whatever. And you never mentioned it to
us? Did I ever tell you how much it hurt to find out that you’d
been keeping it from us that you were an amnesiac? I thought we
were more than just your employees – I thought we were friends and
maybe even some kind of family. But that’s obviously not the case
if you’re going to continue keeping secrets from us. Well, I’m not
putting up with it anymore. You either start treating us with some
actual respect or I’m leaving."
The silence that descended
upon the room after that pronouncement was shocking in its
totality. No one was even breathing, it seemed.
Gray’s face remained
impassive but there was a flicker of emotion in his eyes that
weakened Samantha’s anger somewhat. Though he often came across as
a stoic and somewhat robotic individual, Samantha had always sensed
a well of sadness within her employer. Now she felt regret for her
harsh tone. "You’re right, Samantha. I apologize."
Morgan blinked in surprise.
"You do?"
"Of course. She’s
absolutely correct. I trust all of you with my life; I should trust
you with all my information as well. I don’t keep secrets from you
out of maliciousness. It’s second nature to me, I’m afraid.
Whatever life I led before arriving here in Sovereign, it was one
in which duplicity was quite common. I find myself lying all too
easily and keeping information close to the vest is a part of
that."
Samantha relaxed her body.
"I’m sorry, Chief. I didn’t mean to--"
"No, you don’t have to
apologize. Like I said, I’m the one at fault. I’ll try to do better
in the future but I ask that all of you be understanding that being
open and sharing doesn’t come naturally to me."
"We’ve all got trust
issues," Morgan said. "Heck, for most of my life, I could have been
killed for spilling the beans when I wasn’t supposed to so I
understand where you’re coming from. It’s hard to get away from
that."
Gray nodded, considering
Morgan’s words. To Samantha, he asked, "So you’re going to
stay?"
"Of course. I wouldn’t
really have left."
"Good." Gray turned and
pointed at the screen. A crisp black-and-white image showed the man
who had entered the building. He was well dressed and very tall.
"That, my friends, is Mr. Malcolm Goodwill."
Eun grunted in annoyance.
"There goes any lingering doubt about his involvement in all
this."
"I guess you were right,
Chief," Morgan muttered. "He must have had that demon come and
rescue him."
Gray nodded, staring at the
image on the screen. "He came here to get those papers back, which
meant he was taking an incredible risk. I think it’s safe to say
that a man so desperate to have something wouldn’t be able to turn
down an invitation to get them back."
"What are you thinking?"
Eun asked.
Gray said nothing, instead
choosing to walk over to a nearby phone. He picked it up and
quickly dialed Goodwill’s number. Behind his back, his three aides
exchanged smirks. Despite his best intentions, Gray simply couldn’t
keep from milking the dramatics from any moment.
"Mr. Goodwill, please. Tell
him it’s Lazarus Gray holding for him." Gray faced his aides and
placed a hand over the mouthpiece of the phone. "If he wants the
papers so badly, we’ll simply give them to him." Samantha let out a
little gasp but all three of his aides fell silent as Gray resumed
speaking into the phone. "I’m impressed that you were able to
escape the Assistance Unlimited Headquarters. It definitely shows
that you’re a man of great power. So great that we would like to
bring about a truce of sorts. We have the papers that once belonged
to your man but we have no interest in retaining them. We’re
willing to pass them on to you in return for a small fee
reimbursing us for our trouble. Whatever you think they’re worth.
We can meet at the old Trembley Coal Plant on Skiver Way. Within
the hour, yes." Gray hung up the phone and nodded smartly to his
aides. "Everyone get ready. I’d anticipate Mr. Goodwill
us? Did I ever tell you how much it hurt to find out that you’d
been keeping it from us that you were an amnesiac? I thought we
were more than just your employees – I thought we were friends and
maybe even some kind of family. But that’s obviously not the case
if you’re going to continue keeping secrets from us. Well, I’m not
putting up with it anymore. You either start treating us with some
actual respect or I’m leaving."
The silence that descended
upon the room after that pronouncement was shocking in its
totality. No one was even breathing, it seemed.
Gray’s face remained
impassive but there was a flicker of emotion in his eyes that
weakened Samantha’s anger somewhat. Though he often came across as
a stoic and somewhat robotic individual, Samantha had always sensed
a well of sadness within her employer. Now she felt regret for her
harsh tone. "You’re right, Samantha. I apologize."
Morgan blinked in surprise.
"You do?"
"Of course. She’s
absolutely correct. I trust all of you with my life; I should trust
you with all my information as well. I don’t keep secrets from you
out of maliciousness. It’s second nature to me, I’m afraid.
Whatever life I led before arriving here in Sovereign, it was one
in which duplicity was quite common. I find myself lying all too
easily and keeping information close to the vest is a part of
that."
Samantha relaxed her body.
"I’m sorry, Chief. I didn’t mean to--"
"No, you don’t have to
apologize. Like I said, I’m the one at fault. I’ll try to do better
in the future but I ask that all of you be understanding that being
open and sharing doesn’t come naturally to me."
"We’ve all got trust
issues," Morgan said. "Heck, for most of my life, I could have been
killed for spilling the beans when I wasn’t supposed to so I
understand where you’re coming from. It’s hard to get away from
that."
Gray nodded, considering
Morgan’s words. To Samantha, he asked, "So you’re going to
stay?"
"Of course. I wouldn’t
really have left."
"Good." Gray turned and
pointed at the screen. A crisp black-and-white image showed the man
who had entered the building. He was well dressed and very tall.
"That, my friends, is Mr. Malcolm Goodwill."
Eun grunted in annoyance.
"There goes any lingering doubt about his involvement in all
this."
"I guess you were right,
Chief," Morgan muttered. "He must have had that demon come and
rescue him."
Gray nodded, staring at the
image on the screen. "He came here to get those papers back, which
meant he was taking an incredible risk. I think it’s safe to say
that a man so desperate to have something wouldn’t be able to turn
down an invitation to get them back."
"What are you thinking?"
Eun asked.
Gray said nothing, instead
choosing to walk over to a nearby phone. He picked it up and
quickly dialed Goodwill’s number. Behind his back, his three aides
exchanged smirks. Despite his best intentions, Gray simply couldn’t
keep from milking the dramatics from any moment.
"Mr. Goodwill, please. Tell
him it’s Lazarus Gray holding for him." Gray faced his aides and
placed a hand over the mouthpiece of the phone. "If he wants the
papers so badly, we’ll simply give them to him." Samantha let out a
little gasp but all three of his aides fell silent as Gray resumed
speaking into the phone. "I’m impressed that you were able to
escape the Assistance Unlimited Headquarters. It definitely shows
that you’re a man of great power. So great that we would like to
bring about a truce of sorts. We have the papers that once belonged
to your man but we have no interest in retaining them. We’re
willing to pass them on to you in return for a small fee
reimbursing us for our trouble. Whatever you think they’re worth.
We can meet at the old Trembley Coal Plant on Skiver Way. Within
the hour, yes." Gray hung up the phone and nodded smartly to his
aides. "Everyone get ready. I’d anticipate Mr. Goodwill
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