Amanita: Poison Shot

Chapter 61: I Heard You Coming Home Late Last Night

"Soooo... How was it?" Gabi asked me once we were out of the cellar. He had a stupid grin on his face.

"You're not referring to...?"

"Well, yes, I am. How was virgin wonder boy?"

That mischievous smile, those inquisitive eyes, that aura around him as if he was some dog begging me to give it its bone already,... Who was he? A chronic gossiper?

"We've not done it, Gabi. Can you just be serious for some minutes, please? Got enough on my plate." I sighed.

"Fair enough. I guess you're right. Agape's proud of you, you know," he said while we were walking out of Angel Rock's clearing and into the woods.

"Really?"

It was rather dark in the small woods on Angel Rock, but I could get a glimpse of admiration on his face.

"She's said so in front of everybody right after you've left. I couldn't agree more."

"That's only gonna make things even more difficult for me in your group."

"Nah, don't worry. We'll get out of this mess, and nobody's gonna hold you accountable for Ray's death or anything."

"Aren't you at least a bit nervous about this? About tomorrow?" I asked him with worry as we got out of the woods and went towards Amanita's parking lot. Frankie was waiting for me only a few steps ahead.

He sighed. For the first time in my life, I felt that he was getting genuinely serious.

"I would be lying if I said that I'm not at least a bit nervous. But I don't..." He sighed. "I'm not good at this being serious thing, you see. It's like a defence strategy. My sense of humour kicks in and helps me chill. It eases my stress. I know life is not all beer and skittles. What can I say? I guess I'm weird, right?"

"Never thought of it that way."

We stopped right beside Frankie. He went on softly thus:

"I'll be fine, Daphne. Agape's plans have never failed."

"Until I came along, I guess."

"It's not your fault. Seriously. I mean that I trust her with my life when she says we're gonna win this thing. She trusts our plan to go through the additional check-ups undetected; thus, so do I."

"And Ray?"

"We might have got a mole – or not. The clones might have simply wanted a scapegoat. It's happened before. Agape disagrees. She says that then Ray's murder would be a coincidence, and she doesn't believe in coincidences. But I'm willing to test this theory. Tomorrow at midday, my check-up. With my life on the line."

"Oh, Gabi..."

"By the way, Agape will not check your nanochip. It's against her moral code of conduct. She only snoops when there's an active op, just to be able to provide immediate assistance if needed. The rest of the rebels need to know their place in the group, that's all. She's the boss, and they should follow orders. Period."

He was admirable when he spoke softly and seriously like that.

"I hope so, Gabi."

"I think she should check our nanochips, though. All our chips. Just to be on the safe side. Again, we agree to disagree. She's really stubborn, you see."