Against the Tide - A New Elysium Story [Complete]

31. Loose Ends

As a man with thousands of faces, Enigma rarely had to wear the same one twice. But on this occasion, he chose to re-use the one he had worn at their last meeting. He wasn't in danger in this place. This was a low-stakes game for him. They even met in the same place, a café at the outer ring, sector fifteen. As usual, he was early, but remained hidden in the shadows and observed his surroundings, waiting for his special guest.

Somehow, he had expected her to put on the same disguise too, so he was looking for a woman in white with red hair. She did indeed wear the white pant suit again, but her hair was black this time, styled in an elegant partial up-do that covered the half of her face with the eye patch.

She was trying to hide something else behind her hair, he realized, as he watched her from his vantage point. But he wouldn't be who he was today if he didn't have exceptional observation skills. He could clearly tell that she was uncomfortable and nervous, casting glances left and right in quick succession.

He knew that she had run into scandroids during her last visit, and he had no idea how she had managed to evade them and escape Hestia alive. He also wondered what had made her change her mind about their deal. A smile flashed across his face, causing a brief, barely noticeable flicker to ripple across the disguise. He was looking forward to finding out.

"Miss Morgan, wasn't it?" he greeted her as he sat down on the bench beside her.

She jerked in surprise at the sound of his voice. Despite her wariness, she had apparently not noticed him approaching. She didn't reply to his greeting, instead she clenched her hands into fists in her lap and stared down at them, seemingly ignoring him.

"Hm. And here I thought you would be happy to see me, considering you were the one to call for our meeting here."

"It didn't have to be here," she said in a flat voice. "You know it's not exactly easy for me..."

"Au contraire, my dear. It had to be here, precisely because it is not easy for you," he said, and his lips curled upward in a smug smile. At least now he could be sure that she was sincere about her offer.

She cast him a sideward glance with her one eye. "Would you mind going for a walk?"

She nodded her head almost imperceptibly in the direction of a scandroid patrol about fifty feet away. His smile widened. During their last encounter she had managed to intimidate him for a moment, and then she had left without giving him what he had wanted. Seeing her uneasy like that now delighted him. It was almost the best part about their meeting. But the more important part was the information, and the place was anyway getting a bit too busy for his taste.

"Of course. Let me lead the way."

He got up and offered her his arm. She stared at him for a few seconds with a wrinkle on her brow, then she sighed and took it. As they walked across the plazas and parks of the sector, he took care that they would never directly run into a scandroid patrol, but would occasionally pass by one just close enough to remind her of her situation. The woman at his side just about reached his shoulder, and whenever they spotted a patrol, he could feel her tense up and press slightly closer against him. He really had to put an effort into suppressing a constant, gleeful smile. He figured there were not many men who had seen Amy Larsson in such a state.

"Allow me to ask. What made you change your mind?" he said, once they were out of earshot of any other passersby.

She didn't reply immediately. She stared straight ahead with her single eye and seemed to clench her teeth for a moment.

"I need that information you promised," she just replied.

"More than you need New Elysium?"

"I don't need them," she said curtly. "If anything, they need me."