CONFRONTATION!
I got up from my seat and I pointed my forefinger, towards Mr. Tarfo.
"Enough of your manipulation games: I want to know the truth!"
The man expanded his eyes: he clearly didn't expect that.
"Miss Hanache, what's the meaning of this?!"
"The meaning? Is something you're going to fulfill. Do I have to remind you, my first but true question?"
Mr. Tarfo stood silent. He clearly wants me to say it.
"Why did you want to meet me? This question is crucial in this whole meeting… and not just because, I'm Hunley's friend."
"Hmm… do you know the reason, then?" He flips his pen in various directions.
"The reason may not be clear… yet. But I can tell that you are very interested in my skills."
Suddenly, the man grits his teeth and squeeze the pen.
"That's illogical! How can you prove such statement?!"
"Simple: what other reason could you have?"
Mr. Tarfo stared at me… then, suddenly he laughs while clapping.
"One in particular: Menace."
"Menace?"
"Yes. This meeting could have been a trap. I'd force you to keep your mouth shut, about your recent investigations."
"… hmpf, hardly."
"W-what?!"
"I don't think you'd ever use such tactic, if your primary objective was just intimating me."
"N-no! Y-you can't prove it!" He starts sweating, while grabbing the sides of the pen, with both his hands: looks like he's about to completely bend it.
"Unfortunately for you… yes, there's a clear proof."
"W-which one?!"
"This night, you met my brother… correct?"
"Correct. I don't-AH!" He expanded his eyes.
"It seems you understood my point: if you wanted to silence me effectively, you'd have seized my brother and sent me an intimidatory letter!"
"NOOOO!" He hits the desk, with his right fist. "How could I outlook such possibility?!"
I got him.
"I can't deny it… you are right, young girl."
"As I suspected. This however, lead us to another important question."
Mr. Tarfo was flipping the pen, while sweating and raising his eyebrows.
"How do you know my skills?"
"… g-good question…" He tilts his back forward, while leaning his right fist on the desk: his face was gradually becoming white, his pupils were dilated, as he gritted his teeth even more.
"I agree: could you please answer it?"
"Ehm… I… u-ugh…" He keeps doing the same.
"Or you are willing to give me the honor, Mr. Tarfo?"
"Uhhmmgghh! M-Miss Hanache… would you like to have a drink, first?"
"No thanks. My mouth wants to talk, right now."
He snorted. You can't escape from me, incompetent villain.
"There is only one way, to know such information."
The man gulped.
"You were stalking me and Hunley, for all this time… didn't you?"
"Gggrrrrr… t-that's…"
"Don't you dare, denying this statement. There isn't any other logical answer, that could"
"THAT'S GREAT! ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC!" H-he laughs and claps?!
"H-huh?!"
"Ha ha ha! Ooooh, Miss Hanache... such fantasy! Such creativity! I'm impressed, truly this time!"
T-truly?! So he really was lying, before! T-the nerve…
"So, you really think that I spied on you two? Absolutely impossible!"
"H-how this is impossible?!"
"Just look at me. I'm not a young man, anymore… in fact, I'm 55 years old. I can't stalk such energetic lady and her humble friend, around."
No! N-no, this c-can't be true…!
"I can prove my age. But can you prove anything wrong, in my statement?" He grins.
N-nnggh! I-I can't…
"I see you can't do much, this time..." He taps the desk with his pen…
"No! Y-you still know about my skills! You must have all the information, in one way of another!"
"Hmpf… true, I do know a lot of you. However, this discussion is not going to matter anymore…"
Not going to matter? W-where he wants to get, now…?
"I must announce that our deal is cancelled."
"WHAT?! NO! I'm not done, with you!"
I can't stop now! I know that this man is hiding a terrible secret… and I'll not let him get away, with such excuse!
"Uhm… does this mean, you want to fight a shark with your bare hands? Ha ha ha! Very well: I can give you some tries… just remember to amuse me, with each of them."
Grrrrr… h-his ego must be rose to a whole new level. I'll not let him, win! Not after this childish tease of his!
