Nevermind

The next morning I woke up with a huge hangover.

In the end, I had no luck in finding a hookup. But I didn't care, I was no longer in the mood anyway. After the conversation in the park, I had other things on my mind.

So I just had a few more drinks in one of the clubs, and then continued drinking even after I got back home.

As a result, now I had a splitting headache.

When I finally crawled out of my bedroom, the apartment was empty. There was just a note left on the kitchen table. I grabbed it, and rubbing my forehead, I squinted my eyes, trying to decipher the boy's messy scribbles.

[Went to do some groceries! There's breakfast ready in the fridge, you just need to reheat it. Be back soon! Evan.]

I threw it back on the table, and went to make myself some coffee.

In the apartment we were currently renting, there was a capsule coffee machine. I was still not used to it. It was a bit annoying, as I usually preferred strong, black coffee, so the ones made from capsules were typically too weak for my taste.

Maybe I should just go buy a different, proper coffee machine later.

But for now, I had no choice but to resign myself to what was available.

Just as I finished brewing my coffee, I heard the door unlock and the boy came in, carrying groceries.

He smiled when he saw me. "Morning! Have you just gotten up?"

I just nodded without a word and sat down by the table, sipping my coffee. I was still only barely awake.

The boy put the bags on the table and started unpacking them, organizing all the groceries in the fridge and in the cupboards.

"Have you eaten yet? Do you want me to reheat it for you?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever." I observed him absentmindedly as he busied himself around the kitchen.

He immediately took the food he prepared earlier out of the fridge and put it in the microwave.

"By the way…" I started.

"Hm?" The boy turned around to look at me.

"Do you know…"

I paused in the middle of the question, hesitating.

I was about to ask him whether he knew that HR girl from last night, but suddenly, I wasn't so sure if that was a good idea. If I were to mention anything about her now, he would know that the organization discovered our location. Otherwise, why would I ask about someone I've never mentioned before? It would be obvious I must have just met her. And if he knew that the organization appeared, how would he react?

The things have been going well between us. He has been obedient and hardworking, and it seems he started getting attached to me. Honestly, it was quite convenient having him around. He was much more useful than I would have expected.

But it's only been around two months. If he had an option to return to the organization, what would he choose?

Of course, I would never allow him to go back. But it'd be a shame if I had to kill him now.

So, to avoid the risk of him acting behind my back and trying to contact that HR girl, I had to keep it a secret from him for now.

The ping from the microwave signalizing that the food was ready brought me back to reality. The boy was still staring at me, waiting for me to finish the question.

"Nevermind," I sighed and got up to get the plate.

"Oh, alright." Thankfully the boy knew better than to ask. For someone so extraverted and chatty he was surprisingly mindful of when he should stay quiet. He saw that I was in a bad mood, so he just continued doing the chores without a word.

I still intended to question him about it later. I just needed to do it indirectly. As long as I didn't ask specifically about her, he wouldn't be able to catch on. He wasn't the brightest person, after all.

Through what I've learned during the time we spent together, he knew quite a lot about the organization, a lot more than I originally thought. Not exactly about how it operates or what are its purposes, but rather about the members. He told me plenty of gossip and stories, mostly regarding other field agents, but sometimes also people from other departments. I don't think he ever mentioned that Alyssa girl though.

Well, with how prim and proper she seemed to be, there might not have been that many rumors about her circulating around. But then again, I've never been a part of any community, so I don't really know how gossiping works.

But that was a conversation for later. Right now, my headache was too bad for me to focus.

***

Later in the day, when my headache finally subsided, it was time for me to get to work. I turned on my laptop and connected the external drive.

Over the past two months, I've been writing down and organizing every single piece of information I've got from the boy, even the stupid gossip about the personal life of the field agents. After all, you never know what might be useful in the future.

I searched for the file I had about members from the HR department. There was hardly anything there, just mere two pages of notes, most of which were about a middle-aged woman named Karen Miller, called "the witch" by the trainees. As the nickname suggested, she was very much disliked by everyone, an absolute nightmare to deal with. Always screaming at everyone, obnoxious, and generally extremely unhelpful, to be avoided at all costs.

That definitely wasn't the person I was looking for.

Other than that, there were just a few mentions of other members, such as "a snobby intern", "a nice lady", "a strict woman", and "an ex-field agent"… In other words, nothing really useful.

I sighed. I needed to somehow lead a conversation with the boy in a way that would get him talking about the HR more.

For now, I just created a new file and started typing everything I knew about Alyssa from our meeting last night.