In the last eight days, and Dr. Taryn Mais had met and talked to the majority of those who belonged to the Committee. There was of course Lauren Barr himself, an auditor, and one of the most senior Committee members. She had learned how he had been very proud of his longevity in the Committee.
“You see this?”
he had said one day while the two were eating dinner, joined by
Shirley and Declan in the first basement. He tossed his wallet across
the table, causing it to slide and rotate slightly, stopping directly
in front of Taryn, in such a way so that it faced her perfectly.
Putting her fork
down, Taryn leaned forward. “You're ID? What about it?”
Lauren smiled, “No
you gotta read it.”
Shirley gave a
sigh, “Oh, not this again.” looking at Declan, “Mr. Oldtimer is
showing off again.”
“Oh,” Declan
said, while munching on his salad, “It doesn't bother anyone. Let
him do what he wants.”
“Thank you
Declan.” Lauren said with a polite nod, before turning his
attention to Taryn, “Go on. Read it.”
“Umm, what am I
looking for?” the rookie said picking up the wallet and looking at
the ID card. All members of the Committee are given a lamented
identification card, although as Lauren had jokingly pointed out when
Taryn received hers, it was just for show.
“Read it.”
Lauren said with a smug smile.
“Umm... you weigh
that much?” she said looking up with a bit of a laugh.
“Actually yes.
But that's besides the point.” Lauren said with a dismissive tone.
“It's the lo-”
Shirley was saying in annoyance, causing Lauren to put his hand up to
her and shush her loudly “Shhh, let's see how perceptive she is. If
she can see what's different.”
“Okay, so
something's different?” the rookie asked, “Is it wrong?”
Shirley sighed
causing Declan to laugh, “Don't mind her, she's still sore she
didn't notice it.”
Several seconds
past in mostly silence, save the occasional crunch from the other
three eating, as Taryn looked at the identification card, rereading
each and every bit of information.
“I, I really
don't see anything wrong.” she said at last tossing the wallet back
at Lauren. It landed face down and open, closer towards Declan than
to it's owner. Lauren didn't seem to have a comment.
“It doesn't say,”
Declan said turning the wallet over, “Committee of Special
Questions.”
Taryn leaned
forward shaking her head, “No it does. It says it right –
ohhh...”
The
identification's logo, a round circle with what appeared to be an
octopus had words printed around it. Indeed it did not read the same
as hers, but instead read “Special Committee of Questions.”
“Why's it say
that?” she asked.
Lauren had already
popped a dumpling into his mouth, and was unable to answer right away
causing Declan to, “They changed the name nine months ago.
Apparently some people,” he said casting a sour look towards
Shirley, “Felt that the word special carried a poor connotation.”
As Taryn knew,
Shirley had quite a few things against multiple groups of people.
When she was to meet Shirley for the first time, Declan had warned
her to be careful. “She's quite the racist.” he had told her,
much to Taryn's concern. Although as Taryn would learn, it wasn't
skin tone that Shirley judged someone by. It was the the degree of
roundness to one's eyes.
“That's it!”
Shirley had said, rather loudly just to ensure everyone in the office
could hear, the day she and Taryn met, “I'm never taking a bus
again! There was this freakin' Chinese family, and all I heard was
ching chong ding dong! And they weren't even tourists, I bet they
weren't tourists! I bet they live here, probably in freakin' China
Town, and won't even bother learning the freakin' language!”
Things only got
worse from there. Especially when Lauren had pointed out that the
United States had no official language, despite what people think.
This would of course snowball into a number of topics as the two
argued to seemingly no end, spilling into unrelated topics ranging
from any political topic to another. Taryn made a mental note not to
discuss most anything with Shirley, but was quick to note how Lauren
and Declan would often team up in the debates, even when they were
clearly on opposite sides of the debate until Shirley got involved.
