The Rise Of The Consortium

At the last moment, Kner Maning messaged her to reach the last table of the diner which was the section where the citizens like Manings could sit there. The place was dimly lit but wasn't too dark. Until she reached the table the place was humid and Rio felt like her shirt was making her feel uncomfortable. But as she reached the area where Kner was seated, the calming cool wind suddenly relaxed her. He was sitting at the farthest end of the area although there was no one else. Such a private place was perfect for secret meetings of businessmen and mafia leaders. Occasionally some celebrities found passing by. She had been there before with him but never sat at that place and also was called there another time to clean the stubborn silver dust out of chimneys only once.

She didn't realize that she was dressed in the silliest clothing until she carefully saw him before sitting in front of him. He was in a black suit, everything black in the low light of the room, and looked extremely classy. She was feeling uneasy to look at him with such a newfound realization that is where the line of lighthearted friendship and dominating ownership of one part of her career was drawn. She couldn't stop looking at him like that. She felt as if she was smothering under his gaze but was equally pleasing to experience. Her mind was divided into two parts as it was making her feel bad about how the things turned out and also wanting her to get more of that at the same time.

When there was no response from her after a long time, he cleared his throat to pull her out of her reverie.

"Sorry I couldn't meet you yesterday. I was out--"

"It's ok" she cut him to stop him apologizing. Maybe that one message worried him a lot. He shouldn't feel sorry. "You're here and that's enough. All I needed was to see you." She tried not to sound silly. It was hard not to feel small all of sudden. She took a deep breath and forced herself to look down.

"I don't know what happened yesterday." He said in a matter of fact tone. " You liked the food? I ordered that butterscotch cake for you."

"Yeah, I loved it." Rio had to lie, she quickly looked at him and then down at the floor. So, he really didn't know anything. How could she tell him all that she had to hear from his family? Maybe all that happened justified whatever her mother said to him the day before yesterday. And also, how could she forget that a stupid charge against his brother could cost her so greatly. She felt as if she shouldn't keep him waiting like that. she asked anything her mind could get.

"I wasn't getting any message from the lab so I thought maybe the news hurt you so bad that you don't even want me there." She felt her throat tightening with that thought.

"No, no." he was sudden to blurt out that just when she finished. " I don't know how you didn't get those. It's automated by the way so maybe something is wrong. I'll have a check." He took a sip from a glass of unrecognizable liquid.

"I'm really sorry whatever my mom said that night." She had to get off that thought out of her head. It was distracting her to focus on him.

"I'm fine." Rio looked up to see if he really meant that. "It's ok. Parents do that. She did that cause she loves you." His fingers reached out to her motionless ones on the table.

"Do you think someone wants to deliberately stretch the news of us?" Rio asked away quickly keeping her head down. "Cause all I know is there's nothing between us but it's really depressing whatever is being shown." She suddenly felt his fingers move away from hers. And that made her feel as if she asked the wrong question.

He exhaled heavily that sounded like a low m.o.a.n. "We really don't do anything and the news is really taking it too far. I've seen it too." He looked up to see her face which was already down in a stiff way. "But I don't understand why someone would do that to us? What they would get out of it?" he also lowered his head getting lost in his train of thoughts.

"I don't know." She then focused on the wall on her right side.

"Are you really alright?" She couldn't stop her mind from thinking things said specially said by his mother no matter how much she changed her focus.

"I heard that you're unwell."Rio said keeping her eye on her fingers playing with the hem of her shirt."You can tell me anything that's bothering you. You know you can trust me." she told everything under a breath straight looking at him. How could someone be so unwell but present themselves as if everything is alright? Either he is fine or he is not.

"Hey, hey." he grabbed her left hand on the table, making her pause her breathing. "See, the thing is that I'm completely fine. See, I'm looking good. Isn't it?" He had to shook her shoulders to make her believe his words. All she could do was just smile. Still, there wasn't any sign of distress as said by his mother. So was she exaggerating? That was enough. She must ask something else, she said to herself.

"So am I coming to the lab tomorrow?" she considered it best to ask the research head in front of her when she wouldn't get any messages.

"Well, the ongoing project is over, so it's a break for everyone right now. I'll get it notified for you when we start a new one," he said with a slight smile on his face.

"Ok." she didn't know what else to ask.

"Hey, do you know the password for the last project?" Kner asked casually finishing his drink.

"Which one?" Rio's fingers suddenly stopped playing.

"The antidote for the poisoned water."

What was that? Rio thought to herself. She closed her eyes and tried to remember things that happened last week. Surprisingly she couldn't remember a thing. She didn't understand his question, how could she tell what had happened in the last week?

"You wrote that. Don't you remember?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." she slowly lifted her head and honestly told him what she thought. Maybe he was saying something random.

"It was done in the lab two weeks ago and it was you who wrote it and saved it on our server. Now don't you remember?" he looked at her intently only to see her face becoming frozen.

Rio's eyes went wide. She wrote what? So, it was clear she didn't know anything. "Trust me, I--I don't even really know whether I was there in the lab or not." she stuttered the whole time. It felt as if she stole something and was caught red-handed.

"Ok. calm down. Come to the lab tomorrow, we'll see." Surprisingly his voice was calm. After a couple of minutes of silence, he moodily began, "I don't know what Kysop had exactly said about your mother but it's true that she goes to the Silver Swirl."

"What?" What was going on? A few minutes ago he was talking about something she didn't remember, and now he was talking about her mother like that. Is he really fine after all?

