Frederick Polo was awakened with a jolt -- a jarring slap, to be exact -- only to find himself in a classic, cliched scenario within a darkly lit chamber: his wrists and ankles were tied together to a poorly selected and poorly sized wooden chair, by way of thick, hairy ropes. The last thing Polo remembered was simply walking to work, which was only a couple of blocks away from his apartment building -- and what else? Apparently, he must have blacked out for some reason, now either hallucinating or in the custody of a wrinkled man with a silvery beard and sideburns, accompanied by two indistinct guards of some sort, their faces foggy.
"What have you done--" Polo gasped, only to face another hardy slap from one of the guards, proceeding to back away beside their master along with his accomplice.
"It's not something you've done," the bearded man in the dark blue suit (hints of pink showing from underneath) put his hands behind his back. "You contain highly valuable intelligence of or relating to the presence and actions of the ambiguous Samuel 'Soal' Lawrence and Irene 'Green Phantom' Grammor."
"But... who are you?" Polo bit his lip in apprehension. Yes, he had information regarding these two time-travelers. These people definitely had a strong want of these capabilities, yet Polo knew little more of how they would extract them from him.
"I am Preston Gulley of ACE -- that is, the Agency for Conspiracy Examination, a subdivision of several international governments," the bearded man defined his objective. "Recently, we have been warned of your affiliation with several controversial conspiracy theories, including the one we speak of today. Your role here and now is to inform us of everything that you know of these two youths."
"I am only a journalist, and I know little --"
"Reporter, or a writer of simply fake news?" Gulley was quick to accuse. "Are you sure that these two children are real at all? You claim to know them personally, yes?"
"Well, yes, but I'm unsure--"
"Be wary, Polo," Gulley raised his finger and bent to lock eyes with the suspect. "My own children have suffered at the hands of those who had fallen to the level of believing potentially fake news such as this. Even now, they are afraid it will happen again to my grandson, Gordon. It's a fad sweeping the western world, and it is the purpose of ACE to control such threats before they escalate. Anyway, you were unsure...?"
"...unsure of whether or not they're simply faking it," Polo gulped in dismay.
"Hmm," Gulley stroked his beard. "You claim that they are capable of traveling through time. Lending such powers, if applicable, to ACE and the government would easily squash all such conspiracies of its origin. Frederick Polo, are you willing to protect Samuel and Irene -- which will come with great consequences -- or will you grant us the necessary evidence to lend us the ability... if any exists whatsoever... to join them?"
YOU ARE READING
The Sketch Rift: The Eternal Crusade
Fantasy{Book Two in the Sketch Rift Trilogy} Samuel Lawrence, or Soal, is revolted by the mere premise of returning to the bleak metropolis of Hendera. But these hopes are laid to rest when sentinels of the enigmatic Charles Hemingway draw his reentr...
