The house activities were done, everything was very clean and organized, and Heisenberg's powers were extremely useful - at Ethan's insistence that he use them - even if it took a while for them both to come to an agreement. Floors, shelves and clothes were clean, while Mia took care of Rose by playing with her in the living room and watching TV. Ethan had to concentrate on explaining what the cleaning products were for, some of the appliances like the vacuum cleaner and the dishwasher. Everything was quite new to Karl, so discovering all those mundane things was extremely interesting to him, since he enjoyed inventing new objects - or experiments. Ethan was surprised at how quickly he got used to and understood each thing, being very efficient for each activity, he seemed to be a man who quietly followed orders without question - sometimes - and without complaining (also sometimes, personally he found the dishwasher totally useless), Ethan didn't expect the cleaning to create a bond between the two, Karl was a funny man and quite intelligent despite his flaws, and the mechanic found the father great with explanations and decisive - a natural leader despite facing almost everything alone.
Ethan put the rest of his clothes away, went into the kitchen, and opened the fridge to get a few cans of beer. Heisenberg was sitting on the front steps enjoying the view of the sky, just as he did on his lonely nights in the village. The man came over and sat down next to him, offering a can and opening his.
"What's that?" Karl asked examining the can.
"Beer! You've never had it before?" Ethan took the first sip, looking at him.
"Hm, no... but I've heard of it, just wanted to check." He twirled his index finger, removing the seal and lightly smelling the aroma of the liquid. "Hm."
"Oh, come on...it's not poison, you can drink it."
Karl raised an eyebrow and took a sip, immediately making a face in which caused Ethan to laugh.
"...What the fuck is that?" he asked, pressing his lips together and wiping his mouth with his forearm.
"I'd swear you'd like it, you look like a beer drinker, I'm not going to lie." Ethan replied, holding back his laughter.
"I do, huh? Fuck, we're going to have to talk a LOT more before you get to know me!"
The two laughed, looking up at the sky and watching the stars as the sound of the TV came from inside the house. A few cars drove by, people came out of a nearby store, couples walked down the sidewalk, and silence remained for a few seconds between the two men. Karl left the can on the floor, clearing his throat.
"...What was it like at the factory?"
"Hm, now you want to talk..." He put his hands back, leaning on the step of the stairs above, lifting his face to feel the evening breeze. "...How can I put it...It was noisy, it was warm, every day was a bit of progress since everything in there was me who built it."
Ethan gulped down some more beer and turned around, surprised.
"Everything?"
"Of course some things were already there, but I didn't have a basement, I had to create some soldats to help with the excavation and I dug by myself as well, then I went about raising walls and designing rooms. I knew that place with the back of my hand."
"Wow... but how come no one... suspected? I mean, you said you've been doing this for years."
"Yeah, I said...I almost got caught a few times, but they never found out. I guess it was more stressful hiding all that stuff than working there itself." Karl adjusted his hat, wishing he had some cigarette at that moment as he talked.
"I believe so, sometimes keeping secrets is suffocating…"
"Yeah..." He looked at Ethan, raising an eyebrow as he remembered the envelope. "...And what was your life like before...all this?"
"Well, I graduated in systems engineering, started working in a small company but didn't really like it there, when I moved away I met Mia and we have been together ever since. Even after everything that happened, she still stood by me...even though sometimes I doubted our relationship…"
"I understand... I mean, I don't fucking understand relationships, but I'm glad that at least you have someone you can trust."
"..." Ethan placed the beer can next to Karl's can, looking at him. "You don't trust anyone?"
Karl exchanged glances with the man, not knowing how to answer that question after reading the envelope, so he simply looked away and went back to staring up at the sky. Ethan continued to stare at him, letting out a sigh.
"Look... I understand, we are starting to get to know each other, I know we said we trusted each other back in the village and... I kept my word. I don't see you as a threat anymore. Mia is still a little suspicious but yesterday I could tell she was trying to understand you, that's...progress, isn't it?"
"Whatever, what makes a difference now...you can have my beer if you want." Karl simply stood up and walked into the house, slamming the door.
