Soul Drive: Ignition

Hiro's body jerked as he tossed and turned in his sleep, his limbs entangled in the checkered sheets. Sweat beaded on his forehead, his breaths coming in shallow gasps. The moonlight illuminated the scene, Hiro's mind taking him back to the fluorescent glare of the interrogation room at the Canadian embassy.

"Osamu!" he cried out, hands grappling fruitlessly with the cold metal handcuff that bound his brother to the table. Osamu's face was covered with bruises and blood, eyes pleading for help Hiro couldn't provide. Desperate, Hiro's fingers clawed at the cuffs, as he tried to disable the magnets.

The door exploded inward, splinters soaring through the air and landing at Hiro's feet. Canadain agents, now loomed in the doorway—Their guns raised as they entered the room. Each step they took toward Osamu filled Hiro with dread.

"It's no use," Osamu relented, sliding down the wall, ready for what was about to come.

Hiro looked away, the sound of bullets filled the room, as the agents emptied their weapons. Then, those cruel eyes turned toward him...

With a scream, Hiro catapulted upright in bed, trembling. He fumbled for his phone on the nightstand, heart pounding as he scrolled for any sign of life from Osamu. Nothing. Hiro rolled over, knowing he wouldn't be falling asleep again that night.

The next morning Ai found him sitting alone at a table staring into his cereal. "Man, you look like you've had a rough night," Ai said as she set her tray down next to him. Hiro jumped at the sound, coming back to reality.

"Yeah it was a long night," Hiro muttered, rubbing his eyes in a vain attempt to try and seem less tired.

"Did you sleep at all last night? I know after everything I get some pretty awful nightmares too, " Ai put an arm around Hiro, trying to console him.

"I got a little bit." Hiro shifted uncomfortably, he didn't really want to go into the details of his dream. "I think I am just worried about Osamu, I don't know if he is ok or not."

"He's the one that saved you right? maybe we can look him up," Ai suggested trying to put Hiro at ease.

"Find a government agent in hiding?" Hiro scoffed, a wry smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Good luck to us, right?" looking over at Ai.

"Hey, don't you have some crazy tech that could track him, I thought you said something about it before," Ai insisted, as she walked through her memories.

"It only works if the Mach is turned on," Hiro said, a shadow passing over his face.

"Really? Well, aren't they always turned on?" Ai prodded, her curiosity piqued.

"No, it wouldn't be smart to leave a way for other pilots to track you always on." Hiro deflected swiftly, changing tack. "We should head to chemistry early, snag a better simulator."

"Only if you finish some breakfast first," Ai countered, nodding toward the untouched food in front of him.

"Can't. Not hungry." Hiro's stomach churned at the thought of eating, he felt like he wanted to gage.

"Suit yourself, but don't come complaining to me when your stomach's growling halfway through Mr. Sato's lecture on molecular bonds," Ai warned, her tone was light but her eyes were dark with worry as they left the cafeteria and headed to class.

Ai tucked her science program under her arm as she waved goodbye to Hiro, leaving the dullest lecture she had had in a while. She navigated the bustling academy halls, still thinking about how exhausted Hiro has been recently. As she entered her advanced statistics class, she overheard a group of girls whispering about someone she had never heard of, Henry Gorth, the new teaching assistant.

"Class, please welcome Mr. Gorth," announced the professor, gesturing to the sandy-haired young man beside him. "He'll be assisting you with some of the more advanced coursework this afternoon."

Henry stepped forward and offered a weak smile, his bright blue glancing up at the class before hitting the floor again. Ai couldn't help but compare him to Hiro, they had that same awkward innocence about them. As he explained the intricacies of regression analysis with charming clarity, Ai couldn't take her eyes off of the senior.

When class ended, Ai watched Henry gather his things, she noticed how the other girls swarmed him, asking for private tutoring sessions. But what really grabbed her attention was what she overheard other seniors saying about him, that he is so smart he created a program that can do anything for him—while they called it cheating, Ai wondered if it really could do anything.

"Do you mind if I work in here too," Ai ventured, stepping into the lab and out of the noisy hallway.

Henry turned, a surprised smile tugging at his lips. "Oh, sure, I'm just finishing up," He swivelled his chair to face her. "I'll be out of here in just a few"

"You don't have to leave," Ai set her book down on the table, a playful note in her voice. "You're Henry right, you're all the girls are talking about."

"Oh, really," Henry replied, his cheeks changing to a shade of pink Ai had never seen before. "Are you one of those girls? Hunting me down."

"What no, I already have someone I like," Ai said defensively, her own face turning red at the accusation.

"Relax, I'm only joking," Henry said, shooting her a knowing smile, "So why have you come to find me? I mean I did notice you kind of hovering today,"

Ai felt a flush of warmth rise to her cheeks, caught off guard. "Uh, well," she stammered before inspiration struck. "I also heard you designed some kind of software that allows you to do anything, like hack into NASA if you wanted to. I had to know if that's true."

