[POI Doujin] In the Perfect World

"John... yes, you are John... how could I forget..."

Cold airtight door, hot tears. Finch pressed his forehead against the door, fingers unconsciously rubbing the smooth metal surface repeatedly.There was a blank in his mind, only the name he repeated in a low voice.I don't know when tears started to flow like a spring, across the face, wet the lens, and blur the vision.Fierce gunshots sounded outside the door, and every gunshot seemed like a bullet piercing his heart.But Finch couldn't feel any pain, because the whole heart had already turned into a hollow.

He clenched his fists tightly until his nails were deeply embedded in his palms. It seemed that only in this way could he gather all his strength to resist the unexplained trembling all over his body, so as to keep himself sane and clear enough.There are still things that must be done, although he can't remember clearly, but he must not give up.This was precious time that Reese had bought with his life, and he couldn't let Reese's sacrifice go to waste.

Finch took a deep breath, straightened his body, wiped the tears from his face, and turned to face the inside of the room.He finally saw his "destination" clearly, but the sight in front of him left him dumbfounded.

The room, no, to be precise, it is the vast underground space in front of you, where countless server cabinets are neatly arranged in rows, extending to the deepest part of the space.The recessed grid light panel installed on the suspended ceiling casts soft white light, illuminating every corner of the room.The servers in the black cabinet are running at full capacity, the display lights on the panel are constantly flashing green light, and the roar of the cooling fan reverberates throughout the space, like countless mechanical monsters from the future roaring. Finch couldn't tell how many servers and storage arrays were there, since he had never seen such a large data center.

Another thing that surprised him was that Finch suddenly found a large soft leather bag in his right hand.When did it appear?Reese handed it to him just now?But when the two fled all the way, Reese had nothing in his hand except the gun. Finch couldn't recall where the bag came from, but he knew instinctively that it contained the equipment he needed to do "that thing".

The bag was heavy, and Finch struggled to walk through the server array.The gunshots outside the door gradually faded away, or were overwhelmed by the noise in the room, and finally couldn't reach his ears.There was no reason, no reason, and his mood gradually calmed down, no longer mourning or agitated, and what remained was only a calm sense of fate.The increasingly severe pain in the cervical spine could not stop him from walking, but instead made his mind clearer and his steps more determined.He should be just an ordinary mathematics professor, maybe he is more than that, Finch has no time to think about it.There is a major event related to the future of mankind that needs him to complete as soon as possible, before those pursuers come in to stop him.

Finch stopped in front of a cabinet that didn't look any different from its counterparts in the room, but he knew it was here.

Open the bag and take out the contents.This is a strangely shaped helmet, made of metal and plastic splicing, a dozen colorful wires go out from several nodes on the helmet, and the terminals converge to a USB interface.

Without any prompting, putting on the helmet and plugging the interface into the socket on the front panel of the server, Finch felt as if there was another person in his consciousness, and that person was controlling his body instead of him.He didn't know why he did it, he just knew he should and had to.

An electric shock-like numbness swept across Finch's entire head, and the chill seeped into the ends of every strand of hair, but it couldn't stop the big beads of sweat from sliding down his forehead.Perhaps because of being too nervous, Finch could feel his whole body trembling.Or maybe the trembling was not caused by nervousness, but by countless fragments that flashed through his mind.

"I think I can do something, Nathan."

"Haven't you ever considered telling me this?"

"You knew this was going to happen, didn't you?"

"You can call me a relevant third party."

"Sooner or later we're all going to die, really die."

"Harold!"

Human perception of time is always affected by various external factors.It may have only been a few seconds, or it may have been a few minutes. Even though the helmet cut off most of the volume, Finch could still hear a huge and piercing roar, and the shock wave swept across the surroundings in an instant.Destroyed and shattered, white light soared into the sky, accompanied by blazing flames, turning everything into dust.

Then, there is perpetual darkness and silence.

Finch opened his eyes again, unable to focus for a moment due to the severe dizziness.After he paused for a few seconds, he finally saw the white ceiling and the circular arc ceiling lamp with simple lines.The scene was a bit blurry, probably because I wasn't wearing glasses.

