Chapter 16 - The Elite Guards

After fifteen minutes of swimming Cj and Ahimoth arrived safely on the island. They looked around and all they could see were skyscrapers blocking their view along with roads and machines roaming everywhere. Machines such as miniature auto-moving tanks and Robots. Some robots walked on two legs while others walked on four. They all stopped their motion and looked intensely at Ahimoth. Cj had the Professor's face so all the machines recognized him but not the little boy.

Intruder Al-

Cj quickly crushed the machine who was speaking with a single kick and ordered the others to keep their mouths shut. "This boy is with me. Don't go rushing into conclusions" said Cj.

"Orders are to eliminate Strangers. Why did you not input his name into our system? If you plan on bringing him? That is not like you Professor" said one robot. The others nodded in agreement. "Relax, you can let Ms. Aoi know I was here Jeez," Cj said. His heartfelt like it was going to jump out of his chest. He tried his best not to show it. "These set of machines are not that smart but they are still perceptive. Letting my guard down means doom" he thought to himself. With a couple of deep breaths, Cj took Ahimoth's hand and went on his way.

"This is beyond me. I never imagined seeing so many robots in person. Feels like I'm dreaming" said Ahimoth. He still held a straight face despite seeing something for the first time. He was not even pretending either. Of all the skyscrapers on the island, Cj knew the one in the center is where important documents are managed. "An Elite Guard will most definitely be there," he said out loud. Cj brought Ahimoth inside one of the buildings and helped him to wear his earpiece. "Make sure to let me know when all security is disabled. Are you up to the task? If you aren't, just let me do it myself right now" said Cj seriously.

Ahimoth replied, "I am ready. I remember most of what you taught me so I should be fine. You gave me the complete rundown of this place so many times. If I fail then we both die, that's the kind of pressure I need". Cj giggled at his friend's response. "Pressure is what turned coal into diamonds is what people always say. That is partly wrong but let's roll with it" said Cj. He gave Ahimoth a fist bump before leaving his side. He left Ahimoth on his own and headed towards the building at the center.

Once he arrived in front of the building Ahimoth told Cj the good news. "Wow, I can't believe I did it. All the machines stopped functioning. The cameras were already busted before we got here too. This is great Cj" the boy celebrated. Cj had no doubt that Ahimoth would succeed. "That's great, stay where you are for the night and make sure not to open the doors for anybody. Not even me unless it's when Miya arrives" warned Cj.

"Ok" Ahimoth replied.

Cj entered the building without much trouble. Almost every building was free of access before Cj arrived on the island. It made him wonder why there is poor security. "When is the last time Aoi Quin visited this place?" he asked himself. The building had 17 floors but Cj did not bother to check the first five. There weren't any archives on those floors. While taking the stairs up to the seventh floor Cj heard a loud popping sound.

POP! POP! POP!

Cj quickly ran up the stairs to see a man with four balloons in his hand. He was sitting on a bench in the hallway popping balloons one after the other using needles. A brown afro with scars on both cheeks. Grey eyes, gold teeth and had on a jacket with the HEP logo on it. "Hello There," Cj greeted. The man with the balloon looked at Cj surprised. He quickly stood up and bowed before him. "Good evening Professor, I wasn't expecting you," the man said surprised.

"Yeah I know, I wasn't planning on coming but something came up. I need to see BEA right away" Cj said strongly.

"BEA? You and Aoi are the only ones authorized to be in its presence but I still need to check you out sir. Hope you don't mind me searching you" the man said politely.

Cj nodded and lift both his arms up. The man wasted no time patting Cj down from head to toe. "So far he doesn't suspect me. Maybe a fight does not have to break out after all" Cj thought relieved. The strength and capabilities of HEP's elite guards are a mystery. It was not clarified if any possessed a gift or not. After searching, the man gave Cj one of his balloons.

"Follow me, Professor," the man said.

Cj nodded and followed his every step. They entered a room on the tenth floor that was filled with shelves. Most of them were empty but some had containers on them. Metal on the right, Plastic on the left. At first glance, anybody could tell how useless this room was. "What are we doing here?" asked Cj curiously. The man turned around and looked at Cj suspiciously. At the looks of it that question either blew Cj's cover or almost blew it. "Come on Sir, you visited here before remember. You really are getting old aren't you hahaha" the man laughed. Cj sighed and laughed along with him. At the back of the room, there was a switch on the wall. A simple flip on and off switch, nothing seemed weird about it. "Am I being played right now?" Cj wondered. The man flipped the switch hesitantly.

FLIP!

