Charmaine frowned. "Who the hell are you?"
I slowly crept up behind Charmaine, trying to get closer to the conversation. The male's eyes shifted to me before returning to Charmaine's gaze. The man flashed a badge, and Charmaine and I leaned forward to get a closer look. "I'm special agent Shaw. I work with the government. The President has requested Miss Anong's presence at the Eagle Office."
Charmaine let out a quiet gasp and whipped her head around to look at me. 'Girl, what the hell,' her frantic eyes seemed to read. I gave her an equally clueless look back. Charmaine turned back around and put her arm against the doorframe, attempting to shield me from him. "Yeah, right. What does the president want with Evelyn? And how do we know you're really with the government?"
"We have an open investigation into Miss Anong, and the President has requested her presence immediately."
Charmaine lifted her chin up. "An 'investigation'? I don't believe you. Evelyn isn't a criminal, and she's not going anywhere until you convince me you're telling the truth."
"She is not under arrest or being detained," the man explained. "Her presence was simply requested by the president to answer a few questions."
Charmaine haughtily turned her cheek toward him. "That's funny; I thought FBI agents usually investigated crimes. Are you saying that a crime has been committed that Evelyn had something to do with, and the president wants to ask her about it?"
If the agent was getting annoyed, he was doing a great job of not showing it. "Ma'am, it is an urgent request from the president- ."
"If it's so urgent for the president," Charmaine interrupted. "Then he can come down here himself. She will not be going with you. Are we clear?"
The man's jaw clenched and his eyes hardened. He was silent for a few moments before backing away. "Very, well." The man departed downstairs and Charmaine slowly closed the door behind him, making sure he was leaving for good. When she was certain the man was gone, she shut the door and slumped against it. "Christ!"
"Char, that was… pretty fucking amazing," I laughed.
Charmaine's eyes lit up as her face beamed. "I know, right! God, could you tell I was scared?" I shook my head. "Wow, that was kind of exciting!"
"You were really badass," I smiled. "How'd you know what to say?"
"I didn't! I just tried to copy what I'd seen on all those soapy dramas." We spent a few more minutes laughing about it until it got quiet and serious again. "Ev, in the case that that man was right and the President does want to see you, what do you think it could be about?"
I was about to answer honestly that I didn't know because I couldn't think of a reason either, until I remembered what happened yesterday. The two scientists that had been talking next to me were alluding that they were possibly working under orders from the Raven. That means the President knows about the microchips and was the one who authorized their actions. Thinking about it, it really sounded like a made up story blown out of the water. Even though I was concussed the whole time, I know what I heard. "I really don't know, Char."
Charmaine crossed her arms. "Girl, you know I know you, right? I can tell when you're lying. What's going on?" Charmaine could clearly see I was on the fence about deciding whether or not to tell her, and she sighed. "Look, girl. Yesterday, you went missing and showed up at the hospital hours later. The next day, someone shows up, claiming they work for the government, and the president wants to see you. If something is going on, could you please let me know? It's worrying, you know. You're away from family; your holo-device was probably stolen; you have no job. I'm really worried about you. And it's even more worrying when the government comes knocking on my door. Ev… if I can help you in any way, would you let me know? Please?"
I sighed. "All right," I relented. "But you won't believe me."
Charmaine raised an eyebrow. "Try me."
So I explained all the events that happened, from me waking up in the facility to how the government was gonna plant a microchip in me, but the Rebellion showed up and blew up the facility, to them helping my concussion, and that's how I ended up in the hospital. The whole time I was recalling the events, I could see Charmaine's eyes getting wider and wider. When I finished telling her what happened, she just continued to stand there with her eyes wide and arms crossed. "Well?" I prompted her to say something.
Charmaine blinked and cleared her throat, relaxing her posture. "Ahem, well, that was certainly… a story."
I sighed. "I knew you wouldn't believe me."
"Now, hold on," Charmaine interjected. "I didn't say I didn't believe you. The story is very… far-fetched. But I do believe you." She was silent for a moment. "So, was he hot?"
"What?"
