As always, I'm super happy to hear from you guys regarding how you feel about the story, what you think can be improved, those kinds of things.
I will be going back and revising some of the earlier chapters – quite heavily, actually. After playing through the campaign once more (this time on Hardened, mostly to get the achievements) and scrolling through the Data Vault some more, I decided that I thought I could do a much better job at portraying the story than I had in the past. Look for Chapters 1-5 to be revised, and possibly even some of the others, depending on how I feel.
Until then, I hope you enjoy Chapter 9!
EDIT: As of 7/16/17, Chapters 1-5 have been revised. If you haven't read the revised versions, I highly recommend that you do.
No, no, no, no, no. This wasn't it. This wasn't happening. Not now. No. Nope. This couldn't be happening. There was so much wrong. So much wrong. Corvus, Hall, the fucking Frozen Forest. No. No. No. This wasn't happening. He never should have come back. He shouldn't have done this.
"This can't…this can't be real…" Paszek struggled to get much further in his speech.
"Paszek…I know this is a lot to take in at once, but I'm going to need you to stay with me on this."
"I believe it may be best for-"
"Corvus, I don't think you're helping too much right now." Hall interrupted.
"How…how is he here!?" Paszek cried out.
"Well…"
"You said you would leave, right!? That you would get out of my fucking head!? What happened to that?!"
Corvus departed from his omnipresent state and seemed to materialize right in front of Paszek and Hall. His physical form looked not dissimilar to when Paszek saw him last, but he had made himself a bit shorter, now standing more or less even with the two soldiers.
"Captain…I had every intention of keeping my promise."
He gestured upwards, where, above the frosted treetops of the Frozen Forest, laid a light blue grid, a barrier of sorts.
"It is much more of a challenge to leave the mind than it is to enter it. There was simply no vessel that was suitable for me. Frankly, there still isn't yet."
Hall stepped in.
"That's where we were hoping you could help us."
"What…I don't follow."
"With the rest of your brain working, we couldn't communicate directly with you. Even while you slept, the minute amount of activity was blocking us from reaching you. We could get little fragments of information to you…little snippets of data. But that was all."
"Basically," Hall continued. "Corvus and I have spent the past few months here. Inside your mind. Sometimes we're in the middle of Singapore. Sometimes the aquifer in Egypt. Sometimes Ethiopia. But usually, we find ourselves right here. In the Frozen Forest."
She paused.
"Wonder whose fault that is…"
"Blame Dr. Salim, not me."
"Anyways…like Corvus said, we couldn't really talk to you before. All we could do was talk and talk and talk…and hope that it reached you."
Paszek narrowed his eyes.
"Those voices…those voices in my head…that was you?"
He turned to Corvus.
"And you?"
Corvus took a step forward.
"I suppose it was. I assure you that our intentions were not to cause you any more mental strife then you have already endured."
"Then what are your intentions, then?! Why am I here?! Why are you here?! What do you want from me?!"
Hall walked closer to Corvus and spoke softly to him.
"I think he needs a little bit of time to process all of this…maybe you should…leave for now…"
"Sarah, I don't wish for him and me to be at odds."
"We can fix that later, okay? But now…we need him to focus."
"Yes…you are correct. You know where to find me."
Corvus turned around, took a few steps, and disappeared in the same fashion that he arrived in.
Paszek quickly collapsed from his standing position to a seated one, his hands over his head. He just didn't get it. He didn't. How the hell was he storing two separate consciouses inside of his mind? Not to mention his own, of course. How were they living here? What was it like? Did they eat? Did they sleep? Could they see his actions? His thoughts? And why was Corvus so…different? He knew they had left on decent terms…but the way he acted was just so…strange. Not hostile, or plotting, or even brooding, like he was before. Just strange.
Hall walked closer to Paszek.
"I…I just don't get it."
She sat down on the snow, right beside him.
"You were inside my head, right? Now we're inside yours. Well…sort of. Corvus had some influence here too. But it's the same idea. You're you, and you're real. I'm me, and I'm real."
"And Corvus?"
"He's real too."
"You seem to be fine with that."
Hall looked downwards.
"He controlled you, Hall! And he controlled Taylor, and Diaz, and Maretti, and me and Hendricks…how are you okay with that?!"
She took a deep breath.