Declan Polis,
another auditor, on the other hand was easier company for Taryn. He
seemingly had no opinions strong enough to bring up, simply out of
boredom. He kept to himself, often reading books and only joining in
debates if asked to participate in some way. The man was always
polite, at least to her and Lauren, and the other members of the
Committee whom Taryn had met in short bursts. The one person whom he
seemed to have a dislike for was Shirley. This was the fifth day that
Taryn had been working with these three, and each day Lauren would
quickly suggest ordering Chinese takeout or Sushi, seemingly just to
annoy Shirley. The end result would almost always see the group
ordering from two places, while Shirley often complained about the
smell, which she was just about to do.
“I don't know how
you could like that stuff,” she said as she dipped yet another
french fry in her ketchup, “It stinks to high heaven. It's making
me sick.”
“Well,” Lauren
said with a grin, “You could always go and eat in the lobby.”
This was common, as
Taryn had learned. Shirley would complain about the scent of the
“chink's food” and Lauren would tell her she could eat in the
lobby. Lauren almost seemed to do everything he could to get rid of
Shirley, without straight up insulting her.
“I like it.”
Declan said, although he had decided to order from the nearby Greek
diner as Shirley had. He reached over and stuck a fork into one of
Lauren's dumplings and put it on his plate, cutting it in half as he
continued, “It's better than that Mexican place you like. All I
smell is vinegar. Do they even use any vinegar? It just always smells
like Vinegar.”
Taryn was a bit
surprised to see Declan actually stepping into the conversation
strongly. His tone was sturdy and confrontational, not the usual kind
soft spoken way he often spoke. His eyes fixed on Shirley who curled
her lip into a sneer.
“Fine whatever. I
just won't speak then. Can't even open my mouth …”
“No, you can open
your mouth,” Declan said, “You can even speak when doing it. Just
have a little consideration. All you do is throw out insults and
complain. Just once I would like to eat dinner without having to
reminded about how you don't like Chinese food. Come to think of it,
no offense or anything, but all you do is complain. How about this,
if you don't like something, and you've already gone on about it,
just let it go. You're going to give yourself a stress attack.”
“Thank you.”
Lauren said with a smug look.
“No,” Declan
said turning to Lauren now, “Don't. Don't thank me. You don't
always have to have the last word, and you don't always have to
antagonize her. I know you two don't like each other, but while we're
on duty, it would be nice, just once, if you two could just be
civil.”
“I was being
civil. I said thank you didn't I?” Lauren said with a smirk, “It's
not like I jumped up on my seat, pointed my finger at her and going
ha-ha, ha-ha, you're a big idiot. Am I? No. Course I'm not. That
wouldn't be civil.”
Taryn couldn't help
but give a simple and slight laugh, though she wasn't really sure why
she had done so. A glare from Shirley later, and Taryn instantly felt
guilty about it.
“Okay, if that's
how it is. Ha-ha, ha-ha? Fine. I'll go eat in the lobby!” And with
that, Shirley snatched up her food, and when attempting to grab her
drink lost her balance and dropped the orange soda all over the
floor. “See!” she yelled, “See what you made me do?! I can't
even have a descent meal in this – you know what? Fine. Fine!”
throwing her hands up, causing the semi-closed container of fries and
the half eaten cheeseburger to go, likewise, flying through the air
and splat against the floor, “I just won't ever eat again! Just to
keep you three happy, I'll starve!”
Lauren let out a
sigh, almost sounding amused as Shirley stormed out. “The sad
thing? I'm sick of Chinese actually. Almost every day for two weeks.”
Declan looked over
to his fellow auditor in annoyance, “Then why the hell do you keep
ordering it?”
Lauren, “I had a
bet with Kimbles saying I could get her to eat in the Lobby in three
weeks or less.”
Taryn remained
quiet and feeling a tad guilty as Declan asked, “Just out of
curiosity, when did you make this bet?”
Lauren took a sip
of his Cel-Ray soda, and shrugged, “Three weeks ago today.”
“So you lost?”
Taryn piped in.
“Yep.” Lauren
said with a laugh, “But this was more fun anyway.”
