For the first time in a long time, Luc arrived for his first shift of work not at the High School on the campus of the University, but instead at the research offices of the National Laboratory. He walked with a spring in his step and he grinned instead of scowled. Instead of his usual slouch, he stood up straight and instead of looking forward to his daytime nap, his eyes were awake. Indeed, this was not the Luc of yesterday who was assigned to “playground duty” at the High School to guard teenagers.

As Luc bounded up the stairs of the research offices building to the second floor, he ran into Kylian, a face he had not seen for a while. Kylian did not expect to see Luc here.

“Oh, Luc! What are you doing here? Isn’t it a ‘school day’ for you?” Kylian tried his hand at forced sarcasm.

“Yeah, laugh it up while you can, but if you want to know, I’ve been reassigned to guard the likes of you and they’ve put a couple of new recruits to take my place at the High School.” Luc remained happy. He was not going to let anyone ruin his reassignment.

“So you’re no longer ‘hall monitor’ for the High School anymore?”

“Naw, not for a while until this latest incident blows over. Say, where’s Doc Renard anyway? He’s the most important guy out of all you nerds.”

Kylian bristled at being labeled a ‘nerd’. Not because he wasn’t one which he himself might admit to being, but because Luc labeled everyone working at the National Laboratory as ‘nerds.’ Kylian thought Luc might want to remember that Viviane used to work here, too, and she most definitely was not a ‘nerd’, at least not in the typical sense of the word.

However, before Kylian could fire off a retort, the head nerd, Dr. Leandre Renard, inventor of teleportation and its enabling technology, happened to step onto the floor of the offices surprising Kylian and Luc who were right on the edge of a pissing match. Dr. Renard took one look at Luc and knew something was wrong.

“You! You’re STS Agent Luc Coquin, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, that’s me. You’re Doctor Leandre Renard. You’re famous. I’m not. How’d you know who I am?”

“My twin daughters Anaelle and Marielle talk a lot about you.”

“Oh, they do, do they? Well, obviously they admire a handsome man in uniform, not that I blame them.”

“Why aren’t you guarding them today?”

“As I was explaining to this guy here, I’ve been reassigned from the High School to the research office of the National Lab because my seniority, experience and crime fighting skills have finally been recognized. But don’t worry, Doc, they assigned a couple of new recruits to the High School. Look, it takes two of them to replace just one of me!” Luc was smug.

On hearing that his daughters would be guarded by “green” STS Agents, Dr. Renard’s face wrinkled with worry. He raised his voice in anger.

“Why are inexperienced Agents being used to guard the children? They’re even more important than us!”

Not being a father himself, Luc never considered the possibility that the parents of the children might want the best protection for their children rather than for themselves. Usually quick with a snappy comeback, Luc was lost for words and tried to avoid eye contact by looking at the ground.

Meanwhile, as if seeing Luc here was not bad enough, Dr. Renard agitated himself to the point where his inner demons re-emerged. He battled with them once again as he grabbed the sides of his head with both hands and struggled with these invisible foes.

“Stolen! All of my data and my lab notes. All of my unpublished research is out there!” Dr. Renard flew into a rage and directed that rage at Luc. “How could you let this happen!?!? What do you know? Is the STS working to retrieve the data? Do you know who’s responsible for this theft? Do you realize that the information contained in that data can upset the balance of power in the world!? It could mean the end to our peaceful lives as we know it if our enemies can decipher that data!”

Luc looked up from the ground and stood at attention. “All I know is that government computer scientists are working on tracking the data down to who did it and who has it. We have our usual suspects, but we don’t know anything for sure yet. That’s all I know, Doc.”

That explanation did nothing to quell Dr. Renard’s anger. “Let’s pray for everyone’s sake that you and the authorities can find out who is behind this theft and destroy the data before it leaks any further.”

Kylian, who heard everything, had a different idea in mind. “Dr. Renard?” he asked. He tried to be gentle with his questioning not wanting to further upset the genius Doctor. “We know you’re afraid that the secrets of 99.999999999% accurate teleportation technology will be revealed to our enemies, but you know that there is sentiment among some people and maybe even some members of the Ruling Party that sharing the UEN’s technology instead of withholding it might be a way to make the world a better place for everyone.”

“Yes, I know that.” Dr. Renard was blunt with Kylian.

“In addition,” added Kylian, “the technology we’re working on is so advanced that no other nation would have the equipment nor the resources to even be able to fully reverse-engineer the data at this time.”

“Yes, I know that, too!” Dr. Renard lost his temper again.

“Then, what is it that you’re so worried about?”

Kylian’s last question must have triggered Dr. Renard to have the most horrible migraine headache imaginable. He grabbed the sides of his head again, lost his balance and almost fell to the floor! He caught himself and staggered away from the Luc and Kylian.

“Aaaaarrrrrgh! I can’t take it anymore! It haunts me! It claws at me! What will happen if anyone reads my lab notebooks? No! Make it go away!”

Dr. Renard stumbled out of the research offices and back to the respite of his office. His tormented mind and soul became even more tormented since he was told of the theft of his data.

As the saying went, “There is a fine line between genius and insanity.” It was obvious that Dr. Renard walked that fine line. Which side of that line would he fall onto?