"Fredrick!"
Emma snapped me out of the daze my brain had clouded itself in. I had been too busy caught up in thinking about countermeasures against Jeffrey that I had completely lost sight of what had been happening.
"Hm?"
I snapped my head in Emma's direction. Her hands were on her hips and her lips were pursed.
"Did you hear a single word I just said?"
She said, her voice filled with playful anger.
I shook my head slowly and looked down at my feet.
"Sorry, I spaced out. There's a lot on my mind right now."
She shook her head and crossed her arms.
"What's going on, Fredrick?"
I looked back up at her.
"Nothing's going on, I just keep reflecting on the chess game today."
She nodded, reluctantly.
"Fine, but focus up. I'm almost done showing you around."
We continue on throughout the gym, her showing me how to use the machines. But I couldn't focus, Jeffrey's playing at some game here, and now he has the clues.
My plan of action would have to go something like this:
I need to contact the boss and tell him what happened. Mark obviously hasn't mentioned anything because the boss hasn't texted me anything yet, and also because that's just how Mark is. He can't accept failure, which is probably why Jeffrey was as successful as he was in this heist. I need the boss to give me the final clues for real, since Jeffrey now has a head start that we can't get back. Then I'll need to figure these out and learn where he's going, get some men there and potentially even myself. Mark will do whatever he's been doing. The boss will likely send him back to Virginia or keep him in New York for extra training, since Mark's been showing his incompetence recently.
Basically, I need those fucking clues as soon as possible, I'm talking like yesterday, that early.
"Alright, Fredrick. Tell me what you're really thinking."
"I-"
"Zip it," she cut in, her voice firm. "Tell me the truth. I'm tired of all these lies."
The teasing was gone. When I looked up, she was closer than before, arms crossed, head tilted slightly, studying me—like I was some kind of puzzle she couldn't quite solve. For a second, I couldn't think. Not about Jeffrey, not about the clues, not about chess.
What is this feeling?
The weight of her stare pinned me down more than any of her words. It wasn't aggressive, wasn't demanding. It was just there… Patient, expectant, as if she already knew the answer but wanted to hear me say it anyway.
I could lie.
Brush her off.
But for some reason, that felt harder than usual.
"I don't think you'd be very interested in what I have to say."
She huffed, shaking her head. "You're impossible."
Before I could react, she flicked me in the forehead.
I recoiled slightly, and my hands shot to the area she just attacked.
"Ow! What the hell?"
"You think I don't notice?" she said, exasperated. "You're barely here. I show you a machine, you nod. I say something, you barely respond. You're somewhere else right now. It's like there's a shell of you in front of me and the real Fredrick is out waging a war against someone."
"Fine," I exhaled, rubbing the spot she flicked. "I'm just… thinking about my next move."
"Chess again?"
"Not exactly."
Her eyes narrowed slightly. And for the first time, I felt something shift.
This wasn't just about her being nosy.
She wanted to know me.
And I wasn't sure what to do with that.
"Well, I won't press any further. But, seriously, Fredrick, I want to be your friend. Do you want to be mine?"
I froze. I opened my mouth. Nothing came out.
For the first time in my life, I wasn't sure what I wanted to say. It was so simple. A yes or no question. But the answer felt… heavier than it should have.
The world around swirled into a nothingness I was unaware of as my mind began to spew out information faster than any supercomputer has ever attempted.
This question, this simple question that preschoolers have likely asked each other and answered like it was nothing, is simply nothing I have ever experienced before. My brain twisted and churned around inside itself, looking for an answer. No manipulation or trickery, what did I want? Do I want to be her friend?
At first, Emma was a pawn to me, nothing more than a pawn to gain influence in the school, so I could obtain the watch. But, I stayed even after the watch was obtained. I still continued to put up with her and my other relationships…
Maybe I was becoming someone else…. Something else…
Nonetheless, I still need to figure out the answer. But why? Why is this so hard for me? It shouldn't be. I'm so much smarter than anybody else alive, and yet this question is what stumps me.
Maybe, for the time being, it wouldn't hurt to say…
"I do."
Emma smiled.
"Good, although you hesitated a bit before answering, wanna explain?"
She asked, a playful smile appearing on her face.
I sighed.
"Sorry, it's just… that's a question I don't get very often, so I'm not typically sure how to answer."
She nodded.
"I guess I can accept that."
She turned away, back to the machines, but something in me stayed locked in place.
Had I just told the truth?
Maybe I will never know.
After that, we worked out for a bit, but I quickly realized that this wasn't going to work, at least, not for improving my strength.
