Deus Ex Human Revolution: Shadow's Showdown

Chapter 64: The Secret Room.

Detroit.
Connor's flat.

When Laura opened her eyes, she saw Connor sleeping next to her. Her first instinct was to wake him up but after a moment's thought, she withdrew her hand. Surely he would flood her with apologies and explanations as to why he was here and not on the sofa. Besides, after everything that had happened recently, he should get as much rest as possible. She owed him that, although the debt owed by her had become too great to ever repay.

Slowly she disentangled herself from under the duvet, sat on the edge of the bed and slipped her bare feet into her slippers. After leaning her hand on the nightstand and standing up, she glanced at Dale to check if he was still asleep, then hobbled to the bathroom, soon after, to the kitchen.

"You should be in bed, not here," maybe a quarter of an hour had passed when she heard a still slightly sleepy voice behind her.
"I can't lie in bed forever. I wanted to make breakfast," she replied, closing the fridge door. "Besides, we're going to Rupert's today anyway so I should remind myself how to walk."

Connor let the air out loudly through his nose and went to the bathroom. When he returned, Laura was just moving an omelette from the pan onto a plate.

"I don't know if you like omelette but..."
"Why are you still scared of me?" he asked, pushing back his chair.

Laura blinked. Standing for a long moment, with the pan in her hand, she wondered why he asked that question and what to answer.

"For a long time I lived in confinement, and Damien caused me terrible fear and punished me severely when I did something against his will. Unfortunately, there is no easy way to forget."
"I'm not Damien but Connor or if you prefer, Dale. So you don't have to be afraid of me. Besides, I like omelettes, although I liked the Lemon-Lime Cherry Pie best."

The woman smiled slightly, though the memory itself was very painful.

"That night I was afraid not only for Joe but also for you," she said, sitting down opposite him.
"About me?" he asked surprised, holding up a fork with a piece of omelette impaled on it.
"Yes," she said, slowly nodding her head. "We didn't talk for very long then, but you fell into my memory. I had hoped we would meet again, however, the fire changed everything."
"Apparently destiny listened to your request even more than you expected."
"I'm very happy about that, very happy indeed," she replied looking into his eyes. If he hadn't admitted he was an aug she probably never would have guessed. Joe's cybernetic eyes, apart from being violet, were immediately distinguishable from real ones. She had always associated them with a camera lens. Connor's eyes looked ordinary; she couldn't see anything unnatural in them.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" he muttered, sipping tea from a dark grey mug.
"Your eyes are...ordinary," she replied.
"Ordinary?" he asked, wrinkling his brow. "What should they be like then?"
"The cyber ones are instantly recognisable."
Dale sighed. "We'll talk about it some other time. We should be leaving soon."

Laura was troubled by his behaviour. He suddenly started avoiding the subject even though it didn't touch on the overly personal areas of his life. At least that's how it seemed to her. The woman stood up and took the plates. She wanted to put everything in the dishwasher, but Connor told her to leave the cleaning for later so she obediently left the kitchen with him. Dale's behaviour seemed odd according to his usual meticulousness.

They separated in the hallway. The man walked right down the long corridor, on the way taking his car keys from a crystal bowl standing on a low cabinet against the wall on the left. He slipped them into his right jacket pocket. Dale looked in the mirror, noting with displeasure that an unruly strand of hair was falling across his forehead. He took a comb from the same jacket pocket and tried to tame the strand of hair. He didn't notice the keys, which were now lying on the carpet completely as if they didn't want to be found. Laura stood for a moment looking at his being thorough with a mixture of admiration and horror, then marched off to the bedroom.