“Another bust…” Kolten sighed as the group walked out of yet another building, crossing off another place off their list of possible leads. “It would seem our country’s intelligence agency needs to get better at identifying possible leads concerning national security. Either that, or we really need to work on our interrogation skills.”
Maxim chuckled as he looked at the quickly dwindling list of places and people who they could talk to. “I’m certain it’s probably the latter, as we haven’t exactly gone over anything like that in classes so far. Besides, what we’re doing is just covering the necessary bases for the agency. I’m sure the leads they’ve deemed more reliable have been investigated by veteran agents.”
“So why choose a buncha students to look after their leftovers? I’m sure the local authorities could be more than a suitable replacement.”
“Maybe to give us experience?” Maxim shrugged. “I’m sure they’re not expecting much, if anything, from our investigation…”
“So you aren’t frustrated at all that we’re basically being told to walk around and do all the work they’ve deemed beneath them?” Amanda retorted, rolling her eyes.
“Of course I’m frustrated.” Maxim said, keeping his voice in check to prevent it from rising. “I’m even more frustrated though that we’ve gotten nothing from all the work we’ve done. We’ve been at this for a few hours now, and I want us to have at least a sliver of information to report. It sucks, but at the same time we have to deal with it the best we can.”
Melek nodded. “I agree with Maxim. Besides, letting our frustrations dominate our decisions will only lead to us making major mistakes at critical moments. We need to try to quell our frustrations and maintain a calm and collected mindset. That’s what my parents taught me ever since I was a little boy.”
Amanda shook her head. “Well from where I come from, only results matter, and being looked down upon is essentially a death sentence.”
Eric cleared his throat. “Alright everyone, let’s reign it in. We need to focus on completing the rest of the list and report back. If we report back that we didn’t find anything, that’s fine. We did our best job and that’s the result. Nothing to be ashamed of as long as you put in your best effort.”
Eric pulled up the list. “Looks like we have two spots left. If we go by the map, looks like this diner is closer, and on the way to the last destination. Let’s hit these two spots up and then make our report. Does that work?”
Everyone nodded their heads and began walking towards the next destination, which was only a ten minute walk away. Throughout the entire walk, the group was completely silent, the tension in the air palpable to everyone in the group. As they reached the diner, Eric opened the door, letting everyone else in first. As they walked in, a feminine looking robot walked over to them. “Welcome! Am I correct to assume that you’re looking for a table for a party of five?”
Maxim shook his head. “We’re here to talk with the owner of this diner. Are they available?”
“Certainly. Let me contact him for you.”
The robot’s eyes suddenly turned blank as a clicking sound emanated from the metal chassis. Several seconds later, the robot’s eyes returned back to normal and the clicking stopped. “He’ll be out within the next minute. If you want, you can sit down on the bench next to you and–”
“That won’t be necessary Tizzy.”
A deep, commanding voice echoed across the restaurant, causing patrons of the diner all looking at the large, muscular man as he walked over. He had short, deep black hair, a scar on his right eye that looked like an animal had scratched it, and a dark birthmark that was very visible against his pale skin. “I’m Lirk, the owner of this diner. What do a group of kids want from me?”
Eric stepped forward. “I apologize for taking any of your time, as I’m sure you’re very busy, but we’re here under orders from the military concerning an investigation. Does the name Ziven Ryen mean anything to you?”
“Ziven Ryen eh?” The man motioned for Eric to follow him. “I can talk to you in my office. Bring one other with you. The rest will have to wait out here.”
Eric looked at Maxim and slightly nodded his head. The two of them followed Lirk as they walked through the diner, ignoring the stares from the other patrons. Walking into his office, the two of them immediately were surprised to see how well kept the office was. In fact, it looked like the office was just recently deep cleaned. Maxim could also smell the faint trace of a somewhat familiar odor, but he couldn’t remember what the smell was or where he had smelled it.
