Convergence - The Last Science #2.2 - Heroes and Villains

B2: Chapter 24 - Two Interviews - IV

  "Is that it, then?"

  Hailey nodded. "Everything I know about what happened in Rallsburg, to the best of my memory."

  "Jesus H. Christ," Aderholt muttered, leaning back in chair. "Two psychopaths who can make monsters outta nothin' murdered a couple hundred people?"

  "Yeah," Hailey sighed, "and one of them survived."

  "Brian Hendricks."

  "Yes."

  "And he hasn't given up."

  "Right." Hailey leaned forward again. "You guys need to be tracking him down. Right now."

  "What the fuck do you think we've been doing?" Aderholt threw up his hands. "You're the one that can fly, why the fuck haven't you found him?"

  "But... you guys have satellites. Thermal stuff. Helicopters and so on. Right?"

  "And we're searching a rainforest in the fuckin' fall. If he's even there anymore." Aderholt rolled his eyes. "It's a big-ass country, and from the way you tell it, he doesn't even gotta show his face to fuck you up."

  "He's got followers. They can't all hide."

  "Sure they fuckin' can, because they're normal-ass citizens goin' about their normal-ass days until they get called up for the murder of the week." He glared at her, as if it were Hailey's fault somehow. "Welcome to the modern dumbfuck era. Pick up a few burner smartphones, hook up to public wifi, use end-to-end encryption and you got your very own homebrew terror-fucks. Any fucker can google that shit in ten seconds, and there's no goddamn way we can track it all."

  "But—"

  "And let's not forget, we got no goddamn idea who we're protecting!" Aderholt added, raising his voice. "Your people have literally zero identifying characteristics and no pattern to follow. It could be literally any motherfucker off the shitgutter. We can't protect everyone. You wanna give us a list of awakened?"

  "...No."

  "Then quit your fuckin' whining and let's move on to cooperating."

  "I'm here as a favor to you," Hailey reminded, trying to keep herself calm.

  "Want a cookie?" he snarled, fist clenched.

  She glared at him, folding her arms across her chest. "Where's Agent Ashe?"

  Aderholt rolled his eyes. "I made a call. It was the right call at the time."

  "You called him insane!"

  "Bitch, he was saying the place was ripped up by monsters. What the fuck would you have said, with no evidence and no witnesses?"

  "There were witnesses."

  "Miss Winscombe," Jefferson cut in. He'd stayed mostly silent throughout the description of Rallsburg and the exchange throughout, since Hailey had gone over most of it with him several times over the weekend. "A word?"

  Hailey slid her chair away from the table and stood up. Jefferson followed her to the corner of the room, while Aderholt scribbled something on a notebook.

  "I want to throw him through that window," Hailey muttered, nodding at the one-way mirror against the far wall.

  "As your counsel, I can't advise it."

  "How about I just make that pencil hit him in the face? Can't legally prove it was me, right?"

  "As your counsel, I'd enjoy that—but still, I can't advise it."