Perseus: part 2
James
I don't need sympathy now…
What I do need…
Is your full and unquestioned cooperation…
What do you say?
Are you willing to help me?
John stares for a few seconds at James…
No words are exchanged between the 2…
John merely smiles and nods his head
James
Good.
Now, it's time to investigate this Presley
And learn the truth behind what's happening with him and his coworkers' bizarre sleep patterns…
John
Whatever you need James…
If it's in my power, I'll do my best to help you!
James smiles to himself
James
Then let's get started!
After being seated at a desk
John
This is the man you're investigating…
Franklin Presley, goes by Presley.
He's an outstanding accountant.
Graduated top of his class in economics…
You'd be hard pressed to find anyone who has something bad to say about him.
That is, until recently…
James looks up at John, curious
James
What do you mean by that?
John
His performance has slipped recently…
Him and four of his coworkers…
All of them have become more sluggish…
More easily aggravated…
They've been looking more unhealthy lately…
Even when I insist they take a break, and offer them paid leave, they refuse to go…
James
(Those are some of the symptoms of sleep deprivation)
(It seems I was right, he has been getting to people with his Manifesto!)
Could you please tell me what day this all happened on?
John
Uh, it was 3 or 4 days ago I believe…
Why?
Are you hard pressed to find something in a given amount of time?
James
I see…
3 or 4 days…
That would match up with my estimate of four days…
So let's go with that as our baseline…
We have a week before the worst comes about…
And maybe three or four days before irreparable damage happens to them…
John
What are you saying?
What's the worst case scenario you're referring to?
James
Hm?
Did I say that all aloud?
Well, that doesn't really matter now…
Anyways, it's getting late.
You can close up normally.
I'll be tailing Presley home to see if he's doing anything suspicious outside of work…
John
What do you mean?
What kind of suspicious activities do you think he's doing?
James
I want to see if he's been meeting with anyone shady…
John
Who would he be meeting up with?
James
Not important.
What matters is that you don't follow the two of us for your own safety
(I don't know what someone without a Manifesto would do if we got attacked by the Casa Dei Re, or by the man in the suit…)
(I don't even think John would have defeated Ricky and Serius…)
(What chance would he have against actually powerful enemies?)
(no, I won't let someone else die in front of me!)
A bell whistles, signalling the end of the work day to the employees
The employees get up from their desk, and they begin to leave
Employee
Bye boss!
Have a good evening, I'll see you on Monday!
John
Have a good day Steven!
John looks around, looking for Presley
Once he spots him, he goes towards his office
James, he's leaving now…
You should get going if you want to follow him…
James
Thanks for letting me know…
James exits, blending in with the crowd of bankers
James
I'll be leaving now.
Bye boss!
(Now, I can follow Presley to his home, and see what he does until he gets there…)
(There he is!)
(Found you…)
James follows behind Presley, keeping a distance, but is still close enough to hear what he might be saying…
The two reach a street trolley, they get on board…
Presley begins to fall asleep on the trolley…
James
(am I too in my own head?)
(Did I really think this man before me would have the knowledge or strength to kill people?)
(Maybe I'm wasting my time…)
(All this talk of the Casa Dei Re and a new Manifesto user has me all worried over nothing…)
A man bumps into Presley startling him awake
The man pushes Presley off of his seat
Presley
Um…Excuse me sir…
I'm pretty sure I was on that seat…
And I think you might've bumped me off…
Could I please have my seat back?
Thug
Are you talking to me?
Presley
Of course not sir…
Thug
That's what I thought!
Presley turns around and grabs onto the pole
James
(No, my eyes were definitely playing tricks on me back at the office…)
(There's no way this man has a Manifesto)
(I might as well just le–)
As James begins to get up, he sees something, clearly!
A Manifesto appears out of Presley's back and begins sprinkling sand in the Thug's eyes
James
(I saw it!)
(I definitely saw something that time!)
(I knew it!)
(He definitely has a Manifesto!)
(I've gotta follow him now!)
Presley exits the trolly, James follows him. The two keep walking until reaching a house, Presley enters.
James
(It's odd, he didn't stop anywhere on his way home. He didn't buy anything, he didn't meet anyone. He just went straight home.)
(But that doesn't change the fact he has a potentially dangerous Manifesto.)
(I'll wait here all night if that's what it takes!)
The night passes, with James not moving
James
Hm?
(It looks like the sun's rising, weird…I don't remember sleeping…)
(I guess I was just being so observant about Presley. Speaking of him, he should be leaving for work soon.)
