Keswick turned the power on and looked at his achievement. It was a tough piece of work and in the last months he had suffered a few setbacks, but the new high-gain antennas were installed, and the chief had greenlit the budget for new measurement equipment.
Keswick grinned, you could achieve much if you just practiced a little creative writing in the financing forms. Still, there was much work left. The data he evaluated pointed to emissions of this peculiar energy in a high-frequency band and now with the new antennas he should get some more sensible readings.
The next thing he had to do, besides calibrating instruments and coding a lot of routines, was wait for an energy emission. It was like something in him drove him to look deeper into this beyond a reasonable effort. Keswick hoped that after the research lab incident about three months ago he wouldn't have seen the last of these transmissions.
The most interesting question would be answered after he could detect and localize the emissions epicenter. What was causing them? Keswick was thinking about that almost every day without really progressing. He of course remembered the video he saw in the facility, even if he could not save the file after whatever hijinks Dudley had done with the server.
This creature stepping out of the containment, was that the reason for these readings? But why then did the data show signs of energy emissions in the month prior to the explosion? And, Keswick had combed through an enormous heap of numbers to unearth this, why did these readings appear two years earlier quite regularly, almost biweekly?
That didn't point to the creature, but maybe to these powerful objects, Möbius had talked about. The old man had seemed confused back then at the phone. Keswick had wondered for a while if he should have called an ambulance for him. He was quite worried until he saw the Professor's acceptance speech for his Nobel prize. He seemed clear there. Although the rumors from the party afterward spoke of an elder gentleman who lost some clarity through clear beverages.
The short scientist turned to his laptop and sighed. He slowly accepted that the answer to his energy enigma would be 'I'll see when the receiver is ready.' Taking a sip of coffee cleared his thoughts a little and as he played the monotonous rhythm of fingers hitting the keyboard he didn't notice the time flying past him.
Just the hand reaching for his mug stopped the melody he drummed. Half full, quarter full. Keswick grabbed the mug again realizing how light it got. A questioning gaze into it revealed the word that was at the bottom of the container. 'Refill' was printed there in big black letters. Keswick wouldn't argue with the mug. It was always right.
He got up making his way to the break room passing by the analog clock that was hanging over the doorframe there. 11pm. Nothing out of the ordinary for him. He started his shifts lately, after all, he was the only one at T.U.F.F. who was on flextime.
As Keswick entered the kitchen to obey the mug's command, he saw Dudley sitting on the table there. The dog clasped a mug with his two hands and stared right through him. He wasn't even sure if Dudley realized that he was there. On the table in front of Dudley lay a stack of folders, one of them right in front of him with a pen indicating that he was still in the middle of his work.
Keswick sighed, he was pitying the poor fella. After Kitty had left for greener pastures about a month ago, the chief was putting the workload from her on his shoulders. At first, Keswick had suspected the chief of trying to sabotage the whole agency for whatever reason. Why else would you give Dudley things like management duties? But the mutt was trying his hardest to live up to the expectations and Keswick had to admit, he wasn't bad at it.
Of course, Kitty would have been done with the work by that time and had planned out the next day but he wasn't nearly as organized or accurate. But he was willing to work through it no matter if he hated it or not. If there had been some money in the budget Dudley would have benefitted from an assistant… or maybe two of them.
Keswick was amazed the longer he looked at the dog. Dudley had gotten a lot more mature since he started here. Was that just Kitty's good influence? Keswick knew she was capable of a lot but changing Dudley like that, that seemed outlandish. Was there something else that drove the child out of him?
"D..D..Dudley?" Keswick said after he was done watching the dog's empty eyes.
"Hmm?" Dudley replied still staring at the wall before, without any gestures, fixing his eyes on Keswick.
"Are you a..a..alright?"
"Tired…" The dog took a sip from his mug and Keswick now saw the paper tag of a tea bag dangling from the side of it.
