“This is beautiful.” Mateo murmured softly.

We were standing on a small hill covered in grass. Beyond us were the outskirts of the industrial district. I could see small billows of smoke rising into the sky from grey industrial pipes. I could only imagine what sort of technology was being made there. More automations, like the one Mateo piloted, or perhaps Vehemprine.

The protector wasn’t talking about the distant warehouses though, at least I assumed he wasn’t. In front of the smoke pillars was a small forest of wild trees. I could hear birds chirping within the canopy of leaves. When was the last time I had seen a bird?

Ardour didn’t have many natural places like this, if you could call it natural to start with. I remember how, as a child, I had been shocked to learn that the Amazon Rainforest had not made by people. Every tree growing on Ardour had been genetically altered to absolute perfection, grown in greenhouses and manually planted, so I had just assumed it was the same everywhere else.

Mateo was right, it really was beautiful. If my entire being wasn’t buzzing with anxiety, I would have found the strength to verbally agree with his statement.

“Well, we better set up the tents before the sun sets.” Suzuka said in a chirpy tone.

She sounded far too happy. I couldn’t help but check Mateo for a reaction. Of course, he didn’t pick up on the rounder’s glee.

The camping trip was Suzuka’s idea. It’s out of the way, she said. No one would get hurt. I was shocked by how easily she had accepted my plan. I know she doesn’t have a great relationship with Mateo, but I expected her to deride me for coming up with it.

I felt a sudden urge to run. I could just make up an excuse and force us all to leave. We were using up valuable rest days on this trip. I wasn’t feeling well. I didn’t have the gall to transform one of my crewmates and friends into a client against their will. Then I remembered Chloe locked away somewhere cold and dark. I bit my tongue.

Another excuse formed in my mind – how would the kidnappers know to come here? Of course, I already knew the answer to this. I thought about the strange message that had brought Mateo to the hospital and the injection I’d been given. It had taken me a few days to piece it all together. That needle hadn’t been for me. Someone had wanted to drug Mateo in the hospital. He was the true target all along. In a weird way, this gave me a glimmer of hope. Maybe they would try to take him, and we could just follow them. Perhaps we wouldn’t have to force him to transform by taking his medication.

Nevertheless, Suzuka had made a big show of our trip on social media. She said it would make us more noticeable to whoever was kidnapping the clients.

“I see the perfect spot!”

Beck pointed to a small clearing in the trees. Suzuka had decided not to tell her girlfriend about our plan which only made me even more nervous. She said it would make everything seem more legitimate. Beck would freak out over Mateo’s transformation and we would all evacuate together before me and Suzuka went to HQ.

When he transformed back, I would hide and go radio silent as Suzuka flew towards HQ. Then, when the strange scientists and their needles arrived, I would corner them safely in my suit. The rounder would come back, and we’d capture them in the act.

Nothing could go wrong. At the worst, Mateo would turn back, and he’d hate us for the rest of his life. At least he would know the truth that his adopted father refused to tell him.

We set up our tents as the sun began lower in the sky. Even though I had helped to create this plan, I kept silently begging for my phone to ring. Let an emergency happen. Let us leave this place right now. Of course, it does not happen.

Suzuka stole Mateo’s Vehemprine when he went to relieve himself in the forest. She waved the packet in front of my face in such an excited manner that I took them off her. I was angry that she was treating this as a joke. When she saw my face, she calmed down.

“Sorry Mags, sorry. Shit, I’m just nervous, you know? I can’t believe this is happening. We’re going to get them!”

Her eyes grew wide.

“Did you see that weird guy in the trees before?”

I had. He was dressed in a white jogging suit. The man had been pretending to go for a walk, but it was obvious from the way he had lingered behind the foliage that he was distracted.

“What are you two whispering about?”

Beck was setting up a small portable stove in front of us.

“Banter, don’t worry your pretty head about it.” Suzuka crooned in a playful manner.

The nurse responded by throwing a box of matches at the rounder. “Help me light this up before I set this forest on fire.”

As Suzuka left, I found myself wondering about Mateo as a client. I glanced into my DOPD duffel bag and flicked my finger through Mateo’s client profile. During the creation of our plan, I had gone to find his client form in his file. I soon discovered that this vital piece of information was missing. How convenient. We had no idea what he would transform into.

It was a risk we were willing to take. After all, we’ve dealt with so many different clients. What was one more? Besides, we knew Mateo. I knew him. His behaviours, his moods and his motivations. Nothing he could transform into would surprise me.

It was growing darker now. I was practically begging the kidnappers to arrive now. Were they hiding in the trees around us?

I glanced around. He was taking an awfully long time. I felt my stomach drop. Staring at Suzuka, her pale face reflected my own thoughts.

“Mateo!” We shouted simultaneously.

Leaving behind a confused Beck, we raced into the forest and went in two separate directions. I clumsily pulled my phone out of my pocket, preparing to call HQ the moment I saw them dragging him away. We continued yelling the protector’s name.

“Maggie?”

I stopped in my tracks. Mateo was standing on a path that led deeper into the forest. Beside him was the man in the white jogging suit. The protector tightened his jaw and pointed an accusatory finger at him.

“I knew who you were the second I saw you. Get out of here now.”

Sweat was pouring from the jogger’s red brow. He looked out of breath, or extremely nervous.

“Man, I’m just going for a jog. Can you leave me alone?”

I stared from one to the other. Mateo glanced at me, a furious expression on his face.

“He’s one of my dad’s lackeys. A bodyguard. This asshole has been following me all week.”

The stranger shook his head in such an exaggerated manner that it almost looked comical. Like a terrible actor who didn’t realise that his dramatic soliloquy was coming off as a complete joke.

“I ain’t nobody’s bodyguard. Leave me alone!”

The man darted his eyes to me, and I felt my organs twist like a snake in pain. Something about his panicked expression made me think he had something to hide and everything to lose. He glanced from Mateo to me and I realised he was sizing us up. His hand went into his pocket.

“Look out!” I yelled just as the jogger pulled something out.

The stranger swung his arm towards the protector’s neck. Mateo blocked the attack and elbowed the jogger in his face. The man in white staggered backwards, blood dripping down his nose as he moaned in agony.

I stared in shock as the needle hanging limply from Mateo’s bare arm. The serum within it sloshed about. The protector pulled the syringe out and glared at it with a furrowed brow.

“W-what the fuck?”

The man went to stand but Mateo kicked him down with a swift boot to the stomach. He flipped the jogger around so he was lying on his back.

“What the fuck is this? You trying to drug me? Why? What is this?”

He hovered the needle over the stranger’s hand and the jogger broke down.

“Don’t hurt me!” The man howled. “It’s just a sedative! They made me do it!”

“Who made you?” I found myself shouting.

The man let out a stifled sob. “They’re not going to let me go now.”

The jogger’s eyes shot open and his mouth opened and closed silently. His eyes began to roll upward as a soft glow began to emanate from his body.

“Oh God, it’s happening. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

He gripped Mateo’s arm, tears streaming down his face. The stranger began mouthing something to Mateo that made the protector freeze in horror. Straining myself, I managed to hear the final words out of his mouth before his form morphed in size.

“…please kill me.”