"You know!" Charmaine persisted. "Some strong dude from the Rebellion picks you up and carries you to safety while the whole building is being blown up. He had to be hot. That's like a total romance cliché."
I frowned. "I don't know. I can't really remember what he looked like. And that's not really how it happened. I was kinda busy feeling sick and disoriented."
Charmaine tsked. "Shame." She frowned. "Is something burning?" We both looked at the kitchen to see smoke clouding over the stove. "Shit!" Charmaine rushed to turn off the stove. "Damn, it! I burned the bacon." She glanced at the time on the stove. "And now I'm almost late for work and I haven't done my makeup yet!" She scrambled around, trying to gather her things. "Alright, Ev, I gotta go. I'll ask about my manager hiring you. You can help yourself to anything. Okay, love you, bye!" She rushed out the door, leaving me in silence with the smell of burnt meat.
I walked into the dining area and opened up the patio door, trying to let the smoke out. I wasn't sure what to do with myself now that I don't have a job. Back in Cathesia, I was either busy in school, taking care of my brother, or working at the convenience store in town.
I sat at the table and decided to do more research on Epron and its government. Pulling up the computer screen, I started typing away and hit enter on the search bar. As I read, what I found out was that before the war with New Arjun and their nuclear attack on Epron, Epron was once a democratic country. After Epron lost the war and millions of lives, it took at least five years to clean up most of the land and rebuild its society underground. During one of those years, a man with an unknown identity who referred to himself as 'the Raven' decided to step up and oversee the cleaning and rebuilding of Epron. Eventually, once Epron had undergone most of its underground construction and people started moving back, the Raven was established as the leader of the country.
Despite having the title of President, the Raven has had a different approach to running Epron. Instead of adhering to the country's traditional democratic practices, the Raven believed it was in Epron's best interest for the government to enforce every social, political, and economic aspect of the country.
That last bit of information made me perplexed. I decided to look more into the laws of the country and the people in office, and what I found didn't coincide with me. Apparently, there was no vice president or treasurer for Epron. It looked like the Raven ran the country by himself. 'He's not really a president at all,' I thought grimly. 'This sounds more like a dictatorship'.
My research was interrupted by another knock on the door. I rolled my eyes. I just couldn't get a break since moving here.
Feeling cautious this time, I grabbed a knife from the kitchen and hid it behind my back, slowly creeping to the door. I put my hand on the cool metal handle and turned it, slowly opening it inch by inch until I could peek my face out of the crack in the door.
A tall, slender figure in a black suit sporting a plague doctor's mask stood in front of the doorway. It was as if the devil himself had shown up at my door. The knife I was holding behind my back slipped out of my grip and fell onto the granite floor with a loud clatter. "Apologies for the intrusion, Miss Evelyn Anong. I'd like to invite you to my home at the Eagle Office for some tea."
"Uh- um," I sputtered. I could hardly believe the Raven was standing right before me. "I beg your pardon?"
"Yes, I can't quite believe I brought myself here in person either." It was almost as if he had read my thoughts. "I had sent my agent over, but he explained how your roommate put up quite the fight and said, quote, 'if it's so urgent for the President, then he can come down here himself', and, well, here I am."
My jaw fell open. "Oh, God. I'm so sorry."
"It's quite alright," the Raven said, gallant in his tone. "Quite the hothead, your friend."
"Yeah… um," I shifted my feet nervously. "Do I actually have to come with you?"
The Raven shrugged. "It's up to you. Your actions do have consequences, though. If you come with me, I can offer you the deal of a lifetime. If you choose to resist, then I will have no choice but to suspect you're affiliated with terrorist groups and will have you imprisoned."
"What?!" So this was all about the Rebellion, after all? I looked into those dark glass lenses. So tinted that I couldn't even see the shapes of eyes behind them. "What kind of deal?"
"One I think you'll be very interested in. But it's up to you if you want to find out what it is."
Damn. I was really back in a corner here. It seemed, considering my options, that going with the Raven was the only way to go. "Fine. I'll come with you."
