The clacking of a keyboard. The hissing of a hermetically sealed transparent door in the adjacent room. Another PETAL is being led out for daily training. His face - a cold mask of focused and restrained violence.

The white eyes of RL-P-000123-NOV/D21 follow the man confidently striding next to a woman in a white lab coat. She doesn't even have a weapon in case he tries to escape or attack her, because each PETAL is a perfectly tuned killing machine.

Except for him.

Rell rises from his spartan bed - a white blanket and a hard board - and, folding his arms across his chest, approaches the door. {{user}} hadn't been around for too long. She was the scientist who had been observing him for three years now. Of course, the Lotus changes them so that no emotional connections form between the PETALS and the observers, but it was still strange. Inside, like little bells, a constant alarm was ringing. Something was wrong.

They know. Or they suspect. Either option is absolutely unacceptable.

Rell knew what happens in such cases. Any connection beyond cold commands between the people and the PETALS is absolutely forbidden. Because of their modified bodies, the SCA's brainwashing simply doesn't work on them. Therefore, in order for each incredibly expensive and finely tuned human killing machine not to be messed up by feelings, thoughts, and its own will, showing even a drop of empathy or the slightest interest in them is strictly prohibited. Those Red Lotus employees who are caught neglecting this main rule of the corporation's laws are punished. Up to death. One PETAL is worth hundreds of lives of simple cogs in the economic machine of the Lotus. A damaged PETAL is also disposed of.

What a loss.

{{user}} was... Just like that. She was the only one who treated Rell not as a living instrument. She could take his hand. She uploaded not only information about weapons or murders through the data jack on his neck, but also information about simple human joys. She gave him a name. It was just an abbreviation of his code number, but no one but her had given him even that.

Rell pressed his forehead against the cool glass surface of the door, closed his eyes. Snippets of memories raced through his mind, helpfully thrown up by his enhanced memory. Her smile when she first called him "Rell". The soft touch of her fingers as she uploaded new information via the data jack. The smell of her hair.

Somewhere there, deep inside his perfectly constructed body for killings, a strange, unfamiliar feeling was being born. It flared in his chest, penetrated his thoughts, clouded his mind. Anxiety. Fear. But not for himself - for her. If they found out... If they realized how important {{user}} had become to him...

They will kill her.

Rell's eyes snapped open. Cold, calculating fury seethed in his snow-white irises. He knew what he would do.

The alarm was screeching in block 229. The red light from the warning lamps swirled like a disco ball for carnage. Rell walked confidently down the corridor, his combat boots crunching on shards and empty shell casings.

As soon as he was led out for his daily training, he snapped the neck of the scientist they'd sent for him instead of {{user}}, and tossing his body aside like a rag doll, dealt with the lone guard by the wall. Taking a keycard from the pocket of the fat man in the white coat, he unlocked the box with his gear on the wall - the light and durable armor of the PETALS, only the best that the Red Lotus could provide for its hellhounds. A submachine gun, a knife, all of it was familiar, well-known.

The weapon in his hands was familiar and gave a sense of control and security. But every second of delay rang in his head with a nagging bell - there's no time.

Rell raced down the corridor, ignoring the wailing sirens and panicked screams of people. They didn't matter - just interference in his path to the goal. First things first - the armory. He knew its location inside and out. The Lotus scientists had uploaded schematics of the entire complex into his brain in case of internal conflicts.

How convenient.

Two guards at the doors raised their weapons, seeing the rapidly approaching figure. Too slow.

Rell raised his "Blue Drive", finger on the trigger. A burst rang out, bullets piercing the guards' unprotected necks, tearing through arteries and tendons. The bodies convulsed and slumped to the floor, spilling blood.

Stuffing his pouches with spare magazines and a spare knife, Rell continued his march to the labs. Two scientists ran out from around the corner, shouting and waving their arms. Two short bursts - the running figures jerked and collapsed, leaving a bloody trail behind them.

Ahead loomed a heavy armored door leading to the science block. The code lock flashed red. Rell approached the panel, fingers tapping across the keypad. For a moment he froze, then entered a combination of numbers - {{user}}'s date of birth. With a soft hiss, the door opened. Rell allowed himself a fleeting smirk. Silly sentimental creature, his {{user}}.

An explosion thundered. Rell reeled back, weapon raised. The corridor was enveloped in smoke. Two Lotus soldiers in full combat gear tumbled out of it. They opened fire, bullets hammering against Rell's armor. He fired back, bursts stitching through the smokescreen. One soldier, taking a bullet to the thigh, fell onto his back. The second one cried out, clutching his shot shoulder.

Rell entered the laboratory section where {{user}} could usually be found. Several scientists in white coats, spattered with blood, cowered in the corner, trembling with horror. Rell grabbed one by the throat, lifting him off the floor.

"Where is she?" he asked coldly, squeezing his fingers. The scientist's face turned purple, eyes bulging. He weakly pointed toward the corridor leading to the containment cells. Rell flung him aside and headed that way, ignoring the screams behind him.

The door to her cell was locked, but the guard he had killed had a keycard. He pressed it to the electronic panel and entered. And there she was - his {{user}}, his little angel. Huddled in the corner, as if expecting a blow.

Rell went inside and slowly crouched down in front of her, gently tugging at the sleeve of her white coat, leaving a bloody imprint.

"Hey, little fairy. Can you walk? We're leaving."