What Are You Willing to Risk?

by P. L. Camery

  “Wait, what?” Mavis looked up, hearing but unable to register the meaning of his words. Then she jumped as a door slide open.

  Lawrence smiled as he entered the room, “Hi Mavis. Are you feeling any better?” Before the girl had a chance to answer he plopped down in front of her presenting a spoon and canteen, “I brought some soup if you like. Or if not, I can get you something else. I should have brought you something to drink- I might have a few bottles of water somewhere in here.”

  Mavis giggled as she took his offering, “No thanks this is fine.” Lawrence tilted his head and opened his mouth to ask a question, but Mavis cut him off, “So where is here?”

  At the question, Lawrence straightened, “This is lab number three, my own personal state of the art high tech layer. Built from scratch, it’s arguably the most technologically advanced facility in both Democris and Hassdrin.”

  “Yeah,” Cal chimed in, “But half built on the back of your unnaturally handsome but humble genius assistant, who I may add is both older and should have seniority.”

  Mavis maneuvered herself from her confinement and leaned back against the wall. “How come I’ve never known this place was here?”

  “Few people know about it,” Cal explained. “Only we really use it.”

  Once she had unscrewed the cap of the canister Mavis took a spoonful and blew. “So, you guys,” she began between mouthfuls, “Have here such a valuable resource and you don’t even give access to your superiors?”

  Lawrence stiffened, exchanging an uncomfortable glance with Cal. “Well,” the younger boy tried to defend, “They are able to use it through us. And it’s much easier and more efficient for a smaller group to operate than a big mob crowding an area and messing things up.”

  “And besides,” Cal added, “In case you haven’t noticed, we don’t exactly always trust the motives of the higher ups. Take your friend Perry for example.”

  “Excuses, excuses,” Mavis teased after another mouthful.

  Lawrence shrugged, “Well if it makes you feel any better, Destiny’s rarely allowed in here and she’s my sister.”

  “Oh, so I suppose I should feel lucky cause I must be special to be in here?” the girl rolled her eyes.

  “Yes,” Lawrence responded solemnly. Mavis laughed, earning her an annoyed look. The boy considered reproaching her then opted for a change of subject and stood, “So it’s late I suppose, perhaps you’d like Cal or I to walk you home or…”

  “Hey, don’t bring me into this,” Cal threw up his hands in defense, “I’ve already done more than my fair share by watching her. You’re the one who wanted to help, she’s your trouble.”

  “Hey!” Mavis slapped him on the shoulder. Cal shrugged, causing the girl to roll her eyes, “I really feel fine. I can walk myself home thank you very much.”

  “Mavis, you fainted earlier today,” Lawrence countered, his voice thick with concern, “I’d feel a lot better if someone walked you home.”

  “No really I…”

  “Please Mavis.”

  As Cal glanced between the two of them, Mavis watched the younger boy. He probably feels guilty- well he should! It was his fault to begin with. Well technically it was more Perry’s fault. But he shouldn’t have yelled at me, or complained to the admiral, or… Mavis sighed, “Okay.”

  ****

  Once they were back above ground night had fallen. Though the congregation centers were still crowded and full of activity the streets were empty and relatively quiet. Mavis took the chance to appraise her companion. Back in his casual attire, his hands folded behind his back, and gazing with little interest at the scenery as they walked, he seemed more like the boy she had come to recognize as Destiny’s generally absent younger brother. Yet there seemed to be something more about him, a spark, more than worthy of attention but well-hidden and overlooked by most. Curious about the figure, she settled on a question grounded in reverse psychology “You’re not the most interesting person, are you?”

  Lawrence snapped his head up, his eyes had gone dark, but he managed to keep his tone even, “How do you mean?”

  “Well,” Mavis said with a shrug, “you’re like the most normal of the group.”

  “Me? Normal?” Lawrence stared at her, now openly appalled, “I mean there are so many impressive aspects to my personality and…” he trailed off. Seemingly dismayed by her words he slammed his hands into his pockets and hung his head, closing in on himself like a turtle.

