2032 - Part 2 (Patreon)

Read Part 1 here 

This part will not have any images. It's purely aimed to get the plot going, and to expose some relevant information about this fiction's universe. Hope you enjoy :)

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 Three days later.

Liam entered an enormous old government building. He rechecked the address to make sure he was in the right place.

He entered the elevator and pressed the 27th floor.

There were a few people in the elevator, and it stopped on several floors.

"11th floor. Companion pick-ups. Companion returns." The automated voice announced, and a suited man walked out. A young man in jeans and a tight T-shirt followed him.

"17th floor. Lab. authorized personnel only." A man in a lab-coat got off on this floor, holding a key card in his hand.

"27th floor. Companion information department.

When the elevator doors opened on the 27th floor, Liam was instructed by an armed guard to take a number and wait for his turn. Liam noticed something strange about the guard; he had an empty look in his eyes like he wasn't present.

There were a few more armed guards along the large hall.

Liam took a seat next to a man in his late 30's. He was holding a bunch of papers and a photo of a man around the same age.

"NO! YOU CAN'T DO THIS!" suddenly someone yelled from one of the desks.

"Sir, please calm down…" said the woman at the desk.

An armed guard started walking towards that booth.

"DON'T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN! I WANT TO SEE HIM NOW!"

"Sir, as I said, that's impossible at this point you had two weeks to appeal."

"YOU FUCKING COLD HEARTED BITCH" he hammered his fist on her table.

The woman jumped back, pressing a button on the wall beside her.

With a bright blue flash, the man froze in his place.

"Security!" the woman called. 

Two armed guards came and carried the frozen man into a side corridor and disappeared.

Liam waited quietly for his number to come up, which did come up 20 minutes later.

Liam got up and approached the indicated desk. He was relieved to see it wasn't the desk with the woman and the frozen guy.

"Good morning, please have a seat" smiled the man behind the desk. He was in his 50's and had a kind face. The name on his tag read "George"

"Good morning," Liam said, and took a piece of paper from his pocket before he sat down.

"How can I help you?" asked George.

"My brother, Kevin... I found this on his door" He handed the form attached by the delivery guy.

"Can I see some form of ID? The information is only available for next of kin."

Liam showed him his driver's license, and he nodded.

George looked at the document and typed a few search queries on his computer.

"Well, unfortunately, Kevin missed quite a few loan payments this past year, and he has credit card debt as well. Under the Companion Bill, your brother is going to be auctioned in a few days for 18 months."

"18 months?" Liam gasped. "How much does Kevin owe? I had no idea he was in trouble. If only he had come to be... Can I talk to him? Where is he?"   

"Your brother was picked up Tuesday 7:13 AM and arrived at the storage center at 10:34 AM the same day… There he was grouped with other AAA companions… good for him! Anyway, he arrived here today, and is currently in line for auction preparation."

"He's here?? Can I talk to him??"

"I'm afraid it's not that simple, son. If it was up to me, of course, I would let you meet your brother. Unfortunately once the chip is on, my hands are tied." 

"What if I pay some of his debt right here? I have some savings…"

"I'm sorry son.. your brother is a triple-A item. The amount he owes is only the starting price for the auction, but I'll bet he's going to bring at least four times that much.

"What happens if nobody bids?" Liam asked

"Well it's a rare case for triple-A's, but the law says the government must pay the debt owner the full amount owed and the companion stays in the government possession, either in storage or as an employee, until the sentence is over. You see that guard over there by the door, he didn't get a bid, and now he works here."

"Wow! I can't believe this is legal… how did we get to this??"

"It's legal alright, and it's a market worth Billions of Dollars."

"There has to be a way I can help Kevin, please! You probably know someone who knows someone!" Liam practically begged.

George thought for a few moments, and then he examined Liam.

"Let me make a phone call.." George said and picked up the phone.

"Jerry …how's it going? It's George from Information... yeah listen… you're in charge of item 412 right?... oh you're in the room right now? Great! Ok, now I got the brother here… I want you to show him his brother and talk to him about a subcontract… what kind of an issue?... oh, how did that happen?... probably those delivery guys... yep... triple-A, otherwise I wouldn't have called… ok… I'm sending him upstairs now…"

"what was that about?" Liam wondered

"There might be something you can do to help your brother out. Go to the 33rd floor and ask for Jerry. He'll be expecting you. He'll explain everything."

"Thank you so much, George! Thank you!" Liam got up from his seat and shook George's hand, warmly. Then he headed to the elevators.