[Day 351] Eugenia, part 20

Read part 19 here!

Jon was halfway finished preparing a large batch of spaghetti when the door opened and two pairs of shoes were deposited on the front mat. Peering around the edge of the kitchen, I recognized Decklan but not the other boy, who I assumed was his other roommate.

“Jon! What’s for dinner?” Asked the second boy before noticing me. “Well, hello there. Who are-”

Decklan, also noticing me, swore loudly. “JON!”

“Calm down, geez. You’ll scare the neighbors.” Jon appeared in his apron and oven mitts, hands on his hips. “She was hiding in a tree when I got home. Must have recognized my voice, because she fell right to my feet.”

“Meg, I told you-”

“I listened to the damn interview.” I informed him crossly. “And Jon filled me in on the rest. So we have a politician to bring down as well as a political system. What’s the big deal?”

“What’s the big deal? Did Jon tell you how we knew all this, before the interview?”

“Well, no-”

“We know it because Senator Bluff decided that you coming into the grocery store, not buying anything but talking to me, was highly suspicious. You’re about the age that Meg Carroway should be by now, as his list showed. So I was taken into questioning.”

“Shit, Decklan, I-”

“I’m not done yet. The man is insane. Absolutely insane. Kept asking me who you were; apparently, he’s seen you around before. They set up this face recognition program not long ago, so now, every time you go by a security camera, it will scan your face. He will find you in minutes. He also said that he’d question me again if you weren’t found soon. Doesn’t seem to think I’m telling the truth.”

“What did you tell him, then?”

“Told him that you were trying to buy drugs.”

“Thanks.” I stressed sarcastically.

“Yeah, you’re welcome for not turning your ungrateful ass in. By the way, this is Andy Sullivan. Talk to him for a while. I’m too frustrated to talk.”

Shaking my head, I extended a hand towards the large boy. He looked like a football player, but his benign attitude endeared me. Especially after Decklan’s rampage. “Hi.”

“Why, hello, Miss Carroway. May I call you Meg?”

I laughed at the sarcastic politeness. “That will be fine. Why is Decklan so mad?”

We both turned to look at him arguing with Jon in the kitchen. “Well, from what I heard, the questioning wasn’t exactly a fun experience. He’s been a wreck ever since. He doesn’t want you captured, he doesn’t want to give up on getting rid of the FF system, but he also doesn’t want to get arrested.”

Nodding, I accepted this explanation. Treason wasn’t the easiest thing to commit. Especially with Bluff in power. “So what now?”

Andy sighed, sitting back on the couch and motioning for me to do the same. “We need to get word to the rest of our little dissent group to meet. Only Jon and I know what you told Decklan about the truth behind FF, so we need to spread the word and start figuring out our next step.”

“But isn’t it obvious?”

“No?”

“We need to get that list!”

Continued in part 21! (the last part of Bri 2.0!)