Masks on the Street

by Reckless Bard

A series of flash ficlets that look at the years of Kira through the eyes of the incidental players, the ordinary citizens as they adjust, in their own ways, to this new order of things - the masks on the street. Updates Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

10. April 26, 2007: Conversations

A woman's voice (name not given) crackled out of the radio. "What I think is going on, Joe, is that Kira knows he's come on too strong and he's trying to take it ba-"

"Then tell me this, ma'am," said Joe Barringer in his usual strident tones. "Tell me why he even needed to broadcast about finding himself yesterday, and we'll be good."

"I, er... I think it's –"

"Answer the question!"

"Verisimilitude, and how many supernatural agents of death do you think there are, anyway? Anyway, if I were you, I'd try and be cautious –"

"You're new, aren't you?" trumpeted Barringer. "But just a hint – I'm not hiding my name. And you know why? Because I've got nothing to hide. Look at that, folks, another anonymous caller from Albuquerque..."

Liz crinkled her nose as she rounded the bend. Barringer was an ass, and the only stations willing to have an actual discussion were strongly slanted against Kira. It seemed all attempts to make sense of the Second Kira were going to have to fall, once again, to the Internet.