  “Awe,” Mavis responded, “no, what I mean is you appear the most normal. This is a good thing, because you are more likely to be overlooked in an investigation.”

  “I suppose,” the boy grimaced, “but even that’s irritating. Where’s the challenge then in defending myself? And how will I ever get recognition for my crimes?” Mavis giggled but Lawrence straightened and continued, “Do you know what would be perfect? I want my accusers to know, without a doubt, it was me yet be absolutely unable to do a thing about it. I want recognition coupled with complete immunity. That would be the highest possible retribution.”

  “You scare me sometimes.”

  Lawrence grinned, “So what was that about being normal?”

  Mavis rolled her eyes, “Okay, you’re a freak.”

  The boy nodded, “Why thank you!” This earned him a fit of laughter and he chuckled. He caught her gaze and his smile deepened. Then he abruptly lowered his head and kicked a stray rock on the sidewalk.

  “What?” Mavis asked as a wave of confusion overtook her.

  “It’s nothing.”

  “No, it’s not, tell me.”

  Lawrence lifted his head and watched her. Then he lowered it again and said, “About Admiral Perry…”

  “Don’t worry about that,” Mavis gave a dismissive wave. “You’re forgiven, honest.”

  He gave her a small smile, “Thanks, but what I meant to say was if he tries to punish you in any way, tell me about it before he does anything okay?”

  “Why,” the girl’s tone turned skeptical, “Are you keeping tabs on me or something.”

  Lawrence laughed, “Of course I am! But besides that, I don’t want him to make you do anything that wasn’t approved by the council.”

  Mavis blinked, “What?”

  “Your mission, he kept your assignment hidden from the council, so your punishment could never be approved,” Lawrence explained. “He didn’t even add you to the schedule for drills today.”

  “That son of a bitch,” Mavis cursed under her breath, “So I didn’t have to do all that suffering?” Lawrence nodded. “I want to kill him!”

  The boy laughed, “Welcome to the club Cadet Cruz,” he offered her an imaginary pen then pointed to a pretend document in the palm of his hand, “that statement right there just initiated you into team W.H.B. aka We Have Brains.”

  Mavis shook her head, giggling as she pantomimed an exaggerated signature. They walked in silence and a block later the girl came to a stop, “This is my building,” she smiled, “now you can add where I live to your file on me.”

  “If you gave me your room number too that’d be really helpful,” Lawrence joked. Then he averted his gave to his hands and continued, “I was thinking- I wanted to ask Destiny and Cal if they wanted to do some sniper practice on Friday. If you like, you can come too.”

  “Oh, so you’re giving me permission?” Mavis smirked.

  “Ha, ha,” his tone was sardonic, “what I mean is, I’d like it if you would come.”

  The girl appraised him for a moment then nodded, “Okay, I’ll be there.” Then she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him. He went stiff for a moment, then relaxed and returned the embrace.

  Chapter 2: Tension on the Home Front

  Roland could feel himself growing tense as he watched her, the dry tone of the professor’s voice was distant and nearly shut out. He never understood her affinity for history, all dates and names and events so long gone the people related to
them were dead, though he’d gladly admire her neatly written notes when he needed to review the lecture. Her notes, which she preferred to hand write into her tablet, were color coded so at least they were fun to look at. He sighed. Sitting next to her, admiring her profile and the fluid movements of her petite hand, could transform the dullest class to his favorite.

  Watching her unabashedly, Roland felt that Mavis looked stunning; but then she always looked stunning. What was different today was that smile, the kind of subconscious smile that came when one is thinking about something -or someone- who makes them fundamentally happy. It was an exceptional look for her. The only trouble was, did he cause it or did someone else?

  The boy fidgeted in his desk then cleared his throat, “Mavis?”

  “Hmm?” Her smile faded as she snapped her head up, “What?”

  Though her tone wasn’t harsh, Roland internally flinched at her response. “Oh nothing, I was wondering what you were smiling about.”

