Tatadoro was panting, he had been running non stop for the past 9 hours and just collapsed onto the roof of the hospital. While laying there, people were coming to the roof to check what it was that had landed there, but as they realized it was just Tatadoro they went back inside. Not many had even noticed that he had been gone for so long. Only Vb and Eaco stayed and they asked where he had been.

  Tatadoro was trying to stay conscious, but was able to answer them. "Sydney."

  Vb seemed pretty pissed off. He asked Tatadoro why he went there alone.

  “We were working on too many questions without real knowledge.” Tatadoro answered. “Eaco, I think you were right.“

  “About Kire?” She asked.

  “Yeah. I saw them get special treatment when going into the hotel where Joy is.” Tatadoro explained.

  “Ok.” Eaco “What about the thing Milo said?”

  “I couldn’t see her.” Tatadoro admitted. “I had to leave pretty quickly cuz they knew I was there.”

  “What?” Eaco and Vb asked simultaneously.

  “Yeah, I was watching Kire driving away, but then he got out of the car and just tracked me down almost perfectly.” Tatadoro explained. “And I’m pretty fucking sure I was calm as a cucumber.”

  Neither of them knew what to think of it. “Glad you’re alive, but it seems like going there was a bit pointless.” Vb said.

  “Yeah, I know.” Tatadoro sighed in defeat. “But has anything happened here either?”

  Vb helped Tatadoro up and they walked inside as Vb and Eaco told him about Liam, The cave and Michael’s grandfather. “Milo and Monika are interrogating him right now.”

  “Really?” Tatadoro chuckled. “What’s he said so far?”

  “Nothing.” Vb said.

  They got to the room where Monika and Samuel were behind a 1 way mirror. Milo and Liam were sitting on a couch and when they saw Tatadoro Liam got up to greet him.

  Tatadoro greeted him back and shook his hand. He saw Monika in the room with Samuel and asked Vb whether they had tried showing Michael to him.

  When told that they hadn't, Tatadoro told Milo to go get him. He knocked on the glass and sat down on the couch next to Liam, surprising him.

  Monika came out and as she was sitting down, Tatadoro asked Eaco if Michael was free. She was about to answer, but Milo was already back with Michael. He glanced to the couch that was next to the door and was surprised to see so many people there, but when locking eyes with Liam he didn’t seem to recognize him at all. He was then pulled into the interrogation room by Milo and Vb who went there with him.

  After Vb closed the door, Tatadoro asked Eaco what she was about to say.

  “Yeah, we haven’t really discussed him.” Eaco replied.

  Tatadoro was perplexed, he asked Eaco why, but she didn’t have anything to say.

  “Well, let's discuss it now.” Tatadoro stated. “Isaac and Milo are vouching for him and I trust them so can he be free?”

  Eaco thought there should be a further discussion than that, but not even she herself believed Michael to be an enemy so she reluctantly agreed.

  “Alright, he can join our training sessions.” Tatadoro said. He then turned towards Liam and asked from whose side Samuel was related to him.

  Liam answered that it was his mother’s dad and Tatadoro turned to Monika to ask whether she met her.

  Monika immediately knew that Tatadoro was talking about whether Liam’s mother had the same gene that they believed Michael to have, so she directly answered that. “I think she has it.”

  Liam was confused, but had a clue on what they were talking about and gathered the courage to ask. “Is this about being strong again?”

  “Yeah pretty much.” Tatadoro answered. “If your mother has it and you’re the older brother of Michael, then unless she isn’t your biological mother, you should have something called the Kai Siharath gene.”

  “What’s that?” Liam asked.

  “People who have it are just more natural at using Energy.” Tatadoro answered. His answer raised Liam's curiosity he had no idea what Energy was and decided to ask Tatadoro who tried his best explaining it, but he was so bad at it that it just confused Liam even more.

  On the other side of the class Samuel had stayed quiet, but was slightly nervous. Vb was standing behind Milo, staring Samuel right into his eyes. They had all been quiet for the whole time until Michael finally asked Milo what they were doing, he asked Michael whether he recognized the man in front of them, but he didn’t. Vb then grabbed Michael and dragged him out of the room, he asked everyone else to come in there with him. They all stared at Samuel as Vb started asking him questions. First he asked what he had done to Michael, but like before he stayed quiet.

