The Things We Do (Under Editing)

No Escaping the Truth

Anna left me standing alone by the small creek, surrounded by flowers in full blood. For a moment, I just stood and watched the reflection of the lights dance across the surface of the water. I knew I should head back to the party. Elliot had probably returned and was wondering where I was. Still, I didn't move.

The garden was just so calm. After all the stress and disaster of my life, I wanted to enjoy the peace for a moment. Turning away from the flowers, I followed the path across the bridge, deeper into the garden. It wasn't long before my calm was broken by voices, hushed, but angry.

"If you guys cared about anything other than making money, this wouldn't be necessary!"

I stopped. Clearly, this was a conversation that wasn't meant to be heard, and I'd wandered over here because I was tired of drama and stress, but that was Elliot, and I wanted answers. Being careful, I took a few steps forward until I could almost see the brothers.

"For once in your life, just do as you're told!" William didn't sound happy.

"'For once'!? I've been playing along with the two of you all year! I'm not going any farther!"

The voices were growing louder, both speakers struggling to keep their anger contained.

"You don't get to back out!"

I risked a peek around the bush I was hiding behind. William stood toe to toe with his brother, holding onto Elliot's jacket and practically snarling. Elliot, on the other hand, had gone cold. Memories of the day he punched James washed over me. The same dark expression covered his face now. When he spoke again, his voice had dropped.

"Let me be, or I'll tell everyone the truth about Storm."

William seemed to snap, growling, "If you do, I'll make sure all of those nice little things you've been trying to collect for yourself recently end up broken, starting with one you brought along tonight."

It wasn't a threat. It was a promise. And I wanted no part in it.

I backed away until I was far enough that they wouldn't hear me, and then practically ran back to the party, making sure my heels didn't click on the stones.

Sadly, this didn't seem to be my night, though. No sooner had I returned to the party than I bumped into my favorite detective. Well, more like barreled into him. His arm slid around my waist to bear my weight, and my mind went blank. Every one of my hairs stood on end and my stomach turned upside down. I barely managed to not vomit as I flinched backwards, putting a few steps between us.

He let me go without question, and smiled at me. "Miss Hohn, you should really learn to look where you're going. As I recall, that's the second time you've run into me."

Don't remind me.

I forced a laugh. "Sorry, detective, I've got too many things to do to get places slowly."

"You can call me Matthew." Looking at him, I got the impression that his smile was the most genuine in the garden, maybe even the city. Suddenly, I felt a little bad for being such a jerk sometimes.

The last time I'd seen Corum, no, Matthew, we'd both been wearing masks. We'd both decided to cross lines we never thought we'd cross in order to do what needed to be done. If we hadn't been working towards opposing goals, I might have been willing to bond over that. I might have been willing to make a friend. He would understand.

"Alright, then call me Amelia," I nodded. "So, Matthew, what's an average detective doing at a party where the least expensive thing around is me?" The question surprised me, but I was actually a little curious, and if I talked to him, I didn't have to pretend to listen to anyone else.

His laugh sounded a lot more real than mine had. "I could ask you something similar."

Head tipping sideways, he smiled again. A few moments passed before he grew serious.

"I'm actually here in case something goes wrong. The last time the Grays held a party, Anna got kidnapped."

Why is it that every conversation I have circles back to Phantom Banshee? More than that, how was I even supposed to respond? Finally, I settled on an awkward, "Oh, right."

"Excuse me, but I need to speak with my date." I spun around. Never had I been happier to see Elliot than at that moment (not that that was hard).

"Of course. It was nice to see you under better circumstances, Amelia." Matthew nodded at both of us and walked away.

Once he had gone, Elliot gestured to the exit. "Come on. We're leaving."

Hallelujah.

Elliot made for the exit almost faster than I could keep up with in Mel's heels. I would definitely be taking them off as soon as I got to the car. I considered asking him to slow down, but I would not give him the satisfaction. Spite helped me to walk faster.

We were only steps from the exit when every screen around us switched from their usual ads to a masked face I knew too well.

"Hello, there," Storm said, voice echoing and overlapping as it played from every speaker. "I have a small announcement to make."

Those who hadn't yet noticed him looked up. From the party, we could see the screens on the sides of the nearby buildings, towering over us. A few people gasped, others groaned, Elliot just sighed and stopped moving.

From behind me, I heard Matthew say, "Trace the signal! Hurry!" into his phone.

The urgency had drained out of Elliot, but he seemed to have no interest in Storm's announcement. He just seemed... resigned. He crossed his arms and watched the ground.

"I know it's not my style to announce something before I do it, but I enjoy your panic." Storm's voice drowned out all else. "I know all of you are so very fond of those self-driving cars that J-Tech is creating, but I'm not. I don't like them at all. So, my current plan is to make sure absolutely everything than can go wrong will go wrong. Whether or not I'll get bored of that is yet to be seen, but I hope I've scared you."

He flashed a cocky smile and the screens flipped back to what they'd been playing before.

I glanced over to where Elliot was standing with his eyes closed. He sighed and turned to the exit without looking at me. "Come on."