Chương 113: B2. 13.2 - Tipping the Tower

"Stay with me…?" I repeated. Kelsey was looking at me. She could probably guess what Mom and I were talking about.

"I could cook meals for you like old times," Mom said.

"It's been ages since I've cooked anything. The amount of work here is—anyway, what do you think?" Thankfully, Mom asked my opinion about it. I wouldn't have difficulties working around Rule #13: Don't argue with Mom. It was a Rule established to make living with Mom as seamless as possible. In the aftermath of Dad's disappearance—or death, depending on which version of the story one believed in—Mom was a mess. Partially. At times, she managed to keep it together to support our little family of two. Work.

Taking care of my useless ass. Supposedly 'distracting' me from my missing father. Still, Mom was quite moody. She wasn't abusive or anything. But she was super annoying, quickly irritable, and very emotional. There were moments I'd get pissed off at her and argue out of spite. Was that what people called a teenager's rebellious phase? Also, sort of applying Rule #4 against Mom. After some very mature self-reflection, I concluded that peace in the house was paramount. Mom and I were just a ball of grumpiness.

And so, Rule #13 was born. It came with some intricacies that I had learned to live with and deal with over the years.

"I'm not shooing you away or anything, Mom," I said, "but it might be difficult for you to stay here. Like, I only have one bedroom here. Plus, I have to study and—""You're not bringing boys over, are you? Keeping it a secret from me?"

"What? No!" I protested over Mom's laughter.

"I don't have time for that in law school."

"Maybe you should make time. I have a few lady lawyer friends here. They tell me that it's exponentially more difficult to find a partner once you're already a lawyer. They advise that you should nab yourself a guy while still in law school. It might be better to pair up with a non-lawyer…"

"Oh, come on, Mom. Don't share my life with your friends." Technically, this wasn't arguing with her. Changing the topic was one of the ways to navigate the restriction of Rule #13. Not that Mom actually intended for me to find a boyfriend.

"I'm boring as can be. There's nothing fun about me." Hey, that rhymed.

"Uh, getting back on track, I guess I could sleep on the sofa or—""No, no, dear. You're right. It'll be too much of a hassle if I stay there. I also don't want to disturb your studies. I'll tell Sandy to book me a hotel nearest you, and I can come visit. We can have our mother-daughter team cooking, just like old times." I paused for a moment, trying to recall what Mom was talking about. We had no such 'thing' back then.

She probably meant the times I eagerly volunteered to chop meat and vegetables whenever she'd cook because I really liked using the knife. Chopping became my outlet for other weirder desires, keeping me mostly normal as a teen. I didn't know that Mom considered that a 'thing' we had.

"Sure, Mom. We'll do that," I replied, not able to argue against it. Kelsey could hide under the bed or in my closet. I'd figure it out when the time came.

"Oh, and invite your best friend to join us in touring the city. That Leska girl. I'm always excited to meet the rare few you consider your friends."

"I will, Mom," I said with clenched teeth. Right. I had told Mom about Deen. Mom mentioned that she'd come on Tuesday next week. Today was Friday. Plenty of time to come up with a plan for her arrival, where I'd stow Kelsey and stuff like that. Maybe I could leave Kelsey on the rooftop? There was also plenty of time for shit to happen. I could sense the universe conspiring to throw a big problem my way. Or rather, maybe I'd inadvertently make myself a big problem to deal with.

I did have a knack for making my situation more complicated than it already was.

"Is your mother coming to visit you?" Kelsey asked after the call ended.

"Next week," I said.

"But she's not going to stay here. She'll be here maybe for a few hours during the day. Will you be alright hiding somewhere else in the meantime? Just come back at night." Letting my maid-slash-pet monster out in the wild.

"It's no problem. I'm jealous that you have a good relationship with your mother," Kelsey wistfully added. Oh, yeah. Her mother took her to a cult.

"I'm really thankful for, um, Mom being Mom," I said.

