Bad Blood (6Questions)

Track 1

I flip the DVD back and forth before putting it in the player. Oh hey, Marianne pops up on the screen, almost lifelike. Well, for now anyways... I send her a crooked smirk as if she could see me. Her face is perplexed even though she hides it behind her stone-cold mask. I feel the good old fear and revolt blended in her eyes. But this time it's not because of me, it's the man across from her.

<You're recording our conversation?>

<It's not a conversation, it's an interrogation.>

<Is that why the light is winking? Can you fix it, it's driving me crazy.>

<First of all, Ms. Gill. How did you meet Damian Carlow?>

<Uh... Well, we went to the same college. I sat next to him at lectures once or twice.>

<No, the second time. And spare no detail.>

She sighs.

<He wrote me to meet him at a bar that day. And, well, I had no better plans for the Friday night, so I went...>

<Just like that? ... You clearly didn't know each other very well. Meeting in the class once or twice, suddenly he contacts you over four years later. Not weird at all? Or am I missing something?>

<No, it was weird. (...) I knew he couldn't remember me from the actual lectures, he probably just found me in an old Facebook group... But you know, it was freakin Damian Carlow, I sure remembered him. And I was... curious, to say the least.>

<So, you came to the bar like he instructed.>

<Yeah. I sat down at the counter, got a gin and tonic, and patiently guarded the door to see him walk in. Well, maybe I was a little impatient. See, I still can't really tell what I was expecting from the meeting. It was like a... reverse blind date. I knew exactly who I was meeting but no idea about the purpose.>

<How much did you really know about Mr. Carlow then?>

<Um... not so much, that's true. Although at the time, I thought I knew enough. From the college girls' gossips. People were talking about Damian so much you couldn't not know about him. But after we graduated... I knew he went abroad right after the school. Became a diplomat quite instantly. As his dad who was clearly of a great help to him.>

<This was the first time you heard he was back in Vienna?>

<Correct.>

<And he came to the bar to see you.>

<In fact, he was already there. Surprised me from the back while I was still hypnotizing the door with my eyes.

"Friday night," he said, "it's almost like college all over again..."

And I turned around so fast I almost fell off the high bar stool.

He chuckled and beckoned to the bartender to refill his glass.

"Damian," I tried a smile, slightly anxious. There was something about him, just his presence... I believe it's called charisma. But while I hated this on the smug guys in my law firm, at Damian it felt...>