Chapter 261
Kyle grabbed and dragged Viktor back into the room, forcefully sitting him in front of the camera feed monitors.
"Ow!" Viktor cried.
"Viktor!" Rachel said quickly. She stepped forward into the room. "Can you see who the intruder is from your cameras?"
Viktor nodded slowly. "Yes. We have cameras all around the outer walls." But he didn't move. he just sat there frozen behind his monitor.
"Show us!" Kyle shouted, amplifying his voice. "Quick! Or else!"
"He's just a child! Stop yelling at him like that!" Rachel shouted back at him, then gritted her teeth as she talked to Viktor. "Can you please show us the cameras? Like right now, right now? Please?"
Viktor scrambled to one of the computers near the desk. His face reddened from the heat emanating from her. His fingers went to the keyboard, trembling from fear.
Couldn't hold it against him. Even Gale shrank when he saw the scary face that looked like she was about to explode something.
The monitor on the screen Viktor used changed, showing a live feed from a camera. Flipping through it, the group carefully watched to not miss any detail of a certain blue-haired anomaly.
First camera: Nothing. Just wall.
Second camera: Empty pathway.
Third camera: More wall.
Fourth camera: A tree branch hanging over the wall.
Fifth camera: Shadows.
Sixth camera.
An anomaly showed up. Blue hair. Walking, but floating. She was literally faking her walk. Her steps didn't even match the amount of space she moved. On her hand, a thin copper wire connected to her bracer; still the same one she had from the Architect's tomb.
On the screen, Erin traced the copper wire back to a wall. Putting her palm on where the wire came out from, the screen suddenly shut off.
"That was her!" Rachel slammed her fist on the desk. "Viktor, do you know where this camera is? QUICK! NOW TELL ME!"
"Holy shit, fire cheeks is getting fired up," Kyle muttered.
"SHUT UP!"
"I don't know!" Viktor covered his face like he was about to get punched. "Ask Henry. He's our leader. He'd know."
Clyde's head snapped toward the door where the Night Patchers were outside. "Whoever the fuck Henry is, you're about to take us to where this camera is located ASAP. Or else."
A boy near the middle of the group stepped forward. The same kid that rebelled against them. "Or else what?"
"Or else you'll join me, him, her, and that feral into Floor 3, Unit 2E4," Kyle said.
Henry grinned. "I don't believe you. You'd never harm a student enough to go there."
Clyde pulled out his phone. He tapped the screen a few times and then turned it around to show Henry. On the screen was a selfie. Clyde was in the photo, grinning at the camera with a thumbs up. Behind him was Mikael, completely unconscious, on the infirmary bed.
"You think I'm joking? Everyone in Sterling knows where this is and no one wants to go there."
"Okay. Okay. I'll take you there. Just don't take me to that place," Henry whimpered. His eyes glanced at Gale, who had been staring at him with furrowed brows. "And tell the feral to stop staring at me like that."
That's right, Henry, if that is even your real name, I'm watching you. Gale wanted to growl at him to make him an even softer target, but he hadn't been given the signal by Rachel yet, or Kyle.
"Gale, stop staring," Rachel said without looking at him.
Gale looked away, but not because he was told to, but because he'd definitely get more treats later if he did as he was told. Moving towards Rachel, her hand gave him another Kinder Bueno bar that appeared out of nowhere.
Jackpot. That was the correct decision. He won again.
He quickly unwrapped the Kinder Bueno, not hesitating to eat the whole 2 wafers in two bites after unwrapping them from their annoying second layer of plastic.
*
An unknown classroom. Same white walls, same white floors, except the ceiling was brown wood that looked expensive and shiny, and the door was wood too, not white. The dark hunter didn't know where this was, somewhere in the east wing, but the twins said it was the safest place to interrogate the blue-haired alien while laughing menacingly and evilly.
Erin sat at the centre of the room. A single chair. A single desk in front of her. Her posture remained upright, and her face was as emotionless as ever. Not a hint of boredom, confusion, a complete blank expression that leaned slightly on looking down on everything she was seeing in front of her... quite literally.
