much food I was putting away. I pushed away the empty sundae dish, my second in a row, and dabbed at my lips with a napkin.
“ ... and that’s, in broad strokes, what happened.” There were still things I left out. I felt the need to downplay the extent that I seemed to be able to ignore the new reality’s effects around us. I didn’t totally understand it, the odd state my body seemed to be dropping into under duress, or these massive hunger spikes. If I didn’t understand it, I didn’t want to encourage them to push further about it.
I also kept my own plans in the background. To be honest, they were unimportant to most of the narrative. The two glanced at each other as Choi flipped back and forth in her full notepad. Brooks was the first to speak.
“I still think you’re keeping a few things from us. That is, though, a hell of a lot closer to the truth than that bullshit you told us in the hospital. Rachel?”
“I agree. I don’t mean to bring up your recent personal tragedies, but the fact you were about to break down when you told us what happened to Dr. Flynn, well, that added a great deal of authenticity to the tale.” She tapped at the notes. “However, I don’t think you’re doing yourself any favors by hiding anything, no matter how minor, from us.”
“We’re special agents. Our job isn’t just investigating Push Battles and penny-ante shit.” Duane dug into his coat, pulled out a pack of Lucky Strikes, and finally fished out a pack of nicotine gum. “NASA is sure the Whiteout is Earth-based, you collaborated that, and we were sent here specifically to verify that theory and track down the source.”
“Well, job done, Agents.” I gestured out towards the street. “Welcome to Ground Zero of the new world.”
“My question is, Dr. Roman, why hasn’t Dr. Flynn a.k.a. Epic gotten rid of you? His actions, especially tonight, seem to indicate that he considers you, for a reason you are keeping from us, some kind of threat or at least the cause the disruption of what he sees as a natural order of events,” Choi noted as she sipped at her coffee.
“I think he’s still in love with me, in some weird way. He doesn’t want to kill me; he wants me to join his side of things.”
Choi nodded slowly in response. Brooks chewed on his gum like it was more work than relief. After a few moments of silence, he looked me square in the eye.
“Look, let’s be straight, Irene. Rachel and I are going to track down Dr. Flynn and, if he is going crazy like you think, we’ll find a way to stop him. We don’t know what your part is in this, but if you find out anything, you had best tell us. It’s the best for everyone concerned.”
“Duane is right, you know. This isn’t the time for half-cocked vigilante actions. That cowboy attitude that seems to be going around is what’s causing this crisis in the first place.”
I broke gazes with the agents and mulled it over for a few minutes. There were pros and cons of course. If I came clean entirely with them, they might just arrest me on the spot and take me to be tested, questioned, and held for my own good. They might also decide that because of both the changes in me and my willingness to cooperate, my plan had enough merit to let me stay free, only with the addition of a government leash. The biggest concern I had was that I would, from now on, always be watched by the government, whatever choice I made.
“I can’t entirely disagree with you guys. The problem is, well, I don’t want to be watched and hounded for the rest of my life. I want to be able to walk away at the end of this, when the world gets fixed. Can you tell me that I’ll be able to do that?” I glanced from one to the other, trying to gauge their reactions. If they decided to arrest me, I suspected they would do it now and I would have to be ready to run.
“I don’t think we can give you a promise like
“ ... and that’s, in broad strokes, what happened.” There were still things I left out. I felt the need to downplay the extent that I seemed to be able to ignore the new reality’s effects around us. I didn’t totally understand it, the odd state my body seemed to be dropping into under duress, or these massive hunger spikes. If I didn’t understand it, I didn’t want to encourage them to push further about it.
I also kept my own plans in the background. To be honest, they were unimportant to most of the narrative. The two glanced at each other as Choi flipped back and forth in her full notepad. Brooks was the first to speak.
“I still think you’re keeping a few things from us. That is, though, a hell of a lot closer to the truth than that bullshit you told us in the hospital. Rachel?”
“I agree. I don’t mean to bring up your recent personal tragedies, but the fact you were about to break down when you told us what happened to Dr. Flynn, well, that added a great deal of authenticity to the tale.” She tapped at the notes. “However, I don’t think you’re doing yourself any favors by hiding anything, no matter how minor, from us.”
“We’re special agents. Our job isn’t just investigating Push Battles and penny-ante shit.” Duane dug into his coat, pulled out a pack of Lucky Strikes, and finally fished out a pack of nicotine gum. “NASA is sure the Whiteout is Earth-based, you collaborated that, and we were sent here specifically to verify that theory and track down the source.”
“Well, job done, Agents.” I gestured out towards the street. “Welcome to Ground Zero of the new world.”
“My question is, Dr. Roman, why hasn’t Dr. Flynn a.k.a. Epic gotten rid of you? His actions, especially tonight, seem to indicate that he considers you, for a reason you are keeping from us, some kind of threat or at least the cause the disruption of what he sees as a natural order of events,” Choi noted as she sipped at her coffee.
“I think he’s still in love with me, in some weird way. He doesn’t want to kill me; he wants me to join his side of things.”
Choi nodded slowly in response. Brooks chewed on his gum like it was more work than relief. After a few moments of silence, he looked me square in the eye.
“Look, let’s be straight, Irene. Rachel and I are going to track down Dr. Flynn and, if he is going crazy like you think, we’ll find a way to stop him. We don’t know what your part is in this, but if you find out anything, you had best tell us. It’s the best for everyone concerned.”
“Duane is right, you know. This isn’t the time for half-cocked vigilante actions. That cowboy attitude that seems to be going around is what’s causing this crisis in the first place.”
I broke gazes with the agents and mulled it over for a few minutes. There were pros and cons of course. If I came clean entirely with them, they might just arrest me on the spot and take me to be tested, questioned, and held for my own good. They might also decide that because of both the changes in me and my willingness to cooperate, my plan had enough merit to let me stay free, only with the addition of a government leash. The biggest concern I had was that I would, from now on, always be watched by the government, whatever choice I made.
“I can’t entirely disagree with you guys. The problem is, well, I don’t want to be watched and hounded for the rest of my life. I want to be able to walk away at the end of this, when the world gets fixed. Can you tell me that I’ll be able to do that?” I glanced from one to the other, trying to gauge their reactions. If they decided to arrest me, I suspected they would do it now and I would have to be ready to run.
“I don’t think we can give you a promise like
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