The Shrink Program

Chapter 165

He was right. Jack was all about using stealth and misdirection, but he lived for attention. He went out of his way to stir reactions out of people and make sure he left a lasting impression.

So why had he left his audience waiting so long?

"Your point?" Alex sighed, unable to argue... Unlikely from lack of trying.

"He would have attacked by now if he were able," Vain said, contemplative. "Which means she has him on a leash."

It wasn't hard to figure out who he was talking about.

"... You think Cassandra's the one behind the special effects?" I asked.

It made the most sense.

"She controls the lab." Vain sounded calm, but each word carried a dreadful weight. "Worse, she is the only one who can control Jack."

There was a rustling of fabric.

For some reason, the sound made Alex speak up in panic.

"Maziric."

The warning went ignored

"Even now, she wants to play. To see what I will do next."

There came a click.

"Don't!"

"And that's what I'm counting on."

The air was suddenly ripped apart by a sound so loud and unexpected, it had me hunching over in agony.

A gunshot.

I panted raggedly in the following silence, tasting the smoke in the air.

"Was that..." Nigel seemed too shocked to even finish the thought.

When he spoke, Alex's voice was deadly.

"Alan told you not to use that unless your life depended on it."

Back up. Alan gave my Idiot boyfriend a Gun-wait, What...?!

"If she is the one who turned the lights off, then she can turn them back on. You see..."

Another metallic click came from the gun.

"...Unlike Jack, Cassandra can be bargained with. She has things she cares about, in her own twisted way. Chess pieces she isn't willing to relinquish easily. People she isn't done playing with."

"Don't call her bluff," Alex said, voice noticeably trembling. "You can't play chicken with her ..."

"And one of them is in this room."

No.

"You better not be..."

Alex.

"It's the only choice we have. We either risk one of us dying to get the lights back, or we take our chances blind. "

"Let's just calm down for a second... " Nigel tried.

He wouldn't...!

"I'm sorry." There was no doubt in Vain's voice."But I can't win against Jack in the dark."

Just ruthless determination.

"Vain!"

The lights came back on.

Revealing Alex flinching back.

And Vain, pointing the gun,

At his own head.

His own...

"... Well." Vain commented blandly. "That's a relief."

If the lights hadn't come on, Vain would have...

I was about to start... But was unexpectedly beaten to the punch.

Alex blinked his eyes open, taking in the scene before him.

And lost the plot.

"You. Little. pest!" He screamed, throwing himself at Vain, colliding with his legs and forcing the pale boy to stumble. "You scared the crap out of me!"

Vain winced at the look on Alex's face, already hearing the death threats he was going to get when Alan heard about this.

"It was the only way." Vain tried to reason, but the small boy was so furious actual tears appeared in his eyes.

"Are you stupid! For all, you know Jack didn't turn up because, I don't know, he got electrocuted messing with the wiring or something!"

Vain shrugged, oddly flippant for a notorious worrier.

"I had a hunch. "

I shuddered, physically repulsed by the nerve of those words.

... For all the times, he yelled at me for being an irresponsible imbecile...I could suddenly relate.

Alex was even less impressed with Vail's recklessness than I was.

"You were going to shoot me." He shook the taller boy by his shirt. "Over a hunch!"

Vain seemed to do a double-take, maybe for the first time realising what his words had to lead us to believe in the dark.

"You thought I would shoot you?"

"Yes!"

"...You think I'm stupid enough to try and aim a gun at someone, in the dark?"

Well... It sounds stupid when you put it like that...

"I didn't think you would go insane enough to shoot me in the first place!" Alex hissed, not sounding reassured in the least.

At the sight of a distraught child wringing his shirt in substitution of his neck, Vain sighed.

"I can't use you as a hostage Floid. Cassandra probably has blueprints of you backed up on a USB stick in her desk drawer. You're the most expendable person here."

Alex sputtered indignantly... But couldn't exactly deny it...

I sat down. Suddenly, and not quite voluntarily. The reality of Vain almost dying couldn't seem to sink in, leaving me strangely numb.

More than that, I was having difficulty dealing with the fact that he had been the one to put his life at risk. That I couldn't depend on him to always put survival first.

It terrified me.

"Besides... " Vain shifted, uncomfortable under the stunning scrutiny of the room."... Alan would kill me if you died, making the whole thing a complete waste of time."

"I'm going to kill you right now for pulling that stunt with me!" Alex growled, looking ready to climb the taller boy and tear his head off.

Someone started giggling.

The sound rang harshly in the room, crushing the air from my lungs.

How long had he been there?

Nigel turned slowly towards the sound, shifting so I could see.

Even though I knew what we were going to find, that didn't stop my heart from lurching at the sight.

Jack was falling apart.

Blood and feathers covered the floor, drag marks leading from the door to where the bird-human hybrid sat slumped against the wall, covered in wounds.

"Congratulations." He said, trembling with both pain and laughter. "You won the game."

He smiled disarmingly, spreading his arms wide.

"Here's your prize."