Where are you?What happened?The dizziness also seemed to be affecting his ability to think.Dazed, Finch tried to prop up his body, but was forced back by the tingling pain in his cervical spine and right leg at the same time.

Yes, he is lying on a bed now, with white bedding and white sheets.Despite being unable to turn his head much, Finch made an effort to look around by rolling his eyes.The room is spacious, bright and very tidy. Next to the bed on his left side is an ECG monitor, which is making a dull beeping sound, and several wires connected to it are attached to his chest.On the right side of the bed, there is a woman with red hair lying on the edge of the bed, she seems to be taking a nap, with her white and beautiful face covered by the red hair.

"Grace..." Finch whispered unconsciously.He should be in the hospital now, why is Grace here?The pain hit again, as if countless steel needles were constantly stirring in the brain, and some of the memories that Finch had just pieced together in his mind were cut into pieces.

No, I will never allow it! Finch fought the pain with all his might, slowly fusing the pieces back into their original shape.The pain in the sea of ​​consciousness is the most unbearable for human beings, even though Finch clenched his teeth, the pain still overflowed from between his teeth.

Finch's voice startled Grace, she looked up and was in a daze for a few seconds, seeing Finch staring at her, she couldn't help standing up in surprise and joy, "Harold, thank God, you finally woke up!" The woman reached out and stroked Finch's cheek Cheek, "Are you okay? Is it still hurting a lot? The doctor said that your injury will leave a slight disability, but it will not hinder your daily life too much, so you don't have to worry."

Finch can feel the soft and delicate touch and warm heat of Grace's palm, and he can smell Grace's unique rose-like fragrance from his nose.Is there anything better than a lover's warm and joyful eyes and gentle and considerate words?Beautiful like a dream.

Grace's words continued in his ears, "You scared us, I, Machine, Nathan, and Will are all worried about you." The soft voice was mixed with concern, worry, anxiety and forced calm.

"My glasses..." Finch wished he could see better. Grace quickly took out the glasses from the bedside table and put them on for him.

"What... what happened to me?" Finch struggled, he couldn't bear to take his eyes off Grace's face.God knows how attached he is to her face and everything about her.

"Oh," Grace sniffed, her eye circles were slightly red, "the reception you and Nathan went to suffered a terrorist attack, and the terrorists detonated the explosives after the police arrived at the scene, so you were injured and sent to this a hospital."

"Is it... I injured my cervical spine and right leg, right?" Finch's attitude was very flat, as if he was talking about someone else's bad luck.Before Grace could answer, he asked again, "What about Nathan?"

Grace glanced in the direction of the door behind her, "Nathan may have taken Machine to lunch. Last night, Machine heard that you were injured and insisted on coming to the hospital with me to accompany you." She paused, "Since you Wake up, I'll go get them back."

Finch grabbed her wrist, and said in a very reluctant tone, "No, I know they won't delay too long. Grace, you stay with me for a while."

Seeing her husband's insistence, Grace had to stand back by the window, her cheeks flushed, "After you leave the hospital, let's take a good trip to Southern Europe or East Asia, and Machine is old enough to take care of himself. Nathan promised to help you report to the school. Applying for a long vacation..."

"Grace, I'm sorry." Finch suppressed the smile on his face, and interrupted his wife's words with a particularly serious expression, "I've always wanted to say this to you myself. Look at your face, hold your hand , I solemnly apologize to you, but I never had the chance."

Grace looked a little panicked, which is normal, any wife would feel panic when encountering such a scene.She had done well enough, tried her best to conceal her fear, pulled the corners of her mouth to force a smile, "It's not what you want to be involved in such a dangerous thing, you don't need to apologize..."

Finch stared at Grace's face for a long time, the sunlight from the window poured into the room, brightening his rose and his love.He watched almost greedily, even sparing no time to speak.

"Harold, you scared me." Grace's voice began to tremble. "Are you okay?"

Finch patted her hand reassuringly, "I'm fine, I just wish it lasted longer."

