Chương 142: B3. 3.5 - Daughter Duty Calls

I raised a brow.

"That's his voice?" This Auron guy had a Southern accent, but super clear pronunciation, the stress in every word perfect. I couldn't pinpoint how he did it because Southern and clarity didn't go hand in hand. My grandmother on my father's side lived in the deep South, and I couldn't understand anything she said. Whenever I visited her place as a kid, I'd feel like I was in another country. I just nodded at everything.

"Ours is a group dedicated to exposing the Adumbrae in the government," Auron continued, softening his voice. The crowd quieted so that Auron's voice could be clearly picked up by the reporter's microphone.

"We've protested at La Esperanza long before the fateful Adumbrae attack last month. Everyone knows that. The authorities try to suppress the news, but Adumbrae continue to abound in La Esperanza. The authorities lie, and they hide the truth that the PCM was attacked by Adumbrae!"

"Myra's fault," Deen said with clenched teeth. Was Deen really angry that Myra killed random PCM members? Deen was fine with killing innocents if the reason was good enough. Here she was again, taking the high ground to look good, but didn't actually believe in it deep down.

"We are the victims!" Auron grabbed the microphone. His expression became impassioned, almost on the verge of tears.

"Many, many of our brothers and sisters died. So many! The BID hides the true numbers. The BID hides that it is the work of an Adumbrae. We shed blood to catch Adumbrae, and yet, the government throws the blame at us!"

"Kind of loud," I said, lowering the TV's volume.

"But he's got a good strategy. Make it look like they were targeted for getting too close to the truth. A government cover-up. Conspiracy nuts are going to have a field day with this one."

"It's also wise to hold this rally-vigil type of gathering," Deen said.

"Auron and the remaining PCM higher-ups will be protected by their people… for a time. The BID won't just arrest him in the middle of this crazed crowd. There'll be riots, and it'll legitimize Auron's claims that there are Adumbrae in the government trying to silence him."

"Martyring sort of thing, huh?" I imagined having lots of followers that I could command to lay down their lives for me. The gangsters of Marsh Row weren't such a group. Those idiots would flee at the first sign of danger. I needed zealots. But what belief would I sell them? Why would people gather around me? Maybe because I was the savior of Adumbrae? The only one who could provide the cure. I'd be the messiah of the—okay, I was getting carried away.

Managing a large group would be such a hassle that I'd rather try breaking my record of most ice cream eaten in one seating.

"But the BID will eventually try to arrest Auron," Deen said, lowering her voice.

"Either they'll secretly nab him when he's away from his followers, or they'll first build up a very strong case against him so they'll be justified to the public when they jump in. Right now, it looks like the PCM are the good guys."

"The BID has a very strong case," I said, breaking away from my savior-complex fantasies. That was Deen's expertise.

"Like, the PCM labs are full of illegal stuff. Not sure if the BID agents found any other Adumbrae that the PCM imprisoned, but even if they didn't, they have more than enough evidence to arrest the PCM leadership on a number of different charges. The question is, will they publicize it?"

"At some point, they probably will. It'll tarnish the government's image further, especially that of our mayor—he's seeking reelection, right? But it'll be a challenge finding all of the PCM's connections without the help of the public."

"Think the 2Ms are going to do anything about this?" I asked, controlling the volume of my voice as well.

"They should know by now that the PCM seems to be doing their own thing." Deen and I continued our whispered discussion while watching Auron rant about stuff. I kept my ears peeled for the sound of my room's door opening. I also watched the dark kitchen for any hint of light. Mom's muffled online meeting was barely audible.

"Turn it up, Erind," Deen said.

"The reporter is asking him about something."

"—allegations that the PCM is vandalizing public property?" asked the reporter.

"Why did you order your—?"

"Defacing public property is but an outlet to the feelings of anger by the people," replied Auron, resuming a composed look.

"I did not order anything because I am not the leader of the PCM. I am only a humble guide that serves the united voice of the people. While united, some have more extreme views in achieving the goal, and they—""It's annoying listening to him." I switched to another channel. Randomly pressing numbers, I ended up at a cooking show, probably a rerun of an old program, because the resolution wasn't high-quality. It was hypnotizing to watch cream being whipped.