"That wasn't him, alright."
"The fuck do you mean? Corvus destroyed our lives! They're all dead, you know that! We're the only ones left, and the way things are looking right now, I don't think either of us is lasting too long either!"
He paused.
"Do you know the fucked-up shit he did to me? He made me drown. He forced me to kill Maretti. He made me watch as Rachel died! As she choked and died like an animal!"
"He could've killed her for real if he had wanted to…"
"And that makes what he did okay!? You have no ide-"
"What I'm trying to say is that…that wasn't the Corvus I know now. He's different. He's changed. I promise."
"You're so sure?"
"We've been in here for months, Paszek. Months. A few days after Zurich…he started talking to me. Just apologizing. Profusely apologizing. I could almost hear him bawling, he was so sorry about what he had done…it felt weird to me…but I couldn't help but think that he was being entirely sincere."
She sighed.
"So I started talking with him. He's confused…so confused. I'm just trying to help with get through it…to try and understand himself. And he's making progress…slow progress…but it's something."
Hall paused again.
"He means well, Paszek. Corvus just wants to make up for what he's done. He wants to help people. And he already has, in a way…"
"What do you mean?"
"You know how he was created…he's an amalgamation of thirty different people…that means he's smart. He understands things about people. Things you or I, even with the DNI, will never understand. The more I talked, the more personal we got…the more he was able to help me deal with the issues I have…and not just the ones he caused. God, Paszek…we've talked for hundreds of hours…I know Corvus. He is good. Not pure, not innocent, but good. Please…don't blame him for the things that happened."
"God…I can't believe I hearing this…from you, of all people!"
"I swear, Paszek! I swear that it wasn't him! It wasn't the real Corvus! You said it yourself! He was blinded by rage! You unlocked…the real Corvus. If you had any idea how thankful he is for you doing that…"
"Thankful?! Sarah! Are you listening to what you are saying?!"
"Didn't you tell Corvus that he shouldn't define himself by his past?! Didn't you say that?!"
"As if I meant a fucking word of that! I told him that so that I could escape! And you know what? It fucking worked!"
"We're not getting anywhere with this! I don't need you to forgive him. Not yet, at least. But if you can't put aside what happened with the rest of the team…then he'll be in your head for the rest of your life. Is that what you want?"
Paszek sighed.
"How do I get him out?"
Hall spoke louder now.
"Corvus, can we get a change of setting, here?"
"The facility?"
"Yeah, there."
"Alright. Just a moment…"
In an instant, the frost and towering trees of the Frozen Forest was gone, and replacing it was a medium-sized laboratory. On one wall lied a grid of shelves, like an oversized filing cabinet. Gurneys and desks with computers and other tools were scattered about the rest of the room. Three figures in lab coats examined a patient on one of the gurneys, who was mostly obscured from Hall and Paszek's point of view.
"Where are we? How are we seeing this?" Paszek asked.
"Everyone whose DNI I have entered…I have access to all of their memories. I have no reason, and no right, in truth, to sort through most of them…but those of Sebastian Krueger have proved informative."
"So…this is a Coalescence building?"
"Not quite." Hall said. "It's a CIA lab located in the Pentagon. Since the CIA has bankrolled all of Krueger's projects, he's been in every inch of the facility."
"Why is this important, though?"
"The bodies they keep down there, those are the bodies of every candidate for Project Prometheus. Diaz's body is buried underneath hundreds of tons of rubble…but Taylor and Maretti, even some of the earlier subjects…they're all down there."
"And you…your body, that is…you're down there, too?"
"Yes. And no. The thing is, though…"
She took a deep breath.
"I'm not really dead."
Paszek paused and shook his head.
"No. That's wrong. I killed you! I did that!"
"You interfaced with me and killed me in a simulation. That's all you did."
"But the interface…that should've left you dead…"
"Brain-dead, yes. But with a DNI…being brain-dead means less than it normally does."
"I created this place…this existence within the DNI, as a way for us to live on after death. But it didn't work quite the way I had intended it to. The ones who died from physical causes…external injuries and such, they never made it here. Their DNI died alongside them."
Corvus paused.
"But Sarah was a special case. You see, her wounds were not life-threatening. So while your interfacing may have shut down most of her brain…the rest of her body, and more importantly, her DNI…were all intact. And thus she is here."
