Chapter Text
Prepared by: Katherine Tompkins, KLS Technology Operator, Recruiter (ID: 1125-0236-TK)
Participants: Aaron Branch, KLS Field Agent (ID: 2634-0314-BA)
Noah "Ark" Woods, Senior Special Agent (ID: 1152-0224-WN TERMINATED)
Mission File: 2327c-1132-88749b
Time/Date Occured: Approx. 00:11, 06/13/41
AARON B: He said 'no' in case you can't hear over your awful music taste.
ARK: [laughing] You are cleverer than a lot of people at the agency give you credit for, I will admit. And I am curious as to how you came to that conclusion. I do apologize for the slow song as I was expecting to be talking with Denny, but I suppose life is full of surprises for the both of us.
[Silence. Faint music playing in background with the sound of moving footsteps. Someone inhales. Silence resumes until 00:14]
ARK: There. Now that that problem is taken care of, I believe you are in possession of something that belongs to me.
AARON B: Really? I don't see your name on it anywhere.
ARK: Did you double check? I know dyslexia can be a bitch sometimes.
AARON B: I always double-check. You can thank your friend for that.
ARK: [laughs, again] My friend. I presume you got that note I left then, yes?
AARON B: Were you working for him when you joined the agency or did you become all buddy-buddy afterward?
ARK: Did you like my sticky notes?
AARON B: [hesitant] Sure.
[Audio distorts due to a loud crack followed by screaming of numerous people. If I were to give a guess, this is when Special Agent Herman Wrice fired a distraction shot to clear out the party guests upon finding thirty-five-year-old Senior Sniper Lucille Hudson, now deceased]
ARK: [inaudible]—think you're going? We're not finished with our dance yet. Have you always been so hasty or is that also a trait I can thank my friend for?
AARON B: I don't know, have you always been an asshole?
ARK: You're not going to learn anything new if you repeat what I'm saying back to me, you know.
AARON B: Neither are you.
ARK: Okay, fair point.
ARK: How about this. Are you one for games, Aaron?
AARON B: What?
ARK: Who am I kidding? Of course you are, I've seen you guys play games all the time during work hours. You're welcome for not snitching, by the way.
AARON B: Does your mom think your special too? We've been caught before, nobody cares. We even broke a table once by flipping it.
ARK: How would you feel about a fun little game of Two Truths and a Lie? Don't know if you've heard of it, it's a bit underground. But, I can teach you the basics if you'd like.
AARON B: Well, I don't really have a choice, do I?
ARK: It appears you don't. Would you like me to explain how it works?
AARON B: [Irritated] I know how to play Two Truths in a Lie.
ARK: Perfect! Then I'll go first.
ARK: I wanted to be an astronaut when I was a kid and had a space themed bedroom that my sister helped create because our parents were too busy fighting to pay attention to us. I like to read a lot and jump to different bookstores around the city every Wednesday to purchase at least one new book. I once rid on the top of a train as a teenager and had to walk all the way back to my house.
AARON B: The first one. You're parents are in a healthy relationship and have been your whole life.
ARK: Looks like someone did their homework, I see.
AARON B: We did our homework on a lot of people.
ARK: I would hope so.
AARON B: What's your favorite genre?
ARK: What?
AARON B: You said you like to read books. What's your favorite genre?
ARK: [humming] I like a good mystery, but only if it's done properly. I don't like a plot twist I can guess within the third chapter.
ARK: Your turn.
AARON B: Okay. My favorite color is—
ARK: Really? You're going to do me like that?
AARON B: You pretended to be my friend for six months, you're working with someone who tried to kill me, you've indirectly caused harm to my friends, and you threatened my life five minutes ago. So, yeah, actually, I think I'm gonna do you like that.
ARK: You're only supposed to have one lie, Aaron. Not three. I didn't 'pretend' to be your friend. I actually quite enjoyed your company. I never indirectly or directly caused harm to anybody on your squad or intend to if you give me the damn hard drive. Lastly, that wasn't me who threatened your life, it was my colleague.
ARK: I didn't have you down as the type of guy to hold grudges.
AARON B: You should double-check your notes, then. Life is full of surprises.
ARK: That it is.
AARON B: How do I know you didn't just tell me three lies?
ARK: Do you really think so little of me? We're trading information for information here, Aaron.
AARON B: You gave me memories of your childhood and a hobby.
ARK: Still information isn't it? Besides, it's the first round. I can't give you too much right off the bat. It'll ruin the viewer retention rating.
ARK: I am a man of my word, Aaron. Except for when I'm not.
AARON B: [scoff] Okay.
AARON B: Fine. One of the first times I shot a gun at the range, I almost hit Zane and didn't touch a weapon after for three weeks. When I first applied to be an agent, they wanted to put me on my own team, but I declined. I am CPR certified and it helped me save a life.
ARK: Hm, those are tricky ones. I'd like to buy a vowel please, Tony.
AARON B: The first one is true.
ARK: I'll go with the second one in that case.