"She's extremely possessed by the dust and she can't get herself out of it." He found her looking at him as if he said something in a cryptic language. He was not getting why was she behaving like that.

"Now don't say you don't know anything about this too." And saw her shaking her head very slowly with the same puzzled look.

"Why are we talking about something I don't know?" She didn't think the meeting would go that way. She felt she wanted to leave the place soon. She saw his jaw clenching. Oh no. She forgot that he was technically her boss and he must be losing his patience. She didn't know how to cure his mood from going acidic.

"Uh--I'm sorry. So I mean, what is that silver thing?" She sat straight. Now it was time to act serious.

"What happened to you? Are you also possessed by it?" There it goes. Now he was mad. All her words suddenly deleted from her mind when she saw his frowning expression.

"I--I don't know." That's the only answer she knew at that moment. It was better if she would just let him talk, and nod head. She would figure out the unknowns later.

"I need you to give me that file." He came straight to the point.

"But what that has to do with the silver swirls?" She cursed herself for not keeping her questions to herself.

"That file has important information that can solve your mother's illness." He looked like as if someone made him recite really bad poetry.

"My mom is not ill." Now she couldn't stop herself. She didn't know what type of illness her mother had and he couldn't say like that. She just hoped she would keep her voice down.

"There are reports about her. She's been getting treatments. Save her before she ends up like your father." he put a special emphasis on the last sentence.

"My who?" Whatever she just heard was a friendly reminder or bossy instructions it was hard to tell. New information wasn't being handled quite well by her brain. She didn't know how long she would have to stay there to listen to all those confusing things.

"Your father is still sleeping. That file might solve that as well." His tone sounded serious, eyes fixed on her gaping look.

"I don't get it. Where did my father come from? I never had any father." Her words slipped very fast. It was the worst meeting she ever had with him.

"Come on. Everyone has a father." he sounded a bit frustrated.

"Then why I didn't know about it?" she also sounded equally mad at him.

"I don't know." that might be the first time she would have heard him say like that. She took a deep breath to keep her emotions under control.

"First of all, you're saying that my mom has an illness and then you're saying I have a father, what's wrong with you?" she banged her clenched hand on the table, absolutely mad at the direction the conversation was taking.

"Keep it down." he was also quick to respond to her madness.

The way he said things sounded like one of those news articles claiming she had private affair with him, and many insider articles about how they spent their time together, fabricating it to make everyone feel quite real.

But in his mind he felt sure she was also possessed like her mother, if that was the case then what would he have to do to get his files back?

"Sorry, but I don't believe any of it." she scoffed at him.

"You would see that for yourself. Just give me that file of yours." he wasn't interested to play along with her anymore.

"I don't know any file from the last week, so stop blabbering." her expression was full of contempt. Now she didn't care if he was her friend or her boss. He has crossed the line of decency and she can't handle his dominating attitude.

"Don't test my patience. I asked you once, I won't do that next time. I would get it anyways." Rio met his face which was as if set in stone.

"Really I would give that to you if ever knew what was that." she suddenly felt sad seeing him like that. Why would she keep off things from him? Hadn't she been sharing things with him for the last three years?

"Come to the lab tomorrow, we'll see. "

"I really don't want to believe any of it." she sad to hear. She had clenched her hands stop herself from crying. The more she dug her nails into her palm, the more she felt in control.

"But it's a fact. The only reason I didn't say anything to your mom that day was that I knew that wasn't really her. She's possessed like many and if you don't help me, you'll be responsible. Remember, I warned you." now that made her shed her tears slowly. She felt as if a big rolling stone is going to crush her. She grabbed her hair and started sobbing. He had his eyes outside the room, not paying attention to events happening in front of his eyes.

"Now you're scaring me. And I don't like it." words came from her sobbing voice. She can't sit like that anymore. His words hurt her. She has to get out before she breaks down in front of him. She never ever cried in front of him.

"You don't believe me. Today's the day. See for yourself."

She didn't want to hear anything. She wanted to cry a lot. She got off from her chair, almost knocking it off. She didn't care what that looked like or what people thought about it. Just when she was about to leave the table, she heard him say, probably his head lowered,

"I won't stop you. Cause the truth is waiting for you to be unfolded. "

Heck your truth, Mr. Kner Maning. She had no courage to say that loud, but things were exploding in her mind. She ran from the diner, to find a spot to cry as much as she wanted. She found a spot outside the place, a tree behind the bushes from where the diner was visible.

It was going to be late at night and there were things she didn't know whether were true or not. Didn't her mother ever mention of her disease? Two days before she indeed warned something like that. Why didn't she tell exactly what it was? And how dare Kner think that as an illness? An illness as if that was incurable and unacceptable. And where did the father come from? She neither saw any nor ever told if she had one. The answer must be with her mother. But could she ask? Especially when her mother is mad at her already? She wanted to know. She could've asked if someone else would have known. Or if she knew who else knew whether she had a father of her. She would have to ask her mother about it. An urging thought formed in her mind to ask her. But another tiny worry popped in her mind, what does the disease do? She already heard that people don't behave humanly anymore. But what exactly happened, she never saw.

When she had shed enough tears for what seemed like an hour, she got off from the ground and saw a black car parking outside the diner and an outline of a man entering into the car. On the front, a bright colored figure gleamed on it. She guessed it to be a geometrical figure with lines in it. Her mind said that she had seen it somewhere. Was it the one she saw on her way to the Manings the previous day?