Malik noticed there were now four chairs at the table.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Here we go again! Who this time?
This time, the noise got louder and was no longer isolated to the garage door. It reverberated through the entire building and did not stop. Malik felt the vibration in his stomach and braced himself in his chair. He watched as neither Ori nor Wen Shen reacted. They continued drinking their tea as if they were on a pleasant picnic. The banging grew louder and louder. Malik couldn’t hear himself think. He tried to focus his gaze and his mind on the teapot in front of him. Just as everything blurred, Malik isolated other sounds, which allowed him to focus. He heard Wen Shen’s teacup being placed on its saucer. He heard Vau’s and Tony’s voices in a side conversation. He heard Ori scoot his chair back ever so slightly. Malik’s vision cleared up completely. The thumping on the walls was still loud, but it faded to the background. Malik heard Tony more clearly say, “Ori, check him out.”
Ori was looking at Malik and smiled. “See, I told you he could handle it.”
“Enough!” Wen Shen said. The loud thumping stopped.
The garage door rolled up quickly, and Malik saw a man in a black suit with a white shirt and a black tie. As he entered the garage, Malik recognized him. “Chance?” he said.
“Hello,” Ori said politely. “We haven’t met before.”
Chance stared at Ori, silent. Then he turned his gaze to Wen Shen and asked, “What are you doing here?”
Wen Shen continued to sip her tea, not looking up at him. In a soft and steady tone, she replied, “I think the better question is, what are you doing here?”
Ori interjected. He spoke in a calm voice. “I, we, have been called in.”
Chance looked from Ori to Vau and Tony and back again. “Ori?”
“Ding, ding, ding,” Wen Shen said, still peacefully drinking her tea. “You didn’t know you were in his web, did you?”
The man glared at Wen Shen. “Just because Ori decides to grace us with his presence doesn’t mean anything.”
Ori looked down at the table like he was thinking about what to say. Malik wanted to say something, but every time he opened his mouth, no words came out. He tried hard to speak, but his bottom lip just trembled. All the hairs on his arms stood up.
Ori, still looking down, calmly said, “I was called all the way in.”
Chance took a deep inhale. “So what are you going to do?”
Wen Shen set her tea down on the table, then lifted a doughnut to her lips.
Is that chocolate? Malik’s stomach rumbled.
“Stay with us, Malik,” Wen Shen said.
Ori sighed. “I need to ensure the right events are set off in the right order.”
“Too late for that, isn’t it?” Chance asked. “Besides, I’ve just been fulfilling my purpose. Gabriel is aware of everything.”
“I know, and I understand,” Ori said. “But Roy has utilized you too much for the wrong purposes. Too much greed has taken him, his company, and society in a dangerous direction and thrown off humanity’s course.”
Chance focused on Ori’s face. “How can you be sure of the right course and the right order of events?”
“I’ve examined them all,” Ori said simply.
“You’re telling me that you consciously traveled all the way through?” he said.
Ori nodded.
“You’ve seen it all?” Chance sounded incredulous.
Ori nodded.
“Not unscathed,” Vau said from a distance.
“I’m so sorry,” Chance said somberly. Malik thought his expression was one of shame.
“You did exactly what you were wired to do. Your job was to bring to life whatever was envisioned by the bold. Not all bold visions are kind. Unfortunately, this went way too far.”
Chance’s face hardened. “So, the reset is near? Enough will survive this next cycle. They’ve done it before.”
“Not without Earth as well,” Ori said.
“Is that possible?” Chance asked.
“Yes, unless we take direct action quickly.”
“You’ve spoken to Gabriel?”
“Yes, and Aja,” Ori confirmed. “Otherwise, I would not be here with the two of you.”
Chance nodded toward Malik. “What’s his importance to you?”
Wen Shen slid the atomizer across the table. “Haven’t you been curious about these?”
Chance picked it up and inspected it. “It was you, Malik, who created this?”
Malik tried to talk but could say nothing still.
“Clever, very clever. You know, I saw the genius in you. Roy just… had other visions.”
“Greed and power will do that to you,” Wen Shen said.
“And then you must have known why Malik’s pen was so important to Roy?” added Ori.
Chance gave a small nod, then held up the atomizer. “This alone isn’t going to be enough.”
“Wen Shen has agreed to temporarily pause mutations. And in the meantime, Aja is willing to help.”
“Really?” Chance looked from Ori to Wen Shen. “Then, what do you need from me?”
“Two things,” Ori said. “First, you need to get the Biotech tracers away from Malik’s house. He needs access.”
Chance closed his eyes and was silent for a few seconds. He opened them quickly. “Done. And the second thing?”
“Malik needs the password,” Ori said.
“From Jessica?” Chance said.
“Yes.”
“She was your recruit, wasn’t she?”
“She is,” Ori said.
“I knew there was something different about her. None of that felt right.” Chance nodded toward Malik. “Are they?”
“They’re prospects. They have lots of potential.”
“What do you think of them?” Wen Shen asked Chance, tilting her head to Malik and Magaly.
“From what I can tell, they’ve got grit.” Chance leaned in, looking Malik in the eye. “Listen, kid. Here’s something that they don’t tell you. Yes, you’ll have all the access to amazing universal knowledge. But, you’re not the one in control, and you won’t be happy or proud of everything you help manifest. And that’s something you have to live with.”
Malik suddenly felt sorry for Chance.
“Okay, let him talk to his grandma,” Chance said, looking at Ori.