A moment of silence
passed before Lauren turned to Declan, “So, did you hear the news
about Teivel?”
Declan nodded, his
thin glasses almost slipped off his nose before he quickly adjusted
them with a finger, “Yeah, didn't believe it at first. The meds
were working. I actually thought he'd pull through. At least he went
peacefully. That's something.”
“Yeah. That
sucks.” Lauren commented, as if he was disappointed.
“You're still mad
at him? The man's dead and you're going to carry a grudge?” Declan
inquired.
“Of course I am.
The bastard nearly got me killed.” Lauren snapped.
“Is he the one,”
Taryn piped in, partially to stop what she saw as an incoming
argument, “Who shot at you, or the one who tried to light a match
in a room full of gas?”
“Oh, no, Kimbles
was the one who tried to shoot me, and Charles tried to light the
match. Teivil did worse. Much worse.” Lauren answered in annoyance.
It apparently bothered him enough to put the dumpling he had raised
to his mouth back into the takeout container, and push it as well as
his chopsticks away. His face was the most sour Taryn had ever seen.
Lauren looked at
Declan who gave a sigh, “He left Lauren alone at a stakeout.”
“Oh,” Taryn
said, “Is that it?”
Lauren looked at
his fellow auditor with a surprised look, “Did she, no really, did
she just ask me if that was it?!”
“What?” Taryn
gave a dismissive expression herself now, “It's not like anything
happens on those things. Even Shirley says it's the most boring type
of job.”
Lauren paused and
blinked, “You can't be serious? Not as if anything happens? That's
crap. Pure crap. You're crap. I give up on her!” Turning his
attention to Declan, “She's yours. I, I can't. I just can't.”
Declan shook his
head, “Oh, don't you start overreacting now.”
Lauren pursed his
lips to the side, “Fine. I won't.” He turned to Taryn with a
smile, “You're mine again. Welcome back.”
The wide smile was
somehow infectious, and the other two found themselves smiling as
well. Taryn's lasted the shortest however. She had grown accustomed
to Lauren's strange attire and way of doing things. Even his strange
way of speaking, such as using terms like 'ununiverse.' While he had
always been inviting of her asking questions, and had actually
encouraged her to ask questions when the two were alone during
moments of prolonged silence, Taryn always felt like she was prying.
Asking questions wasn't polite in her family, it was just how she was
raised. Part of the reason she left home was the feeling of
alienation with her family. There were many strange curiosities, but
she always kept her thought to herself. But tonight she wouldn't.
“I gotta know,”
she started looking up at Lauren, “What's with the gloves? You
never take them off. Why?”
Declan was quick to
speak before Lauren had a chance, “Please, not while I'm eating.”
Lauren tilted his
head to face Declain, “The rate you eat? Ha, she'll never get the
answer.”
“Well,” Declan
answered with a bit of a smile, “Excuse me for chewing my food.”
“Chewing your
foods one thing,” Lauren was quit to point out, “But you only
gotta chew like what? Twenty three times?”
“Actually,”
Declan responded in a polite tone, “It's thirty to fifty times,
depending on your digestion.”
“Okay,” Lauren
said with a chuckle, “Even so. Fifty times then. Biting down fifty
times right? Good. I've counted.”
Declan interrupted
right there, with a laugh, “Oh no you haven't.” A slight pause
later he blinked and the smile faded, “Actually knowing you, you
probably did.”
“I did.” Lauren
confirmed, “It takes him,” turning his attention to Taryn, “Sixty
seven bites a crouton. A crouton! They're not even that big! So
anyway, the gloves-”
Again Declan was
quick to interrupt, a firmer tone now “Not while I'm eating,” his
voice softened and seemed to become pleading as he added in “Please?
It's bad enough it's looking at me.”
“Looking at you?”
Taryn asked with an amused, but confused expression.
“Fine, fine. I
have to make my rounds anyway. What time is it?” the red headed
auditor said, as he started to stand and looked up at the clock
hanging at the wall, “Yeah, I gotta take out the garbage. C'mon
rookie, I'll show you where the dumpster is. Hey Declan, you done
with this? Well, put it in the freezer when you are. C'mon rook.”
