“It is best to be both feared and loved; however, if one cannot be both it is better to be feared than loved.” ~ Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli; The Prince
“Oh Thriller! Thriller! Thrill-er nights, oh, oh..."
The windows rolled down, hair flying everywhere and the discord of a rather unmelodious sing-a-long were just the tip of the iceberg for Kitty, Katie, and Dina as they barreled down the street in Katie's car. The trio had really no where to go once Kitty had joined in and informed them that a paintball tourney was going on in town. In Mercury, everything happened either on Main Street or at someone's house, and with the three having just left home and Main Street consumed by the Paintball Tourney, well, you do the math.
Kitty reached out to the dashboard and turned down the radio until it switched off. She still had to almost yell over the wind blowing into the car. "So I was thinking...How 'bout we go somewhere none of us have been in a long time? You know, to reminisce or something?"
Dina rolled her head to the left of the passenger seat headrest to face her, "What'd you have in mind?"
Kitty leaned forward into the front sea area. "I don't know. Maybe one of those 'Make Out Point' type of places we used to talk about as kids? I haven't been there in ages!"
Katie laughed as she took a hand off the wheel to pull a strand of hair from her face, "Oh, were you 'naughty' enough to go there as a kid Kitty?" They all had a good laugh at that. But in the end, having nothing else to do on the warm, sunny spring day, they headed out to a part of Mercury that the locals used to call "Archive." Back in its heyday the Archive wasn't called that of course, but anymore it was used for exactly the reason the three went there. To reminisce. Katie pulled the car onto some emerald green grass by a pond covered with lilies athwart its surface and shadowed by willow branches.
As they crawled from the car they each pulled back in their minds to their own memories in the Archive. Dina threw a look at the other two.
"Want to see a little something from back when I was a kid?"
"Hey now," Katie gave the impression of the ultimate saucy school girl, "I thought all the other dinosaurs were extinct."
Dina smirked, "Well I never! You've been listening to Chaz’s bland sarcasm again haven't you? Do you know how bad that is for your health?" They all smiled again at the unscathing joke as Dina led them over to one of the willows bordering the water. She turned her head back to Katie and Kitty as she pushed back the hanging whip-like branches, "I remember back when I was in high school. Me and a boy carved our initials on this tree." She looked up at the top of the tree, "At least, I think it was this tree."
The threesome crowded around the tree trunk and looked for the letters. Dina cocked an eyebrow when she found some.
“Yep, exactly where I thought they would be. But it looks like some squirrels have been there since then.”
On the trunk of the tree were DW and…well, a gaping hole inside a heart. Dina gave a small smile. Kitty and Katie looked at it disappointingly.
“Well, what were the other initials?”
Dina gave a small snort, “As if I’d tell you. I actually get saved from revealing them and you want me to tell you. Pff. You can forget it.”
Katie pulled an acorn from the hole, rolling it between her thumb and forefinger. Well, that was a tease. “Want to head back into town again? Now that I think about, I don’t really even have anything here. Besides, I bet Mayor Carnage has called a stop to the first round of the paintball contest, It’s probably actually safe to go onto Main Street.”
Dina pushed herself up from her crouch, grunting. “I still think a Debate would’ve been better. Fine then. Maybe we can pick up something at Zeth’s bookstore and then crash at your Café Kitty.”
Kitty shook her head. “No, it’s probably packed right now, and Cryssy’s bound to have her hands full since I skipped out on her. She did say she could handle it on her own though…”
---
The screen turned to black and was replaced by the myriad thread-like lines that had been there before, each one being traced by a small box that displayed dates, names, and coordinates, along with a long line of numbers that Dina couldn’t make a lick of sense of.
Zeth turned up the lighting level as he emerged from behind her and took the seat next to her. A steel like ergonomic chair around something that resembled a computer console.
“Now do you understand? It was just necessary. Keep in mind too, that those were only minor. There could have been and were much larger and more dangerous events before we stepped in.”
Dina kept her eyes on the screen, slowly nodding. “Yes…but why keep it a secret? If Mayor Shards and Piggie are in on it. Even Retro—or Panic, or whatever he’s calling himself now.” She waved a hand. “It doesn’t make any sense.”
Chaz spoke up from the back of the room, behind another console. “You really think making it public wouldn’t have done any harm? Let’s take one small example. Crystal Shards is Mayor of Mercury, as she should be. She pulled this town up from nothing before she even knew who we were or vice versa. However, because of our activities, if they were public, some may not think it that way. They may think we’ve put our own agent ahead to purposefully control every aspect of their lives. That’s simply not true.”
Dina turned from the screen to look at Zeth. Then stood and looked at Chaz. She spoke slowly, deliberately, “I can’t just know this, and be expected to not do something about it.”
Zeth and Chaz exchanged looks. Zeth stood with her. “Well then. I guess there’s nothing we can do to stop you. I’ll escort you out.” He motioned with one hand. “This way please.
Dina walked from the dark room with its screens and output displays, its consoles and other input devices. Chaz watched silently as she passed by. Zeth gave a single nod as he passed him.
The nod was all Chaz needed. Though he was getting rather tired of these incursions.
