Conversation · Ruby, the Instigator

"You don't need that..."

"Not anymore, no. This could've turned out pretty bad for me if you hadn't walked right into 25 bands of ultra-high frequencies."

"Okay... then I have other questions..."

"Yeah? What?"

"If you didn't kill him... why hide?"

"I saw you roll into town. I wasn't about to stick around for questioning by a goddamn La Puta Madre agent."

So this is what she was scared to tell Titus. This cop, this cop...

That strange distant fear is getting close now. It's a fear -- of yourself.

"What do you mean... La Puta Madre agent?"

"Yes -- you." She looks at you quizzically. "Everyone says you're his peone. His 'Human Can Opener.'"

Through the sudden sharp pain in your head, you hear the lieutenant mumble something to himself.

"Fucking hell" and "Why me?" you hear through the white noise.

It's especially bad suddenly. Felt like a vein exploded.

"Bullshit, you're trying to..." (wince grotesquely) "throw me off. No one says that."

"Oh yes, they do. The cops, the criminals... Why do you think I'm holed up in here with a goddamn death ray, waiting for you?"

If she knows that about you, she must know your real name too.

"I'm no one's... agent. I don't even know who La Puta Madre is!"

"Right, sure. You don't know."

"Let's... talk about something else."

"Could you... tell me about it?"

"I'm sure La Puta Madre himself will explain it all to you soon enough."

A man in a white suit walks through a garden coaxed from soil that had once been covered in asphalt -- a city block closed off from the rest of the city by dark buildings.

Rows and rows of poppies, most of which have lost their pink bloom, flank his steps. The man looks around, then up at the sky; sighs.

Taking out a knife, he crouches at the end of one flower bed. He scores a seedpod, very gently. Milky sap begins to ooze out. The pain comes over you again...

"Okay, other questions."

"Yeah. Other questions."

"What did you do to this... Madre anyway?"

"You know what I did. I fucked him over." She pauses. "And now I have Harry Can-Opener in my lair. Fucking Titus..."

I thought we had an agreement, she thinks. This was not supposed to happen.

She's not going to change her mind that easily. She still perceives you as a threat.

Wait, one thing. Possibly small but -- she said you rolled into town. Was that 'you' singular or plural? She might know something...

"I'm sure I'm supposed to know... but I lost my memory recently."

"Yeah, sure."

She doesn't believe you.

"La Puta Madre... I've heard of La Puta Madre... He's dangerous... right?"

"Is that a joke or a threat? I'm guessing both."

"No, that was a real question!"

"Yes, of course. Are you... scared yet?"

"Of you? No, not really."

"I'm sorry... I know I'm supposed to know all about... this, but I lost my memory recently..."

"Tell me, what's my name? If you know... that about me, you must... know my name."

"Harry Du Bois," she replies quickly. "One corrupt motherfucker with the disco pants and the funny tie. Agent to La Puta Madre."

Did someone mention a fucked up tie? I call BULLSHIT. You're too CRAZY to be corrupt.

So she knows your name. That doesn't mean you're on the take. Criminals make up bogeyman stories about cops all the time.

All of this just means that you're effective. Criminals know you and are scared of you.

I don't know... sounds pretty convincing to me.

Don't let her scare you. She probably just made that name up on the spot.

No, no, it can't be that. You're not Harry Du Bois. Forget you heard any of this. There's no time to deal with this now.

"Fuck yeah, I'm a La Puta Madre agent... You better let me go."

"Nah. That I'm not planning to shoot you is the extent of the courtesy I can extend to La Puta Madre at present."

"Who's 'everyone'? How do you know this?"

"Everyone in Jamrock. The cops, the criminals... Why do you think I'm holed up in here with a goddamn death ray, waiting for you?"

A fear fills you. A bad kind of fear. Of yourself.

"I can't take it anymore. Just go." (Don't attempt to destroy the compressor.)

"Glad to have been of assistance." She tosses her head back defiantly and turns down the machine. "Best of luck to you, officers -- Revachol's a bitch."

The woman runs past you and disappears into the darkness of the tunnel.

"All things considered..." The lieutenant is still reeling from the pain. "...that could've gone worse."

"Wait... shouldn't we go after her?"

"No, I don't think she did it... She's someone else's case now."

It's too late now anyway. She's gone.