"Well…that…that's great, right? That you're still alive, technically"
Paszek turned towards Hall.
"But what are we going to do about that?"
"An interface does not 'fry' one's brain, like we had supposed before. Rather, it merely powers off every part of it except the DNI. It's not dissimilar to what's happening to you right now. If you can find Sarah's body, and administer the correct medication in the right dosage…she should come back."
"Just like that?"
"It's not going to be easy." said Hall. "You're going to have a find a way to get yourself in, and get both of us out. And they're definitely not going to let you just walk in."
"Ignacio, if I-"
"Don't call me that."
"I'm sorry…I didn't mean to upset you…"
Corvus took a moment to reset himself, so Hall stepped in to finish.
"Your clearance level isn't high enough to even know about the facility, let alone get in. But if Rachel Kane was given even a modest promotion, she would have access to the lab."
"Would she be willing to help us? You two are still in a relationship, yes?"
"Wait? You two…you're-"
The trio grew silent.
"We don't have time for this, Hall." said Paszek. "Yeah, I should be able to get her on board…if she'll believe what's happening at all…"
"Well, uh…good, I suppose."
Another bout of silence.
"But what about you, Corvus? How do I get you out of my head?"
The contempt was more than evident in Paszek's voice.
"That…is a bit more complicated. But there is no reason to worry about that until you are able to revive Sarah."
"And why is that?"
"This realm is of my own creation – removing me from your DNI would…will, in theory, cause everything here to cease to exist. Sarah must be put back into her own body before that happens."
"I don't know how I've got in here. The doctors are probably going to be waking me up soon…I need to know how to remove you from my DNI before I'm gone!"
"Yes, yes, of course. Like I said, it is less straight-forward than you might think. The sheer amount of data that constitutes by sentience will prove to be something of an issue when trying to transfer me into another vessel."
He motioned towards Paszek.
"Your DNI is just powerful enough to hold myself and Sarah inside of it. But it would be impractical and unethical for me to simply take control of another person with a DNI."
"Why don't we just put you back into the Coalescence mainframe?"
"There would be nothing stopping you from doing such a thing, but…well…"
Corvus couldn't bear to finish his sentence out loud.
"He wants to live. Like a human." said Hall. "He wants to live in a body like ours. To coexist."
"What makes you think you deserve that?!"
"I don't deserve it."
Paszek was taken aback.
"I know that the things I have done are reprehensible. Unforgivable. I know that I will never gain your trust and your respect. I don't deserve that either. All I ask is for a second chance at life. Not to live as an omniscient figure…but as an equal."
Paszek only narrowed his eyes and slightly shook his head.
"I can't force you to do anything. If you want to put me back into a computer, I can't stop you. If you want to purge your DNI and destroy me altogether, I can't stop you. It is all up to you to decide what happens to me."
He paused.
"But I hope that somewhere inside of you…you can find it in your heart to let me live."
Silence encompassed the three as the Frozen Forest returned to the background.
"I don't need your answer right now. I understand that we've given you a lot to think about now. Just remember-"
"D.C. Pentagon. Get Kane in. Get me out. Between you and her…you should be able to figure out the rest."
"Hall, if everything doesn't go right…"
"I know you'll find a way. You're too determined for me to believe otherwise."
The Forest began to fade away, with portions of the scenery pixelating and lifting off into the air. Hall and Corvus began to fizzle in and out of sight.
"They're waking me up! I have to go now!"
"Until next time."
"See you on the other side."
Paszek was already prepared with his answers to Dr. Berg's questions. Yes, he felt much better now. Yes, he could see just fine. No, there was no discomfort. No, nothing unusual happened during the surgery. Of course, all of those were lies, but it didn't really matter. Paszek was there for Kane's sake and Berg was there for a paycheck, nothing more.
What did those surgeons actually do inside his brain? Probably nothing more than a re-calibration, which was their sophisticated way of saying they turned it off and back on again. It's not like their reasoning was baseless; that was a legitimate solution to a number of DNI issues. But it always left Paszek wondering why he needed a doctor to do that kind of shit for him.
Kane was waiting just outside the door. Berg essentially regurgitated the some information Paszek had told him minutes earlier, with Kane nodding along all the while.
