9. He sat in the back of the car trying to make his final decision. The car was parked outside his old roommate’s apartment and he could see the blue glow of the television reflecting off the apartment walls.
Did he trust the roommate? They weren’t roommates anymore and this wasn’t college. A lot had changed in the past few years. He needed a test to prove the roommate’s loyalties. Like he had had to prove himself. Nothing was given away for free in this world, especially not trust. It was either the roommate or his sister. And although he looked out for his sister and trusted her, he just didn’t think she was right for this kind of job. She was too much a product of everything The Company stood for. Which was a good thing but it rendered her somewhat useless.
So he’d made his decision. He still sat in the back of the car. He exhaled and reached his hand out for the door handle. The door opened and he put his foot out trying to find a spot where he could stand without stepping in mud, motor oil or trash.
He closed the car door and looked up again at the window flickering bluely in the night. He straightened himself and dismissed all doubt. He needed to present an aura of assurance, control and command. He walked up to the door and pressed the buzzer. A few seconds passed and he heard the voice of his roommate coming out of a square box with beveled slats.
"Yes," the voice said.
He told him who it was and asked to come in. The roommate said, "Sure," sounding surprised and there was a buzzing sound and the front door unlocked. He pushed the door open and walked inside the walk-up.
This building used to be one large home but it really had been too big for one person or even one family. Sacrifices needed to be made and it was better that such a house be shared. So The Company said.
He walked through the hall where there was someone sitting on a reclining lawn chair eating some kind of cheese doodle out of a bag. He approached the roommate’s door and knocked. The door opened and the roommate smiled.
"Hey," he said. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
They were still standing in the doorway.
"Come in, come in."
They went inside and he knew the first thing he said would set the tone for his visit.
"I work for The Company."
The roommate stopped subtly in his tracks but recovered quickly. Was that a guilty lurch or just caught off guard? Well, he could use either one. He told the roommate that he was on official business and that he needed to know if he could trust him. He looked in the roommate’s eyes. There was something there he could not quite read but it wasn’t fear or anger or any of the emotions that would have caused him to cancel this mission.
The roommate said absolutely he could be trusted and asked if this had to do with Sector 8. He told him that he had discovered some things that might be of use. He seemed eager to prove himself. Excellent.
The roommate was rifling through his desk, pulling out sheets of paper. The television was still on. He reached up and pushed the button, turning the smiling image on the screen into a point of light before it disappeared.
The roommate was drawing things on the paper and saying that he had locked the originals in his office desk but it looked as if they were trying to isolate something. He drew a few circles with one pencil and then drew another series of circles with a different pencil.
"This is about Sector 8? You are trying to isolate something?"
He stood and waited wondering what the roommate knew. He found silence to be a useful tool. It antagonized the guilty but reassured the innocent.
"I have organized a battalion of eleven people. We will infiltrate Sector 8 and eliminate an insidious force. The work I gave you is meant to determine where we strike."
"I knew it! Look here. You’re looking just off the mark. According to the calculations you gave me, you would strike here," and he showed him the center of one set of circles. "But according to my calculations, you should strike here." And he pointed at the center of the other circles a few inches away.
He was ready to throw the final die.
"Would you be willing to come with us?"
Without hesitation, the roommate said that he would.
He felt assured immediately, all doubt vanishing in the instant. They started making plans and going over the roommate’s evidence. He told the roommate that they should probably get the map and notes from the office and then summons the battalion to convene. The roommate asked if the battalion had a name. He told the roommate that as of that night it did.
In The Company policy whenever major decisions were made there had to be a quorum of thirteen and in the parlance of The Company, this was always referred to as "Implementing the Triskaidekaphobic Quorum."
"Now there are thirteen of us and we shall be known as the TQ, may our names and deeds be remembered throughout history."
This seemed a solemn and austere thing to say and he would have to remember to repeat it before the entire TQ. The roommate asked when they would strike.
"As soon as possible."
next
Did he trust the roommate? They weren’t roommates anymore and this wasn’t college. A lot had changed in the past few years. He needed a test to prove the roommate’s loyalties. Like he had had to prove himself. Nothing was given away for free in this world, especially not trust. It was either the roommate or his sister. And although he looked out for his sister and trusted her, he just didn’t think she was right for this kind of job. She was too much a product of everything The Company stood for. Which was a good thing but it rendered her somewhat useless.
So he’d made his decision. He still sat in the back of the car. He exhaled and reached his hand out for the door handle. The door opened and he put his foot out trying to find a spot where he could stand without stepping in mud, motor oil or trash.
He closed the car door and looked up again at the window flickering bluely in the night. He straightened himself and dismissed all doubt. He needed to present an aura of assurance, control and command. He walked up to the door and pressed the buzzer. A few seconds passed and he heard the voice of his roommate coming out of a square box with beveled slats.
"Yes," the voice said.
He told him who it was and asked to come in. The roommate said, "Sure," sounding surprised and there was a buzzing sound and the front door unlocked. He pushed the door open and walked inside the walk-up.
This building used to be one large home but it really had been too big for one person or even one family. Sacrifices needed to be made and it was better that such a house be shared. So The Company said.
He walked through the hall where there was someone sitting on a reclining lawn chair eating some kind of cheese doodle out of a bag. He approached the roommate’s door and knocked. The door opened and the roommate smiled.
"Hey," he said. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
They were still standing in the doorway.
"Come in, come in."
They went inside and he knew the first thing he said would set the tone for his visit.
"I work for The Company."
The roommate stopped subtly in his tracks but recovered quickly. Was that a guilty lurch or just caught off guard? Well, he could use either one. He told the roommate that he was on official business and that he needed to know if he could trust him. He looked in the roommate’s eyes. There was something there he could not quite read but it wasn’t fear or anger or any of the emotions that would have caused him to cancel this mission.
The roommate said absolutely he could be trusted and asked if this had to do with Sector 8. He told him that he had discovered some things that might be of use. He seemed eager to prove himself. Excellent.
The roommate was rifling through his desk, pulling out sheets of paper. The television was still on. He reached up and pushed the button, turning the smiling image on the screen into a point of light before it disappeared.
The roommate was drawing things on the paper and saying that he had locked the originals in his office desk but it looked as if they were trying to isolate something. He drew a few circles with one pencil and then drew another series of circles with a different pencil.
"This is about Sector 8? You are trying to isolate something?"
He stood and waited wondering what the roommate knew. He found silence to be a useful tool. It antagonized the guilty but reassured the innocent.
"I have organized a battalion of eleven people. We will infiltrate Sector 8 and eliminate an insidious force. The work I gave you is meant to determine where we strike."
"I knew it! Look here. You’re looking just off the mark. According to the calculations you gave me, you would strike here," and he showed him the center of one set of circles. "But according to my calculations, you should strike here." And he pointed at the center of the other circles a few inches away.
He was ready to throw the final die.
"Would you be willing to come with us?"
Without hesitation, the roommate said that he would.
He felt assured immediately, all doubt vanishing in the instant. They started making plans and going over the roommate’s evidence. He told the roommate that they should probably get the map and notes from the office and then summons the battalion to convene. The roommate asked if the battalion had a name. He told the roommate that as of that night it did.
In The Company policy whenever major decisions were made there had to be a quorum of thirteen and in the parlance of The Company, this was always referred to as "Implementing the Triskaidekaphobic Quorum."
"Now there are thirteen of us and we shall be known as the TQ, may our names and deeds be remembered throughout history."
This seemed a solemn and austere thing to say and he would have to remember to repeat it before the entire TQ. The roommate asked when they would strike.
"As soon as possible."
next