The dotter hardly managed to keep himself together until the end of the recording. It was merely more of the box being moved around until it was put down. Lots of straight lines at unknown speeds. No way to map his path. Nothing for a while, then it was opened and someone with strong but surprisingly soft arms carried him, put him down somewhere hard and even wiped his face with a damp cloth. One back and forth from his carrier, and the door to the room he was currently in was closed.

Sometime later, someone stirred and a female voice whispered a curse. Then, nothing until he woke up. It felt so unreal.

Is this a nightmare?

Time had cleared his mind and fear helped wake him up. His first reflex was to try and connect to anything around him.

[ No device detected ]

Jamming?

No, he would detect if he was blocked. There actually was nothing to connect to around him. Creepy, even the Circle always had something in range. Given the circumstances, terrifying too.

For the first time in his life, the unmutated dotter had no idea where he was and no way to call for help. What should he do? What could he do? What-

A noise startled him out of his spiralling thoughts. He sat up like a spring, holding his breath, instantly taking in the room he found himself in.

It was a small naked stone room. Kamin was sitting on the side, awake but lethargic, starring in space with a defeated expression. Migo's form was laid in front of them, still unconscious. Zax rising and the sound of the lone door opening didn't make them react. Not much else. No windows, no furniture. Their possessions nowhere to be seen. Something in the corner gave a weak light; a large mushroom. The walls, floor and ceiling were in solid flat stone.

Behind the door was a small man with a clipboard and a tall person with a heavy club. The former had an enforcer's sidearm on his belt, the latter's face and figure were obscured by a metal mask and body armour. They didn't pretend to be friends; they ordered the prisoners to follow or be severely hurt and their bodies lugged anyway.

The detective stood and obeyed without a word or a change in expression. At a loss, Zax grabbed Migo and followed with trembling steps. They didn't seem willing to wait for the pet to wake up naturally.

[ Connection established ]

Outside the stone room was a stone hallway, with similar doors a regular interval. The group walked wordlessly, the echoes of their steps filling the space. It only made the dotter more agitated. Talking might not be the smartest decision, but he had to at least try to get some information.

"Where's the delivery guy?" Despite trying so hard not to think about it, he couldn't this question first.

Not that it changed anything. This query and all others were utterly ignored. They never demanded silence though.

I can work with that.

He tried to stay optimistic, trying to profile what "indifference vs aggression" meant in this situation as he kept pestering them. It was something to latch on. They quickly arrived in some sort of medical cabinet. Zax feared the worst, but they were merely stripped down, examined and sanitized while his questions were still being ignored, given plain clothes, and sent to another room identical to the first.

It was to be noted; their equipment had no remote connection, was worn but quite advanced, and their know-how flawless. Although they ignored Migo, Kamin and Zax's examinations were quick but thorough. Still not reassuring in the least; they were not specifically looking for health issues. Zax wasn't sure mentioning his lack of mutation would end well, so he abstained.

Migo stirred as they were led to another hallway, conscious but muddled and unable to move on his own. Without a word, the three were left in a room identical to the first one. The heavy metal door was locked with a click, and they were alone.

Zax confirmed there was still nothing around to connect to, and there was nowhere to hide a camera.

"What do you think is happening?" He turned to the detective.

She didn't react.

"Who do you think they are?"

No reaction.

"What do you think they want?"

Nothing.

"How long before help arrives?"

"WILL YOU STOP IT ALREADY!?" She finally reacted. "They caught us, alright!? The Black Market caught us! We've been written off already. We're lost. Nobody's coming. With good reason. We're probably not even in the Shelter anymore… We're already dead." Her voice and her posture weakened until she was barely audible.

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Quite the outburst, but instructive.

There was a lot to unpack, but Zax forced most of it to the side. It didn't appear relevant to their current situation. On the other hand, the noise and agitation had helped Migo finish to wake up.

The clever wolf stood on shaking paws, looked around first confused, then agitated, walking and running back and forth in the room. When he noticed the dotter staring at him with sad eyes, he froze. After a brief hesitation, he stepped to him, sniffed his shirt, and rubbed his pants with the side of his head.

That was the difficult part for Zax. He steeled his heart and reached with his hand.

[ Connection established ]

Zax didn't give him time to ask, not sure he would manage to answer a direct question.

[ Zax: I think he is dead. I'm sorry. ]

The wolf shied back as if Zax was burning, and collapsed on the spot. He didn't whine or growl. He simply laid there, staring in front of him, without a movement or a sound. His distress was evident, but subdued. The human could only let him be, and focus back on his immediate goal: getting out of this cupboard.

It couldn't be called a cell, there was not even a toilet. Which meant they were not expected to stay long. Probably. Hopefully.

I need to hurry.

