Keeping his posture hunched, 514A followed Dr. Read through the threshold and made sure to flinch when the door closed. Dr. Read whispered an apology, looking at the clone as if he were going to make a break for it, a frightened animal, even though 514A had come to him.

“Calvin is a nice name” Dr. Read said after an awkward pause, during which 514A took in every inch of the man’s front room. The stairs, 14 steps. Three pictures of family members but only one coat on the hanger. “Rose. Is that after-?”

“Kelly Rose, yes” 514A interrupted, then bashfully looked down. “She was nice to me”

Dr. Read looked sad for a moment. He’d heard about Kelly’s death from another colleague, who still hadn’t got back to him on when the funeral was. To think of dying alone like that...

“She always hated what we did to you all, kept saying it wasn’t what she signed up for” Dr. Read reminisced, leading 514A through to the kitchen to put out drinks for them. He checked that hot chocolate was okay, and at 514A’s nod began boiling some water. “Some of them were able to see you all as things but not her, not me. I testified against the others you know, got witness protection out of it but that... that doesn’t save me from my own punishment. I’m so, so sorry for what we did to you, to all those other poor souls.”

He turned to 514A, tears in his eyes, and laughed faintly. “I can’t believe you’re alive. I heard they ‘terminated’ so many of Indian Hill’s victims, wanted to keep it quiet. Should have known you’d get away. You always were remarkable, Calvin”

514A dipped his head at the praise, whispering a thank you when Dr. Read handed him his drink. 

“As talkative as ever” Dr. Read guffawed, shaking his head like he couldn’t believe 514A was really in front of him. “They should have made you more talkative, but then that wouldn’t fit your Template”

“Don’t talk about me like I’m a character in a Play Station game” 514A looked up, expression pained. He wanted to ask who his Template was. But that wasn’t why he was there. He was not his Template. He was Talon.

Do not stray.

Dr. Read looked abashed, putting down the kettle and switching off the gas. 514A’s narrowed in on the extinguishing flames. “Sorry, Calvin. There’s no excuse for that... Can you tell me how you got out? Where you’ve been? Did other’s survive?”

514A took a sip of his hot chocolate, tucking himself into one of the bar stools, which made Dr. Read smile and join him. Elbow to elbow, 514A spent an hour or more telling Dr. Read all about how he crawled out through the vents and ran, how he caught a ride in the back of a truck and made his way over weeks to Central City where he lived for some time, before he was encountered by Kelly, who’d been placed there as part of her own witness protection. The rest was history, 514A said, falling into Kelly’s old sayings.

“I’m sorry for your loss” Dr. Read offered after a quiet moment remembering her. He patted the back of 514A’s hand. “If you don’t mind me asking, but where were you when she..?”

514A didn’t answer for the longest time. They sat in companionable silence in the simplistic kitchen, sipping their respective drinks.

It was dark outside, the last rays of sunlight passing away through the curtains, and 514A shifted his wrist as he put his drink down, finished.

“I was there”

Dr. Read hacked on his last dregs of coffee. “Oh my god. I’m so sorry, Calvin”

“I broke her neck”

It was fascinating, this part. Sensing how the target froze and their body shifted between fight or flight, and most simply... stayed frozen. Kelly hadn’t had time, but 514A found most of the scientists had tried to flee or stayed frozen. Every one of the experiments had tried to fight him.

They had all lost.

“She fell down the stairs” Denial. Shock.

514A nodded. “She did. After I broke her neck I pushed her down the stairs, then I tore the carpet so it appeared as though she had tripped”

Flee. Again. Dr. Read was predictable, just like the other scientists. Easily led by their guilt and desire for some kind of forgiveness. They all had the same claims too. I regret it. It was wrong. We shouldn’t have done it. I didn’t really want to, it was the others. I felt too scared to speak up and stop it.

Liars.

514A flicked his wrist, faster than regular eyes could track, darting a blade into the man’s jugular and slashing to a halt the man’s attempt to rise from his seat. His hulking old body dropped to the floor, and face splashed with ruby, 514A watched a plane glint past in the night sky as red life gushed from his target.

When the man stopped fitting on the floor, 514A slipped down from his stool and walked over to the stove, flicking on the notches.

.

“Please! Dr. Lau, please help me!” 514A begged, huddled in the archway of the woman’s drive. She was the last one. The last one before them. 

After her, 514A had only more two names left on the Clean Up assignment.