Taryn stood and
started to follow Lauren out of the basement, but stopped to point
out the food that Shirley had dropped, as much as thrown, onto the
floor. “Leave it,” he told her, “She wants to make a mess, she
can clean it.”
“We'll get ants.”
Declan said, but his fellow auditor had already made up his mind, and
was not about to stop and change it.
As the two
collected the refuse from the office, Laruen spoke with a giddy like
manner. “I should warn you, don't bring up Teivel. It's sort of a
sour point.”
“I'm sorry to
hear he died.” she said with an apologetic tone. True she had never
met the man, but he was a colleague of hers, by default at the least.
And it had been obvious he worked with Lauren.
“Oh don't be,”
he answered with a chuckle and a smile, “The bastard was a
miserable little shit. I swear, he seemed find at first but my god
could he bring down the mood. Way worse than that bigoted idiot.
Shirley I mean.”
“Was he really
that bad?” she inquired.
“Oh yeah.
Horrible person. I'd go on and on about him, but really I probably
shouldn't. It would be nothing but a negative stream of adult
language after all.”
“Okay, when did I
suddenly become a child?” the woman replied in mock annoyance.
“When we started
talking about Teivel. That's when.” the auditor answered with a
smirk, “But seriously, Clenshie'll say something nice. There'll
probably be some meeting, tomorrow or the next day. Something a bit
convenient. Everyone'll say something polite and nice. Most of it
lies mind you. Hell, I'll probably be talked into saying how I miss
the bastard. I'll be keeping the truth rather quieted then.”
“Wow, I guess you
two really didn't get along.” Taryn said with some surprise.
Granted Lauren had issues with some of the Committee members, Shirley
in particular. But even then it was mostly harmless, very little
direct insult.
“No. And you
shouldn't ask about it. You'll just get started, and I won't stop.”
“That makes me
want to ask some questions.” she said as she held the door to the
alley open, as Lauren shuffled through with the garbage bags.
“Well then,” he
told her, “Think of something else to ask then.”
“So,” Taryn
said as the two walked to the back , where the dumpster they shared
with the near by dinner across the alley was waiting for them, “What
about the gloves?”
“Not yet.” the
auditor said, tossing a heavy black bag into the dumpster, “Not out
here. Gives people the willies.”
“What people?”
Taryn laughed, “There's no one around!”
“Shh.” the
auditor said, and had already started back towards the Committee's
rented building, “For all you know there's some bum about to come
round the corner, he'll see it and freak out.”
“It?” Taryn
said, starting to feel a bit creeped out already.
“Inside.” the
auditor repeated and held the door open for her. As he entered,
closed and locked the door, Lauren started removing the glove of his
right hand.
“You know how
Clenshie's missing an eye?” he asked, to which Taryn nodded.
“Well,” the auditor continued, pulling one glove finger at a time
dramatically, “That's because he walked in on someone trying to
perform, well, it's sort of an exchange. Some schmucks trying to rend
forward an evil pre-entity. Anyway, tada!”
And with that he
lifted his right hand, palm forward. Taryn grabbed at her own mouth
quickly, hoping not to vomit as she turned away with a jolt. “Oh
god!”
She could barely
look at it. Just slightly left to the center of the man's palm sat a
red streaked blood shot eyeball. Milky and hazy pupil sat amidst a
ring of, what Lauren himself would describe as a 'moldy blue' in his
own words. The flesh around the eye appeared to branch away from the
orb with rigid roots buried underneath the skin, a pinkish pale spray
that seemed to web outward. Like burn marks following the shocks of
red in the eye, blood shot veins entrenched in the outer flesh. Worse
of all, it was wiggling. For the short moment in which she saw it, it
looked to be twitching.
“What the- what
the hell is that?!”
“Well, like I was
saying, Clenshie lost an eye and-” the auditor started to say but
was cut off.
