9. A New Friend

By the time I arrived at work the next day, sleepiness had finally caught up to me with a vengeance. Throughout the morning, dreamland dragged me down the rabbit hole, any chance it got. On several occasions, I found myself waking up with a start at my desk. I'd look down, and find my cheek squished against multiple reports; documents upon documents dampened by my drool with words half-erased, and barely legible.

Last night, in my comfortable bed, I didn't know where to look, or what to do with myself. Thinking about those three scientists pinning Greyson down, as if he were some kind of rabid dog... it made my blood boiled. None of them had given two shits about that man's wellbeing. They probably went home and ate supper with their perfect little family, conversed about their busy day, and laughed together about something that happened at their spoiled brat's school. I was sure that they even sleep soundly without a second thought on all the horrible things they did to poor Greyson.

Throwing my bag on the corner of the room, I entered Everett's room without knocking.

"Are we passed the pleasantries already?" He wondered, typing away at his computer and not giving me a lick of attention. "And what happened to those polite little knock knocks?"

"I ran out of jokes," I said, sporting a coy smirk on my lips. "Get it?"

"Ha, ha," he said, face taut and unfazed.

Guess he didn't appreciate my bad joke, but that was fine, I wasn't here to bother him with cute chit-chats. I was here to affirm that Greyson had indeed made a full recovery after last night's events. I wanted to reassure my heart that I had not made the biggest mistake of my life, when I left Greyson behind in that hellish prison the day we met.

I swiftly walked over to the monitors and collapsed on the chair opposite Everett. I wheeled myself forward and looked up at live feed inside the extra-terrestrial vault.

Cross-legged on his bed and with his eyes firmly closed, Greyson was sitting ramrod straight, and breathing slow and deep. With delight, I saw that the white room was void of any scientists. Part of me had wanted to find my father, this morning, and force him to make those bastards pay for what they did to Greyson. Though, I couldn't find a decent reason to justify any punishment due, since with the real reason, I'd have to mention to my law-abiding father, that I met Greyson on and unplanned excursion to the Filing Cabinet when no one was looking. So, I suppose those three idiots were going to have to wait for karma to take vengeance, instead of me.

Greyson had a peaceful expression on his face. It reminded me of an expression you would find on some Buddha statue. The type of statue someone might find on sale at an import goods store. It didn't go unnoticed that I continuously seemed to see him as some sort of living statue. But I couldn't help it; I had never seen someone with skin as marble-smooth and monotone as his appeared to be. He looked almost fake.

"Glad to see he's feeling better," I said, feeling a heavy weight lift from my shoulders the moment I laid my eyes on him. "Is he meditating or something?"

"Could be," Everett said, after clearing the strain from his voice. "That would be handy. It might help him to remain sane in that tiny little 'fishbowl' prison of his."

"Hmm. Or maybe he's trying to contact, you know, the beyond?" I swatted the air. "Telepathically speaking."

"You mean?" Everett pointed at the sky. "That beyond"

I shrugged. "Who else would he want to contact?"

Everett snorted. "With those protective aluminum walls that surround his vault, any attempt to communicate with the beyond, as you put it, would a waste of his time." He dipped his chin. "Greyson knows that all too well."

"Maybe knowing that, doesn't stop him from trying."

"Look." Everett scoffed and shook his head. "It's very unlikely for any extra-terrestrials to find him here. So, there is no point for him to try and reach them."

"Unlikely, but not impossible." I grinned. "Maybe he's already made contact with them. There would be no real way of knowing for sure, would there?"

He mulled that statement over. "Percy did warn me you were a little bit of a..." He gestured to me, trying to find the right word to use. "Smartass."

A giggle found its way to my air way. "Course he warned you about that." I shrugged. "So, do you think I might be right? Do you think he made contact?"

"Don't be ridiculous," he said.

And that was that.

With a hasty point, he deleted one or two sentences from the document he was working on, since I first entered the room. It looked as if he was mad at them.

"I have a question."

He exhaled heavily. "I'm sure I have an answer."

"Why exactly does Greyson look so...human-like?" I crossed my arms over the desk. "He looks nothing like any of the aliens I've ever seen."

