An hour later, after Derick's shocking dagger-to-the-head stunt, the boys hit the road. He had assured them of his regeneration, but Larry and Raymond could only pray he'd rise again. Their mission complete, they turned their wheels back toward the Association.
In the front seats—Larry in the driver's seat, Raymond in the passenger.
Raymond's eyes darted to the rearview mirror, searching for a glimpse of Derick in the back seat. He turned to Larry.
"He's not up yet."
Larry responded, "He'll be fine. He said he trusts his regenerative abilities."
Raymond came back quickly. "Well, he's been like this for an hour now. Thank God no one saw us when we put him in the car."
"You think people were there?" Larry asked. His dark eyes took a quick look at Raymond before looking back at the road; that place was the only habitable building; the rest were damaged, he added.
Raymond faced down, thinking; he brought his head up, answering at the same time. "I noticed too, but what can we do? Most of the time we were with those old couples, and we did get something; that's enough."
As the journey went on—like someone resuscitating back to life—Derick rose, his eyes twitching as the ray of sunlight hit them. He breathed heavily; the other guys realized he was awake, and Raymond yelled. "Yo, never in your life do that. What the fuck were you thinking? No heads-up at all."
Derick slowly got calm, his heavy breathing dropping in tempo, and he answered. "If I had told you before I did it, you'd probably not let me do it. He pressed forward, asking. "So what did I miss?"
The guys at the front turned, Larry said to him. "Aren't you the one owing us things to say?"
Shaking his head, Derick remarked. "I'm not saying things twice; when we get there, I'll say all I want to say. He shouted. Stop the car; I want to take a piss."
The car slowed, and Derick made his way out of the car to a bush. In the car, Larry and Raymond had a quick chat.
"He's acting a bit weird, don't you think?" Larry said.
Raymond added dryly, "He just had a factory reset. A knife went through his head—you can't expect him to be back at a hundred percent."
The two waited patiently for Derick so they could get back to the association as soon as possible.
****
At last, they pulled up at the Association building. Without delay, they headed for the upper floors to relay what they had gathered—only to find the commander and Johnathan waiting there.
"Where is he?" Asked Raymond
She answered. "Out for personal matters, you can tell me everything."
The three guys looked thunderstruck, their eyes widening as they glanced at one another.
Johnathan, who stood close to his madam, cut in the brief silence.
"You looked surprised; you don't think he has a life apart from all this."
None answered; they felt a bit of shame and awkwardness.
Layla leaned forward on the desk, her voice sharp. "Start talking. We don't have all day. What happened out there?"
Raymond pressed closer, taking the lead as he usually did. "As you know, commander, we went to the outskirts of the city. On getting there, it was messy; the area was silent, and houses were destroyed, like a recent catastrophe had hit them without us knowing. We sighted just a place that looked alright; it took a while to get into, but we forced our way in."
Her eyes lit up at his words, and she motioned for him to continue.
"It was quite weird; the silence the atmosphere brought would give you strange chills. An old couple owned the homes, but to our surprise, ma'am, they knew Derick was coming."
Commander and Johnathan chorused. "What?"
"Shocked—that's the same way we felt when we heard. Just to cut it short, we had a video call with Jean Bassett; she claimed to have made a space in Derick's mind, knowing everything he does, and that she'd take over."
"I have a question. Layla said. Who is that old couple? How did they have Jean Bassett's contact?"
Raymond replied. "You're the commander alright. They are her parents."
Layla's face changed in horror of the words; she snapped. "Why didn't you bring her parents for questioning?"
Derick cut in to answer the furious Commander. "Because they're hostages. Layla's head tilted. The moment they take a step out of the house, they will find a way to kill themselves; those innocent people are under a control that binds them in their home."
She responded. "Okay, I hear you. Her tone dropping, is there more? She added.
"Yes, there is. Derick answered. He faced Larry and Raymond. You must have questions about the other people in that vicinity. They nodded. He said. That's because they've all been captured and held as hostages."
The room atmosphere changed; every person in the room felt it. That heavy word "hostages" hit them. Derick continued:
Remember that day at the burial of that police officer? Those people who shot themselves were all neighbors from that hood."
Their faces tightened in bitterness, Larry murmured. "Her parents claim she's innocent. What innocence is this?"
Derick replied to him. "They have their reasons, and I think it's something to our advantage. They all paid attentive ears. She has to see her reflection."
The others were a bit dumbfounded. He saw their reactions and told them. "She has a powerful alter ego; it took over her after she had contact with it through seeing herself. The parents claim Jean's boss took this to his advantage and turned their daughter against the world."
****
Life in the city was back as it was; hours after the incident, it was like it had been forgotten. Timothy Slinger stood at the foot of a restaurant, his phone by his ear; he looked furious, and he fired at the caller.
"How many times do I have to tell you, he's not up for adoption. The next time you bring this up, I'm taking you to the police."
The call dropped—dropped the phone into his pocket. Just when he entered, he found the place to be feeling a bit different.