Chapter 23: Trust

Name:The Stars Have Eyes Author:
Chapter 23: Trust

Joe was having a wonderful day. Spending the morning clothes shopping with Maggie had been quite the eye-opening experience. It reminded him, among other things, that his girlfriend was drop-dead gorgeous. Not that hed forgotten. Even he wasnt that thick. However, he had gotten used to her beautiful features and stylish figure to the point where he took them for granted and didnt really think about them. They were now at the forefront of his mind, which made it difficult to focus on much of anything other than Maggie whenever she was in the room. That was hardly an issue, seeing as how Joe didnt have anything even remotely important to do.

Still, at some point it dawned on him that staring intently at the girls face while she was doing her brainiac things was kind of rude and possibly a bit creepy. He knew full well that she didnt mind this attitude, but the guy felt a bit awkward nonetheless. Doubts started welling up within as he questioned if he was good enough for her, or whether he deserved this kind of impossibly good fortune. It wasnt just the house or her appearance, but her personality as well. Between bouts of ruthless logic, Maggie had repeatedly shown that she genuinely cared for him. This made Joe incredibly happy, of course, but also somewhat guilty.

Sensing his doubts, the girls eyes slowly opened as she hover-sat in her usual spot near the bed.

What is the matter, Joe?

Hm? What do you mean?

Your facial microexpressions suggest you are experiencing some internal conflict.

Just like Joe had a fairly solid grasp on Maggies personality, the opposite was also true. She didnt need to read his mind to tell he was concerned about something. Not that she had a habit of probing into his thoughts or anything. That would be quite rude, if nothing else.

Oh. Its, uh, nothing to worry about, he evaded the question. Just cant believe how much of a jammy dodger I am.

The girl tilted her head questioningly, prompting AzgodKalar to poke up from her hair and twist its little body into the shape of a question mark.

In what way are you a shortbread biscuit with jam filling?

Uh I dont know about any biscuits, Maggie. Its just something me and the lads use to call each other lucky bastards. Got it from some ancient fantasy game.

I comprehend, her eyes flashed with understanding. Furthermore, I now require jammy dodgers.

The biscuits, you mean?

Yes. I theorize they would pair nicely with Jeeves tea.

Oh. That does sound pretty good, actually. Want me to pop down to the shops and fetch some?

Hed never heard of that particular biscuit before, but the convenience stores at street level had all kinds of pastries and treats on offer. Even if they didnt have jammy dodgers specifically, hed surely find something that was close enough. Alternatively he couldve had the robo-butler handle this errand, but that talking appliance wasnt good at anything that required even the tiniest bit of thinking.

I would appreciate it, she smiled happily.

Starberry flavor, right?

Indubitably.

Joe got up, threw on his new jacket, and went about his mission with a grin of his own. It felt good to do something for his girlfriend, even if it was a small and inconsequential gesture. As he rode the elevator down, he realized just how idiotic his worries were. It was silly to think himself unworthy of Maggie after that unforgettable first kiss showed him just how important he was to her. Idle thoughts had a way of turning ugly for no good reason, so he decided to keep himself occupied with something other than staring blankly at the girls face once he got back.

As he stepped out of the elevator and walked through the hyper-scrapers relatively spacious lobby, Joe was surprised to see Agent Johanson. Actually, it was more accurate to say it was the state of her that astonished him. She was in uniform as usual, but her fatigues were so filthy that she had two custodial drones skittering around her feet. The small spider-like robots frantically picked up all the flecks of dirt and dried mud that fell off her person every time the woman smacked her forehead against the wall. Which, incidentally, was something she had been doing at a rate of once every two or three seconds for the past five minutes.

AJ? he called out to her. You okay?

The sullied soldier stopped her skull-thumping and looked towards Joe with a face that made it clear she was not, in fact, okay.

Ill live, she said dryly.

No, seriously, whats going on? You look terrible. In, like, more ways than one.

Mentally and physically exhausted as she was, she couldnt just turn away Joes genuine concern. She sighed and slumped against the wall, forcing the custodial drones to skitter away in something resembling panic.