AARON B: Yeah, they didn't do that. They actually almost declined me if it weren't for Denny's insistence.
ARK: You guys have a lot of influence in the big leagues, huh?
AARON B: We do good work.
ARK: I'm assuming the life you saved was during a mission?
AARON B: No, it wasn't. I was driving down a busy road a few years after college and the car ahead of me was hit by a drunk driver. Ambulance couldn't get there in time, so I did CPR.
ARK: Damn.
AARON B: Your go.
ARK: Alright. Let's kick things up a notch since we both don't have all night. I have a gun on me and the reason you haven't found it yet is because I had this suit custom made to hide it. I've known Isaac Grant for seven years and have worked under him for all seven. I left a whole new thing of sticky notes with messages for you on your temporary desk at the agency for when you get back.
AARON B: . . .
ARK: I'm not going to pull the gun on you unless you make this difficult. I am liking our time together and wish to continue with the game before anybody takes any drastic measures.
AARON B: The third one?
ARK: [smiling] No. It's the second one. I have known Isaac for seven years, but I've only just started working under him since joining the agency.
AARON B: Then what the hell was the note in the bouquet for?
ARK: Oh, that was for the future. I was talking about how I used all the sticky notes for your desk.
AARON B: Why would you give it to me now? That doesn't make sense, I haven't found them yet.
ARK: I got impatient. And I liked the flowers. It's your turn.
[Extended Silence. The music in the background has swapped songs to an even slower song, believe it or not. A faint car horn blasts from the street below. Silence continues for five minutes. I thought it was a glitch in the audio file at first, but then NOAH breaks it at 00:26]
ARK: Fine. You're being unnecessarily stubborn.
[AARON B starts to speak again, but multiple pops ring in the background and cut him off. These are heard over the next two minutes on the recording. More people scream from the street. It is to be understood that this was Special Agent Herman's fight with Senior Sniper Lucille in the building across the apartment complex]
AARON B: [whispered] Shit, Herm.
ARK: Looks like our time is running thinner than I thought. How unfortunate.
AARON B: What do you talk like an arrogant millionaire?
ARK: I don't know. It's kind of fun.
ARK: Okay, last round. I am not the only mole at the agency; there are even a few higher in rank than me. I didn't buy the hard drive for my own purposes, I bought it for our friend's needs. I spiked Kevin's drink with something that will kill him in thirty minutes time if not treated properly.
AARON B: [sharp inhale] What the fuck?
ARK: Ah, ah. Don't leave. Gun remember?
ARK: [laughing] Shit, Aaron, relax. You're friend will be fine as much as I wanted the outcome to be otherwise. Now it's your turn to thank Isaac. I just needed to get two of you out of the way. In retrospect, it was supposed to be all three of you, but obviously it didn't turn out that way. You should've seen your face.
AARON B: Fuck you!
[Gunshots in the background cease to a stop]
ARK: I think Isaac had an idea that you guys would be the ones to take this mission, so he sent me to buy and retrieve that hard drive. You want to know a secret, though? Just between the two of us?
ARK: I'm probably not going to make it away from this tonight. Especially if those sirens have anything to say about it. Doesn't mean I still won't try to get the device, though. How long do you think my sentence will be?
ARON B: I have no idea, but I hope it's life.
ARK: Funny. I hope it's death.
ARK: Your turn, Aaron.
AARON B: I didn't want to be a spy for a long time because of what happened to Denny. One of the ways we 'practice' and get to know each others tells before missions is by playing Mafia. Sometimes we bring other agents with us on missions as guests.
ARK: The second one.
AARON B: No. It's the first one.
ARK: I've never seen you guys play Mafia.
AARON B: We don't play it as much as we used to, but it's surprisingly really helpful.
AARON B: And while I was nervous about being a spy since Denny got shot, I didn't not want to be one.
ARK: So why did you end up joining?
AARON B: Hey, you know what? I think that's the end of our game, man.
ARK: Damn. I guess it is.
[Audio distorts as if someone had hit its source. In this case, the source is AARON's watch]
ARK: Where's the hard drive Aaron?
AARON B: [struggling] You're not getting it.
[The sound of a gun safety clicks off at the same time a dull thud is heard in the background. NOAH yelps and then swears. His voice gets progressively more difficult to hear and is overpowered by the harsh sound of footsteps. It is assumed this is when Herm shot the grapple gun and AARON broke away]
ARK: [distant, shouting] I hope you had as much fun as I did! Maybe we can dance again sometime?
[The sound of gunfire and shattering glass is loud enough that it cuts the audio completely for a few seconds before it returns]
AARON B: [also shouting]—don't wanna dance with you again, you've got sweaty palms!
[Footsteps disappear and indistinct gasps can be heard by a crowd of people. The audio distortion is evident throughout the next seconds, but the bits that are audible consist of wind slamming against the device recording. It is followed by more shattering of glass before distortion cuts abruptly into a thump and heavy breathing until 00:32. Audio file ends]