"The BID prioritizing the PCM is good news for us," Deen said in hushed tones, looking over her shoulder to check the kitchen.

"But this isn't the time to be complacent. There's a loose end that we should clean-up soon."

"Loose end? Clean-up? It sounds like you're going to kill people." I hid a smirk. Deen and her flexible morality again. She was fooling herself into believing that she was a good person. Deen frowned.

"If it's to save us, then we should… do what's necessary. Don't forget about Sgt. Hall—he's the most dangerous person to us right now." I froze. Whoops! Tower Cop was an actual loose end. And I might have worsened his potential to be a problem. The day after attacking the PCM labs, I thought of reporting the PCM to the BID through Tower Cop. My thought was that the PCM would have a way bigger problem than hunting us 3Bs. If the BID managed to wipe out the PCM, even better.

I also told Tower Cop that Myra and Reo invited me to a PCM recruitment session, and there, I overheard suspicious stuff. It sounded like the PCM was forming a cult to make a Purple Bloom. I had to name-drop Reo and Myra because Tower Cop was already suspicious of them. Tower Cop might've seen Reo display some bit of inhumanity. Could be superstrength or regeneration. It made my story more believable, playing into the established biases of Tower Cop.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. The issue was that my story was actually real, sort of. The PCM may not be making a Purple Bloom, but they were plenty sketchy, as the BID was finding out. Which means that I had tied Reo and Myra to the PCM's illegal activity even though they didn't have a part in it. Kelsey knew that I had talked to Tower Cop and would've told Myra about it.

The Fletchers didn't bring this up in our meeting because even if I didn't do it, the BID would've investigated the PCM due to Myra's rampage. Myra didn't want to give more ammo to Deen. But no one knew that I gave Tower Cop more reason to look into Reo and Myra.

"With all the inhuman stuff going on in the city," I said, "Sgt. Hall will eventually circle back to checking Reo. Myra, too. Sgt. Hall had seen Myra take us to New Hope. But… what do we do? He's Ramello's uncle. I-I can't do—""You won't do anything," said Deen.

"This'll be Dario's problem, remember? He and the Professor. They wouldn't want their mini experiment exposed. They have more to lose than we do, and they have more… means… to clean things."

"We can't shut our eyes to this. Even if someone else does it, we're still responsible." I was taking Deen's usual role.

"Erind, listen to me. Whatever happens…" Deen paused. Mom's laughter pierced the walls of my room. Must be a fun meeting they were having. Deen continued, "Whatever happens is out of our control. I know you like Ramello."

"I don't!"

"There's no need to hide it. We're best friends. I know you."

"Don't go making up stories," I hissed. Deen probably assumed that I was too shy to admit it, which worked well with my face, but I really didn't even want to pretend to like Ramello. I just didn't have the energy for that right now.

"I'm sure there is some attraction."

"None."

"You have to prioritize yourself," Deen said.

"Love yourself first. It's unavoidable that sometimes what's good for you is bad for others." Was this a lesson taught to Leska children? It was fine until the 'bad for others' part was killing them. Weird that I was weirded out by Deen's skewed morality. Goes to show that I was the most normal of the 4Bs. A low bar, but an achievement nonetheless. Maybe I wasn't so different after all. One thing was for sure: Tower Cop's days were numbered. Should I save Tower Cop?

He didn't expose me to the BID agent, thinking I was innocent, and I knew his weakness, an unfortunate past of wrongly accusing someone of being an Adumbrae. I wasn't trying to save Tower Cop; he should die someday because the story called for it. But I could delay his death and find some use for him in the meantime. Could I use him to go after Dario? Maybe we could find a lead on finding the Professor, depending on how Dario would react. I could even use Ramello here.

