OGENUS EARTH 🌎 🌊 {Dystopian Sci-Fi Adventure}

The Distance

The collar of Fernando's shirt was yanked violently as he made his way back to the control room. He stumbled back a few paces, only to steady himself in front of the impressive frame of a Legionnaire. Marcus regarded him with a menacing glare.

"Come with me," Marcus ordered as officially as possible.

He could get into a shit-ton of trouble for detaining someone without cause, especially an Architect, but Marcus knew something was up.

That prissy older woman from the Quorum, Persephone, had pulled this guy and Meg's father into a server bay to drown out their conversation, and Marcus wanted answers.

Fernando nodded, already puzzled by his earlier interrogation and now, worried for Olivia's safety.

The Legionnaire led them onto an elevator and they ascended to the ground floor, far away from the order, he'd promised to fulfill.

Marcus poked Fernando in the lower back to nudge him down an empty hallway, he had to get them into a debriefing room, and fast.

A looming sensation of being trapped began to press on Fernando's thoughts. There wasn't a single human or bot on their walk, and this was a wing that Fernando knew was only used by the Legionnaires.

Marcus overtook Fernando's steps and waved open a door to direct him inside.

Fernando glanced at the stark square box that the Legionnaire had taken him to, astounded by his surroundings. He was being treated like a common criminal, and as far as he knew, he had not broken any laws. In the middle of the room stood a plastic table and a set of two chairs.

"Take a seat." Marcus offered as he moved to turn off the camera in the corner of the room. No one else needed to know about this right now.

Fernando sat as instructed, his eyes never leaving the Legionnaire who looked out of sorts. It would be funny if Fernando didn't feel as if he were in trouble.

"What's your name?" Marcus began.

"Fernando Padres." He answered easily. "Is there something going on?"

"You tell me." Marcus taunted in a soothing voice. "It looks like the Architects and the Quorum are scrambling, and you just got pulled into a secret meeting with one of the head honchos. What were you chatting about?"

"We were talking about something you don't have the clearance to know about." Fernando retorted, his pulse flaring at the thought of a lowly Legionnaire spying.

"Is that so?" Marcus challenged, seeming to enjoy Fernando's tenacity. "Well, in that case, let's talk about confidential information. I happen to know a few things about you, Fernando."

"What things?" Fernando brushed this off with a skeptical laugh, but inwardly panic was setting in.

Marcus watched the Architect squirm for a few moments, letting silence fill the room. His father had always taught him to be sure that everyone around you understood that you were in control, a lesson he was employing right now.

"I know that you've got a lovely wife that visits you every Friday for lunch. She's always so proud to be meeting her Architect husband." Marcus began, keeping his tone threateningly low. "You'd be surprised at what we see at the front desk. While pricks like you go about your day, we see who comes and who goes, even in the security cameras. I'm not so sure your wife would want to know what I've seen."

"You wouldn't!" Fernando gasped.

He'd never meant for his fling with Olivia to go as far as it did. They'd been so careful to hide their lust when out in the open! It had started as a mild flirtation, something to pass the time really, but when she started responding to his playful words, he fell victim to her spell.

"So now you know, that I know," Marcus replied winningly, ignoring his own repetition. "Lot's of need-to-know information. And it would be a darned shame if what I know, got out. You know?"

"I can't!" Fernando pleaded with his eyes and his chest tightening in horror. "Persephone specifically said that I wasn't to talk about this with anyone. Please."

"I don't want you to do anything that would make you uncomfortable." Marcus baited his prey. "But you understand that the safety of the Arc Cities is my domain, and keeping secrets could compromise the safety of our citizens."

Fernando was genuinely impressed that this galoot knew what any of those bigger words meant, but he hung his head in shame.

"I can't." The Architect repeated, his chin buried in his chest. "Please."

Marcus knew full well that a concession was imminent. This guy just needed a little push.

"I'm acting on a higher authority." Marcus' con was skirting close to dangerous territory now, but the lies came naturally. "And they've given me clearance to use whatever means necessary to get information."

"What I can tell you is this," Fernando began, scrambling for something (anything) that he could say without compromising Persephone's orders, "something has happened on Arc City Two."

"Impossible, I would have heard about it." Marcus scoffed.

"No one knows about this." Fernando reminded him carefully, so as not to aggravate the Legionnaire's quick temper. "Persephone has asked that we keep this secret so as not to raise alarm."

Fernando was trying to coach the dumb ox into a partnership, using terms like 'we' and the fact that this could set off an 'alarm' throughout the community.

Marcus turned away, his thoughts made no sense, and he needed some time to process what Fernando told him.

Just out of reach of his comprehension and right in front of his nose, was a two-way mirror giving Fernando a front row seat to the Legionnaire's garbled bewilderment.

"What happened on Arc City Two?" Marcus finally came out of his fug with enough words to string together.

"I swear I don't know, but they went offline this morning!" Fernando begged for mercy with his eyes. "Persephone didn't tell me anything, she just wanted to ask questions about Olivia."

"Olivia?" Marcus asked, unwittingly blowing his cover.

"The woman I've been..." Fernando's eyes widened at the realization. "You lied!"

"Technically I didn't lie," Marcus smiled back, impressed that he'd been able to take his bluff this far. "You just didn't deny what you did...you dirty dog."

Fernando's anger rose up his throat but died before he could spout off any more. He was caught, but thankfully, this Legionnaire looked too stupid to really know what he had.

Marcus, being the simpleton he had been borne to, had failed to make the connection between Fernando's fling with Olivia and her absconding with Arturo and Meg. Fernando reasoned that this had bought him some time and relaxed a little.

"May I go?" He asked, then, added for good measure, "They'll be looking for me soon."

"Go." Marcus waved off the adulterer with a dismissive hand.

He had believed the sniveling Architect when he said that Persephone wouldn't tell them what was going on aboard Arc City Two, and that meant he was of no more use.

Marcus couldn't feel bad for his tactics, this was clearly much bigger than anyone knew. But he knew, and that gave him power. Meg was gone and something had happened on Arc City Two. He wondered if those two seemingly disparate facts could somehow be related.

Marcus ran a hand through his cropped chestnut locks, hoping this would stimulate his thinking follicles, but no such luck.

The Architect had given him something to start with, now it was up to him to get to the bottom of this.