I shifted uncomfortably in my chair. The cold metal of the handcuffs was pressing on my skin, slowing down blood circulation. The tips of my fingers were already asleep.
’That was... uh... a few days after you showed me his photo. So, early winter? He approached me on the street, late at night. Before then, I had no idea of who he was nor have I ever seen him.’
Mitchel clenched his fists.
’And how did this meeting go?’
’How do you think? I was really spooked. It’s not everyday that you bump into a Diseased wraith. Especially not one looking that... demented. He’s not like in the photo you showed me anymore, you know? I got away from him as fast as I could.’
He slammed his fist on the table.
’You knew that he’s a person of interest and that he has the Disease, yet you chose not to disclose it to the Agency! Any one of these two violations is enough to end you, bastard!’
I just stared at him.
’The mere fact that I exist is enough for the Agency to end me. Was that supposed to be a threat? Aren’t we pass that point?’
’Don’t talk back to me, little shit!’
Still looking at him, I leaned forward.
’Or what? You’re going to hit me again?’
Mitchel eye’s narrowed, but before he had time to react, the Protector intervened, cutting him off with a short glance.
’You must have had a reason to not report that encounter.’
I shrugged.
’Do I even need a reason?’
She smiled.
’Of course. Keeping a secret like that from the Agency goes against every aspect of your psychology. We’re both know that you are careful, meticulous and egotistical. All characteristics of a natural survivor. A person like that would not endanger himself for a stranger.’
The fact that she knew me so well was incredibly annoying. I sighed.
’Sure. You’re right.’
There was no point in hiding the truth.
’Despite the brief nature of our meeting, Zero said something that really caught my attention. He knew my mother’s PA number.’
’So what?’
Mitchel frowned with suspicion.
’Well, just think about it. Back then I had no idea that Zero was, at some point, a part of the Agency. And my mom didn’t know a lot of wraiths, certainly not anyone who would be privileged to her number. It’s not something wraiths like to talk about. So the fact that he knew it was really strange.’
The Protector didn’t miss the implication of my answer.
’"Back then"? Meaning that you did learn about his past later?’
I nodded.
’I’ll get to it. In any case, after calming down and thinking about it, I decided to find Zero and ask him some questions.’
’That was really stupid of you.’
She looked at me with disapproval.
’Even if the PA wasn’t searching for him, approaching a Diseased wraith is extremely dangerous.’
’What would you know? Maybe you don’t give a damn about your mother or maybe you’ve never even had a family, but to me, my mother was the whole world. Not knowing what had happened to her after your ghouls took her away was like an open wound that never stopped bleeding. I would approach a hundred sick wraiths to learn the truth.’
Her expression darkened.
’But whatever. The important point is that I tried to ask around about a wraith who looked like Zero, and that was how I met Mickey.’
’Subject thirteen twenty.’
I glared at her for a few moments.
’Mickey. He told me all about how Zero had been his Protector.’
Mitchel finally spoke again.
’So you can confirm that subject thirteen twenty was one of Zero’s wards?’
My disbelief was so strong that I couldn’t help but laugh.
’Heavens. Do you really know less about Zero than I do? How is it even possible?! He worked for you guys for ages!’
Now it was Mitchel’s turn to look sour.
’That’s none of your business.’
I just shook my head in amazement.
’Mickey was right, you are so paranoid about secrecy that you even hide information from each other. Otherwise Zero and his gang wouldn’t have managed to erase their traces so completely. No offense, but don’t you think that it’s idiotic?’
Mitchel was fuming now.
’I said that’s none of your business!’
The Protector just sighed.
’What happened next?’
That next part was tricky. Mickey was already dead, but I had to protect Tanya. Her involvement in the process of searching for Zero had to remain hidden. At the same time, I wanted to try and push the Agency a little to have them protect Tanya from her deranged father. Back when we found Zero, he had enough sanity left to stay away from her, but I had doubt about how long those scraps of sanity would last.
’Together, we searched for Zero. We found traces of him at the railroad museum that used to be his cell’s test chamber. Nothing much, just some trash and burned paper. But the paper was not burnt thoroughly enough, so we got a couple of clues about where he could have gone. It took some time, but eventually, we found him.’
Mitchel looked a bit disheartened.
’Just the two of you? You found him?’
It wasn’t hard to understand his emotions.
