Chapter 61

"Can someone explain what is going on? Ever since dumb Barbie opened her mouth, I can't seem to fully comprehend what is going on here and now you've added an entirely different file?" GMN-6 said

"Apparently she had been more than busy…"

"Everyone knows that, your point"

"Every safe, secret room, doors, networks, whatever that was hidden, she was aware of their location, passcode, and final access" GMN-4 stated and they all stared at him. First, their minds went blank then went into overload, before they could say anything 4 continued.

"Since we are pressed for time. Their contents have to be retrieved and assembled so please keep whatever thoughts and comments till when we have the luxury of time. He then began explaining to them the basics. He showed them how to locate them and paired them up.

GMN-3 and 6, 7 was on his own to tackle Doc's office and so was 2. He was given the common room. 4 paired himself with 5 because he knew she would just be deadweight to any other person and he could do without her help. He had a different task for 9, something that suited his capability. Based on the file, the facility operated secret networks that they needed to breach not just to protect their identity but also to access vital information. He couldn't say for sure what was available in the network but he knew it would prove useful.

Six hours later, they conveyed to the common room with all they have gathered. The most hilarious was probably 7 who had discovered 1's research in Doc's office. The hilarity was almost comical. Doc was always hounding GMN-1 and now they understood why. The daughter of two geniuses was bound to produce earth-defying research. Researches Doc would have loved to covert. They also found out that she was selling their services and earning huge cash flows. The details of the accounts were methodically listed. Funny enough, 1 didn't tamper with those accounts but in another discovered file, left precise instructions on how to tamper with them.

"Honestly I am a little freaked out," GMN-9 said

"It's like we never actually knew her," GMN-6 said

"I found the deeds to this land and building," GMN-2 said

Everyone looked exhausted and overwhelmed but they needed to leave and rest. GMN-4 instructed them to load the mini jet while he went around to make sure every area was covered.

By the time they were done, the facility looked almost naked. He had to admit that the facility was seated on a very nice large piece of land. Too bad Doc even though the owner did not have the land deeds. Was there a feeling of nostalgia? there was. To him it was pointless, to some of the others, they were leaving the only home they've ever known, real or not. The memories that were made and those recovered. Good thing they had every necessary key.

*****

For those that did not survey the property given to 6 by her beau, a surprise was an understatement to what they felt.

"Remind me again how you met this man," GMN-3 asked again.

"How many times do I have to explain this? It was on my solo mission. For a genius, you are pretty dumb" GMN-6 replied

"Don't blame him. Your description of your fleeting encounter and what is before us doesn't add up. How can you meet a man once and he gives you a property worth millions?" GMN-7 supported

"I have researched on him and he doesn't seem like a very generous person let alone giving an expensive extensive property to someone he only met once," GMN-9 said

"You're sure that was your first time of meeting him? I mean if the theory of us being humans is true then he must have known you from somewhere or known someone who looks like you, a relation may be" GMN-2 said

"I don't know why you all find it hard to believe…" GMN-6 began

"If it were me would you believe it," GMN-5 asked

"Never! Then again it is me and nobody gives you anything, besides I've got charms"

"And gullible must be the highest ranking one" 5 replied

"We're already here, no use fussing about it. We just need a temporary base to find our footing. We can always move. The most important thing for now is to make sure it is secured. 7, 9, and I would run a full security sweep and install surveillance. The rest of you will have to wait for our signal before you start unpacking." GMN-4 said

Six hours went and they were in a clear.

"Top of the line security thanks to Doc and her fat accounts and GMN-1…" 9 began and everyone turned solemn again.

"Way to ruin the mood," 5 said

"All systems are up and running. 24-hour surveillance, satellite hooks, never mind all that, we're in the clear."

"Four floors, first-floor common areas, second-floor labs, third floor living area, and last-floor storage and any other thing that comes up. We've set up training areas on the property. You can settle in while we set up the rest." GMN-4 said

"Aye, captain!" GMN-6 said with a mock salute.

"Make sure to take responsibility for your stowaways. Their quaters are on the ground floor." 4 said pinning 6 with a stare then turned to 3. " set up Dr. Stone. He is your responsibility so if you need him, you'll do well to keep him alive and by that I mean to keep him out of the way and head doctor too" this arrangement didn't seem needed. Dr. Stone had a fat bank account, a house, and a helicopter; the compound was big enough for his helicopter to land plus they could use his services virtually. The downside was they didn't want anything that could be tracked or traced.

