Chapter 6 - Frank recognized him.Not from memory.
From nightmares.
For years, Frank had dreamed about a hallway with white walls.
A bright surgical light.
A man's voice.
Questions.
Pain.
And a phrase he had never understood.
You will forget this.
Now the voice stood before him.
The man lowered his rifle.
Frank's hands tightened around the steering wheel.
“What's his name?”
Joseph stared.
“Dr. Adrian Vale.”
“Scientist?”
“Yes.”
“Still alive?”
Joseph laughed bitterly.
“He owns half the companies that operate around this lake.”
Frank looked at the shoreline.
The man smiled.
Then he turned and disappeared into the trees.
Frank looked at Joseph.
“We need to leave.”
Joseph nodded.
“Immediately.”
Frank pushed the boat forward.
They raced through the narrow channel.
Rain hammered them.
Mina remained close behind.
For several minutes, nobody spoke.
Then Frank asked:
“What did they do to me?”
Joseph stared at the water.
“They took your memories.”
“Why?”
“Because you saw what happened to me.”
Frank waited.
Joseph finally continued.
“You weren't supposed to survive that night.”
Frank's hands tightened.
“Tell me.”
Joseph looked at him.
“That night, I found the facility.”
Frank shook his head.
“You knew it existed?”
“No. I discovered it accidentally.”
“And they caught you.”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
Joseph looked toward Mina.
“They experimented on me too.”
Frank turned.
“What?”
Joseph pulled down his sleeve.
A metal scar crossed his arm.
“They implanted a device in my nervous system.”
Frank's stomach turned.
“Why?”
“To control me.”
“Did it work?”
Joseph smiled.
“For twenty-six years.”
Frank stared.
“You've been here this entire time?”
“Not exactly.”
Joseph explained.
The facility had been abandoned after an accident.
Most of the staff fled.
Vale stayed.
He continued the experiments.
Joseph became one of the few surviving test subjects.
But he escaped.
Or believed he had.
He had been living beneath the lake, moving through hidden tunnels, waiting for the right opportunity to destroy the laboratory.
Until Frank arrived.
Frank laughed bitterly.
“So I ruined your plan.”
“You may have saved it.”
Frank looked at him.
“What?”
Joseph pointed toward Mina.
“She chose you.”
Frank rolled his eyes.
“She punched me.”
“No.”
“She punched me again.”
“She chose you.”
Frank stared.
“How?”
Joseph explained.
Mina had a rare neurological mutation that allowed her to recognize patterns and voices.
Decades ago, Frank had been inside the laboratory.
He had spoken to Mina when she was still small.
He had fed her.
Protected her.
Then his memories were erased.
Mina remembered him.
Frank looked at the fish.
“You remembered me?”
Mina blinked.
Frank's eyes softened.
“Well.”
Mina swam beside the boat.
The storm grew stronger.
Then Joseph looked ahead.
His face went pale.
Frank followed his gaze.
A bridge crossed the channel.
Underneath it stood four vehicles.
Black SUVs.
Armed men.
Frank stopped.
“Trap?”
Joseph nodded.
“Definitely.”
Frank reversed.
More vehicles appeared behind them.
They were surrounded.
Frank looked at Joseph.
“You got a plan?”
Joseph smiled.
“I have several.”
“Good.”
“They're all terrible.”
Frank sighed.
“That sounds about right.”
A loudspeaker crackled.
Adrian Vale's voice echoed across the water.
“Frank Miller.”
Frank looked up.
Vale stood on the bridge.
“I'm impressed.”
Frank shouted:
“Can I help you?”
Vale smiled.
“You already have.”
Joseph whispered:
“Don't listen.”
Vale continued.
“You've brought me exactly what I needed.”
Frank looked at Mina.
Vale pointed.
“That animal contains the final genetic sequence.”
Frank's jaw tightened.
“You're not taking her.”
Vale smiled.
“I'm not asking.”
Frank looked down.
Mina had disappeared.
Joseph stared into the water.
“Where is she?”
The lake became quiet.
Then one of the black SUVs exploded.
BOOM!
Everyone on the bridge ducked.
Something enormous burst through the water.
Mina flew into the air.
She landed directly on the bridge.
The armed men scattered.
Frank stared.
Joseph laughed.
“She isn't waiting for permission.”
Mina slammed her tail.
Cars flipped.
People ran.
Frank grabbed the throttle.
“Hang on!”
He drove directly beneath the bridge.
Joseph laughed.
Frank grinned.
“Now that's my kind of fishing trip.”
But as they escaped, Frank noticed one thing.
A small red light blinking beneath the boat.
Attached to the hull.
A tracking device.
May you like
And somewhere far behind them, Dr. Vale smiled.
Because he had already found where they were going.
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