EXSILIUM - contact.

[hostage]

UNIT№409



_“ Hey, it's me. Wait for the thing. _”

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[inthejunk]

[Knock knock knock knock knock knock knock!]

[hostage]

It's open.

[He's sprawled out on the couch and the door's all the way over there. Too much effort.]

[inthejunk]

[Eh whatever. Yosuke opens the door halfway and peeks around it before entering, taking in the situation. Hmm.]

Not dead, huh? That's good.

[hostage]

Didn't I say I was getting better?

[inthejunk]

Yeah. But your lawyer seemed kinda worried. I thought you might be really sick.

[He takes the school bag off his shoulder and gives it a shake.]

I brought you bread. In case you needed soup or something. I don't know any old ladies who give away soup, ya know? Besides, people keep saying that stuff is full of cats. I can't eat any of it without feeling sick, so it's probably best not to feed it to someone who's already sick. And anyway, I get the bread for free. So I kind of hate it now.

[hostage]

[Forget food. Jesse's attention is on that first statement.]

You talked to Saul?

[inthejunk]

Yeah, a few times. He's kinda uptight, huh?

[hostage]

I guess.

[Not the word Jesse would choose.]

What'd he say?

[inthejunk]

Mostly he asked questions. And threatened to shoot me. Don't worry, though, he sucks.

[Apparently the topic doesn't interest Yosuke much. He goes back to the bag and takes the bread out, walking toward the kitchen to put it away.]

I hope you don't keep these in the fridge. That's the worst place. They get all crumbly.

[hostage]

Wherever. I don't care.

What'd he ask about?

[Jesse's sitting up now, and there's a strong temptation to follow Yosuke around and badger him, but he tries to play it cool, instead. More curious than concerned. And completely unfazed by the news of threatening. Means nothing coming from Saul.]

[inthejunk]

Hmm...maybe sitting out. Not too close to the sink. Yeah. Here.

[Strategic bread placement accomplished, Yosuke pops back around the corner and joins Jesse again.]

Oh, I dunno. Lawyer stuff. He was interested in your case. He wanted to know if I went there. Probably to see if we were friends. Ha. You know, like parents do when they don't like the crowd you know. But I didn't really know anything he asked about, so maybe I'm still allowed over for dinner.

[hostage]

Yeah? Whatever, man. I fired him. He's probably just looking for an angle to start making money off me again. You don't gotta answer whatever he's asking you.

[inthejunk]

Really? Maybe you should tell him. He didn't act fired.

[But whatever, lawyer talk is pretty boring anyway.]

Hey, did you know this place has a giant video game? Seriously, it does! It's really intense too. Virtual reality. Not bad, huh?

[hostage]

[Oh if only Saul would have listened when Jesse told him.]

Ah, yeah, I know. I go boarding all the time. I mean, like, when I'm not sick.

[inthejunk]

Skateboarding?

[No way, it's true! All Americans know how. Cool.]

I didn't know it did that...hey. Do you think it could do skiing? I've got a friend who wants to go skiing.

[hostage]

Yeah, there's skiing.

[inthejunk]

[That gets a big grin out of Yosuke, and he claps Jesse on the shoulder appreciatively.]

Man. You just made my day! Maybe I should've brought you the sugar rolls after all. I thought about it, but in the end I had to eat them. I just couldn't face toast and eggs again.

[hostage]

[Good thing he's feeling better. That would've been a bad idea back when he was fighting nausea.]

It's okay. I ain't that hungry anyway.

[inthejunk]

Hmm. It's true. Last time I got sick...well, it was middle school I think. Except for that radiation sickness. I guess I forgot that food makes a terrible gift in that case. Maybe you should give it to your scary roommate to make peace.

[He's none the wiser of course, and already digging around in the bag again, looking for something. What he comes out with this time is a roll of antacids. Violet flavor.]

Maybe something like this. I don't need them anymore anyway. I used to suck on them when I had to sit facing backwards on the train, but that's not exactly a problem around here.