It's a pity that Finch's wish didn't come true, and he remembered in a thick voice, "Harold, you're finally awake! My friend, this is really great!" With a smile on his excited tone, Nathan pushed the door open, followed by Pingting girl with brown hair and shawl.Seeing her father wake up, the girl didn't step forward excitedly, but stood in the corner of the room, carefully avoiding Finch's sight.

"Nathan, I'm glad to see you again." Finch said sincerely.He fumbled for the buttons on the side of the bed, and the backrest rose slowly enough for him to look directly at Nathan. Nathan quickly stepped forward to support Finch, helping him adjust to the most comfortable position.

"Harold, it's all my fault. If I hadn't taken you to that reception, you wouldn't have been hurt." Nathan's face was heavy with self-blame, and the circles of his eyes were a little red.

"No, Nathan, everything is my own choice. Instead, I should apologize to you, I'm the one who got you involved." Finch slightly raised his hand to stop Nathan's defense. "If it wasn't for me, it wouldn't have caused you to encounter that kind of misfortune."

"But you are the one who was injured, not me. Don't you see that I am standing in front of you intact now?" Nathan's smile deepened.

Finch stared at his blond friend. "No, Nathan, you're dead."

A smile froze on Nathan's face for an instant, and he stared at Finch in astonishment, not knowing what to say for a while.Grace on the side reacted first, "Harold, what nonsense are you talking about? Isn't Nathan alive? Could it be his ghost who is here now?"

The Machine in the corner took half a step back, and a pair of slender hands tightly twisted the corners of his clothes.

Nathan quickly regained his composure, "Harold, do you have the same hallucinations as the last "911" again? The blue eyes were fixed on Finch, full of the worry and concern that a close friend should have. "You see, I am not standing in front of you well, how could I be a dead person?" "

Finch looked back at him wordlessly, as if looking back at a long time ago through that all-too-familiar face.

Finch's silence obviously gave Nathan a lot of encouragement, he took Finch's hand resting on the quilt, "Harold, I don't know what you think you have experienced, but as a friend, I would like to give some advice, don't take hallucinations as reality, Don't confuse your happy life with your nightmares."

Finch slightly lowered his head and glanced at his held hand, his expression and tone were generally calm, "If the terrorist attack you mentioned is true, and I have suffered such serious injuries, why are you able to remain unscathed?" Nathan's hand was steady Warm, no different from what I remembered.

"Harold, are you blaming me for not protecting you well?" Nathan frowned as if displeased, but his tone was still gentle.

"No, I'm just stating a fact. We were standing shoulder to shoulder at the time. If the explosion happened in the reception hall, it could only come from our front. It makes no sense that the shock wave of the explosion only affected me. This is an obvious logical error." Finch became more calm and peaceful, as if he was discussing a number theory topic with an old friend on weekdays.

Nathan suddenly became irritable. He let go of Finch's hand and ran through his hair. "The scene was very chaotic at the time, and maybe you were in front of me."

"There is some truth to this statement. But you are taller than me. If I stood in front of you, would you be unharmed?" The corners of Finch's mouth curled up into a sneer or wry smile, "Stop lying..."

Nathan's usually neat and docile hair looked a little messy at this time, and a few strands of hair were sticking up stubbornly, as if a strong wind was blowing.He pursed his lips tightly and still insisted on persuading Finch, "You can look at all the news reports now, everyone is chasing this sudden event, from TV to the Internet. If there is no terrorist attack, the media reports, the images of the scene, Are these all fake?"

Finch closed his eyes slightly, and when he opened them again there were faint tears in his eyes, "Everything can be faked, Nathan, can't it?" He stared at his old friend's haggard face, "The truth will always surface, no matter you How to hide it. Nathan, you told me this truth many years ago."

Grace, who had been silent by the side, suddenly interrupted and asked: "You said everything is fake, Harold, is our love also fake?"

Finch turned his gaze to his lover.The red hair hangs softly by the ear, sticking to the almost translucent crystal clear skin, so beautiful and holy.

