Perennial

Chapter 5 -- Elle Webster

You know that feeling when you procrastinate for a really long time, and then all of the sudden it's time to do what you were supposed to do but since you've been procrastinating, it catches you by surprise and this toxic cocktail of dread and fear drops down into your stomach and your heart starts racing and you start sweating and... yeah, I hate that feeling.

It's that feeling that creeps up on me a week after my impromptu meeting with Mr. Suit.

This time, when the guard comes to get me, I've just finished eating my breakfast. (This leads me to believe that they've been watching me. They didn't even wait until the end of the breakfast hour. Or perhaps I finished eating just in the nick of time.)

It's not the same guard as last time. This one is a little taller and slightly thinner and a little older. Both women, however, have the same no nonsense attitude about them.

Maria gives me a confused look as she watches me leave. I make sure to give her a friendly wave so that she won't be too worried that I'm in trouble. (Why, I don't even know. We aren't friends; I don't even want us to be friends.)

Now that I know where I'm going and what to expect, the trip seems to go faster. Still way too fast, if you ask me, mostly because I haven't quite decided on whether or not to take Mr. Suit up on his offer yet. Oh, I've weighed my options; given it a lot of thought, but in my opinion, both options are stifling.

Most of the people from my previous life, the ones I knew before I got arrested, would all agree that I'm not by any means a follower. I'm not in the least passive, nor am I inclined to blindly do whatever I'm told like some kind of obedient robot.

But both options Mr. Suit gave me are like that. If I go to Icarus, I'm giving up my life to DSHA. If I remain in their custody as a criminal for the rest of my life, I'm giving up my life to DSHA. It's a no-win scenario.

What I do know is that I'm more inclined to not accept Mr. Suit's offer. Why? Spite, mostly. That and my pride as the Overlord's daughter prevents me from readily agreeing to go attend a school that will only teach me things I already know.

The guard lets me into the same room Mr. Suit and I met in previously, where, just like last time, he is already waiting for me at the table.

"Miss Webster," he greets me.

I give him an awkward smile at the name.

It's one of my many alibis that I've acquired over the years. Unlike the other names I could have given DSHA upon my arrest; however, I came up with Elle Webster when I was twelve. I chose "Elle" because it sounds close enough to my real name, so that it would be easy for me to respond to. I chose Webster because I was sitting in the library at home, staring at the dictionaries, when my father (yes, the Overlord) asked me to pick a surname.

In my twelve year old mind, it was genius.

"That's me," I mutter under my breath before returning the greeting. "Agent Philips."

"How about we skip over the formalities and cut to the chase?" He suggests, "Have you had adequate time to come to a decision?"

Oh, definitely. I've had more than enough time. The problem is I haven't used any of it.

I nod. "Yeah... I think... um... "

This is it. Yes or no.

If I say no, I'll likely never ever be able to leave high security facilities like Midas for the rest of my life. Even worse, I'll probably be reduced to a simple lab rat for DSHA's scientific research projects. I will have no free will, and no real hope of escape without intervention from the Overlord.