Maybe I'd hit up Emma, she was pretty fit and did offer to help me out in the gym when we checked it out.
Then, Jeffrey started saying something.
"Damn, Fredrick," I flicked my gaze towards him. "That was kind of embarrassing. Do not worry, we'll unfreeze time so you guys can get help. We'll be long gone, however. I would rethink this whole 'perfection' thing you've got going on. You will always be one step behind me."
This little fucker. A part of me was ready to jump forward and strangle this guy to death, but I reserved myself. TJ would step in, and now I have a new goal.
I cannot kill Jeffrey Thompson until I prove that I am smarter.
I will prove to him that I am 2 steps ahead at all times, and he is always unaware. But first, I needed to accept my loss. In my current state, I am not perfect. How do I fix that? Maybe it's time to give emotions a try…
Never, if I allow myself to be distracted by such things, how will I ever achieve true perfection?
I will have to figure it out on my own.
After a few minutes had passed, time finally unfroze and spectators started reacting to the situation.
"HE'S PASSED OUT!! WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT GUYS JAW?? SOMEONE CALL 911!!"
…
Mark and I lay on our beds, luckily these doctors were incredibly skilled, although nowhere close to what we could've had with the Syndicate Health Unit. I could at least form basic sentences now and Mark was just said to be in a coma, when asked what happened, I told him that we were attacked. The guy called the police, and I handed him the spare pictures of TJ and Jeffrey in Mark's pocket. When questioned about why we had pictures of them, I told them about how Mark, my dad, is an FBI agent, and we've been tracking these guys for a while, due to suspicious internet activity. He fished around in Mark's pockets for the FBI badge we had forged and nodded.
The police set out warrants for their arrest, while I took a bathroom break to call the boss.
"Fredrick. I'm sure you're aware of the time being frozen not too long ago, correct?"
His cold, raspy voice hissed from across the line.
"Very much so, Mark and I were attacked."
There was a pause.
"You two, you won, right?"
I grimaced.
"No. TJ's strength is beyond human. He knocked Mark into a coma and broke my jaw. The doctor's here are taking enough care of us. Listen, he's after the warehouse here in Virginia. He wants the files so he can find the remaining two magic items. You need to remove the clue files from that system and replace them with fake clues, so that way he won't suspect anything at first. Get a tracking virus on there if you can. I have an idea for a clue that will lead him to New York."
I could feel the boss's eerie smile through the phone.
"Good. You're recovering well. Send me the clue. They won't get a thing."
The boss hung up.
I exited the cramped restroom and scurried back to Mark and I's room. The smell of sickness infiltrated my nostrils and all I could hear were people coughing, sneezing, and the beeps of all the machines around. This place was gross.
"Your father took some serious damage, but his vitals are stable." A nurse said when I returned to the room. "As for you? It's almost like your jaw healed overnight. You're free to go, but don't make a habit out of this, alright."
I smiled, and shook her hand.
"Thank you so much for your help. I appreciate all you've done for my dad and I. We'll catch these criminals."
I took my leave.
The next day finally came, and I was back to school as if nothing happened, although Rebecca wasn't there with me. She left a note saying that she had some business to do with the boss. Not sure how true that is, but it's whatever. I didn't really care all that much.
I approached the student council room and was greeted by Emma throwing herself at me.
"Fredrick!! I missed you soo much! What happened? We were all worried sick." She said, finally letting go.
"Sorry about that, I got sick then broke my jaw in an accident. Don't worry about it, the doctors got everything taken care of."
She gasped when I mentioned my broken jaw and quickly rushed to examine it. Her fingers traced the line of my stitches.
"Oh wow, are you sure you're alright? You can take a day or two off if you need."
I shook my head.
"No, it's alright. Besides, we have work to do."
She sighed, then reluctantly pulled away. Behind her, watching very intently, was Bob Joel.
He liked her.
"Hello, Fredrick. Welcome back. What were you sick with, if you don't mind me asking?"
This guy.
"Bob, back off. It doesn't matter."
I nodded towards Emma in appreciation, then back towards Bob.
"No worries, Emma. It's alright. Didn't my sister already fill you in on the details? Rebecca? She told me she's told everyone about my sickness."
I had to try to avoid confirming something that wasn't true, since Rebecca never told me what specifically she said. If Bob caught us in a lie, it'd spell bad news.
Emma perked up at my comment, before sitting back down in her chair at the head of the table.
"Yeah, she said you got the flu. You sure you're all good now?"
I nodded.
"Yup, the flu. That's why I was gone for a few days, to let myself recover."
Bob smirked and then stood up.
"You're lying."
I looked at him, then back at Emma, who looked a little sad.
