Damselflies And Dragonfly (2)
“Hey, what do you need?” A female student said behind the desk. Everyone wore suit-like outfits with a tie and an identity card. Most of their suits were navy blue jackets and black pants, although some gals used skirts. Phesx Caolia lazily leaned over the desk, “Tell me if there's a place to check out. I can help.”
“Yeah? Let me see,” a male student said before looking at a screen. He tapped the desk’s surface, but there were drawings in this one at least. After a while, with the female student politely nodding at Phesx, the male student turned his attention to him again.
“Alright, there’s a place 2 hallways from here. A few people need you. Right, the secretary in charge is around there, too. Try asking him if there’s anything else we haven’t done yet and is needed.” The male student said.
Phesx nodded before turning around, walking to the right, where a wide space led to a turn to the left. It was bustling with students who organized or moved things around before going upstairs or downstairs.
“Isn’t he cute?” The female student asked, shrugging. The male student looked at her with side eyes before burning her. “Your taste in boys really kills me.”
After walking for 4 minutes, taking the turn, Phesx searched for the door with one of the city’s colleges’ logo hanging from it and a number before entering. He saw a set of computers with commands and systems to control the lights and sounds of a few things and floors.
“Hey, who are you?” A female student asked him as soon as he closed the door. She was standing in the middle of the room. Phesx looked at the student and said, wasting no time. “I heard you needed help. I’m a ‘supervisor’. What’s the issue here?”
“Oh.” Seeing Phesx was in a hurry, the female student gestured towards a few computers with black screen. “These are failing. They worked during the day, but they’re starting to just not work anymore. Can you bring someone from the tech administration department?”
“I can help, actually. These are interconnected to the building, right?” Phesx asked right after, with the students looking at him in disbelief. A male student chipped in, “Well, yes it is. But do you know how difficult it is to ‘drive’ one of these? If they were government PCs, we would’ve fixed it already. We need someone who works and won- hey!”
“Yeah, just let me try,” Phesx wasted no more good guy words and took a seat before one of the computers. Another student expressed, “What if you break it? Even if it was broken already, they’ll make the college pay, they’re all like that. And then, the college will force you to pay alone.”
“If I didn’t know how to, I wouldn’t be here. I won’t get into debt just because I’m bored.” Phesx said as he faced the black screen, but his face was a little bothered. He started the pc before it suddenly turned off like its power supply wasn’t working.
The others felt exasperated. But then, Phesx said as he crouched under the table. “Who moved these?”
“I did, when I was sweeping and mopping for the entire morning alone. But I remembered how they were positioned, and plugged the cables where they were supposed to go. If anything, however, the computers continued working for a few hours later.” The student finished elaborating. Phesx narrowed his eyes as he saw something.
Looking up at the first female student who spoke to him, Phesx asked, “Do you have the room’s schematics?”
“Yeah, here,” the female student walked back and grabbed a piece of a couple of documents before giving them to Phesx like he was the new and only heavens’ sent. Phesx nodded and read what he already knew before returning it. Then, he went below the computer desks.
Phesx grabbed a few cables, safe to grasp even with wet hands. He pulled a couple of them after calculating with his eyes before doing waves with them underneath the floor. The other students looked, left aghast as some sounds were heard below their feet.
Then, after Phesx felt he moved a few things to where he wanted, he let go and stood back up. He turned the PC on and gave it a light hit on its front side. The computer turned on completely, now only requiring an identity card to be used properly.
Phesx couldn’t use his to gain full access to it. He looked at the female student as he headed to the next, “Can I use it for a bit after I’m done? There was actually nothing wrong. That guy didn’t damage the computers or something. While it was affected because of that, I managed to hear rats and a smell like cockroaches.”
“Yeah, sure!” The student said, contented. She hopped up and down the floor before Phesx got to work. Once he was finished, he looked tired as he sat on a char far from the others’ view. The female student walked to him and flirted with body language as she leaned forward to the monitor so it could scan her identity card, when she could have just taken it off.
“Thanks, I won’t use it much. Just want to know what has been happening.” Phesx nodded at the female student. She smiled, politely this time, and said before walking away. “Yeah, sure. No problem. We’ll beseech you if something happens. Give your number to Elías, okay?”
“Mhm,” Phesx said before immersing himself in the countless records of things being moved, like their app to solicit support or to give warnings of the heavy lift cargo being used, things like requesting for backup. In this case, Phesx was the backup, and his actions weren’t even in the top 20 of the last readings the app evaluated.