Mia was sitting on the carpet with Rose in the living room, watching a cartoon while she combed the baby's hair when she heard Karl's footsteps passing into the kitchen. She watched him grab a glass of water and lean on the countertop, swinging his left foot behind his right leg.
"Is there a problem, Heisenberg?" she asked, placing the brush on the couch.
"No." The answer was short and dry, turning the glass of water over in his mouth still with his back to her.
"...Won't you sit with us? You and Ethan have worked hard today."
Karl cared of washing the glass and putting it away without giving her an answer, but soon he approached the girls and sat down in an armchair farther away, picking up a magazine that was on the shelf beside him. He turned the pages without paying much attention to what he was reading, looking over the pages and watching Rose giggle happily as she watched the cartoon. Mia kept her hands under the girl's small arms to help her stay seated, offering some stuffed toys for her to hold, Karl lowered his gaze, returning to reading.
"She came back pretty smart from the village, she even wants to sit up by herself already..." Mia said, kissing the top of her head.
"Yeah, being split into four jars messes with anyone." he replied, sarcastically.
The woman raised her eyebrows, frowning at Karl and sighing.
"...Anyway, it's so good to see her back...I was afraid I was going to lose her and Ethan. They mean everything to me, don't they, sweetie?" she tickled the baby, who threw her body back slightly as she giggled. "...Thank you."
"..." if the man had any heart at all he would have felt it skip a few beats at that moment, but his Cadou was still pulsing at the same usual rate. "You are fully aware that I was holding one of her jars, aren't you?"
"Yet you gave it to Ethan without him having to use violence. I know you used that as blackmail but, in the end, you wanted to get out of there like everyone else."
"I just...opened my eyes one day, realized that that woman was not right in the head and needed to get out of there as soon as possible. I didn't see the opportunity until your husband showed up, there's nothing incredible about that." He put the magazine down, leaving it untouched on his legs. "I was just a slave who wanted to escape, and even outside the village I'm still noticing lies!" He stood up, the ground below them shuddered accompanied by pipe noises.
"Heisenberg...calm down...what are you talking about?"
"I know about the envelope! You couple of liars!"
"What envelope? Karl, I don't know what you're talking about…"
"STOP TALKING LIKE HER!" He closed his fists, forcing some water pipes to burst and come out of the floor around Mia, wetting the furniture and floor.
Rose was startled by the noise and began to cry, as Ethan came in grabbing an umbrella from the doorway to use as a weapon, approaching the man as Mia screamed for them to stop.
"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!" Ethan grabbed Karl by the arm, pulling hard.
"I KNOW YOUR LITTLE SECRET! Umbrella, BSAA, all that shit! They want to use me as a lab rat! That's all I am, isn't it?!" He shoved Ethan, grabbing him by the jacket and lifting him off the ground.
"THIS ISN'T MY FAULT, KARL! CHRIS MADE ME SIGN A DEAL!" He held the man's arms, screaming in anger.
"WHY ARE YOU HELPING THAT PIECE OF SHIT? I THOUGHT I COULD AT LEAST TRUST YOU!"
Mia stepped in between the two of them, putting Karl's arm down as holding Rose with her other arm and yelling again for them to stop. They both stared at each other wanting to fight more, until Ethan lowered his gaze, sighing.
"...they gave me the choice of letting you loose in society and participate in some research, or keeping you there locked up in a cell for the rest of your life." The man threw the umbrella on the ground, biting his lower lip angrily. "I was going to tell you right away, but from the looks of it you've already been spying on what you shouldn't."
The sound of water leaking from the pipes and the TV lingered there for a few seconds, there was nothing more to say, Karl had already made the mistake and the only thing that could be done was to just walk away and let things settle down; Mia walked to the phone when Ethan interrupted her.
"No, Mia...wait. Heisenberg, put those pipes back in place and just... let's rest for the day, okay?"
The man said nothing, obeying Ethan's order and moving his arms to return the pieces of metal back to the floor but it was beyond repair at the moment so they just considered buying new wood and putting everything back in place the next day. The couple watched him disappear into the garage, glancing at each other afterwards.
"It was your idea to bring him here…"
"Mia, no...please..." Ethan went to get the materials needed to dry the floor, leaving his wife soothing their daughter in the living room.