GABRIEL #3
"About a year and a half ago, I got interested in a certain omega."
Wow. Yeah, I really jumped straight into it.
I shift slightly in my seat, feeling weirdly uncomfortable.
"This omega was starting an eco-activist group and was looking for people to join.
He approached me on a walkway and handed me a flyer.
We talked for a bit. I really liked him.
" Yeah, I know I already said that, but it just keeps coming out the same way.
"So I decided to go to one of his meetings. There were only a few people at first since it was just starting out. He talked with a lot of passion about his plans and his vision of the world. I didn’t really have strong opinions on any of it before, but what he said made some sense.
And… I liked looking at him, so I figured if I kept showing up, maybe something would come out of it. "
Storm is sitting there like he’s waiting for the final conclusion. Gessler is staring out the window, clearly not that invested.
The only one actually listening is the omega, and he’s listening closely… which is kind of nice. People rarely listen to me for more than a few seconds.
"At the next meeting, it was just me. Everyone else had dropped out. We talked, and he asked me what I liked to do. I told him I train with my friend, that we go to Muay Thai sessions, that’s how I spend my free time after classes.
Marcel, that’s his name, seemed really excited about that and told me I should try fighting in underground clubs because you can make good money there.
He said there are plenty of opportunities if you know where to look. "
Storm makes a face like he wants to roll his eyes but stops himself.
"I was against it at first because I only fought casually, just for myself, for fun, with my friend from school, Archer. We treated it as a way to stay in shape because in our field, cybersecurity, it’s easy to turn into a hunched-over nerd.
But we never planned to make a career out of it.
Still, Marcel kept pushing, and eventually, because I wanted to impress him, I agreed to do one fight. "
I keep my tone steady, mostly to keep my emotions in check, but everything I’m saying is honest, exactly how it happened, because I want them to understand me.
"So I went to this club, and the fight manager paired me with a moderately known guy who was climbing the rankings.
I won, got paid, and I felt grateful to Marcel for pushing me into it because before that I was living off a small scholarship.
So, kind of carried by that feeling, I gave him the money.
Marcel used it for a big campaign with flyers and banners, and that actually worked. New people started joining his club."
Suddenly, the omega speaks.
"So your motivation for joining the group was personal rather than ideological?"
His tone hits me again, sharp, almost knife-edged, like I’m being examined.
I swallow and clear my throat.
"I don’t know if that’s good or bad, but yeah. I did it because I thought maybe he and I could become something more than just people from the same group."
"And did that happen?"
"No. Over that year and a half, I kept fighting regularly, every month or two. I gave most of the money I earned to him, for the organization, for his car, for materials, for his rent. I went to protests, events, awareness campaigns, charity concerts, all of that. But he started getting interested in other men. He didn’t really notice my…
feelings. A few times I wanted to quit because I knew I wasn’t his type, but the heart doesn’t just stop when you tell it to. It just… keeps going."
I realize how ridiculous I sound, like some lovesick teenager, so I cut that line of thought short.
"How did you end up here?" the man asks evenly.
"Marcel hated a certain company, Malden Pharmaceuticals, and its boss. He believed their medical products were dangerous and that the owner was pushing society toward reproduction-focused goals. Marcel shared a lot of NFH’s ideas. He thought humanity should go extinct."
The man shifts slightly, almost straightening.
"And what is your view on that?" he cuts in.
I shrug a little.
"I’d say I’m somewhere in the middle. I don’t think humanity should go extinct.
There’s still value and beauty in us that’s worth developing and sharing.
But I’m also not in favor of reckless reproduction and draining the planet’s resources.
I think we should exist in equilibrium with our environment, keep the population stable, one-to-one generational replacement.
I think the Earth can sustain around two to three billion people without damage, which is close to where we are now, and I think that balance is worth maintaining. "
"Marcel didn’t agree?"
"No. Marcel believed people should stop reproducing entirely, that we’re something that needs to be erased, basically the standard NFH talking points.
He even dreamed of cooperating with them.