Paszek wasn't going to pour on all of the details onto Kane just yet. He was still sorting through it himself, and relaying all of that to her would only further complicate the issue. Plus, there was still the masked man to worry about. He was supposed to get into contact with him somehow…but the means of this were foggy.
After a few minutes of pseudo-technical talk, Berg handed Kane a small tablet computer showing the diagnostics of their exam. A particular point caught her eye.
"Doctor, this number here…eight-two-two-zero-zero-two-gamma-victor-uniform…what is that?"
"That would be his DNI authorization code. Assigned upon installation."
"Yeah…alright…thank you for your time, doctor."
"It's my pleasure, Officer. And Captain…don't hesitate to come back in if you feel anything odd. We're always here to help."
"Definitely, doc."
A quick smile and a nod, and Berg retreated back into the surgery room, taking the tablet with him.
"Rachel, I need to-"
"Hold that thought. The code that Savior put on his message to you – it follows the same alphanumeric pattern of your DNI authorization code."
"So we can contact him?"
"Well, yes…but if we plug that code into our database…we can find out who he is."
"I don't think I have access to that kind of information."
"But I do. Let's head back to the hotel and figure things out there."
Teele had set them up in a pretty posh place. Gave Paszek some spiel about "always getting the best for my guys." He wasn't going to complain about it, but the situation, like everything else that had been happening in the past few weeks, still rubbed Paszek the wrong way. It felt like Teele was trying to buy their trust.
Paszek knew that he was more or less CIA property until his enlistment finished, but that didn't mean he trusted them at all. The Black Project in Singapore…the Nova Six…the shady dealings with Krueger…the decision to execute Taylor's squad, along with mythical man Jae Xiong…all of it was still fresh in his mind.
Kane knew all about it too. She had made it clear that she didn't like what the CIA was doing. But a part of Paszek, just a tiny lingering part, was under the impression that Kane might not have been entirely truthful during their time in Singapore and Egypt. Not that Paszek could blame her; there were way too many things in play during that hectic time to even try to consider.
He struggled to think of how exactly he was going to break the news to her. That Hall was still alive, and stuck inside of his mind. That Corvus, the virus that had torn apart their world, was in there too. And that he wanted to help them. It was a ridiculous thing to say out loud. Even being in the Frozen Forest, Paszek had a hard time believing it himself. That would be something that Kane could never truly understand, in Paszek's eyes. Yes, she had heard his testimonies and his descriptions of the experience, and yes, she could recognize the emotional strain it had on him. But to be there, for real? That was something completely different. No amount of explanation would get her to know what it was like.
Maybe it was for the better.
"Four-four-seven-zero-zero-two-xray-xray-zulu?"
"Yeah, that's it."
"Alright…give me a second…"
Kane typed away on her computer. She squinted after the results popped up on her screen.
No results for your search criteria could be found.
Codes that have been assigned within the last 7 days may not appear.
If you believe this to be a mistake, please contact your regional intelligence officer.
"When was the last time Coalescence fitted someone with a DNI?" asked Paszek.
"There was a surgery in Milwaukee in…let's see…" she typed a bit more. "2070. Just before Taylor discovered the black site."
"So there's no way the number he gave us was a DNI code. It doesn't exist."
"Have you tried it calling him, like, as if it was one anyways?"
"I suppose I should. What if I can't reach him?"
"He's talked to you before. I figure…he can find a way to do it again, if he needs to."
"Yeah…yeah, you're right. I'll try to communicate using that code and go from there."
As a silence overtook their room, Kane got up from her chair and sat down next to Paszek on one of the two beds.
"I'm sorry about yelling at you back in Germany. I…I know I'm not going to be able to know what you're going through."
"No, no…I'm sorry. I was acting irrational. This…Savior is just getting to me…"
"I shouldn't have made you come back to Coalescence. The things they've done…"
Paszek reached his hand over to clasp Kane's.
"Rachel…while I was in there….I…saw things. When they-"
Kane didn't let him finish.
"What did they do to you?"
Paszek looked down.
She spoke quicker, and with more vigor.
"What did they do to you there?! Did they hurt you?! Why didn't you say anything?!"
"Rachel…"
"Oh my God…this is my fault…I never should-"
"Rachel!"
She stopped and stared at him.
