Free Web NovelChapter 79: Chapter 79: Missed
Craig had called in the investigation team , which mostly consists of Shades, recognised across the Syndicate for their work in matters like this.
They moved through the shop methodically, cataloguing, removing and using their abilities on the corpses.
Percy sat at the Syndicate office afterward, reporting everything alongside Craig, his voice flat through most of it.
Craig noticed how far away he seemed and moved to sit beside him.
"I’m not going to tell you not to feel sad. Or guilty." He kept his voice low .
"Carrying these emotions is what keeps us who we are. Feel the grief. Just don’t let yourself falter over it. Don’t try to go numb to the pain or the sadness. Feel it. Let it hurt." A pause.
"But don’t let it be the end of you. Learn to endure it without letting yourself go numb. That is what keeps us human."
Percy looked at him for a moment, then gave a short nod.
"I appreciate the advice, Mr. Craig."
"You’re welcome."
Craig settled in beside him. "So. What did you see?"
Percy blinked. Craig stayed quiet, patiently waiting.
After a moment Percy began to speak , the images and the memories, everything that had come through the moment his hand closed around the teddy bear.
Craig listened without interrupting until Percy finished.
"So sensation isn’t the only thing you experience," he said slowly.
"Touching an Anchor shows you the memory attached to it." He exhaled. "A curse and a useful tool, at the same time."
He smiled. Grief sat plainly behind his eyes regardless.
"No." Percy clasped his hands together. "This is the first time it’s happened."
Craig raised a brow.
"I’ve touched other Anchors before. None of them showed me anything."
Craig turned his head away slightly.
"I see."
---
"What happened to you, lad?"
Percy looked up. Gareth stood in front of him, arms loosely crossed.
Lyro arrived a moment later but peeled off toward the office to file his own report, leaving the two of them.
Gareth studied Percy’s face for a moment, then tilted his head toward the door.
"Come on. Let’s talk."
Percy glanced at Craig. Craig offered a small smile and stepped away, leaving them to it.
Percy stood and followed Gareth out toward the garden behind the Syndicate building.
"I believe we have something to discuss between ourselves," Gareth said, plucking a flower from the garden bed and holding it to his nose. He handed it over , it was a purple petals dotted with red.
Percy took it without thinking.
"Mr. Gareth. Since when have you been with the Syndicate?"
Gareth turned to him. "Long before you ever set foot in Beningham Styles." He gestured vaguely with one hand. "Think of it as undercover work. There are a handful of us scattered through the district doing the same." ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
Percy went quiet, thinking back to the interrogation room at the police station.
"Did they assume I was undercover too?"
"So." Gareth shifted the conversation. "I’ve already heard your story, lad. Sounds like you’ve had it rough." He paused.
"But is it really alright, not saying anything to the others at the shop?"
Percy’s eyes dimmed slightly.
"I must have been making them worry."
"Damn right you have," Gareth said, giving his shoulder a firm slap. "I’m not telling you to explain everything. Just give them a proper farewell. Even without the full story, I’m sure they’d understand."
Percy nodded. "I’ll do that."
"That’s it, lad." Gareth slapped his shoulder once more, satisfied, and turned back toward the building.
Percy stood for a moment, watching Gareth’s back retreat toward the building.
"I expected that to last longer, given everything. But that’s it."
He smiled slightly.
"Well i don’t think I needed a longer explanation anyway. Though it’s a bit anticlimactic for a discovery like that."
"I suppose Mr. Gareth is still Gareth."
He brought the flower up and took a sniff.
His nose wrinkled instantly. A horrid smell flooded through, sharp and itching, before he could pull away.
"Aghhhhhhh!"
"ACHOOO."
The sneeze tore out of him harder than anything he’d ever produced in either life. His eyes watered, his whole body recoiling from the force of it.
From somewhere back near the building came the unmistakable sound of laughter.
"Buhahahaha!"
Percy stood there, eyes still streaming, the flower hanging limp in his hand.
He recognised the laugh immediately.
Gareth.
-----
"Well, I should head back now."
Silia stood and Dana’s hands paused, needle and fabric settling in her lap as she rose as well.
"If you must, Miss Silia. But you’ve been really helpful today. I learned a lot."
Silia waved a hand. "I’m just fulfilling my end of the deal."
Dana smiled. "Still. I’m really thankful."
Silia stretched lightly, working a kink out of her shoulder. "Does Percy not usually return around this time?" fгeewebnovёl.com
Dana shook her head. "I’m not sure if this is normal for him. I haven’t been with him long enough to know his usual hours yet."
"I see." Silia’s expression dimmed slightly.
"I can’t let this get to me," she told herself, straightening her posture. "I’ll have my chance."
----
Silia reached the shop just as Gracy and the others stepped out, the work hours having already ended without her. She did not bother catching up to them.
"Right. I’ll catch them tomorrow," she thought, and went inside.
Bram was still at the counter. He looked up the moment she entered.
"Where were you, Silia?"
"I was recruiting a new employee," she said.
Bram adjusted his glasses. "Ah , to replace Percy, I take it. You move quickly."
Silia frowned. "How do you know Percy’s resigning?"
Bram blinked, confused. "Didn’t you speak with him before going?"
She shook her head. "I haven’t."
His confusion deepened. "I assumed you went to recruit after confirming it with him directly."
Silia decided not to chase that thread. "Never mind that. How did you find out?"
Bram straightened. "He came by earlier. Told all of us himself. And get this.." he chuckled, "he joined the Syndicate. That boy. Quite the surprise. I almost didn’t believe him until he showed us the badge. And then i remembered him owning the gun , honestly that explained a lot ."
Silia’s expression went somewhere unreadable.
Bram noticed . "Are you alright?"
"I’m fine," she said, and moved past him toward the back of the shop.
"Tomorrow," she told herself again. "Tomorrow for certain."