She didn't even bother to sit on the chair. She was hovering over it and was looking down on all three interrogators.
Viktor and Henry huddled in the corner of the classroom. They sat on the floor, knees pulled up, backs against the wall.
Gale stood beside them, arms crossed, staring down at them like the dark hunter that would've prowled these hallways beneath the moon.
Rachel stood across from Erin. Kyle flanked her left. Clyde took the right.
"Why are we here?" Henry asked. His voice cracked on the last word.
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Viktor's mouth opened, but nothing came out.
"Be quiet," Rachel said.
Both of them shut their mouths completely.
"Gale," Rachel said once.
Gale flipped the light switch. Darkness devoured the light of the room. Shadows crept into every corner except for the faint light that leaked through from the curtains.
Very soft curtains too. Back in his apartment, he didn't even have curtains. One night he decided to look up how much curtains were. Turns out, they were too expensive.
He didn't need them anyways. The broken blinds that came with the apartment were enough. Let the people see inside. They'd never be able to get the jump on him. Presence Between being always active ensured that ambushes were never going to happen.
Rachel raised her hand, turning it into a harsh bright glow stick once again as she shined it onto Erin's face.
Erin didn't squint. Instead, a thin layer of frost crystallized over her eyes, forming makeshift sunglasses. The ice caught the light and reflected it back at Rachel, who managed not to squint.
"Why have you brought me here?" Erin asked. "I was conducting an important research mission. Your interference has set back my research by an estimated forty-three minutes and counting."
Rachel's free hand slammed on the desk in front of her. "We're the ones asking questions, capisce?! What were you doing over there and how was that connected to the Night Patcher's lab?"
"I have no obligation to answer your inquiry."
"What?"
"The agreement stipulated the procurement of a bird upon my accompaniment of your squad. That agreement has not been fulfilled. Release me at once, or else you will incur further debt."
Rachel's mouth moved up and down. No words came out. She tried again after clearing her throat. "What the hell does the bird have to do with the missing child?"
"I possess no concern for the missing child."
Tilting her head, Rachel looked like she genuinely had no idea how to reply to this.
"The missing child is irrelevant to my research objectives. I accompanied your group under the condition of receiving a bird to consume. The bird has not been provided. Therefore, my cooperation ends."
Kyle grabbed Rachel by the shoulder and pulled her back. He stepped forward, cracking his knuckles. "Listen here, floating bluey. If you don't tell us what you were doing, it'll be a painful interrogation. You got that, bud?!"
"Pain is merely a signal transmitted to the brain. It holds no consequence to the actual body." Erin's floating body slightly lowered to meet Kyle eye to eye. "The agreement has not been fulfilled. Therefore, I am under no obligation to provide further assistance. Procure the bird, and the information will be forthcoming."
Kyle's fist lost all of its flex. His mouth opened and closed, just like Rachel's. Both interrogators were completely stumped at the alien anomaly in front of them.
This time, Clyde pulled Kyle back behind him. Reaching into his jacket, he pulled out a Twinkie. This one had a marking on the plastic that was handwritten: 2060.
Putting it on the table in front of the floating Erin, he grinned. "You going to talk now? You know what this is? Limited edition ecstasy. Talk, and you can get more of these."
Erin's ice-shaded eyes stared at the snack for three full seconds. Then four. Then five. "You cannot deceive me. This thing is not a bird. The agreement was that of a bird. The agreement stipulated no other form of replacement shall be made."
"But there was no written contract in the first place..." Rachel muttered.
"That is irrelevant," Erin said. "An agreement was already reached when I agreed to accompany your squad. You will hand me the bird now and allow me to depart. This has already resulted in an unacceptable loss of fifty-five minutes."
Rachel waved Kyle and Clyde closer. "Group huddle. Now."
The three of them moved to the corner of the room, away from Erin. Gale followed, squeezing himself into the circle beside Rachel.
"We can't do anything to her," Rachel whispered. "Look at her. Nothing's going to work."
Gale, along with the others, glanced back at Erin, who remained hovering over the chair. The ice sunglasses still firmly hovered just in front of her eyes even though Rachel had already extinguished her glowstick hand.
