Legacy

Hangman's gambit

Nathan

Something seemed off about the current situation. I know little of how legal matters are handled in France, but after being stuck in a toned car for what felt like hours, I was sure we were not in the city anymore. Trafic in Paris can be a nightmare, but this was absurd. I might have asked a few questions if not for the hostile air in the car. The officers had barely been talking with each other besides short one of orders. Ideally, I would have taken a nap, but whoever was behind the wheel seemed to be racing. The number of times I nearly dozed off only to be woken up by a neck-breaking swing left me dizzy.

Another reason for my lack of communication and my sparse meal from earlier was fighting to get up. When we arrived at our destination, I was dragged out of the car. Before I could make much sense of my environment, then I had something taken over my head. I was not sure how much my tired legs could walk, so mostly carrying me was alright with me. I had already hit rock bottom with my stunt in the apple tree. There was no way these people could think less of me after that anyway. I lost track of the layout of this area fast all I could conclude was that it was huge. The loud sound of proper old wood was my hint that we were inside and the fact I was not freezing anymore. My clothes had already been thin before I decided to tear them even more. I assumed I was a pretty pitiful sight by this point that might be a helpful angle to get some sympathy around here. At the moment, I was ready to play on any advantage I could get.

"Just put him over there," the voice was female. It sounded a bit dry, but the age was hard to guess. There was a hint of perfume though the scent was weak and discreet. Might be some rose scent or well at least flower. I let them tie me to the chair without much hassle — no need to make this terrible situation even worse. As the cloth was removed from my eyes, I found myself blinded. Blinking a couple of times, I finally managed to adjust my eyes to the new light source. My current view was nothing exciting I was facing a wall a white wall. Uselessly I tried to turn my head to get a better look.

"I would suggest you just sit still," she commented.

I seized my movement before considering if I should reply. I decided not to since it was an order and not a question.

"Do you understand why we brought you here?" she asked.

Carefully I pieced together my answer. It had to be an actual answer and not something which would be considered a snide remark. Not my specialty, but now was the time to at least try and get it right. The mysterious woman was tapping her feet now. I better get an answer out: "I assume I did something wrong?" no, I should not answer the question with a question.

"Yes, you can say that. I assume you know what you did wrong?" the lady dryly commented.

"Well, I think I have done a lot of things wrong lately, but what in particular are you thinking of?" not a great response, but neither would it be to incriminate myself. She made a dissatisfied noise and then I heard the rustling of papers. "You can say that here in your case file. You are accused of theft, evasion of the law, and treason of the state, to name a few more severe examples," she added. "That sure is a lot," I lamely replied. She did not comment on that, at least. Instead, she carried on ignoring me: "We honestly already have all the evidence we need to get you terminated, but luckily for you, I can provide you a better offer."

I nodded, finding my voice gone. Of course, I knew it was going to be terrible if I got caught, but I had not expected it to be this serious. I had not planned to get found nor considered how to even deal with it as a possibility. The fact I might be killed for this had not even crossed my mind. Had Astor been aware of this? It would not surprise me if he might, then again, his opinions on the law were not the highest. At least not when it came to the ministry of scientific concerns. The world was fading out on me, and I realized I was hyperventilating. Hell, this was too much. The lady continued ignoring my panic: "The offer is simple enough. We know you did not work alone..." No, not this.

I could not do that. One thing was leaving Astor that was terrible enough, but straight up giving him up, that was just."You need to help us catch your accomplice, and we can lower your sentence to a few years in jail," I closed my eyes. Betraying Astor like that, could I do that? Well, no. But I could pretend, could I not? What mattered was getting out of this situation alive. All I had to do was agree with the deal. Then I could plan a way to wriggle my way out of this later. "...so what do you say?" she asked. I forced myself to take a few deep breaths to dispel my lightheadedness. Time to bluff my way through this no pressure at all, I swear after this, I was never going to get involved in anything exciting again. I would become a priest in a small town in the middle of nowhere. Feeling calm enough, I responded: "I am sure we can figure something out. Just tell me what you want me to do."

"A good choice," she replied. And like that, I was told to get in contact with Astor. This situation was not the occasion I imagined when I promised myself to send him a letter.