Chương 97: B2. 7.4 - Slippery Sisterly Sightings

"Kind of scary they have this technology," I said. Especially worrisome for me, an Adumbrae.

"Why do they have this stuff when the BID doesn't? The PCM isn't even like a megachurch, with hundreds of millions of dollars and lots of people donating money. They're just in some parts of California. No way they made it themselves."

"The 2Ms gave it to them," Myra said with a shrug.

"Or the assholes at Red Island. It's like they're a group of criminal organizations. I'm sure they can wrangle up something that could keep away Adumbrae. They'd need it on Red Island, most definitely."

"I don't think the 2Ms provided the machines in question," said Deen.

"They would've used them against Blanchette. I don't recall seeing any of the PCM's machines at the docks."

"Nah, the 2Ms wouldn't have used them," Myra said.

"They would've affected their own guys."

"A very acceptable tradeoff to stop Blanchette, don't you think? Retreat and deploy the anti-Adumbrae machines to avoid friendly fire. The 2Ms were desperate to stop Blanchette. They would've used everything at their disposal."

"They forgot to bring the machines. Simple explanation."

"Have you seen any of those things before, Merge?" I asked.

"Don't think so. Why would I—? Ah, I get it. The 2Ms think we're Adumbrae. They would've used those against us in some fight before. Nope. I guess the PCM really got their own thing going on, which is another headache. I thought I could focus on finding Kelsey after the 2Ms dipped out of town."

"Speaking of Kelsey," I said, "do you think the Adumbrae the PCM has are real ones or fake ones made by the 2Ms? Kelsey's a naturally-seeded Adumbrae. That illusion monster…?"

"Was most likely a real Adumbrae, too," Deen finished.

"It would've been difficult for the PCM to ask the 2Ms for fake Adumbrae while concealing their intent to experiment on them. I'm not sure how much of the PCM's true goals the 2Ms are aware of."

"Turning Adumbrae back to human," Myra pensively said, staring at the empty sky.

"That makes the PCM sort of the good guys, doesn't it?"

"The ends don't justify the means," Deen said.

"I'm not going to debate you on that. I just want to find a cure for my sister."

"Will you ask the PCM for help?" I asked. Myra's desperation could be exploited someday. I wanted to be the one to do it.

"I'm not sure." Myra sighed.

"If nothing else… Anyway, I have to find Kelsey first. I'll continue searching. And no, I'm not going to get caught by the PCM. Kelsey seems to have gone far from here. I hope that means she still has her sanity. You two can go home."

"But we can't leave—" Deen began to say. Myra held Deen's right shoulder.

"You've helped me enough. I even dragged you into fighting an Adumbrae. I'm grateful. Really, really, really." Myra leaned in to give Deen a quick hug. Then Myra turned to hug me next, before I could react. I recoiled on instinct as she wrapped her impressively toned arms around me. Quite the unexpected gesture. I didn't know that this hard-shelled bitch could display some warmth. And I didn't appreciate it one bit. Myra chuckled as she released me.

"What's with the reaction? I don't think any of us particularly smell good after all the shit we've experienced here in Marsh Row."

"Erind doesn't like physical contact," said Deen.

"She rejects my hugs, too. She can't help her introverted self."

"No offense meant." I sheepishly grinned.

"I'm just not used to getting and giving hugs." Deep inside, I wanted to rip out Myra's blue hair for hugging me out of the blue. Double blue! If I found Kelsey first, I wasn't going to immediately tell Myra about it.

"I'm not a hugger either," said Myra.

"I'm just incredibly thankful you guys helped me. We've known each other for only a few weeks, and you went along with my craziness like we've been best friends for a long time."

"Three Bs stick together," I said.

"That, we do," Deen added.

"Well, not now," said Myra.

"Enough sticking together for the day. You two should go home and rest. Kelsey's gone into hiding again, and I don't think she'll be easy to find. Come to think of it, it's actually great that we haven't found her. The PCM won't either."

"Perhaps you can call Enrico," Deen said.

"Alert him that there's an Adumbrae in Marsh Row. They can stay safe and also inform you if your sister—if it's really her—shows up again."

