Chapter 1.1.30 — Lock 4

Lock woke up Saturday afternoon to the sun peeking through a crack in the curtains. He wiped the sleep out of his eyes and sat on the edge of the bed. He winced at the headache and massaged his temples.

So… he could still catch a hangover—it just took him three bottles of rum now instead of one.

Thankfully, only Manton, Carter, and Jessie had seen him chugging straight out of the bottle and they already knew Lock was enhanced. They didn’t give him any grief.

He didn’t have to hide from them.

Emmett on the other hand…

Synth music was playing quietly in the living room. No doubt Emmett was working steadily on his radio locator project. Lock could picture him hunched over the table, surrounded by electronics. The man was a machine like that, always working.

If only Emmett would’ve stayed like that—It would’ve been so much easier if one of them was normal. But no, Emmett had to go and get shot up with Mutagen-A.

Emmett had to go and fuck it up.

Lock reached into his nightstand and grabbed pills for his headache, then he pulled out his pipe and something for his nerves.

He inhaled deeply, letting the powerful drugs take the edge off his changing body. All the while, he looked at his bedroom door, toward the living room and Emmett beyond.

Emmett was lucky. Lock wasn’t sure how Venture had gotten Emmett a dose of Mutagen-A, but at least he’d started with that and not something else from Gnosis. Not all of their mutagens were created equal—even turning into a monster wasn’t the worst that could happen with a bad reaction.

To make things worse, there were other nefarious parties that were making their own alterations to the mutagens and selling them on the street. Rumor was, there was a mole in Gnosis. The company poured resources into the problem—not just finding the mole, but trying to keep it quiet.

It was barely working.

Lock knew because Carter knew, but it had only been a few weeks since the first reports and now everyone at Gnosis was whispering about it.

Sooner or later, the news would piece things together. Lock had seen enough of the other mutagens that he knew there wasn’t really a string of vampire attacks in Wardenton; Gnosis and the media were covering up for mutagens getting onto the street.

Lock’s burner phone beeped, and he pulled it out from under his pillow.

Simon 3:04 PM: Work has been moved up to 5:00 PM today. Location 2D. Be in position by 4:30.

Lock 3:05 PM: Received.

Lock stood and got dressed, throwing on slacks and khakis. Ones he didn’t particularly care for. He slipped a black hoodie on overtop, all the while trying to suppress his frustration.

This was the third time in a row Simon had moved a job last minute. And he still had the gall to tell Lock to be there early.

Lock wasn’t some punk. He always got there early to scout a job.

That was part of why Gnosis had recommended Lock in the first place, and why he was paid so well for his services: Powers, discretion, adaptation… and ability to put up with client’s bullshit.

The only problem with today is that Lock had to leave in the next few minutes to get to South Central Station early.

Once Lock was ready to go, he left his room and went to the kitchen to grab a protein bar. He nodded to Emmett, who looked up from his pile of electronics at the table.

“How are you feeling today?” Emmett smirked. “You looked like you were feeling good last night.”

Lock’s headache was already subsiding, but he made a show of rubbing his temples. “It was good. You should’ve come back early and hung out with us.”

Emmett chuckled awkwardly, looking at the pile of electronics like it was going to save him. “Yeah, I got hung up with work.”

Lock nodded and kept a straight face.

Right. At work. With Dr. Venture.

Right.

“Don’t work too hard.” Lock smirked and turned for the door.

“Hey… I’ll catch you later.”

Lock didn’t turn. “Maybe.” Then he left the apartment and headed for South Central Station.

~

Lock and Emmett had been close for most of their time at Belport University, but that all changed junior year when they both got their internships—Lock with Gnosis and Emmett with Dr. Venture.

Both of them had joked that it was a big step. Real jobs, they said. They’d even joked that they wouldn’t see each other much anymore—at least they’d been right about that.

But neither of them had known what they were getting into. How could they?

Maybe that was why Lock was mad about Emmett taking Mutagen-A; it wasn’t that Venture had dosed him without Gnosis’s guidance, or that Emmett might be in danger of mutation or being found out…

Lock had been keeping his own powers secret from Emmett for over a year now, and now Emmett was keeping his own secrets.

It felt like betrayal, despite the hypocrisy.

But it had started even before that.