Like them, he believed that because of the alien DNA in humans, we aren’t the rightful heirs of this planet and shouldn’t be here at all, that we’re taking from native life. "
I pause for a moment. "But personally, I disagreed."
"So did you express that viewpoint to him?"
I flush instantly. He has to be joking. I would never argue with Marcel about ideology. He set the tone.
"No," I say, my voice dropping to a near whisper. "He would’ve torn me apart with arguments. He wasn’t someone who tolerated disagreement or open discussion. Marcel believed in one dominant view, his own."
"That didn’t bother you?"
"Not then. I just really liked him."
Dammit, that sounds stupid.
Gessler and Storm are both looking at me like I’m an idiot, and I only fully realize how it comes across after I say it out loud, feeling the heat rush to my face. I just presented myself as a lovesick idiot who can’t even stand up for his own opinions.
I feel this sudden need to explain myself, so I quickly add,
"Yeah, I know how silly that sounds, but I couldn’t help it. I was ready to do a lot for him, and I regret it now, especially since I got nothing out of that relationship. And in the end, when that last disaster happened, he threw me under the bus and made me the scapegoat for everything."
The man folds his hands over his knee.
"I assume you understand how that sounds. Every criminal paints himself in a better light and shifts the blame onto others."
I let out a quiet breath. "Yeah, I do know how it sounds, but I’m telling the truth. I wasn’t the organizer of that last attack, and I definitely wouldn’t have taken part in it if I’d known there would be innocent people there."
"Can you tell me what happened on-site, the way you remember it?"
I close my eyes for a moment because I hate talking about it, but fine, I also hate refusing people.
"I helped them break in because I was the only one with hacking skills. We got inside, David didn’t want to carry the canisters, so I ended up taking them from him.
They started pouring gasoline, and when we were about to run away, I heard people screaming.
Then Marcel told me to leave them because they would be a sacrifice on the altar of our cause. "
Now Storm and Gessler are actually listening, and Gessler even raises his eyebrows.
"Did he really say that?" the masked omega asks.
"Yes, those were his exact words. I replied that it was sick, and then he hit me in the face…"
Damn, I could have skipped that detail. Storm looks embarrassed, he probably can’t believe I’m humiliating myself like this, and Gessler just gives me a pitying glance.
I clear my throat and lower my head.
"And not long after that, they all ran, but I went back upstairs, knowing I’d end up on camera.
Still, I couldn’t let those people die. I’m a cop’s son, and I would never accept someone dying because of me.
So I made it to the third floor, circled around from above, broke in from the other side, found them in the side corridors, led them out, and got out of the building. "
"You’re presenting yourself almost like a hero. I’m sure the prosecution painted you very differently."
"They did. They made me out to be the main organizer, but I never ran anything there. Marcel is the leader. It’s his idea, his organization; that’s easy to verify. All their materials are signed by him. I was nobody there, just a paypig."
"Well, that is your word against theirs," the man says coolly.
"I know. Nobody believes me, but I told the truth, and my conscience is clear when it comes to that part."
There is a brief, uncomfortable silence. The phrase ‘clear conscience’ doesn’t seem to convince anyone. Even Storm rolls his eyes and looks away.
"And what about the other part of your conscience? After all, you did set fire to a laboratory worth millions of dollars," the omega says slowly.
I squeeze my eyes shut. Until now, his questions were general, but this one is specific. How would he know exactly what I burned?
I don’t want to think about that right now, so I answer quickly.
"I’m not proud of it, especially since I later found out that the lab was doing pro bono cancer treatment research.
Malden Pharmaceuticals was providing a range of tests for free.
I didn’t know that when I went in there.
If I had known, I probably would’ve tried to convince Marcel to pick a different target. "
"Do you still think attacking that company was justified?"
I hesitate because the precision of his questions feels deliberate.
"For a year and a half, I kept hearing how terrible Malden Pharmaceuticals was, about side effects, poorly described products, how its owner, Mr. Lowen, supports controversial reproductive programs. I let myself be convinced. I won’t deny that."
The omega leans back against the couch and suddenly says,