Convergence - The Last Science #2.2 - Heroes and Villains

B2: Chapter 19 - End of the World, Redux - IV

  "Hello?"

  "...Agent Ashe?"

  "Hailey?"

  "Yeah. Listen, I—"

  "Look, you can call off the search. If Jackie's busy, I get it. Just let her know she should get in touch, when she can, yeah?"

  "That's not why I called."

  "...I'm gonna hate whatever you say next. Fuckin' hell."

  "You don't know?"

  "Know what? ...Oh fuck. I've been... out of town. What happened?"

  "Check the news. Magic's out. Everyone knows."

  "...Jesus Christ. But we weren't— We were still getting ready. Fuck."

  "We?"

  "...Doesn't matter anymore. Why'd you call?"

  "There's a lot of stuff we have to answer for. I was hoping I could come in and talk to you. You know, officially. On record."

  "Ask me again two weeks ago."

  "What?"

  "Damn, Hailey, you think they let me stick around after that shitshow in Tacoma? I'm suspended—unofficially, but I can do fuck-all for you."

  "...So if I go into the FBI..."

  "Take a good fuckin' lawyer. I have no idea who you're gonna be talking to."

  "What should I do?"

  "Look, I'm not even supposed to be where I am. I'm burnin' vacation time just to be here."

  "Where's here?"

  "Don't worry about it. Look, just be careful. If what you're sayin' is true, then the moment any of you show your face they're gonna be on you. Sooner someone talks, the better. My guys just want answers, they're not really lookin' to make this into a full manhunt and shit. Just..."

  "Just what?"

  "Make it public. Really fuckin' public. Everyone should know you're goin' in, everyone should see you come out at the end of the day. Don't let anyone disappear you."

  "They couldn't if they tried."

  "Can you stop a fuckin' bullet?"

  "...I don't know."

  "Then don't waste this bullshit confidence on me, girl. You're movin' up to the professional league here. Get the best lawyer you can afford and play it safe as fuck."

  "Okay."

  "You'll be all right, kid."

  "Thanks, Agent Ashe."

  "Jeremy, please. We're friends, ain't we?"

  "...Yeah. Thanks, Jeremy."

  "Good luck."

  "Hailey?"

  "Hi, Mom."

  "What were you thinking? My phone has been ringing off the hook all day. I had to block every number just to see yours on my cell."

  "Did you see the news?"

  "Yes. Daniel pulled me out of a meeting to watch. It's about time you quit messing about with those awful haircuts."

  "Mom, that wasn't really the point—"

  "Yes, I know. It's public knowledge. You're quite famous now. I'm currently barricaded in my office, as it were, with two uniformed officers waiting to escort me home."

  "I'm sorry."

  "It's just on the company's dime, and I'm pretty sure we can deduct it. Hailey, are you okay?"

  "Yeah. Actually... I'm way better."

  "Well you certainly look better. Did you really have to jump off a building on live TV though? You gave me a heart attack."

  "I can fly, Mom."

  "That doesn't mean you aren't still affected by gravity!"

  "I really need—"

  "Do you know how terrifying it is to see your own daughter falling off a building, on TV, in the middle of the day?"

  "Mom!"

  "What?"

  "I need your help."

  "Well why didn't you say so?"

  "...Look, I need you to hire a lawyer."

  "Hailey, I already have a lawyer."

  "Mom, I need a lawyer."

  "...Why on earth would you need a lawyer?"

  "The best one you can find. Criminal law, I think. Probably. And I need him right away."

  "Criminal law? Hailey, what—"

  "No, Mom, I haven't committed a crime."

  "Then why—"

  "I have to go in and talk to the FBI, and I don't think I should be alone when I do."

  "...You what?"

  "We knew this was coming sooner or later."

  "No we certainly did not!"

  "Mom, they've been looking for me for months, and everyone else who was in Rallsburg."

  "But you're... you're just—"

  "What did you think was gonna happen when they found out?"

  "I don't know. Not... that!"

  "We don't have a whole lot of time. I need to find someone, and I can't really do that if the FBI are breathing down my neck the whole time."

  "That Nate Price boy?"

  "Yeah, exactly."

  "Who is he?"

  "A rich kid who's trying to get more rich by stabbing all of us in the back."

  "That's a little dramatic, Hailey."

  "It's the truth."

  "Daniel is coming up with a list of potential lawyers. I'll narrow it down and have one for you in an hour or two?"

  "Okay."

  "Hailey, will you come by, please? Before you go in."

  "...Does your office have roof access?"

  "I have no idea. Daniel, does this place have a way to get on the roof?" ... "Yes, apparently."

  "I'll meet you there. Five o'clock."

  "What, tonight?"

  "I told you, Mom, I don't have a whole lot of time. I have to find Nate and stop this, but there's no way I'm getting to him if his lawyers are standing in the way."

  "...Five o'clock."

  "Thanks, Mom."

  "Be safe."