The Curious Case of the Two Dirk Gentlys

12: Conflict

When Ken returned to Blackwing he felt absolutely foul. Foul mood and foul temper. Even with this plastered all over his face Priest was completely unphased. Negativity was his language, bad moods were easy to read.

"So how did it go?" He smirked.

"How do you think?" Ken snapped. He threw his case files and interview papers down on the desk. From what Priest could tell most of the blank spaces hadn't been filled out. Those that had weren't filled out with answers. Instead they were filled with the incoherent and frustrated ramblings of Ken himself.

"Icarus flying a little higher than usual?" Asked Priest as he pretended to fiddle with nearby sheets.

"Icarus wasn't there. It's that...asshole Farah. She gets in the way of everything. And Mona? Oh don't get me started on Mona. When I first met here I thought 'Sure, this girl is dangerous but she seems sweet. Maybe she's just scared'. Nope. You try and have a friendly conversation and she tries to shoot you." Ken ranted.

"Why didn't you just wait outside?" Priest scowled.

"For Icarus. Couldn't wait in the car for that long. He's hanging out in some Premier Inn in London." Ken explained.

"What's he doing there?" Asked Priest.

"Oh I don't know. Visiting family or something." Ken waved off. Priest shrugged. It wasn't relevant to what he wanted and therefore not important.

"Well I've got a little something for you that might cheer you up." Said Priest. He handed over an A4 sheet of paper signed by Wilson herself. Ken skimmed over the document. On the top, in big bold letters, were the words 'Extension of Jurisdiction Request'.

"What's this?" Asked Ken. Of course, he knew exactly what it was and what Mr Priest planned to do with it. Still it was always polite to give a guy a chance to back down before they walked right into hot water.

"I made a few phone calls and arranged a meeting. Flash some smiles, say a few words. We can get jurisdiction in England and have Athos back in time." Priest explained.

"What have I told you about stuff like this?" Ken yelled.

"It's not like you've got anything better to do with your time. All you do is browse through the old case files and hang out with Marzanna. It would take you ten minutes tops. With that time you could persuade the higher ups to give us a whole army if you wanted to." Priest argued.

"And what if I don't want to?" Asked Ken.

"What is your problem with this?" Priest countered.

"Athos is irrelevant." Ken snapped.

"But what she comes with could be the key to rebuilding this project." Priest shouted.

"Or it could fail completely."

"Riggens wouldn't have a problem with this. If you would just-"

"Who's in charge here?" Ken interrupted. The argument stopped dead. Silence hung heavy in the dark room as the two men glared at each other for an uncomfortable amount of time.

"You are, Sir." Priest finally grumbled.

"That's right." Ken ripped the document clean in half and threw it into the bin, all without taking his eyes off the silent Mr Priest. "Now don't you ever pull this shit on me again. Understand?"

"Yes, Sir." He grumbled. His bitter undertones came through strong and vibrant. Ken didn't pull him up on it, he was far too tired.

"Good. Now I'm going to deal with some real work. Go and make yourself useful." Said Ken as he walked away.

" What would you like me to do for Marzanna tonight, Sir?" Asked Priest.

"Oh just make her some beans on toast or something I don't care." Ken called back. Priest nodded and waited for Ken to leave the room before reaching for the phone. 'Make yourself useful', that was the order. That was exactly what he was going to
do. He dailed the British emergency services.