan was on the phone.

"It was nothing much, everything will move according to plan"

"And the weak one"

"Disposed as instructed "

"Very well. You will receive your first assignment. "And the line went dead.

Rich and influential people. He thought shaking his head.

Just then the GMNs rushed in bearing a bleeding GMN-8. She was unconscious.

"Mr. Deccan! " they shouted. He pretended to be surprised. He ran to them.

"What happened? " he asked

"She was hit. She's severely injured " GMN-6 replied

"Get the medics! " he shouted.

The medics rushed in with a bed as if they had been waiting and wheeled the injured GMN out. Deccan looked around.

"Where is GMN-1?" He asked.

"Still upstairs " GMN-5 answered.

What! His star product!

"What do you means still upstairs! ? Didn't the upper floors just collapse!? " he asked angrily.

Before they could answer they heard a crashing sound and it began raining glass. They moved closer to the glass wall. They couldn't look up because of the nature of the building. They heard a thud and another crashing sound followed by continuous crashing sounds as the building collapsed. Deccan too wanted to collapse. How was he going to explain that GMN-1 was destroyed under conditions engineered by him. He banged his fist against the glass wall but it held true. He wanted to turn back. Suddenly he saw something fall downwards. What the hell was that!

"GMN-1!" GMN 7 and 2 echoed. They were just joining the rest.

"What!? " Deccan said disbelieving

He didn't know what to think. Which one was worse? Saying that thing was his star weapon or that his star weapon just tried to commit suicide. He just wanted to trigger a certain buried trait not break her spirit. He rubbed his palm on his forehead.

GMN-1 had jumped out the window as a last resort for safety. Two stories and their heavy equipment just came down on the floor she had been on and she was lucky to have escaped out the window before the entire thing came down. She didn't understand buildings so didn't know how one side could collapse out of four. She didn't understand anything that happened today. She had jumped trying to avoid the crashing deck and would have fallen ten stories down if her hand hadn't stuck to the glass wall. She was surprised, one minute she was falling next minute she was sliding down the glass wall with her palm. She noticed the adhesive quality of her palm. She tried to hold on with both hands but couldn't since she was still holding on to the lifeless body of the man that crushed GMN-8's head. She kicked off her shoe and attached her foot to the wall, it stuck. She did the same with the other foot it stuck. She stopped sliding down. How to get up? She thought. She jostled the dead body using the magnet on her clothe to attach to the metal protector he was wearing. She put him in between her and the wall. She used that opportunity to tear the knees of her trousers. They were able to stick to the wall. She began fast climbing. She was tired, hungry and depleted but somewhere in her mind she knew safety and survival ranked first.

She could have gone down but it wasn't looking very welcoming. It was covered with vehicles,  glass shards, metals and she didn't think she could survive a harsh landing in this state. The point was she wasn't thinking at all. She wanted to go up and up she did. She made her way to the floor she had last seen her mates.

Deccan waited for the sound of a crash, a testimony to the complete destruction of his project. He had risked a lot with this impromptu stunt and it seemed he lost much.

He turned to the doctors that were attending to other GMNs.

"Find her. I don't care what it takes make her... "

There was a crash and shards of glass flew in. Deccan barely shielded himself. GMN-1 tossed the dead body in and fell in after it. She still wouldn't leave the body as she stumbled up to get it. Pieces of glass were lodged in her body due to her fall. She wasn't feeling the pain but was weak from strain and exhaustion.

"Get her help! " Deccan demanded

More doctors and nurses poured in. Some of the GMNs began to wonder just how many were they. The doctors looked at her, she was cut almost everywhere and had lost a lot of blood. An average human might have been dead by now from blood loss and dehydration but then she wasn't human although she looked close to passing out.

"Keep this body for me" she implored everyone as they put her on a stretcher.

"It will be better if you relax, the body will be fine " one of the doctors said hovering around her. He needed to check her heartbeat, pulse and other vitals but they were prevented from knowing they had organs like a normal human being.

"I won't disturb you doctor, you can do your work" she said with her eyes fixed on the body.

Mr Deccan stepped closer.

GMN-1 you need to sleep, your recovery will be much more faster. You need to get well so you can get better. I will secure the body for you"

Deccan signaled for them to give her a shot and wheeled her away.

******

"GMN-1 is recovering. Her recovery and regeneration rates are off the chats" one of the doctor commented later that day.

"What are we to do with GMN-8, she could recover given time"Another doctor said. Mr Deccan looked at the man like he was a mad person.

"Her recovery is not part of the plan, she will die accordingly to plan. She is weak and GMN-1 seems to have an unwarranted attachment to her. "

The instructor he was with when he concocted his plan looked at him and sighed. He had met a lot of strange people in his time but this man Deccan was the craziest he ever encountered.

"8 is a liability to this project and I have been given the directives to eliminate her and she will be eliminated! It's like killing two birds with one stone" Mr Deccan finished with glee.

The assistant head of security stared at him and wished the pay hadn't enticed him to take this job. There had been a lot of weird things going on in this place. First he saw a bunch of kids that looked like they are supposed to be in school but are being kept here with no adult except this crazy man and a bunch of medical and technical staff who were in no way related to them. He noticed they were being identified with numbers which he found strange, then he found out they were not humans but something was wrong since they exhibited human characteristics that was until he saw one scaling the wall with no rope or support just her hands and feet. These children were freakishly strong. He had observed their training sessions. This was so complicated on so many levels. Now he wanted to kill one of them because he considers her weak and GMN-1 has a semiformal relationship with her. He didn't understand the man's obsession with that girl until today. Man was he terrified. He couldn't help but think what he got himself into.

Mr Deccan had barged into their office dishing out instructions for his so called igneous plan. He had ordered them to mobilize some of their men and as many new recruits they could find. He had threatened them to insure the secrecy of the mission. Mr Deccan then made a phone call to someone about an anonymous tip on the where about of some undetected aliens who were proving aggressive and destructive. Whoever was on the other end of the line seemed very grateful for the tip claiming to spearhead the operation. He warned the person that it was to be a clandestine operation and the smallest was the most dangerous. He then promised to provide further directives via a secured communication line. 

He himself hadn't paid much attention to Mr. Deccan until the facility came under attack. He and some of his men tried to upgrade the security and protect the facility but Deccan had stopped them and commanded him to grant them access and tamper with the power supply. Things went downhill from there. The GMNs were attacked and he even commanded them not to help. Mr Deccan went as far as to gas them to make them weak, now even with a crushed skull, GMN-8 could still survive but he wanted her dead. He had made no comment on the people he had sent to their death. It was all a grand scheme to him in which some lives were worthless and expendable. 

He was actually surprised that their was a meeting and they were actually invited to it but in the end it was to threaten them to silence.

After Deccan was sure they got the message on what would happen to them or whatever they hold dear, he went on to the business at hand.

"By next week they'll be receiving their first assignment and I need them to be in top shape. They are to commerce intensive training. Any shortfall and somebody dies and it won't be one of them. Par adventure one of them dies due to your shortfall... " he gave a wide grin but did not complete it.