There was a camera to his upper right, which Phesx never looked at except when drinking from a water bottle. Phesx also looked lazy and just wasting time. But on the screen, he was working with a swift speed and a program recently installed like a ghost.
There was internet, but he couldn’t download it and just use it. After tonight, everything will be searched and investigated. If he was to complete his mission, he’d need a much better cover so he could still remain hidden. Either way, what Phesx was using was an editing software to put a loop in a certain ‘way’.
Phesx checked the office, very large and tall. It almost looked like a single desk was in the middle of a huge empty room, but there was more furniture. Phesx wasn’t a computer genius, but what he knew of how to repair and build one helped with what little he knew about how to use one like any professional could.
He didn’t stay long, but once he did, all the security cameras in the building showed the secretary in charge in moments where he wrote, tapped his keyboard, and sighed to relax. It all looked smooth, but it had 17 different variations. Phesx started getting things ready.
He might be too fast, but he was also well-experienced with balancing speed and efficiency. Phesx left the room and went back to the reception area to take another ‘mission’, spending about an hour helping around…
***
Proteros, presidential precinct.
At the entrance of the main building, Luis Heartez walked to the outside, where an old, white man with an amicable resting face walked towards him, with Roam showing the old man the way. They met each other just as Luis exited the entrance.
“Oh, sir? What are you doing outside?” Roam asked, leaving the old man to inquire. Luis shook his head and smiled, no-ing with his right hand up before addressing the old man, “Lázaro, it’s been some time since I last saw you. I was much younger then.”
“With all due respect, president, I mostly remember you thanks to your wife. An amazing being in all of the universe, I assure you.” The old man shook hands and his head as he spoke with honesty. Luis was taken aback, but he took it with a thankful nod.
“Well, you said you were in a hurry. Let’s just walk a bit and talk it out. There’s a lot to work with lately, haha.” Luis Heartez patted the old man’s back before gesturing to the side. The old man followed instructions and started a walk with the president around the main building.
“I am, and I’m sure you are, too. At least lately. I really wanted to see the ‘secrets’ your people have been doing in the precinct these last few weeks. I also always wanted to see it. It used to be the imperial palace, right? Hm,” the old man said, looking at the main building with intrigue.
“Yes, it’s a pity you don’t have much time, Lázaro. I’m sure we can meet again to fix that. Some remodeling might have finished by then, what do you think?” Luis smiled and said. Lázaro nodded, pressing his lips together. Roam followed them from behind.
They continued walking for a few seconds in silence before Lázaro spoke up, “President, you can tell my company has been producing and receiving gains for many years in the past hundred years. I don’t want to demand something, or things. I just want to let you see my vision clearer. I’m patriotic, sure. But gain is what made me capable of walking beside you without being a politician.”
“It is only a few moments in my life that I feel I can make a change, and I’m but an old man. You could have started with others, especially those running on basic resources. But you decided to try and convince me. President, I am as honored as… ‘feeling funny’. Why would you spend your efforts after so much was exerted to get here?” Then, Lázaro paused.
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“You are a respectable man, Lázaro. You might not have the same recognition as a celebrity to be able to walk with those governing a state, in the senate, or the chamber… Not the SCJ, though. Those are too serious and emotionless. Well, at least everyone thinks that.”
Luis paused, with Lázaro looking at him with thinking, gleaming eyes. Then, the former continued, “And few times are you remembered for having built such a large provider of the simplest of foods to the country. When they see a product from Bread Poeta, they see the brand that nearly every Ly prefers from the others, be it foreign or trying to compete with you.”
“And I know going overseas or to the north or the south make sense. But wouldn’t you gain more if… your work considers home first?” Luis became a little emotive, engrossing even. Lázaro looked with lost eyes on the president and a resting, slight frown on his face.
“If we could just start with something simple.” Luis intently looked into Lázaro’s eyes, thinking of something before elaborating, “Some researches, yes, here in Lýmoca, have found a method to create a small yet nutritious, long-lasting supply. One that can even work with other ‘thin’ additions, but we can only start if we have the right ‘proportions’ and… investment. This could improve the live service of the military and national gua-”
“No, no!” Lázaro snapped off at once. He lied it out clearly, “Nothing with the army! My company would never get into those matters. I will never support any military tendencies, or facilitate it in any way to make ‘something’ like war happen! Although it has been long forgotten, Lýmoca is Humane, and nothing else.”