Lirk sat down on a large chair on the other side of the desk, motioning to the other two chairs on the other side of the desk. “Please, sit.” Maxim and Eric both sat down on the chairs, with Eric leaning forward. “Lirk, was it? I’m Eric and this is Maxim. As we said earlier, we’re here because the authorities are investigating Ziven Ryen. I take it he’s connected to you in at least some manner?”
Lirk nodded. “You could say that. Lirk and I met in basic, assigned to the same battalion. We both didn’t have any plans of grandeur, just two guys who wanted to join the military to earn some money, see the sights, and get some excitement in the process. I stayed in the military for a couple years before I injured my back and was forced to leave. However, Ziven and I stayed in contact during the entire time. During the invasions, he had told me about the two heroes, that he had personally helped them and their allies. However, after the heroes were essentially alienated thanks to the government…it was during this time that I noticed some…changes to him.”
“What kind of changes?”
“He used to be a man full of hope, and spoke highly of the heroes, stating that they would not only help rebuild the republic, they’d bring it into another golden era. However, after they left public life, he suddenly became very depressed. His patriotism for the country slowly turned to hatred, as he would constantly complain to me about the state of the republic and its military. He told me more than once that if the invasions were to happen again, we would be even more unprepared than the first time. That soon turned to a disdain for the current government figures. Eventually, he told me he was dishonorably discharged. He told me that it was because of some medical reasons, but I had a feeling it had to do with his sudden change in personality.”
That confirms what we were told. Maxim thought to himself as furrowed his forehead. “Do you believe he turned into an extremist? Would turn to terrorism?”
Lirk sighed and nodded his head. “It wouldn’t surprise me if he did. Ziven…had told me that he would be willing to do whatever it takes to bring back the heroes back into the pubic spotlight. He thought of himself as a martyr, destined to be the villain for the greater good.”
“Why didn’t you tell the authorities about this earlier?” Eric asked, staring directly at Lirk. “Keeping this kind of information secret…isn’t exactly the brightest idea in the world.”
Lirk turned his chair around and stared outside the open window. “Because he’s my friend. I believe that the person I became friends with is still in there. I had hoped that maybe…just maybe…he would come back to his senses, but considering he’s gone far enough the deep end for there to be an investigation…”
Maxim couldn’t shake an uneasy feeling as Lirk spoke. “What about you?” Maxim asked. “Do you share the same beliefs as your friend?”
Lirk shrugged. “In a sense, I do, but not the extremist portions. I believe the heroes were treated horribly, and there’s a reason why that government was voted out of office as soon as the next election was finally scheduled. Though I don’t have the extremist views he does. The heroes had their justice during that election. I just want to run my diner and live a comfortable life.”
Before Eric could ask another question, Lirk’s communicator suddenly beeped. Looking at the message in front of him, Lirk cleared his throat. “My apologies, but it seems that I must cut our meeting short. It seems that one of my suppliers is requesting an emergency meeting with me, so I have to take it.” Lirk stood up and walked over to the door, opening it.
Maxim and Eric both stood up and walked to the open door. “Thank you for your time.” Maxim said as he turned and looked back at Lirk, only for him to see the door closing behind him. Maxim stared at the door for a few seconds before turning back and followed Eric to the front of the diner, where the rest of the group was waiting. After saying goodbye to Tizzy the robot, the group exited the diner. “So, how’d it go?” Amanda asked as they began walking away from the diner and to the last destination of the list.
Erin nodded. “I think it went well. He confirmed a lot of what we were told and gave an insight of when and how he began to become the person he is today. However, we weren’t able to get any information about the current whereabouts of Ziven.”
Maxim sighed. “I’m not really sure he was as cooperative as we would like to believe.”
Eric turned and looked at Maxim. “What are you talking about?”
“Well I’m already very suspicious as to why he didn’t tell the authorities about Ziven’s sudden shift to extremist behaviors. Then, to add to my suspicions, why was he suddenly so…willing to tell us about Ziven if he was so hesitant earlier? It just doesn’t make sense. There’s a couple other things that are bothering me, but those are probably just circumstantial. There’s a lot more to this guy than what meets the eye.”
185Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBxCrtgPBf1