  He next asked about Michael memory loss and if he knew how it happened, but again Samuel stayed silent. Samuel was doing his best to keep his composure, but every now and then something would slip through and the 5 sets of eyes analyzing his every move made it almost impossible for him to hide it.

  Michael had been left alone with Liam who now finally had the chance to talk with him, but he was aware of Michael's memory loss and the fact that he fully thought Joy was his actual brother. Liam didn’t even know what to say to him so he just awkwardly sat next to him.

  “So who is that old guy in there with everyone?” Michael asked, surprising Liam, but also making him sad.

  “He’s my grandfather.” Liam answered while turning to look at everybody through the class.

  “Oh, what did he do?” Michael asked.

  “I don’t know yet…” He glanced over to Michael and was startled by him staring right at him. “He might know what happened to my brother." He continued.

  “Oh.” Michael was completely clueless of the situation and was being rather straightforward with his questions. “What do you think happened to him?”

  Liam was shocked to hear Michael ask that and had to think for a while. “I think he got kidnapped and brainwashed.” He finally answered, he saw Michael turn away again and apologize for prying.

  The mood got even more awkward, It didn’t even last that long, but to them it felt like forever. Their savior was Milo when he came out of the room and sat down between them. He told Michael the good news. "Tatadoro got you free."

  Michael seemed ecstatic after hearing it. “Really?”

  “Yeah, Nobody should be stopping you everywhere you go.” Milo answered.

  “That’s awesome.” There was a short silence after Michael said that, as Liam was staying quiet and Milo was just observing the two of them. “So, did that old man tell anything about his brother?” He then asked, while pointing at Liam.

  Milo took a small glance at Liam before speaking. “Actually we found him 2 months ago.”

  “Really? That sounds like good news. Where was he?” Michael asked obliviously.

  “You’re his brother.” Milo said.

  Initially Michael was shocked, but Liam was even more so. Michael started chuckling shortly after, but as he watched Milo’s and Liam’s faces completely serious his smile quickly vanished. “You’re just joking right?”

  Milo shook his head and told Liam to show him a picture of the two from his phone. The picture shocked Michael even further. “How is that even possible?” he yelled. “Mom and Dad knew about the drowning.”

  “Now you aren’t even thinking logically.” Milo scolded. “What if the drowning never happened. I mean you wouldn’t know since you lost your memory.”

  Michael stayed completely quiet.

  “Liam’s grandfather wouldn’t say anything directly, but most likely he sold you and Joy to somebody who then created the facade to make you believe some other people were your parents.” Milo continued.

  “So is Joy also his brother?” Michael asked and pointed to Liam again.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  “No, We found him in a cave the day before you disappeared.” Liam said.

  “Do you remember the date of the first day you remember?” Milo asked Michael.

  He quickly answered. "October 19th"

  “So 6 days after you went missing.” Liam

  Michael was shaking his head; he wasn't sure whether to believe them or not. He then remembered when Isaac briefly mentioned the possibility that Joy wasn’t his actual brother he took it to heart and was destroyed about it until he realized that it was most likely just a joke, but now it was the actual truth.

  “Do you want to go have another talk with the old guy?” Milo cheekily asked.

  Michael quickly stood up and marched into the room, Milo and Liam followed after him and everybody in there were surprised by Michael’s determination. He yelled to Samuel what he did to him, but Samuel still wouldn’t talk.

  Even Liam was now getting mad, he also asked who he sold Michael to, but Samuel only closed his eyes. It angered Liam even more and he was also about to start yelling, but Milo calmed them both down.

  “What are you trying to achieve by not talking, Who’re you protecting?” Milo wondered. “Is it Aneta Racan?”

  Samuel tried his best to keep his composure and to anyone else it would’ve gone unnoticed, but everyone in the GA were trained to pick up on even the smallest changes in composure.

  They all saw that small change in Samuel after hearing Aneta Racan mentioned and all almost burst out laughing. They then heard someone knocking on the door and when Tatadoro went to open it, Isaac and another man walked in.

  Michael was happy to see Isaac, but he didn’t recognize the other man. He had seen him, but couldn’t remember his name. Luckily he didn’t have to as Eaco said it out loud. “Chu, do you want to have a crack at this guy?”

