Loaded Secrets (ONC 2023)

Chapter Nine: Revelations

Walking back towards their vehicle, Aria was boiling inside; she and Epson were on the precipice of a showdown.

"You know, you didn't have to do that!" Aria said as she tried to match her strides to Epson's long-legged steps. To her dismay, she was quickly falling behind. Epson didn't react at Aria's protest at first but as soon as they turned a corner he stopped abruptly and rounded on her.

"I believe I have given you sufficient leeway with your little investigation. To the extent that I could, I have not interfered with your work and have not made extensive comments on your methods, despite finding it thoroughly lacking, but to what end do you expect me to follow along every nonsensical inquiry you wish to make?" His voice was laced with derision.

"Epson, this is important! I can just tell that this woman is crucial –" Aria found herself sputtering.

"And how, pray tell, did you arrive at that conclusion?" Epson inquired without waiting for Aria to finish her sentence. Aria was confused by Epson's outburst. Did he not understand the importance of Miranda's statements? Or was he doing this on purpose? An uneasy thought crept into her mind, every time I seem to come across a lead, he tries to divert me away from it. But what could he possibly gain by sabotaging my investigation? Establishing the inferiority of humans once and for all? From what she has seen in her short time here, that didn't seem like it was all that necessary. Humans were clearly relegated to lower social standings already. They had few opportunities in this world, unless they somehow modified themselves.

Aria astonished herself with that thought. Could it be that Epson felt threatened by her? No, that would be absurd. But even so, Aria's mind could not help but think of her prison cell of a dorm room, where she spent the night like some kind of animal, under lock and key. Would it be so far-fetched to think that he did it on purpose. But then why bring her back from her cryogenic slumber at all? The whole situation made no sense. Aria couldn't help but feel like she was missing something important.

"Listen, Epson, I need to speak to Miranda's mother, she will be the last witness, I promise," Aria begged. She hated the sound of her voice at that moment and the feeling of helplessness, but she wasn't sure how else to penetrate his defences.

"And then what is your plan? To simply conclude what we have concluded days ago? That the victim was murdered, or possibly assaulted and accidentally killed, following a dispute over illicit substances. The results collected by the Disposal unit came back, and guess what? They located illicit substances in Ayden Turner's system. I have let this experiment to go on long enough, but frankly I am growing tired –"

"What do you mean by experiment?" Aria cut him off.

"Well, observing your methodology in the hopes of learning from it, of course. I thought you would comprehend this by now," Epson responded as he began walking again.

"You did no such thing!" Aria felt an odd mixture of shame and pride in this encounter. She hated losing her temper, but she needed to stand up to Epson. "I am not some curious animal that you can watch and then put in a cage when it is no longer convenient for you to do so. I am a professional who has solved these cases many times over, way before any of your technology was available," she gestured her hand at him. "Regardless," she continued, taking advantage of Epson's momentary speechlessness and confusion over her onslaught, "your data would not be complete if we don't finish the experiment."

Epson paused, looking as if he was making inhuman attempts to school his features back into their usual neutral expression. Aria wondered if he might literally blow a circuit from the struggle. Despite his best efforts, some of the disdain was seeping through, as he narrowed his eyes and tightened his jaw muscles.