"Aha… and since when do you drink t..t..tea?"
"Oh this… I felt like it…"
"What f..f..flavor?" Keswick sat down on the table next to him.
"Earl grey…" Dudley shuddered and looked like he realized something horrendous at that moment.
"Not your f..f..favorite?" Keswick commented and looked at the tag. It was a standard brand nothing out of the ordinary when it came to teas.
"I just… I… It's n..n..nothing." Dudley stammered making Keswick smile. So that was how it must have sounded to other people.
"Well okay…" Keswick looked at the file Dudley was sitting on right now. "Is that a f..f..funding proposal?"
"Yes… I see the need for some general restructuring. Especially when it comes to prisons… we need a T.U.F.F. wing in the local prison." Dudley wrote a few notes into the file.
"Oh, Mr. Puppy, do I smell some a..a..ambitions there?" Keswick laughed and was met with a tired smile.
"Not at all, it's just an idea to lessen the workload in the future." He closed the folder. "Keswick, you should go home, the chief gets angry if you put in more overtime."
"Ah, I'll just clock out and tinker a little more. I am in the f..f..flow. And you don't stop while you're in the f..f..flow." Keswick got up from the bench and walked over to the coffee machine.
Brand new and one of these fully automated machines that maybe weren't as good as a barista with his portafilter but coming frighteningly close.
"What about you?" Keswick asked as he put his mug under the machine. He chose the button for a double espresso and waited for the device to turn beans and water into black gold. "Shouldn't you g..g..go home?"
"To sit there lonelily until she comes home from work to ignore me?" He scoffed and put another folder in front of him. "Why should I?"
"To s..s..sleep? Or eat? You are not looking good lately."
"I am also not feeling good lately." He replied sounding desperate. "She avoids conversations with me… I… I can't take this anymore Keswick."
"If this is so bad have you ever c..c..considered…" Keswick made a gesture that looked like a scissor cutting through something.
"I don't want that… I love her it's just…" He slammed his fist on the table. "Layers of secrets that crush down… I can't take this anymore I don't want this anymore."
"Uhm… what secrets are you talking about in p..p..particular."
"Nothing… just nothing." Dudley opened another file and the horrified gaze he gave it led Keswick to expect no report about a candy store robbery.
"What's w..w..wrong?" The scientist asked taking his first fresh sip.
"That's the report about Craig…" The dog closed the file again and ran his hand over his face.
It was like the room chilled down and Keswick needed to put down his mug for a moment. It has been a while since they lost an agent, three years to be precise.
"I shouldn't have sent him down there without backup." Dudley took a few deep breaths and Keswick didn't dare to interrupt this silence with words.
He knew the dog blamed himself for that even though Craig had been the one who rushed into the building without waiting for backup. In the end, a newly hired henchman of Snaptrap, a rookie, had an itchy trigger finger and instead of the usual capture of a T.U.F.F. agent, they had to hold a funeral. The cherry on top of the brown ice cream cup was that the henchman was on the run again.
"Don't blame yourself D..D..Dudley." Keswick sighed and picked the mug up again.
"Easier said than done." Dudley stood up and started restacking the files in one big pile.
Cheerful voices broke through the dense sternness of the moment and Keswick couldn't deny that he was a little thankful for that. Dudley's state started to make him sad the longer he looked at him. The chipper mood of Rick and Karla who entered the kitchen chatting and laughing was balm for Keswick's own disposition.
"And you think they are still open at that time?" Rick asked excitedly.
"Ricky, it's a club, they don't close until like 8am," Karla laughed but almost choked on it as she saw the pair of cold blue eyes that looked her up and down.
"Agent Rodriguez, Agent Lewis…" Dudley said slowly. "I think your shift will not end before 12am."
"Oh Mr. Puppy…" Rick said nervously almost breaking into a sweat. "We are not trying to skip work we…"
"We are just speaking about our plans afterwards." Karla finished the sentence for him and added. "And could you please stop being so… formal?"
