Disclosure

Duke drew closer to Dominique, towering over him. "I want you to know this because when I receive a special order ordained by the pill, tasked with taking down allies of the government. I can never reject it."

The air was thick with tension as Nadia broke the intense stare between Duke and Dominique, her voice cutting through the silence like a knife. "How do you know all this, Duke? How did you uncover all this?"

Duke's gaze wavered from Dominique's face as he replied, "It all clicked into place when I pieced together every little detail you've told me about those under the government's control. And then, of course, there were the three gentlemen who paid me a visit, sent to raid my house and pose to eliminate me as a threat." He turned to Dominique, his eyes glinting with a hint of amusement. "They were very... helpful, by the way. Very forthcoming with information about the pill and the Tierany system. It's a clever little trap, isn't it? A medium of enslavement with meager earnings, just enough to keep you in line."

Nadia, still perplexed by Duke's revelation, took a step closer to Duke. "And what about us without the Tierany chip? What you're saying makes sense and it doesn't at the same time. I am aware there are bad people in the government, but you are not referring to those but the government itself."

"Duke turned to her, his smile cold and calculated. "Ah, that's the beauty of it, Nadia. The government lets you off the hook for doing their dirty work. Ever wondered why they don't have the system chip implanted on them? Or yourselves?"

Realization slowly dawned on Nadia, her eyes widening as the truth sank in like a cold, dark abyss. She had never thought of it that way before. She only hoped for a bigger reward for their efforts. But now, everything made sense.

"There is no paradise that awaits you once you're done with the Tiers," Duke continued, his voice relentless, each word a hammer blow to their illusions. "They simply harvest your organs and give them to the creatures. And in return, the creatures have more reasons to attack and seek out human flesh. And that's more hunting for you lot"

Dominique squinted his eyes in confusion, as if doing so would help him make sense of what Duke was saying to him.

'The jobs, the creatures, the endless battles. It was all a ruse, a trap to keep them in line?' Dominique felt a surge of anger and betrayal, at the possibility of Duke being right.

Duke turned to Dominique. "That's what I wanted to show you in the burrow. A lot of bodies were there, and no it's not from the people that died in the hands of the creature. The creature doesn't eat others. It kills but doesn't eat other breathing species. If it did, those slimy creatures wouldn't have been there. If it did, it would have used its teeth instead of claws on you. It wanted to kill you because you were in the image of the scientist that made it lose its voice because of multiple tests carried out on it."

Dominique's expression remained frozen. The silence was heavy but Duke continued.

"They made y'all carry out their schemes. Haven't you noticed most of the job they task you with is around caves? Or revolving around creatures. How do you think you got some of the creature's powers? It's extracted! Think. And now that creature is back to facing off needles because of us. Come to think of it, we are no different from it. It wanted something that was heaven to It, just like how you want to get to paradise so badly- and that desire makes you both pawns in the government game."

Dominique shook his head, trying to clear the fog of disbelief. "No, this can't be true. The government would never do such a thing."

Duke turned to Nadia, "Nadia, were you with my phone earlier?"

Nadia nodded, bringing it out from her pocket. "Yes, I was. There are a lot of notifications by the way. You had several orders about your job, Duke."

Duke's gaze narrowed as he collected his phone and clicked on something. He checked the time, his eyes widening slightly. "In 10 seconds, Dominique, I'm going to receive an order to deliver the serum to your location."

"How...how did you know, it's the serum you've been delivering all along?" Dominique raised a question in shock. No human is supposed to know that."

"I've always known something was amiss," Duke replied. "ever since the company I worked for suddenly switched to a federal unit. I stopped delivering groceries, toys, and so on. I started delivering just one parcel, so of course I got curious. I've been the government's little errand boy, making sure you all stay in line with the deliveries, so of course I know more than you lot do."

Duke turned away from Dominique to Nadia and Ryker "Let's get your sister and leave quickly. Those men you took down won't stay down for long."

"Actually," Tyler spoke up as he entered the scene with a grin while holding a device operator. "They will. I made sure of it."

"Let's get out of here" Ryker announced, and they all started making their way toward the exit, excluding Dominique.

"You're heading the wrong way," Dominique spoke up and they all halted and turned to him.

"If I show you where she is, can you do me a favor?"

"What?" Nadia responded on behalf of the rest.

"Take me with you."