Aimless Act 2

The next act of this tale approaches, time moves ever closer to an ever elusive climax.

“So uhhh, does anyone else feel aimless?”

The Delinquent could not help but bring his frustration to words, as he packed a few boxes into the corner of the Quacks office.

“You mean in an existential sense or a short term sense?”

“Short term? I mean how it feels like… I don’t know… we just have no idea what to do next? I mean earlier we had a pretty clear goal, but now everything is kind of vague you know? We don’t even have an idea when the Dragon’s getting out.”

“Well I suppose we are kind of the blind leading the blind… but what can you do right? It’s not like we expected this to be easy.”

After the three left the Chief’s office, they agreed to consolidate all of the resources they had first before going on any sort of search. The Delinquent had sent his father a text an hour earlier, explaining the gist of the situation, but had yet to receive a response.

“Hmmm~ You sure are funny Bored Brain!”

“How so?”

“I would think you had the most clear goal of all of us! Can’t you just visit your father?”

“You kidding?”

“Nope!”

“You said it yourself, the guy’s an alcoholic. I doubt he can understand human speech right now, much less understand the weight of the current-”

Just then the Delinquent found himself interrupted by a small buzz in his pocket. It should not be difficult for the reader to guess the cause of said buzz.

“This is… ah dang.”

After reading the text, the Delinquent sighed.

“Was that your dad?”

“No, but it was about him.”

“Is he dead?”

“No, but he may be when I’m through with him.”

The Delinquent stormed out of the office, while the Quack and Bookworm were left alone to resume their work.

“What do you think happened?”

“Hmmm… well if memory serves~”

The Quack put her hand on her chin and grinned a little.

“We’ve been getting reports of him getting into fist fights with his ‘patrons’ over pay and conduct.”

“Patrons…? What does he even do for a living?”

The Quack grinned, barely suppressing a giggle.

“He’s a professional… !”

The Quack happily exposed the Delinquents’ carefully hidden secret.

“Man really? No wonder he never talked about it.”

“Your reaction wasn’t as funny as I’d hoped…”

“Huh? Oh I’m sorry! I guess I kinda figured it was something embarrassing since he made such a point of keeping it secret.”

“Hmmm~ You sure are strange.”

“Am I?”

“Aren’t you angry at me? At least that’s what I can gather from what the Delinquent said, that I was not ‘delicate’ and stuff.”

“Well you certainly weren’t, but considering the situation I guess you thought I had a part in getting you potentially killed?”

“Well~ I certainly thought you were an idiot!”

“I mean wasn’t I? Even if things sort of ended up working out, I shouldn’t have been so nonchalant about what we were doing.”

“So mature~”

“Huh? Well I like to think so!”

The Quack and Bookworm both paused, looked at each other in the eyes, and after a few moments, began laughing profusely. As though the coming danger was a simple day job.

“Oh yeah… before we get back to work, I want to ask you one thing?”

“Yes yes yyyyyes?”

“The truth was, it wouldn’t be only after a couple of weeks (give or take), that the Dragon would escape on its own, right?”

“Oh, and how did you figure that?”

“It seemed too convenient, besides if it were that small a difference, I don’t think you would be so annoyed at us.”

“I thought you were an optimist?”

“I am, but that doesn’t make me a fool, I’m guessing that the Dragon was really YEARS away from escaping, if not decades. Though I’m also guessing that we do genuinely only have days at best now.”

The Bookworm paused to catch his breath, before continuing.

“I’m guessing that -and this is pure speculation understand- that you felt kind of bad? And decided to play along with his theory?”

“Well, he wasn’t exactly WRONG you know. The Dragon was destined to escape one day, it just happened that you both sped the timeline up considerably.”

“I suppose you're right but… still I can’t help but feel bad you know? There could have been another way, no there MUST have been another way, and now we’re pigeonholed into this by the second race to the death.”

“Well~ I DID try to hide it from you! You should apologize for making my efforts mean jack-diddly-squat!”

“Sorry…”

A simple, awkward pause permeated the room, before the Quack cleared her throat and spoke once more.

“… I was joking, you know?”

“Oh seriously? Guess I gotta get better at noticing those sorts of things.”

“I can’t tell whether, when put next to you, I’m conversationally savvy or utterly heartless! Honestly, you are confusing!”

“Huh~ That sure is funny huh?”

“Oh ho ho? Is the boy trying to do jokes himself?”

“Well who knows hmm? Maybe I’m funnier than you realize!”

“That remains to be seen! But let's get to work, hmm?”

“Right!”

As the two began sorting through their perspective piles to start their portion of the work, they didn’t notice the small presence watching them from across the room.