"That's my idea," Myra said.

"I'm also going to push for a meeting with Red Hood to ask for help."

"If it's help you need," I said, "we should ask Dario for some." I knew Myra's reaction to this suggestion. Myra stared us straight in our eyes, wagging her finger at us.

"No, no, no. You'll sentence Kelsey to death if you do. Not a word of anything that happened here. This is our secret, okay?" Deen and I nodded. I expected Deen to be thinking about the same thing as me—we could turn Myra against Dario. We'd find a way to break free of his control, and it wasn't going to be easy. Deen might be open to allying with Kelsey, too. From that point, I could reveal my Adumbrae self.

"No telling Sgt. Hall either," said Myra.

"Or anyone else, for that matter. We keep this PCM shit to ourselves until I find Kelsey."

"If we're keeping the PCM a secret from Dario," I said, "what do I do with this stuff?" I showed them the metal thingies I tore from the mad scientist's fake body.

"Hide them for now until the PCM becomes a bigger problem?"

"I can keep it at my place," said Deen.

"My sister won't bother with it even if I put it on the countertop. But I'm going to hide it, of course."

"Hmmm, I'll just leave it somewhere nearby. It may have a tracker or something. If no one gets it after some time, that means it's clean." I should be awarded for being prudent and careful. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"Good thinking," Myra said.

"You guys do that and then go home. I'll be fine on my own. Uh, here you go." She tossed Johann's car keys to Deen. Myra told us that she hid the car along the road to Enrico's storehouse.

"Don't do anything crazy," Deen said before we left. To that, Myra didn't reply. We made it to the car with no issue. Deen's Guardian Angel warned us a couple of times when to avoid PCM drones overhead. They were expanding their search. Deen hoped Myra wouldn't get into a fight with the PCM and kill more regular people. In contrast, I wanted the PCM to hamper Myra so I could find Kelsey later. Deen and I were silent inside the car.

Not sure what was up with Deen; she was probably torturing herself in her own mind with made-up moral dilemmas. I was starting to think that my best friend agonized over bullshit like the dead innocent people to make herself feel like a good person… because she wasn't actually one. I also had plenty to think about. Useful stuff, in contrast to Deen's self-flagellating musings. The possible Kelsey Adumbrae wasn't a mindless monster.

Meaning, the Adumbrae-shoo-away machine that I had turned off used to stop the Adumbrae. However, the machine didn't affect me enough to shoo me away. Was it because I had an artificial Core? Would my Blanchette form suffer worse headaches? The PCM had other machines, too. I bet some of them had more powerful effects than the column-looking thingies. Something that could incapacitate Illusory Eye to transfer it into a vat. Also, the PCM that arrived at Marsh Row didn't hesitate to enter the bunker.

They should know that they might face three more Adumbrae. They were prepared to deal with us. Maybe I should stick to my not-really-metal mannequin body when facing the PCM. What was up with the monster body parts on their scientists? It was like they merged monster and human pieces to form one body. To my scientifically sucky brain, that seemed to be a more difficult feat compared to making fake Adumbrae. Were the 2Ms using the PCM, or was it the other way around? I noticed Deen staring at me.

"Uh, what?"

"Nothing." Her eyes scanned my body, stopping at my abdomen. I covered my exposed skin and slightly turned away, acting embarrassed.

"Don't be a creep. Keep your eyes on the road." Deen laughed.

"I just wanted to comment that a bare midriff look works on you. I want to lighten things with casual fashion talk and divert our minds away from stressful thoughts."

"So… you're saying that to lighten things up. Not that you actually meant it." My best friend was great at missing the mark.

"I meant it! You should try that look sometimes. If you're embarrassed of revealing too much, you can go for a crop top with a high-waisted jeans combo. The thin band of skin works wonders for sexiness." I rolled my eyes.

"Deen, a twig dressed in sexy clothes is still a twig." I wasn't exactly opposed to dressing sexily—the cheerleader outfits I wore in high school weren't modest at all—but there was no need for it right now. I wasn't manipulating guys or whatever.