"Oh," A smirk played on Henry's lips. "The rumour mill is very active here, isn't it? I wouldn't say it can do anything, it can just get around most firewalls, lets me find things most people can't."

"So in theory you could use it to find a person," Ai responded, as she leaned back in her chair. "Like if someone was missing or something."

"Well they would have to be active online," Henry said, collecting his things. "If they don't have a digital trail it would be next to useless. Anyway I've got to go, but it was nice chatting with you,"

"Uh yeah, see you around," Ai watched Henry's retreating figure, his steps light as he turned the corner. Osamu wasn't dead, she reasoned, if he was still using the internet covertly there would be a trace and Henry's program could find it.

Unbeknownst to Ai, once he was around the corner, Hector pulled out his phone with a knowing look and dialled Tess. "Still no contact with Hiro, but I think I've found my angle," he spoke quietly, the corners of his mouth lifting. "The girl that is always hanging around him—Ai... she is looking for something."

"Good. Keep her close. She sounds like the perfect in," came Tess' crisp response.

"Right, it sounds like they may be looking for someone. I let you know what I find," Hector confirmed, slipping the phone back into his pocket, he continued his walk to his next class.

---

The scent of spices wafted through the academy's cafeteria as Ai slid onto the bench across from Hiro, her tray clattering slightly with the weight of curry and rice. She watched him pick at his food, his fogged over.

"You have to eat something, all this stress is going to kill you," she scolded, breaking a piece of naan and dipping it into her curry.

Hiro looked up, a weary smile briefly crossing his lips. "I know," he admitted. "I'll eat a bit, don't worry. Osamu has a family,"

Ai leaned in, not sure she heard him right. "What?"

"He's married—or was, anyway. His wife's a psychologist, pretty renowned. Wrote a whole slew of papers on emotional trauma, which is...ironically fitting." Hiro's voice trailed off, the irony not lost on either of them.

"How do you know all of this?" Ai pushed the question gently, just hours ago it seemed like they knew nothing.

"His last name," Hiro said, setting his spoon down. "I googled it and there she was. The whole family is in a picture on the back of one of her boos. I wonder what will happen to them now."

"Hiro, I'm sure they will be fine," Ai sighed, setting her own spoon down.

"Do you really think so? I mean is the Canadian government opposed to using them to draw Osamu out?" Hiro asked, pushing his tray away.

Ai chewed her lip, contemplating whether she should drag Henry into this possibly dangerous situation. If they could find the right lie, they could trick Henry into using his software to find Osamu and his family. At the same time if they were caught it would mean Henry getting charged too, or worse.

---

Later that evening, Ai found herself in the darkened campus theatre sitting next to Henry, the eerie opening credits of "Halloween 230" casting flickering shadows across their faces.

He looked over and smiled, "Nice to see you again," he whispered as the opening scene began to play. "Who decides to investigate a creepy house on their own?" Henry stared at the screen, clearly unimpressed. "Doesn't exactly scream 'survival instinct.'"

"I don't think you can have a survival instinct and be in a horror movie," Ai chuckled, noting his discomfort.

"I suppose so," Henry muttered, averting his eyes as the screen splattered with cinematic gore. "Blood's not really my thing."

"Didn't peg you for the squeamish type," Ai teased, jumping as the killer chased the other screaming teen down the hall.

"Life's been...sheltered," Henry confessed, his voice low. "I was homeschooled most of my childhood. My parents weren't exactly impressed with me—I got in a lot of trouble when I discovered alcohol."

"Oh I'm so sorry," Ai instinctively took his hand, trying to offer some comfort.

"It cost them a lot to get me into this place," Henry said with a shrug. "I figure I would actually try here since it is my last chance."

Ai felt terrible for the guy. "I can't say for sure but by the sound of it, you are already doing great things here. I think you may have found the perfect place for you."

Their conversation tapered off, leaving only the sounds of suspense and screams on the screen. Yet, in the shared silence, Ai felt more connected and guilty all at once—Henry had already been through a lot, he deserved real friends who cared about him, but she needed access to his program. So she settled in, hoping this friendship would take her where they needed to be.

---

The morning, Hiro sat under the red maple once again and poked half-heartedly at his scrambled eggs. Next to him, Ai plucked a grape from her fruit bowl, her gaze fixed on her friend with concern.

"You've got that look again," she said softly, breaking the silence. "Did you even sleep?"

The eggs slipped from Hiro's chopsticks. "Yeah a few hours or so," he admitted, rubbing his eyes. "I think it is getting better."

"You're a terrible liar," Ai said, watching Hiro's reaction carefully. "But I think I know how we can put your mind at ease for a little while."