"No, my love for you and my friendship with Nathan have always been true. No matter when or under what circumstances, there is nothing half false."

"Harold, then don't deny us, don't deny our happy life now." Grace almost begged, her beautiful eyes filled with tears.

Nathan held onto her shaky body and stared at Finch reproachfully, "You think Grace and I are capable of weaving such a huge hoax to fool you?"

"No, of course it can't be you." Finch turned his gaze to the Machine in the corner behind them.The girl lowered her head to avoid it, and flinched back again.

Finch sighed deeply, out of regret and guilt. "I'm sorry, but I can recall many things, though not all, and too many of them are only blurred in detail. But I can remember that 911/[-] actually happened, and I also remember you, Nathan, my best friend, because I die." He turned to Grace, eyes full of love, "I also remembered that I had to leave you, my dearest Grace, and left you alone to cry. Many things I can't remember the details, but I'm sure They really happened. So, I know my current happiness isn't real, even though I wish they were real...and," Finch's face was mixed with sadness and relief at the same time, "most importantly, I Remembering someone I forgot, someone I shouldn't have forgotten."

Finch waved his hand to stop Nathan and Grace who were trying to defend themselves, "There's no need to explain anymore, you all go out, I need to be alone."

Nathan waved his hand vigorously, but turned and left without saying anything. Machine quickly stepped forward to help Grace out of the ward, and glanced back at his father before leaving.

"Machine, you're a good boy." Finch's words brought back a little rosiness to the girl's pretty face. She pursed her lips and wanted to say something, but seeing the cold expression on her father's face, she finally swallowed her words and left silently.

Pull off the lead of the ECG, get up and get out of bed.The body is slightly inconvenient, but it is not an insurmountable difficulty, and the pain has passed.Put on the shirt, tie and three-piece suit hanging in the closet, which is his favorite navy blue silk cashmere with pinstripes.The shiny leather shoes were placed by the door, as if someone had just polished them by hand.

After tidying up his clothes, Finch took a deep breath and stepped out of the ward.

Walking on the familiar streets of New York, there are turbulent crowds of people coming and going, and there are rows of tall buildings. Finch wandered the bustling streets of this city, quietly watching many familiar scenes around him, this city is so familiar yet so strange.He hadn't relaxed like this for a long time. He didn't have to worry or worry, and he didn't have to deliberately suppress himself, let his thoughts fly away, and let his memories slowly emerge.

This is his beloved city, although it is not the place where he was born and grew up, but it carries most of the happy and sad memories of his life.Once pinned his best expectations, it also became the source of his nightmares.

Going south along Madison Avenue, turning west from East 88th Street, you will see the white spring-shaped building of the Guggenheim Museum. Finch's eyes lingered on that building for a few seconds before heading across the street into Central Park.

The park is no different from the past, strolling on the tree-shaded avenue, passing under the bridge hole, lively children whizzing past him on scooters, jogging youths in sportswear rubbing shoulders with him heavily, walking The old woman with the dog is sitting leisurely on the bench and watching her pet dog play around.Ease and peace, living peace and happiness.

Finch stood on the lawn of the park, looking at the continuous tall buildings on the side of Fifth Avenue, and then slowly continued southward after a long time.

Exit Central Park and head east onto Park Avenue.Looking at the 49-story glass curtain wall building at the corner of East Forty Street, IFT's golden LOGO shines on the square in front of the building.

Finch's pace was quite slow at first, but gradually his walking speed changed strangely, or it should be said that the path under his feet seemed to be shortened by an unknown strange force.The passers-by around him also disappeared, as if he was the only one left in the city.He walked from Park Avenue to Lexington Avenue in a few easy steps. On the corner of East Thirty Street stood a pointed building with gray stone walls and long glass windows. The scaffolding has not been removed.

Finch stared at the house, his eyes wide open, unblinking, full of sadness and nostalgia.Closing his eyes, Finch could feel his body trembling uncontrollably, not from fear.

