Briefing
Mike's otherwise blissful sleep was interrupted by music coming from his alarm clock. It took a few minutes for his brain to get into gear and actually comprehend what it was being played. When he did, he groaned when he recognised the tune because he knew what would be following it after it was finished. Sure enough, a familiar voice started to talk towards the end.
"And that was the hit sensation 'Gold', by Spandau Ballet. If you're just joining us, then you are tuning into Midas Radio with me, your host with the sparkling touch, Goldie!" There was a cheering from an unseen studio audience. "Yes, we have been off the air for quite a while, but we are back and bringing you all of the best from our sleepy town of Little Borealis. With me in the studio is one of our favourite frequent guests, Mike Schmidt! Anything to say to our listeners, my friend?"
"Only that you still love the sound of your own voice more than anything else," he said, though he was grinning.
"Would you have me any other way?" He could hear the smile in her voice too. "Words cannot adequately express how much I've missed you."
"Likewise," he said. He climbed out of bed and went into the living area. There she was, on his screen, clad in her usual tuxedo. He hurried over and knelt in front of it. "God, it's so good to see you again."
"And you. Sorry I've been quiet for the past few weeks, but I've been somewhat out of signal range in the woods," she said. "But now we're back in a closer vicinity to civilisation, I couldn't resist."
"What, a chance to show off?" he laughed. "Did Chica make it back alright?"
"She's fine and she told us she had a wonderful time. I think she was disappointed to leave, but we wouldn't want anyone to get the wrong idea, now would we?" she said, quirking her eyebrows a few times.
Mike blushed at the implication. "Y-Yeah, wouldn't want that."
"Ah, like old times," she said. "We won't be able to see you until tomorrow. We're still staying on the down low until we get the go ahead to move in, so we're in the big city to blend in with the crowds."
"Really?" Mike asked excitedly. "Whereabouts? I could come find you."
"As lovely as that would be, I come bearing a message for you from Aaron. He wants to meet you at the old restaurant around 11:00. He needs to go over some things about what you'll be doing when you come back and pass off the keys to the Fun Palace," she said.
"Oh. Right." Mike looked away, his elation draining.
"I know," said Goldie sympathetically. "Considering what happened, I know it won't be easy to see him again. If it makes you feel any better, you won't be alone with him. He's asked Jeremy along too."
"Okay." He sighed. "I guess I'd better start getting ready then."
"I'll be waiting here. We can just pass the time until you have to go," said Goldie. "I won't leave you on your own before that."
Mike nodded appreciatively and went to get himself ready. Once he'd washed, showered and got some breakfast, Goldie followed on her promise and they whiled away the morning talking about whatever crossed their minds. She passed on some messages from the others, so that by the time Mike had to leave his apartment and head for his meeting, he felt a lot better.
Even so, the prospect was far from inviting. He had really respected Mr. Johnson when he'd been running Freddy's. In a way, it was thanks to him he'd been introduced to this strange new world. Then, he'd sold him up the river and used him as the scapegoat for the murders. Granted, his family was being threatened, but it didn't make the betrayal sting any less.
Mike was so caught up in his thoughts on the way over, about what he was going to say to him, that he didn't even hear Jeremy approach. When he did, he practically jumped.
"Hey, calm down, it's just me," he said. "Bit caught up in something?"
"You could say that. Sorry," Mike said quickly.
"Don't be, it's fine. I guess we're both going to the same place, huh?" Jeremy noted.
"Yeah, Goldie mentioned. Do you know if Susie's joining us, since she's basically in on it too?" he asked.
He shook his head. "She's out of town, spending some quality time with Wendy. I'm glad they're trying to patch things up."
"Yeah, me too. It's still good to have some other people in on the secret though," said Mike.
"I can imagine. Must have been tough for you, keeping it under wraps like that." Jeremy nudged his shoulder with his fist. "Good luck getting rid of me now though."
"I wouldn't even try." Mike started to smile, but it froze when they rounded the corner. "There he is."
Jeremy followed his gaze and gave him a reassuring look. "I'm right here with you, Mike. He wasn't the one who killed him, but he's still the reason my brother got found the way he did. I've got some things I want to say, too."
This made Mike feel a little better. "Okay. Let's get going then."
The two men crossed the street. The restaurant itself had definitely seen better days. It made Mike ache a little to see the doors and windows boarded up. That ache only worsened at the sight of his former boss, no longer jovial and welcoming, but looking like he wanted to sink into the ground. When they reached him, he made an effort to draw himself up.
"Afternoon, lads. Thanks for coming by so promptly," he rumbled.
"Well, we've got a job to do, don't we? Like the nice little setup you did," Jeremy said harshly.
"Yes." He looked away, cleared his throat and managed to look them in the eye. "I'm not going to try and excuse what happened. I had to protect my family and this was the only way. But I'm sorry for what you both went through, especially you, Mike. I… don't expect you to forgive me. Can't say I even want it."
