Chapter 201: The Direct Contact

February 5th, 2027.

As Michael was working in his office, a screen popped up on the display of the monitor.

"What the heck?" Michael read the display and he saw it was an incoming call from an unidentified caller.

Curious, Michael tapped the answer button. The screen flickered for a moment before settling on a chilling image. On his monitor, two men, their faces obscured by black cloth masks, stood ominously. Between them, bound to a plain metal chair, was Dr. Villanueva. His clothes were disheveled, and bruises marred his visible skin.

His head lolled forward slightly, an indication of his weakened state.

"Dr. Villanueva!" Michael exclaimed.

One of the masked men leaned forward, his voice distorted slightly by a voice modulator. "Mr. Reyes, we assume we have your full attention now," he said coldly.

Michael's heart pounded in his chest as he responded, "Yes, you do. What do you want?"

"We want you to listen very carefully," the other man interjected, his tone just as icy. "There are things we require from you if you ever want to see your precious doctor unharmed again."

Michael clenched his fists, anger rising in him, yet he knew he had to control his emotions.

"I'm listening. Tell me what you need."

The first man stepped closer to the camera, ensuring his masked face filled the screen.

"We will contact you again with our demands. Do not involve the police or next time you will not recognize Dr. Villanueva."

The screen went black abruptly, leaving Michael staring at the darkened monitor.

"What the..." Michael uttered, he was shocked that they'd drop the call in an instant. He was ready to listen to their demands. However, this is also a great opportunity for him to locate their position. But the call only took about ten seconds, and Michael knew that was a tight window to work with. Nevertheless, he swiftly moved into action, his fingers flying over the keyboard.

There was a brief silence on the other end. The masked men seemed taken aback by Michael's directness and his accurate assessment of the situation.

Finally, the one who had been speaking most cleared his throat, the modulator distorting his chuckle into something more menacing. "Mr. Reyes, you're smarter than we gave you credit for. But smart men also know when they're outmatched. You'll get our demands soon—"

"Why don't you cut the shit and tell me what your demands are?" Michael said frustratingly. "You want to know about the Medipod right? Of course, that may be the only reason. Dr. Villanueva is useless to you as he knows nothing about the Medipod. He knows how to operate it for sure but not everyone who knows how to operate a machine knows how it is created."

"Well, yes, it's the Medipod."

"So what do you want to know about Medipod?" Michael asked simply.

"Woah...aren't you quite being cooperative."

"Just hurry up," Michael urged.

"We want to know everything that is classified in Medipod."

"So your contractor can copy the Medipod and compete with my business, I see," Michael said. "In that case, for Dr. Villanueva's life, I will give you the schematics and the technical know-how of those classified devices. Let him go and I'll transfer it to you."

"No, you give the schematics to us first and then we'll let him go."

"Yeah like it's going to happen," Michael scoffed. "I know your tactics, the moment you get what you want you'll kill him. Well if you kill him, then I am no longer bound to do anything for you. If you want those schematics, you'll let him go first."

The masked man paused, likely mulling over Michael's counteroffer.

"We will call you back in two minutes."

And suddenly, the connection died.

"What the fuck?" Michael clicked his tongue. Well good thing, he can contact Carter now and inform them of his findings.