3 nodded, he understood too well. Not everyone was comfortable with Dr. Stone being here and they were very vocal about it. They needed him no matter how they looked at it. The only person that could have cracked this genetic code is MIA besides himself who better to solve this than one of the people that created it but he was going to keep him alive just in case he proves useful in the future.

"7 you have the blueprint of the facility and you've surveyed the grounds. There will be renovations, can you handle that?" 4 asked and 7 nodded and turned to leave when he heard a rapid heartbeat.

3 was beside 4 in a flash. He looked way concerned than usual.

"I told you to take it easy. Stress and pressure will only make it worse" GMN-3 said, trying to get 4 to sit down but 4 shrugged him off and shook his head trying to get rid of the flashes in his brain. The veins in his head and forearms became more pronounced.

"Take a break." 3 said like he was trying to coarse a stubborn mule.

"We have things to do. I'll be fine. 9 where are we with…"

"This is not a time to be a selfish idiot. You might think what happens to you doesn't matter but it does. We are already fraying at the seams from losing one person, what do you think two would do to us?"

4 had a pause. He hated the sense 3 was making right now. He needed to settle things so he could focus on finding her. She was becoming his obsession. The worst part is, she was also in the flashes of his supposed past. He couldn't explain why he was seeing her pictures and videos in his memory flashes. He wasn't sure if he knew her before or if his brain was playing tricks. He was finding it difficult to sleep not that he has had much chance.

"I'm having these flashes too" GMN-6 said solemnly

The rest turned to look at him. The surprise was evident. Of all of them, they knew that 1 had the mist recollection of her past that even made her unconscious and now they knew why. The other people who had recollections were 2 and 6. They didn't know much about 2 because the guy was as tight-lipped about it but knew for 6 it happens in certain situations where her reality clashes with events of the past. The other person who had flashes was 4 and his became more prominent after 1 supposedly died a few days ago so this was a shock.

"Since when?" 3 was the first to recover

"It started after our solo mission." 7 replied

"Wow!" was the only thing 9 could say at this point. Even his snooping did not uncover that fact.

"And you were silent about it all these while because?" 3 asked and 7 had the decency to look uncomfortable. To him, there wasn't any straightforward explanation.

"1 knew about it too" was more of a statement from 4 than a question. 7 first went blank then looked away and that was the confirmation they needed.

Just then 2 and 6 walked in with the dog in tow. 2 could already read the tension and knew another secret had been uncovered.

"What else did she do or not say?" 2 asked. From the look on their faces, 1 was in the middle of it all, especially from the look on 4's face. The guy wouldn't bat an eyelid if it was someone else but would blow the roof up if it was about 1. The directness of his question stemmed from the fact that 4 never got angry at 1 except when she did something reckless or kept something from him and he would bet the latter since 1 wasn't present.

"7 was having flashes of his past since the solo mission and 1 knew about it" 9 ran his mouth. They looked from 9 to7.

2 wasn't that surprised, the girl was everywhere. She even knew about his. How she got that information out of him still puzzled him.

"Let me guess, she knew the details about yours too," 4 said again and the answer was on 2's face.

4 could feel the rage building up. How many things did she keep from them, from him? She had secrets with almost everyone except him. She worked in 3's lab most of the time on who knows what; She dismantled codes with 9 and knew about his penchant for spying on people through the cams and probably all he uncovered, he didn't know what was up with her, 6 and that dog; she knew the details of the flashes of 2's past and they had been working together on something; she hung out with 7 a lot before their last mission and even entrusted something as important to him, he could bet she had a secret too with 5 all but him.

They all saw the anger but not all understood why. Before they could say anything else, 5 came in. Great, they were complete.

"How many of these did she keep from us?" 4 asked through gritted teeth

"You mean from you " GMN-6 countered immediately.

"He wasn't the only one she kept things from" GMN-3 tried to diffuse

"But he seemed the most bothered about it" she countered again.

At this point 4 was more interested in trying to control his rising rage. For some reason, he was becoming mindlessly enraged. He felt that banging in his head, he's breathing was becoming more and more ragged. 3's eyes snapped to him.

