Amanita: Poison Shot

Chapter 43: System Threat Detected

Even though Eros' nanochip was a fully functional one, I was enjoying chatting with him. He seemed keen to know about my life and the hockey league. There wasn't much to tell about the latter, to be honest: the rules were simple; and the passion we felt for it, obvious. His eyes seemed to lighten up when he was listening to me.

"I could take you to a match, if you like," I offered. "You might need to wear a hoodie, just in case someone recognised you."

He nodded with a nice smile on his face. That friendship thing was working out, even though I felt guilty. I could not consider our friendship 100% real because of Agape's request. I started to wonder what Eros would think of me if he knew the truth. I felt a pang of remorse.

"Tell me about your parents, Daphne," Eros said with mirth then.

"My father is a very agreeable man, an honest, and caring father," I replied with care. The look in his eyes went from happy to a sad longing. "I can always count on him."

Except for my current messy state of affairs, of course.

"I envy you," Eros whispered back to me. "How about your mother?"

"She's... dead," I answered carefully. "She was diagnosed with cancer a few years ago in her annual check-up."

He went pale right after that. I decided to drop another bomb since the harm was already done.

"My younger brother also died, a few days ago. The President needed an urgent transplant, and he was the only one who could save him. He was fifteen years old. I miss him so much that it physically hurts sometimes."

He was finding it hard to cope with my truth, how my life had turned out to be. He needed to know how twisted our lives were so that he could understand why people like Agape, like the rebels, existed.

"Eros, our lives are like this," I told him softly. "They have been for a long time. Don't feel bad for us. I will not let you pay for this."

"You should. I feel awful," he admitted with genuine remorse. "I'm so sorry for your loss. You love each other very much."

Our worlds were too far apart despite the fact we lived in the exact same city.

"It's not your fault, I mean it. I appreciate your empathy, Eros. It means a lot to me," I insisted, hoping that he'd recall this conversation with me in the future in case I was gone, or Agape would not fulfil her end of the deal so that he'd have something to hold on to.

"I'm gonna go and fetch something to eat and drink," he said then seriously but also sadly. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

I would've bet all my money on the fact that he was feeling torn because of what I had just revealed to him about my life, and that he needed a few minutes alone to cope with it.

"Okay, but haven't you got a maid or a butler to it for you?" I asked naively.

"I have, but I prefer to do things on my own," he replied with a sad smile.

Such a small gesture told me his tale of rejection towards being handed everything on a silver plate. Again. He was one of a kind.

When he closed his bedroom door behind him, I sighed and realised that that was the chance I had been looking forward to. I had some spiders and ticks to put to good use. I reminded myself I had a mission to accomplish, and that my friendship with Eros could be mended if I apologised and if he wished to give me a second chance... if he found out what I was really up to. I didn't want to let him down, I liked him.

I went upstairs, to the third floor, where the home office of the Secretary of State was located. My plan was quite simple: if I got spotted, I'd say I was looking for the bathroom. Cliché as fuck, but anyone would buy it if I wore my stupid, fake, workplace smile. If I got spotted again or questioned, I could also say I was looking for Mrs Nevermore to talk about work-related issues. I still needed to make my resignation official.