Tina Chan - imperfect

“So Stevey, I heard you’re very smart,” Finn said, trying to ease Stevey into a talkative mood.

Stevey nodded enthusiastically. “Oh yes, Stevey knows tons! Did you know that a tarantula can survive without food for over a year? Did you know manatees have vocal chords that give them the ability to speak the human language? Did you know that elephants can’t jump? Did you know the last wild elephant died fourteen years ago?”

They allowed Stevey to ramble on a bit more before attempting to steer him back on track to the list of questions they had in store for him.

“You sure know a lot,” Kristi said.

Stevey smugly nodded in agreement.

“I heard you were a scientist,” Troop said. “Is that true?”

Once again, Stevey nodded. “Stevey was a scientist. Stevey was a brilliant scientist who discovered many things. Stevey was the first person to successfully create a touch recorder.”

“What company did you work for?”

“Stevey worked for Universal Science until the United Regions government recruited Stevey…” Stevey trailed off, lost in thought.

“And?” Chelsa prompted him.

“Stevey liked working for the government sponsored organization; there were always a lot of points to be spent on new machines. But later on, Stevey didn’t like working there anymore.”

“Is there any reason why?” Finn asked. “What made you dislike your job?”

“It was wrong,” Stevey said forcefully. “The government used science in a bad way. They wanted to improve things that shouldn’t be improved.”

Troop furrowed his brows. “How is improving something bad?”

Stevey pierced him with an intense stare. “The price outweighed the reward in Stevey’s job.”

Troop felt like the answer they were looking for was so close he could snatch it out of thin air.

“Did your job have any involvement with Accidents?” he gently asked, not wanting to bring up bad memories to Stevey.

“My work was involved with many things.” Stevey abruptly stopped referring to himself in third person.

“Look,” Kristi said. “We’re trying to solve a mystery my parents left behind. They suspect that the government has a darker motive for confiscating Accidents.”

“Kyle and Shelly were on the right track.” Stevey picked at his fingernails.

“So are you confirming what they suspected?”

“Yes. However, if I were you, I would drop the case and try to live as normally as possible. If the government catches even the slightest whiff that you are looking into the disappearance of Accidents, your life will become miserable,” Stevey warned.

“Thanks for the advice, but I feel like I can never rest at ease without completing the cases my parents left behind for me.”

Stevey shrugged. “Do what you want, but don’t blame me for the consequences.”

“Do you know why the government is abolishing the Accidents?” Finn asked.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Chelsa said. “The government doesn’t want a bunch of genetically inferior kids corrupting the Perfect kids.”

“Fair enough,” Finn replied. “But what does the government do to the Accidents then? Surely they don’t kill them…do they?”

“No, the government doesn’t kill the Accidents,” Stevey said.

“Then what do they do with them?”

Stevey didn’t reply right away. When he spoke again, his tone was of a child’s. “Stevey is tired. Stevey is going to take a nap.”

Bi-polar personality much? Troop thought, watching Stevey drop the empty thermos onto the ground and stagger towards his shack.

“Perhaps we should go.” Chelsa dusted some dirt off her pants.

“Alright,” Troop said. “But I want to ask Stevey one more question. I have a feeling something important happened at the last lab Stevey worked at.”

He left the others collapsing the tent and extinguishing the fire.

“Stevey!” Troop called out to the man’s back.

Stevey paused at the doorway. “Yeah?”

“What was the last place you worked at?”

“New Genes Lab. Now can Stevey take a nap?”

“Yeah, sure. Thanks.”

Troop helped clean up their mess and looked up New Genes Lab on his electro-slate; it was located in Klisbury, East Region, which wasn’t too far away from here. If they could catch an air-train to Klisbury, they would be able to find the lab today. He voiced this idea out loud.

“How much are the train tickets though?” Chelsa said.

“A bit over forty points per person. We have enough points to purchase tickets for everyone, but there is considerable risk for using the public transportation.”

“I’ll run the risk,” Kristi said. “Is everyone okay with that?” No one answered. “I’ll take that as a yes. ” She proceeded to buy tickets via her electro-slate.

Troop wondered if he would regret suggesting that they take the air-train.

Chelsa’s electro-slate announced she had an instafication. They were on the air-train bound for Klisbury. Their segment of the train was unoccupied, save Chelsa, Troop, Finn, Ghost and Kristi.

Chelsa let out a groan as she read her instafication. “It’s Zala. She wants another update. She also says that if I don’t turn over you guys to her people within three days, the government will start an aggressive search.”

“If everything goes according to plan, all of this will be over in three days,” Troop said.

“What are you referring to when you say ‘all of this’?” Finn asked, tickling Ghost with the end of one of his crutches.

“Completing the case and hopefully falling off the government’s radar.”

Kristi barely concealed her sound of amusement with a cough. “Do you seriously believe we will finish both the Disappearance Case and Individualism Case in three days?”

“Miracles do happen,” Troop said.

“And pigs fly.”

There was a soft knock on the compartment window. Someone slid open the door and poked her head inside.

“Do you mind if my fiancé and I sit here?” the woman asked. “The other compartments are either full or too noisy for me.”

“Sure.” Troop gestured to the seven empty seats left.

“Thanks.”

The woman, who looked to be in her late twenties scooted into the seat across from Kristi; a man followed her. Both of them took out an electro-slate and started typing away.

The woman’s toes tapped in time to the music that was being softly played over the speakers. Kristi guessed they were college graduates from the looks of their age and dress.

“The guy looks vaguely familiar,” Troop whispered into her ear. His breath tickled the nape of her neck, provoking goose bumps.

“Where do you think you’ve seen him before?”

“I don’t know. Give me a second and I’ll think of it.”

Finn overheard heard them whispering and offered his thoughts. “Maybe he’s a member of the Revealers and you saw him at Verus Real Estate.”

“Maybe,” Troop said.

Kristi pulled away from Troop and studied the man. The guy did seem old enough to hold a job as an assistant at Verus Real Estate. He had dirty blonde hair, hazel eyes and a quirk to his mouth as if he was skeptical of everything. The guy lifted his head up and Kristi hastily looked away, not wanting to appear like a creeper.

She leaned her head against the window and watched the outside world fly by. The countryside gave way to small towns, which gave way to cities. At long last, the air-train slowed down and eventually pulled into a station with a smooth halt.

“All passengers bound for Klisbury should depart now,” an automated voice announced through the speakers located in the train compartment.