The Lab (4)

IMANI

"Where are we going?" Imani finally asked Lucille after the elevator doors slid open on the ground floor and they both stepped out of it.

"The forest," Lucille replied as she took long strides towards the reception counter and Imani furrowed her brows before she followed her. "But first we need to get you an ID card because you can't get into some places here without one and add your prints to the system so you won't need help with getting into the building."

The humanoid robots smiled when they saw the two women approaching. "Good morning Lucille. What can I do for you? Good morning Imani Tallerico. Founder of the cure to the -"

"Oh, shut up," Lucille cut them off as she rested her hands on the counter top. "Print an ID card for Imani and add her prints to the system."

"Of course Lucille," the men stated and one of them turned to face Imani before his eyes changed colour.

"Smile!" Lucille announced before Imani realized that he was about to take a picture of her for the ID card.

She was about to smile when the man quickly walked away from the counter and disappeared down a hallway. She pressed her lips together as she began to think of how the picture would turn out since she hadn't smiled when the man took it before the other man removed a palm scanner from a drawer and placed it on the counter top.

He connected the scanner to something on the work top and Imani raised her head to see what it was. She realized it was a transparent tablet when he turned the device on and the screen displayed an 'Enter password'.

"Minerva?" That was the password he typed in and Imani glanced at Lucille who pressed her lips together as she shrugged. "You read the website too?"

"Oh, no. It's way too trashy. You read it?"

Imani raised her brows as she looked away from her and at the man who was typing something on the tab. "Me? No way. It's way too trashy."

"... You totally read it," Lucille stated and Imani pressed her lips together before the woman let out a laugh. "Okay, I'm lying. I read it too but that's partly because I like trashy things and partly because Lucy makes me read them."

"Oh... Why?" Imani asked after a little while.

"Because she's Minerva."

Imani tilted her head as her eyes widened slightly in surprised. "Oh!" she exclaimed because Minerva had kept her identity a secret from her readers and Lucille shrugged.

"Oh," she stated again as she remembered meeting Lucy, who definitely didn't like her, in front of the office on the second floor as the man behind the counter gestured at the scanner.

"Please place your palm on the scanner Imani Tallerico. Founder of the cure to the Sirizan virus," the man said with a smile and Lucille rubbed her forehead as she let out a harsh breath.

"Imani, what do you want them to call you?" she asked as Imani placed a palm on the scanner which immediately shone a bright light.

"Uh, Imani?" She replied and Lucille gestured at the man.

"Tell him to call you that. His name is..." she furrowed her brows. "I think it's Matt."

The man lifted his head when he heard his name and smiled. "Yes, Lucille. Do you need something?" he asked and Lucille raised her brows at Imani.

"Matt, just call me Imani." The man didn't say anything as he stared at her and Imani turned to face Lucille. "Did I say it wrong?"

"No, he's just slow. He and the other one that went to print your ID haven't been upgraded yet and all the tech geniuses don't want to come here to do it because they don't want to get the virus... Idiots."

"Name registered," the man finally said just as the scanner beeped. "You can take your hand off the scanner now, Imani."

Imani took her hand off the scanner and he disconnected it from the tablet before he removed it from the counter, placing it back in the drawer he'd removed it from.

"They used to be really smart before. Used to help us with contact tracing and help us in the labs but then the company that made them deleted the model they were on so they went back to their default model. Now they're so dumb, it's painful. Only the ones in the hospital were upgraded because they're the ones taking care of the infected people."

"What about Lucas?" Imani asked Lucille as she remembered that Lucas was the CEO of a 3D printing company. "He should be able to upgrade them so why hasn't he?"

"He's the one that upgraded the ones in the hospital and he did mention that he was going to have the ones here upgraded too. I guess he forgot and no one here wants to be the one to remind him because we..." Lucille trailed off and shook her head as the humanoid robot that went off to print the ID card came back. "Ask him for me when he gets back?" she asked and Imani furrowed her brows at the woman before the man that just stepped behind the reception counter stretched out the ID card towards her.

"Here's your ID card, Imani," he stated and she collected it, raising her brows when she saw that the picture wasn't as bad as she'd expected it to be.

"Damn. How are you so photogenic?" Lucille asked as she leaned over to look at the card and the corners of Imani's mouth turned up. "Now, let's go suit up."

"Suit up?" she asked before remembering that Lucille said they were going to the forest earlier. "Why are we going to the forest?"

"Because the number of infected people increased by a lot overnight and most of them said they were in the same place four days ago. That place is the forest."