“Oh my god! Oh my
god! That's Clenshaw's eye?! How the fuck does that happen?!” the
woman screeched, all while trying to hold back her dinner.
“No, not at all.
Don't be silly. Clenshie's got brown eyes, like me. This is blue.
See?” he said holding his hand forward, causing Taryn to turn away
sharply again, stumbling several steps away.
“No, stop. I
don't want to see it! Oh god, just – just put it away! Put it
away!”
“Yes you did, you
asked about it. You wanted to see it.” the auditor argued.
“No, no! I wanted
to know what was the deal with the gloves, I never asked if I could
see the weird eye – oh, sorry, BLUE eye in the middle of your
hand!”
“Well, that's
kind of the same. I mean, if I said oh yeah, I wear gloves to hide
the weird eyeball in my hand so people don't get squicked out, you
either wouldn't believe me or you'd say something like, I don't know.
Oh yeah? Let me see it then.”
“No I wouldn't!”
Taryn spat back, literally spitting as she was still feeling as if
she might hurl.
“Well, too late
now. And trust me, that's not the worse thing you'll see here. I mean
you should've seen Henson. That was bad. Actually, you probably
should've have seen Henson,” the auditor was saying, his expression
becoming apologetic as he rubbed the back of his head (with his left,
eyeless, hand of course), “Poor sonofabitch. Guy's jaw became all
twisted. Like sideways.”
“Enough!” Taryn
said throwing her hands up and to the side, “I'm done! I don't want
to hear it, I don't want to see it!”
The woman started
to storm out leaving Lauren alone at the back door, who gave a shrug
and a sigh. He knew it would get worse. It always would. “If you
can't get used to a hand-eye,” he said, in a low voice more to
himself, “You'll never last long.”
He turned his head
downward, and tried to meet the sickly looking eye in his hand, eye
to eye, but found it difficult giving it's strange twitching. “Don't
worry Chaplin,” he said, “She'll come around. I'm really
optimistic about this one. Now c'mon, let's get you back in your
glove before you catch your death of cold.”
The remaining day
was quiet. Taryn had and Shirley had clocked out and gone home,
leaving the two auditors alone in the small building. Declan was
wondering about the building's history, as he often did. He had
researched it, in fact. Currently it housed the Committee, which
dressed itself as a charity of sorts, though Lauren constantly stated
they weren't lying about. It was small, and had once been a diner,
like the neighboring building in the back. Before that it operated as
a pharmaceutical. He wondered how much longer the Committee will be
able to afford it. The Committee members usually worked out of each
other's homes, or met at the library weekly, even monthly at times.
Ever since Crenshaw became Inquirer, however, they've been renting
the building. “Won't last long, you know.”
“Hmm?” Lauren
said surprised by Declan's sudden voice, “What won't last long?”
“Us. We can't
afford this. We really can't.” Declan continued, “It's been fun,
but really? The rent on this place has to be incredible.”
“Ahh, don't worry
about it.” Lauren said with a dismissive tone, “It's nothing to
worry about. Crenshaw's got his ways.”
“So I've heard,
but where does he get the money? He's talking about converting the
back rooms, and turning part of the alley into a lot for four or so
cars for us. There's no way he can do that. I mean, besides the cost,
how's he going to get a permit?”
“You need a
permit for that?” Lauren asked ignoring the other comments.
“I don't know.
Probably.” Declan said looking back down at his book. He realized
he had turned five pages now, all without paying attention to a
single sentence.
“Well, I'm going
to bed.” Lauren said with a yawn, while getting walking past his
fellow auditor.
“You'll have to
get a place of your own soon, you know. We won't have the building
for much longer.” Declan commented, however when there was no
answer he gave a sigh. “Goodnight Lauren.”
“Ganite.”
Lauren replied.
“Good night
Chaplin.” Declan said with a bit of humor.
Lauren pitched his
voice higher and cartoonishly, “Goodnight Declan. I love you.”
“Oh god, that's
creepy.” Declan said with a laugh.
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