"I'm sorry… I just try to be as professional as possible. I don't want to be rude." Dudley explained sternly.
"Well then stop being so formal."
"Karla… Agent Rodriguez, I am your boss now in a way, and I need to abide by some rules regarding that."
"Listen to yourself, you don't sound like the Dudley I know." She huffed and crossed her arms. "Also, Kitty never did something like that."
"Well, the way she and I lead are different." Dudley took a deep tired breath. "I miss the time she had to do all this… all this stuff."
"Me too, and I miss the time you simply called me Karla." The fox made no attempt to hide her discontent.
"Uhm, guys, the thing you referring to is like three weeks ago," Rick interjected but stopped himself from any more comments feeling the unamused gazes of Karla and Dudley on him. "I think I should leave…" He simply said and walked backwards out of the kitchen.
"Right in front of you, Rick," Karla said and followed him without any more words for her higher-up.
"You should go home D..D..Dudley. Sleep a little." Keswick said as he also moved toward the room's exit.
"I think you are right, sleep sounds good right now…"
"Sure… get h..h..home safe." Keswick and his mug and headed back into the lab. Dudley looked at the clock. 11:15pm, he remembered arriving at 8am. It was really time to go home.
After the usual short but joyless commute over the desolate streets, Dudley found himself in a lifeless apartment. Kitty was still at work. She was working almost 18-hour days at the moment, most of it was training, at least that's what she told him. Could he believe her? Maybe, maybe not, he wasn't so sure about it anymore. It was ironic in a certain sense, Dudley knew that, but did he ever make Kitty feel so bad? He at least knew that he never ignored her. And he still wouldn't as he sent a good night message on his phone like he did every day.
Putting his device aside he sank down on the couch tasting the well-known flavor of defeat. His eyes closed just for a moment, a second maybe, but as they opened again an old familiar figure sat on the couch next to him holding the same tacky tea cup he always held.
"I must say, you did furnish the place nicely." Sam took a sip before putting the cup down on the glass coffee table. "Did you or Ms. Katswell do that?"
"Both of us." Dudley said and leaned back on the couch.
"Very well done… although the curtains look a bit sordid. You should acquire new ones." Coming from Sam's mouth this sounded more like a command than a suggestion.
Dudley had to chuckle. "Your critique is noted."
"Splendid."
"Sam… why are you here this time? Anything went wrong?"
"Oh no, I mean there is headroom for improvement but we could be in a worse state," Sam said and then slowly added. "Just out of courtesy, I enjoy this, you remember?"
"Seeing me suffer?"
"No… talking. I do not have a lot of beings to talk to these days."
"So you are as lonely as I am." Dudley released a bitter chuckle.
"I do not call it loneliness." Sam raised his index finger as he explained. "I relish my solitude but a certain hunger for interaction outside the necessary conversations arises occasionally."
"That's an awfully complicated way to agree." Dudley meant and looked at the cup. "I tried your favorite flavor today."
"How was the taste?" There was a certain eager interest in Sam's voice that Dudley wasn't used to. He could almost swear that he really cared for his opinion.
"Well… okay but nothing special I guess." Dudley shrugged. "It was the only tea there."
The advisor nodded and they both sat there in silence for a moment. Dudley enjoyed it, he wasn't in the mood to talk much, but the company was very welcomed. He had never expected that he would miss just having someone around him.
Sam seemed to understand that, and though Dudley never expected him to openly state it, he knew he was just sitting there because of him.
"As exhilarating as this is..." Sam said and grabbed his cup again. "It was not my intention to take much of your time. We will…"
"No, wait!" Dudley grabbed the advisor by his sleeve. "I know I never… Can you stay a little longer, I can't stand this..."
"Solitude?"
"Loneliness."
The advisor let out a sigh. "Very well, I remain at this point in space-time… but I will not share any more silence with you. That is highly dissatisfying."