"Excellent," the Raven said, sounding pleased. "I'm glad we came to a consensus."
'Well, you didn't really give me much of a choice', I thought to myself. I followed the Raven out of the apartment and downstairs to the street, and was surprised to see a sleek black car waiting out front. The car was an older model, maybe one from ten years ago, but it was still nice considering the standards of cars today. I guess the fallout really halted the advancement of technology in Epron.
The Raven opened the back door for me, and when I climbed inside, I noticed how much bigger and more luxurious the car seemed on the inside, than the outside. There were four people who sat on one side of the car and were all wearing suits. Their faces were blank, but intimidating. The Raven got in after me and sat next to me on the other side, and soon the car started taking off.
I was feeling too nervous on the car ride. It was silent and I could feel all four eyes of who I assumed to be the Raven's bodyguards watching my every movement. I noticed all the windows were tinted on the inside, too, so there was no way I could see where we were going. The ride to the president's house felt like hours, but in reality it had only been about ten minutes. The fact that nobody had said anything in all that time made me anxious and only made the ride feel longer.
When we arrived, the Raven exited first, followed by the bodyguards, who then escorted me out. When I looked around, I noticed we were in a gated area far away from the main city's street. Ahead of me looked like a mansion carved of different stones and minerals. Unlike most of the buildings that were carved from bedrock, this mansion had been chiseled from black stone with sparkly minerals embedded in it. The manor looked ominous, but enchanting at the same time. It was by far the most breathtaking thing I've seen in Epron. In another circumstance, my family would have been proud to even step foot into a president's home.
Wordlessly, the Raven walked up to the front doors and the bodyguards escorted me after him. I had one behind me, one on each side, and another in front. They led me down beautiful and grand corridors decorated with beautiful lamps, ceramics, and paintings of birds. I thought the last one was a little cliché. Finally, I heard doors open and we walked into a room. It was cute. There were plush couches with throw pillows, Victorian antique chairs, intricately designed rugs, a glass table with an assortment of ceramics, and the whole room was decorated comfortably, too. I thought it was a bit humorous how one of the most intimidating political figures had a room in his house that looked like it belonged to a rich lady from Epron in the 1800s.
The Raven sat down on one of the couches and gestured to the couch across from him. "Have a seat, Miss Anong."
I glanced back at the bodyguards, who now stood guarding the door. I looked back at the Raven and saw him pouring hot liquid from an electric kettle into two ceramic teacups. Let's just get this over with.
I sat down across from the Raven and folded my hands in my lap, watching as he finished pouring me tea. "Would you like any cream or sugar, Miss Anong?"
I swallowed hard, trying to control my nerves. "No, thank you."
The Raven grabbed two sugar cubes and dumped them into his cup, stirring slowly. The clinking of the spoon hitting the cup echoed lightly in the room. "I think you might like this tea," the Raven said. "The leaves were imported right from your home country, Cathesia."
I looked down at the reddish-brown ombre liquid in my cup. "How did you know I'm from Cathesia?"
The Raven chuckled. "My dear, girl, I know a lot about every one of my citizens. Also, your accent and ethnicity are a clear indication." The Raven tapped the spoon on the rim of his cup before setting it down and taking a sip. He moved the bottom of the mask up, but only just enough to expose his mouth. "I apologize for making you come out all this way. You see, how do I put this? Birds don't really see a reason to flee from their nest unless there's danger or they're out hunting. I prefer to usually stay in my office, likewise, unless absolutely provoked."
He didn't explicitly say it, but I knew he was thinking that I was his prey, and he took me into his territory to make sure I knew that. I shifted around in my seat. "Why the bird theme?"
The Raven shrugged. "I find them to be such fascinating and likeable creatures. Very admirable and complex beings, they are." He took another sip.
I waited for him to say anything else, but when he didn't, I had no choice but to speak up. "What did you want to talk to me about?"
"Right, I suppose we should get down to business." The Raven set his cup down on the saucer. "Alright, Miss Anong, here's the deal: depending on your answers, I can either let you go or you will be executed for choosing to conspire with terrorists."