Splatoon: Number's Game

Chapter 13

Alex sat alone at his table for two, dressed in nice clothes. His elbows rested on the table and his chin rested atop his interlocked fingers. He stared emptily at his drink, his mind still deep in thought. He was pondering what he had seen last night inside that statue.

The biggest question he was contemplating was simple, "What did the Octarians find in that wreckage?" He wasn't the biggest fan of history, but he went through the trouble of looking up what that statue thing could be. All he found were theories and rumor mill articles.

There was also the question of those metal casings. They were lying everywhere, all over the floor. They appeared to be useless, but if they were truly useless, why were there so many of them? Where did they come from?

Then there was 8. When they had come across the ruined A.I. machine sitting inside the brain of that statue head, there was a strange expression on her face. It was distant and lifeless, as though she was suddenly not there at all. What did she know?

Was she hiding something too?

"Gee, Alex. You look so deep in thought you forgot to be happy to see me." Callie said, breaking him out of his thoughts. His head rose suddenly as he took her in.

She stood by the table wearing a nice, glittery pink dress. She also had a thin, see-through scarf woven between her arms and wrapped around the back of her waist. It was a red carpet look for sure, nicer than what he had expected to see.

"Callie! Hey, sorry. You look really nice! Like…wow!" Alex complimented with a scatterbrained chuckle, standing up and giving her a hug. She returned it with a soft giggle.

"Thank you. So do you. I didn't keep you waiting too long, did I?" She asked in an almost apologetic tone. Alex shook his head and pulled her chair for her.

"No, not too long. I just came a little earlier to make sure we had our table." Alex explained as he took his seat. Callie smiled and nodded in understanding.

"You know, when I was joking about getting a meal with you and all that, I meant something along the lines of Crusty Sean's. Or maybe pizza. I didn't think you'd go all out like this."

"Heheh, well you know, a celebrity tells you she wants to go out; seems like the right time to go all out. Besides, I've actually never been here before either and you gotta do it at least once." Alex said in a quieter tone. Callie laughed a bit.

"I suppose so, huh?"

As Alex and Callie got into their appetizers and drinks, they began to ease comfortably into their conversation. It started off with simple things: how things were going, what's been going on with them lately, new occurrences in their lives. But then the conversation grew deeper…

"So how did your mission with Marie go last night?" Callie asked. Alex took a sip of his drink and let out an exhale.

"Uh, well, it went… It went," Alex answered with an awkward chuckle. "We didn't really find a whole lot. Just these weird metal casings. We're gonna have someone take a look at one and see if we can figure out what they are."

"Sounds good. You think they could be a clue as to what's going on?" Callie asked before taking a bite of her food. Alex shook his head and shrugged.

"I'm not too sure, honestly. I guess only time will tell."

"I guess so. Just try not to overstress it for now, okay? I know me saying that is like…" Callie shrugged, "It's like 'whatever yeah', but just try, alright? You still got you and your stuff to worry about after all.

"Like Grizzco's. You still got your work to worry about, remember? How's that going, by the way?" She changed the subject. She seemed to be working her way towards making a point, but Alex followed along and answered her question anyways.

"It's going fine. Still nothing to report. Mr. Grizz has a way of arranging these things so that it's like the employees have tunnel vision," Alex explained. "We go in, we suit up, we board the ship, we go straight to the island, and we get straight to work. Then we jump back, go back, take the gear off, and we leave."

"Yeah, not a lot of information to be gathered, especially when the whole thing is all about 'no questions asked'," Callie hummed. "Still, you've spoke to Mr. Grizz personally a handful of times. Surely, there's something you can say."

"A few things. He talks like he's able to see me occasionally. When we're working, he speaks to us in our comms; I think he has automated, pre-recorded messages that he uses during salmon run shifts. Just little things like that." Alex listed.

"I see. Well, just do what you can. Anything can help." Callie insisted.

"I will, Callie." Alex said with a smile.

There was an awkward silence between them as their food was served. They began to eat in silence, glancing at each other. It seemed that Callie had something that she wanted to say, but she was hesitating to say it. But finally, she did get her thoughts out.

"Alex, I know that you make a lot of money working for Grizzco." She began.

"I mean…yeah I do."

"Do you think that there's a chance that…maybe…"

"You're worried that I'm holding up this little investigation so I can keep making bank?" Alex guessed her thought. Callie swallowed and nodded.

"I don't mean to be rude… I just wanna make sure your head is in the right place."

"My head is in the right place," Alex quickly refuted. "I'm working for the team, not for Mr. Grizz. If this investigation puts extra cash in my pocket, that's inconsequential. It's not like I can refuse it. It would look too suspicious."

"You're right. I agree with you there. I only say it because… Well, never mind. You just keep doing what you're doing, Alex." Callie said, managing a smile. Alex nodded and sighed.

"Right… I get how it looks, Callie. I didn't have the financial means to even spare meals at Crusty Sean's often times, and now I'm buying expensive dinners at high-end restaurants, and I owe that to Grizzco. I am very personally invested in this," Alex admitted honestly.

"However, my concern first and foremost is making sure Inkopolis is alright. I had to put it on the line with Octavio and rescuing you, and I'm doing it again with this Octarian thing and with Mr. Grizz. My focus hasn't changed, just the numbers in my bank account."

"Okay. I'm sorry I doubted you." Callie said, smiling a little more naturally now…