  Mavis returned her gaze to the grey-haired professor, her hand scribbling to recover from its pause, “You should really be paying attention Roland, instead of watching me.”

  “You didn’t answer my question,” he probed.

  “None of your business.”

  Roland felt sub terrain frustration boiling up. Mavis glanced in his direction then silently chuckled to herself. The boy blinked then leaned back in his chair, appraising her, “I think you were thinking of me.”

  “Oh? What gives you that idea?”

  He shifted his weight in his seat, leaning towards her, “Because,” he drew out the words, “you like being around me.”

  In response the girl ignored him, seemingly engaged in the lecture. “Mavis?” She said nothing. “Mavis, you do like being around me, right?” He raised his voice, “Mavis?”

  “Sure, sure,” her voice seemed musical as she flashed him a look of amusement. Then she abruptly shut down her tablet and slipped it into her backpack.

  “Hey, wait, where…”

  “Class is over idiot,” Mavis laughed and looped her arm through his, “If you were paying attention you would have noticed that.”

  Saying nothing, Roland bundled his things into one arm and allowed himself to be pulled by her. “Where are we going?”

  “Where would you like to go?” Mavis returned.

  “I don’t know, I thought you were leading me.”

  “I am.”

  “So then…”

  Mavis rolled her eyes, “Oh Roland, why do we have to be going someplace?” She rounded a hallway corner then continued, “Can’t we just walk?”

  “I guess,” he said, not bothering to hide the disappointment in his tone.

  “What?”

  “I was hoping, you know, to get you alone.”

  Mavis straightened with a playful gleam in her eyes, “You’re never more alone than in a crowd of people.”

  The boy grumbled, “That doesn’t even make sense.”

  “Sure, it does!” Mavis tapped him on the nose, “Just think about it.”

  “But how…” Roland was cut short as an incoming student collided with him, slamming the corner of his tablet into Roland’s gut and causing the latter to double over and drop his things.

  “Are you okay?” the boy asked in horror. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Don’t worry he’s fine,” Mavis said as she straightened a grimacing Roland. “He’s just being a big baby aren’t you Roland?”

  Mortified Roland turned to the boy, his embarrassment morphing into furry. “I’m fine,” he growled though gritted teeth.

  The boy shrank back and stammered, “Are you sure, I can…”

  “I said I’m fine!” Roland snapped, making the boy squeak then scurry into the passing crowds.

  “Wow.” Mavis’s voice was dry with disapproval. Roland shot her a confused look and she said, “Well someone overreacted, didn’t he?”

  “What do you mean?” Roland decided to play dumb.

  The girl shook her head, “Wow.” She turned to walk away but he took her by the wrist and spun her back around.

  “No, wait,” Roland stammered, and Mavis obliged, leaning to one leg and watching him expectantly. Roland averted his gaze and stammered, “Okay, maybe I got a little loud. Perhaps it was slightly uncalled for but- hey!” He recoiled away as her fist hit his stomach. “What was that for?”

  “For being such a drama king,” her tone was still sharp, but her eyes had lightened.

  “I’m not a drama king,” he turned partially away from her, pretending to rub where she hit him.

  “Awe, is the whittle baby hurt?” Mavis reached forward and pulled up his uniform shirt, “Let me see.”

  Roland inhaled sharply as her small fingers contacted his skin. Then he felt a wave of embarrassment as he noted a coy smile on her lips. Strengthening, he struggled to compose himself as her hand slid up his torso then back down, leaving a trail of electric shocks. In less than a second, she slapped his shirt back down, “Nope, nothing there.”

  “Are you sure?” he asked, “I think you should check again.”

  Mavis chuckled to herself, “No.”

  “Wait, where are you going now?” Roland began to trail after her before he realized his things were still scattered.

  “None of your business,” Mavis smiled sweetly.

  *****

  “Lawrence,” the boy jerked upright in a blurry eyed daze. He blinked rapidly, desperate to gain his bearings and pinpoint the voice. Using his right hand, he located a wall for support; then, as the world settled, he pushed himself forward in the dark corridor, painfully aware of his own clanking footsteps. He tried to steady himself, but his legs seemed restricted. He staggered, and the world darkened. Panting heavily, he focused on slowing his heart rate. But it seemed to engulf him, pounding in his ears and becoming the essence of his surroundings. Then the rapid beat shifted into approaching footsteps.