Everett leaned back and turned his bearded-face to me. "His mother was human."

My eyes bulged out of their sockets. "She was?"

"Yes."

My hands lifted in front of me, as if I was trying to tactually grasp this new information. "But that means she must have... did she have too... you know? I mean, how is that even possible?"

With a completely blasé expression, Everett laid his palms on top of his beer belly and linked his fingers together. He snorted, looking over at the screens and began telling me the story: "Greyson's mother was abducted from Cusco city in Peru, back in the early nineties. She was a young teenage girl, who had no clue she was pregnant until her stomach grew triple its size. She hid away from suspicious eyes long enough to carry the baby for nine months without anyone noticing. It was her obstetrician that called the journalists. Told the news all about the mystery baby coming from an unmarried virgin mother." He cocked a brow. "Well, you can probably guess what happened next? Everyone in the city thought she was carrying the re-embodiment of the 'king of kings.' They all went crazy for the news, started showering her with gifts, and even nicknamed her The Second Mary."

He hacked a cough. "It's safe to say that the U.N.P.A was quickly on the scene. It didn't take long for Greyson's mother to be taken to the Agency and kept away from her new fan club. She gave birth to the half-breed baby-boy in the same room Greyson now resides, and quickly died a few hours later, due to some unforeseen birth complications."

My heart sank. "She died?"

He looked over at me and grunted in agreement.

"Shame." A surfacing thought shivered my bones: "Do you think his mother truly died due to some complications, though?" I asked slowly. "Or do you think the Agency killed her on purpose."

Everett let that thought linger. He looked away from me and set his sight on his computer. As if the old laptop had the answers I was looking for. "I wouldn't put it past them." His voice darkened as he added: "Ignorance is safety, right? Isn't that the slogan that higher management loves to advocate?"

I swallowed. "That's their moto," I concurred.

Looking back at Greyson, I found relief in his presence. There was something comforting about the way he sat peacefully, and in complete silence. "What about the father? Is he still alive?"

"No one knows about the father. But the aliens species we call "Grays" have been looking for him for years."

"How do you know?"

"Multiple U.F.O were reported the day of Greyson's birth. And, on account to those sightings, Greyson was moved a few times into various Agencies. He was relocated multiple times to numerous states, until he finally ended up here in Washington, and the sightings ceased completely."

"Ah." My head found the headrest as I leaned back. I folded my leg atop my other one. "And what if they found him again? Would they attack the agency just to get to him?"

"No." He scratched his beard, and rubbed the back of his neck. "Attacking the building would put Greyson's life in danger. They would have to find their way inside the building without the use of violence to get to him safely." He scoffed. "I secretly always hoped they would."

"Sounds to me like you're on the alien's side."

He looked up and held my eyes. "I'm on Greyson's side," he corrected, "like you are, I'm sure."

I nodded. "Yeah, I am too."

He nodded back. "I figured."

"So, hey?" I elbowed him. "I recall you telling me yesterday that there was a way at least for me to communicate with him. Was that true?"

"Yes," he said through clenched teeth. He didn't seem to like my excitement very much.

I lifted a shoulder to my ear. "Can you show me how?"

He let out an exasperated sigh. "You have to promise not to abuse it, and to not get caught."

"Well, duh." I smiled. "That's a given."

He nearly rolled his eyes, the he bent down and opened a drawer to his left. When he straightened again, he handed me a walkie talkie. I stood up and took it without hesitancy. "I gave him the other one this morning," Everett informed me. "You'll need to get pretty close to the enclosure to use it. Best radio reception you'll get is in front of the old gymnasium. It's on the other side of the building, so best not to draw attention to yourself."

"I know where it is." I stared down at the children's toy and my smirk widened. "Thank you, Everett! You're the best," I said, leaning in and brushing a big kiss on the giant's bearded cheek. "I owe you, big time!"

He was touching the print of my lips atop the blush of his cheek when I picked up my bag, and turned to ran towards the door.

"Don't get caught!" He yelled back.

"I won't!" I assured him, before the door swiftly shut behind me.