"I'm incapable of amusing people… but I'm a natural talent, when it comes to the intellectual challenges."
"We'll see about it, Miss Hanache."
"You're a rich man… of course, you'd send your men spying on me and Hunley!"
"Really? Do you have any proof…?"
"… nngghh! N-no…"
He shrugs, while shaking his head and smiling.
"I'm rich, but that doesn't mean I have spies in my company… in fact, this deal is for a personal friend of mine. He told me, about you."
"W-WHAT?!"
"Ha!" He flips his pen around. "Of course, I'm interested in your skills… but because my friend asked me, to know more about you."
"T-this… this was the reason?!"
Mr. Tarfo nods.
"The only reason."
"I don't understand why you teased me, with your challenge… if you are giving me the solution."
"I wanted to increase the difficulty." He keeps flipping his pen. "I hope it's not too hard for you, Miss Perfection."
H-he knows that nickname too?! T-the situation is… i-is… no… NO! I-I don't have any more ideas! H-he said the truth…
"Hmm… nothing more? Then, I'm afraid that your test failed."
"A test…? This whole teasing was just a test…?"
"Exactly!" He chuckles. "My friend wanted to know, your creative skills… but it doesn't seem as much, as he thought it would be."
"C-can I know the identity of this mysterious requester?"
"No. He told me, to not reveal anyone about it. I'm deeply sorry, Miss Hanache… but before you go, please accept a fine glass of the best water brand available. Let me advice you: I'm quite an expert on the argument."
No… I cannot accept this, as the truth! I… I-I don't want to fail again… …
Hunley… forgive me…
…
"WAIT A MINUTE!"
Huh?! But that voice… Hunley?! Mr. Tarfo starts to sweat again.
"… aaah! S-sorry! I-I didn't know why I shouted…" Hunley covers his mouth with his hands.
"Don't worry, Hunley... is there something you wanted to talk about?"
"Ehm… I think…?" He scratches the back of his back, while chuckling.
You think? YOU THINK?! HUNLEY!
"Well, you know… while I was listening to this discussion, I got a little confused… and a bit curious too."
Oh great… this situation needed to be much worse, than I thought…
"See… eeehhmmm… Mr. Tarfo, my dad always told me, that this man often visited our house."
"That would be me, indeed. So, what's the question?"
"Uuuuhhh… you know… couldn't there a possibility that you were there, yesterday? … no wait, it was the other day? Or the other other day? Gee, I can't remember…"
… this is hopeless. Why would Mr. Tarfo be around the farms? I'm sure that I didn't see any sharks, around. I… … wait… sharks? Around the farms…? … w-why I feel like having an odd déjà -vu? It's true that I don't remember anything happened, the other day… but hearing the word "shark" in such context i-is making my brain run wild… … my memories…
-inside Mirii's thoughts-
A shark? In such underdeveloped place? I have a hunch, to have truly seen one! And something tells me, that the man I'm looking right now, must be the same one I saw in the recent past. But how can I prove it to my mind? I must find a connection… was there something particular, that I could remember very easily?
… Mr. Tarfo keeps flipping that pen around… … THAT'S IT! THE PEN! Now I remember! That shark was flipping a pen too! … or was it? I couldn't tell with precision, if that was really a pen. Curses! I need something else… if only there was another important feature.
Uhm… from what I saw, the man took a phone to call the butler. … wait… YES! I remember! The shark was talking with someone, through a phone of large proportions! He was holding it, with his left hand, while he flipped a pen on the right hand!
The question now is… what he was saying in that moment? Hmm… this time, I have to think more about the farms themselves. Where Mr. Tarfo would have been, in such time?
… I don't see any other location, other than Hunley's house. After all, he has a credit towards them. Of course, he would be around it. But why he's talking on the phone? Hunley's family don't have one! And I bet my perfect brain, that Hunley wouldn't even remember one.
Hmm… he wasn't just talking. I remember that, after a while, he puts away his phone. I was spying on him, from behind the house's outside walls. He stood there, like he was waiting for someone to come… but who?
