MEGALOMANIAC. five hargreeves [2]

thirty four. fbi building

EDITED DECEMBER 15, 2021

"Bingo, the Infinite Switchboard." Diego chuckled as he entered the same room he saw in the film that was being documented to them a few minutes ago. It was easy - this was one of the small instances that he was thankful for Reginald training their minds.

Daniel wondered silently behind him, timidly looking at the man. "Do you know how to operate that?"

"How hard can this be?" Diego mumbled to himself, starting to press a ton of random buttons. Daniel looked at him horridly before his attention was turned to the door they entered.

Out of surprise, Daniel threw Herb a punch.

"Oh! Please don't hurt me." the tiny man said while panting. Daniel immediately regretted his decision, letting go of the man. "Mister I am so so sorr—"

"Who the hell are you?" Diego turned around his chair, staring at the man. He was tiny, and he looked like he wouldn't really do any harm, so Diego wasn't that nervous in his presence.

He flashed Diego a small smile. "I'm Herb. I'm an analyst."

"I'm Diego. I have a knife."

"Yes, I can see." Herb's breath started to tremble in fear, scared that he could be killed any minute now. "It's very shiny. Oh. Breathe." he stated doing breathing exercises before he flashed Diego a smile wider than the first one.

"It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Hargreeves."

"You know me?" Diego asked in genuine surprise.

"Everybody knows you. I mean, you're Number Two. You're a legend."

"Really?" Diego smiled, now feeling a little smug from the praise he was receiving.

"Mr. Hargreeves, Mr. Yang, you can't be here."

"You know me?" It was Daniel's turn to look in surprise, and Herb just gave him a chuckle at his childlike excitement.

"There are only a few people who have powers, Mr. Yang. The commission knows everyone."

"You know how to work this puppy?" Diego asked after a few minutes of silence.

"I'm certified to operate the ISB, yes."

"Good. I need you to look up a date: November 22, 1963, the assassination of John F. Kennedy." Diego replied, shoving Herb into the chair. Daniel gave him a look, which he ignored.

"Unauthorized use of the Infinite Switchboard is a clear violation of company protocol 67D..."

"Don't be such a tight-ass."

Daniel shifted into Diego's form. "Don't be such a tight-ass," he repeated in a mocking tone before quickly shifting back, which made Diego smack his head.

"You don't understand. There's been a coup d'état."

"What's that? Cadillac?"

"No." Herb huffed. "The Handler has taken over the Commission. The whole place has gone to heck in a handbasket, and people are disappearing. They would kill us both if they caught us in here."

"Well, you better get started before they come get us." Diego smiled creepily, which made Herb finally agree. "One quick look, and then you gotta go."

"My man." Diego patted his back.

After a few seconds of Herb trying to undo the mess Diego had made, they were back on track. The two of them read the screen. "Dallas. November 22, 1963..."

"This is it. This is right before the assassination." Diego said. The three of them were now looking intensely at the screen.

"Assassination?"