I just cant stand that witch anymore. Seriously, whats her deal? she dropped the tough soldier act.

Well, she can be a bit harsh at times-

Dont you dare say she bloody means well! AJ snapped. This is abuse! Bullying! Torture! Nothing else!

Woah! Easy now. Why dont you get off the floor and tell me whats got you so stressed out?

Its this fooken thing!

She threw something across the empty lobby as she yelled. It was a fist-sized stone that clattered loudly as it rolled across the floor. Joe couldnt tell, but it had Magh'rathlak the Observer written on it in an alien language. AJ couldnt read it, though she figured it was the one she was supposed to get, seeing as how the other two stones shed found said Maggie and Mags Oh in plain English. The realization that she was dealing with not one, but two unannounced decoys irked her quite a bit. Her justified anger quickly turned to panic as she saw one of those janitor bots skitter straight towards the filthy object, no doubt intending to take it away somewhere. Thankfully she was able to yoink the stone away from it with a telekinetic pull.

Joe leaned over and got a solid look at the stone in her grip and noticed the alien writing. He had no idea what those sigils meant, but they looked familiar enough for him to recognize them as Maggies handiwork. Putting two and two together, he realized she must have sent AJ to find this stone which, judging by her filthy fatigues, was buried somewhere in the nearby park. The soldiers frustration made more sense, but her outburst still seemed like an overreaction. This assignment didnt seem any more laborious than usual.

Which, incidentally, also meant at some point hed accepted laborious as the usual.

Ah, realization dawned on him. Yeah, okay, I think I get it now.

Get what? the woman glared at him.

Maggies been riding you too hard. Im gonna have a word with her when I get back, so why dont you get on up and get yourself cleaned up.

He was expecting AJ to smile, or sigh in relief, or something along those lines.

Ughhh

What he got instead was a groan so painful he almost thought she was passing a kidney stone or something.

What? Did- Do you not want me to do that? he asked in confusion.

No. Id appreciate it, but I cant use the stairs. Sorry, no, I mean, I have to use the stairs.

We have stairs?

The soldier blinked in disbelief, then pointed towards a small glass door tucked away in the back of the lobby, just to the side of the elevators. Visible just beyond it were a depressing array of steps.

Bugger me with a bread bin, we have stairs! he exclaimed, though his wonderment quickly turned to horror. Wait, theres over a hundred floors between here and the apartment! Are you seriously going to climb all of that?!

Id really rather not, but I dont have a choice. I was told I wasnt allowed to use any machinery or electronics until I returned this stupid thing, she wiggled the stone for emphasis.

That cant be. Arent you just misunderstanding Maggies instructions? Surely you can at least use the elevator.

I specifically asked if I could. Want to guess what she said?

Joe took a deep breath, then held his hand out to AJ.

Come on, the floors no place for a lady.

She snorted a laugh. That twig of a man was offering to help her back on her feet? Well, he meant well, so she graciously accepted the gesture and let him do his best to hoist her up. However, rather than let go, he dragged her towards the back of the lobby. AJ went along with it at first, but stopped and pulled back when she realized they were headed towards the elevator.

What do you think youre doing?

Im taking you up to Maggie, he declared. Its high time you and I had a word about the way shes treating you.

Are you mental? Do you have any idea how stupid that is?!

It may be stupid, but its the right thing to do.

I could lose my job! Or worse!

Im pretty sure climbing stairs all day isnt part of your job.

No, but following orders is, and mine are to cooperate with that witch as much as possible.

Cooperation is a two-way street, innit?

You- That- But-

Agent Johanson wasnt sure how to respond to that, mostly because Joe had a point. What she was going through was borderline slavery, at least from her perspective.

Itll be fine, trust me, he reassured her. Maggies a bigger softie than you might think.

I sincerely doubt that.

Also, its not just about you. Its about her. Shes been acting off lately.