“Lázaro, you surprised me there!” Luis stopped, lifting his palms after being yelled at. Inwardly, he sweated and shook, but he hid it to be the best of his humane capabilities. A few beads of sweat fell from his temples. He tried to convince Lázaro, not giving up.
“No, you see. This is just the beginning. With this first project proving fruitful, we could start with preparing the mass-production of a food chain to give everyone in Lýmoca something to eat for free at least once a day. And as I said, this is just the beginning. As we progress, we could further advance it, make it tastier, more filling, pleasing to the eye, increase its production… You might not think of them, but even patrolling soldiers or NG units suffer from hu-”
“Stop,” Lázaro rearranged his coat, walking around for a second to calm down before returning to Luis Heartez. “I’m not a politician, a celebrity, nor a well-recognized man. I’m not one with the people, that’s true, and for many reasons. And, you know, maybe I’m not good for politics. I heard there are many betrayals, and that you might lose something your family tried to build for decades for the caprices of another.”
Lázaro looked downwards at Luis’s chest with different eyes. “That turning on each other, even one’s benefactor, is as easy as it is tempting; powerful. Yes, I might not be a pleasant man to fawn or follow, but I know what I am not. Do you know that for yourself, president?”
Luis Heartez looked up, directly into Lázaro’s eyes, whose eyes trembled for a moment when confronted like this, out of nowhere. Then, he heard the old man’s words. “Do you know you are no savior?”
“…” - “…” Both parties looked at each other, saying nothing at all. The old man stepped closer and said, still in a neutral tone, and not appearing hostile or angered. “You know, president. Until you are capable to make me ask for a call from you, you shouldn’t try getting a fish when you might not even catch any small ones before.”
“…” Luis Heartez didn’t respond. He just stared at the old man who prepared to leave. His face was calm, but not smiling, much less angry. Just as Lázaro pressed his lips together and nodded ever so little to walk away, Luis voiced out, “You know, Lázaro. You wonder why I came to you instead of other companies whose bank accounts ready to invest, status, ambitions, and public image allowed them to seek what I’m offering. It’s simple. I don’t like doing interviews.”
“…scoff.” Lázaro seemed to take it badly as he left with a scoff, semi running to the exit without giving the main building another glance. As he walked away, Roam went to Luis’s back, silently comforting the man with his presence.
“Let’s go, is there anything else to do? This could be a nice day- night to take vacations early.” Luis turned around and said. Roam nodded, lightly mentioning, “There’s actually a person who just decided to see you, President. He arrived through another entrance. It is quite large, you know? The presidential precinct is better off with that high-profile service only.”
“Thanks…. Uhm, who is it?” Luis lifted his eyebrows and fully opened his eyes. He asked Roam with curiosity. Who else would agree to meet him? And at an hour like this. Roam smiled, “It’s better if you see it for yourself, sir.”
Seeing that smile only a few times, and each time being about his chance to reconnect with his daughter, even if online, Luis felt much better. That’s a person and face he could see and be with just about now. Each day, the road became littered with more pebbles.
No matter how many good shoes and boots he had to protect himself, Luis was this close to derailed off the road every new week. So many complications. Wherever he looked, the hands of those political parties stained a place or a person. If they ever dared to his daughter… again…
“President!”
Luis was lost in his thoughts. When he walked up the stairs to the main building, he heard a sonorous, valid, authoritative voice yell out loud. Luis looked up and saw a slightly older than a middle-aged man with military uniform waiting at the entrance.
The uniform was the ‘resting’ outfit for the military officers and soldiers in service. If it was the ‘on-duty’ one, even if Luis was further lost in his thoughts, he’d still see the man before he could yell.
Luis looked at the middle-aged man, lightly exclaiming, “Marshal.”
A white man with always a smile, somewhat tall, and full of energy that rumors said he only slept 3 hours a day stood before him. Before becoming the president, this man was already a general. Now, as a field marshal, he was one of the country’s greatest defenders. Although, like Lázaro, he was barely recognized, and most Lys wouldn’t know his name if asked about it on the streets.
“President,” the marshal returned the strange greeting. Then, he stepped forth once and declared, “I apologize to not have seen through things earlier, president. As the highest command in the army, I wasn’t even daring enough to present my thoughts before. I’m here because I’ve decided.”
