Or had there been It was hard to remember Either way he needed Well he wanted to clarify
Tatiana spoke first when she was near him Follow me I want to talk Then she spun on her heel and continued walking away towards the forest Randidly glanced upwards There wouldnÆt be a drone patrol for a while and he wanted privacy for this conversation as well So he followed her away into the tree lines
She was determined and lead him almost three miles away from the compound It wasnÆt a distance that Randidly would normally have noticed but he counted because he knew that there was something special in this way And sure enough they eventually broke through a line of blueberry bushes and found themselves faced with a strange little grotto hidden beneath the trees
The trees stretched overhead branches extending until there were only a few sunbeams that could make it through to what lay below A hand of roots extended upwards pointing towards the village Around it flowers ranging in size from golf ball to basketball bloomed their fragrant faces opening upward It was the spot where Randidly had guided the child previously
A part of Randidly wanted to ask whether Tatiana knew what this place meant to him but he already knew there was no way she had connected him with that And bringing it up felt definitely like bragging
Tatiana turned to face him She opened her mouth then scanned his face and body language critically There was definitely a cold air to her right now as if she was in a bad mood Had something happened
But to Randidly this was easiest If she had been bantering and kind it would have been hard to break the illusion of who he was He would have felt perhaps guilt or perhaps regret because those moments might soon be lost Her cold exterior numbed him somewhat to those warm memories letting him take an action that might endanger them
Before you speak IÆd like to say something Randidly said quietly
Tatiana pursed her lips and folded her arms across her chest but nodded
Randidly nodded as well more to himself than her and then said Look IÆll keep it brief I my name isnÆt really Baloo Erickson You probably guessed that I donÆt doubt you did some research on where I served my military duty But the truth is IÆm from Zone 32 I came over just as it opened and IÆm under a Skill that lets me hide my true appearance
TatianaÆs eyes sparkled golden as she watched him He paused and scanned her face but couldnÆt even extract the smallest bit of impression from her It was like there was a door inside of Tatiana and she had closed it She was blank and ambivalent So Randidly soldiered forward
I should have told you right when you agreed to join me but I suppose I believed briefly I could truly switch over to being this person ItÆs become obvious that I was something of a fool for believing I could do that So I wanted to explain to you whatÆs going on Especially because we
Randidly trailed off suddenly unsure of where he was going with that sentence But now at least he had a firmer sense of TatianaÆs reaction based upon her face she was pissed off
She cleared her throat Is that all Do you have anything else to say
Randidly blinked About the disguise and why I did it I figured that I wouldnÆt get access to the drone blueprints if it was known I was from a different Zone A disguise solved that problem and people were wandering in from the borderlands every day It worked out well
Not the details of your plan Tatiana said through gritted teeth Perhaps something that you wanted to say after reflecting on your actions
Again Randidly considered this honestly mostly that it was dumb to make the fake identity be a few inches shorter than my real height ItÆs very disconcerting to have people constantly looking at your mouth
IDIOT Tatiana exploded Just apologize
Now her emotions seemed to gush forth and Tatiana balled her hands into fists and glared at Randidly
For his part Randidly frowned slightly Yea you are right This is my fault I apologize But it was necessary I hope you understand that
A lot of her sadness disappeared at the apology but the anger stayed Maybe you believed it was necessary but it was a lie Baloo Or whatever I should fucking call you You betrayed the trust of the people around you
Look I get how you feel Randidly began but Tatiana cut him off
No I get how you think that you were in the right Or even if you were in the wrong it was a small thing that can be brushed away with inane reassurances But it canÆt You only have one chance with trust ItÆs fragile This isnÆt a rom A movie this is real life If you want to make up for this it will take a long time
RandidlyÆs temper flared Every time he apologized she seemed to attack more So maybe instead of apologizing he should attack her It seemed very ironic to him that the woman who worked as an escort no matter how high end would lecture him on trust
But as soon as he had that thought Randidly felt his temper fizzle out That was unfair of him to say Just like Tatiana was being unfair in her characterization of things So instead of speaking all of the vicious little remarks that his anger had created he let them go and looked at Tatiana Tatiana what are you afraid of
She stopped too seeming abruptly exhausted After a bit the corners of her mouth came up into a crooked smile and she barked out a hollow laugh That kid Nathan just upgraded my Class I donÆt know how he did it I just sat there and daydreamed and then and then it was done Everything everything since IÆve met you has been accelerating It was easy to agree and now IÆm just wondering what I have bound myself to The things that happen around you they shouldnÆt be possible
Randidly laughed and Tatiana shook her head helplessly
Chapter 576
IÆm sorry I didnÆt mean to attack you But I think I think I noticed when you got out of the city yesterday that you werenÆt who you said you were Tatiana said after a brief pause
Randidly nodded slowly That explained the tenseness earlier
Abruptly Tatiana looked up at him WhatÆs your real name then And my WomanÆs Intuition is running at full bore so IÆll sense if you are lying
RandidlyÆs smile widened WomanÆs Intuition Is that a Skill You are saying it like itÆs a Skill
Frowning Tatiana said Of course itÆs a Skill I use it on a daily basis The only issue is that itÆs of such a high caliber that the System is unable to quantify its Levels
Randidly rolled his eyes and then said ThatÆs fine then Just well IÆm a little afraid you wonÆt believe me when I say my name
Yes and these stalling tactics arenÆt exactly making you more believable Tatiana said with a touch of her old humor in her voice Just get it over with
Alright fine Randidly said straightening My name is Randidly Ghosthound
Tatiana just looked at him with a strange expression on her face Like the politician The guy whoÆs marrying the 16 year old pop star
Randidly winched She isnÆt 16 sheÆs 19 and I
Holy shit I need to sit down Tatiana said raising a hand and pressing it against her forehead I thought and this whole time youÆve been sneaking away at night to visit your teenage sex pot
Hey wait thatÆs not me Randidly said raising his heads
Randidly felt profoundly uncomfortable as Tatiana looked at him like he was a dead thing Imagine my surprise when I am told that I am about to get someoneÆs real name and then they go on to say thatÆs not meÆ It makes me wonder what I should believe
Uh Randidly shrugged wondering how best to condense the truth The person marrying the pop star isnÆt me I have a close friend sheÆs acting in the role of me I really am Randidly Ghosthound But I wanted to disguise myself and figured it would be incredibly suspicious to the people in power here if I disappeared from Zone 32 They would assume I was hiding here
Which you had Tatiana commented but Randidly ignored her
So just like IÆm disguised to look like this she is disguised to look like me He finished
Tatiana seemed to be considering him for several seconds Then finally she shrugged Okay fine You have a cross dressing friend who is acting as you My real problem isnÆt Randidly Ghosthound well you a really powerful Classer How can you just spend your time playing with drones