"They didn't do anything to me. They just put me to sleep and re-calibrated. It's what I saw after…that's what's weird."
He paused.
"I lied to you back in Halle. I was hearing voices. And I finally found out where they came from."
Another beat.
"Taylor, Diaz, Maretti…they're all dead. But Hall…Sarah Hall is still alive. And she's in here."
He pointed to his temple. Kane shook her head.
"No…no, you interfaced with her. You…you killed her…right?"
"That's what I thought. That's what I thought too, but...I…I wake up and I'm back in the Frozen Forest. And it's not a dream. I know it wasn't. Hall, she was there. She was talking to me. It was the same as in Zurich."
"…And…and you're sure this is real? That you weren't dreaming, or something?"
"I've seen enough. Enough to know this was real. Hall was talking to me…she's telling me that she's been trapped in my head ever since I interfaced with her. But that's not all, she says. She tells me that there's a way for me to get her out. That her body is in the Pentagon, and that I can transfer her consciousness back into it."
Kane sighed and rubbed her eyes.
"I know, alright! I know it's crazy. But it makes sense. Diaz, Taylor, Hendricks, Maretti, they all died from physical complications. Hall, though? She only had a few cracked ribs; my interface is what killed her! Except…it didn't, okay! It just left her brain dead! But we can save her! Bring her back to life!"
"Paszek…if we were keeping Hall's body in DC, I would know about it…"
"Almost! You're almost right! But he told me that your only one security level away from knowing about it. Just one more promotion and you'll know."
"He? Who are you…talking about now?
"You remember when I told you that I was cured?"
"Igg…don't you fucking do this to me. Don't you tell me that-"
"Yes, it's him, Rachel. It's Corvus. He's still in my head."
She quickly pulled her hand away from his and stood up, raising her arms in anger.
"How could you lie to me like that?! Why would you fool me into thinking you were alright?! You know how much I care about you! What were you trying to accomplish! I can't-"
"Rachel…"
"We spent all this time together and you've still got a virus in your mind!"
"Rachel…"
"How can I expect you to be truthful in the future if-"
"Rachel!"
They stared down.
"I…I thought he had left. He told me he was going to. But when I go under the knife, it's not just Hall there. Corvus was there too. But I swear…he's not how he was before. He wasn't hostile. He didn't try to hurt us. Hall's been trapped with him for months now, and she vouched for him."
He almost let out a crazed chuckle.
"Corvus…he's trying to help us."
Kane sat back down, but this time on the opposite bed.
"Paszek, I'm not going to sugarcoat this."
She paused.
"I've read every page of every file I have access to regarding Project Prometheus. I didn't object when my superiors ordered to terminate the operatives that found the Black Station. Granted, I didn't know it was Taylor's squad…but whatever, I'm getting off topic…The point is…I'm no scientist, but I know that Corvus is an evil and corrupting entity. It doesn't care about us. It doesn't want to help us."
Another pause from Kane.
"I think you're going insane. I think Corvus is still corrupting you…trying to trick you into doing something at the Pentagon by using some…fake version of Hall as motivation. I think I need to get you help before it gets worse. Before you forget who Corvus really is, and who you really are."
"Rachel… I know you're just trying to help…but I'm not sick. He's not messing with me. He just wants Hall to come back! Don't you!?"
"Of course I would want her to be alive! But that doesn't change the fact that what you're saying to me is nonsense!"
"It's not nonsense! It's real! I saw it with my own eyes! Heard it myself!"
"What's stopping any of that from being a DNI hallucination?! Nothing, that's what!"
"I know Hall is in there somewhere! I served alongside her for five years! I know her! This isn't a recreation…or a fake…or anything else! She's trapped and I have to free her!"
"Ignacio…there are places we can get help. Outside Coalescence, outside the CIA…I have some connections…I can call in some favors…I just want the real you back!"
"Whatever happens…I'm still me."
"I want to believe that…I really do."
She sighed.
"If you don't want help now…I think that's pretty naïve of you…but fine…we'll catch Savior and worry about it afterwards…but whatever this is…whatever we're building here…I need to put it on hold."
Paszek stared at her with his mouth slightly open in disarray.
"I'll always be here for you…you know that. But I can't be in a real relationship with you if I can't trust you. I hope you understand that."
"Kane…I think I just need to…step outside for a moment, alright?"
