Mind's Echo

Alex

Alex, having had enough of Quincy's macho man attitude, replied before anyone else could, "Just what gives you the right to be so suspicious of us, man? You waltz in here, all Billy Badass, acting so much better than us because you got a mission."

Alex practically snarled the word "mission," he was so worked up.

"Tell me, exactly what has that company you work for--what was it? Cyberdyne?--what has Cyberdyne done here that warrants a private security officer, PI, gun for hire, whatever it is you are, to come way out in the middle of nowhere to go snooping around for alleged 'lost documents,' hmm?"

Quincy scowled, but Alex wasn't finished. He started back in on the stoic stranger after only half a breath.

"I don't know. Seems rather suspicious to me that a company who supposedly specializes in advanced technology wouldn't have the common sense to tie up their loose ends. And why would they have loose ends in an insane asylum? What the hell, man!?"

Alex started pacing anxiously. He waved his hands around in agitation. He was starting to get a dazed look in his eyes.

"Look, before you come at me with anymore of your suspicion and mistrust, you best explain what it is you're doing here. Who do you think you are? Coming in here and throwing you're weight around, acting like you know what you're doing when you don't! You have no idea what you're looking for, what you want, what you need."

Alex stopped pacing and turned his feverish gaze on Quincy. He lowered his head a little, looking up through his eyelashes menacingly with a sinister smile curving his lips. 

"Yes, sir. You don't know why you're here, but I do. I know your purpose in this ... this tragedy!"

Confused silence filled the air as everyone stared at Alex in dismay. Shelly and Mark, who had already witnessed Alex's personality making a drastic shift, stood still, but Quincy and Crystal both backed away from Alex warily. Quincy holstered his weapon and lifted a protective arm in front of Eva. While Alex was terrifying in his mania, they all wondered what he meant about knowing why Quincy was here. It was such an odd thing to proclaim. Quincy had told them he was there on business, but Alex acted as if he knew another, more mysterious reason for Quincy's presence at Clarkmann.

Suddenly, Alex took a leap toward Quincy, getting right in his face. 

"A man's heart may be stonier, but I am the chisel which chips ceaselessly until it breaks!" he crowed almost gleefully. 

Spittle sprayed into Quincy's shocked face. Alex laughed maniacally and grabbed Quincy's collar, giving it a hard yank as he pulled Quincy close. Quincy was not a man to take being grabbed lightly. He shoved Alex back against the wall hard and pulled his gun on him.

Everyone froze in place, pleading with Quincy not to shoot Alex, who kept cackling insanely and taunting Quincy to pull the trigger. The scene escalated into a chaotic crescendo until Mark finally stepped in and struck Alex across the jaw with his fist, rendering Alex unconscious.