Deus Ex Human Revolution: Shadow's Showdown

Chapter 49: The Violet Memories.

When Adam opened his eyes he noticed that Laura was not there. Overcome with irrational anxiety, he got out of bed more vigorously than usual which paid off with a sharp pain radiating throughout his leg. He couldn't shake off the feeling of dread, always sensing that something bad might have happened. As soon as he left the bedroom, he noticed that the hacker was asleep in the armchair so he went over to her and carefully took the journal spread out on her lap with the cover up. Although they had agreed he could read everything she wrote down there, Jensen merely put the book on the table without even looking at it. He took a blue blanket from the sofa and covered the hacker with it, then returned to the bedroom to dress. After morning routine he hobbled to the kitchen.

Laura's sleep was violently interrupted by Stalker, who jumped onto the backrest of the armchair, and from there over the woman's shoulder and stomach marched to her lap where he sat down starting a concert of cat meows.

"Stalker, you furry pest..." muttered the woman, reluctantly opening her eyes.

Lured by the pleasant smell, she rose from her seat and moved towards its source. She saw Adam bustling around the kitchen.

"You could have woken me up, I would have made breakfast," she muttered.

The man turned and scratched his occiput embarrassedly. "I wanted you to get some rest.

Besides, I'm not that injured to be lying in bed."

"Well, you know best yourself how you feel."

"Would you like some scrambled eggs with chives?" he asked, reaching into the fridge for eggs. "I couldn't think of a better idea."

"I'd love to, just give me a minute. I need to get dressed and do the morning stuff."

A quarter of an hour later they were sitting at the table but the ex-SWAT noticed that Laura's hands were trembling. He decided to wait with asking questions until they had finished eating, but the prevailing silence was disconcerting.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, breaking the silence.

"Did you read the diary?" she barely managed to push the words through her throat.

"No. I saw it lying open in your lap but I figured I'd wait."

The woman smiled gratefully. They finished their breakfast. Then Adam took a seat in the armchair with a mug of coffee and began to read. He was afraid of what he would find there, but it was only the past. Laura, meanwhile, took care of her daily chores. She was unable to do anything else. Every now and then she glanced at Adam expectantly.

***

2010, Berlin.

It was an ugly November evening, one of those that always brutally remind us of the coming winter. Raindrops, falling thickly on the rooftops of houses and streets, made the only thing that could be felt was the omnipresent dampness and cold. The girl ran straight ahead. Her carelessly laced up boots clacked on the waterlogged concrete, splashing sideways in the dirty puddles that bloomed in the hollows of the pavement. Strands of long, phosphorescent blue hair waved along with the movement from under the hood of a navy blue sweatshirt.

"Damn, it must be raining right now," the girl muttered once she had turned right, into a gloomy alley, occasionally brightened by the faint glow of a flickering lantern.

She sat down beside a pile of boxes and, from a rag bag slung diagonally over her left shoulder, took out a burger wrapped in the company paper. She only had time to bite into it once. Someone suddenly snatched the lunch from her hands.