The blue-haired woman stared at nothing in particular. Her expression showed nothing, just the same exact expression she had been showing them since she got out of that pod. Not a single sign of discomfort at being interrogated like a criminal.
Gale turned back to the group.
"She doesn't care at all, like this has nothing to do with her." Rachel said.
"Kinda true that this really has nothing to do with her," Kyle muttered. "And have you seen her back in the tomb against that needle freak? She took a needle to the chest and didn't even flinch. Rumours are she came out of Algonquin all mangled up like a ragdoll missing an arm. Which means..."
"Emotional tactics won't work," Clyde added.
"Physical tactics won't work," Kyle continued.
"Bribing tactics won't work."
Both twins sighed at the same time. "What else do we got?"
"Basically nothing else," Clyde said, then mumbled, "and she insulted my Twinkie... a 2060 limited edition Twinkie..."
Gale put a hand on Clyde's shoulder to at least give him comfort. "Twinkies are very good. Definitely better than ducks that expire after a couple of days."
Clyde nodded at Gale. "You get it."
"Twinkies are for life."
"Exactly!" Clyde almost shouted, but then was pulled back by Kyle.
"Idiot."
"So then, what do we do?" Rachel asked.
Kyle rubbed the back of his neck. "We have to get her duck. It's the only way. Can't fight her logic."
"There's no logic in her logic," Rachel muttered.
"Wrong. The only thing she has is logic," Kyle said.
"That's what makes it unbeatable," Clyde said.
"Can I try?" Gale said suddenly.
The three of them turned to look at him. Rachel's expression softened with a slight smile. "You sure?"
Gale gave them a single firm nod. He wasn't exactly sure where he was going to go with this, but the dark hunter never gives up. Right now, the prey was floating, sitting, or whatever, on the interrogation chair. The team now needs the darkness to move in.
Besides, it was worth a shot. He managed to get info out of her about Asain. What could possibly go wrong?
The group disbanded. Kyle and Clyde stepped back, arms crossed, watching. Rachel moved with Gale, lighting up her glowstick hand once again and shining it against Erin's face.
Again, no sign of any shifting expression. Not even a slight cold seeped out from her.
Gale and Rachel stopped in front of the desk. He tried to make his voice as polite and bright as possible. Mom always said to ask nicely if you want something from someone who has way more than you. That was Erin right now.
Dad disagreed with that sentiment, but he did always say to follow mom's advice first before his.
"Can I know what you were doing with the wire thing you were researching?" Gale asked. "Pretty please?"
"Young lamb, I will not be tricked," Erin said in the same flat voice. "The agreement must be honoured. I have honoured mine upon my appearance at Fran's on Tuesday and accompanying the squad. I demand the bird be handed to me."
"What if they have something better in the school cafeteria? This place is fancy. They probably have really good food. Maybe even a different style of bird?"
"That is none of my concern. The agreement was for the bird at the location we have set in what you call 'Chinatown'. It is not about other consumable items being better or a bird that is in the school. The woman of fire is not upholding her end of the bargain. She is incurring more debt as we speak."
Rachel grumbled, sounding as if she was about to say something, but was nudged before she could speak.
Scratching his head, Gale understood the way she saw this situation. Everything she said made sense in the most annoying way possible. He tried another approach. "What if we just wanna learn what you were trying to research? Like, you're a researcher, and we're just stupid people. We just want to know things. Isn't that what researchers do? Share knowledge?"
"Do not waste any more words. No bird, no cooperation. Civilizations are set upon contracts. If contracts are not upheld, it would be but chaos. Do you wish to foster more chaos than they have already committed, young lamb?"
Gale stood there for a moment longer than he thought. What does this have to do with chaos? This whole investigation had been great and proceeding most definitely amazingly. The previous two suspects were cooperative so far from the three interrogators, but this one was a whole different beast, or alien, or anomaly. She was just... Erin.
Dammit! This wasn't as easy as he thought.
Turning around and walking back to the group with Rachel, the twins watched them close in. Once more, the group went into a huddle.
"We probably need to get the duck," Gale said.