Glitches

Chapter 23 - Questions and answers

Paul was quick to tell Sam the things he had told me and Miranda moments ago. Sam listened genuinely to what Paul said, his expression soft. While Sam got settled in, I kept glancing at him. I could feel that something was wrong. Even though he seemed calm, a gentle smile across his face as he listened to Paul, I could see that the smile didn't reach his slightly reddened eyes. Eyes that held this constant bleak and broken expression everybody else seemed complete oblivious to.

What is going on behind those eyes of yours?

"Stephanie are you listening?"

Paul's voice brought me back to reality. I ripped my gaze away from Sam and turned it to the man in front of me.

"I'm sorry," I apologised, glancing one last time at Sam. I would ask him about it when we got to be alone. And this time I wouldn't let him dodge my questions which he seemed to be so great at.

"This is where you ask me the questions," Paul said with an annoyed expression.

"Then you answer mine. Simple."

It was weird. I had so many questions in my head just moments before I stepped into this room, but now when I got the opportunity to ask them, I was blank. Nothing came. Or maybe I just didn't know where I should start. But Sam rescued me, speaking up for the first time since I talked to him through the bathroom door.

"Who are we fleeing from exactly? I mean, Miranda said that we are going to Scotland. But why? Who is RTI?" His face was twisted in confusion and suspicion, yet his gaze was still as hard as stone.

"One question at time kid," Paul chuckled, but no humour was laced to his voice.

"Let's start with your first question: Who is RTI?" He took a deep breath, probably preparing his use of words.

The next few minutes, we were overthrown with information. Too much for me to be able to remember it all.

But I think I managed to catch the important parts.

Apparently, as Miranda had said, RTI was a bigger company than I thought at first. Even though it shouldn't have surprised me. I mean, they had enough many to create androids after all.

He also mentioned a friend. Thomas. Something about him having something on Alan, and him living in Scotland, making it safe for us to hide from RTI there.

He didn't mention much else about it, until Miranda huffed beside me, mumbling something under her breath I couldn't quite hear.

"May I ask a question?" she asked, tapping on the surface of the table with her index finger.

"Where do you know that Thomas guy from? You're always referring to him, but you never tell me about who he actually is."

Paul's face seemed to light up by Miranda's interest in his old friend.

"Ah, Thomas. He's a very reserved guy. Not much for going out and talk to people. I haven't seen him in person since the day we won that prize."

"What prize?" I asked with a lifted brow.

"For being able to make an intelligent machine, who worked exactly like a dog. It could eat, even though it didn't have a head at that time, it could bark, it could shake hands, run, jump, you get it. We won a prize of 10.000 NBP for that. Thomas wanted to go further, using the money to research more. He always wanted to be able to make androids. Machines looking exactly like humans, working like them as well. I always told him that he was crazy, that he had read too many science fiction novels."

Paul let out a bitter chuckle, his eyes looking into nothing, replaying the memory in front of him.

"We came into a fight. So, I took my half of the money and moved to England."