>>5965877You undo the topmost buttons on your shirt and adjust your collar to let more air in. Also grab a drink to quench the fire in your stomach. You feel awfully hungry, even though lunch was scarcely half an hour ago. No, concentrate, don't let your body distract you. Look, Silas is tapping his fingernails on the metallic rims of the holo-projector, he won't tolerate this knuckle-dragging for much longer.
Finally, you gather enough courage to deliver the clipped words, “Uh, uhm, I think, I'm pretty sure, Tim? He already knew. Everything.” There is a loud clang of steel meeting steel, the hologram static shaking violently before returning to normal. You instinctively look under the table to find the new dent made by Silas' boot. “Don't bother! Look at me. Are you sure? How did he find out?”
You eye Silas' pistol nervously. With him in this mood, no point asking for promises. “About that... I, I told him. S-sorry.” There was a short silence. Then Silas reaches across the table and squeezes your cheeks until they splurt red water like an overripe tomato. Wait, no, that's just your imagination running wild. Reality is even worse.
The ceiling light faintly reveals the kaleidoscopic innards of Silas' laser derringer. “And now we see darkly..." He turns on the guide laser, which splits into a thousand fireflies dancing in a hall of mirrors. “Beautiful, isn't it?” Death has never been more urbane. A wave of cool calmness overwhelms your stuttering voicebox. “Sure is p-prettier than a powder-gun's barrel. But what do I know? I never stared down one myself.”
The gun inches closer to your face. A rather useless move, you think, not like it would get any more lethal. Your eyes dart back and forth between the Reaper's dance and his executioner's visage until it lands on something out of step. “Your fingers, Silas, they are still outside the trigger guard.”
The barrel slowly falls until it once more fits snugly in the holster. “Ain't no point. We're in this together.” He closes his eyes in meditation. “I'm sorry, Si. I will take full responsibility. It's my orders after all.” Silas chuckles, shaking his head. “And it's my conscience. My duty to disobey.”
He takes another deep breath before finally re-opening his eyes. No trace of tenderness remains. “Follow me. We need to solve this. Now.” His steely voice rattles a half-forgotten memory out of its hiding hole. Spine tingles, hair stands at full-mast. Your feet fall in after Silas', while your mind drifts through the paths of dreams.