’It might be tough to believe that two wraiths with no support or resources succeeded where your whole team of hunters had failed, but remember. Mickey had a lot of information on Zero, and Zero didn’t consider us a threat. To be honest, once we got close to his trail, he found us himself.’
’What then?’
I sighed.
’He told us a lot of bullshit about his noble goals, heroic struggles and great future. To put it simply, Zero told us that the fate of all wraiths rested on his shoulders, and that to save our race we had to help him find and kill some big boss of the Agency, who apparently resides in this city.’
They didn’t look surprised, so I guessed that the PA had known about Zero’s goal all along.
’It was masterfully hidden by big words and propaganda, but the gist was just that, assist him in searching and eliminating a high-ranking mark to destabilize the Agency and get information on the whereabouts of other, equally important high-ranking Protectors.’
An expression of disgust appeared on Mitchel’s face.
’So, did you?’
’Do I look like a lunatic? I kicked him out right after learning about how he and other Agency carrion-eaters experimented and killed my mother. I’m not a hero, and I’m not a killer. Unlike you people.’
I looked down, suddenly overwhelmed by pain and guilt.
’Mickey, on the other hand, turned out to be prime terrorist material. He gulped down every lie Zero fed us and asked for more. I tried to get him to see reason, but he just wouldn’t listen. You see... you have to understand... Zero was his idol. His Protector. There was nothing I could do to persuade him.’
My story was coming to an end, and I was starting to wonder what kinds of horrors would happen to me after it was finished.
’You know pretty much everything else. A few months later, Mickey appeared out of nowhere and asked for my help. Apparently, Zero had sent him to draw attention and lure one or two Protectors into a trap. But then he never showed up, and Mickey was left for dead. I tried to get him out of the city... well, and then the rest happened.’
Neither Mitchel nor the Protector hurried me, so I just set there for a minute and drank some water. Finally, the Protector spoke:
’How far has Zero’s Disease progressed?’
I shrugged.
’It’s pretty bad, I’d say. But he has ways to get it under control, at least temporary. The time he recruited Mickey, he asked for something called ’anchor’, and after we provided it, it was like he regained most of his sanity.’
She leaned back.
’What was the anchor?’
’Sergei.’
Mitchel turned to me with a questioning look.
’What’s that?’
’It’s his name. Sergei Duncan.’
The Protector looked at me for a few seconds.
Then, she frowned.
’Any relation to Tanya Duncan?’
I pretended to think about it.
’Yes. That’s his daughter.’
Something changed in the air after I said that. The room somehow began to feel off.
All color slowly drained from the Protector’s face. She turned to Mitchel, eyes filled with such wrath that even I shuddered.
I’ve never seen the Protector angry before. Actually, I’ve never seen her not in control of her emotions, period, and watching that perfect mask crack suddenly filled me with dread.
Mitchel was just looking from me to her, not understanding what was going on either.
’What? Who is that Tanya Duncan?’
The Protector looked at Mitchel as though considering killing him right there and then.
’She’s a sensate, you moron.’
Mitchel had a look of incomprehension on his face for a couple of seconds, and then his eyes widened. He turned to me:
’Does Zero know your name? Has he ever touched you?’
I raised an eyebrow.
’Yes. I think he patted me on the shoulder a few months back. Why?’
’It’s thirteen twenty, fool!’ The Protector jumped to her feet.
Her chair flew back, crashing into a wall.
’Code Black! I repeat, code Black! Activate all defensive protocols!’
She was talking to someone behind the mirror, while Mitchel just sat there, stupefied.
I had no idea what was happening, but by the look of it, things were about to turn from bad to worse.
The Protector looked at Mitchel and grabbed him by the collar, yanking him up.
’Take zero six eleven and get him as far away from the HQ as possible. I’m going to the top floor, to protect the Old Man. Do you understand everything?
Mitchel nodded.
The Protector let him go and turned to the door. Before leaving, though, she hesitated and turned to him again.
’If you touch a hair on his head, I will break you. I want zero six eleven alive and in one piece. Are we clear?’
Before he had time to answer, she was already gone, moving so fast that I only caught a glimpse of her shadow disappearing across the door.
Leaving me in the room alone with Mitchel.
He slowly turned, dark fear giving way to a spark of viciousness in his eyes.
’On you feet, wraith boy.’
His voice trembled a little, but instead of making me want to mock him, it just made me feel cold.