BLACK INK SOCIETY {Sci-Fi Thriller} #Wattys2016

Part 9,3: Promise me you make it out alive

City of London

"I got the data from Cel," Dante reported via comlink. "She said it's a row house unit in Hastwood Road, Havering. Couldn't pick up the signal from there, it must have been jammed."

"Oh, so you two are on first name basis already?" Irene replied. "Good job. Havering, Hastwood Road."

"Shall I send you the files?"

"No, that's too dangerous. Might get intercepted. I trust you have them on paper only?"

"Yep. See you later. Oh, and, good luck with Mr. Tin Foil Cap. Conspiracy theorists aren't the most reliable of sources though, from what you hear."

Irene snorted. "I'm glad you remind me. Looks like you've done your homework after all, but this guy is far more than a theorist. We'll meet back at the office later. If you have spare time, make a trip to the supermarket. I think we might need to do some overtime."

"Got it. Dante over 'n out."

Irene turned off the comlink.

They walked up to a coffee shop at the side of the street, one of these tiny vintage places where Lupin's friends from art school liked to spent their free periods at. The sort that had cushioned window benches and sold vegan cake slices.

Not exactly the place Lupin would have expected to be Irene's meeting point of choice, but well, maybe even some serial killers had a soft spot for a slice of red velvet and window seats. The opening door produced a loud squeak, and a wave of dry, heated air swept towards them.

The shop smelled like foamed milk and roasting machines, the november sun smiled warmly through the windows. It was just then that Lupin realised how strange all this felt. The warm light, the coffee smell, the careless atmosphere, it all felt foreign despite the fact that he himself had been an inherent part of this weird coffee-shop subculture only three years ago. The eco-starbucks-culture. The sort of young people whose greatest ability was their talent for ignoring politics. The sort of young people who had been trained from childhood to ignore crises because they were literally showered with them. And of course, facing the threat of international terrorism, the changes in constitution made by the new conservative alliance passed almost unnoticed. The closing of the borders. The public information act. The additions to the prosecution capacities.

Of course they debated, of course they discussed. But barely half an hour did they stick to it, drifting off into lighter topics, with the conclusion of we can't change anything about it. Which always left Lupin with a sour feeling, but of course he went with the flow. They were the light side of the force, and the light was warm and carefree but it blinded them.

Now Lupin had joined the dark side for good. And it was ugly, really ugly, but at least he wasn't blinded anymore.

"Is this were we meet your contact?"

"I am astounded by your sense of deduction," Irene replied ironically. "Yes, it is."

"Why here, if I might ask?" He pointed widely towards his surroundings, "This isn't really your natural environment, or is it?"

She smiled. "Do you know what Darwin meant when he wrote this famous sentence in the Origin of Species?  Survival of the fittest is not equal to survival of the strongest. A common misconception, but this meaning of the word fit wasn't around at the time. What he actually meant was..." she turned to the side, seeming to notice something in the corner of her eye, "Survival of the most adaptive."

Irene sat down at the empty table to her left and invited Lupin with a small gesture to follow her example. "Now, considering my risky choice of career - how do think am I still alive?"