Dudley groaned, he had just hoped for some more no-talk company. "Fine… I was thinking lately."
"That is a wonderful hobby, keep it up." Sam mocked.
"And… how bad would it be if I told her. Just everything. The whole story."
Sam kept silent for a while after Dudley's question and the dog was almost enjoying it if the sudden silence hadn't scared him so much.
"Obscurity shields the deeds you do…" he unctuously said. "The wish to share the burden, if just the knowledge of it, is comprehensible."
"So, this is a no?"
"I would rather say, keep it in reasonable bounds." The advisor meant. "The things you told Kerry were understandable for someone not too entangled. But striding beyond that would make the average person question your sanity. In the end, you can always wait for her to find it out herself."
"What do you mean?" Dudley asked tilting his head.
"I told you that my hands are tied when it comes to Ms. Katswell. Different realities are converging, and I am not allowed to force any of them."
"You mean she will find out?"
Sam nodded. "That is certain."
"So, I could tell her? I mean what would it change?"
"How do I explain it to you… Do you remember the people you met along the way who knew of my existence?"
Dudley thought for a moment remembering a few people he had met who obviously knew the advisor. "You mean like Simon and Möbius?"
"Yes… speaking of him, did you get…"
"The coin? Yes… why do I need it?"
"It will be the right tool at the right time." The advisor grinned a little before his face lost the joy it just radiated. "Back to the subject at hand. All the people you met, were chosen by me. I visited for certain duties to perform. All bound to secrecy. In the end, it is all about the way how. An inauguration has other consequences than a mistake."
"So, you want a mistake to happen instead of inaugurating her?"
"The leeway the continuum gives me when it comes to mistakes is bigger…"
Dudley's eyes widened in shock. "What does that mean?"
"Oh, don't be afraid, I would not harm her, just alter memories…" The advisor chuckled. "But once inaugurated, there are certain rules I must abide."
"So, if I want a chance for her to stay out of this despite the inevitable meeting…"
"You do not tell too much, yes." The advisor got up grabbing his tea cup. "However, in the end, everything depends on her decision. If she decides the right way, all our worries will wash away."
"The idea of this decision scares the hell out of me." Dudley meant and looked down at the carpet. "I mean what if she…" he was searching for the advisor's face but just found the room's usual darkness. Dudley leaned back on the couch again and closed his eyes. "Well, thanks for the time nonetheless."
Silence and the rather comfortable sofa started to embrace him slowly. The feeling of falling down took hold of him as the darkness stretched into endlessness. The feeling grew stronger, the winds tore on him and the initial weightlessness now seemed to rip his body apart. And in the moment of everything becoming unbearable, he woke up panting.
"Dammit…" he swore and looked at the clock. It was 6 am. Time to get up. He heaved his body off the couch and towards the kitchen. He needed anything containing caffeine. How long did he and Sam talk yesterday? For a change, the kitchen wasn't empty. Kitty was in front of the coffee machine filling a travel mug. Her back was facing him, and Dudley eyed her longingly.
"Hey Kitty…" he finally said after mustering the courage.
"Hey." Kitty replied with a tone that was reserved for casual acquaintances. Everything fell apart in Dudley just hearing the way she said that. He could remember a time, not too long ago, she had greeted him with a kiss and a cup of coffee. Now all he got was 'hey'.
"Off to work again, huh?" He tried to sound as casual as he could.
"Yes, and as always, too late." She sighed looking at the clock.
"Any idea when you…"
"No unfortunately not." She cut the usual question about her return short. "Anyway, see you tonight." A quick smile was everything he received from her as she passed by him.
"Kitty we need to…" The lock of the door clicked before he could even finish his sentence. He looked after her for a while before he broke into tears.
-Author's note: The chapter ends a little sad, i know, but let's see if they can fix that whole thing. As always thanks for reading, tell me what you think of course and stay tuned :)-