Unseen (1)
Chris drove a white, brand-new car out of the Pearl Palace. May accepted to get on only after checking that they would be invisible from the outside. The windows weren't see-through, so she had no reason to refuse.
Also, she really wanted to see the bullet trains! She had heard about them, even read something on the documents she would occasionally hack from the Government's servers, but she had never seen one. Nor did she have enough information to understand who they worked with. She just knew they were super-duper fast.
Chris didn't tell her anything, fuelling her curiosity with his silence and taking notes about other things she might be interested in - for future traps.
«When will we be there?» May asked a few minutes after they had left.
«S-soon?» Chris said. They had just left. Oh, but she maybe just wanted to decide whether to sleep or stay up. «You should rest. I'll wake you up if you fall asleep, okay?»
«Okay.»
He glanced at her but found no intention to sleep. She sat in the passenger seat, her eyes wide open and her hands on her lap.
The silence lasted for about a minute.
«I'll see the road to the lab like this,» she said.
«So?»
«Isn't it a secret? Will you kill me after showing me all the secrets of the research facility?»
«No, I won't,» he chuckled.
«Is it far from here?»
«You know,» he sighed, «you're quite troublesome as a travelling companion.»
«Would you prefer a quieter girl by your side, right now?»
He chuckled again. She was visibly excited about the adventure, so much so that she didn't think twice before talking. It was refreshing, especially if compared to the silent woman he had learnt to understand.
«Are you asking me about my type?»
«No, I'm not.»
«Do you want to know?»
«No. Not at all.»
He glanced at her again. She was pretending not to care, but her ears were red. The blush had extended to her neck as she realised what kind of conversation she had started. But it was her fault, so Chris felt no guilt.
«I don't have a type of girl,» he said. «Nothing particular, at least.»
«Do you prefer men?» she asked as if it was normal and not a crime.
He pulled the brake and steered right, stopping for a moment to turn to her. Her tone hadn't wavered while saying what she said, maybe because they were alone.
He wouldn't particularly care to clarify if it wasn't for May. He had heard assumptions about his preferences, mainly after a failed attempt to lure him into a honey trap. But he hadn't cared because... what could they ever prove?
But with May, it was different. He didn't want her to misunderstand.
«You're brave, Miss Thorne.»
She blinked, looking at the road and searching for whatever danger made him stop. Then, seeing there was none, she turned to him. She blinked again, realising what had happened.
«I... I didn't mean...» she whispered, but her voice trembled too much.
She had gone overboard. She should have stayed silent.
«I should show you whether I like men or women, shouldn't I?» he replied, revealing the wound of his ego.
May didn't back away, but she didn't even say anything. She just stood there, waiting for him to prove his claim.
She did widen her eyes in worry, but not that much worry all things considered. What if he did what he was threatening to? She was more curious than afraid, no matter how dangerous the situation was.
«Now is the right moment to push me away,» Chris noted, his voice back to normal. «That's what you're supposed to do when a man threatens you and comes this close, May.»
She winced when he called his name. She was so confused that it was funny. He couldn't imagine that a genius programmer could be so clueless.
«You shouldn't let anyone so close. It's dangerous,» he added.
He waited for her to nod before returning to the drive. That girl was defenceless, which was worrying. He had to be careful not to hurt her and, at the same time, protect her from other dangers. What if another man saw her weak points and took advantage of those before he could?
Even that Jude Morrison! What if he made a move before May realised Chris was interested in her and had serious intentions?
However, even though she didn't show it, May was shocked. As shocked as not to ask about the road for half an hour. She needed all that time to recover.
But then, she was back to her rational self.
«Are we there?» she asked.
«Five minutes,» Chris replied absent-mindedly. He was still coming up with plans to protect while, possibly, courting May.
If only he had the brains to notice, he would hear her counting in her mind. It took them less than five minutes, luckily, so she couldn't ask for the umpteenth time. The car entered a private underground parking of a facility that looked exactly like every other industrial building in the offings.
Before entering, a guard observed them.
«Good day, Mr Lindt,» he said. «Is the miss a guest of yours?»
«Yes, she is.»
«Please, wait a minute.»
The guard logged in their visit, delivering a magnetic card to Chris and retrieving May's document for the necessary controls. He was a well-trained employee, so Chris didn't fear their visit would become public knowledge. First of all, that lab was a secret to most.
