Chapter 6: The Watcher

As promised, Cecil stayed true to his word for the next two weeks. Well, he tried to. There were multiple occasions where he would start talking about Carlos, remember that he wasn't supposed to, and awkwardly move on as quickly as possible. It wasn't perfect but Carlos couldn't fault the man for trying. Besides, new problems were rapidly developing, such as the two men that Carlos and his team had named 'The Watchers'.

The Watchers had shown up the day after Carlos had moved in and it didn't take long for him to recognise them as the same men that had glared at him at the town meeting. They sat in their black car outside the lab everyday from the moment Carlos showed up until after he left. Sometimes, he thought he could see them following him around town and to his apartment, but he wasn't sure. Paranoia had been sitting deep with him since he came to Night Vale and he couldn't be sure if he was imagining it. He wasn't even sure that they were there at all until Jess and Robin had also pointed them out. They didn't seem to be watching anything in particular, they just sat there staring out of the window screen, their eyes covered by black mirrored sunglasses.

"Maybe it's an intimidation tactic. They just want us to know they're there." Said Robin.

"Why would they want to intimidate us?" Asked Carlos as he watched them from the window. This was his own form of intimidation tactic. He wanted to be sure that they were aware that he'd noticed them. Of course, it was probably not making that much of a difference. It wasn't like they were being subtle; they knew he could see them, and they were perfectly okay with that. Besides, it wasn't like they were going to be threatened by a skinny scientist.

"Probably just because we're interlopers." Jess shrugged.

"I feel like this is some form of discrimination." Carlos mumbled.

"Yeah, well. What can you do?" Robin shrugged.

"I'm going to talk to them."

"Carlos, no." He snapped. He tried to grab his arm to prevent him from leaving, but Carlos was already on the march. Carlos had never been a confrontational person and he wasn't about to become one, but he was a curious person and being watched from nearly three weeks certainly piqued his interest. It almost interested him as much as the whole glow cloud situation a week earlier.

"It's fine. I'll be right back. Though if I'm not back in five minutes please come out to check on me."

"We'll call your parents."

"You don't know my parents."

"We'll call Mr Markson."

"Sure, go ahead." He called back as he rounded the corner to the stairs. If anything, calling Mr Markson would justify the whole situation as scientific. Carlos would do his daily report on it.

Carlos rushed downstairs and out to the street. The Watchers didn't react. That was fine, Carlos rushed by nature and they were probably used to seeing him near jog around. He knocked gently on the driver side window. The driver rolled it down without moving his head.

"Are you Mr Cienca?" He asked.

"Yeah. Sorry to bother you, I was just wondering-"

"Mr Carlos Cienca?"

"Yes?" Carlos replied. He managed to somehow sound unsure of his own name. Was there more than one Mr Cienca in Night Vale? If so, he'd love to meet him. They could swap horror stories.

"Get in the car." The man demanded.

"I…I would kind of prefer…not to." As soon as he said that, the man finally turned his head towards him. Even though he couldn't see his eyes, Carlos could feel his rage.

"Get in the car before I make you get in the car." He growled. Carlos gulped and obeyed. "Seat belt."

"Where are you taking me?" Carlos asked quietly.

"You ask too many questions. It's going to get you into trouble one day."

"Am I coming back?"

"Yes, Mr Cienca, you're coming back." The man sighed, though his tone was so rough and irritated that it failed to be reassuring. Carlos considered jumping out and running for his life, but the moment he finished the thought he heard the locks click. "Now for the last time, seat belt."

Carlos took a deep breath and put his seat belt on. If he was going to be trapped in a car with a vague but menacing government agency he may as well practice proper road safety. He looked out of the lightly tinted windows as they pulled away. He was going to be a lot longer than five minutes.

The drive seemed to go on forever. Carlos didn't think anything could be more than half an hour away in such a small town. Yet it was nearly an hour before they finally stopped. Carlos had experienced many long hours in his life, hours that stretched and warped into days and years, but never had there been an hour as endless as the silent journey into the desert. There was only one building in sight, a grey windowless warehouse.

"Am I under arrest?"

"That depends on what you do next." Said the driver, as he pulled him out of his seat and towards the building.

"Do I get a phone call?"

"Trust me, kid, I don't think anyone you know is going to be much good." This was probably true. His team had no sway on Night Vale's legal force, providing that was even who these people were. At least one of them was speaking, it was the other one that was making him uncomfortable. He just stayed stony faced and silent. Carlos racked his brain for anything that could help. Josie? He didn't know her number. Maybe he could ask for the number to the radio station. Cecil could scream at them over the radio until they got uncomfortable and let him go or until somebody took to note and came to his rescue. Regardless, he just really hoped his team followed through when he asked them to come check on him.