Kade is being all 'Gung-Ho.'
I put my hand on his shoulder, "You need to calm down."
He smiles, "Tan, I don't have all of life's answers, but one thing I know for sure is – no one ever calmed down, when told to calm down," he says, stretching his legs like he's readying for a gym workout instead of a fight.
Kelly stands up, simultaneously rubbing her neck and tummy, "Tan's right, we need to think, not rush out there to fight the Baristas."
Kade immediately stops his stretch, "It was the Baristas who did this to you?"
"Yes," confirms Kelly.
Kade shoots a look towards Troy, "Those two skinny lattes did this to you, you let let those pieces of string cheese overpower you and wrap you up like rolled pork?" He shakes his head, "Jeez Troy, you could've taken them down with a play slap – why didn't you?"
Troy lifts himself up, opens the button of his trousers and pulls down his zipper, allowing his trousers drop to his ankles.
I look at him, bemused, "What are you doing?"
He points to his naked outer thigh, "I'm showing Kade his answer."
Kade stoops down and peers at Troy's thigh, "Shoot – they used our own technology to sedate you, Disabling Devices?" he asks.
Kelly pulls up Troy's trousers and re-buttons them, "Affirmative – we'd booked our reveal party here and they lured us into this storeroom to show us the cake and décor, then boom – they floored us both with a mega-shot to the thigh," she explains.
Kade begins to bristle with rage; I can actually see it coursing through the veins in his arms.
But he manages to contain it, "Do you guys have any idea what's going on out there?" he asks.
Troy sits on a high stool looking remarkably relaxed, "Yes, they've begun their 'MSS', which stands for 'Marginal Solutions Strategy.' This is a strategy wherein they intend to create a marginalised society to restrict the freedoms of those they consider..."
..."Whoah – wait a minute!" Kade raises his hand to cut him off, "We know all this, but you guys broke free of our world to escape from this crap – how'd you get to know so much?" he asks.
Kelly, seeing Kade's frustration, takes over, "We kept in touch with a few sources. Through them we heard about the Marginal Solutions Strategy." She rubs Troy's knee as if to soothe him into further relaxation, "We talked long and hard and we came to the decision that we didn't want our child growing up in their world." She pauses to check her emotions, composes herself and continues, "So, we created the conceit of a 'Gender Reveal' party to invite you here and tell you we were back on board with you guys, to fight the good fight. But – we were intercepted and they initiated their Marginal Solutions Strategy ahead of schedule – which brings us right here, to this situation." She becomes suddenly energised, "But – we have an ally," she says, pointing to the floor, "someone down there, in our facility, is working for us. They've managed to over-ride their systems to talk through our holograms and give you the cryptic message that led you to find and free us."
This makes immediate sense to me, "Kade, it's the same person who spoke through that male voice that led to my being saved from them transitioning me to Transhuman."
Kade nods agreement, but it's with a lack of enthusiasm, which leads me to believe he's still suspicious of Kelly and Troy. He begins to circle the room, knocking cups off the wall, "Can I make an observation about you guys?" he asks.
Kelly answers, "Sure, go ahead."
He stops in front of them and stares from one to the other, "You both seem remarkably calm and composed, particularly given the low-life Baristas who bagged you up are still out there," he says.
Troy shrugs, "Correct, I do feel quite calm."
Kade flinches with frustration, "Don't you want us to go out there and hand them two Lattes their skinny asses?"
Kelly stands up and walks towards Kade, "Try and relax a little," she says, putting her hand on his shoulder.
Her words are a red rag to a bull and Kade ups his volume, "Relax – calm down – have you all gone crazy soft or something?" He paces, "You know what we're dealing with here. We need to go hand those Baristas their asses – fast!"
Kelly's hand remains firmly on Kade's shoulder, "We know the Baristas are in safe hands, that's why Troy and I are allowing ourselves a little time to relax and recuperate – you need to do the same."
Kade looks at me for an answer, I shrug, "I don't know what she means, nor where she's coming from, either."
Kelly removes her hand from Kade's shoulder, "Our friend's out there, he assured us he'll deal with the Baristas, and I trust him – Tyler's real tough."
Kade throws me a glance, "Wait – Tyler – the goofball who was hitting on you – Tyler – the loser who called me a fuckboy – Tyler – the jerk who thinks this is all some kinda game show?" he asks, perplexed.
I nod, "I guess so." I address Kelly, "Is this the same Tyler you refer to?"
Troy answers, "That's right." He looks towards Kade, "Tyler, the gentleman you carelessly concussed, the self-same gent to whom we owe our lives – that's the Tyler we talk of."
Kade struggles to compute this, "Look, no way – that guy was really offensive to Tan when she identified herself as trans, he called for 'faggots' to identify and segregate themselves – he came in this room, vainly thinking there was some kinda wardrobe and makeup department for his reality TV appearances."
Kelly and Troy swivel their heads in unison, but It's Troy who speaks, "He came in here to tell us of his subterfuge to throw the Three Surgeon's people of his scent by creating a character they believed in and approved off. His bigoted performance has bought us time – and I trust that he has dealt with the Baristas, accordingly – he packs a punch as powerful as yours, Kade," he says, with a confidence that exudes the truth.
When Kade looks at me, I say what I know he's thinking – "I guess we need to go talk with Tyler."