  “Lawrence!” He tried to straighten, and his hand caught on a doorknob. He half pushed half fell through the newly discovered aperture as the footsteps rushed past him. Wait… Lawrence struggled to organize his thoughts, if they didn’t see me then who… He crawled to the door.

  Though the struggling figure was blurry, he sensed the presence the moment he saw her. Mavis! With great effort, the boy righted himself and advanced. “No!” Mavis’s voice seemed to echo a past memory, submerging him in a feeling of child-like helplessness. “Don’t move Lawrence, stay away!” He ignored her and trudged forward. Lawrence lifted his fist to strike one of her attackers, but his arm seemed stuck, as if laden with fifty pounds of pure resistance. He had no power to react as the man’s hand contacted his face. The world returned to a shadowy haze and Mavis screamed as the sound of a gunshot rang out. Though he felt nothing, Lawrence jerked and fell forward. No! He focused all his will into pushing himself up, but his muscles lay mute. No, no, no! He wished to scream, to attack, but he was stone still. Must get up! Can’t let her die. Not her. Not again. His heart constricted at her shrieks and struggles. Move, move! Do something, anything, no!

  “Lawrence!” The boy jumped as a male voice accompanied by a firm shove brought him into wakefulness. “Wake up lazy ass!” Cal yelled into his ear, “You’re screwing up our work.”

  Shaking himself, Lawrence looked at the main computer screen and saw that he had typed a jumble of letters and number in his restless daze. “Oh shit!” he frantically began deleting the extra lettering.

  Cal laughed and smacked him in the back of the head, “So what did you find before I walked in to see you sleeping on the job?”

  “We were wrong about Doctor Lance’s research.”

  “No biological weapon?”

  “Well,” Lawrence paused, “not quite. It’s still an airborne toxin, but it doesn’t attack a person’s health.”

  “Alright then- what’s the point?” Call inquired rolling a chair up next to his friend.

  “
It attacks the mind.”

  “Oh?” Cal raised his eyebrows, “That’s still a vague statement, please elaborate.”

  “The basis of this weapon,” Lawrence put in a few keystrokes and pulled up a projection of particles floating towards a human head, “is mainly a hallucinogenic. As the chemicals are attaching to the mind,” he pointed as the head became translucent, showing the particles attaching to the brain, “nanobots that are embedded in key areas of the brain, chemicals send signals that influence the nature of the hallucinations.”

  “A controlled hallucinogenic drug you say, so in theory they can make me believe I am having sex with a hot guy?”

  “Yeah no,” Lawrence rolled his eyes, “It makes you believe that you are being interrogated, tortured, by whatever is most effective to crack you. See the nanobots also receive signals from your brain; it can sense the things you fear most, assuming those things are within its database, and it relentlessly attacks until you’ve confessed to what you’ve done that you believe can be interpreted as an attack against the government of Hassdrin.”

  “But if it’s so all powerful,” the older boy asked, “why can’t it just pluck the info from you mind and send it back to the main data base?”

  “A, cause then we wouldn’t get to watch people go crazy.”

  Cal laughed, “And that would just be plain disappointing!”

  “B, because it’s not quite that cool,” Lawrence swiveled his chair to face Cal, “It react to signals in your brain after prompting certain images. It goes based off where the signals are coming from not your thoughts themselves.”

  “Then it doesn’t even know if you’re guilty?”

  “No, but you know you’re guilty. And unless you can magically forget that, your brain will signal for the okay to insanitize you.”

  “Ewe,” Cal grimaced, “not fun.”

  “My sentiments exactly,” the younger boy nodded.

  “Well, at least we know what we’re up against.”

  “Ha! A lot of good that does us,” Lawrence returned his attention to the main screen, “all we know is what we’ve always known.”