Chương 59: Act 2, Chapter 13: Penrose’s masterpiece

Day in the story: 10th December (Wednesday) It was Wednesday afternoon and I sat alone in Penrose's office, waiting for him to return from his meeting. The room had changed. Gone was the old-world aesthetic, the warmth of wood, the scent of aging books. Now it was sleek, modern: a study in silver, black and white. Clean angles, polished surfaces. An overture of sharp contrasts and perfect alignment. It looked nothing like it had before and yet… the anchor I'd painted long ago still held. That surprised me.

Apparently, the connection I created was rooted not in the physical space, but in the soul of the place. Penrose entered, followed immediately by Rei. He saw me and with reflexive precision, paralyzed me using his shadow technique. Typical. But I was prepared, I held my light-card in just the right position and the moment it activated, the shimmer of light split the shadow's grip clean through. Rei wasn't thrilled. He hated being bested, especially by me. Always so sure he was better.

Always downplaying what I could do.

"Fuck you, I'm still better, bitch," he muttered as he stepped aside. Better at being outplayed—that much I'll give him.

"Alexandra," Penrose said as he entered, calm and controlled. He looked… different. The sharply trimmed beard, the neatly shaped mustache, the way his thick silver hair now flowed just to the nape of his neck, it all framed his angular face in a new way. Less like a coin now and more like a silver blade. Precise. Intentional. Dangerous. His appearance matched his evolution. Penrose no longer sought wealth for the sake of having, it wasn't about coins or status anymore. Now, he hunted power.

And he wanted it not to possess, but to elevate himself, above the common and uncommon alike, above the rest of us. And it was working. His enterprise adapted swiftly, reshaping itself to meet the challenges of this strange new world—both literal and metaphorical—that had opened before him. Wherever he saw opportunity, he reached out and seized it without hesitation. I nodded to him as I rose and he looked at me with equal parts fatherly satisfaction and the cold calculation of an employer tallying investments.

"Mr. Penrose," I began, "I come bearing news. A development, as you yourself might put it."

"Sit, then," he said, gesturing back to the silver-and-black chair I'd just left. I returned to my seat while he circled around his pristine white desk and settled across from me, fingers steepled, ready for a story.

"I don't know if that's a good idea, sir," Rei interjected. Mistake.

"Rei, my dear employee," Penrose replied smoothly, "thank you for that free advice. It's a coincidence, perhaps, that I place exactly that value on it." He answered by producing a single silver coin from his palm, rolling it skillfully along his fingers like a practiced prestidigitator, before it vanished once again into his hand.

"Excuse me, sir?" Rei asked, not quite catching on.

"Go outside, Rei. Close the door and wait until I call you." He said, setting his palm on the desk and leaving the coin behind. His face remained unreadable, but it was clear Rei's confusion hadn't impressed him. Rei mumbled something under his breath, probably a curse, but he obeyed and left. Good. This guy needs his humbling. Questionably gifted thief whose biggest talent was staying in the shadows, being invisible and now when this talent gave him a Domain he actively works against it, craving the spotlight.

Once we were alone, Penrose fixed his gaze on me.

"You see, Alexandra—loyalty born of fear is cheap. You, however… you've always had a way of making people choose you. That's why I invested in you." His eyes sharpened, lingering on me as he continued, his tone calm but edged with finality.

"Your departure from my enterprise therefore, brings me much sadness, Alexandra. I am, however, certain that our paths will cross again, one way or another. You will always be welcome in my humble home."

"I didn't expect to begin from this side of things, sir." Beatrice informed him then of my plans to leave. That was expected, but also now felt so definitive when those words left his mouth.

"It is what it is," he said with a small, nonchalant shrug.

"Now, tell me what you've learned." Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. So he also already knew I came bearing information, not the list itself. Interesting. I told him about EoT, the underground base, the experiments and most importantly, about Bobby.

"Barbara Carpenter," he mused.

"Interesting."

"I don't know if that's her legal name, sir," I said.

"She goes by Bobby."

"Oh, but I know, Alexandra. You're not the only person I've sent sniffing around that place. But you already guessed that. Otherwise, you wouldn't be ending our contract." There was a faint edge in his voice now, like a knife resting gently against the table. Still sheathed, but in sight. This conversation had just become a game of blades. I'd have to move carefully. Each word can be a reason enough for him to draw.

"I've just decided to pursue different goals now," I said.

"And I've decided to let you," Penrose replied, smooth as always.

"A debt repaid, for saving my life. I suppose I'm giving you yours back. Seems like a fair trade." That remains to be seen.

"Barbara Carpenter," he went on, "was a close friend to our dear Alicia's mother. In fact, she looked after her more than any blood relative ever did, she was important to Alicia."

"Was, sir?"

