The Shrink Program

Chapter 172

He knows me too well.

"Fine," I muttered, breaking off a handful of chocolate and shoved it into my mouth.

Like a lady.

The first taste was addictive, and it took more self-control than I would easily admit not to fling my loving arms around the chocolate and absorb it through osmosis.

No, I sat there, trembling as I took measured bites and did my best not to get chocolate all over me.

It was enough that I was covered in blood... I would not stand for a single particle of this heavenly substance going to waste. Which meant I had to work quickly if I wanted to keep it melting in my mouth, not my hands.

I may have seemed obliviously lost in bliss to the untrained eye... But I wasn't so far gone that I didn't notice Alan pulling out his phone.

My chewing slowed as I watched the King tap at the screen, and a moment later, the dial tone rang out from the device....a single time before whoever was on the other side picked up.

"Better?" Alan asked.

"Better," Garmen confirmed.

What...?

Despite the spark of relief, I felt at finally hearing from the injured Supervisor myself... My idiot senses were tingling, telling me that I had been duped.

I stared down at the chocolate... The wheels slowly turning in my head.

"... Does this have something to do the nano-tech? " I questioned, surprisingly docile despite the implications.

Chocolate... Sort of has a pacifying effect on me.

"Nano-Tech runs on energy, just like anything else. You were running dangerously low in that department." Alan gave me an amused smile.

"This being the case, Peri had to make his tech go dormant, doing absolutely nothing until we could feed you... or if you absolutely needed it."

Alan wriggled his phone at me. "The good knows is, Peri is back online... So to say."

In other words... Peri can't be you when you're hungry.

I narrowed my eyes down at the chocolate in my hand.

".... So you were going to make me eat this all along... Even if I didn't beg... "

"A meal hard-earned goes down easier." Alan winked.

"... You're lucky I'm doped up on chocolate endorphins..." I popped another piece into my mouth. "Or I would be so mad at you right now..."

"You can always stop if you... "

"Don't try to tell jokes when I'm eating Alan, it's rude."

"Fair enough." He chuckled as I resumed demolishing what was left of my treat.

Deceptive or not, I wasn't about to let hunger happen to me again.

"Though it sort of annoys me that Peri gets to second hand eat my chocolate..." I grumbled, more than a little bit possessive. "... All the pleasure and none of the guilt."

.... Talk about a lighter way to enjoy chocolate...

" What happened to that guy anyway?" I wondered, so relaxed at this point that I hardly cared we weren't in any way progressing. "I haven't heard from that guy since Alex hung upon him."

"Sulking," Garmen answered from the phone.

Alex made a small noise as if amused but not quite able to express the emotion yet. He still kept his distance, watching the exchange with focused eyes.

"... It's called concentrating." Peri could be heard in the background, quiet but obviously ill. "It's taking considerable effort to deal with the... Sensations..."

Yea. After dying, starving, then eating something the size of my head, it wasn't hard to guess where his queasiness might be coming from.

"Don't complain, I've just consumed a near-lethal dose of chocolate for your sake." I scolded the man in my head. "If I wasn't such a badass, I would be having a seizure from the sugar rush right now."

The things I do to save the day.

"Trust me, I know." Peri groaned pathetically.

"He had to go lay down shortly after you called," Garmen explained.

Pfft. Weakling.

I hummed happily, licking the last of the chocolate from my fingers.

Peri whimpered, but before he could voice his complains, the deep sound of a distant explosion rocked the lab.

Sh-

Vain's hand jerked beneath me, pulling me in closer to his chest as the lights flickered dangerously. I clung to the material of his shirt, suddenly fearful of the cement walls falling on us.

"I'd say... " Alan commented softly, rocking back on his heels. "...There goes all the evidence."