“Cardenas, this is… You are saying you are…” Luis acted properly in front of this man, who treated him accordingly, if only to be polite, despite everyone else after his ‘retirement’ from the LV and NSH political parties.
“Interested,” the marshal said with a nod. Luis smiled and blinked, darting his eyes around before articulating, “Sorry, too. Haha! I believed no one would come. Let the attendants prepare the meeting hall for us, if you’d like. I’m glad someone is interested, Field Marshal.”
“You shouldn’t be so rushed, president.” The marshal said after blinking and staring past Luis, seeing something that wasn’t there before. Luis turned his head out of instinct, surprised to see a few more military men and women walking towards the main building. A decent, armored vehicle parked far away. How long have they been walking? Luis sweated out of embarrassment.
Looking at their emblems, they seemed only so far below the marshal’s rank. It wasn’t a dozen officers, but that there was one, not counting the marshal, already meant a lot. Yet, there were more than a few, and adding the field marshal to this…
“I’m afraid I might have started a chain reaction in your favor.” The marshal said, bowing his shoulders a bit. They looked at each other with knowing glances before Cardenas said, “It’s small, but let’s not give it away. President, you must have a lot of work. We can just start with some simple procedures tonight. We should… keep talking throughout a week or two.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Luis said with a peaceful face. He met with the other officers under Roam’s watchful gaze. They spoke at the main building entrance. If the reporters, especially those from the BLF news anchor, couldn’t get anything in concrete with Lázaro, they would, now.
After a brief meeting with the officers, preparing to hold an immediate meeting in the appropriate hall, Luis walked to his office. He had to pick a few things and needed some time to think of rescheduling for the next month at least. He even said so to the military officers.
Roam gave Luis free time to readjust, as he could’ve picked those things in the president’s office himself, and brought the rest to a living room to take some hot drinks in this cold weather. Meanwhile, as soon as he entered his office, Luis took his phone out.
Directly sending a voice message, he contacted a little someone, “Hey Lesly. I had met with Rentería. I wasn’t successful… But now, I’m meeting with someone else. Some others. Talk to me when you have time, don’t stress out too much. Alright?”
“…” Afterwards, Luis made a call. The phone responded almost immediately, putting a smile on his face that could dash any single moms if they ever saw it. “Hey, grown up princess. How is the most beautiful girl in the world? Ah… yes, I’m being lucky again. Want to know? Hmm.”
Luis’s smile turned playful; proud, too. Checking he had a safe connection with the call, using an app from his phone, which only he can use, Luis continued the call. He was in a really good mood.
***
Sargonde. State capital city. In the renown building where a political meeting would be held, just less than 2 years before the elections began again.
In the first upper floor, a man tapped the ground with his hindfoot, clearly having accumulated stress over the past few days, but especially today. He looked at the time after looking behind him. The overly free space made him anxious the more he stayed in this room. This fucking room. He slammed the reverse of his right fist on the table, shouting, “Where’s my medicine!”
Thud. Almost like an answer to his mental health, the door opened with a male student entering with a small food cart. It had a metallic gray color that shone with the few lights the room had available. But what took the man’s angst away was the smell.
“Oooh my, what is that?” The man said, almost standing up. A semi-broken, soft voice sounded from the student who kept his cap and chin down, “Hamburger, Dawn sweet meat dishes, and a desert from Twilight’s culture. Would you like the buns with something more? They’re dry. The ingredients are here.”
“They didn’t put it beforehand?” The man asked. The student removed the top bun from the hamburger, showing it had no sauce or even extra prickles. “Uuaagh, please. Some cream and make it red, yellow, and use a bit of that garlic garnish. Oh heaven, how good it smells!”
The man had a better and better mood as the student showed a few small, blank white plastic vases beside the intercultural buffet, taking off the lids and showing its contents to the man. The student nodded, keeping his cap. The man noticed it was for sanitary reasons and nodded at the student. He thought about giving the fella some pushing ‘words’ in his favor when he finished college or something, when he noticed a few strands of white hair.
“Oh, you have rare genetics, ah? Careful, some ‘lagj’ might want to abduct you to see if the 3rd order’s rumors are true, hahaha. Thanks for the food,” the man became content as the student gave him a well seasoned hamburger. Even the bottom bun was filled with deliciousness after delicately removing it from the rest and reincorporating it, apparent in the first bite he took.
“Of course,” the student turned the cart and walked away. Any angst the man had was left behind, just as the student left behind the man relishing in the exotic food.
…