Dark Nights

by KatrinaJG

"I've had some dark nights of the soul, of course, but giving into depression would be a sellout, a defeat." -Christopher Hitchens. A series of short one-shots concerning David Sarif and the nights he spends at his office while Adam is out saving the world. These are prequels, of sorts, to Question with Boldness, and are in no particular order. They are, mostly, stand alone.

2. Chapter 2

Set right after the 'Yes Boss' achievement.

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Sarif pulled out his chair and sat down heavily. He looked to the door Adam had just disappeared out of and couldn't hold back a bout of laughter. Oh he had been played, and marvellously too. Adam read him like a book, and that brought a smile to his face, because it meant that Adam used his CASIE aug. Which in turn, Sarif hoped, meant that Adam was warming to his augments. He knew how angry and displaced Adam felt, and while Sarif regretted those sentiments, he did not regret giving Adam those augments. He was the beginning of a human revolution.

Sarif needed Adam on his side, for who he was, what he was capable of, and for what his genes held for the future of augments. He would have to wait, bide his time concerning Adam. This latest conversation gave him hope, much like the first after the surgery made him think Adam would never forgive him.

Sarif pulled up the information that Adam wanted concerning White Helix Labs and the information he had the ex-cop dig up. The contents broke his easy mood; there was something here he was missing. Something about Adam and those labs that raised his hackles. He broke off the search because a gut feeling told him it was too close to something potentially dangerous. Now, he knew that whatever it was that scared him about this was now something he needed to know. It would be important, and by passing the information on to Adam, Sarif hoped he would discover what exactly that was.

He sent the files off, with a short message. Sarif had considered deleting his conversation with the ex-cop, but decided against it. Honesty would win him Adam's loyalty.

Sarif leaned back in his chair and picked up his baseball, rolling it in the palm of his augmented hand. He turned and looked out on to Detroit, as he considered calling Darrow. Then he shook his head, he's been relaying too much on Darrow lately, with the attack, Adam's recovery and everything subsequent. He was starting to feel like he was a young inexperienced man again, always running to Hugh with every little problem and thought, and he was far from that.

Then he heard the distinctive chime of his holographic vid-phone go off, and smiled. Only one person called his office this late at night, with the certainty of knowing Sarif would be in. No, he wasn't a young man anymore, but sometimes one needs the comfort of family and this was a victory worth sharing.