The instant the switch was flipped Cj blinked along with it. The instant he opened his eyes everything changed. He was no longer in the room filled with shelves. Cj wanted to scream out wow for all to hear so bad he had to cover his mouth. He could not afford to arise any more suspicion on himself. The room lit up with red lights and a huge rectangular box was in the room. There was nothing else to look at. "There she is if you would please. Go tell her the password. I'll be by the door waiting. You have five minutes, to refresh your memory I'll remind you of the rule. Talking to BEA for over five minutes is grounds for death no matter who you are" the man reminded.

Before he left the room Cj asked the man. "Hey what's your name?" he asked.

WAAAAMM!

Without warning, Cj was hit in the head with an iron bat. Another person appeared out of nowhere. A woman with long braided blonde hair, blue eyes, and a tuxedo. She walked up to the other person and slapped him in the face. "Idiot! Don't you see that man is an imposter! He is obviously not The Professor" the woman shouted.

"Wha! He isn't? How do you know that for sure Ava?" the man asked doubtfully. He looked over at the old man who was on the floor bleeding. "He looks the same to me. That guy is definitely the Professor" the man said confidently.

SLAP!

"If you are going to keep being a fool then I am going to fire you," the woman said upsettingly. She walked up to the imposter and asked for his real name. "I am Ava Quin, as the leader of Elite Guards West Division I cannot allow you to leave here unscathed. Tell me your name!" she demanded.

...…

Cj could not have given a response if he wanted to. He was knocked unconscious mere seconds ago by Ava's bat. Cj's head bled rapidly, he was losing a lot of blood at an astonishing rate. The man picked Cj up and said "That was too much Ava. What if he really was the Professor?"

"I am telling you that man is an imposter. All the machines suddenly stopped moving outside. I bet he is the cause of it. Besides, you must know how my hunches go by now. They are right 80% of the time" said Ava. "Not because they are right most times means you should give an old man a head injury. I swear if he dies you have to answer to Ms. Aoi" the man said worriedly. Ava dropped her bat suddenly feeling guilty for what she has done. "Whatever Harley, go treat him quickly but if he really is an imposter then he's dead," said Ava.

Seven hours later Cj woke up to see that it was past midnight. His head was covered in bandages and it stung with each movement. "What the hell happened!? Who hit me from behind? Weird that I am still alive" Cj thought to himself. He rubbed his face and realized that he still had the face of the Professor. "Why was I attacked then? Who would want to kill the professor? I know there was a chance my identity would get exposed but so soon" he sighed. The door opened the same guy entering. "Somehow his afro looks bigger, not only that his whole body looks bigger," said Cj.

"Hmm, oh right you asked for my name before you were knocked out cold. Recrin is the name. I am also a part of the Quin family but of the lesser branch of course. I work for the head Ms. Aoi Quin" he introduced. Cj nodded and thanked him for the treatment. He stood up slowly and asked, "Who slapped me in the head? It was out of nowhere". That was when Ava walked inside the room. As if she was waiting for the right moment to step in. "It was me, I thought you were an imposter pretending to be the Professor. Even know my gut is telling me you are someone not to be trusted so I ask for proof. Prove that you Stephano Jupiter," said Ava. Cj was prepared for this. He had all the Professor's IDs and licenses. One of the benefits of living with him. Cj quickly pulled out an ID card. It was no normal ID, the card Cj took out was one provided by HEP themselves. There was no other way for someone to gain a HEP Identification. There are computers out there with the sole purpose of tracking any illegal IDs for the company. Ava went on her knees after seeing the irrefutable proof.

"I am sorry Aoi. Looks like I have to kill the Professor tonight" she said depressingly. She already had her bat in hand ready to swing. Recrin managed to stop Ava by holding her hands. "You believe in your gut feeling more than irrefutable proof. Please rethink what you are doing" he pleaded.

"I will accept all responsibility for my actions after this. Even if he is the Professor, I just can't shake the feeling that he is a threat. He is here to steal something from Aoi and I bet it's BEA" she said loudly. Recrin sighed and left the room. There was nothing more he could have done.

"But seriously though, why does everything look so big" Cj wondered to himself.

Ava and all the furniture inside the room looked bigger to Cj. With every second passing, it feels like he is being left behind in the world. "Am I getting smaller? If so is this woman the cause of it" Cj questioned. "No point in talking to this one. She is out for blood" Cj said out loud. He took a couple of steps back and grabbed a book off a desk. He threw it at Ava then sprinted past her and left the room. His head was aching while doing it but he had to endure. Everything in the hallway looked bigger to Cj. That fact became more apparent when he saw how huge the bench was. He stopped for a moment and measured himself.

"140 cm at best. Yep, this is bad" said Cj. Ava caught up with Cj and swung her bat at him relentlessly. Cj caught it and changed the bat from its current state to multiple pieces of tubes. He swiftly grabbed two of them in the air and slapped her in the head just like how she did him. "Screw your bat. Fight with hands" Cj shouted.

"For an old fart, you are agile" Ava complimented.

"Thanks... You suck"