"She's been in a medically induced coma for about three years, from what I've gathered. I catalogued that under possible extortion leverage, but initially dismissed it. Given her condition, I assumed Alicia would've cut her losses, kept the memories, discarded the liability. Your testimony proves otherwise. She's still important. And if I understand shadows well enough... without the sleeping human, the shadowy version, Bobby, will cease to exist."

I wondered then if I'd done the right thing, selling Bobby out just to walk free. Penrose's eyes made it worse. To him, she was just a piece on the board, another commodity to be bartered or burned. And it wasn't just Bobby. That's how he saw all of us.

"Do you think Alicia would trade information for her?"

"I've nothing to lose by trying," he said with a shrug.

"I already have a Domain of power in sight, one I could hold. From what I've learned, it's a particularly potent magical Domain, but I'm keeping my options open." I stared at him for a long second before asking, "Why are you telling me this, sir?"

"Why wouldn't I?" he said.

"I always wished the best for you. I never hid my nature, or my plans, unless their success required it."

"And yet you hid other people's involvement in this endeavor."

"Unless success required that, as I said."

"You think I'd proceed differently if I knew of other people involvement?"

"Yes. You always worked better when you were alone. There is certain resourcefulness that a sense of alienation brought up in you." No questions on his part, in his mind he knew me through and through.

"I wanted you to feel that way, to bring it out of you." I wondered then if despite all the people around him, those he surround himself with, he too felt alienated. I bet that he saw no one as a peer.

"So what's your plan now, sir? Will you negotiate with Alicia?"

"That's unfortunately no longer your concern, Alexandra May. We part ways here, as per your wish." I stood up and he mirrored the gesture. There was nothing else for me to gain from this conversation and still so much to lose. It was better to steer this exchange toward conclusion as soon as it was possible.

"Thank you, sir… for everything. And for letting me go freely. I know that's not something you usually allow."

"That's true. But as I said, I owed you. And such debts… mean something to me. A life for a life. I intend to repay in kind." An interesting choice of words, coming from him.

"May I ask what Domain you managed to acquire, sir?" A curiosity struck me then and I couldn't help myself. Final question before my departure.

"You just did. But I won't be sharing that with you, my dear Alexandra." He sighed then and for a moment, just one, he looked like the Penrose of old. The one who cared for beauty, for art, as much as for power. But it passed. That softer version of him retreated behind the newer one: sharp-edged, clinical and far more dangerous.

"Know this," he added.

"I hold no grudge against your betrayal." He must've seen the flicker of confusion on my face, because he clarified:"But I will come for the necklace, sooner or later. And I'd prefer you part with it willingly." Fuck. Shit. I was in deep, a light sucking abyssal pile of shit! My breath hitched. Too quick, too shallow. Panic clawed its way up my throat and I forced it down, made it look like a cough, a pause, anything but what it really was.

"The necklace Shiroi destroyed?" I asked, feigning ignorance, a knee-jerk instinct I slipped into without thinking. Stupid. Stupid. He knew. He knew and I was still pretending he didn't. Outwardly I kept my face a mask. Inside, I was already falling through the floor. He smiled and with that beard and mustache, his face looked like a sword about to strike. I forced myself to seize the panic clawing its way up my spine, gripping it before it could swallow me whole.

"No, not the replica you had Shiroi destroy," he said, voice calm but edged, "the real one you took. Alexandra, you made him a fool, hell, you might have fooled Reality itself, from what I understand. But don't make the mistake of thinking you fooled me. I taught you better than that." How could he know? Be sure? I kept it in my soul for duck's sake. Yet he was so certain denying it would do me no good.

"Yes, you did, sir. Should I expect retribution?"

"Maybe. Or perhaps just a parley. Time will tell." He wasn't ready yet. That's the only thing stopping him. For now, I was safe. Or maybe I wasn't. The thought coiled inside me like a serpent: I should kill him. Right here. Right now. But was that ever truly an option?

"I know you're considering killing me," he said and smiled.

"I'd be disappointed if you weren't. But let me remind you of something I've always warned you about, though your nature always won out: You're not alone anymore, Alexandra. You have a family of your own choosing now. Friends. A boyfriend. They matter to you. And it would be such a shame if a moment of rage cost you all of that."

"I know, sir. It's the reason you're still breathing." With a quiet smile, he retrieved the coin, letting it dance across his fingers before vanishing it with the same effortless grace. A reminder, perhaps. A subtle flex to show me where my skills truly came from.

"Oh, you were perfect when I found you," he said, almost wistfully.

"Alone in the world, just you, your passion, your skills. A perfect canvas for me to paint my self-portrait upon. It's a shame you got tainted along the way. You would've been my masterpiece."

"Perfection," I said, "is usually someone else's idea of what you should be."

"Yes. Yes, it is." He nodded slowly, "When the time comes, I will ask first, out of respect for what you were to me. But if you refuse…"

"I understand."

"And that's what sets you apart. You truly do. I don't need to warn you against a preemptive strike, then?"

"No, sir."

"Then go, my rabbit. I release you." I vanished.