When All Else Fails (A Push of a Button Novella)

Chapter Two

Hopefully, because things looked pretty dim, and some long-time relationships were on rocky ground if things were true to how they appeared.

SEB AND VIV settled onto a park bench in the afternoon sunshine. With a groan, he pinched the bridge of his nose and tightened his grip on the porcelain coffee mug in his hand. "Is it just me, or did the police seem entirely unwilling to believe us?"

Viv set her coffee to the side and massaged her temples. "No, it was definitely not just you. Actually, I'm pretty sure a few them were laughing at us. They could care less what happens, and some of them looked like they'd be happy to murder us if it got us off their tails about your attack."

He shook his head. "Ridiculous, that's what it is! The Supremacy and the police are all just one big jumble that's about as corrupt as it gets." After all, who was going to stop either of them? "Guess it's kind of our fault though since no one questions them. Seems like everyone just cares about whether things feel and sound good, not facts. If facts align with their opinions, great. If not, facts can just go shove off a bridge. To put it nicely."

Viv grimaced. "To be honest, if ignorance were a commodity, this planet would be rich. Or someone would. They'd find some way to bottle it up and sell it like some new-fangled snake oil to soothe all your woes. Have a problem with what you're seeing? Feeling a little uncomfortable? Take this potion of blissful unawareness, and you can waltz through life with not a care in the world. The Supremacy has everything under control, after all, so really, you shouldn't be worrying about anything at all."

"They have that already. Provide the people with enough handouts to keep them happy, and they'll blind themselves to reality just to keep the nice things they're given." He shook his head with a bitter snort and watched the children playing and their well-dressed mothers, who all stood talking beside the upscale coffee shop the park ran. They didn't seem too concerned about their children, but why would they be? This part of town was safe, and the children were all going down the slides the right way and playing quietly. No yelling, no fighting. There wasn't even any rambunctious laughter from the boys in the sandbox. All of them were perfect little pictures of conformity. The blue-leafed branches swayed overhead in the gentle breeze, and this moment would have been peaceful if not for the fears and suspicions. He took a larger gulp of his coffee and winced when it burned his tongue then his throat.

Viv set her coffee down at the end of the bench. "Maybe it really was the wrong place, wrong time just like Dane said?"

"The man went straight for the kill, and he looked like he hated me." He spun his cup between his palms.

She worried her lower lip. "Probably not the wrong place, wrong time then. The government watches and regulates everything. If the police dismissed your attack, do you think they know something? Maybe they're in on it?"

e drained his coffee and dropped the cup into the garbage can beside the bench. "I think the cops know something, if not Dane. All of them seemed less than shocked. But I was attacked in a good part of town. A part of town where people usually don't turn the other way when non-conformance occurred. Not unless things are smoothed over and shut down by the government."

Still, it didn't make sense. Why target him? He might not conform very well, but he didn't do too many things that were out there. Though, from an outside perspective, maybe he did. Maybe someone found his lack of compliance abhorrent enough to snitch on him for it? The Supremacy certainly spent a great deal of time and energy on making square pegs fit into round holes. And ones that didn't conform were tossed away without further thought. The idea that he might be one of those discarded pegs was disturbing.

Viv cleared her throat. "We should go to my father. I can ask him to search the database."

"He has access to that?" He frowned. "Why?"