When Michael comes back with the refreshments, he's back to his normal self. Well, as normal as a derisively condescending jerk can ever be. Still, normal for him, I guess.
I let the warmth of the tea cup fill my palms as I gaze out of the wall of glass that constitutes a "window".
The road below the building is fairly empty except for a row of black armoured vehicles idling at the steps. Pierce's convoy, I bet. It's not like a high level agent can just hail a taxi to wherever he needs to go, after all.
"Enjoying the view?" Michael rounds the table corner and joins me at the windows.
"It's like the corner office I never had in academia." I reply with a pensive smirk, my eyes still glued to the idling trucks.
"I didn't know you ever dreamt of one. Always seemed to me that you quite enjoyed your little cubicle in the grad student office, tucked away behind your stats books, sobbing over SPSS."
"At least I was following my own agenda, not someone else's orders," I retort, raising an eyebrow at him, "And how have you fared any better here?"
"I have the support of my colleagues. We're changing the world with our technology. No higher organizations, no governments to silence our research. It's a scientist's dream come true, Elise. Near unlimited funding, no censors."
No censors? I laugh out loud.
"What a joke. No censors? Shield is the biggest censor there is, after the government." I put my cup down, glancing up at him.
His mouth is set in a sober frown, and it's clear that he firmly believes what he's just said to me.
"And anyway, half of it sounds highly unethical." I shrug, turning away.
"Sometimes ethics is what stands in the way of great work!" He grabs my arm, and there's a look in his eyes that startles me. "Zimbardo, Milgram, Watson… look at what they've done for our field."
This isn't like Michael, and I'm feeling a growing sense of unease.
"Listen, I know-" I begin, only to be interrupted as the doors of the room slide open. A man in a suit enters.
"I've come to get Ms. Summers. It's time for her physical examination." He looks at both of us, then steps out expectantly.
Michael lets go of me, and I can see that there's something else on his tongue, but I'm not sure I want to stick around to hear it. Things are getting a little strange, and I feel like I need to distance myself from him for the time being.
"Listen, I need to go. It's been nice catching up with you today." I smile at him, crossing the room to retrieve my box.
"Same to you." He replies, turning his back to me.
His words felt distant and empty, but I don't have time to contemplate them. The man in the suit is already pacing away without me. I follow him out of the room, glancing back just once to see Michael standing at the glass windows, his hands behind his back, watching the street below.
This has been a really weird reunion.