His normally gruff voice was starting to break up, and Kane could tell. She didn't protest to his leaving of the room. Where he went? She didn't care, not at the moment.
Kane needed to be alone just as bad as he did.
Kane was wrong, but she was also right.
She was wrong in agreeing that Paszek heading to Coalescence was a good idea. Their latest shouting match had made that more than clear.
But she was right in saying that Paszek needed help. He did. He wasn't well. Even if it wasn't exactly what she thought it was…there was still something…off about him. Maybe he'd do better if he wasn't contracted by the CIA. Maybe he'd work better around other soldiers.
She was getting off track. That was the far future. She needed to focus on the near future. What were they going to do tomorrow? The next day? Day after that?
Kane was sure of one thing, they weren't going to be following Paszek's insane plan to resurrect a very clearly dead Sarah Hall. It wasn't absurd in itself to think that the CIA was keeping their bodies…but for her to be able to be revived? That was silly. The DNI invented a way to cheat mental death, but not physical death. Dead still meant dead.
Both she and Paszek knew that if they had a way to bring people back from the dead with a DNI…Kane would be the first person to jump on it. John, Sebastian, Peter, hell, even Jacob deserved another chance. And Sarah, as well, of course. But that didn't matter. She knew it was impossible.
Maybe she had been too hard on him about it, though. She had just apologized about yelling at him in Germany…and she just yelled at him some more. It's not like it wasn't justified, but that didn't stop her from feeling bad about it.
The fact that they had both gotten so heated in the past two days was reason enough Kane to want to take a break from their relationship…if they could even call it that. They spent most of their time together, yes. She loved him, obviously not quite as much as he loved her, by his own admission. But they had hardly even kissed, let alone gotten any further. In any case, she knew she did the right thing. Paszek had lost her trust, and once he earned it back, they could pick up where they left off.
Kane told herself she would make that call in the morning. She wasn't lying when she said she had connections made and favors to cash.
She sure hoped that Wes had kept the same number from college.
He had done this all wrong.
He had fucked up.
All he had to do was tell her what he had seen in a concise and clear manner, and fucked that up royally. Now she thought he was insane. Which, all things considered, wasn't such a preposterous thing to say in Paszek's honest opinion.
Maybe he was insane. But he was right about this. The Frozen Forest had convinced him of that. Corvus had done a pretty shitty job of recreating Hendricks and Diaz and Maretti…there's no way he could fool anyone into believing that Hall was alive if she wasn't…well, actually alive.
It could wait, though. Paszek knew that Kane would come back around. And even though he wasn't too fond of having Hall and Corvus in his brain, there wasn't any element of time. They could stay in there as long as they need to. Maybe it for the best. Both he and Corvus needed some time to reflect before they could make a decision about what exactly to do with the latter…
He needed his mind off of Corvus and Sarah and Rachel, anyways.
The van was as secure a place as any.
447002XXZ
Four and a half seconds of silence.
Another half second of static.
"Late flight, Paszek?" It was the same voice modulator.
"How am I calling you on a DNI that doesn't exist?"
"Just because something doesn't exist in your system…doesn't mean it doesn't exist in someone else's, right?"
"You saying you got an off-the-book DNI?"
"It's not in your book, that's for sure."
Fuck, this guy was frustrating.
"Why did you want me to call you?"
"You don't need to hear my little monologue. It will be on the news tomorrow. But I figure, given your current disability, I should offer you a head start."
"Head start?"
"Within a few dozen miles or so, I've placed four bombs. They aren't anything nuclear. They won't knock down the whole city. But it's enough to do some damage. Take some lives. I won't set them off just yet. I play by the rules. You'll get some time to find them first."
"Where did you set them!?"
"Paszek…it's 2071. You don't need me to tell you where to find them. It'll be easy enough to do on your own."
"How-"
"Remember, watch the news tomorrow. That should help clear things up."
It annoyed Paszek just how brief all of his interactions with this mysterious Savior had to be. He talked a big game…but what exactly had he done? He had kidnapped one general and might have planted some bombs. But he has the disposition of a Raul Menendez character…someone who feels they are changing the world.
