Chương 151: B3. 7.2 - Meeting After Meeting After Meeting

Amber Deen Leska Amber Deen checked her watch. Thirty-three minutes past midnight. Moving her hand aside, she stared down at Erind's unmoving body on her lap—they were in the backseat of a rented car. Myra was in the driver's seat, peeking out the slightly-opened window with binoculars. Deen stroked Erind's hair. Normally, Erind wouldn't let her do this; her best friend didn't like being touched.

But Erind's soul was currently in Pino's body, so there was nothing to stop Deen running her fingers through Erind's black hair. It lessened Deen's stress, like hugging her dolls when she was a child.

"What's Reo doing?" Deen asked, turning left to look at the heavily tinted window. She could barely see anything outside. Reo had arrived around ten minutes ago.

"Has he gone up to his room?"

"Nope. He's still pacing around like an idiot," Myra replied.

"He's probably psyching himself up before meeting Erind, uh, Pino. Yeah, I'll just call her Pino so it won't be confusing."

"Could this be a trap? Is Reo waiting for Dario or someone else to arrive? Gabe isn't saying anything, but I'm also far from Reo's apartment. Gabe won't protect Pino."

"Dario didn't tell Johann anything. I got the vibe that Dario doesn't trust me so much. He probably thinks that I've contacted Adumbrae to help find Kelsey."

"Won't Dario be suspicious of Johann as well? You and Johann are… erm, close, I've noticed."

"Close, huh? We're just friends," Myra quickly replied.

"I guess Dario could've bugged Reo's place, but our precautions are good enough." They had dropped off Pino around five blocks away. Wearing a trenchcoat and a wide-brimmed hat pulled low, Pino walked to Reo's apartment. She looked conspicuous, but it would've been more alarming if she strolled through the neighborhood without any clothes. Fortunately, she didn't meet anyone on the way to the building.

Pino removed her disguise that they had bought from a flea store on the other side of the city and dumped it inside a trash bin before going up the stairs. Luck continued to be on their side because there were no people around. Using a key to Reo's room that Myra had molded the day before when she broke in, Pino was able to enter without any problems. It was just a matter of waiting for Reo to come home.

"If only we could park further away," Myra said. Through testing, they figured out that Pino and Erind couldn't be separated for more than two blocks. They tailed Pino on the way here, keeping a respectable distance behind her.

"But I don't think Dario will try to pull anything," Myra continued.

"He'd expect Pino to have buddies hanging around here, on guard for some funny business. He can't risk accidentally meeting them and picking a fight with Red Hood without knowing more about her group. His priority is protecting the experiments of the Professor while laying low."

"Well, his new priority is getting the data of the PCM," said Deen, "which he thinks contains blueprints for an anti-Adumbrae weapon."

"Are we really just letting the PCM have it?"

"We don't have a choice. But we can copy it. Thankfully, Johann agreed to come with us."

"Yeah, yeah. He'll handle copying the data and giving a corrupted file to Dario and the Professor. At least, they're not getting that important shit. Who knows what's—? Oh! Reo's going up! At long fucking last, he found his balls to meet Pino."

"I wish we could listen in to their conversation," Deen said. Myra closed the window.

"Me, too. It would've been funny to hear Reo pretending to be brave. But Johann's too busy to get us a bug to put on Pino." She started scrolling through Snippet on her phone. Deen took it to mean that Myra didn't want to talk while waiting. Deen looked to the right. Gabe was there, as always, a round bird of ivory and feathery bits, glowing while not giving off any light that illuminated the dark interior of the car.

He hugged his round body with tiny wings as he rotated in the air, staring back at Deen with black holes for eyes. Will there be any problem, Gabe? Deen asked in her head. Gabe clicked his tiny beak together. Deen wasn't sure if that was a response or it was coincidence that Gabe did it while she thought of a question. Gabe had never engaged her in conversation before. He'd just give instructions and insist upon them if Deen wouldn't immediately comply. No explanation. No argument.