"He had the right to know. We…" it was 9 that defended

"Why?" 6 asked. Her question dumbfounded those that were paying attention.

Okay what's going on here? 2 could see the banked-up aggression behind the confrontation. 5 just stared. It wasn't the first time she was confused.

9 too stared. Why? Because they were her colleagues. They were supposed to be a team. It concerned all of them. She had no right to keep the majority of the information she knew to herself when it affected all of them. He could feel the anger rising too.

3 had moved closer to 4 and was whispering to him, trying to help him regulate his breathing.

"What gives any of you the right to know what she uncovered? It was right there in your faces"

"Stop talking!" 3 shunned immediately and this seem to aggravate her the more

"Why?" Again with the question. She answered herself almost immediately "you don't like the truth?"

The drumbeat of rage was getting louder in 4's head. For some reason what 6 was saying added fuel to it. He was currently having flashbacks and he couldn't fully explain what he was seeing but he could feel the rage and it was affecting him physically.

"What truth!? That she was right to keep things that affected us from us!" 9 said

"Where were you when she discovered those things!?" 6 said

"Where we always were." 2 finally spoke and the rest turned to look at him aside 3 and 4. When he saw he had their attention he turned to 6 and continued. " 1 was easily the smartest person in the room. She had intuition and instinct that could spot the tiniest inconsistency. It wasn't anyone's fault that she was always a step ahead." He then turned to 9. "We had the right to know but let's face it what would we have done with the bulk of information she knew. What would you have done? Let me tell you what. You would have been so self-conscious and pretentious that you would have given yourself away."

2 looked around and everyone was a bit sober. When he saw the contagiousness of the aggression he knew something else was wrong and had to plan the most effective way to minimize it. In a way, he understood this was their actual response to the fact that 1 was gone. They both felt abandoned but couldn't express it so while one turned to blame herself and others, the other blamed the one who abandoned to relieve the brain of the stress. All he had to do was isolate the pinnacle of this argument and disintegrate it.

He looked at 3 and 2 and that was when awareness came back. He rushed forward.

"What's wrong with him?" His question seemed to rouse the others who had been so immersed in their own experience to realize what was going on.

"What happened now must have triggered his recollection." 3 replied as they looked at 4 who appeared to be in pain.

"Is he in pain?" 2 asked

"Very probable" 3 replied

"How is that even possible? we are not supposed to feel pain"5 asked.

4 growled aggressively. He didn't like what he was seeing or what he was hearing.

"He needs to calm down," 2 said.

"Hold him steady," 3 told him and he stepped forward together with 7 as they tried to steady him. 3 produced one of the sedatives improved upon by 1 that he was now carrying around in the pockets of his overall. He injected him in the arm and it took less than a minute before he was out. They heaved a sigh of relief.

The good thing about him was that he wasn't tormented by his past like 1 when he was unconscious. Knowing her parents gave them a better insight into why she was the way she was.

3 turned to 6. Her timing was always off. He didn't say anything and neither did she. They just stared at each other and eventually looked away.

This was so messed up. He knew sooner or later more confrontations would happen. Whatever was going on with them biologically was affecting their mental stability. Call him weak but he wished 1 was here. They didn't notice how important she was until she was no longer there.

5 for once didn't feel like saying anything. She was tired, physically and mentally. She didn't even have the strength to try and understand what was going on. She just turned and left.

All these while as they bickered back and forth, the dog just sat where it was and watched. When 5 left, it nudged 6 by the leg. 6 didn't know what she was feeling until the dog touched her. She looked down and sighed and bent down to give it a rub and then hugged it. She seemed to be getting more comfort from the dog. After the hug, she released it and straightened herself.

"Come on Ash," 6 said to the dog. GMN-1 took the liberty of naming her dog without consulting her and a dumb name at that. Who names someone's dog Ash Nose? She realized the dog had the name by the collar on its neck. She sighed again walking out with the dog in tow. 3 could help 4, she doubted she'd do anything more than make it worse.

2 turned to 3. He saw 3 was checking on 4 whose breathing had returned to normal.

"What can we do for him?" 2 asked

"Keep him stable as much as possible both physically and mentally until we can figure out a better way to help him and all of us" 3 replied

"And the rest?"

"Need to run physicals. I hope it was just their emotional response to the recent events or we may have a major crisis"