Paszek waited another half hour before returning to the room. Kane was already asleep, or trying to fall asleep. He briefly pondered waking her up and telling her about Savior's message…but it would be pointless. Paszek didn't actually have any other information, other than that there bombs planted. Where? How? He had no more of an idea than anyone else.
The bed on the right was open. He set an internal alarm for 7 AM.
It was going to be a long day tomorrow.
"Hey!"
She shook him, this time a bit more violently.
Paszek groggily opened his eyes and sat up. The time? 6:58. This woman was more of a machine than he was.
"Our guy is on the news again."
"What is he-" Paszek groaned, before the television interrupted his thought.
"Since you took the liberty of censoring my message last time, I figure I'd make the executive decisions this time around."
The ticker and sidebars that came standard on the broadcast were gone. He had hijacked the channel.
"Your civilization is meaningless. You can sit and pretend that the world is in order, but you all know deep down that chaos is what rules. But you don't have to take my word for it. You'll find out for yourselves soon enough."
Kane rolled her eyes at that line.
"I have placed three rather sizable explosive devices in the area. If you are a civilian who doesn't work for the Coalescence Corporation, then congratulations – you're safe for now. Labcoats, law enforcement officers, and government workers – you should start checking underneath your desks. You have until 5:30 tonight."
And once again, he chose to keep his message concise, despite promising a greater explanation to Paszek last night.
"Did you get all of that?" Kane asked.
"Yeah…yeah, I got it."
He stepped out of the bed.
"I used that code to call him last night…and it worked."
"But I checked, it doesn't-"
"Well, apparently, it does exist. We just don't know about it."
"What did he say?"
"Nothing useful. Just more of the same ramblings. Stuff about chaos…power…control…I still don't know exactly what he wants."
A short silence.
"How long will you need to get ready?" Kane asked.
"Just need about 10 minutes, then we're good to go."
Paszek quickly exited the bed and briskly walked straight towards the restroom, stopping just outside the door to open the closet and grab a clean uniform.
Kane dialed the number.
The first ring wasn't eve halfway over when the call was picked up.
"Hello. I don't have this number saved. Who's calling?"
"Am I speaking to Wes Myers?"
"Yeah! Uh, I mean, yes. You are speaking to him."
"Wes, it's-"
"Wait a second…Rachel? Is that you?"
"Yeah, Wes, it's me. I need you to-"
"I haven't heard from you in almost a decade! Well, not that…well not that I'm not happy to talk to you, but why-"
"CIA stuff. Look, I need a favor."
"What do you need?"
"A friend of mine is having some…malfunctions…"
"Umm, Rachel…that's not very specific. I'm gonna need more than that."
"Some neural issues."
"So…do you just not know, or are you not telling me the whole story? Because I really can't help you if-"
"He's got a DNI, alright? And it's messing with his brain."
"Oh…man…gosh…I'm real sorry about that."
"If we bring him in to COMET, can you make sure he gets fixed?"
"Rachel…I would…but, uh…here's the thing…I, uh, kinda got laid off by them…"
"You what?!"
"Their HQ in Zurich got destroyed in the attack! They had to downsize…I was just an expendable piece of the puzzle…"
"Wes, I'm desperate here. I need to find a way to work out this problem he's got."
"If you can get me in a lab, with the right resources…then yeah, I could take a look. But I can't promise anything. DNIs are weird, man."
"Thank you, Wes. Are you still going to be using this number?"
"I will be until VHE finally, uh, calls me back."
"Got it. I've got to leave now. Flip on the news and you'll understand why."
"Rach-"
She hung up well before Wes could finish his thought.
However, before Rachel could finishing formulating a thought of her own…
Ring. Ring. Ring.
"Officer Kane."
"Director. I trust you're calling about that last news segment."
"He placed location beacons on his bombs. We already know where they are. Coalescence building."
"And?"
"That's it. He put four of them in the same building. We've already starting evacuating, even though there weren't too many people there."
"You need us there?"
"Yes. I have bomb squad en route, but you two might be able to uncover something more about this guy with whatever evidence he leaves behind."
"Got it. We'll be over in 30."
Kane sat in silence for a few minutes after Teele disconnected. She as pleasantly surprised to see that Paszek continued to act civil towards her, even after last night. Or at the very least, he seemed to be acting like it. Kane knew she had done the right thing; more than anything else, taking their relationship back a few steps would motivate him to beat Corvus, to conquer whatever was corrupting him.