  The man said sure and everyone quickly got out of there leaving him alone. Before leaving though Eaco sent him a text file that had everything they knew about Samuel written down. Nobody even stayed in the area outside the interrogation room; they all went to the cafeteria to eat as they knew what was to come.

  Chu Ya-Jun was known as someone who felt the least sorry for criminals going through interrogation. He was usually the very last resort as he would spare no means to make someone talk. He sat down on one of the chairs and read the text file Eaco sent him.

  “What do you hope to achieve by not talking?” Chu asked Samuel, but like before Samuel stayed quiet. “As you wish.” Chu sighed and then got up. He walked over to Samuel and grabbed his wrist. He flinched and tried to get away from Chu, but not only was he tied to the floor, but Chu had a tight hold on him.

  He was feeling a burning sensation all over his hand and it was not going away. Chu kept on holding onto him for 2 minutes while Samuel kept screaming. Finally he stopped and sat on the table, he asked whether Samuel changed his mind, but was disappointed to still not get him to talk.

  “You know it won’t get any easier. You know you’re guilty. We know you’re guilty and you know that we know you’re guilty, so not talking will just make it hurt more.” Chu threatened, but was still met by silence. Chu was disappointed. He scratched his head and looked at the time, he put his phone down on the table and moved one of the chairs next to Samuel. He sat down on it and grabbed both of Samuel's wrists and immediately the screaming continued.

  Chu was stimulating the pain receptors in Samuel's hand. Similarly to how people could warm their own bodies, Chu was warming up only the pain receptors, but at a magnitude of thousands.

  Chu held his hands for almost 5 minutes straight and would occasionally make it less painful to prevent Samuel from getting too used to it, but Even after that Samuel was still staying quiet, this only frustrated Chu even more and he decided to amp up the pain even more. He locked Samuel’s legs and hands in place and then grabbed his waist.

  Meanwhile everybody else was sitting down in the cafeteria to eat. Michael was sitting right by Liam who was telling the same story of finding Joy for the 10th time, but he was happy. He could finally talk with his brother after over 2 months of thinking he was dead.

  Tatadoro was the only one who hadn’t come to the cafeteria. He was taking a shower in his bathroom when he heard someone open the door. He saw a silhouette through the foggy class sitting beside him on the toilet, but could easily recognize it as Monika. “How long have you been awake for?” She asked.

  “Haven’t been counting, but somewhere close to 30 hours.” Tatadoro answered.

  “Did you fight someone?” She asked in a worried tone.

  “No." Tatadoro assured. "I ran here in 4 hours.”

  "After 30 hours of not sleeping. Why?" She asked.

  “I was seen by Kire.” Tatadoro answered and got out of the shower.

  Monika passed Tatadoro the towel that was on the counter and asked. "Why?"

  “I don’t know, he just knew where I was.” Tatadoro babbled. “Maybe Joy told him when they were in the hotel.”

  Monika got curious. “Could you see inside?”

  “No, all the shutters were closed on the windows.” Tatadoro said as he stepped out of the bathroom and fell over on the bed. “I’d rather not talk about the whole trip, it was a complete waste.”

  Monika followed him and sat down next to him. “Do you wanna just sleep?”

  Tatadoro turned over. “I might stay up for a while.”

  Back in the cafeteria Michael was telling of his past month with Isaac to Liam. While the two of them were talking Milo was sitting on the other side of the table listening to them while eating.

  Isaac saw him and thought he would be jealous of Liam for getting all the attention of Michael, but he couldn’t have been more wrong. It was the first time in Milo’s life when someone his age didn’t idolize him and it only made Milo want to be friends with both of them even more. Milo carefully listened to every word both Michael and Liam said and when Michael started talking about the past week and mentioned him, he was more than happy to join the conversation.

  Eventually Chu walked into the cafeteria with a phone in his hands and everybody turned to look at him.

  “He told me a pretty interesting tale.” Chu said as he placed his phone on the table with a recording app open.

  They all gathered around and Eaco pressed play on the recording.

  It started with panting as well as pleading and was followed up by Chu saying “If you answer my every question I won’t do anything else to you.”

  “I will. I will, please don’t touch me anymore.” Samuel whimpered.

  “Alright, Look me in the eyes as you answer my questions.” Chu commanded. “What did you do to Joy Aukat??”