Dammit, he set this up.
"What could you possibly mean?"
"Rebecca, your 'sister' did not say that. She told us you had a cold. So why is it that you confirmed something that wasn't true?"
I looked over at Emma, whom I know I could manipulate, with a look of anger on my face.
"Is this some kind of sick joke? Apparently, my sister doesn't know what I had. Doctor's that checked out my jaw also said that I had the flu. Come on," I said, turning back toward Bob, since Emma started to tear up. "Why did you set this up, then? You were trying to catch me in some kind of lie? Why is that? Am I too perfect for you? Worried I might prove myself to be more useful than you could ever be?"
Even Bob looked surprised at my outburst, yet he composed himself.
"That's quite the temper you have, Fredrick. Are you trying to mask something? Perhaps your inner facade. On the outside, you present yourself as a very social and charismatic figure. But on the inside, however, you're really just a seething mass of rage and cold hard calculation. You are nothing more than a robot, aren't you, Fredrick?"
What the actual fuck? Who is this guy?
Bob leaned back in his chair, arms crossed. "For someone who claims to be perfect, you make a lot of mistakes. First, the lie. Second, the reaction. You panicked. That's why you lashed out. Which means… you're hiding something."
For a moment, the air in the room felt thick. I could hear Emma shift uncomfortably beside me.
His words stung me more than they should. Nonetheless, the temper comment had merit. I had to try to salvage this situation to the best of my ability. Emma still likes me, so I have to use that to my advantage.
I forced a smile. Alright, Bob. You wanna play this game? Let's play.
"Don't act like you know a thing about me. You know nothing. Do you have any idea what it's like to grow up without my parents? Constantly living on the streets, with nothing to warm up and no love to warm up your world? I am the person I am today because I defied death, and became the perfect human."
Bob sighed, clearly not interested in this conversation anymore. What a weak attempt to manipulate me.
Emma suddenly stood up.
"Both you, drop it. This is pointless. Let's just start the meeting."
"I agree. Let's drop this for now, Bob."
Bob looked irritated, noticing my efforts to make him look dumb in front of Emma.
"Let us."
"Alright, Fredrick, you said you had ideas to help us reform the curriculum? I ran the idea by Principal Meyers, and said he'd be happy to help implement it, so long as he approves. What'd you have in mind?"
I nodded.
"Awesome. So, I was thinking. School is outdated. It teaches obedience, not intelligence. I want to fix that. We should teach students how to win. We keep the basics like, math and science, but we introduce new courses like psychology, strategic thinking, political power and persuasion. The world isn't fair. We should teach students how to control it, not just survive in it."
Everyone's eyes shone. This is exactly what they wanted. The school was full of people who had less than average intelligence, besides Jeffrey and Bob, so of course they wanted a change, it would change their intelligence.
"That's brilliant, Fredrick!"
I smiled.
"Thanks, it's been something I've been thinking of for a while."
Bob looked at us with soulless eyes.
"That's terrifying…"
"Only if you're the one being outsmarted."
"I'll submit these to Principal Meyers, ASAP!"
"Sounds good."
Emma pulled out her laptop, then quickly typed up an email to Principal Meyers, humming a tune as she did it.
The meeting continued as normal, until towards the end, Principal Meyers responded. He confirmed his support and said they'd be implemented next week after telling us to announce this to the school. Emma scheduled some free time tomorrow to announce to the school. The meeting continued with ideas coming in from all angles about what they want to see and how they could help these ideas. Although, one thing was off…
I was enjoying myself.
…
I returned home, Rebecca-less, to find some new messages from the boss.
B: They have Rebecca.
The fuck?
For a second, I stared at my screen. That's fine, she's a weakness… a liability. Yet I still can't help but feel concerned.
Now Jeffrey has a piece that I don't have, which pisses me off.
I called up the boss.
"What do you fucking mean, they have Rebecca?"
"Well, I sent Rebecca on a mission to stop the two in case they got the information before we could put the virus on their laptop. Turns out, they were two steps ahead of us. They've called me, telling me that Rebecca is their hostage. They have yet to make a demand."
I ground my teeth. When the boss mentioned how they were 'two steps ahead', Jeffrey's snarky comment from before rang in my brain.
"That's fine. They can't do much with her in the first place. I'm going to hang up now."
"Actually Fredri-"
Blah, blah. This guy is so boring sometimes.
I texted Emma, asking if she would mind heading to the gym with me. She texted back saying she's already there, and I was welcome to join whenever. Right before I was about to text her back, something strange popped up on my phone.
Jeffrey Thompson just purchased every plane ticket from Virginia to New York for tomorrow.
He was going after the real clues now.