"I hope that I can delay my seeding for a long time… and find a cure someday. I don't want to give up on this life. The same goes for you. I'm sure you want to be reunited with Myra, too. We'll win against our Adumbrae." Kelsey nodded, looking down at her plate. Her scales had flattened into a smooth finish on her skin.

"My situation's different from yours. It's much more difficult to hope for a cure when I already look like… this. But I'm not giving up."

"We've already made good progress, right? Cheer up. Without me, Keke would still be in control." Just had to remind Kelsey about that. She should stop clinging to her Adumbrae. Not sure, but the Adumbrae must be guilting her because it had helped her escape her parents.

"Together, we'll save ourselves. And other Adumbrae, too. Just needs time."

"You're right. Just needs time…" Kelsey echoed.

"But how long is it going to take?"

"What? I-I don't know." Kind of a stupid question. Kelsey was aware that this was my first time doing this. No approved therapeutic claims. No reviews from healed customers yet.

"We don't have forever to do this… linking… session." Kelsey gestured at me as she grappled for words.

"The PCM will look for us and find us."

"You're right. We're not super hidden," I said, remembering that the mad scientist may have seen our faces. Even if she hadn't, she knew Kelsey's identity. Should be somewhere in their files. Kelsey was important to us; it wouldn't take long for the PCM to find Myra via that route.

"But the PCM isn't going to attack us. We're two Adumbrae in the middle of the city." Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"That won't always be the case. Didn't you plan to strike them first?"

"Yep, I'm going to call the BID on them," I said. Kelsey had eavesdropped on my plans that I had discussed with the gangsters.

"In fact, I'm going to do that now. Probably doesn't count as striking the PCM first, but they'll certainly have a lot of problems once the BID is all up in their business." I went to the little tray on a stable table near the hallway where I kept my keys and stuff. The Pinocchio keychain was also there—the puppet who turned into a real boy. I fished out the calling card given by Tower Cop.

"What about us?" Kelsey asked as I typed the number on my phone.

"Will we have problems?"

"I'm just a normal human informant," I said in a sing-song voice. That didn't really answer her question. We will have problems someday because of my choices. But I wasn't sure what. No point agonizing about it until it was right in front of me. If I'd handled things well enough, perhaps we wouldn't even have a problem. My thumb wavered above the call button. I was already having second thoughts about talking to someone on the phone.

Pushing away the chains of my introverted self, I took a deep breath and pressed the call button. Three rings later, a deep voice answered.

"Good morning. This is Sgt. Hall. To whom am I speaking?"

"Thi-this is Erind. Um, Erind Hartwell. I have something to tell you." I nursed a bottle of extremely sweet milk tea while waiting for the arrival of Sgt. Hall. I imagined myself in an old western movie, drinking beer in a tavern while waiting for my adversary to arrive. Add in tumbleweeds and dust clouds. The actual scene wasn't as dramatic. I sat on one of the chairs dotting the lobby of the condo building—I told Tower Cop that we'd meet here because I was afraid to go out.

Risky having Tower Cop come here with Kelsey in the same building, but I was hoping that it'd make him cross out this place as suspicious. I'd be an idiot to hide an Adumbrae in my room, right? Not sure if I could make him spill if he had me under surveillance or not. It also made narrative sense to meet here. My story was that I was afraid of repercussions from snitching on the PCM. They may be watching my movements. Of course, I wouldn't go out unless Tower Cop could assure me that it was safe.

It also made me a more believable innocent person, simply scared for her life. For the tenth time, I checked my face with my phone's camera. My irises had turned back to black. The pills worked. I'd need more from Dario because I just knew I wouldn't be able to avoid using my powers again. The universe wouldn't let me be. I ran my hands along my arms, making sure that everything was smooth skin, not that purple marble material.

Wearing long sleeves would've been safer, but it might appear that I was hiding something. The last concern was the growths on my right hand. I ditched the pimple patches and makeup, covering it instead with a wide band-aid. I'd do my best to keep it hidden while having the ready excuse of a kitchen accident prepared.

