“
Having second thoughts?
”
she asked, genuinely concerned.
“
Nope.
J
ust realizing what this all means. C
’
mon, let
’
s go.
”
As they stood at the doorway, Crimson let Max pull the pin on the grenade and toss it into his clinic himself. Max did so and slammed the door shut behind them. They started walking down the street before they even heard the blast, but before they were too far away, they did. A slight bang followed by a terrible fizzing hiss. That many particles being evaporated at once sounded like war. It sounded like a new beginning.
When they got back to Crimson
’
s home and base of operations, Crimson showed Max around. She showed him his lab area and all of the equipment she had already purchased. She didn
’
t explain exactly what she wanted him to do.
Last, she led Max to his bedroom.
“
You look tired. Get some rest; I will show you more and explain more later.
”
He took her suggestion and collapsed onto his bed. He was fast asleep in seconds.
When Max finally woke from his overly long nap, it was about six-thirty past morning. He wandered down a small hallway and back into the main room where the kitchen and living room were situated. Crimson was standing there in front of a mirror
,
fixing the wrinkles on the tight red silk dress she was wearing.
“
You look great. Where are you headed?
”
He could see her face in the reflection of the glass as she answered him with a smile.
“
I
’
ve got more business to attend to. Don
’
t wait up. It may take me some time.
”
“
Oh I see, a date?
”
I told you that you misread the situation yesterday, idiot. She doesn
’
t like you like that. You are
nothing more than
her fellow freedom fighter. But what the hell is she doing dating at a time like this? Right before she declares war. I hope I didn
’
t buy into her for nothing.
“
That
’
s what he thinks it is. Trust me, Max. I wouldn
’
t be so dumb as to be trying to find love with some stranger at a time like this. What do you take me for?
A
normal girl who is about to start a war?
”
She couldn
’
t contain a small chuckle that trickled out of her mouth as she answered him.
Yes! Stupid! Of course she isn
’
t going on a date. I am so dumb.
“
No, I didn
’
t think that for a second. Just curious is all. See you tomorrow then?
”
“
See you tomorrow. Enjoy this day. It will be the last one of rest you see in quite some time.
”
Night at Blue Nami
“
I
’
m glad you could make it tonight. I
’
m not a girl who likes to beat around the bush or pussyfoot about what I want. I had many questions back at the Barometrics office, but I know due to the nature of your job that your office would be filled with bugs.
I am just a client who wants some answers. You could call me a humanitarian, in all reality. I don
’
t want my weather orders to be affecting some poor souls to the south of us in Durban or something of that nature, so I have many questions regarding how exactly your technology works. It has been a mystery since your
CEO
invented it.
“
Let me preface this by saying that I do not desire to sabotage you. I am no terrorist. I realize that globally, all forms of government have passed a law stating that only one corporation could possess this technology and use it or else the whole world would be thrown into chaos! I understand all of this; however, I want to know, what is at the root of this device?
”
Crimson leaned over the candlelit dinner table and narrowed her eyes at Brian.
“
At the root of it? I
’
m sorry, I don
’
t believe that I grasp the meaning of what you
’
re asking,
”
Brian said as he cut his steak into bite-sized pieces.
“
Okay, I get the point. What I mean is this. How do you prevent the storm, or lack of one, in one part of the world from affecting another part of the world? I heard your answer back at the office, but there are no bugs here. This isn
’
t a press conference. I want some truth.
”
“
You mean our service areas? Well
,
that is easy; things are all mapped out quite precisely. The affluent nations who offer a populace that can afford our services are completely protected. We have ensured that
‘
remnant storms
’
won
’
t occur and ruin anyone
’
s day or cause a big disaster,
”
he said, stuffing a large bite of meat into his mouth.
“
I don
’
t mean your service areas. I mean the rest of the globe. Th
e blue zones, as our Alexarien
government like to call them. How do I know my selfish desire for a particular weather isn
’
t causing a disaster elsewhere? In
a place
outside of your service area?
”
He chewed as he spoke; he was far from graceful. Crimson couldn
’
t understand how this guy was even a salesman for the Barometrics company with services as expensive as theirs.
“
Well,
”
he began to say as a small piece of meat fell onto the table,
“
if you read the contract carefully, we only promise for your orders to not affect any of our service areas. It isn
’
t illegal. Some countries are better than others; some people
’
s lot in life is a slave, others are billionaire assassins with an economic dynasty large enough to purchase our services. I am sure
you
understand.
