MF1.0 - 15 - And Then?

Stef squirmed in the seat, memory or no, this guy was still a narc - jail was still possibility. That, or getting disappeared. Left in a fscking ditch you mean, this carpet‘s probably easily replaced. ‘I tell my story, but then what happens?’ Ryan stood and walked over to the window wall, she stood and followed him after a minute. ‘Conventionally speaking,’ she said to break the silence. ‘I should be able to see my house from here.’ He pointed. ‘Fourteen buildings and a tree block your view.’ She pressed her nose to the glass and tried to prove him wrong. ‘What happens next Miss Mimosa, depends on you.’ She wiped the oily nose print from the window with her shirt sleeve. ‘Meaning?’ ‘It depends on how much you wish to cooperate with us.’  ‘Well this certainly isn’t ASIO, so who’s “us”?’  ‘This is Echelon.’  ‘What do you do besides shoot people, scare hackers and kidnap babies?’  He smiled. ‘I did not kidnap you Miss Mimosa, you’re in my custody.’ ‘Anyway…’  ‘You have three choices.’  She looked up at him. ’You were explain-’ He cut her off. ’You have three choices,’ he repeated. ’One, you cooperate and then you leave. Two, unlikely I believe in your case, but I must state it nonetheless, you refuse to cooperate and I shoot you.’ She stared at her fingers for a moment. ‘Does knowing there’s weird crap in the world change the base math to the point where two equals three?’ ‘Most people jump at the first, or definitely choose the second.’  ‘So what’s the third?’  ‘Rather than simply cooperating with us, you come work for us.’  ‘So I’d have my own licence to kidnap babies, scare hackers and shoot people.’ She snapped her fingers. ‘Speaking of which, did you shoot this bearded guy with a creeptastic expression, slight aura of GTFO?’ He simply stared at her. She pouted. ‘Forty or fifty-ish, wiggy eyes, badly cut grey beard…’ ‘Are you referring to David Kane?’  She heard him, each syllable reaching her ears in order, where they were translated to English, altogether, they brought her to one eloquent response. ‘BAH?!’ He took a step back from her. ‘That guy, that guy was David Kane, as in the guy who’s son disappeared?’ She began to pace. ‘The Drama teacher who kept taking out ads about his articles to make himself more important and plastered himself all over the news when his son Tim…Jim…not a doctor…Khan? Karl?’ ‘Oliver.’  ‘Oliver disappeared. Made all the conspiracy sites buzz, then that whole lot of crap with the rusty cars and dead trees and frozen cans and Surprise Fiction and…oh my god…’ She looked up to him. ‘So that was all real?’ He nodded. ‘Cool…’ He regarded her quietly for a moment. ‘Have you made your choice?’ She nodded and grinned widely. ‘Sign. Me. Up. Complete cooperation, hell, keep my laptop if you want, so long as I get to erase my porn, anything, if I get to find out more about what’s going on.’