When the rains may come (Science Fiction)

42. Strong are the liars (part 1)

Somewhere on the docks of Grifftown, Luce boarded the ferry boat to take him to C3. The captain sneered at the tall man's denial to pay for the voyage. But the sneer soon faded when Luce flashed his provisional Agent badge and uttered the words 'national security'. The captain stayed out of his way for the rest of the journey.

#

At the Koehlwin manor in Mathesdale, Lisa, Erik, Cathy and Oriana sat at the dining table and ate their breakfast. Lisa's hair were up in a bun, held together by a pencil. She had a blackened swollen lip and a bruised cheek that pulsated a little as she chewed on a spoonful of oatmeal.

"Can you pass the pepper, Lisa?" Erik said. He had a bandage on his left jaw, sealing a four inch long cut that had bled for about fifteen minutes before they decided to dress it.

Lisa passed the shaker. Erik shook some black pepper over his mashed potato salad and put the shaker aside.

Cathy had dark circles under her eyes. And she chewed on her eggs and toast with a deadpan look on her face. She only ever smiled when baby Oriana--or Ana, as she had decided to call her--would crawl up to her on the dining table and wave her rattle in front of her.

Cutlery clattered against the plates in the big dining room over the uneven chorus of Ana's baby-talk. Cathy was the one who broke the silence first. She cleared her throat.

The clattering paused. Lisa and Erik looked at her.

"What have you two decided?" she said. "Or are we just gonna see a repeat of yesterday?"

The two adults just frowned at each other.

#

Yesterday.

"You really can't stop blaming me for why your sister left, can you?"

"That's not what this is about!"

"Then what's it about Erik?!"

The two of them were yelling downstairs. Lisa had called out for Cathy and told her to watch over the baby while she and Erik went down to "talk about something important." That was twenty minutes ago. The baby had fallen asleep by now.

"You know what this is about, Lisa!"

The child lay on Lisa's blanket on the bed. An old photo album lay by her head. Her rattle was by her hand. The baby girl rolled over on her stomach and gripped the blanket as if trying to find the warmth of a mother who wasn't around.

"I gave you too much power, Lisa. And it's turning you insane."

A scoff. "Again, about those prison guards. I bet the families of our enemies aren't weeping over their deaths as much as you are."

(Enemy. Fascinating word, isn't it?)

Cathy looked down at the Milo necklace that she was wearing. "What's so fascinating?"

(Enemy. 'The enemy is dead.' Would you feel bad for hearing that news?)

"Shut up, Milo, you are being annoying again."

(I don't think you'll feel bad. Quite the opposite, in fact. 'Enemy.' You put that word on a person and the person stops being a person. Don't tell me that's not even slightly fascinating?)

"You can't be a part of Last Hand anymore, Lisa," Erik said. "I can't trust you with that truck in your hands."

"I don't need your trust to win against the enemy!"