  “I gave him away to someone I used to work with.” Samuel answered with a shaky voice.

  “Who?” Chu asked.

  “Vince M.. Matays.” Samuel stuttered.

  “Is he a part of Aneta Racan?” Chu asked.

  “T... Technically.” Samuel

  “What do you mean technically?” Chu asked.

  “Technically only Kire and Iro are Aneta Racan while every other gang and criminal organization work for them.” Samuel slowly uttered.

  There was a brief silence. “Ok, so why did you give Joy away to him?” Chu asked. “Oh and did you also give your grandson to him?”

  “Yes.” Samuel answered.

  “Why?” Chu asked.

  “Joy was different.” Samuel

  “How?” Chu

  “He was even more extraordinary than Sarim’s son.” Samuel

  “What?” Chu laughed. “You know Sarim?”

  “Yes.” Samuel

  “Ok.” Chu chuckled. “So why did you give them to this Vince person?”

  “I knew he was looking for someone extraordinary.” Samuel

  “What for.” Chu

  “I don’t know.” Samuel

  There was once again a brief silence. “Alright.” Chu exhaled. “Uhh, What’s the last name of this Sarim person you spoke of?”

  “Petrevska.” Samuel

  Everybody was shocked and looked at Milo, but the tape continued.

  “How do you know him?” Chu asked.

  “I used to work for him.” Samuel

  “How long?” Chu

  “Twenty years.” Samuel

  “You mentioned his son, how did you meet him?” Chu

  “His mother is my cousin.” Samuel

  Everybody was even more shocked, Milo got up from the table and ran away.

  “What a small world.” Chu chuckled. “That’s all the question they wanted me to ask, but I think your other grandson would like to know. Why did you give Michael away?”

  “Vince was supposed to give him back, but he never did.” Samuel

  There was a long silence after Samuel’s response until the recording ended.

  “Highly doubt he was lying, his responses were too genuine.” Chu explained as took his phone back.

  Nobody had anything to say to the recording especially Liam was shocked. Their moment of silence was interrupted by Milo returning with Monika.

  “Was he telling the truth?” Monika asked.

  “I believe so.” Chu answered.

  Monika extended her arm. “Can I hear the recording?”

  “Sure.” Chu answered as he gave her the phone.

  “I want to speak with this Vince Matays person.” Vb declared. He got up and told Chu to follow him.

  They, along with everyone else except Monika, went back to the interrogation room where a sweaty Samuel was sitting by himself. His entire body was full of burn marks and blue spots.

  Vb and Chu marched in the room and Vb took out a phone out of his pocket.

  “I want you to call Vince Matays.” Vb said as he unchained one of Samuel’s hands and handed him the phone.

  Samuel knew that Vince’s office had been attacked, but didn’t mention it to anyone; he took the phone and dialed in Vince’s number.

  “Put it on speaker.” Vb ordered.

  The phone rang for a while, but to Samuel’s surprise it was picked up. “Who is this?” A girl’s voice answered the phone.

  Samuel didn’t recognize the voice, but Vb was gesturing to him to keep talking.

  “Is this Vince’s phone?” Samuel asked in a much more coherent voice.

  “It is. Who are you?” She answered.

  “I’m sorry, I thought something happened to him.” Samuel.

  “Yeah, I kidnapped him, but who are you?” She said.

  Vb took the phone out of Samuel’s hand. “I’m Vb Ganz and I would like to talk with Vince Matays.”

  “Sorry, but he hasn’t been awake in a while." The girl rejected. "Why do you even want to talk with him?”

  “I want to ask him what he did with Joy Aukat? and Michael Taylor.” Vb asked.

  Someone could be heard talking in the background before the girl answered. “He was planning on making Michael a weapon for Kire to use against you.”

  A few people outside who heard her say that turned to look at Michael.

  “Why?” Vb

  “Because I was a failure.” Kate answered.

  “What does that mean?” Vb

  “I’m Michael’s predecessor, I was supposed to originally be the weapon against you.” Kate declared.

  “What happened?” Vb asked.

  “I escaped.” Kate.

  The call then ended abruptly as unbeknownst to Vb, during the call Kire, Iro, Sara and Joy had just driven to the driveway of another house and Kate had been watching them the whole time she was talking with him.