Mike felt a pang of sympathy for the man. He knew it couldn't have been easy, with stakes like that on the line. But it wasn't quite enough to forgive what happened, not completely. Jeremy seemed to be in a similar mind.
"I'm sorry that happened. Family is important," he said. "But thanks to that, my brother was forced to be a pawn in a sick chess game and died for it. Then I wound up putting my life on the line to get the truth and clean up the mess. I get why you did it, but you're not getting my forgiveness."
"Me neither." It took a lot for Mike to say that. His natural inclination was to keep the peace, but he couldn't let this go. "I-I was in jail because of this, sir. Because of you, partly. I'm still going to help, but… it's for them. Not you."
Aaron nodded solemnly. "I understand. Let's make this quick then. Tomorrow, you're to report to the Fun Palace at nine 'o clock. Much as I don't like it, we've made an agreement with Sid to fix the minds of his new synths. Apparently he buggered things up in their development. You'll both be there to help facilitate good relations between the groups of synths, since you both have your connections."
"Remind me, why are we helping this guy?" asked Jeremy. "According to Goldie, he's the one who's been making all the trouble for you and he got mixed up with that scumbag, Smith. Considering that, I can't say I'm happy to be working with him."
"Neither am I, as I said. But it was the only way I could get possession of the new synths, the premises and some actual money to manage it all," he replied. "It's not ideal, but we don't have much choice. Right, Goldie has the rest of the details so I'll let her tell you about the rest tomorrow. For now, here's the keys." He gave both Mike and Jeremy a set. "You'll both still be paid the same at the end of the month. Work for however long you need. Be careful of who sees you come in and if you're asked, tell them you're doing security checks on the building. What you do while you're inside is up to you."
"Right. Is that all?" asked Mike, pocketing his keys.
"One more thing. There'll be someone else along with you. It's another concession we've made for Sid so he can know what's going on. Before you say anything," he said as Jeremy opened his mouth to protest, "it's someone I know we can trust. Here he is now."
He pointed to a man approaching them across the street. Upon recognising him, Mike immediately felt more assured about this part of the arrangement.
"H-Hey there, guys," said Phil O'Neil, giving them a shaky smile and shaking Aaron's hand. "Sorry I'm a little late. Got held up a-at the office, I guess you could say."
"Not a bother, I've already explained everything to these two. Right, I'll leave you to get reacquainted with each other. Good luck, gents." With a final look at them, Aaron Johnson turned around and left the parking lot.
"Hey Mike, good to see you again," greeted Phil. "G-Glad to see you're out of prison. I'd have come to see you let out but, you know, my job doesn't really get me a lot of free time."
"You know this guy?" asked Jeremy. Realisation replaced confusion a few seconds later. "Hey wait, I remember you actually. You talked to me after the news went out about what happened, asking me if I thought Mike really did it."
Phil nodded. "Yeah. Just uh, giving you a little heads up. You seemed like the kind of guy who wouldn't be, well, satisfied unless he knew the whole truth. I-I didn't know you'd end up being as involved as you have, but hey, it all worked out. So hey, how about we go and grab a coffee? It's on me a-and we just have a talk."
Though they agreed, Jeremy still seemed wary of him. But Mike was quick to explain while they walked that Phil was a double agent. He'd been the one to warn Mike about the framing and the one who supplied the information that helped Susie and Jeremy on their way.
Jeremy snapped his fingers in realisation. "Wait yeah, Goldie mentioned your name! Okay, well I'm happy to be wrong on this. Thanks, you really helped get us on the right track."
"No trouble, it's w-what I'm here to do. I'm just sorry I couldn't stop what happened." He looked between them both. "I-I had no idea what was going on with those kids until it was too late. If I did, I would have let you know a lot sooner. I had to be careful, e-especially after Sid made his own AI. I really don't like that Puppet thing, let me tell you. I'm sorry about your brother, Jeremy and that you got put away for it, Mike."
"Hey, don't worry. I'm sure you did all you could," said Jeremy.
Mike nodded in agreement. "Yeah. You still did your best to warn us anyway, so at least we were able to act before the cops showed up. If we hadn't, they would have seen the synths without their suits. Thanks, Phil."
"I-I guess that is better than nothing, huh? Man, all of these thanks, m-my face must be red right now," he said, rubbing the back of his head.
"Well it's deserved. So what's your part in this?" Jeremy asked.
"Officially, I need to make uh, regular reports to Sid about the progress of what we're doing and any new developments that might be… useful. I just want to help. Those synths, the Toys as he calls them," he said with evident disdain, "they've been through enough. I mean with a name like that, you know Sid doesn't see them as, well, people. If there's a chance I can help improve things for them, I'll take it. Plus, I always wanted to meet the original synths. When I w-was still in the picture, I thought they were all gone. I-I know why they did it, make the deception convincing but now things are different."
"Well, glad to have you along," said Mike.
