novel520 Chapter 560 - 560 Escape and Dangerous Interest
Chapter 560 - 560 Escape and Dangerous Interest
Layton sat in a cramped prison cell aboard an Alliance Police ship, glancing at the "meal" that had just been delivered to him.The food, if it could really be called that, was just a multicolored slop.
Certainly, it was nutritious and would provide a person with the necessary calories they needed, but its taste was far from good.
"I don't consider myself particularly, picky, but I certainly won't be eating this." Layton grumbled as he pushed the tray away.
Frankly, he missed the accommodations on the mercenary vessel that he had been held on for a few days.
They had not had enough room in their brig to hold everyone, so he had been placed inside a room meant for crew members instead.
Certainly, he had been locked in there, but it held a decent bed and a desk he could sit at.
The food had been better too.
It had come out of at least a decent autochef, even if the capsules used were of low quality.
However, the best part about having been held on the mercenary ship was that he had been able to get a good look at the new premium specimen he had found.
The young leader of the mercenaries that had attacked the Odium Syndicate base, Layton recalled his name being Avery Asteria, was immensely fascinating.
He had watched the young man fight against his creations and was astounded by his abilities.
'To think that I would find someone like him while working on that dull project the people in the Zatis Consortium hired me for. I was forced to stop my research decades ago when those idiots running the Awakening Project lost control of the successful subjects. I told them that using their talents for black ops operation was a waste and a liability. If only the moronic investors had listened.'
Layton sighed as he remembered how everything had fallen apart back then.
The subjects that had awakened to their psionic powers had turned on them the moment that they had become strong enough to fight back.
Still, that was all in the past, and Layton saw a bright future ahead now that he had discovered someone like Avery Asteria.
All he needed to do now was wait, and he knew he would be free to act.
Fortunately, his confinement did not last for too much longer.
Around twelve hours later, two guards came walking down the corridor and stopped in front of his cell.
"Ah, it's about time. I was wondering when she would finally get around to breaking me out." Layton said, smiling at the two Alliance Police officers.
"Shut up, and don't speak again. You're being transferred to a higher security area."
The other guard that had not spoken then typed in a code on the keypad beside the cell, before placing his hand over a pad that scanned him.
Finally, a nearly invisible light swept over his left eye, and confirmed the man's identity and credentials.
A second later, the bars and forcefield sealing the cell's only entrance retracted.
One of the guards kept a laser rifle trained on Layton, while the other applied cuffs around his wrists.
Layton was then prompted to leave the cell and follow them. With one of the guards standing behind him as the other one led the way.
The higher security area he was being brought to turned out to be an entirely different ship.
It was still Alliance Police, but instead of the large prison vessel he had been on, it was a lot smaller.
"Oh, I must be really important to be placed on one of the specialized transfer corvettes only used for the most dangerous criminals." Layton said, as if he was on some kind of field trip.
This ship only had a single cell, but it was far more secure than the last one he had been in.
Forget bars and a forcefield, he was enclosed in a box surrounded by heavy armor palting on all sides. With a bubble shield surrounding the entire structure.
There were thick chains stored in a compartment in one of the walls, and small nozzles were ready to release potent anesthetic gas at any moment.
Normally, this would be excessive to hold anyone, but there were some people out there that could not be contained by normal means.
Layton was not one of them though.
Other than his intelligence, there was nothing really special about him. He would not have been able to escape from his previous cell on his own, let alone the souped-up one he now found himself in.
Yet, while most people would either be fearful or angry to have been left in such a place, Layton was instead curious.
Knowing that he would likely be here for a while, he went around examining the cell's technology.
It was certainly impressive, and it was a good way to pass the time.
He honestly had no idea how long had passed by, as there was no means to tell time or see anything outside of the cell.
Eventually, one of the walls began to shift and a small opening appeared in the thick metal frame.
Two new Alliance Police officer that looked far tougher and rougher than the first pair entered.
Layton was bound again, and this time a blindfold was put over his eyes.
Honestly, he might have been afraid that he was really about to be shoved into one of the Dramid Alliance's worst and most secure prisons, if not for the fact he knew there were plenty of people in positions of power that would never allow that to happen.
They knew that having him killed was not an option either, so it was inevitable that he would be released.
For several minutes he was shuffled around by the brutes that were manhandling him.
After what felt like far too long, they finally let Layton go and removed the blindfold obscuring his sight.
"Wait here and don't go anywhere." One of the guards said before the two of them walked through a doorway that Layton knew was an airlock.
The entrance sealed behind them as they left, and around half a minute later, Layton felt what he was certain was two ships undocking from each other.
Another dozen or so seconds went by before the door leading deeper into the latest craft he had been forced onto opened.
Immediately upon laying his eyes on the interior, he knew that he was no longer on an Alliance Police vessel.
The martials used did not employ the muted grays and blues so common on their ships. Instead, the interior was filled with bright and vibrate shades of gold and red.
Following the pathway that had opened up for him, Layton quickly found himself inside of an opulent lounge filled with high quality furniture and appliances.
However, what his eyes were drawn to was the woman sitting on a couch in the middle of the room.
"It seems that you must have died again. You really should be more careful, Deliah. You must be close to having gone through thirty bodies by this point." Layton said chastising.
"Actually, this one is exactly number thirty. Unfortunately, I live a very dangerous life. Though, it seems that this time you're the one that was in a bit of peril. Luckily, you did not end up dying before I could rescue you."
"And I thank you for that. This body perishing would have been an immense loss. My latest memories would not have been able to transfer over, and I would have lost some very important information."
As they were conversing, Layton walked to the center of the room and sat in the chair facing the couch Delilah was lying on.
"Yes, I definitely preferred your previous incarnation. You look so childish now. It doesn't suit you." Layton said bluntly.
"You know, I went out of my way to get you out of Alliance Police custody. I had to use a lot of money and burn a few of my connections to do so. Maybe you should be a little more grateful."
Layton merely scoffed and said, "Don't act as if you did this out of the kindness of your heart. Yous still owe me three favors for designing the system that allows you to store your memories and conciseness and have them transferred to another body."
"Its only two favors now. Breaking you out counts as one." Delilah replied, a smug smile on her face.
"Very well, just two more then. I am appreciative for your assistance. Though, I'm sure you would have come for me regardless of whatever favors you owe. Naturally, you won't allow the secrets I know about you to leak to anyone."
Delilah glared at Layton for his obvious threat.
"Yes, but then you'll be the one starting to owe me if you run out of favors. You should know better than to test me."
"Of course, I would much prefer for us to continue our mutually beneficial relationship."
The two of them sat in silence for a bit, before Deliah changed the subject of the conversation.
"Is there anywhere you want to go before I return you back to the Odium Syndicate? As I'm technically a member of the upper echelons of the organization, my rescuing you was done in an official capacity."
"Ah, I see that you've used this regrettable turn of events to your full advantage. Fulfilling one of the favors you owe me and receiving a reward from the Odium Syndicate for getting me back." Layton said.
Delilah did not elaborate despite Layton's probing, and simply asked him again if there was anywhere he wanted to go first.
"No, but there is something that I wish to obtain posthaste. My interest in the Odium Syndicate's project was already beginning to wane since I've collected most of the data that I want already. But I've found a far more intriguing specimen. You would not happen to be familiar with a mercenary by the name of Avery Asteria, would you?"