Opaque

50 | Code Blue

"Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn't." ― Mark Twain

Chapter Fifty

I had never trusted Blaze. I didn't trust him when I fought him two weeks ago and I didn't trust him now. But that was the thing about him. He knew how to get past my defenses and play with my primal desires. He knew about my life's goal and he knew exactly the limits I would cross if the need arose.

And even though I knew that he knew, I couldn't help but simply go along with his words and take them for face-value. Although my mind told me not to trust him and to ignore the hope that was devouring my heart, my gut was louder and therefore overshadowed any logic. I needed to know who Opaque was.

I didn't know when curiosity turned into need, but now that the transformation was complete, I couldn't wait to know the truth. Every fiber in my body told me that Opaque was connected to the Irwin High case and Liz and so, I followed my natural instincts.

Because I couldn't take Blaze with me to the motherboard, the FBI database, I made sure to keep him locked good and tight in the interrogation room and made it perfectly clear to him what the consequences would be if his information proved to be false.

He simply smiled and said, "Trust me. You have no other option, anyways."

As much as I wanted to argue with him and prove him wrong, I knew that there were more pressing matters to attend to. I knew the pass-code now. All that was left was for me to input it into the database.

My fingers were itching to do so.

My journey to the tracking and technology department was rather a short one. To me, it felt like one moment I was staring into Blaze's eye with fierce determination and the next I was standing in front of the database, my fingers on the keypad, ready to lift the veil off of the truth. It was most likely the excitement in my bones that caused my mind to omit the unnecessary details and for once, I was glad that I wasn't thinking, or worse, over-thinking.

Opaque had become my obsession, my addiction, and it was time for me to find out who he really was.

I clicked on Opaque's case file.

The confidential message showed up again, dramatically emboldened.

Taking a deep breath and exhaling just as quickly, I mustered up all the courage and excitement within me and plugged in the pass-code.

I watched, both with anticipation and nervousness, as the computer determined whether or not the pass-code was authentic. I was a bundle of nerves, one lie away from breaking into a entangled mess. And there was one thing about being broken--once the limits were pushed and the glass pieces of our former self lied on the floor, there was simply no going back. There would be no hurdles in my path stopping me from killing Blaze once and for all.

If this didn't work, he would die alongside me.

But, before I could even think about the ways I was going to annihilate Blaze, another messaged popped up on the screen. I had to take a step back from the motherboard to steady myself.

It worked.

Blaze hadn't lied.

"The Pass-Code 'PEARLMEN' is authentic. You may now access the file."

With the flurry of excitement also came the unexpected dread. When Blaze had told me the pass-code was simply my father's name, I had wanted to laugh. It was preposterous, simply impossible. And yet, he was right.

Although I was genuinely elated and relieved that I now had access to Opaque's file, I was no longer sure about anything. If the pass-code was correct, then that meant my father was connected to both Blaze and Opaque. That meant that everything I knew about my father was a convoluted mess. That meant something and nothing at the same time. And that was the worst realization by far.