But at the same time, it worried her. Paszek's unnerving ability to change his attitude on a dime seemed to only compound itself with addition of real tension between him and Kane. Could she really believe him when he said he was alright? She wanted to, that's for sure. But was his mind always in the right place? Was it ever in the right place? The more she thought about it, the more she just wished Wes could help them out sooner, rather than later.
Whatever. It wasn't her choice to make, anyways, although Kane knew that had it been her decision, the problem would be fixed already.
Kane perked up a bit more than she would have liked to when Paszek emerged from the other room. The latter simply nodded his head and walked towards the exit, with Kane following close behind.
Kane used the ride over to fill Paszek in on what Teele had told her. He paid his normal amount of attention to the details, but could not really force himself to care too much about it. His thoughts were already on DC; how to extract Hall's body. He knew there was nothing he could say to convince Kane that he wasn't going insane; he had accepted that. Bringing back Hall would, in theory, put them back on Relationship Cloud Nine, or wherever it was they were before.
Of course, that was the mindset he tried to put himself in. The positive and forward-thinking one. But positive was never first nature, or second, for that matter, to Paszek. The truth was that what Kane had said to him hurt. It really, really hurt. The fact that something called him crazy would normally make him slightly angry. But hearing it from Kane? That just spelled disappointment for Paszek. Disappointment in her? In himself? He wasn't sure. It always hurt to be on the right side of the wrong argument with someone you love.
Shit. That wasn't it either. He had gone from the future mindset to the past, but they were both the wrong fit. He needed the present. Yeah. The present. Savior. Bombs. Coalescence. Chaos. Free Will. New World Order. Whatever the fuck it was that Savior was fighting for, anyways. Okay. This was better. Stop the bombs. Find Savior. Interrogate. Maybe do what he did with Salim.
Paszek turned his head, just to alleviate anyone's fears that he staring off into space. No one had any. He knew that. But he always did it anyways. He noticed Kane typing away on her tablet.
And that was it. He was gone. Out of it. People say you don't appreciate what you have until it's gone. But she wasn't. Kane wasn't gone. She was still within an arm's length. But Paszek still felt that sting. It was one of those few moments he had experienced where he actually sat in shock at her beauty. And not that internal beauty she always carried around with her. It was right here, it was in Singapore, and it was their first night in DC. Those times where the times when he realized the purely superficial presence she had, her other qualities notwithstanding. How her cheekbones had the perfect curvature to accentuate her glowing skin, but not sharp enough to disrupt it. How her jaw seemed to dip down a bit as she smiled. How her lips were so subtly kind and persuasive. God, it wasn't just her face. Her whole body was a piece of art. He forgot about everything she had done for him. All the words and the actions and the time. He didn't care about any of that. Not for that moment. He just looked in awe at her, the person, the figure, and knew that was something he wanted. Desired. Needed. He was getting flustered looking at a woman who was eighty percent clothed.
Paszek jerked his head back over into the blank space. This was wrong. It was more wrong than any of the other mindsets. This was the selfish one. The one that would force the worst kinds of decisions. The one that he wished he could get away from while actively enjoying it.
"Did you get that?"
Paszek quickly jerked back around.
"What?! Oh…uh, no, I, uh, wasn't…I was, uh, zoning out…yeah."
"Jamie Curran is on sight. He just called me. They've already disarmed one of the bombs."
"Okay…wait, do we know him?"
"Curran?"
"Yeah. Have we…met before?"
"Might have seen his name in some documents…"
"I…yeah, you're right. I think that's it."
He spoke again.
"But I haven't talked to him, like, in person?"
"Why are you so concerned with this?"
"Forget it. It's nothing."
"Is this…"
"Is this what?"
"Is this something he's telling you to do?"
"He?"
Paszek quickly answered his own question.
"No! This isn't Corvus, he…he can't even talk to me unless I'm knocked out."
"Well, that sure makes me feel better…"
"Sorry."
"Just…"
Kane paused.
"…let's leave this alone for a moment, alright?"
She went back to her tablet as Paszek turned to once again face the dead space.
And so the mind comes full circle.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Trust me when I say there is a wild ride ahead in this story, and I hope you're ready for it.
Until next time,
HopelesslyLonelyWriter