//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: The Maretrix OC // by Violet Runner //------------------------------// Violet woke up late in the morning and looked at his alarm clock. “Oh shit. Oh shit shit shit!” He said seeing that he was late for work. Violet walked into the gaming company he work for and was immediately called to the boss’s office. “You have a problem with authority, Mr. Anderson.” His boss, Mrs. Hirai said looking at him. “You believe that you are special, that somehow the rules do not apply to you. Obviously you are mistaken. This company is one of the top gaming companies in the world because every single employee understands that they are part of a whole. Thus if an employee has a problem, the company has a problem. The time has come to make a choice, Mr. Anderson. Either you choose to be at your desk, on time, from this day forward or you choose to find yourself another job. Do I make myself perfectly clear?” “Yes Mrs. Hirai, perfectly clear.” Violet said nodding. “Good. Now get to work.” She said sternly. Violet nodded and left her office and went to his cubical and got to work programming the next big game. As he was sitting at his computer a FED-EX delivery guy interrupted him. “Robert Anderson?” The deliveryman asked him. “Yeah, that's me.” Violet said looking up from the computer. “Just sign here...” He said handing him a clip board. Violet signed the paper and handed it back to him. “Ok, that's great. Have a nice day!” The deliveryman said handing him a small package and walking away. He opened the package and inside was a new I-Phone. As soon as he picked it up, it rang. He jumped a little, before answering it. “Hello...?” Violet asked a little confused. “Hello, Violet. Do you know who this is?” The voice on the other end asked. “Crescent Sliver?” He asked. “Yes...I've been looking for you, Violet. I don't know if you're ready to see what I want to show you, but unfortunately you and I have run out of time.” Crescent Sliver said disappointedly. “They're coming for you, Violet, and I don't know what they're going to do.” He said warningly. “Who's coming for me?” Violet asked worriedly. “Stand up and see for yourself.” “What, now?” He asked in a hushed voice. “Yes, right now. Do it slowly. The elevator...” Crescent Sliver instructed. Violet slowly stood up and looked over the partition. At the elevator, he could see two Government Agents leading a group of cops. A female employee turned and pointed out Violet’s cubicle. “Oh shit.” He said quickly ducking. “Yes.” “What the hell do they want from me?” Violet asked Crescent Sliver. “I don't know, but if you don't want to find out, I suggest you get out of there.” “How?” He asked panicking. “I can guide you, but you must do exactly as I say.” Crescent said trying to calm him down. “Okay...” Violet said taking a deep breath. “The cubicle across from you is empty.” “What if they....”” He began but was interrupted. “Go, now.” Crescent instructed. Violet lunged across the hall, diving into the other cubicle just as the Agents turned into his row. He hid right behind the thin half wall. “Stay here for just a moment. When I tell you, go to the end of the row, to the office at the end of the hall. Stay as low as you can...Go, now!” Violet crouched slightly as he ran to the door, he opened it, went in and quickly shut the door. “Now,” Crescent Sliver continued. “Outside there is a scaffold.” “How do you know all this?” Violet asked still confused as to what was going on. “We don't have time, Violet. To your left there is a window. Go to it....open it. You can use the scaffold to get to the roof.” “No way! No way! This is crazy!” He said a little scared for his life. “There are two ways out of this building. One is that scaffold, the other is in their custody. You take a chance either way. I leave it to you.” Crescent Sliver said hanging up. Violet opened the window and looked out. “This is insane! Why is this happening to me? What did I do?!” He asked into the phone but there was no answer. He climbed out the window onto the ledge. Hanging onto the frame, he stepped onto the small ledge. The wind suddenly blasted up the face of the building, knocking Violet off balance. Recoiling, he clung harder to the frame, and the I-Phone fell out of his hand. He watched as it was swallowed by the distance beneath him. “This is insane. I can't do this. Forget it!” Violet said climbing back into the office, just as the cops opened the door. The Agents took Violet, handcuffed, out of the building and into their car. Hawkeye, who was sitting on a motorbike in front of the car, watched them in her rear view mirror. “Shit!” She said before driving off. Violet was sitting at a table by himself in a small room. The door opened and the Agents that brought him in entered. One of the Agent sat down across from him with a folder in front of him. “As you can see, we've had our eye on you for some time now, Mr. Anderson. It seems you have been living two lives. In one life, you're Robert J. Anderson, animator for a respectable gaming company...you have a social security number, you pay your taxes, and you... Steampunk LARP in the park every other weekend.” The Agent said stifling a laugh. “The other life is lived in Ponies, where you go by the Brony alias 'Violet Runner', and are guilty of half of the computer crime we have a law for.” He said reading the file. “One of these lives has a future....the other does not...I'm going to be as forthcoming as I can, Mr. Anderson. You're here because we need your help. We know that you've been contacted by a certain individual, a man who calls himself... Crescent Sliver. Now whatever you think you know about this man is irrelevant. He is considered by many authorities to be the most dangerous man alive. My colleagues believe that I am wasting my time with you, but I believe you wish to do the right thing. We're willing to wipe the slate clean, give you a fresh start, and all that we're asking in return is your co-operation in bringing a known terrorist to justice.” “Yeah...Wow, that sounds like a really good deal.” Violet said scratching his chin in thought. “But I think I got a better one. How about...I give you the finger...” He said doing so. “...And you give me my phone call.” “*glares* Mr. Anderson, you disappoint me.” The Agent said sighing. “You can't scare me with this Chekists crap. I know my rights. I want my phone call.” Violet said a little angrily. “And tell me, Mr. Anderson, what good is a phone call...if you are unable to speak.” He said smiling. The question unnerved Violet and strangely, he began to feel the muscles in his jaw tighten. The standing Agents snickered, watching Violet's confusion grow into panic. Violet felt his lips grow soft and sticky as they slowly sealed shut, melding into each other until all trace of his mouth were gone. Wild with fear, he lunged for the door but the Agents restrained him, holding him down on the table. “You're going to help us, Mr. Anderson, whether you like it or not.” The Agent said nodding to the others who ripped open his shirt. The Agent removed a long, fibre-optic wiretap from a case taken out of his suit pocket. Violet struggled helplessly as the Agent dangled the wire over his exposed abdomen. Horrified, he watched as the electronic device animated, become an organic creature that resembled a hybrid of a changeling and a fluke worm. Thin, whisker-like tendrils reach out and probed into Violet's navel. He bucked wildly as the Agent dropped the creature, which looked for a moment like an uncut umbilical cord - Before it began to burrow, its tail thrashing as it wormed its way inside him.