"I'm listening, what's your plan?" He looked up, and she could see the massive bags under her eyes.

"I think I know how we can find them," Ai replied, then quickly added, "But it will take tricking someone to do it."

"I don't know, it sounds risky," Hiro's interest waned and he began to curl over again. "It's dangerous enough as it is. If they figure out what we are really doing they could report us."

"Look you need to sleep and you won't be able to until we know Osamu is safe. All it will take is one lie to make it happen. The guy's name is Henry and he can get us past any firewall online."

Hiro's eyes narrowed slightly. "So we can search in places we normally can't."

"Right and we can play it off like it is for some politics assignment or maybe history," Ai pressed, her voice earnest. "He never has to know what we are really doing."

"Hmmm," Hiro stroked his chin as he considered the options. "that could work. I guess there is no real harm in trying."

Ai nodded, relief flooding through her, though her mind raced with the perfect story to tell Henry so they could use his software without raising suspicion.

***

Later, as the day softened into a lazy afternoon, Ai found Henry wandering the academy gardens. He seemed distracted by the roses, as the bees hummed among the petals.

"Are you sure you're not stalking me?" Henry asked, hands in his pockets as he admired a bed of exotic plants. He glanced back at Ai.

"Oh uh, no I just saw you over here while I was walking," Ai confessed with a small smile. "I just wanted to say hi. but you looked like you were thinking about something and I didn't want to bother you."

"It's no bother," Henry laughed, motioning for her to join him. "I was just doing some math homework in my head. In all honesty, I am glad you showed up."

"Well I mean I already said hello, so... I think I will actually keep going," Ai said, taking a few steps back.

"Oh, Ok," Henry said, returning his focus to the flowers. "Have a good afternoon"

"Actually, I was wondering if I could ask a favour." Ai seized the opportunity. "I have this massive assignment coming up and my partner and I cannot find anything on our topic."

"Is that so," Henry raised an eyebrow. "So I am guessing you want to use the software I am developing?"

"I mean yeah," Ai chuckled nervously, playing along. "I am so sorry, I feel so guilty for asking you,"

"Don't be silly, it could use another test run," Henry grinned, turning to face her. "Why don't we meet in the science lab, say around six?"

"That would be perfect," Ai gave him a small hug, "Thank you so much." she gave him a wave before racing off to text Hiro.

Hiro's footsteps echoed down the hallway of the academy's science labs, his wary eyes scanning the room until they landed on Ai and a stranger. He took in the sandy blonde hair and deep blue eyes of this new person before him.

"Hey, Hiro," Ai greeted with an enthusiastic wave. "This is Henry."

"Nice to meet you," Henry said, extending his hand. "Ai says you need some help with your project."

"Yeah, turns out our important person in history seems to be impossible to find" Hiro shook his hand, he was impressed by how tightly Henry gripped his hand. "I hope you don't mind us using your software."

Henry chuckled, leading them over to his screen. "I don't mind at all, if anything you are doing me a favour by testing it."

"Right," Hiro replied, taking a seat next to him.

"Okay, so how does this work," Ai interjected, looking down at the screen, "do we have to use some kind of password or...."

"Not at all," Henry answered, touching the screen to show his student profile. "think of it like any other search engine, the only difference is that it will find you everything on your subject from every corner of the internet."

"That is quite the search engine," Hiro said, staring down at the search bar.

He could feel the sweat forming as Henry sat next to him. He was clearly waiting for Hiro to do his search, but Hiro wasn't sure this was something he could do with a stranger watching. He could feel the room start to spin as the panic set in.

"Hiro, are you ok?" Ai asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah, I am just exhausted," Hiro responded, rubbing his eyes.

"Look if now isn't a good time.." Henry started, looking at Hiro.

"Thanks," Hiro breathed out, his gratitude genuine. "I think I just need to sleep."

"I get it, this place can really pack on the assignments," Henry shutting down the tablet.

"I'll take you back to the dorms," Ai announced, guiding Hiro to the door.

"Thanks, Ai," Hiro said, as they entered the hallway.

"I am free anytime after three tomorrow," Henry said as he joined them. "I'd be more them happy to meet here and try again."

"For sure, even if Hiro can't make it, I know I can," Ai assured him with a smile.

"I'll be here," Hiro added, trying to sound confident.

"So then it's settled," Henry said hesitantly, "We'll meet back here around three. Do you need to help walk you to the dorms too?"

Hiro turned back to look at Henry. "I'll be ok. Thank you for the offer though Henry."

"Yeah, I've got him" Ai chimed in. "We'll see you tomorrow."

"Ok, goodnight," Henry gave them a small bow before making his way down a smaller hall.

"Sorry," Hiro said, feeling bad about their lack of progress. "I don't know what came over me."

"Don't worry about it." Ai tried to reassure him. "We'll try again tomorrow."