Lock had missed hanging out with his roommate.

Lock had grown up on the rougher side of Belport, and he hadn’t had the luxury of keeping too many friends. It was hard to do that when you were keeping your nose clean and staying out of trouble, all so he could get into Belport University. All so he could get out of the slums.

Emmett had been the first real friend Lachlan had. Now Emmett had betrayed him.

It wasn’t fair.

Lock wasn’t supposed to be the one getting left behind. He wasn’t supposed to have friends. It made it easier to leave when he didn’t.

Lock walked down the streets of Belport, head down, hands stuffed in his hoodie. Silent. Reminiscing. Wondering where he went wrong. Seething.

Yeah, he felt like a hypocrite, but the difference was Lock was better at hiding his powers. Emmett probably still thought he was a bouncer.

In contrast, Lock had figured his roommate out the night of the Champion street attack. Emmett spent the night with some random chick he’d never mentioned—right. It was such a shitty cover story that Lock had been insulted.

He’d been relieved too, that Emmett hadn’t been on the bus that night when it’d been cut in half. And it was funny just how short-lived that feeling had been.

Now, Lock was just angry.

It had been easy to pretend that everything was the same when Lock was only keeping his own secrets… When he was the only one lying.

~

Lock arrived at South Central Station at 5:20 PM. Ten minutes to spare. He leaned against a pillar near the East entrance, hoodie tucked under his arm.

His left eye twitched. It was hot and noisy down here, and Lock wished he had his pipe to take the edge off his powers.

South Central Station was underground. In almost every way, it was a surveillance nightmare. It was one of the wider platforms in Belport, well-lit, and absolutely packed with people. It was one of the last places they should be meeting at, which meant Simon had chosen this platform in spite of those reasons.

It meant Simon was worried about the client he was meeting, and he was trusting that client’s better judgment not to start shit in the middle of a crowded station.

Hopefully that trust was better placed than Lock’s had been.

A few minutes later, Simon walked down the stairs of the East entrance, wearing an obnoxious three-piece suit and carrying a large handbag. This time he’d darkened his complexion, and opted for tits, and long, almost shining black hair. It took Lock a few seconds to recognize the shapeshifter—he always came to these things wearing a different body.

There was no hiding his smell, though. He sweat too much, and no matter which cologne he wore, he always put on too damn much.

Or the swagger he walked with.

Lock smirked. Simon met his eyes and tried to hide his dejection.

“How is it you can always tell?”

Lock shrugged. “Maybe you’re not as good as you think.”

Simon smiled and scoffed, thinking Lock was joking when he wasn’t.

There was a thought—a shapeshifter that was actually conscientious enough to hide their scent, and change their demeanor and accents. Too bad every shapeshifter Lock had met was sloppy.

A man and a woman followed Simon, both walking with the confidence only supers had. Enforcers—both dressed in black business casual, meant to be as forgettable as possible. That was the way to blend in without a mask—be as plain and forgettable.

Simon didn’t look at either of them. “Stay close,” was all he said.

Lock and the two other enforcers followed at respectable distances, then took positions around the subway platform. Lock leaned against the nearby pillar and waited.

A few minutes later, Lock spotted another unassuming group walk down the opposite stairs—

It was almost funny to think that no one noticed them: Four men with military haircuts and dark clothes, one of which carrying a briefcase. Even when they split up, their eyes scanned the crowd. To Lock, it was painfully obvious that they weren’t there to catch the train.

But then, no one seemed to notice the group or Lock’s group. No one paid any mind as Simon and his contact exchanged the briefcase and the bag with only a few words, then walked away.

None of the other groups or families or travelers noticed. No—they just weren’t looking. They didn’t want to see Simon or Lock, or any of the other enforcers or supers. They didn’t want to see what was really going on.

Lock knew this because he was much the same. He didn’t know who Simon or his contact worked for. Didn’t want to know what businesses Gnosis contracted their experiments out to, or what Emmett had been doing with his newfound powers.

Simon walked past Lock and joined up with the other two enforcers. They would escort Simon to wherever he was going.

Lock kept his eye on the crowd and watched Simon out of the corner of his eye as the three walked up the East stairs and back out into Belport. Thankfully, today’s job went off without a hitch.

Easy money.

~ ~ ~