He examined and knocked on every square centimetre he could reach. He didn't find any flaw. Neither did his nanites.

He did the same to the floor. Same results.

He scrutinised and probed the light-mushroom, but while it had interesting mutations, he didn't find how it could be used. It was not sturdy, or toxic, or reactive in any way.

The door had the same treatment, but it was imbedded in the stone walls. There was no bolt on their side, no joint he could potentially unscrew with his nanites. He didn't have the tools to pry it open, or to dig it out of the wall, and his nanites couldn't make anything sturdy enough.

Migo shook himself and tried to help, but even brainstorming together, no solution came. There was not even a ventilation pipe to crawl in. Which raised another worry; if they were underground and outside the Shelter, wouldn't they run out of breathable air eventually? Maybe the mushroom had mutated a countermeasure besides the light?

The pair was fussing around it, weighing the potential pros and cons to picking it up, when the door opened. The same two silent guards ordered Kamin to come with them. They never called her name, merely "you". Zax tired protesting, but they ignored him again. Including the defeated detective.

What happened to her?

Soon after, the pair was back. They only pointed at Zax, but they didn't react to Migo following. The wolf stayed close and kept himself between the human and the closest guard. It seemed instinctive, but Zax didn't comment on it.

They arrived at some exchange chamber with a towering man surrounded by more guards with different uniforms. Considering his exotic mutations and that he occupied the only chair in the room; he was not a prisoner.

They had all mutated for muscle power in some way, different animal counterparts but tall and bulky. Their boss even more so. His thick, ridged horns hugged his scalp close, almost hidden among the spiky hair. What made his mutation exotic was the position of his fur. It was unicolor beige, probably from some large feline, but the way it grew seemed… purposeful, almost. Nothing on his face and neck; it started at the shoulders, long and spiky to make him more imposing, it descended in clean diagonals meeting bellow his sternum, gradually shortening and softening down to the point of the V. Besides the fur, not a single hair on his bare torso, highlighting his massive pectorals. Thinner lines of fur ran along his arms, emphasising his muscle definition there too. Same with his hands, tipped with thin, nearly see-through claws. Another abnormality, they didn't fit with the heavy-strongman trend of his other mutations; especially the hefty split hooves coming out of his pantlegs.

He looked at the newcomer with a tranquil posture but sharp eyes, evaluating, judging, before he spoke:

"Hello. I'm Pimp, but you can call me Boss." His voice was bass, his words slow and deliberate. He was in control, he knew it and he was judging. "I assume you were explained everything, so I'll be brief: I own you now. The medics showed your mutations were adequate for my… experiments." He ended with a sinister grin that exposed his square teeth and sent shivers down Zax's spine.

[ Inconsistency detected ]

What? So the experiments are not that bad, but the rest is true?

The last part was the only one where his tone didn't match his vitals. Removing jackets revealed more than muscles.

"Sorry, but you're wrong on at least two points. I was not explained anything."

Zax ignored his pounding heart and stated with as calm a voice as he could manage. He didn't think he was doing a good job of it. Still it was the first person willing to talk; he had to try and get as much information as he could. He couldn't afford to rush, but he had a feeling he was about to spend a lot of time with that man.

"No?" He raised an eyebrow, sceptical but interested. "How long have you been here?"

"Er, a bit less than three hours since I woke up." He checked his internal clock. "I don't know how long I was out before that though."

Not a lie; he hadn't checked. He could easily find out, but they didn't need to know and he would rather keep his cards close.

"Eh. You must've annoyed someone important up there." Pimp chuckled, standing up. He was nearly as imposing as Kad or Officer Bor, with a different vibe. "Minimal preparation and cleanup, immediately cleared for buying, the discount… someone paid a lot to have you disappear quickly." He smirked, but the nanites detected traces of tension on his face and tone.

Zax blinked in confusion. There were people who were less than happy with him recently, but paying to have him taken? Paying a lot, even? Who would even consider such a thing?

"You have no idea how lucky your timing is. Not many would buy someone with mutations as low as yours, and I have a feeling your grace period was set to 'very short' too."

He had to lean down to pass the door at the other end of the room. He didn't wait or turn to check if his new acquisition was following, but the guards didn't give a choice. The mix of jealousy, pity and concern on some of their faces didn't escape him, however. Not reassuring.

The new hallway was identical to the previous ones, with a higher ceiling and more mushroom lights. Pimp barely had to move to avoid them. There were other differences, but Zax didn't have the leisure to contemplate. The guards and boss set a fast-walking rhythm, nearly a run for him.

They arrived at a tunnel with many muscle-powered vehicles. Pimp went first in a nondescript one, the guards pushed Zax after him and went to the engine compartments at the front and back. Migo barely had time to jump in after Zax before the doors were closed.

They were gone.

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