Pumpking

Issue 32

"You said you needed my help, my eyes to solve this—if you want me to help you, why do you want me to do it blindly? Am I supposed to trust you, just because of the badge you wear? You haven't done anything to earn my trust- in fact, it seems like the only person who's been on the level with me is Daystar and quite frankly, that should embarrass you!" I rose, my own hand slamming into the table, "I might be a civilian with no clue how the Pantheon works, or what sort of methods you consider appropriate, but it's clear a rich boy like you thinks trust can just be bought- well my confidence isn't for sale. If you want to keep me dumb and blind- you have no right to complain when I stumble around in the dark while I'm trying to figure out what's going on."

His eyes flared red under the fluorescent lights, and for a moment I thought he was angry, then the emotions faded to something else. He frowned down at me, like he hoped to brow-beat me out of the argument.

That sort of tactic had never worked on me. I didn't submit to bullying. We locked gazes, neither of us willing to look away.

"You don't need to know-"

"Then you can't complain."

"You can't just run off."

"You keep telling me what I can and can't do, Whisper; so far you still haven't grasped the fact that I am not some little drone who will do whatever you want just because you tell me to."

"Goddamnit Sam-D--Dion this is for your own good!"

"What is for my own good? Following you around all day? Sitting in a hotel room waiting to be summoned to look at some photos? I could go to the police and sit around all day in a jail cell under protection and have the same 'own good' speech from people who don't lie, blackmail and antagonise me all day- why should I give you a free pass, hmm?"

"I'm not trying to upset you- I thought you would like a nice dress and good food-"

"There you go again, assuming things about me! I thought we'd been over this. I'm not whoever it is you keep comparing me too. You need to take a goddamn look at me- who the hell do you think I am?"

He pulled back like I'd smacked him then, surprised. Maybe I'd said something too much there but still-

"Phantom, she's right; you need to tell us what is going on with this Combustion- I don't want any more deaths that we could prevent with knowing the whole story." Daystar's reasonable voice brought me back to myself, I hadn't realized that everything else just seemed to fall away the second Ash and I locked horns. He made me forget where we were; what sort of situation we were in.

Ash stepped back, letting all the air out of his lungs with an annoyed sigh, "Fine. Fine. Tonight's tragedy reminds me that Combustion's insanity has grown beyond my initial hopes of projecting." He looked around the room and sighed. "Perhaps we should continue this conversation aboard the Hercules?"