Joe couldnt quite put his finger on it, but he felt as if the girl had regressed rather than progressed in terms of the whole humanity thing. She was still all smiles and cosmic butterflies when it was just the two of them, but her attitude towards others was strangely harsh and demanding. Just today she had snapped at the clothing store employee called Jelly for no reason, and then seemed strangely suspicious of the fish-and-chips vendor lady. In some ways, it was as if shed gone back to how she used to be a month ago, when she was still struggling to comprehend most human emotion. Something must have happened over the past several days to have caused this, but Joe couldnt think of anything that would warrant this sort of negative change.

Alright, lets do it, AJ relented.

She knew better than anyone that she wouldnt last long if the severity of the experiments kept increasing. Though she had her reservations, something had to be done sooner or later, and this was as good an opportunity as any. Besides, she was sort of planning to have Joe pacify the Class-3 on her behalf anyway. Last but not least, she felt like shed throw up if she saw that bloody stairwell again. Psyching herself up to challenge it was why she was banging her head on the wall when Joe found her.

For the record, I still think this is a dumb idea, she added.

Of course, it is. I came up with it.

AJ allowed herself another short laugh as she followed him into the elevator. Things turned a bit awkward during the ride up as both of them realized just how much the soldier reeked of sweat and dirt. Joe tried not to make a big deal about it, but he wasnt used to this sort of stench and ended up coughing once or twice as a result. This, in turn, made Johanson even more self-conscious about it.

That jacket looks good on you, by the way, she tried to distract him.

Thanks. I actually just got it, he wisely avoided mentioning Maggie.

Really? Where from?

CUNT!

AJs full-volume profanity was punctuated by a burst of force that freed her from Maggies grip, nearly demolishing the wall in the process. She lunged at the momentarily stupefied girl and hurled a right-handed punch straight at her face, only to have her fist collide painfully with an invisible wall. A torrent of what was essentially concentrated rage followed a split second later. The psionic energy smashed clean through the barrier and struck Maggie dead on, sending her crashing into the opposite end of the hallway. The excessive force caused the building to shake and rumble ominously while reducing decorative furniture and floor tiles to bits and pieces. Joe tried to run in and stop the rampaging psionic, but an invisible hand slammed the front door shut, locking him out of what was about to happen.

Ive had it with your smug arse!

The soldier, having abandoned all reason, shoulder-tackled Maggie. Her built-up frustration burst outward with tremendous force once more, sending both of them crashing into the living room. AJ then kneed the girl in the gut hard enough to momentarily make her airborne and followed up with a backhanded punch to the face. The telekinetic energy suffusing the strike sent the girl tumbling across the room until she smashed into the massive television screen, shattering it in spectacular fashion.

The sound of glass breaking and the sight of sparks flying everywhere momentarily brought the rampaging psionic her senses. She breathed heavily, unable to believe what had just transpired. Not just her lashing out, but the fact that she was able to toss a Class-3 entity around like a ragdoll even though it was definitely resisting. Her jumbled thoughts came to a grinding halt when she saw Maggie stand up, covered in cuts and bruises, yet with that same damned smirk on her lips.

Is that the best you got?

That snarky taunt was enough to light ablaze the sputtering embers of AJs rage.

Pretentious smarmy twat!

Verbal abuse and psionic energy flowed freely as she smashed Maggie from the side hard enough to pin her to the wall.

Your tits are fake and your personality is shite!

Her next assault broke it completely, sending the girl tumbling into the adjacent bedroom and making the whole floor quake ominously once more. The soldiers output was spiking so much that it shocked both herself and the military personnel monitoring her implant readings.

Stop watching me when I pee! I can fooken tell!

As silly as the notion seemed, pouring her frustration, spite, and anger into her telekinesis allowed her to exert much greater force than usual. She demonstrated that further by slamming Maggie into the floor with an invisible hammer that had the approximate size and weight of an overloaded garbage truck.

Quit being so bloody smug about everything, you cosmic knobend!

AJ had no idea why or how this was happening. In fact, it went against everything she was taught at the academy.

And piss off with those big words! They dont make you sound smart!

A clear and focused mind was necessary to manifest psionic abilities with any degree of power or control. That was what she had been told, and it had served her quite well thus far.

Someone ate the starberry pie I put in the fridge! I know it was you!

