They finally reached their destination and Pat was surprised to see a few more people waiting for him. There was a chair akin to a dental chair in the middle of the room and a few beeping machines around the space. With all the modern-day technology available, Pat was surprised at the sheer amount of things that still needed wires.
“Please sit.” The muffled voice said again. This person was the only one wearing a mask. The other two people in the room were maskless and seemed comfortable. Pat was so weak and was interested to see what happened, so he sat.
One of the individuals by the chair began to speak then and Pat suddenly realized he knew him. “It is an honor to work with you, Patrick Sherwood.” This man was sharp in numerous ways: his eyes, his chin, his nose, the edges of his lips, his attire, and his aura. Pat was not superstitious, but this man made him uncomfortable like when a snake sits curled in the corner of a room. One wrong move, and you could be dying slowly from a venomous bite you barely saw coming.
“You can call me Pat. That’s what everybody calls me, Preston.”
“Pat.” The man didn’t seem to like it. He spoke the name like he had just eaten something foul.
“Did Theresa put you up to this?” Pat cut straight to the point. He saw no reason for formality at this time.
“Nobody hires me. I do the hiring.” Preston smirked and moved to the front of the chair. He reached out a gloved hand and firmly held Pat’s chin, turning it to the left and the right. “Where was your chip installed?”
“Why do you need to know?”
Preston let go of his chin and said calmly, “Either you tell us or we do exploratory surgery on your brain to find it.”
Pat obediently pointed to the right side of his brain behind his ear.
“It’s deep in there, isn’t it? Good thing your father improved his design.”
“My father figured placing the cure at the place where the sickness resided was best.” Pat said quietly. He usually did not come to the defense of his fanatic father, but in this case, he felt like his father was onto something. It had been a risky choice, but it worked. Not for everybody, but it worked for Pat.
Preston waved a dismissive hand and then directed his employees with the other hand. A masked nurse approached the side of Pat’s head where he had pointed and parted his fluffy hair to examine the scar. When he located it, he nodded at Preston.
“Good. That was a test. I already knew where to look, but I wanted to make sure you were being honest with me.” Preston said, cooly. “Telling the truth early will make this easier.”
“Are you going to do brain surgery on me?”
“Of course not. We are going to have to give you a haircut, though.”
Oddly enough, this disturbed Pat more than having another brain surgery. “W-why?”
“For the sensors of course. They don’t adhere properly to hair.”
Pat then stood up and shook his head. “I want to know what’s happening right now.”
Preston seemed unperturbed by Pat’s demand and instead signaled to his staff to leave the room. They obeyed and shut the door leaving Pat and Preston alone.
“Follow me.”
There was a door at the back of the place that Pat had assumed was a closet, but instead it opened onto another hallway. They walked several feet and turned into another room that was much cozier. The floors were carpeted and the walls a warm cream color. The desk was sleek metal and the two chairs flanking it looked like ergonomic versions of the standard black office chair. A picture window looked out onto a small greenhouse.
Preston sat on the chair closest to the window and Pat sat in the other chair. “What’s going on?” Concern was etched on Preston’s face as he asked this question as if this was a completely routine situation.
“I do not know where I am. I do not know you very well. I am going to be bald. I have a lot of questions.”
“We’re testing the functionality of your chip, firstly.”
“It functions fine.”
“Then we’re going to update the programming within the chip. There are some changes that have been made since you’ve been gone.”
“Like what?”
“And we need to discover what’s going on with these anomalies.”
“What anomalies?”
Preston looked at him like a grandfather who had to explain to his grandson that Santa wasn’t real. “People are seeing hallucinations in higher numbers since the microchip rollout started. We must determine why before we go further with this.”
“What gives you the right…?”
Preston silenced him by opening one of the desk drawers and pulling out a document from within. He slid it across to Pat and he skimmed over it. From what Pat could tell, Theresa had signed something giving Kimber University access to their clients for learning purposes.
“This isn’t anything that will hold up. I am the CEO. This is my Father’s company.”
“If we find that you are mentally unfit to run the company, Theresa can authorize whatever she wants.” Preston plucked the document from Pat and placed it lovingly back in the desk drawer. “I look forward to seeing inside your mind, Pat.”
It felt as though spiders had begun to crawl down Pat’s spine. Despite the sun shining in the space, Preston’s tone made Pat regret allowing this man to use his nickname.
“Pat, this man is no good.” Justice said. She had suddenly appeared at his side and was keeping her eyes trained on Preston.
“I do not want you in there.” Pat said to Preston. “I do not consent and I am leaving.” He stood and Preston mirrored him.
“Oh, please don’t go yet. I want to help you.” Preston insisted. “I’ve been seeking people that are like me.” Pat was still backing up but as his hand reached the doorknob, it wouldn’t turn. “I locked it.” Preston shrugged. “Please, sit. I’m not finished.” He grinned and his canines winked.
Pat obliged, hoping that if he heard this man out, it would give him enough time to develop an escape plan before they cut his hair.
