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The atmosphere of the room is rancid after what he just said. Kiara is trying her best to distract herself with scribbling down on her notepad. Maruyama is staring blankly at the ceiling, letting it all sink in. You already guessed he did this through context clues but you're still trying to process it to.
"...If you're going to the studio with me, I'll tell you everything I know about it. Please excuse me if it's not too detailed, my memory is...failing me these days." Gregory tries to laugh at his attempt at lightening up the mood. No one responds.
He begins to list off what he remembers. "The safe code to Audrey's safe is 21551. If she left anything valuable behind, it would be in there." Kiara picks up the speed of her scribbling. "<span class="mu-b">It's probably more interested in me than anyone else here</span>, so I could be a lure if need be."
"What else?" You click your tongue.
"Most of the filming equipment is probably beyond useless after what I did but we had a storage shed out back that might've been spared. It has a voice recognition lock that needs a specific phrase." Gregory clicks his tongue. "It's two words but I can't recall them to save my life."
A two word code phase? You think Max told you something like that.
"The last thing about that place I can recall is <span class="mu-b">that I hid some old stashes around the place.</span> Couldn't name the exact locations but I usually hid them behind shelves or vending machines."
"That's all I can recall. I'm sorry if it's not useful, this isn't...something I'm used to."
"Taking responsibility?" Venom drenches every syllable that Maruyama makes. "Yeah. I wouldn't be shocked either. If Mr. Liam Bean lacks the the COMMON DECENCY TO NOT FUCK SOMEONE ELSE'S WIFE, THEN YES. WE KNOW ALREADY."
You almost forgot about the whole Vanessa thing. From what you mindread of Maru back then, it's a bit too close to home for him. Gregory flinches at the sudden shift in Maruyama's voice.
"I was young, stupid! It was seventy five years ago!"
"Seventy five years too late to make a better god damn decision! You hired her, and by proxy us, for this...this masturbatory fantasy about when you were cool and young! Hell, we're just meat walls in case the anomaly was still around killing people, huh?"
Every line Maruyama spits out is filled with more venom and anger than the last. "You don't care about what you did! You're only sorry we found the anomaly existed and started asking too many questions!"
Gregory looks away from Maruyama. <<span class="mu-b">"He's not wrong. Normally, you're supposed to kill those who insult you. That doesn't change the fact he's right."</span>> He doesn't respond verbally but the obvious look of guilt on his face says everything you need to know.
Kiara finishes scribbling down everything she heard. "...Thank you for being candid with us, Gregory." Her calm and collected tone clashes hard with the outburst Maruyama had. The room falls quiet after everything is said and done.
