Chapter 174
God, that sucks. Streaking violet and blue swimmers covered my left eye. I sat up slowly and leaned forward, cradling my head. The nylon sleeping bags crinkling was absurdly loud.
It took a moment to make out Sae in the darkness. Sae nestled in the nook beside the window, where she pointed towards the house across from us. No matter how bad youre feeling, I guarantee our friend over there is doing worse.
I stumbled to my feet and leaned against the opposite side of the window, in time to see Buzzcut hauling an entire door into his over-furnished living room. The living room itself was a wreck, covered in manila batting Shiva emancipated from several now-desiccated couch cushions.
JESUS FUCKING CHRIST!
The words were muffled, but clearly audible from a house over.
Not gonna lie, when you floated this idea, it felt very lifetime special. Sae chuckled, watching Buzzcut struggle with what minor crisis to prioritize. Her face grew somber. But hes seriously tilted.
I closed my eyes, trying to gain my bearings. Everyone loves to self-diagnose as OCD these days. Doesnt change the fact that the real things no joke.
Especially if your next-door neighbors are literally gaslighting you. Howd you know about the OCD? Sae asked. It wasnt in the file.
Negative space.
Pretend I cant follow your pseudo-intellectual non-sequiturs.
I sighed. His psych workup. He reads like real type A. Extroverted, observant, thoughtful, and judging. Not the kind to get depressed for extended periods. But the meds told a different story. Hes been on Zoloft for the last three years, Paxil and other SSRIs the previous two. Not in I-swallowed-a-bottle-of-aspirin-and-got-admitted-to-the-hospital-for-attention quantities, either. Elephant doses.
So? Sae shrugged. Maybe he was ashamed of it, or something.
Its 2024. Everyones depressed. Regardless, like you said, I got a sense from the paperwork that he was hiding something. And if he was hiding from the suits, it had to be a weakness or disqualifier. Few distinct possibilities, no way of narrowing them down from a distance. So, I dropped by region seven and watched him for a while.
Sae whistled low. One in the morning, and hes bathing those hinges in WD-40.
Yeah. Azure made them squeak. No idea how. Buzzcut put the plastic down first? I asked.
Yep.
How much you want to bet, when hes done, hes goes straight for the air freshener?
Sae rolled her eyes. Thats a suckers bet. First stops gonna be a bottle of Febreeze.
We watched in silent interest as Buzzcut stomped across the living room to the kitchen, pulling a spray bottle from the overhead cabinet. He shook it up thoroughly and squeezed the trigger. A barely perceptible stream of aerosol emitted from the nozzle, then sputtered and died.
Buzzcut shook the bottle and pulled again, drawing nothing.
I felt a sense of stoic satisfaction. Saes head slowly turned toward me. You emptied the mans air freshener?
I didnt.
Azure again?
Yep.
Youre an actual monster.
JesusNo. Leave the fucking cat alone.
Fine.
Our part here was more or less done, though I needed to stay within a certain distance to ensure Azure could siphon mana from me and keep Buzzcut on pins and needles.
Cmon, let's call it. I gestured to Sae. Big day tomorrow.
Sae looked out the window one final time, then unrolled her blue sleeping bag, placing it a few feet away, parallel to mine. She opened the zipper and settled in. This is heavy.
We can trade bags. I joked.
You know what I mean.
I did.
Its not too late to back out.
Fuckinthe next time you say that to me, Helpline, Im gonna punch you in the face.
Got it. I said.
Good. Sae snapped. After a few moments, she spoke in a much quieter tone. I understood what I was getting into. In theory.
What do you mean?
Im not stupid. I knew we were going to get blood on her hands, but. It just sucks. When we first got here, you almost had to tie me down. But after watching him from a distance? Seeing him at home, acting normal? It feels heavier somehow.
I said nothing.
Nothings changed. Jinny and Nick, everything that happened to me, it was all their fault. Their fucking fault. And I want them to pay for it. Sae said, the pain in her voice raw.
Again, a response didnt come. It felt like she was struggling against herself, and I was nothing more than a spectator.
Instead of saying something, I reached out from the sleeping bag and took her hand. Sae jumped, then with a hesitance I could almost feel, tightened her hand around mine. Her chitin fingers were icy to the touch.
The tendrils of sleep pulled at me.
You never said. Saes voice floated through the haze.
Hm?
Our aim. Catch? Or kill?
Havent decided yet. I murmured, Theres someone I need to talk to first.
Id been circling this for some time. Searching for any avenue that would allow me to avoid it. Confronting the man whod opened his home to me. The father of my once best friend, a constant in my life until he threw my mother overboard to drown. And as far as I knew, the tenuous leader of the Suits.
Aaron.
