The City of Ionia

To enter, they scanned their IDs at the front. A SCAR unit assisted and guided them through the parking process.

The gate itself had layers of reinforced steel. It was also tall enough that no one could jump over. Before you could touch the wall, SCAR units patrolled outside, armed.

The patrol units didn't heavily question them. Probably since they noticed Avery. With a quick nod, they were on their way to the underground parking lot.

"B–tier units?" Avery asked Peter, who had an earbud in.

"Patrols ones, at least. They amp up the security the closer you are to classified information."

Made sense. B–tier units served mainly as security. Their suits were more advanced, and whoever wore those suits had extensive combat training.

The underground parking was spacious, with ceiling lights brighter than the sun. Avery squinted his eyes as soon as he exited the car.

"Whoa, this garage is packed with nice cars," Avery said, his eyes wandering around.

One was coated in a matte-black shell that shifted patterns with the light for camouflage. One car had no windows, just a smooth, mirrored surface, AI–driven. Another looked like liquid metal poured into a jar, its body constantly adjusting shape, smoothing dents. Avery wanted a car like that. He could barely decide where to look.

"Yeah, lots of rich folks. Let's take the elevator to the second floor. Oh, wait, we need access to use the elevator."

"I'll call someone," Carmelo said as he dialed a number.

"You callin' Davy?"

Carmelo nodded his head and held the phone to his ear. He stepped away to speak in private. Avery wasn't sure why, since they needed elevator access and nothing else.

"Yo, Avery."

"What's up?"

"Is it true?" Peter asked. "That outsiders are the kindest people you know?"

Avery smiled gently, reminiscing about a certain someone. "They are."

"Hard to believe. Not saying they're evil, but I don't know what to believe. I'm unsure whether the OSO or SCAR is correct. I've never seen an outsider. I want to, though. I want to know about their world. Their lifestyle. How hard they have it. I don't want to be ignorant. I want to learn more."

"You can, and you will."

"Shit, I don't want to hear it from you. I want to hear it from an outsider."

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"And you will."

Peter looked confused and chuckled to fill the void of words. "I don't get you."

"You will hear and understand an outsider. You'll exchange stories and talk for hours, getting to know each other's worlds and differences. You will know how kind outsiders are," Avery said with a straight face.

"I want to know what fantasy world you've been living in."

Moments later, Carmelo returned and pointed his finger in the opposite direction, saying to meet Davy there.

They walked across the garage until they reached a steel, secured door with a biometric hand scanner that emerged from a green hole.

The door opened to reveal an average-height man in a long, white coat. His hands were stuffed in his pockets, and his eyes stared directly at us. His hair was cleanly styled to the left, as though it had never seen the other side.

"Welcome to SCAR's most precious laboratory," he said with a friendly grin. "Kindly refer to me as Davy. I will provide a tour of the place and offer an understanding of the 19–series serums. Pleasure to meet you, Carmelo. It's been a few days."

"Indeed." Carmelo cleared his throat. "These are my friends. This one's Peter, and Avery."

"The Chancellor's son. You are quite the name."

Avert didn't know how to feel about that statement. He disliked being referred to as the 'Chancellor's son.' He is his own person, not defined by a label.

"Nice to meet you," Avery said with a half–smile.

"Enough with the introductions. Shall we proceed?"

They agreed and entered the building.

Peter, on the other hand, whispered to Avery, "Am I invisible?"

Avery cracked a grin, but quickly replaced it with his resting face. They took the elevator up to the second floor, where security was stationed at every inch. SCAR units were strategically placed, leaving no blind spots. Cameras were on every ceiling tile and every corner. They probably spent more on security than on actual research.

Davy pulled them into an isolated room, closed the door, and instructed them to sit. He reviewed the rules and policies, including not touching anything you're not supposed to, and not bothering security unless absolutely necessary. Avery had heard these rules a thousand times since they were similar to other SCAR-owned buildings.

"Unfortunately, due to recent policy changes, we cannot show you the physical samples of the 19–series serums. Instead, everything will be displayed on this TV and holographic table."

"Whoa, the fuck? When was this policy changed?" Peter asked without hiding his disappointment.

"Fairly recent. Now, it is an issue."

"Shit, damn right there is—"

"There's no problem," Avery said, cutting Peter off. "It's fine. We can do it this way."

Peter slowly sat back in this seat. "Fine."

"Great, let's get on with the program." Davy turned on the TV.

"Slideshows? Really? Are we in a business meeting?"

"Peter, let's not."

"No, I will. We didn't drive 3 hours to look at a slideshow. We want to see the real deal! Not some images that we can search." He was reasonably frustrated, shaking his hand and nibbling on his lower lip.

"Ok, ok," Davy said, attempting to de-escalate Peter's understandable emotions. "I'll show you with quick slides and holograms, then maybe, only maybe, I can see if you are allowed to enter. After all, you have the Chancellor's son with you."

Again with that label.

Peter grinned at Avery. "Status means a lot in SCAR's world."

Avery nodded and returned a quick smile. He wished his status wasn't worth what it was.