By the way, that's something worth fighting for now. He should be given at least one, but a separate room. He will not sit with the others in one and share corners like those who work in the mining or food section. He should keep his luxurious apartment, but it's clear without saying that he won't be given one. The other elders would take it for themselves, there's no doubt about it… But you can bargain for a private room if you start doing it right away. They don't know how much strength he has left. A lot. Maybe he's got enough to keep fighting day in and day out. No one knows… Keep the one-room apartment and do his memoirs… And Delaney will have to be forgotten….
She's not even strong enough. Not to mention whether she'd want to sleep with an ordinary man… Peyton thought about the last of those thoughts. Had she really been sleeping with him all this time because she liked him so much. Even if not with his body, but with something else. His powers of persuasion or explanation, maybe. But still abilities, not a position that favored her if need be and generally solved all her issues. If so, it could go on. Because she was a real moaner. And she always came as soon as he called her to him. Always in good spirits and happy. Was it possible to pretend all this time?
Peyton stared silently at the wall, then at the door of the room he was in. He looked at different things, and the same answer came to his mind-just pretending, if it was all the time. If she were sincere, at least she could at least somehow yell at him, tell him she didn't like something, admonish him for something that wasn't going her way. After all, she is a woman. How can it be that she is always only in a good mood? It can only happen if it's artificial. There's no other way.
One could, of course, assume that someone was mentally ill and always giggled nonstop.
Peyton remembered that they had one of them, from the Enlightenment section, who at first laughed intermittently when he was telling something, then started laughing out of turn during his whole speech, then started laughing without telling anything, and then it began to happen with an incomprehensible regularity, and no longer in the form of a slight "hee-hee", but with a demonic roar. He was quickly given to the doctors, who concluded that he was unable to adequately perceive his own actions and could not control them. Someone else began to say that he was being pulled by strings like a puppet, which is why this mental disorder was called puppet disease.
Except that people with puppet disease can be in high spirits all the time. And that looks really weird. And what Delaney was doing looked more than natural. So the only conclusion is that it's all artificial. And she shouldn't lie to herself that she was so happy to fuck an old man who ended up slapping her and then hitting her over the head with a glass.
Peyton momentarily remembered what it had been like. How he had enjoyed it all, how he had wanted to cum, how he had grasped at all the straws to prolong the sensation… He remembered how something had penetrated the left side of his head, how it had begun to feel a little numb, how he had begun to see everything through some very strange prism. Like he was
watching everything through some kind of screen instead of his own eyes. After all, he wasn't supposed to hit Delaney… All this reasoning led him to this conclusion….
What do you mean you can't? How is it wrong to hit Delaney? She wanted it. She wanted to be hit first on the cheek and then harder. Yeah, maybe she didn't want to be hit with her hand instead of her foot, for example. That could be. Maybe she didn't want the second blow to be a glass and not something else. And that could be. But she definitely wanted it all. And the only thing she might have in the form of questions now is why he chose those particular ways. There are no other questions and there can be no other questions. It's clear to her and to him. She definitely wanted it all!
Peyton was starting to get a little angry. Why did he have to prove it now? Why does he need to find some justification for actions that were obvious at the time? What was obvious then is obvious now. They can't require proof. It's just a given. You could ask Delaney herself about it, and all she will do is confirm it… However, yes, she can complain.
She can still complain about the unfinished business. He didn't strangle her like he should have. That's what she wanted. She wanted him to lock his hands around her neck and hold them until she stopped breathing. She wanted it so badly, and he couldn't do it because that heart attack had happened… Then it would have been complete. Done. Complete… But it wasn't, and for that Delaney has a right to hold him accountable. Why he couldn't do what he had to do, despite his condition.
And he's willing to answer for it. Peyton firmly believed that it was only fair to answer for it. To admit his mistake. Admit it, maybe even publicly. For the first time, Peyton would publicly admit his mistake. That he couldn't strangle her because of how he felt, but he's still willing. He's even willing to risk his life now and still do what's necessary. And she doesn't even have to ask for it.
Doesn't even have to hint at the necessity of it. He is ready to do it all by himself: to confess his wrong, his mistake and correct it. He is ready to strangle her at the first meeting without any conversation, without any reproach or hesitation. That way he can wash away the shame…..
The door to the room opened and Heddock stepped carefully inside. This was not the man he'd expected to be here. He must have his hands full with his own business… Though it was understandable, too. He'd come to see an old friend, to stab him in the neck, to strip him of his powers and appoint someone else, someone he'd probably already chosen to be his assistant.
— You keep me busy, Mr. Handler. — That's what the elders called the shadowy head of the station, "curator", in private meetings. Officially, he was called the curator of the Enlightenment section. So they simply removed everything unnecessary, leaving the word "curator" as if to imply that he was supervising them.
— Yes, Peyton… We have no idea how much I need you to be healthy.
Peyton didn't hear the words at first. He wanted to hear something like "it's past your time" or "sunset comes to everyone," but it didn't sound like that, so he didn't understand anything at alclass="underline"
— What-what?
— Peyton, come on… I know you're not doing great, but it's still a micro-infarction, not just a heart attack. You're gonna be on your feet in no time.
Does everyone assume that nothing has changed. That he was so injured that he didn't do what he was supposed to do. Did no one notice that? Did no one notice his mistake?
— Everyone makes mistakes, Mr. Curator. Absolutely everyone… But not everyone admits their mistakes. And I'm the one who corrects them. Corrects mistakes and moves on. Forward.
Toward goals.
— I understand, Peyton. I agree… Can we talk about the case?
— Business? That's what I'm talking about, damn it! Can't you see this is the most important case of my life? I admit and correct mistakes like nobody else! Like nobody else, do you hear me?!
— Peyton, it's okay. We've already taken care of it. I need your abilities in the changes that are coming.
They had it all worked out. Peyton heard it and couldn't believe his ears. How could this have been handled without him. Had they ended Delaney's life for him. But how could they fix it now? She couldn't be killed a second time, could she? It had to be him and no one else. How do you do it now? Now how do you fix a mistake when it's already been fixed by someone else? This is on purpose. There was no doubt it was on purpose. Someone's digging a hole for him. Maybe even the whole Council is doing it. The whole Council wants to sideline him altogether so he can't do anything about it. That's what they've done.