POSTS YOU NEED TO HAVE READ BEFORE YOU READ THIS:
Joshua Cressman
Sleep Deprivation
Joshua, Meet Chris
(In that order, probably.)
This is a fun little event that I dreamed up over the last few days. The nice part about it is that that it 1)reveals a little bit more about the differences between Iris and Chris and 2)will enable me to do another scene later without having to answer some awkward questions. I haven't gotten up the nerve to write aforementioned later scene yet. There will still be awkward questions when I post it, just not "WTF is going on and why is Chris where she is?" Anyway, on to what I actually have written.
Current Music: Utada Hikaru selected songs:
1. About Me
2. Devil Inside
3. Fly Me to the Moon (In Other Words)
4. Exodus
5. Usomitaina I Love You
6. The Workout
7. Simple and Clean
8. Kremlin Dusk
9. Easy Breezy
10. Animato
11. Let Me Give You My Love
12. Simple and Clean [Planet 9 Remix]
This playlist is on random and repeat, so the order of these songs is constantly shifting, but these are the songs.
-The Drewcifer
Joshua finished up the last of his desk work for the day. In the two weeks since Chris had shown up, she had proven just as useful as her twin, if not moreso. Joshua walked and was met by Adam at the door to his office. They had important matters to discuss, but not just yet. They struck up a conversation typical of best friends. It wound from topic to topic, sometimes a logical progression, sometimes flowing from one idea to the next, usually jumping unpredictably. As they turned a corner and were just settling into serious discussion, Chris was there.
"Hello!" she said, energetically. Her voice still had the lilting quality that had caught Joshua's attention in the first place. She stared blankly at the air for a moment, the spoke again. "Mind if I walk with you?"
Joshua shrugged. "I don't see why not, but the conversation is about to get pretty boring."
"That's okay, I just want to be with people right now," explained Chris.
Joshua almost asked what she meant, then thought better of it. Chris was just a little more like Iris than he had originally thought upon first meeting her.
So the three of them walked, Joshua and Adam discussing a range of rather boring, if vital, logistics topics, Chris trailing a few steps behind them.
Suddenly, Chris snatched Adam's gun from its holster, spun around very quickly, and put three holes into the ceiling. As she was squeezing the trigger on the second shot, her free hand shot out to the side, catching Joshua's wrist, preventing he progress of his knife to her shoulder.
"What the Hell are you--" Joshua began yelling but stopped when blood began to drip from the holes in the ceiling.
Adam spoke up, somewhat perturbed. "As the only normal mortal currently present, I'd like to know what, exactly, just happened." He paused for a beat, then held out his hand to Chris. "Furthermore, being a lowly mortal, I'd like my gun back."
Chris nodded at Adam and returned the firearm. She looked at Joshua and spoke.
"I'm going to let go of your wrist and you're going to put that away," she said, gesturing towards the knife held in his currently trapped hand. "Nothing needs to be cut right now, Nemesis. Next, I'm going to explain. Understood?" The lilting quality was completely gone from her voice, in fact, it had an almost icy quality to it now. The complete split-second transformation caught Joshua off-guard. He nodded dumbly and Chris let go of his wrist. He put the knife away and fought the urge to rub his wrist. The girl had quite a grip.
Chris was satisfied, so she nodded as if she was agreeing with herself. The motion reminded Joshua of Iris. Not surprising, he supposed. After all, they were twins.
Chris began to explain. "The men in the vents were spies from Shane Gaspar. They were recruited from one of the street gangs in the area that are under Shane's control. It's one you've had previous run-ins with, so you should be able to recognize the tattoos that mark them. The first one has his mark on his back, the second's is on his arm, the third's is on his chest. I suggest you go retrieve and dispose of those bodies now." Chris turned and walked away.
Joshua looked at Adam, sighed, and got on the intercom. "I'm going to need a few boys for some rather unpleasant duct work," he said over the loudspeaker.
*******
Chris walked into the broom closet just as the man was replacing the cover on the vent. "Well done," she said quietly. The man started, then turned around, fumbling for his weapon.
"You won't need that, Nate. Don't make me regret letting you live back there."
The man stopped trying to get his gun into his hands and left it as it was. He stared at Chris, thoughts racing through his head at a rapid pace. How does she know my name? Is hers the voice that told me to go, how to get here right before the others were shot? She's definitely the one who shot them, I know that. But how? How did she do it and why am I so sure it was her?
The man stared down Chris for a few moments, then found his voice. "Why?" he inquired weakly.
Chris shook her head. "I had to. You idiots tattoo everyone and their markings were far too obvious. I'd almost lost hope but then I realized that they were at least smart enough to have you grow your hair out before they sent you. That means the tattoo on your scalp wasn't going to be recognized, at least not easily. Now listen, in order to avoid interpreter detection, you're going to need my help."
Nate looked at her, still visibly shaken. How did she know so much? "What do you want?" he stammered.
Chris smiled. It was a predatory thing, with none of the music and grace she had displayed when Joshua first met her. "Tell me where to find Shane Gaspar."
Footnote: Shane Gaspar is the main bad guy. He's the man in the red suit Joshua fought in the dream in the post "Joshua Cressman." And yes, Chris is basically agreeing to help and enemy spy. Funny that. I think this maybe the longest bit of literature I've managed to write set in this world. I hope you enjoyed it.
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