”
Despite his lack of grace, he still spoke like a true salesman. No soul, no care, no driving force other than greed. He tried to lead his audience into his train of thought and was no doubt very successful most of the time.
“
Why would
I
understand? Because I hold a black license? Because I kill others to make a living? Did you even bother to investigate who my clients are, or did you just see that I hold a license on the application and assume I was a mass murderer and that was how I managed to amass my large sum of credits?
”
Brian choked on his bite and proceeded to speak, spitting chunks of it in her direction.
“
I
’
m so sorry, did not mean to offend, all I meant was—
”
“
That I am some soulless killer who could use your company
’
s services to create cover for myself as I slip into an innocent
’
s home and slaughter him or her like a sheep? I take no offense to what you think and say; you have a right to be ignorant and I, for my part, accept that you are. What I am offended by, however, is that you spit your food halfway across the table at me.
”
“
Sorry,
”
was all he could manage to say as he wiped his mouth with a tablecloth.
“
I am sure you are,
Brian,
but right now, I really don
’
t care. I
’
ve lost my appetite,
”
she said, pushing her plate of food away.
“
Sorry, again. Please tell me, how can I make it up to you?
”
“
Go pay our bill and take me home. I really can
’
t stand you and don
’
t expect to have any dealings with you other than professional ones from here on out, but a girl has needs.
”
“
Okay. So you are saying that I haven
’
t lost your business?
”
“
Not yet,
”
she huffed, annoyed.
Brain stood from the table, and found the waitress to pay. As he walked back to the table, he couldn
’
t help but notice that Crimson had downed both of their drinks.
“
Thirsty much?
”
he asked playfully.
“
Yeah, are we ready? Let
’
s go back to your place.
”
*
*
*
*
Max didn
’
t know what to do with himself. Crimson had gone and he was full of energy. His lab looked awesome, but he didn
’
t know what to do with it. He didn
’
t know what Crimson wanted him to work on exactly, or else he would have started.
He was hungry, but he didn
’
t care about food. He had an impulse raging in his brain stronger than any legitimate physical need.
Feed me
. It seemed to repeat in his brain.
I don
’
t want to!
Max kept fighting back as he trembled and sweated.
He spotted a pharmaceutical locker on the far end of the lab and decided to investigate.
Red, red, orange, green, yellow, black, tan, brown, brown, red! Where? Where is blue? Why no blue? Why, why, why, why, why, why?
It hadn
’
t been this bad since he
’
d quit three years ago.
You knew what you were doing; you
’
re a doctor. You know your enhancements make you more prone to addiction. What the
hell
were you thinking, asshole? That I hate you! I hate you, Max! You destroy everything! You destroy everyone! Crimson doesn
’
t like you. She doesn
’
t even need you! She needs your brain, ignorant little addict, you should die
already
.
Max began to cry and convulse. He hated that he craved the serenity boosts so bad. It came in waves. He wanted them; he didn
’
t. He hated that they controlled him so strongly, and not at all. He couldn
’
t choose when he craved them; he couldn
’
t choose when he didn
’
t.
It was a true addiction. He really wanted free, but he knew the only thing that could heal him was time.
Sure, they can make us immortal these days, but they can
’
t fix addiction. Maybe I should have gone into research. I wish I had never studied medicine! I wish I had
gone anywhere in life except the path that would lead me to this.
Max voluntarily convulsed on the floor as if he was trying to expel demons from his body. It was more than a tantrum a three-year-old would throw. Max knew what he wanted. He wanted freedom from slavery to chemicals. He
’
d had it. For three short years, he had been completely free, but one freak occurrence, one that wasn
’
t even that big of a deal, had slingshot him back to this.
He rolled over to the metal pharmaceutical locker, sweating and writhing in both physical and emotional pain. He began to pound his head into the locker with a vehement rage.
He bashed his head into the metal one time and felt his skull absorb the blow with a large hematoma swelling under the skin. He fervently smashed his head a second time into the locker with all of his force. His vision dimmed and he heard a ringing in his right ear.
O
nce more. That
’
s all you need to be free, Max, that
’
s it.
He paused and choked. He started crying even harder than he had been. He could barely breathe through the tears and gasps. He wasn
’
t crying from the physical pain he had dealt himself. He was crying because his mind was drawn to Crimson
. What if she does care about me? Even if it is just as a friend? Just a fellow sol
dier
for a good cause? What if? What if nothing…