Hidden and Silent (SpyxFamily)

Ch. 2: Part Two

"Mmm." Demetrius sighed thoughtfully and rocked back and forth on his feet as he considered how to start. Anya stared at him intently. "Father is preparing for war." 004 decided was the first thing Damian should know.

"Uh—" He said.

Anya's papa was suddenly very alert.

"I think I'm supposed to be in it, and I think that's what the labs were for." 004 continued.

"Wh—"

"But they're gone, so I don't know what father is gonna do now. 004 sighed at the ceiling. "He'll improvise. He doesn't like it, but he's good at it."

"Ar—"

"Anyway, that's why they came for 00—" He caught himself as he gestured to her. "Anya at the zoo, and why they didn't kill you." He explained. "I think that pretty much sums it up."

"Uh—Wh—NO IT DOES NOT!" Damian protested.

"It doesn't?"

"NO! Why is father starting a war?!"

Demetrius shrugged.

"YOU DON'T KNOW?!"

"Not really."

"How did I not know about this?!"

"He's good at hiding things. And he lies. Like, a lot."

"Why didn't you say anything!?" Damian asked.

Demetrius paused and stared back at him, poker faced. ". . .you're six. . ."

"That's—!" Damian tried and failed. He didn't have a retort for that. "Still, I should have known!"

"Mmm." Demetrius said skeptically as he clearly doubted the validity of that statement.

Damian took a deep breath. "Why didn't you tell the police or something? Why didn't we tell them the truth earlier?"

004 scratched his jaw. "Mmm." He thought. "For a couple reasons."

"Like?" Damian prompted impatiently.

004 glanced to Anya. "Well. . .for one, let's just say, some of the cops are on father's side. Nothing good would come from us turning him in."

Anya's papa noted this new information and already he was calculating variables.

Damian took this in quietly and it seemed to plummet his agitated energy. "What's the other reason?" He asked uneasily.

"Mmm." 004 said again and shifted his weight. "When the lab is concerned, we keep a low profile. It's easier to protect ourselves."

"From who?"

"From everyone." Demetrius shrugged.

And the moment he said it, it was like a small flame growing bigger on a candle as Damian understood. It flicked across his face like a shadow. "Demetrius. . ." He said and 004 went still. Anya's blood turned to ice before the words left his lips. "Why did father send you there? That. . . you would go to war?"

Though he was unmoving, 004 showed no signs of discomposure. He carefully studied Damian's face and his silence was too contemplative for Anya's liking.

". . .or that you would have to hide. . ." Damian added weakly at 004's unflinching, endlessly expressionless gaze that also set Anya on edge.

This is what Damian really wanted to know. The reason he and Anya had been kidnapped. Why everyone was so hesitant to tell the truth. He knew it was rooted here and Anya watched Demetrius anxiously for signs that he would spill.

She'd worked so hard to keep this a secret. As scared as it made her, she would also be furious with 004.

But something new formed in Damian's thoughts as his brother stared down at him and his fervour for the truth wavered. The change wasn't significant, but something in Demetrius' attitude, his eyes, told him that he shouldn't be asking.

"Don't worry about it." The words were monotonous. It wasn't harsh or mean. There was no malice or intimidation. Just firm indication that it was to be left alone and Damian was faced with a wall that he was not allowed to climb. His brother had drawn a line and Damian now sensed there was more gravity to what he was asking than he thought. More. . .fear surrounding it than he thought.

004 hadn't said. He hadn't said, he wouldn't, and Anya felt like she could breathe again. She didn't care how much Damian knew as long as it wasn't about her and he didn't know about that.

But despite the crawling, uncomfortable feeling that Damian should actually leave it alone, he was also angry. He didn't want to listen to the part of him that understood, that told him there was a reason. He was fed up and after everything that happened, they were still not telling him the whole, freakin' truth!

"They know." Damian said sourly towards Anya's parents and they startled, throwing glances at each other.

"What makes you say that? Her mama panicked and her voice was too high to be convincing.

'Mama sucks at this.' Anya thought.

"Are you kidding?! I'm not an idiot! Why else wouldn't you tell me what's going on?!" Damian had retaken his energy, and now it was angry as well as frustrated. "And you gave her a tracker! You knew something like this would happen again!"

Her parents refrained from exchanging more looks. He wasn't wrong.

"Damian—" Her papa tried to pacify him.

"No! Who are you people!? How did you—" Damian hesitated as memories of escaping the lab hampered his words and his intentions quickly shifted. "You left—" His voice quaked slightly as he tried to control it. "Those bodies—" He said and everything was washing over him at once. Despite his thankfulness they got him out, and feeling safe with them, he couldn't let this go. The image of that floor strewn about with unconscious, dead people would haunt him for a long time.

Anya's papa rifled through lies to tell Damian like going through a filing cabinet and pulled one out that might work. "I'm a psychiatrist and I'm acquainted with war veterans. I also deal with violent patients, so, years ago, I asked for training from one of those veterans to protect myself. Yor joined me when we got married. He gave me the tracker that Anya had. It was merely a safety precaution. We're just worried parents. That's all."

Her papa provided an answer so readily and Damian was stunned. He didn't know if he should believe it or not as he lined up his facts. ". . .that's it? . . " He barely whispered and his energy took another dive like it was a rollercoaster.

"That's it." Her papa affirmed and everyone was quiet—quiet for long enough that Damian became calmer, seemingly done, and Anya's papa concluded there would be time for the rest of this later. He sighed deeply as he returned his hands to his hips. "It's been a long night. We can talk more tomorrow, I think it's time we all went to bed."

"But—" Damian started and apparently he had more to say.

"Damian." 004 said not unkindly. "Tomorrow."

The younger Desmond was ready to complain and spout question after question, but 004 levelled him with an exhausted look.

"I want to sleep." Demetrius said.

"Go to bed."