"Don't sell yourself short," Deen said, her words broken by chuckles, "because you're already short." This bitch enjoyed bullying me too much.

"Okay, that's it. Stop the car. Our friendship is over." I mimed opening the car door.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry!" Deen continued to laugh.

"I'll buy you a croissant as an apology. It's your codename after all." I put on a frown, deciding to play along.

"No, thank you, Fatalis. I'm not letting you bribe me with pastry." Little banters here and there helped strengthen our friendship, and I was adamant on keeping Deen tied to me. Still, I hadn't forgotten her bullying. The day would come that I'd bother her back, as per Rule #4. But not too much. She could pay some of her 'bother debt' with sugary treats. I was a very reasonable person when it came to sweets—they were the surefire way of making me happy on command. Much better than taking drugs.

"How about two croissants?" Deen suggested.

"Donuts. I want lots of sugar."

"Okay, an entire box of donuts of assorted flavors."

"I'll accept a whole box," I said.

"I think Beyond Bread has the biggest boxes."

"Our friendship is saved. Hurray!" We both laughed. Besties bonding after killing an Adumbrae. Normal girl stuff.

"Before going to Beyond Bread," Deen said.

"I'll drop by my house to change and clean up. You can borrow my clothes."

"No need." I pointed my thumb at the bag in the backseat.

"I packed spare clothes because I knew this was going to happen. Like, not the fighting Adumbrae thing. But I just sensed we were going to get in some dirty trouble."

"Oh… But I have this cute crop top I want you to try."

"So that you can make fun of me? I'm not your doll. And I'm not exposing my stomach until I get cut abs like you." Deen turned to me with a mischievous grin.

"Are you checking me out?"

"Why would I do that? I can't avoid noticing them." I wouldn't let Deen drag me into nonsense topics.

"Anyway, do you think the PCM is going to find those metal thingies we hid?" We stowed them inside a crumbling building that used to be a car repair shop. Rusty metal pieces were lying around, so I figured no one would notice some more.

"I don't think they have trackers," said Deen.

"The lady scientist shouldn't have expected someone to remove it from her nasty, organic shell."

"I'm really curious," I said.

"Like, who supplied those things to them? That might clue us in to a bigger enemy." This was an actual threat to me.

"But we can't hand them to Dario for the Professor to examine."

"Even if we could," said Deen, "would the Professor tell us the truth? The machines might've been made by another government agency conducting secret experiments."

"Government and secrets," I said, shaking my head.

"Why can't they just focus on regular graft and corruption? I guess we'll never know anything about those weird machines. Not like we're going to interrogate the PCM about it…" I dangled the suggestion for fun. Maybe I could direct Deen's messy moral compass into suggesting we torture people for the greater good. If something was packaged well enough, Deen would think it was the right thing to do.

"I know someone who might be able to help us," Deen said.

"You know her, too."

"Huh? Who?"

"Your mother. Doesn't she work at Greaves? She knows about augments and—""Don't bring Mom into this," I snapped. If Mom were to get in trouble, who'd fund my lifestyle of being a strong, independent woman?

"I'm not suggesting we reveal to her what we're doing. We can say that you've found a curious item and were wondering what it was. Since your mom is visiting in a few days, I thought we could ask her to get a sort of lead."

"If she finds anything odd with the metal thingy, she'll urge us to go to the police." Parents were a pain in the ass for the main characters to deal with. They'd act all careful, preventing the main character from going on dangerous adventures. That was why many main characters in movies, especially in the fantasy adventure genre, have dead or absent parents. Deen didn't bring up any more stupid ideas during the ride.

She kept her promise of buying me a box of donuts, but she didn't enter Beyond Bread given her very avant-garde attire. She didn't want to draw attention to herself. Instead, she gave me money to buy it myself.

"Like a kid given money by my mom to buy food," I grumbled, walking back to the car. But I had a box of sugary donuts, and that was all that mattered. I was going to eat them all before my midnight mission at Marsh Row. We were going to take back Overdrive's base. Well… it was my base since I was the Queenpin of Marsh Row.