Distortion

“Stop fidgeting,” Lauren leaned close to his chest, adjusting the microphone. She was quietly humming something to herself, tucking the wire behind his lapel. Barnes watched her cold face from the corner of his eye, remembering that evening in the motel where they’d stopped between trips. It seemed so long ago, in a completely different life. *** The girl sat by the open window, unbraiding her dark hair. The air in the room felt electrified by the approaching rain, and the room was plunged into darkness by the storm clouds hanging outside. Only the lamp on the bedside table burned like a yellow beacon. “Did you ever think about a different life?” Lauren asked suddenly in a quiet voice, almost changing her mind. “Before all this or now?” James sat on his bed, cleaning gun parts on his backpack. “Both,” she shrugged. “I thought when the war ended, everything would go back to how it was,” he lifted his head, but the girl wasn’t looking at him, her side pressed against the cold windowsill. “I’d return to my parents, maybe continue working in the army. Now… I had a good position in parliament, which I earned through hard work, but Valentina ruined it.” “She doesn’t ruin things,” Lauren rested her chin on her folded hands on the windowsill, watching the heavy storm clouds move slowly. “Or rather, she thinks she doesn’t. It’s all for gain. We’re just expendable.” “And you?” “And me?” she smiled sadly. “My parents prophesied a life in high society on 'old money.' What do the rich do? Host parties, organize charity events? And I went into the army. Thought I’d work in Delta until Valentina recruited me, and then the Shard… And everything went to hell.” “You can’t take the manners out of you,” he chuckled softly, breaking the room’s silence with the clicks of reassembling the pistol parts. *** “Try not to forget to blink,” a whisper right in his ear pulled Barnes out of his trance. He heard the surrounding voices again, the heavy, dizzying scent of the girl’s perfume next to him. Lauren leaned over his desk in her perfectly pressed pantsuit, arranging things “naturally.” “Won’t forget,” he said thoughtfully, watching as her thick hair hid her face from him. He hoped she would stand up straight now, and he’d see the familiar, *alive* Lauren again. “Excellent,” the steel in her voice brought Barnes back to reality. Lauren straightened up, tossing her hair back over her shoulders, and took a few steps back, assessing the setup. “I’ll wait backstage.” “Not even going to sit in the audience and control things?” he smirked, but not a single muscle twitched on the girl’s face. “I’m relying on your good judgment,” she offered a dutiful smile for a split second, then, putting her hands in her pants pockets, walked offstage. Despite James’s distracted state, the conference went reasonably well. Lauren, watching his performance on a small monitor, hoped for the best but understood a lot of work lay ahead. She met him in the staff room, where there was a buffet, holding only a glass of water. She looked him up and down like a wayward child and pressed her lips together. “Not bad,” she delivered her verdict. “Wasn’t hoping for more,” James snapped back, grabbing a snack from the table. “Everything has to be perfect,” Lauren raised an eyebrow. “You’re striving to get back into parliament, which means you need to give it your all and prove you can do better.” “You’re the 'perfect' one,” Barnes waved a hand in her direction while chewing. “Like a robot, and I’m a human who can make a mistake sometimes.” “You’ve made many mistakes,” she exhaled, hiding her irritation behind a smile. “It’s time to stop.” “You’ve never made mistakes?” he opened a water bottle with a light click. “One, apparently—when I accepted the offer for this job,” Lauren shrugged, tightly gripping her water glass. “No one’s holding you here,” Barnes watched the girl’s face, waiting for any emotion to appear on her detached, serious expression. “See you at the Tower,” Lauren firmly set her glass on the edge of the table and left the room. Barnes remained standing, understanding that getting under Lauren’s skin this time would be much harder. He was sure Valentina had taken care of that.