I would need to face something I'm not sure that I'm ready to face again.
The Arcane Syndicate.
A shadow that's been looming over me this entire time. I've been released into the real world and I have freedom, but am I doing what they want? Am I doing what I was made to do?
I don't know, and I honestly don't even know what I'm doing anymore. My goal is to collect the watch, but someone else has it.
The boss won't give me the clues, so right now, I'm waiting for Jeffrey to make a move, so I have a reason to get the boss to slide me the clues.
But, I don't think I should have to. The boss shouldn't be keeping me leeching off of him, he trained me to this point, now I should be given the entire mission, and left to do it on my own, or at least with Viktor.
Ahh, Viktor, I'm so sorry. It seems I've lost sight of what matters to me. That is, what I think matters to me.
I realize now I know Viktor more than I ever did. He wouldn't want me to kill Jeffrey. He would want me to prove how superior we are to him. I will outsmart Jeffrey, collect all 4 items, and…
What the fuck after that?
Will I leave the Arcane Syndicate to do what it wants? What if they use me just to cast me to the side? I can't let that happen…
But… what do I do about it?
I have to plan what to do against them, or with them, or…
Argh, what do I do?
There's so much spinning in my head, and I don't know what truth I want to believe in anymore.
Here I am, the perfect machine, the perfect human, that they crafted and yet… I don't know what they want from me anymore, or what they want to do with me.
It'll be difficult, but I need to plan around them throwing me to the side, and also plan around what Jeffrey wants.
What does he want?
Jeffrey seems rather childish, yet he is also very intelligent, that is something I can admit and acknowledge. What is driving him? Does he see the Syndicate as some evil organization that he has to overthrow? Is he doing this just because he wants to show off how smart he is? Is there something else I don't know about?
He has Rebecca after all, what if this all was some kind of scheme from the beginning?
I'm not sure, there are a lot of things I'm unsure about, but… that's okay. Sometimes, it's okay to not be sure.
Emma and I continued talking, and we actually sounded like normal people during it. I left the gym shortly after, since the gym equipment wasn't enough for me.
She was sad, but understood my reasoning, and demanded that I tell her what made me so strong in the first place, making up a lie for that would be really interesting.
By the time I left the gym, it was dark, and the stars were shining their little lights down at the world, giving it a faint illumination. I made my way back to the apartment, reflecting on my several potential counters to Jeffrey, and how I would figure out what he's doing.
Turns out, he's already making moves.
"Mark, what's happening?"
"Oh, my boy! If only you know. Guess who was spotted leaving on a plane just now?"
"Who?"
"Jeffrey and Rebecca. I'm boarding the next flight after them, they won't know what hit them."
"Nice work, how'd you find them?"
"Remember when we sent out those notifs thanks to the Syndicate's influence? Turns out one of the employees noticed TJ from the reports that were sent! Wherever TJ is, those two have to follow."
My eyes widened when I finally realized the truth.
"Mark, that's a trap. Did you even see Rebecca and Jeffrey?"
"No, but I figured it'd be some kind of trap. However, the potential to catch Jeffrey and Rebecca far outweighs the negative of falling into their traps."
"No, Mark, you don't get it. That's what he wants. Jeffrey wants you on this flight so he can distract you. Where is he going anyway? He's probably waiting beh-"
"I'm gonna hang up, the flight's boarding."
And with that, Mark hung up.
That fucking idiot, he completely let his pride get in the way. I started pacing around my room, my fists balled up at my sides and shaking. Jeffrey uses the fact that Mark isn't letting go of how he keeps losing against him. Mark is too busy trying to prove how smart he is that he's getting ahead of himself, and making dumb mistakes. Mark's smarter, and better than this. I know he is, and it's tiring.
My guess is that Jeffrey realized this, and sent TJ alone on a flight, hoping Mark would tag a tailing flight, so he and Rebecca can hop on a final flight, sandwiching Mark in between Jeffrey and Rebecca and TJ. This would leave Mark completely defenseless against TJ while Jeffrey and Rebecca don't even have to appear, TJ could easily flee the scene and Jeffrey and Rebecca won't have any business being even thought about, they could slip away and Jeffrey doesn't even need to use the watch. A perfectly crafted scheme, well done, Jeffrey.
As I peered out into the starry skyscape before me, I started realizing a truth I needed to understand long ago.
I clenched my jaw. Mark's arrogance was going to cost us everything.
I'm done cleaning up his mess.
If Jeffrey wanted to play games…
Fine.
But it's time I start taking matters into my own hands. I'm getting those clues, and I'm taking the battle to him.