102 CHAPTER 101-UNPLANNED REUNION

"Very well," Fabian swallowed. 

The anger on his face was eminent, embellishing the lines that masked his aging skin. He stroked the hairless head and brow before closing and opening his eyes as if struck by a lightning bolt of surprise. It was obvious from the crease that he was only doing that to conceal the anger and sadness in his heart. The irony was hilarious, but Matt tried with all wills power, to keep his face neutral. They had caused much fuss already. It would do nobody any good now if he starts laughing at the man's eagerness to kill the person that had killed a brother he himself wanted to kill.

"This way," One of the large men standing behind Fabian said. The veins on his broad neck twitched as he turned his attention to the other side of the room, walking towards the door.

They followed behind him, keeping their faces down from the choirs of eyes that tracked their every move, weighing and judging them on the scale of their preferential standard, to be sure that they could pay for the costly service of the Glut-Hunters. The disproving looks that were clothed in almost all the faces, made Matt lower his head away from the light. They were not with the HT, and more salt would be added to the injury if the people find out. That would only give them a genuine reason to persecute him and his friends.

Matt hissed out the frustration. Turns out that the notorious Glut hunters were nothing but a bunch of kids who certainly do not know their right from their left. If someone had not coaxed them into becoming one of the deadliest killing group in Anadan, then money was the motivating factor, or something worse. The cold made Matt shiver. He had put so many people behind bars. Mostly for the love of money. Times were hard. And the government seems to care more about their machines than the welfare of the people. Nobody had said it yet, but Matt was sure that the very reason why the government wanted to implant the HT on every citizen so badly, was not merely because of control. No, that would have been better. The HT also has a downside. It causes Anoxia Nervosa, and the government knows. That was the very reason why they wanted everyone to have it. It made sense, with the way things are changing, they are trying to create an illusion for the people to believe in.

They walked away from the control room, with the heavy man still taking the lead. Fabian and the other guard came from the rear, trapping Matt and his friends in the middle. Their feet on the marble floor were the only words that spoke on the platform of silence. The walls were tiled with some brown tiles, but holding different insulating wires. At first, it appeared to be a lobby—which was no wider than the hallway they had seen on their way—but it broke however into a much larger, but smaller room when compared with the hall of the Glut-hunter. More portraits of Fabian hung on the wall. Besides the side table was a counter which held different expensive wines, whose names were totally strange to Matt. 

"So?" Fabian said as he walked towards the counter and poured himself a red wine. He ambled languidly to the chair at the opposite end and sat down, sipping from the glass cup he was holding. He had not even offered them a chair, even though there were empty seats sprawling in every corner of the room. 

"We need your help, Uncle," Chris said, forcing out the last words. 

The hate in his eyes was also burning, and it seemed he might dive into another argument with the older man if the man gave him the finger.

"You still haven't said anything," Fabian mumbled from the glass cup. 

Chris exchanged a disturbing look with Pinna and Matt. The expression on his face had changed and was replaced with fear. Deep and dark.

"His friend…Our friend, Ham. We think he is lost in another world. Since you are the general of the Gluts-hunters. We were hoping that you will help us solve the problem."

Matt didn't see what was funny, but he was delighted when Fabian laughed. It was a relief to the soul. If for nothing, at least it showed that the man had a sense of humor and might not kill them. The one question which still lingered in Matt's head, however, was how they were going to kidnap the man and veil him from the eyes of all his men in the building.

"I am the General of the Glut-hunters. I don't meddle around with myths." Fabian chuckled. 

He handed the glass cup to one of his bodyguards and motioned them away. They were a bit disappointed that he was sending them away but oblige to his commands without saying a word.

"Does that mean you will not help us?" Pinna asked when the big men disappeared into the blue door on the right side.

"It means that you are trying to put me in trouble." Fabian hissed, looking over his shoulders to make sure his bodyguards were really gone and not hanging somewhere, eavesdropping. "Why do you always bring trouble with you, Christy?"

"The name is Chris." 

"Whatever," Fabian ridiculed at the boy's protest. 

He returned his attention to them, this time keeping his voice as low as possible. "What happened to this, Ham, friend of yours?"

Something lifted in Matt's stomach, and for the first time that day, he felt ease lifting the tension off his chest. Their coming to the General might not need violence at least. If Chris had foreseen this, then he was really a bloody genius.

"He had lost his sight," It was Pinna who spoke, also in a low tone, "He became a Hubot. But…" she shifted her weight to the other feet as though unsure if what she was about to say was the right thing to say at the moment. 

"We were attacked by some of your men." She continued almost immediately. "They set some explosives and brought the mansion to pebbles and dust. Ham must have gone into shock or something. We think his soul is trapped somewhere. We think he is lost and cannot find his way back to his body." Pinna's breath susurrated as she voiced out the words. She was holding back the sadness. The looks on her face said it all.

"Hmm," Fabian rubbed his lower jaw as he digested the words. "This is going to be hard. Hubots are known to lose their mind sometimes. That's the downside of attaching machines to what the creator had made perfect."

"Does that mean you can help?" Matt asked.

"I never said I couldn't help." 

Fabian grunted. His eyes searched his shoulders again as if hoping the bodyguards would not walk into the room and catch him in the act. The twitching of his fingers told a different story. The man was an addict and needs wine at the moment.

"I will help you. At least because you are not one of them. You still have your senses and are not manipulated by that bug."

Matt knew what the man was talking about. He was referring to the HT. One way or another, he had figured out that they didn't have the HT, perhaps from the way Chris had looked into his eyes.

"Stop playing a dangerous game." Fabian continued, "You were brave enough to walk into Glut-Hunters Den without an HT. But your bravery will amount to nothing if one of those kids had discovered." 

Something beeped, and as Matt watched, Fabian used his index finger to remove the scalp on the pupil of both eyes, revealing and almond colored eyes underneath. 

"What's that?" Chris asked.

The man dropped the device on the table and stared at them as though they were the venom of a viper.

"Something I used to create an illusion of the HT. It is the only thing that is sustaining my life at the moment."

"Do you have more?" Pinna asked, picking up the device.

They looked like some little cup, made with an elastic material. On their edges was a white line, running in circles. It was insignificant and could pass for useless if one was ignorant of their function and was seeing them for the first time.

"No," Fabian shook his head and stood up, "I don't think you it is good for you. Even if I had a thousand of them, I will not advise you to use them," He turned towards the side table.

He was going for the wine. But instead of the red wine that was halfway through, he reached for the blue bottle instead and pull them gentle.

"If you are going to save your friend," Fabian was saying as a hissing sound followed the sliding door, "Then you must hurry because I don't think you have much time left."