However, as she sent Maggie flying out of the window, AJ was quickly reminded of another aspect of her mental powers. Namely, the psionic feedback. Having exerted so much energy in so little time made her feel a recoil like none other. Her vision went black, her ears screamed with a maddening ring, her muscles tightened against her will, and her stomach felt like it was doing backflips. A plethora of extremely unpleasant symptoms racked her head-to-toe, but the most pronounced one was the way her brain threatened to exit her skull through her ears and nose. The resulting wave of pain made the woman fall to the ground screaming in agony while clutching the top of her head. Backlash this extreme had a very real risk of killing her at worst and leaving her brain-damaged at best.

The strain on AJs mind then started rapidly diminishing. It and all the rest of her aches and pains gave way to another, far less unpleasant array of sensations. Her tortured head was resting on something that was both cool and warm at the same time, yet also undeniably soft. There was no way this was the floor. As her eyesight gradually returned, it became clear her cranium was lying on the pale skin of Maggies thighs, which had been exposed as a result of her dress getting ripped to tatters. One of the girls hands was gently stroking the womans forehead while the other kept a soft grip on the top of her skull. A kindly smile rested on her thin lips and a warm un-light seemed to radiate from her swirling eyes.

Welcome, Sarah Johanson, she spoke quietly, to the moment of your revelation.

The womans eyes darted between Maggie and the Maggie-shaped-hole in the windows shatter-proof glass.

Do not concern yourself with me, the girl reassured her. It would take more than mere defenestration to incapacitate me, even when weakened.

Defene-whatsit?

Defenestration. Formal. The action of throwing someone out of a window.

AJ was more than a little surprised to find out there was a word for that, but it was hardly the only shocking revelation shed received in the last few minutes.

This is what all that abuse and harassment was for, wasnt it? she weakly asked.

Quite so.

Damn it. Im never going to hear the end of this.

The woman could do little but grumble in defeat. She felt played like a fiddle, made all the more unpleasant by the fact that it was orchestrated by a cosmic entity that was incapable of deception. Indeed, Maggie hadnt lied to her even once. She had simply kept quiet as to the true nature of her experiments while letting AJs prejudice and personality do the rest. This behavior definitely skirted whatever cosmic law kept the Class-3 brutally honest, but the excuse of following obligations was a powerful one.

As for the results, the agent wasnt quite sure what to make of them. She had somehow subconsciously tapped into her anger and hatred in order to wield them as a weapon. AJs thoughts drifted to the two rogue psionics shed confronted in the past. Both of those lunatics exhibited tremendous power despite the lack of formal training or regulatory brain implants. Before she had just assumed their extraordinary gifts had driven them crazy, but now she felt as if it might have been the other way around. If abandoning reason and giving into her baser instincts gave her this much of a boost, then going completely off the deep end would surely produce even more spectacular results.

Of course, she wasnt about to become a raving lunatic whose grasp on reality was tenuous at best. Nor was she in any state to analyze her outbursts in any great depth. Shed leave it to the people monitoring her condition to figure out the exact science and mechanics behind that phenomenon. For the moment, she merely held onto the feeling of manifesting her rage so that she may do so again, hopefully consciously. Her mind calm once more, the woman rose to her feet. Maggie had graciously dampened the psionic feedback to the point where the only negative repercussions AJ felt was a momentary shortness of breath and a wave of exhaustion.

However, she had a hunch her wallet would not survive the long-term consequences of her actions. Glancing around at the devastation shed left in her wake, the soldier was overcome with a sense of foreboding that all of the damage she caused would be coming out of her salary. Given the relative opulence of the apartment and its decor, shed likely have to remain in Her Immortal Majestys service until she was five hundred and ten years old to pay this off.

S-sorry for the mess, she murmured.

Hm, yes, Maggie spoke with mild bemusement. Now that you mention it, the property damage exceeded my expectations, much as you have. I shall rectify this.

AJ felt a familiar sting in her brain that told her of spiking psionic activity in the area. Given present company, she wisely shut her eyes and turned away from the Class-3. She heard all kinds of scraping, crashing, banging, and clanging while she was sporadically pelted with gusts of air and bits of debris. This lasted for almost a minute before settling down completely.