(Wait a second! If it's morning, then that means we're on day five! only around two more days until irreparable damage is done to Presley and his coworkers…)
(Now that I think about it…)
(This is my second sleepless night in a row since meeting Presley…)
!
(I must've been attacked by his Manifesto when he was in my office!)
Presley exits the door, looking even more tired than before.
(That settles it!)
(I would've hoped to have waited for a chance to take a clean shot of his Manifesto…)
(But I don't know how much longer I can afford to wait!)
He only has two more days…
If I don't do something soon, it'll be too late!
James rushes for the bank
John
James?
You look tired…is something wrong?
James
Huff I-I'm fine Huff
Can I have one of the conference rooms?
I know what to do now, I figured out what to do about Presley!
I need you to send Presley and one of the other affected coworkers into that room when they get here!
John
O-ok
Does room B work for you?
James
It doesn't matter which one it is…
So long as you can direct those two people to me…
In the room
Presley
Excuse me…I was told to come in here…
I wasn't told why…all he said was it's something important…
James
It is…
Please, have a seat Presley, we've been waiting…
Presley
Wait, aren't you the detective I tried to hire?
And who's we?
James
I am the detective you tried to hire…
And the person sitting across from me is one of your coworkers, say hi to Ron
Presley
What's going on?
What's happening?
James
I've come to discuss something very important with you…
I've solved your case…
I've determined why you haven't been able to sleep
Ron
Really!?
That would be great!
I would love to be able to sleep again!
Please, is there anything you can do!?
James
No, there's nothing I can do…
But he can
James looks towards Presley
Presley
Me?!
What could I do!?
James
Before I say that, I want to show you something…
James brings out Lacerta
This is Lacerta…my guardian…my gun…my curse…
That is my Manifesto.
You have one as well…
This is what has been stopping you from sleeping.
I believe your Manifesto is able to control people's sleep patterns. It can cause them to not sleep at all, or force someone to sleep.
Presley
What do you mean?
You mean I have something like that lizard behind you?
James
If you can see Lacerta, then yes.
Ron, the reason I called you in here is because I was wondering something…can you see it too?
Ron nods his head
James
I thought so…It appears as though those who were afflicted by the sand of your Manifesto are also able to see Manifestos.
Now I'm telling you all this, because if you don't learn to control your Manifesto…
We're all gonna die…
Presley
Wh-what do you mean?
James
Well, a human can go eleven days without sleep.
Currently, you two are on day five, I'm only on day two.
So I might have a chance to live, but if I'm wrong, and your power continues even after you die, then nothing was worth it.
No, our best bet for survival is to teach you to control your Manifesto.
The best way to do this is to have a clear goal in mind. Despite my objections to it, Lacerta is always able to keep up with my reflexes and defend me.
By having a clear goal, you can channel your Manifesto. You might even be able to remove the effects from us.
Now try it.
Presley closes his eyes, and clenches his fists.
He focuses, and slowly, a Manifesto begins to appear.
Presley
Woah!
Is that it!?
Is that what my Manifesto looks like!?
James
Apparently so. I've only gotten a view of it from behind so far. Now, instruct it to remove the sand from our eyes. I've been calling it Perseus if that's ok with you. To keep in theme with the other Manifestos I've encountered.
Presley
C'mon Manifesto thing…would you please let us sleep again?
The Manifesto stares at Presley, before nodding its head, and the sand falls out of Ron and James' eyes, like tears of sand.
James
(I've never seen someone communicate to their Manifesto like this…)
(It seems so strange, so foreign a concept…)
(He's treating it like a living creature…)
(Maybe they are?)
Well then, I'll go now. I'm glad we could work this out.
But before we go, let me warn you about something with this Manifesto:
Any damage it takes is reflected to you as well. My only guess would be that it has to do with the Manifestos being connected with your brain, that's how they can react so quickly.
However, if either of you die, your connection is severed, causing one last burst of pain, like a sucker punch to the gut.
I'd keep practising with it until you get the hang of it.
If you ever need more help controlling it, feel free to come and see me.
James takes one more look at Presley and at the Manifesto
Though, I don't think you'll need to. For some reason, your Manifesto seems eager to help you. Maybe that's why it attacked people whenever you were upset.
Try to avoid high stress environments, and please, get some sleep.
James leaves the building
James
(Despite my convictions, why have I been so hesitant to destroy these Manifestos?)
(I keep sparing them…)
(Maybe it's because I don't see myself in them…I don't see the monster, I only see hope…)
(Who knows what would have happened if someone had supported me when I discovered my Manifesto?)
(I just hope I helped Presley today…)