The black trucks! Yes! After a while, those black trucks came out of nowhere… and several people got out of it. I remember them talking about the disappearance of this family… and how they were about to save them. Wait… I think I did something, while I was hearing their conversation. But what?
I was… writing? Yes… I was definitively writing! In a piece of paper, I wanted to warn Gri-ACK! No… i-if I remember her now, I-I'll lose my focus. I… I wanted to write a note. That's all. However, as I was about to tell the instructions… suddenly, they found me!
I ran away, as fast as I could… and I remember being chased by two creatures, which are not certainly Inklings or Sharks or anything important I saw before. I… I don't remember anything else. N-no! Please, Mirii… the last stretch! There must be a detail, that will help me understand what they did, afterwards!
That baby appeared on my clothes… and the misleading note… … EUREKA! I FINALLY UNDERSTAND!
-out of Mirii's thoughts-
"Ha ha ha ha! Silly Hun… it's simply illogical, the fact I would appear in such time. I was busy dealing with your job application."
"I believe the only thing you were really busy, was coming up with your biggest excuse yet."
Suddenly, Mr. Tarfo expanded his eyes and stops flipping his pen.
"… a-an excuse…?"
"Yes."
SLAM!
"Miss Hanache!"
Oh… w-what I'm doing slamming my hand on the desk?! Nngghh… m-my brother i-inspired me too much…
"Sorry… ahem. Let me demonstrate now, why I believe you are been fabricating a sudden but elaborate lie, to fool us all."
"… let's hear it." He's going to flip his eyes and not that pen…
I point at him, with my right forefinger.
"Mr. Tarfo! I actually saw you the other day, at the farms!"
"WHAAATTT?!" The man dropped his jaw, while expanding his eyes!
"R-REALLY?!" Hunley… too.
"Really. I remember everything now. I was on my way to meet Hunley's parents… when I saw you, talking with someone on that silver phone!"
He starts tilting that pen again, while raising his eyebrows and pulling them together. He was also sweating.
"After your brief talk, black trucks reached your position."
"B-black… gulp, t-trucks? B-but t-this madness… I-I don't h-have b-black t-trucks…" He was clearly trembling.
"I believe the opposite, Mr. Tarfo. I'm curious to know, if there are those around your villa… maybe one is about to come, at any moment."
"A-ARGH!" He lays both his hands on his head.
"Why that worried expression, Mr. Tarfo? I didn't even finish telling my memory, yet…"
"G-grrrrrrr…" He frowns a lot.
"From inside those vehicles, there were several people of different species. I remember, that you all talked about the family disappeared so suddenly. You intended to save them and were starting organizing. I was writing a letter down, when one of those people spotted my hidden location."
"W-where did you hide?!" Hunley asked, with wide eyes.
I turned towards him.
"Behind the walls, outside of your house. I wasn't too far away, from them." I stared back at Mr. Tarfo. "Anyway, I tried to escape from two figures: I know for a fact that those weren't Inklings. They must have been other sea creatures. I remember to run inside a forest… and then nothing more."
"… ha ha ha! That's it? You wanted to proof that I was there at the farms? HA HA HA HA!" He laughs while clapping. "Then, I fully agree. However, my visit was to meet and discuss with Mr. Kul, about his debt. Nothing more."
"… I may not remember anything else, but I don't even need to."
"Uuhhmmmggghhh!" He tilts his back forward, while leaning his right fist on the desk: he does the same expression as he did before.
"Mr. Tarfo! The fact that you know me, my skills and my Genealogical tree, makes you a prime suspect in your attempt to abduct me!"
"What are you mumbling about?! I only know about your brother and your mother! Your father died, when you were very young!"
…
"This is all I know. I insist, that my friend is the one interested in your skills and not me. Now, it's time to"
"Just as I suspected."
"W-WHAT?!"
"There is actually, a… rather curious event happened inside Hunley's house…"
"EEEEH?!" Hunley stood up, looking at me with wide eyes and opened mouth.
"Hunley, please let me talk. You'll understand."
"A-agh…! W-what kind of e-event h-happened t-there?" Mr. Tarfo was sweating, while trying to bend his pen, multiple times.
