As Calista spoke, her gaze settled on Eugene. It wasn't particularly sharp, but Eugene still shuddered.
"Eugene, regarding your identity and the crucial information you supposedly possess that could save the world, I heard some... interesting claims on our way to the hospital and during our brief conversations after we arrived."
Eugene jerked his head up, his face beginning to pale as his lips trembled. "Commander, I... everything I said is true. My research involves the highest levels of classified information..."
Calista raised a hand, cutting off his stammering defense.
"You said you possess the key to reaching Washington and obtaining a cure for the walker virus. You said your expertise includes advanced virology, genetic engineering, and encrypted data recovery..."
With every sentence, Eugene's face grew paler, and cold sweat began to bead at his temples.
"However," Calista continued, fixing Eugene with an unwavering stare, "based on my discussions with several experts, there's one problem right from the start. None of the U.S. research institutions studying the walker virus are located in Washington..."
Of course they weren't.
Aside from the CDC facilities that had openly researched a cure before the apocalypse, the organizations that had known the truth early on and secretly conducted illicit research included Sentinel Station, Singularity Polymers Plant, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
She deliberately avoided naming any specific research facilities, referring only vaguely to official researchers. That ambiguity frightened Eugene even more than a direct accusation would have, because there was nothing concrete for him to disprove.
"More importantly," Calista said, leaning forward slightly without taking her eyes off him, "a scientist genuinely operating at that level would think and react to a crisis very differently from the way you do.
"When you're under pressure, you tend to bury people in complicated terminology they can't understand instead of offering practical solutions. That little habit might fool someone unfamiliar with actual scientific research, but to anyone who knows the field, the holes are obvious."
Eugene's breathing grew heavier. He tried futilely to shrink back in his chair, his fingers trembling badly.
Abraham's brow furrowed deeply as he stared at Eugene, then at Calista. His chest began to rise and fall more noticeably.
Rosita pressed a hand against the edge of the table, the suspicion on her face becoming increasingly obvious.
"I'm not interested in playing guessing games, Eugene." Calista's voice turned colder as she delivered her ultimatum. "The research Rock Fortress invests its resources in is grounded in what is realistically possible. There is no room for lies.
"So I'm giving you one last chance. Explain, in plain language, who you really are and why you made this story up."
The conference room fell deathly silent.
The only sounds were Eugene's increasingly ragged breathing and the faint creak of Abraham's fists tightening.
"I... I..." Eugene opened his mouth.
The immense psychological pressure, the shock of seeing Rock Fortress's true strength firsthand, and Calista's apparent ability to see straight through him finally shattered his defenses.
"I'm not a scientist!" he suddenly screamed, tears and mucus immediately streaming down his face. "I teach physics! High school physics!"
Eugene broke down completely, sobbing as the words poured out in a jumble.
"But I... I really am smart! I'm a Mensa member. That part is true!
"I learn fast. I know a little about everything. Physics, chemistry, math... I... I just wanted to survive! Those things are everywhere out there. I can't survive on my own!"
He collapsed into the chair as though every bone had gone out of his body, covering his face with both hands as he wailed.
"Abraham, Rosita, I'm sorry! I'm sorry!
"I lied to you. There is no plan in Washington to save the world. I made the whole thing up!
"I saw how strong you were, and I needed protection... I'm afraid to die... I'm really scared of dying!"
Every word was like a red-hot knife driven straight into Abraham and Rosita's hearts.
Rosita had already suspected the truth, so her reaction was relatively subdued.
Abraham was different.
The color visibly drained from his face. At first, he simply froze, as though his mind could not process what he had just heard.
He stared at the pathetic man curled up in the chair, crying helplessly. This man bore no resemblance at all to the "Dr. Eugene" in Abraham's mind, the man he had believed carried humanity's hope on his shoulders.
The light slowly faded from Abraham's eyes, leaving behind a vast emptiness.
Then that emptiness began filling with something much more violent.
Rage.
"Motherfucker... what... did... you say?"
Abraham forced each word through clenched teeth, his voice low and hoarse, as though he wanted to tear Eugene apart with his bare hands.
His massive body began trembling uncontrollably.
Terrified by the look in Abraham's eyes, Eugene abruptly stopped crying. All that remained were frightened, broken sobs.
"You filthy, lying, goddamn... maggot!!!"
Abraham's roar was so loud that Calista's head rang.
Like a massive red-haired bear driven into a frenzy, he surged to his feet. His chair toppled backward with a deafening crash.
Abraham crossed the short distance between himself and Eugene in a single step, one enormous hand shooting toward Eugene's throat.
"Abraham!"
Rosita cried out in alarm.
The instant Abraham stood, she sprang up and threw all her strength into grabbing his thick arm and part of his waist from the side.
"Let go of me, Rosita! Let me kill this lying bastard! He got Broad and Kelly killed! If we hadn't been so determined to reach Washington, they never would've died! He lied to every one of us!"
Abraham struggled furiously, his strength overwhelming. Rosita staggered as he dragged her along, veins standing out on her forehead, but she clenched her teeth and held on with everything she had.
"Abraham! Calm down! Look around you!"
But Abraham was simply too strong.
Even with Rosita restraining him, he managed to grab Eugene as the man tried to flee and landed two hard punches on him, immediately bloodying his nose.
Calista, the only person watching from the sidelines, remained perfectly calm.
She even casually reached out and picked up her cup so it wouldn't get knocked over.
Strictly speaking, as the host, she probably should have rushed over and joined Rosita, each of them holding one side of Abraham while she earnestly tried to mediate.
"Stop fighting. At this rate, you're going to break the tables and chairs in my conference room. Silas Norton paid a fortune for the furniture at Twilight Manor before the apocalypse. If you insist on fighting, at least take it outside!"
But Calista had no intention of stopping them.
What Eugene had done was genuinely rotten.
He was, plain and simple, a cowardly liar.
If someone ever dared to deceive her that badly, she would make damn sure they paid for it.
Eugene took several more solid punches, pain sending tears and mucus streaming down his face.
Only when Calista caught Rosita's pleading look did she finally speak.
"Abraham, that's enough. Calm down. Keep hitting him and I'm going to have another walker on my hands."
Abraham froze for an instant.
Rosita immediately took advantage of the pause and dragged him back a step.
Calista continued, "Your anger belongs with this fucked-up world that turns people into walkers, not with some miserable coward who was scared out of his mind and desperate enough to grab onto any lifeline he could find."
Abraham glared at her with bloodshot eyes, his chest heaving violently, but the force of his resistance eased slightly.
Calista drained the rest of her coffee, set the cup down, rose from her seat, and walked around the table toward Eugene, who had collapsed into a limp heap.
"You feel betrayed. Everything you believed in just fell apart because you think the only hope you had was a joke."
She paused, her voice taking on a subtly persuasive edge.
"But who told you that real hope had to be in Washington?
"And who said it disappeared just because this liar's story fell apart?"
Calista stopped looking at them and turned toward the conference room door, raising her voice slightly.
"Dr. Jenner, if you don't mind, come in for a moment.
"There's a soldier here who cares very deeply about the truth behind the walkers and the research being done on them. Perhaps you can give him something a little more reliable to work with."
...
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