see
him tomorrow?” I pressed.
Victoria’s smile was genuine. “You should
know well enough by now that I keep all of my promises. Besides,”
she waved her hand dismissively, “advocating for the visit was no
picnic. After all of that, I would not have my efforts be for
naught.”
“ Thank you, Victoria,” I
replied simply. Though Erik’s visit was purportedly for his
benefit, Victoria had really been watching out for me lately. Three
months ago, I would have laughed at the thought of UNITED’s head
councilwoman helping me out in any way. Now, I couldn’t begin to
express the depth of my appreciation for everything she’d done for
me.
Nodding to the file folder open beside me on
the bed, Victoria changed topics. “I see you have been looking over
the information I left. What can you tell me?”
Though I wanted to talk about the attack in
greater depth, Victoria’s demeanor suggested she was short on time.
So, instead of discussing my theories and dissecting the inner
workings of a would-be mass murderer’s mind, I pushed away the
thoughts of Erik and switched gears.
“ Honestly, I’m not sure
what I’m supposed to be looking for,” I replied. “I mean, it all
seems pretty straightforward. Power outages happen. Livestock
thefts can’t be uncommon. I guess I just don’t see what is so
noteworthy about them.” I paused and, mentally cataloguing the
events I’d read about, added, “The alien abductions are
interesting, though.”
“ No one was abducted by men
from space,” the councilwoman interjected.
“ How do you know? It’s
possible. People have been claiming abduction for hundreds of
years, has to be some truth in it,” I reasoned.
“ I know because there have
been no unauthorized aircrafts within a hundred mile radius of the
Duquesne farm in the months before or after the alleged
abductions.”
“ Cloaking capabilities,” I
volleyed. “We have them, so extraterrestrials probably do,
too.”
Yocum snorted, then feigned a coughing fit
when Victoria shot him a glare that would’ve frozen the Dead
Sea.
“ Talia,” she warned,
pinching the bridge of her nose as if she might be able to squeeze
patience from her nostrils. “Please be serious.”
I might have pressed the issue, purely for
my entertainment, but I knew Victoria was already having a hell of
a day.
“ Fine,” I relented, drawing
out the syllable for good measure. “Probably not aliens. Seriously,
though, if you tell me what I’m supposed to be looking for, I might
have more luck with this. Why are these things even on your
radar?”
“ We closely monitor all of
the areas within a hundred miles of the UNITED headquarters in
Switzerland,” Victoria explained. “Particularly now, with the vote
so close and many Created still on the loose. Given the fact that
the electric company has no explanation for the power outages, we
are not ruling out a rogue electrical manipulator.”
“ But it doesn’t explain the
cattle,” I concluded.
“ Precisely. Do you see any
connection between the events listed in the reports?” Victoria
adjusted on my thin mattress so she was facing me directly,
gesturing to the papers scattered between us.
“ Um, maybe the thieves cut
the power so no one could see them stealing the cows?” I
ventured.
“ It’s possible,” she
replied, seeming doubtful.
“ But not probable,” I
finished for her, sighing. “That would likely have been
unnecessary, given that the cows were out in a field, already in
the dark.”
“ I know this is an odd set
of circumstances,” Victoria said, sensing my frustration. “But I do
believe the events are all related. I am just not sure how they are related. I
was hoping you might find the connection.”
“ I see,” I stalled. This
was my chance to prove my worth to UNITED, but I was coming up
empty-handed. “Nothing comes to mind, but I’ll go through the
articles and reports again. Do you think you could get me more
information? Like maybe some
him tomorrow?” I pressed.
Victoria’s smile was genuine. “You should
know well enough by now that I keep all of my promises. Besides,”
she waved her hand dismissively, “advocating for the visit was no
picnic. After all of that, I would not have my efforts be for
naught.”
“ Thank you, Victoria,” I
replied simply. Though Erik’s visit was purportedly for his
benefit, Victoria had really been watching out for me lately. Three
months ago, I would have laughed at the thought of UNITED’s head
councilwoman helping me out in any way. Now, I couldn’t begin to
express the depth of my appreciation for everything she’d done for
me.
Nodding to the file folder open beside me on
the bed, Victoria changed topics. “I see you have been looking over
the information I left. What can you tell me?”
Though I wanted to talk about the attack in
greater depth, Victoria’s demeanor suggested she was short on time.
So, instead of discussing my theories and dissecting the inner
workings of a would-be mass murderer’s mind, I pushed away the
thoughts of Erik and switched gears.
“ Honestly, I’m not sure
what I’m supposed to be looking for,” I replied. “I mean, it all
seems pretty straightforward. Power outages happen. Livestock
thefts can’t be uncommon. I guess I just don’t see what is so
noteworthy about them.” I paused and, mentally cataloguing the
events I’d read about, added, “The alien abductions are
interesting, though.”
“ No one was abducted by men
from space,” the councilwoman interjected.
“ How do you know? It’s
possible. People have been claiming abduction for hundreds of
years, has to be some truth in it,” I reasoned.
“ I know because there have
been no unauthorized aircrafts within a hundred mile radius of the
Duquesne farm in the months before or after the alleged
abductions.”
“ Cloaking capabilities,” I
volleyed. “We have them, so extraterrestrials probably do,
too.”
Yocum snorted, then feigned a coughing fit
when Victoria shot him a glare that would’ve frozen the Dead
Sea.
“ Talia,” she warned,
pinching the bridge of her nose as if she might be able to squeeze
patience from her nostrils. “Please be serious.”
I might have pressed the issue, purely for
my entertainment, but I knew Victoria was already having a hell of
a day.
“ Fine,” I relented, drawing
out the syllable for good measure. “Probably not aliens. Seriously,
though, if you tell me what I’m supposed to be looking for, I might
have more luck with this. Why are these things even on your
radar?”
“ We closely monitor all of
the areas within a hundred miles of the UNITED headquarters in
Switzerland,” Victoria explained. “Particularly now, with the vote
so close and many Created still on the loose. Given the fact that
the electric company has no explanation for the power outages, we
are not ruling out a rogue electrical manipulator.”
“ But it doesn’t explain the
cattle,” I concluded.
“ Precisely. Do you see any
connection between the events listed in the reports?” Victoria
adjusted on my thin mattress so she was facing me directly,
gesturing to the papers scattered between us.
“ Um, maybe the thieves cut
the power so no one could see them stealing the cows?” I
ventured.
“ It’s possible,” she
replied, seeming doubtful.
“ But not probable,” I
finished for her, sighing. “That would likely have been
unnecessary, given that the cows were out in a field, already in
the dark.”
“ I know this is an odd set
of circumstances,” Victoria said, sensing my frustration. “But I do
believe the events are all related. I am just not sure how they are related. I
was hoping you might find the connection.”
“ I see,” I stalled. This
was my chance to prove my worth to UNITED, but I was coming up
empty-handed. “Nothing comes to mind, but I’ll go through the
articles and reports again. Do you think you could get me more
information? Like maybe some
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