Premonition

Chapter #24: The Stake-Out

***8am, The next day***

As Keiji got up from the bed he was sharing with his sister, he noticed Hella already up. She was preparing her breakfast and nodded at Keiji.

“You ready for today?” Hella said. “There might still be police at the scene of the crime.”

“Yeah, I should be,” Keiji said as he walked over to their makeshift dinner table and made himself a coffee. “What are we going to do if there are police still there?”

“We’ll stake out the building until the police leave,” Hella said in between bites of her breakfast.

“Alright,” Keiji said. “Sounds like a plan.”

Keiji himself began munching on his prepared breakfast as well – freeze dried noodles. After they both finished, Hella and Keiji both left the hotel room quietly so as to not disturb anyone still sleeping. Hella started the van, and together they drove off to the old brewery. Arriving there in 45 minutes, Keiji noticed that there were still police at the scene. Hella had purposefully parked the van a few blocks away so they wouldn’t look suspicious.

“Looks like were going to have to tough it out for a couple of hours Keiji,” Hella lamented.

“Is there another day we can go back?” Keiji asked.

“I wouldn’t recommend it. The crime scene is still fresh and might still hold unsolved answers. The police come and clean the site once they are done as well, but that isn’t until a couple of days later. If we wait, the evidence we’re looking for might as well be gone with the wind,” Hella explained.

“Sure ok,” Keiji said. “Should I use my powers and see if we’re safe?”

“Doubt were in trouble, so let’s not waste our energy,” Hella said. She rolled her driver’s seat back and proceeded to lay her head back. “It’s going to be a while, so might as well get comfortable.”

“How do you know so much about crime scenes?” Keiji asked who had picked up on her previous knowledge. Hella looked at Keiji curiously then back out at the brewery building, as if she had just reminisced about something.

“Before I became a Mecha Warrior, I was a crime scene investigator with the united earth police. It was my job back then….before President Fox recruited me. He purposefully put me into squad beta because of my background with investigation. That’s why I became the weapon specialist of squad beta, because of my ability to perceive and predict a weapons effect on someone. That skill served me well on earth and has served me well on Mecha Station as a Warrior….well ex-warrior now…” Hella explained.

“That’s amazing Hella,” Keiji said. “Did all of squad beta have previous jobs as well with the united earth police?”

“Yeah….but better let them tell you about it, then me spoil the fun,” Hella said.

“Makes sense,” Keiji said as he began to relax as well, pushing his seat back.

“a*********s to tell Keiji?” Hella asked. “How does light analysis work?”

“The process or my work?” Keiji responded.

“Both,” Hella asked.

“Well, the entire process is a form of photosynthesis. I’m sure you know, but originally photosynthesis is only found in plants. After the discovery and manufacturing of a new biological agent that mimics chlorophyll in plants, for humans, earth decided to name the new process of converting light energy to ATP: bio-photosynthesis. The biological agent that catalyzes this new synthesis is called chloro-anthroposis. I know it’s a bit wordy, but it’s derived from the Greek words for human and green.  To manufacture ATP from light, we interline chloro-anthroposis within the cells of a solar panel. Instead of converting the light to electrical energy, the panels are engineered to use the choloro-anthroposis to make ATP. As the light collects, we adjust and input carbon dioxide and water. This in essence gives us photosynthesis, but for humans. The end result is simple sugars, water, and oxygen,” Keiji explained.

“I see,” Hella said. “You made it simple enough though. What about light levels workers, what do they do?”

“We monitor the levels of light energy incoming from our source quasar and adjust the solar panels so that our intake of ATP is more or less than what we need. There is also a segment of analyzers that adjust the carbon dioxide and water input. It’s a multi-level production and usually is a bit more complicated than I’m making it. But that’s the gist of it.”

“Sounds amazing,” Hella said. “You all do good work.”

“Thanks Hella,” Keiji said.

“A lot of the drugs developed during that time were influenced by this chloro-anthroposis, no?” Hella asked.

“It’s true, a great many of the developed drugs during that time, took advantage of this new agent. I am not exactly sure the ingredients of NX7, but it realistic to assume the only way to provide someone with that much energy is through chloro-anthroposis. It’s a drug that takes advantage of the storage of energy from light. With adverse effects if you have homozygous allele – from what Duke has told me…” Keiji said.

“Yeah, we all have some level of homozygous alleles in our genetic base,” Hella said. “The requirement for being a Mecha Warrior.”

“I would speculate though, that the usage of light energy in NX7 has also lead to our oversensitivity to light,” Keiji said.

“I agree with you Keiji,” Hella said. “Much has been put into researching that particular side effect. I don’t think it’s lethal, but then again…everything has its lethal dosage.”

“This is true, although we don’t have a minimum lethal dosage from light to a user of NX7, do we?” Keiji said.

“No, unfortunately not,” Hella said. “Maybe it’s a good thing, because its not a very pretty thought to be killed by overexposure to light.”

“No, it isnt’,” Keiji said. “Let’s hope it remains a mystery.”

Keiji and Hella shifted uncomfortably to the results of their conversation and its implications. A silence followed; mutually agreed.

“Let’s talk about something else,” Hella said. “We still have time before the police leave.”

“Sure,” Keiji said.

With that Keiji and Hella began discussing about a variety of different topics to pass the time while inside the van together.