All done.

When the psionic opened her eyes again, she saw the bedroom had been put back together as if nothing had happened. She didnt even need to see the other rooms to determine they had received much the same treatment.

So, uh, what happens now? she asked warily.

Phase one of your training is complete. I will give you three days to recuperate fully, after which we will continue with phase two.

Ugh. Great, she groaned. Let me guess, more tedious and obtuse tasks?

I am not at liberty to discuss my plans with you. Knowledge of them would reduce their effectiveness, Maggie bluntly stated.

Can you at least tell me whether youll get off my back?

I can indeed confirm that phase two will not involve me standing on your back, whether metaphorically or literally.

Thats good, I hope.

That weird phrasing filled AJ with doubt, but she wasnt about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Whatever phase two entailed, she had the next few days free, effectively immediately. That included the next few hours, which meant that there was still a chance for her to make her date. Shed be dead tired and fighting the urge to pass out the whole time, but she was confident she could soldier through it. Shed just need a little bit of help with her preparations, and she had a hunch the Class-3 would be willing to assist.

So, I need a personal favor. No deals or pacts, just a one-sided request.

I hear you out, at least, Maggie said with a small smile.

You wouldnt happen to have a dress I could borrow, would you?

I do indeed have a garment you could wear, though it wouldnt fit you very well around the chest area.

AJs eye twitched at the incidental jab at her bust size, but she pushed that irritation down. This was neither the time nor the place for an encore performance. Besides, shed use it for ammo later.

Could I ask you to transmute it so it fits properly, then? Its kind of an emergency.

Maggies brow furrowed in confusion.

What emergency requires formal wear?

I actually have a date. In like, fifty minutes. Officer Maloneys taking me to Leonardo da Pinchi, and I need to dress the part.

The girls eyes went wide in surprise, betraying she had no idea. She then raised a hand and covered her mouth in embarrassment as she picked up on what AJ was subtly putting down. Maggie wouldnt have to be jealous of the psionic if she had a man of her own to occupy her thoughts. It was such an obvious solution that she genuinely felt terrible for not thinking of it. That said, she wasnt about to let this chance slip away. She therefore gave the woman her full support. The requested garment was altered accordingly and handed over in less than a minute. AJ took it into the bathroom and locked herself inside as she started cleaning up.

It was at this point that Maggie finally let Joe into the apartment.

What happened?! Are you alright?!

The man was understandably flustered. He hadnt heard much from the outside since the place was soundproofed, but he still felt a few worrisome tremors.

Your concern is appreciated, but unnecessary, she said her usual line.

Unnecessary my arse! Look at you!

Though Maggie had repaired her casual outfit, numerous cuts and bruises were visible on her face and through the thigh slit. Joe could immediately tell things had gotten extremely violent despite the apparent integrity of the apartments interior.

These injuries are negligible and easily mended. I will tend to them immediately.

She stepped forward and pulled the panicked man into an intense kiss. He didnt resist, but the sudden gesture made him flail his arms around a bit. The man felt something flow out of the back of his throat and into Maggie. When she pulled back a few seconds later, she was completely healed and Joe was left a bit lightheaded. He momentarily found himself wishing Maggie would get in scraps more often, but chased that dubious thought away in favor of a more pressing concern.

Wheres AJ?!

She is cleaning up and getting ready for her date.

She What?

She is cleaning up and getting ready for her date, Maggie graciously repeated herself.

Is it with Officer Maloney?

You knew about this development? the girl blinked in surprise.

No, just a guess.

He figured it must have been a mutual acquaintance, and the policeman was without a doubt the most eligible bachelor of the lot. It was a bit strange that they decided to go out together even though their last meeting turned violent. Not that Joe was in any position to comment on weird ways to start a romantic relationship. He was simply wondering if getting into fights was simply how AJ made friends. It was a silly thought to be sure.

Yet, judging by how chipper and upbeat she was around Maggie from that day onward, that definitely seemed to be the case.