If Gabe remains silent, then that means nothing would go wrong. The earlier meeting with Auron had gone smoothly; not even a pip came out of Gabe. Deen coaxed herself to relax and trust Gabe more. Gabe had proven himself time and time again, and yet, Deen couldn't stop herself from worrying when Gabe was silent. It sounded crazy, but she preferred Gabe talking because that meant the danger was right there. Deen was scared for her best friend. Her only true friend. Would they ever find a way to cure her?

I won't let the Adumbrae have you, Deen fervently promised as she caressed Erind's face. It was the least that she could do after Erind saved her twice. Deen felt partially responsible for Erind turning into an Adumbrae. The blame should obviously go to the 2Ms. Taking it further, Deen could even point to Kelsey as the proximate cause since the 2Ms were looking for her; Deen and Erind were collateral damage, innocents dragged by an idiotic misunderstanding and unfortunate coincidence.

But it remained a fact that Deen only survived because Erind turned into an Adumbrae. From Erind's story, an Adumbrae minion of the 2Ms was about to sexually assault Deen before killing them. Deen owed her life to Erind—Deen didn't want to owe anyone. More than repaying Erind, Deen felt that it was her responsibility to take care of her best friend. Deen was the more resilient of the two of them. More responsible. Confident. And had a stronger heart.

Deen was the sturdy wall that Erind could lean on while fighting to retain control of herself. Deen reached for Erind's right hand, entwining their fingers before holding it tightly. The crystals on Erind's palm poked Deen's skin. We'll have pills for you soon, Deen thought. It was a relief that they managed to convince Dario to get more pills from the Professor. They'd also have boosters. Would those have an effect on Erind? Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

However, Deen was also concerned that revealing Erind's hand to Dario was the wrong course of action. It painted a target on Erind's back. What if the Professor sent people to kidnap Erind and bring her to a laboratory? Deen couldn't be with Erind all the time to protect her. Once the Professor found out Erind was an Adumbrae, they'd kill her. Or conduct even more experiments on her. Deen didn't push against Erind's plan as hard as she had wanted to avoid creating a rift between them.

The last thing Deen wanted was to push Erind away. The Adumbrae in Erind's head might use their disagreements to convince Erind to throw away her humanity. Deen should always present herself as the better choice than the Adumbrae. Be Erind's anchor to humanity. Be her reason to continue fighting for her mind instead of surrendering it to the Adumbrae. The Fletchers were on board with Erind's plan to show her hand to Dario. Myra praised Erind for 'having spunk'.

Kelsey thought it was risky, not knowing what the Professor's reaction would be, but worth it. They had their own self-interests—they wanted Erind to continue treating Kelsey with her link power. The pills counteracted Erind's seeding whenever she used her Adumbrae powers, so she could continue linking with Kelsey. If it were up to Deen, Erind shouldn't help Kelsey. The pills were wasted if Erind would then just progress her seeding again by transforming.

Deen was also against working with Dario's group because Erind had to turn into Pino. Deen let go of Erind's hand and touched her chest, feeling the bumpiness of the artificial Core under Erind's clothes. It could be her imagination, but Deen sensed warmth and friendliness. Stop the Adumbrae from taking over Erind, she prayed while sensing a connection with Erind's Core.

"This is crazy…" Myra mumbled.

"What is it?" Deen leaned to the side to look at Myra's screen. It seemed to be a clip of a news report. Myra turned up the volume of her phone.

"… several dead persons inside this establishment," said the reporter, pointing to a high-end establishment across the street behind her. The sign saying 'Blackout' was outlined with a cool blue backlight. A few police cruisers were parked outside the club. Officers pushed away the gathering crowds as they cordoned off the area with yellow strips. Deen had heard of this club before, newly opened near the opulent beaches on the city's western side.

Did Adrian invite her to go there before, or was it her sister who had been there?

"The authorities are yet to confirm that this was an Adumbrae attack," continued the reporter.

"But witnesses we interviewed all claim to have seen bodies so violently mangled that it could only have been the work of a monster. There is no actual sighting of an Adumbrae. I repeat: there is no confirmed sighting yet." Deen creased her forehead.

"An Adumbrae attack?" She glanced at Myra.

"Not me. I've been with you guys for the past few hours. For the record, I didn't violently mangle the PCM. I fought the guys shooting at me. They deserved to die."