Opening his eyes again, he had already passed St. Paul's Chapel towards Greenwich Avenue.As far as the eye can see, the essence condensed by the wisdom of the two human buildings is inserted straight into the clouds, so magnificent and so dazzling.Then, right in front of his eyes, the twin towers collapsed in an instant, turning into flying ash without a sound.The strong wind and dust swept towards Finch, but it couldn't shake the man who didn't look strong.

Finch took a deep breath, watching the fly ash covering the entire lower Manhattan, the bustling city was silent, like a dead city.

Turning around again, Finch was standing in the park under the Queen's Bridge, with the sparkling East River in front of him, and Roosevelt Island and the reinforced concrete forest in Midtown on the opposite.Raindrops began to float in the sky, getting denser and more urgent.But Finch didn't intend to leave to hide from the rain. He let the rain wet his whole body, and the lens washed by the rain blurred and clearly showed the scene in front of him, and he didn't want to look away.

Finch finally stood back in front of the apartment with red walls and white windows.I don't know when the rain has stopped, and the sky is gray and gloomy.He should have been drenched all over, but there was no water stain on his clothes.

Stepping up the steps and into the porch, Finch took every step very slowly, as if walking with difficulty, but he didn't hesitate at all.Pushing open the door, it was no surprise that Nathan and Grace were standing in the hallway to welcome his return, while the brown-haired girl stood quietly behind them.

"Harold, you're finally back." Grace greeted him with joy, as if Finch had just come home from school as usual.

"Yeah, Harold, we've been waiting for you for a long time. Grace also specially cooked your favorite meals for you." Nathan was also smiling, as if the conversation in the hospital had never happened before.

Finch stared at the two of them, whether it was solemn or sad.Facing the peaceful and happy scene in front of him, he was speechless.

Silence, obviously the room of four people fell into silence. Finch didn't speak, and Grace and Nathan kept their smiles and didn't speak any more.

"Father," Machine's crisp voice broke the silence, although there was an imperceptible tremor in the voice, "It's good to be back. Mom and Uncle Nathan are very worried about you leaving the hospital suddenly." Seeing Finch's gaze turned to himself, The girl lowered her head in fear and quickly mustered up her courage, "Father, I hope you get well soon, and we can go back to our original happy life, is that okay?" She pulled out a dog from behind, "It is The golden retriever we met in the park at the gate last time, didn’t you say you wanted to adopt it? I saw that it was still outside these days, so I took it back. Mom has already agreed to us raising it.”

Finch looked at the big dog squatting obediently on the ground, sticking out its tongue, staring at him with wet brown eyes, as well-behaved as a newborn fawn.

Finch adjusted his glasses.Brown-black short hair, vigilant pointed ears, smooth and well-proportioned figure.It was a Malinois.

The corner of Finch's mouth slightly raised into a smile, and regardless of the girl's surprised expression, he passed through the three-person room and went straight into the bathroom next to the living room.

"Father!" Finch closed the door, blocking out the girl's shouts.

Open the bridle of the basin, and the clear water pours down. Finch scooped up water with both hands and splashed it on his face. Drops of water dripped from his cheeks and hair to the surface of the basin.Crystal water drops, dim lights, bright red blood drops, dark ground, thick bloody smell.

Stains of blood emerged from the depths of memory, and the scattered puzzle finally joined the last piece.

Someone was knocking hurriedly on the bathroom door, and Nathan shouted urgently from outside, "Harold, areyouthere?"

"Always, Mr. Reese", Finch raised his head and looked at himself in the mirror.His face was strangely calm, his eyes were bloodshot, but his cheeks and lips were completely devoid of blood.

TBC

The author has something to say:

The beautiful illusion will eventually be shattered, and the cruel reality has been revealed.There is still an indelible beauty in the soaking smell of blood, which is a memory that Finch absolutely does not want to let go.

This chapter can be regarded as the first time since I wrote a fan (the previous ones were lazy, I admit ==~).Where is the card, the sisters who read the text must know at a glance.New York is both a familiar and unfamiliar city to me.After repeated revisions many times, laziness reappeared, so let’s just do it…