Invisible Carl slipped silently through the air vents, his passage aided by the cloak that rendered him unseen. The journey was smoother this time, thanks to the suit's enhanced stealth features. He arrived at the room where the hyper-fusion laser had previously been taken, noting with relief that the security system was currently offline.
Climbing down from the vent, Carl remained invisible as he carefully considered his next move. I've got to swap the cloak without the camera noticing any changes, he thought.
Just then, Beatrix's voice echoed inside his helmet—an AI embedded in his suit. "Since you want to swap it, I can hack into the camera, freeze its feed, and place a static image over it. No movement will be detected."
Carl muttered in annoyance, "If you could do that, you should've said it sooner."
"I'm an AI of the CIA, numbskull. Of course I can do it," she replied coolly. A brief pause followed. "It's done."
"Okay, but I should still set the fake one exactly as the real one was—just in case," Carl said, taking the real cloak and carefully replacing it with a fake. He climbed back into the vent just as the door creaked open and the investigation department began their inspection. He was gone, undetected.
Back at Katy's Office
Katy stared at the holographic screen, bewildered. "How is this even possible?"
Beatrix responded, "The DNA from this strand of hair doesn't match any other in the global database."
At that moment, Carl stepped into the room. "Here's the cloak. Let's run a scan and see what we can find."
Katy raised a brow, her voice laced with sarcasm. "Where did you get an idea like that? Who are you, and what have you done with Carl?"
Carl smirked. "I'll take that as a compliment. Scan it." He held out the cloak.
"Way ahead of you," Beatrix said.
Carl blinked, surprised. "What?! When did you do that?"
"The moment you picked it up," Beatrix replied. "I also scanned a strand of hair attached to it."
Carl groaned. "If you did that, why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't want to ruin your little spy moment."
Carl rolled his eyes. "Now you're just mocking me. You've just earned yourself a lifelong enemy, you hear me?"
Beatrix chuckled. "Much obliged."
"Can you two stop bickering?" Katy said sharply. "We've got a problem here."
"What problem?" Carl asked.
"We still don't know who our cloaked intruder is. The DNA doesn't match anything in the database."
Carl grew frustrated. "So what the hell's that supposed to mean? His DNA was never recorded?"
"Rerunning the analysis," Katy said.
"Analysis complete," Beatrix confirmed. "Still no record."
Carl sighed deeply. There's no guarantee he won't come back just because he got the laser.
"I'll keep looking into it," Katy said. "Maybe I'll find something."
"Alright," Carl nodded. "Beatrix, stay on alert in case he comes for Katy. I have to go—I promised Silver we'd hang out today."
"Okay, but be careful," Katy said.
Carl nodded and exited.
Once he was gone, Beatrix muttered thoughtfully, "This DNA sample doesn't match any human on Earth."
Katy frowned and leaned closer to the screen. "Beatrix… Try expanding the analysis to every species that grows hair."
At the Movies
Silver stood outside the movies, clearly irritated. "Carl, where the hell are you?!" He reached for his phone, just about to call when Carl suddenly emerged from an alley and tapped his shoulder.
"Ha! I made it. Sorry for the wait."
Silver glared at him, clenched his fists, then took a deep breath. "Next time you do this again, I'll end your miserable life right then and there."
Carl grinned playfully. "Don't tell me you're mad. I said I'm sorry! Besides, who shows up to the movies early, anyway? Loosen up."
Silver smirked. "Oh, I'll loosen up alright—your mouth, that is. Let's go. The movie's about to start."
They entered the movies.
During the Movie
Carl was clearly enjoying himself. "This movie is amazing! The CGI is so clean!"
Silver nodded with a forced smile. "Yeah… really nice." He tried to mask the discomfort he was feeling in his arm.
Carl noticed the strain in Silver's voice and glanced over, catching a flicker of pain. What's he hiding? Why is he trying so hard to hide it? Carl thought. Now's not the time to ask… He'll just lie.
After the Movie
They walked together down the street. Taxis had been scarce lately. Silver's apartment was in the same direction as Carl's—just farther.
They chatted casually about the movie until Carl spotted an opening to ask. "So, Silver… What's wrong with your arm?"
Silver looked startled. "Wh-what do you mean? My arm's fine."
Carl wasn't buying it. "Hey, I've known you since middle school. You hardly ever complain. Then you suddenly start twitching, and I'm supposed to believe it's nothing?"
Realizing there was no way out, Silver sighed. "It's just a small cut."
Carl reached for his arm and began to lift the sleeve. "It's hard to believe a small cut could make you this uncomfortable—" He stopped. The bandages were soaked with blood. "The hell is this? You call this little?"
Silver tried to downplay it. "It's not a big deal. Just a minor wound."
Carl shook his head, starting to unwrap it. "This isn't safe. We need to clean it now."
"Huh… alright," Silver gave in.
"Where did you even get this kind of injury?" Carl asked.
Silver hesitated. "Stellar Labs."
Carl blinked. "Stellar Labs?! What were you doing there?"
Silver froze, realizing his mistake. "I-I mean… I was heading somewhere when I got hit by a guy. I think I got injured by something he was carrying."
He probably got hit by the cloaked guy, Carl thought. I need to get him patched up, and fast. It's almost 11 PM—no infirmary will be open now.
"Silver," he said aloud, "How about a sleepover at my place?"
Silver raised a brow, confused. "Can't we just let it be for tonight?"
"Nope. We need to fix that arm. You don't have much of a choice."
It's hopeless arguing with him, Silver thought.
As they continued down the street, just as they were about to pass an alley, someone jumped out.
A masked bandit pointed a gun at them.
"Drop all your valuables… and leave," he said coldly.