The Nightmare Effect

Chapter Eight

        One of them was able to ask it loudly enough. "Who's that guy?" They pointed at me.

        Just had to play it cool. I walked up to the commissioner and gave me a confident wink. "My name is Edgar-" the mic cut out before I could say my last name, "sorry bout that." I walked back over to my original spot and waited. Carter gave a sly smile at me and my answer to the reporter.

        "Wait, wasn't that the guy who punched a reporter?" one guy pointed out.

        Shit. "It's called personal space, people." The event was over as Carter and I walked back to his car.

        "Real subtle...," he commented.

        "Shut up," I said, finishing my cigarette and throwing it on the ground.

        We were driving back to my apartment when Carter brought up something.

        "You hear about that group?" he asked me.

        "Yeah. Had a run in with them. Nice people when you get passed the whole 'terrorism' stuff," I commented.

        "Good, then it'll be easy for you to understand what I'm about to ask of you."

        "What do you want me to... oh, God damn it."

        "Look, you just go in and figure out if they're connected, or not."

        "How? Just walk in saying, "Oh, hey, I was just kidding the first time, now I wanna help you guys since I'm working with the cops now,"?

        "Use that to your advantage. Say that you can make the cops look the other way," Carter kept pleading, "Ed, I wouldn't ask this of you if I didn't think you could handle it."

        I thought about the plan for a second. He was right, to a point. I could go back and try to get in, but who knows how they'll react to seeing me again. "I'll show you their hangout."

        We arrived at the hiding place for the "Fuck the Man" group. I looked over at Carter. "You sure about this?"

        "Here, take this," he gave me a cellphone, "it's on silent, but once you feel it vibrate, that's when I need to come out and tell me what you got."

        Sounds simple enough. I get out of the car. Carter drives off. I knock on the door to the hideout. The same guy from before asks the same question.

        "Who's the savior of Humanity?" he asks.

        "Fucking nobody, would ya let me in?" the door opens and I ignore the doorman this time. I go to the elevator and ride up to the same floor as before. People are surprised that I enter as I walk to the leader's desk. "I want in."

        The chair turns around, revealing Mr. Philosophical. "Ah, Edgar, I knew you'd see the light!" He stands up, walks over, and hugs me. He's got a little chubby forming. Too much detail? Got it. He pulls me away with a giant smirk on his face.

        "Come, let me show you what we're all about," he leads me down a big hallway.

        "What have you guys been up to anyway?" I ask him.

        "We've been quiet for a while. It's our little thing. We do something major and then we disappear for a time. The real workers are pulling the strings behind the scenes," he shows me a picture on the wall. Needless to say, it shocks the hell out of me

        "These are the secret workers. We call them the 'Subtle Six'. They've worked hard over the last thirty years to secure positions of authority. My father is the one who devised the plan," he seemed almost proud of that, "while he has used violence in the past, he took an interest in the mind of people. He saw that, over time, if subtle enough changes occur, people won't notice a thing has changed."