They grabbed some coffees to go and took a seat on a nearby bench, making sure there were no prying ears. It was a bright spring day and a few people were out and about. Nobody paid them any mind as they conversed. Phil ended up asking how Jeremy and Mike met, so Mike ended up telling the story of his and Goldie's encounter with Spring Bonnie.
"So that's where you were on your way to," murmured Jeremy. "Holy hell, I don't envy you."
"Yeah, weird to think that was also the day we met," recalled Mike. "Still wish you were back at that 7/11?"
"And miss out on this? Not a chance," said Jeremy. "Although maybe you can keep that last part to yourself. That Spring guy sounds like he was nuts."
"Yeah, h-he was always a little finicky, even back then," chimed in Phil. "Every time they thought they might have the bugs worked out, he proved them wrong. Oh boy, the Spring Incident was uh… yeah, it wasn't great. I kind of wonder if, maybe, they'd shut him off sooner, he wouldn't have done it a-and Gordon wouldn't have… I-I'm sorry, Jeremy. This is probably the last thing you want to talk about."
Jeremy patted his shoulder. "Hey, it's fine. Don't go torturing yourself, you couldn't have known what would happen. That's not on you."
"Doesn't feel like that sometimes," he murmured. "But hey, sorry, I shouldn't make this about me. I mean, it was your brother and not… yeah, let's talk about something else."
"There's actually something I've been curious about," said Mike. "How did you get involved in all of this stuff? I mean, scientists creating AI and synthetics, but you're more like me and Jeremy. You seem like you stumbled into it."
"I guess you could say that. M-Maybe we should all get jackets, like, the fraternity of Freddy's Night Guards or something," he chuckled.
"Hmm, doesn't have quite the same ring as the Security Sleuths," said Jeremy.
"Hey, that actually sounds way better," admitted Phil. "But anyway, to answer your question, I guess you could say I was raised on it. I-I was close to a member of Fred's family, his sister actually, and at her request, I was brought into the fold. Been with them pretty much since the beginning."
Mike frowned. "I didn't know Fitzbar had a sister. Nobody ever mentioned her."
"I-It wasn't something he ever liked to talk about," said Phil in a hushed voice. "She died not long after the restaurant was opened. Fredabear's Diner, I mean. Fred, well, he never liked to talk about her much after that. It was a b-big blow for him, though he never really showed it."
"I know how that feels," said Jeremy, smiling gratefully when Mike gave him a pat on the shoulder. "I'm alright, don't worry."
Phil nodded sympathetically. "Yeah, it was hard on him, you can imagine. But she lived on, in a way. Her mind a-actually got mapped to form Goldie. In fact, that was the deal with all the original synths. All of their minds were scanned from people, volunteers of course, who were terminally ill, l-like she'd been. It was a way of making sure they'd live on in some way. That was how she and I met."
"What?" Mike felt a pit grow in his stomach. "You don't mean you're-?"
"Oh, no, no!" said Phil quickly. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you with that. No, this was years ago, I was still in my teens. I had to go to the hospital a few times, but couldn't really afford the bills for treatment. She changed that though. We met when she was coming in for treatment and got to talking. Well, she did, I-I wasn't really in a talking mood. I wasn't really a social kid. Children's home plus regular hospital visits, doesn't really give you the best social life, you know?"
Mike and Jeremy exchanged looks of astonishment. Neither of them had expected to hear anything like this. Phil didn't miss their expressions and let out a nervous chuckle.
"Hey, sorry, I guess this is pretty heavy," he admitted. "W-We can just talk about something else if you prefer?"
"No, it's fine," Mike said quickly. "Just if you're not okay talking about it, you don't have to."
"Yeah, it sounds really rough. But I'm guessing you had a bit of a lucky break," said Jeremy.
"That isn't even the half of it. Well Fred's sister, Gerda, I guess she felt something for me. I-I won't go into all the details, but she ended up paying for the treatment I needed. She said that uh, if she wasn't going to live, she could help somebody else." He looked away for a moment, took in a breath and looked back. "That's kind of why I stuck around this long. Felt like I owe her that, you know?"
"Yeah, that's one hell of a motivator," agreed Jeremy. His phone vibrated and he checked it. "Is that the time? Damn, sorry guys, I need to go. I have to meet my mom at the cemetary."
"Hey, that's fine, you get along. I should uh, probably be getting back too," said Phil. "Sid's a pretty harsh taskmaster, I was lucky to get away for this long. I-I'll see you on the flipside."
"Yeah, see you tomorrow," said Mike.
The two waved goodbye to Mike and parted ways. With nothing else to do, Mike headed home to process all of this. In his mind, tomorrow couldn't come sooner.
SnorkleHorse: You can tell how long it's been since he's had a proper date. XD
ArchineerRob: Thanks a lot and it's great to be back. :)
Zanza Flux: Yeah, to say the least. Thanks for your support, it's great to be back.
Arc of Carona: I've been working pretty much flat out to get this ready. I'm really glad you're enjoying it so far. Hope I've made 2020 a little less sucky XD