It is unexpected. Philippe somehow got caught by a Timekeeper! But somehow, the stoic Timekeeper also not as unmovable as he has shown. Mr. Leon just drops off from Philippe's back and then pull him up.
"I don't know that you can run."Still painting from the long chase, Raymond suddenly asserts a question, which doesn't sound like the integration Philippe expected. Why he attained his 13 zeroes must be more interesting. On the other hand, people run every day, trying to have their ends met.
"It is weird that you say so. May I ask why?"Trying to gather his calm with his mind's rising defense of questions is hard. Oh, so many questions.
"It is just a question of interest, Mr. Philippe Weis, you have time, and on our latest record, you had one million years lost around the system. I would say you used to be the richest around here. Why do you have the need to run?" Raymond asks hastily.
"Everybody runs." Philippe shrugs, dismissing Leon's absurd notion.
"Not in New Greenwich." He pushes and Philippe pauses, trying to recall anytime his surrounds walk faster than normal, but came back with nothing. No wonder he never fits.
"They don't? I do not remember that. Employees used to be quick when I was one. Later, I thought it is just them practicing their "gracefulness" in front of me."
"Did you came from New Dayton?" Even a stranger knows. The understanding look, the open conversation between people with shared identity and experience. Raymond Leon came from New Dayton. There are, of course, no matter how rare they are, "better" person who can cross the border by choosing the right route and doing all the right steps. That is the world Philippe helps created, and now, regrets.
"No. I did not. There has been "new" before the name because they are new. " Philippe just shakes his head of his mixed feelings: he feels ironic. He left for almost a hundred years, and somehow people can detect it. No wonder, the whole council pinned on him. They can smell the rusty smell of ghetto on him. No wonder, he feels regret, because he cannot just leave his past untold. "Los Angeles's downtown, close to the Finance District to gaze all the things in this world, but far enough to not touch anything." He tries to crack a joke on his upbringing.
"Brighter than Dayton then?"
"Depend on what you call bright. There has been a famine that lasts for 20 years before my birth. And then they replace the starvation with this system, and we all thirst for time. I have been more or less fortunate ones, as my father out to shoot enraged poor civilians for the rich."
A dry laugh came from Raymond, yes, Philippe chooses to enrage Raymond Leon because of his own curiosity, and of course, his courage gots strengthen by the inaction from the law-enforcer. Timekeeper, those might come from anywhere just to do the dirty work with the poor, for the rich. Their duties are with the poor people, thus they would not patrol in this place.
"Well, there must be someone to continue the tradition, don't be ashamed of it. Me, what I did for my rich. You, it is your job. Then, why are you here, why are you asking me so many questions when you used to threaten to catch me if I worked with Sylvia? I am running around with 13 zeroes, which is against the law, not to mention all the board showing my head worth a fortune right now. Why don't you turn me in?"
"13-Zero. It should be the end for everybody, so why appearing with 13-Zero is against the law?"
"Everything is electronic, which means they can be faulty. Stop the trigger at the right time, or any damage to the trigger can stop the clock without killing the person." Philippe reminds himself to remember his dishonor place and not letting too much top secret information out. Especially when being interrogated by a cop.
"So did your 13-Zero come as a surprise or a result of your trick?"
"I... " Then, a thought crosses his mind. "There is a mistake with your clock! You are not here unintentionally, you are here to hide because you also have 13-Zero."
"50 years being a Timekeeper, I have never seen this abomination." Raymond softly murmurs. In Philippe's read, Raymond Leon's loyalty to the law is unyielding. He follows it, he upholds it, he becomes the law. Then, all hell breaks loss because of one million years in the system, and he himself is an outlawed being. A loss of identity.
"Don't feel incompetent. Most tricks happened long before your 50 years. I happened to be the only one left who knows one way due to my position."
"So you chose to have this. But is it better to be able to mix in the crowd like your daughter or stay behind your bodyguards' back? Why the government is hunting for you for 50000 years? Even our lovely couple just worth 10 years."
"It is a long story."
"I have my duty to at least follow you. Anyone worths that much is dangerous for the society."
"So you would not turn me in. You can't hurt me." Philippe's statement is returned by silence and a sudden grip of Raymond on Philippe's arm. Philippe has never won any brute force competition.
"I see. But it is a long story, do you want to come to my home and talk about it along the way?"
"Move along, Mr. Philippe Weis. You have a long story to tell."
YOU ARE READING
No Regrets
Fanfiction"Citizens have takes to the street." "And now, citizens are crossing Zones, entering New Greenwich" "Others fear the system might head for collapse." And Philippe, Sylvia's finance magnet father told her: "But, don't fool yourself. In the end, nothi...
