Apocalyptic Rebirth: With a repairman system space, she rises again.-Chapter 478: Carson’s way.

"Ha!" Bryan slapped the desk. "You were wrong Elio."

Major Elio remained silent and focused on the screen.

Carson smirked. He was not listening to Joy’s words but watching her eyes, her finger, her wings. Things would say yes where she said no. He shook his head. "Lie. Coffee. You hesitated. You wanted to say coffee but thought tea sounded safer. That tells me wherever you come from, you have coffee. Not just any coffee, I saw how you walked past all the ordinary brands of coffee in the market and only stopped at the stand which sold the expensive one. It was the only thing you had to drink in the market, beside our free bottle of water."

"There were no labels on the coffee. You had to know which was which by familiarity of smell." Father Nicodemus chimed in.

Carson nodded. "That tells us, you are living with people of means. If we combine this with the way you eyed the simple food with disdain, we know even more. You are living with people with supplies and not just simple ones."

Joy’s jaw tightened.

Bryan went out to prepare the coffee, muttering something about Elio’s cursed vision.

Father Nicodemus interjected, smiling. "The Lord knows the secrets of the heart, And sometimes, the stomach."

Leah groaned in the monitoring room. "Must he turn everything into a whimsy sermon?"

Hades shushed everyone.

Carson continued in the interrogation room. "Put aside tomatoes and coffee, let us talk about the counting. While you were walking through the market, you counted our stalls, the superhumans on guard. You lingered the most around the stalls of Jon Kingsley, Sheldon...."

"You are imagining things." Joy jumped in abruptly.

Carson leaned back, amused. "It seems like I have struck a nerve. I don’t imagine things, little bird, I observe. Just like I have observed that the name Sheldon made you tick. That tells me you came with an even more specific mission. You are not just here to spy on the base as a whole. You are spying on specific people." He read off all the names of the billionaires and other wealthy, well known people in their circle.

For every name she reacted to, he gave the camera a signal.

When he was finished, he leaned forward again, feeling lighter. "So, you are not just a spy but a messenger. You were preparing to deliver what you saw."

Her silence was confirmation.

Father Gabriel stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Child, even Jonah could not flee the belly of the whale. There is no running or hiding. Confess and you shall find mercy here."

Carson, nodded. "See? Even the priest knows that you are caught and you are not going to be released. If you are stubborn, your wings will be clipped, and you will never fly again. For a superhuman, there is no worse fate than having your ability stripped from you. It leaves you feeling naked and empty on the inside. We have the means to do so here. And that is why I advise you to think carefully on what your next decision is. You can think it over for the night and tell me your decision tomorrow."

As he left with the priest, Bryan brought coffee and sandwiches to the prisoner.

Carson and Father Nicodemus returned to the monitoring room. As expected, he was met with many questioning glances. Only Sunshine was unbothered, snacking on White’s favorite fish crackers.

"So..." Hades went first. "Why did you stop? You had her right where you wanted her. It seemed to me like she was ripe to talk. When the deal is about to be signed, you don’t back off and give the other party a chance to rethink the terms. You go in for the kill. That is the way of the wolf."

Sunshine pulled him back. "Easy, wolf. We trust Carson, remember?"

Hades raised his hands. "Alright. But he still needs to explain something."

"Let me guess, you want her to sweat and have nightmares and then tomorrow, not only will she tell you about who sent her but their abilities, territory, secret passages, code words and where she hides her cookies." Ariel said slowly, hand on his chin.

Carson smiled at Ariel. "Great analysis kiddo. You will make a great agent someday. You are practically your mother’s secret service agent already."

The kid had banned all of them from reaching out to Sunshine after 8 p.m. unless it was an emergency. If they did, their supplies would be lost mysteriously.

Nothing on the base was scarier than the kid with the keys and passwords to the supply stores.

Ariel snorted in turn.

Sunshine got to her feet. "Alright then, I hope everyone has a great night. I for one have had a very long day and I intend to head home and sleep it off. Tomorrow, we tackle the problem of watchers carrying off superhumans. As for the spy, if she doesn’t talk, send word to Majorie in Silverdale and ask for Quincy. We could use his talent."

"Who is Quincy?" Carson asked.

Bryan stepped up as well, frowning because there was yet another interrogator they wanted to put before him. He could accept Carson, but he would not stand for another.

Ariel smiled mysteriously. "The best in his field. You will see when you meet him."

As they went home, Zulu and Lisha’s voices accompanied them. Zulu was not yet through with praising herself for the wonderful job she had done of seeing the spy.

"You know why I managed to catch the spy before anyone else did?" The parrot asked Lisha.

Lisha said tiredly with an eye roll. "Because you are a bird."

"Yes." Zulu squawked loudly. "Because I am a bird and we birds are better than you humans. We birds never sleep and when we do, it is with one eye open. Especially when we have children.

A hawk approaches, we dive, A snake slithers near, we attack. Humans, meanwhile, you rely on babysitters, television, and sometimes robots to watch your children and territories. How can you outsource vigilance?"

"You are a bird; how do you know the word outsource?" Lisha questioned the parrot.

"Forget how I know it." Zulu puffed her feathers proudly. "You know who the biggest outsourcing criminal is on this base."

"It...." Lisha started.

"Sunshine Quinn." Zulu blurted. "Right now, at her house, her kids and bear are having a dance battle at home. The prize is a jar of strawberry, coconut bean honey. Do you know who is watching them in the absence of their parents?"

"I...." Lisha started.

"That’s right." Zulu jumped in. "The robot Tank. It could be out there building the wall in Westbrook but instead, it is watching a bear wiggle an ass that is fatter than yours, Lisha."

The parrot squawked suddenly in distress.

The fortress erupted in hysterical laughter.

So did the watchers on the bubble.