"My friends found me in the Adult Bedroom… as a baby."
Mr. Tarfo stood up too, slamming his desk with both his hands.
"PREPOSTEROUS! RIDICULOUS! THERE IS NO WAY, SOMEONE CAN TURN INTO A BABY, AGAIN!"
"Exactly. I have the same exact opinion."
The man was breathing heavily: he dries his forehead, with his right wrist.
"I'd say that" I feel like I'm moving forward at high speed. "this was nothing more than a setup, intended to fool anyone trying to find me!"
"AAAAARRRGGGHHH!" The man lays his right hand, on his heart, as he bends his back forward. "NONSENSE! NOBODY WOULD BELIEVE IN SUCH FABRICATION!"
"Oh yes, they would… if you also use a certain item, in such scene!"
"Grrrrrrrr… w-why you little…"
"My friends found a note, in the same room. Curiously, they didn't just read my instructions… but also, disconnected phrase. One of which was clearly saying: I want my mommy."
"… s-so? How about it?!" He flips his pen, with rapid hand movements.
Mr. Tarfo is not boosting up his ego, anymore. Good: this means he's not trying to sneak up another lie, in my explanation.
"Yes, exactly… how about it? I find it useless, alone… unless you wanted to create a believable alibi with it."
"Uuhhmmgghh! W-where you want to get at?! I-I don't understand…"
"Simple. Your intention was to create the following scene: I was getting younger and younger, so my brain becomes less bright after every minute. I was getting more worried, about being alone… after all, kids want their parents and don't like staying anywhere, away from them. Am I correct?"
The man gritted his teeth, while roaring lightly.
"I-I still don't see, how this is related to anything…"
"You wanted to create an impact, on my friends. Hence, the "I want my mommy" phrase."
"So?! This is getting you nowhere!"
"… how the "I want my daddy" phrase, would sound?"
Mr. Tarfo stood silent.
"Not as good, I say. Since in such desperate moment, my supposed baby-self wanted the only parent that could stay with me… my mom."
"WAIT JUST A SECOND! Y-you are making too much complicated assumptions! W-what difference would do if that note had that phrase or not?! Nothing!"
"Are you sure? According to the existence of this note, it seems like a message of help I wanted to send to someone. And who could have read this piece of paper, in such time? My friends, of course. And you can't prove it otherwise, since everyone living around, was being held inside a Virtual Machine!"
"A-and so?!"
He still thinks there isn't any inconsistency, with his version of the facts? Hmpf…
"Now, what my friends would do if they read the supposed "I want my daddy" message? Simple: they would never guess that I was that baby!"
"HA! Simply false!" He slams his desk with his right fist. "Did you forget the clothes that were around you?! They would still make the same assumption!"
… interesting.
"Stop going into unrelated matters! I don't have anything to do, with this infantile fantasy of yours!"
"… is this how you would call your setup?"
"W-WHAT THE"
"Or do you possess unique reading-mind abilities?"
"GET TO THE POINT, MISS HANACHE!"
"All right, as you wish, Mr. Tarfo. I'm rather surprised how you could reveal such vital detail, before."
"WHAT DETAIL?!"
"That clothes were around me."
"But you said that earlier! Did you already forget all your previous speech?!"
"… did I really say it, Hunley?"
"Uuuuhh… I… I think not, actually! I didn't know you were around your clothes, when you become a baby!"
The man stood silent… then suddenly, the man screams grabbing the top of his head, with both his hands.
"U-UNBELIEVABLE! T-TO GET TRIPPED UP BY OWN DOINGS!"
I smiled: he couldn't possibly expect such mistake, since he is in this uncontrollable state.
"Really fascinating, Mr. Tarfo. I never understood why someone would take all my clothes. Did you took them off me? Or was one of those people you called with your phone?"
He can't escape now: I pointed at him, with all my perfect confidence.
"Answer now, Mr. Tarfo! No lies can save you, this time!"
The man looks down.
"… I couldn't believe what I saw with my old eyes…"
… is he going to confess?