“Give me that.” I lunged for the chocolate as he went for a fifth, but he caught my wrist. “You are insufferable. Do you know that?”
“I have been told that a time or two, but I’ve also been called charming, handsome, unforgettable.” He grinned broadly. I could smell the sweetness of the chocolate on his breath, my right wrist still in his grasp. “Here.” He held the chocolate between us. I snatched it with my free hand, glaring at him. He smiled like he was enjoying himself and released my wrist.
Hal walked to the door, and I popped the chocolate into my mouth, the rich sweetness dancing across my tongue. He grabbed the empty metal trash can and brought it close to the desk, flipping it over, creating a makeshift stool for himself.
“Should we get started?” Hal asked. He looked comical, his hulking frame crouching on the small metal bin.
“There’s no way that’s comfortable,” I commented, swiping another chocolate. “You can have the chair.”
“No, it’s fine,” Hal said.
“Honestly, I don’t mind. I’m smaller than you.”
“I’m a Major Defect. I can handle some discomfort,” he assured me, resting his elbows on his knees. I turned around to hide my smile, pulling my chair back to the desk. “But another chocolate would definitely make it more tolerable.”
“Would it?” I retorted, pushing the box toward him, revealing a small note card that had been placed directly under the box as if on purpose. “Only one,” I warned as I read the card. In meticulously neat handwriting it read,To being impolite. Collin. I slipped the note into my back pocket.
Hal stretched his legs out before resuming his crouched position. “Long night?”
“Not really.”
“Did you have another meeting with this Collin guy?” Hal asked, his left leg bouncing a bit.
“I did.”
“So you didn’t mess it all up then?” Hal asked somewhat tightly. I glanced over at him to find him staring at me.
“I did not,” I told him. “It had nothing to do with me. There was an issue.”
Hal’s eyes darkened as he leaned forward. “What kind of issue?”
“I don’t know. Elite got hurt though,” I said, logging in to the system and pulling up the first piece of art to catalog for the day.
His eyes churned, but he simply nodded, turning toward the hologram. “Do you see a lot of cubist art like this?”
It was of a woman, but there was no realistic aspect to her. It was made up of warm geometric shapes, distorting all humanlike elements of her, and yet the woman was beautiful. The sharp angular depiction created a fragmented image, an imperfect woman. She held a book in her hands. One half of the book was light, the other dark. I felt captivated by her, drawn to the juxtaposition of each side of her.
Cubist.Was that the term for it? How did Hal know the word?
“I have seen a few like it,” I said, staring at the woman. “She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” Hal chuckled next to me. “What?”
“Nothing,” Hal said, knocking my chair with his knee. I shot him a stern look. “It’s just, you see her, fragmented and all, and you say she’s beautiful. But you believe them when they tell you your eyes are a defect. Why is she beautiful, and yet the same doesn’t apply to you?”
“She’s a painting. It’s different,” I said, knocking back into him.
I returned to the screen, trying to sound out the words. It was in one of the many forgotten languages that had been lost after the Last War. Leaving us with just one.
“Femme au Corset Tesant un Livre,” Hal corrected.
I swung my chair to face him head-on, shock coursing through me. “How do you know that?”
He shrugged. “The Illum have their secrets. We have ours.”
“We?” I asked. Hal simply gestured to his blue jumpsuit. “You’re saying Major Defects know about things like this?” I demanded wildly, gesturing to the painting.
“Someone has to take out their trash,” Hal said quietly, his left dimple making an appearance.
“I don’t understand,” I confessed.