"I wasn't accusing you," Deen said, even though it was her first thought. She also didn't reignite her argument with Myra about the morality of attacking the PCM offices.

"It's not my sister either." Myra showed Deen another video on her phone. It was of a horned woman sitting on a couch and watching TV.

"I installed a camera in our apartment while Kelsey was asleep. Just a precaution. I'm sure she wouldn't mind."

"She probably would." Deen wondered if she could install cameras in Erind's condo to observe her. Myra laughed.

"True, that. Kelsey would run away again if she knew about it. But I can rest easy knowing she's not out there trashing some glitzy club and killing rich kids doing drugs or some shit."

"If this is really the work of an Adumbrae, then it must be one that escaped PCM imprisonment."

"You're probably right. This Adumbrae would be tracked down and killed soon enough by the BID."

"About Kelsey…" Deen bit her lip. Should she talk with Myra about this? She didn't particularly like Myra or trust her, but Myra was the only one who would understand.

"What about her?"

"Have you noticed any changes to her personality? Differences between now and before she disappeared?"

"You're asking if the Adumbrae affected her." Myra sat sideways so she could turn to face Deen in the backseat.

"Or are you saying that the Adumbrae is still in control of Kelsey?"

"I'm not—""Because I've been thinking that." Deen blinked.

"Really? How come?" Myra sighed.

"Small stuff. Some changes that I've noticed. The more worrying part is that she seemed to have also lost parts of her memory. I… I don't want to elaborate, but it's not just regular forgetfulness."

"Is that so…?" Deen stared at Erind. Her best friend hadn't been forgetful.

"I don't know if it's because of Kelsey's seeding," Myra said.

"It's also possible that the PCM damaged her brain with their whackshit experiments. Another theory I got is that trauma caused her to repress all sorts of memories. I want to believe it's all the other reasons, but, more than likely, it's the damn Adumbrae inside her!"

"Do you…? I hope you don't get angry with this question. Do you… think that the Adumbrae is talking to her?"

"Oh, a hundred percent." Deen jolted in surprise.

"Really? But I thought that—?"

"Kelsey is lying through her teeth whenever she says that she has no contact with that piece of shit."

"Should we tell Erind?" Deen asked, knowing what her answer would be. Thankfully, Myra was of the same thought.

"What? No way. Then the Adumbrae inside her would also know. Do you also think that Erind's talking to her Adumbrae?"

"I do…" Deen softly said. Deen was certain that Erind was lying about her Adumbrae, whether it be out of shame or not wanting Deen to worry. Deen hoped that Erind wasn't allowing herself to get swayed by the Adumbrae's persuasions.

"It's difficult to help someone who's not entirely honest, but that damn thing is inside Kelsey's head twenty-four-seven while I'm out here."

"The same goes for me and Erind. It's a difficult battle."

"You may even say it's a losing battle," Myra said, sighing as she looked at Erind.

"Erind with her Pino link ability is the only chance of curing Kelsey right now. If that doesn't work… I still won't give up on Kelsey. She's my sister, and I will be here for her."

"I also consider Erind as my sister. I won't leave her. Myra… I think we should have a plan for the possibility of Erind or Kelsey getting taken over by their respective Adumbrae. It's more likely in Kelsey's case since it had happened before. We're not going to tell either of them that we have a contingency plan so that the Adumbrae wouldn't know." Myra looked Deen in the eye.

"And that plan is…?"

"I'm not sure yet. We'll have to look for other—Ah!"

"I'm back!" Erind suddenly sat up.

"Erind! You're back!" Deen hugged her best friend.

"Yeah, that's what I just said." Erind pulled herself out of Deen's embrace.

"Technically, I didn't really leave or anything. My body's still here and my—""How did it go?" Deen asked. Erind smiled.

"No hiccups whatsoever. I let my Pino self get 'tricked' into revealing the wrong location."

"It's really game time tomorrow," said Myra.

"Our plan stays the same. I'll go with you as Erind. Halfway through the mission, I'll summon Pino and confront Reo about the betrayal. I, Pino, will forcefully join your team because only I know of the correct direction. We'll meet Kelsey and 'save' her, demonstrating Pino's power to cure Adumbrae to Dario. Kelsey will go with Pino."