Mackenzie, dressed in the black uniform of a security guard, entered The Alternates Institute once again. His grip tightened around the gun he held. He kept his black cap low over his face, a shield from prying eyes. His gaze swept over the white corridors, his eyes searching for one person, his wife Aurelia.
Unknown to him, Aurelia was also navigating the same corridors, her heart heavy with worry. She had no idea that her husband was in the building. From the corner of his eye, Mackenzie spotted her. With a calmness, he walked over to her. His sudden appearance made her jump. Lifting his cap, Mackenzie revealed his face. The relief washed over Aurelia's face.
"Didn't think I was just going to leave you here, did you?" Mackenzie said with a smile. Aurelia smiled back. He took her hand.
Mackenzie knew he couldn't leave yet. He had a mission to complete, to destroy the Alternates Programme. He urged Aurelia to go without him, to take his car and get to safety. But she was adamant. She refused to leave him. With a reluctant sigh, Mackenzie agreed, but he insisted they had to be careful.
Mackenzie and Aurelia, hand in hand, navigated their way through the now familiar corridors, their destination, the control room.
Aurelia's grip on Mackenzie's hand tightened as they turned a corner, her eyes scanning the hallway ahead. Suddenly, a figure emerged from the shadows, causing them to halt in their tracks. They let go of each other's hand. The man was tall, with a stern face.
"Hello, Dr Duvall," Aurelia greeted, "I was just looking for you actually, Dr Waweski wanted to see you in the control room."
Mackenzie's heart skipped a beat at the mention of the name 'Duvall'. It was the same name that Mrs Ashton had mentioned, the agent who had disappeared without a trace a year ago. He had to be the same man. Keeping his thoughts to himself, Mackenzie stepped back, allowing Aurelia and Dr Duvall to lead the way. He didn't want to arouse any suspicion. As they walked away, he followed at a safe distance.
The control room was buzzing with activity when they arrived Dr Waweski was waiting for them. As Aurelia and Dr Duvall approached him, Mackenzie hung back, observing the room.
"Dr Duvall, just the man I wanted to see, I need your help to fast track the Alternates Programme, we need to finish the DNA sequence so we can wake them up." Dr Duvall replied, “Yes of course.”
Mackenzie, who was standing at the back of room trying to not arouse suspicion, watched Dr Duvall use the touch screens in front of the Alternates pods. He had no idea of what scientific thing he was doing, but he was shocked at how an MI6 agent could learn how to be a Doctor so quickly he seemed to know everything in just one year, and he didn't seem to be doing anything to stop Dr Waweski. Has Mr Duvall now become one of Waweski's puppets or something worse?
Aurelia stood and watched him tapping away at the touch screens.
Mackenzie quietly slipped out of the main control room. He had a bad feeling about Dr Duvall, a sense of unease that he couldn't shake off.
He reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone. He needed to update Mrs Ashton, His fingers typing out a message with a sense of urgency, "Found Aurelia and Duvall."
Mackenzie slid his phone back into the pocket of his security guard uniform. Mackenzie knew if those clones woke up, the consequences would be catastrophic, and a lot of people were going to die.