Was he willing to show how manly and reliable he was by investigating a supposed stalker, Dario? Hmmm… So many possibilities. Just waiting for the world to fuck over my plans. Deen and I watched the cooking show until the host finished the cake. Then I forced Deen to go home, almost pushing her out of my condo. I reminded her that she shouldn't miss a night of her beauty regimen; her expensive products were waiting for her return. A call from Deen's sister finally made Deen relent.

"I'm not at a guy's place," Deen furiously said to the phone, stomping towards the elevator.

"I'm going home now so you can shut up!" Deen didn't seem to have noticed me waving goodbye. Her yells echoed from inside the elevator until the doors closed. Better not see her off to the ground floor. Wouldn't want to listen to their conversation.

"Whooo… Such a dysfunctional family." I returned to my room, grateful that Mom was pretty chill. Mom should also be thankful to have such a lovable daughter like me. Other parents had trouble with their children doing drugs or not going to school. Me? I was killing and eating people. No big deal. I awakened to the rich smell of butter. Opening my eyes, I noticed the sliver of dawn's light poke through the gap in the living room curtains. Right. I had slept on the sofa.

It was a miracle that I didn't fall to the floor despite how much of a bed tosser I was. Probably because this wasn't a bed.

"Mo-mom?" I groggily asked, pulling the blanket off of me. It wasn't particularly cold; the blanket was to cover my right hand in case Mom woke up before me, which she did. I sat up with a satisfied smile on my face. I had the presence of mind last night to sleep with my left to sofa's backrest so that I'd get up on my right side. Rule 15: Wake up on the right side of the bed. I just made my own 'right side' for the sofa.

"Good morning, sweetie," Mom said from the kitchen.

"I'm preparing breakfast for my darling daughter. Oh, how I missed this, cooking in a kitchen instead of choosing what to order on my phone."

"It's so early." I walked over to the kitchen.

"You should've slept in a bit. You've just arrived yesterday, plus all the meetings. This is supposed to be your vacation."

"I wanted to see you before you're off to school. And I know you're all grown up—""I didn't do much growing."

"—but it makes me happy to prepare your breakfast and so on. Let me be a mom again. I thought of making simple toast and eggs, but I remembered you like your sweets because you're such a sweet girl."

"Mom…" It was confirmed. I was a sweet girl. That should be official now that Mom said it.

"So, I made you French toast. I made a mess of the kitchen, but I'll clean that up. Eat up while I choose your clothes."

"Seriously, Mom. I can do it myself. I'm not a little girl anymore." Our whole exchange was like a sitcom, but I liked it. I thought I'd be annoyed that Mom slept in my room, and I had to be on the sofa. However, I was fine. Maybe I did miss her. One night was enough, though. As we ate, Mom said that she'd transfer to a hotel later so she wouldn't disturb my studies. Studies—I wasn't doing much of this nowadays. Mom asked me 'mom things', like my health, how I ate, if I had any problems, and so on.

"How are you getting to school?" Mom asked.

"Do you still take the train?" I shuddered.

"After what had happened? No way! I take the taxi. Or the bus, sometimes. Taxis are so much more expensive, but I have to transfer buses and ride my bike to reach Eloyce University." And I hated buses because they could get so packed. Difficult to squeeze in with my foldable bike. I barely use it now.

"Poor girl." Mom patted my head.

"Remind me not to ride trains later when we tour the city. Oh, and I'll increase your allowances. Take taxis wherever you want." Increased allowance? Hurray! More money to buy clothes. A lot of my stuff had been destroyed since I became an Adumbrae. As I ate, I made sure to turn my right palm away from Mom. I had taken off my bandages yesterday, before we met her, so that she wouldn't fuss over my fake wound.

After I left the condo, saying goodbye to Mom, who returned to sleeping, I went to the restroom on the ground floor of the building. There, I rebandaged my hand before heading to school. Another uneventful day for me. Unnerving. Was this the calm before the storm? I couldn't help but feel that something wrong was bound to happen. There was no scientific proof for gut feeling, but I learned to trust mine nonetheless. The universe was out to get me. And I should prepare for the unexpected. Or maybe…

I was just dreading going shopping with Mom and Deen later.