Captain Lindemann finds me reacquiring my connecting to sliced tomatoes with salt and pepper on a hot toast with melted butter. I get up to shake his hand and offer him toast, which should really drive him away. „No thank you“ he shied away. „I am just here to tell you that a special visitor has announced himself. The undersecretary attached to the Federal Press Office wants to meet with you about a TV appearance at 14:00 today“ And turning slight to Thomas „Mr. Miller I trust you’ll be able to teach alone for an afternoon“
We have the morning off because our students are doing the now mandatory first aid training. Police are not required to attend in light of them having the full police course.
P: I have no better idea than you. Probably about one of our battles. I’d say the one that got me onto YouTube.
D: Even nerds contribute to national defense.
P: Do you have to put it that way?
T: Can we discuss something else? Why do you want to take that disgusting stone? What are you afraid of? Talk to us. First that probing thing, now this stone. Tell me the truth. The special potions that saved us, you stole them?
P: Well not exactly stole. I made a deal that involves shady stuff. You are better off not knowing details. But I may need to be strong to handle the follow up. In fact, I expect to.
Lisa snorts.
L: Well, you are getting the correct stone.
T: I don’t want to have anything to do with this I will look away while you do this and forget that this stone ever existed.
--
This is turning into an operation I regret. I have frozen up and the stone is turning into caterpillars of fecal matter crawling up my arm.
T: Don’t worry, this things are not real. We would smell them. Your apparent inability to move is likely temporary.
Stolen novel; please report.
P: Hnngh
T: The linguistic difficulties look like a preexisting condition.
P: frrsk
T: Yes, exactly
Finally it is over
P: I am feeling urges. Dejan, can I bribe you to take drugs across the border?
T: Mental faculties sub-par and unaffected
L: OK, now that you have risked your immortal soul by trading corrupting it for even more power, what do you want to do, if the government comes for you?
P: Run away faster.
L: What?
P: First, it may not be the government. Who will end up running this country? Secondly, what do you want me to do? They’ll know that they are coming for an essence magician.
--
Captain Lindemann knocks on a door of a meeting room. „Enter“ a male voice responds.
He introduces himself as Stefan Karamanlis, undersecretary of the Federal Press Office. He certainly has the looks for making people want to listen to him spinning the truth for the government.
SK: I am happy to meet the man who showed us on TV, that the monsters can be defeated.
P: Thosands of people in the armed forces and the police did that before me.
SK: Humility is a nice trait. And you are right. But they did not have the EOA filming them and pushing them onto the web. And, yes, I have read reports on you, while you had no idea I exist or what I do until a minute ago. Life is unfair.
That is not what I expected. How much effort did they put into studying me?
P: But …
SK: No, we could not have made a documentation ourselves. It would have looked like the government celebrating its own work.
P: You certainly can predict me.
SK: Your profile indicates that you are low in spite and high in dependability and rationality. So I decided to early on establish a situation based on logic.
So we are talking about the price for something they want me to do and I don’t need to start my career as an outlaw by slaughtering an important politician.
P: This sounds like you want me to go on TV.
SK: Yes.
P: Why? What do you want me to say.
SK: Basically the truth. You’d be a shitty spin doctor. I have a file here of topic in which you should decline to commend for reasons of military secrecy.
P: But monsters do not watch YouTube.
SK: Indeed