"I can't take this waiting," I muttered, my hand holding the milk tea bottle slightly shaking. Through the fern leaves to my left, I observed the glass doors of the entrance. Tower Cop told me he'd be here in an hour because there were some urgent matters. Right on time, a towering figure walked through the doors. Tower Cop wore a black jacket over his dress shirt and tie. He stopped in the middle of the lobby and looked around. I gave him a little wave.

He walked over, his face as impassive as a statue and intimidating enough to be a gargoyle. Though I couldn't read much from his blank expression, I could probably conclude that he didn't suspect that I was an Adumbrae, or else he wouldn't have agreed to meet me. Good news. I stood up and awkwardly bowed.

"Uh, good morning, sir. I'm really sorry that I can't visit you at the police station. I-I, um—""It's alright, Ms. Hartwell. I understand your concerns." He took out a small notebook from inside his jacket and sat on the chair beside mine. He scanned our surroundings—no one was near us, and the lobby was mostly empty. He nodded at me.

"Shall we begin? What information do you have for me?"

"Can you assure me that I won't be arrested?" Applying what I've learned in law school, I shouldn't even talk to cops if I were in trouble. I hoped that this show of naivety would lower my suspicion level. And I really had to do this to get the message to the BID and also ensure that they'd act on it. No way I'd try an anonymous phone call. Since Tower Cop was helping the BID task force in the city, and given his strong sense of justice, he'd certainly push for the PCM to be investigated after what I'd tell him.

There was also some measure of security, too. Tower Cop thought I was innocent. He'd do his best to protect me from getting mistakenly prosecuted, especially given his history. Tower Cop frowned.

"Arrested? Why would—?

"I'm not connected to what I'm going to tell you, but I'm also aware that the BID casts a wide net. I'm a law student, remember? I have enough problems avoiding the PCM. I don't want the BID on my case, too."

"The Protectors of the City Movement? What about them?" A sudden tenseness in Tower Cop's voice. I hooked him in.

"Promise me first that you won't mention me to the BID." There was no such binding legal promise not to prosecute. Only the prosecutor and the Department of Justice could do that. And I didn't want my name to be on some paper anyway. I banked on Tower Cop's sense of honor and righteousness to keep this promise.

"They won't know about you," he replied.

"No one will. You can freely give information without fear." Oho? Didn't this mean that I wasn't included in some official investigation?

"It's not just the BID I'm worried about. The PCM, too. Like, they might get back at me or something. The BID will just be a hassle to deal with. The PCM might actually kill me."

"Kill you? Why? Tell me. Rest assured that the police and the BID will handle it."

"The PCM…" The background music should be humming right now. Tower Cop leaned forward, his pen poised on the notebook. I continued, "Myra and Reo are connected to them." I had to include Myra and Reo in the story because Tower Cop was suspicious of them being close to me. I'd use them as a buffer between the PCM and me. Also, by connecting those two with the PCM, I'd distance myself from them, especially Reo, who had stupidly slipped up.

Tower Cop should believe that the PCM were using Myra and Reo to get to me, a survivor of the Adumbrae train attack. I was vulnerable and easy to recruit into a crazy organization. Tower Cop was silent. He nodded to encourage me to continue.

"Myra invited Deen and I to some kind of religious service. Deen, as in Amber Deen Leska." Deen also had to be in the story because Tower Cop should've seen us going with the hero wannabes.

"Like a lecture about their group, I think? Or some sort of recruitment drive. Deen didn't want to come because she was busy with a prior commitment. It was only Myra and I that attended. There were many of us there, around a couple of dozen people."

"Where was this place, Ms. Hartwell?" I gave Tower Cop the address of one of the PCM offices that I had searched on the internet. That should give my story some credibility. I was climbing a hill here given that I had previously lied to him. His right brow rose into the creases of his forehead upon hearing the address I blurted. Did I say something wrong?