When he opened the gate to them, Chris drove into the parking. There was an elevator to bring them up, to the first and second floors. Or down.
He walked in and pressed the floor number.
«Are red numbers underground floors?» May asked, then, noticing how there were only four blue numbers and three lines of red ones.
«Yeah.»
«And one just gets in here and presses a button to reach floor number minus twenty?»
«Pretty much.»
«Isn't this security too lax? You should tell them to be more careful. Even though I might not agree with everything the Government does, this kind of research shall be protected first.»
«There's a fingerprint scan in each and every button. And a device measuring our heart frequencies.»
«H-heart frequencies?» she said, widening her eyes. With that, Chris had her attention.
«Apparently, every heart has a different frequency. I've heard a lot about it from the scientist working here. They designed devices able to discern people. If you're curious, I can introduce you to them.»
«Can you? For real?»
«Of course,» he said, forgetting to say a couple of details about the lab.
The ride on the elevator lasted quite a while, maybe a quarter of an hour to twenty minutes. May had been so distracted by the security Chris was revealing so calmly that she couldn't count time.
She then got lost in her own world, making assumptions about the heart frequency thing. About the sensors to measure it and the algorithms for the recognition process. When the door opened to a white reception room, she winced.
«After you,» Chris said.
It was cold and formal, just like a dentist's studio. There was a high counter behind which a secretary sat and welcomed guests.
«Good morning, Mr Lindt,» she said when she saw him. She then turned to May. «Good morning, Miss.»
May replied with a shy smile while glancing at the woman, but something was wrong with her eyes. No, not the eyes... She was just confused.
She could see the woman -her clothes were enough of a clue that she was a woman - but her face was... difficult to see? She could spot one brown eye, a small scar on her nose, and a lock of light brown hair. But the whole face? No way.
She got closer to the desk, placing her hands on it and staring at the woman directly. The simple fact that those eyes - one at a time, as she couldn't see them both at once - didn't even blink made her realise she wasn't losing her mind. Whatever was happening to her, it seemed normal.
When she gave up on seeing more, she turned to Chris. He was perfectly visible.
«It's part of the security system,» he said, reading it on her face.
He chuckled, as her expression was confused and curious at the same time. Maybe he should have warned her before entering.
«Inside the base territory, you cannot see faces. It's a measure to prevent visitors and random passers-by to recognise the personnel.»
«And voices?»
«They're hard to memorise, but you hear them pretty much as they are.»
«That's why you aren't afraid your higher-ups punish you for bringing me here!»
«No, I'm not afraid because I am the higher-ups- This is not a Government lab, but my own. I invest in promising research here.»
«Oh,» she said, not that impressed. She lived in a family where people would claim their own what actually was of everyone, public. So, to her, big investments weren't so much of a big deal.
However, she would come back to that thought later and realise that Chris Lindt was extremely rich. Way richer than her grandfather.
«But... Why can I see you perfectly?» she inquired.
«Because you love me too much,» was the shameless reply. Chris regretted saying it at that same moment, but it had been too much of a temptation.
He observed her expression change and, as much as he liked the blushing on her face, what intrigued him the most was how she was believing him. She was considering it, tilting her head and... thinking.
«I was joking,» he said, before her thinking brought her to a conclusion based on a lie. «I'm an exception. Me, and the security guards. We need to see and be seen. For us, the system is off.»
«So, you can see me too?»
«That's true.»
«While this lady can't?»
«Correct.»
«So, the system is on or off based on the person? Like... You can see, and everyone can see you.»
«Exactly. It's harder to turn it on in one way only. And it would be pointless because the guards need to see faces. And I'm their investor so I already know who works here.»
The secretary sat at her place, observing the couple as they chatted. She smiled politely, more because she knew her boss could see her than for the girl. Who was that girl, by the way? Judging from her figure and clothes, she must have been young.
«Do you want me to show the miss around, Mr Lin?» she offered. Sure, she could find out more about the stranger...
«No,» Chris said. «I'll do it.»
The secretary realised she had made a mistake. But how could she predict Chris Lindt had come there only for a girl? Oh, it must have been serious! It was a pity that no one knew she worked her. It would have been hard to explain how and where she had seen them. Or unseen, whatever.
«There are some people from the Government visiting,» she explained. «That's why I offered. I thought you were here to meet them.»
Chris Lindt's expression showed her how wrong she was. Those people from the Government were the last bother he needed.