Posted at 2:09 am on Apr 18, 2016 by:
Derrick Scrivens
Is the enemy of my enemy my friend, or the enemy of my friend my enemy?
Sheri seemed confused, doubtful, not about what Derrick Scrivens was saying to her but about her life with Deadblood. She didn't know how to answer him and that brought a smile to his face, one that quickly vanished once her attention had returned to him.
"But we bought a house together," Sheri said, holding onto what she could of her good memories of DB. "We had plans for a future beyond CW."
"Did you now?" Scrivens asked, leaning back in the chair and crossing his legs. Briefly, he glanced at the door to the room and saw a scientist peering through the small window. Though Scrivens had asked for complete privacy with Ms. Stull, he couldn't blame the scientist for his curiosity either. "What if I told you CR-0006 has returned to monitoring Deadblood and in the brief amount of time since you've been here, he's already had another woman around the house you bought together?"
"I don't believe it," Sheri said, shaking her head.
When she last saw DB, he said he was going to see Alexander Arcane. Over twenty-four hours later, he'd failed to return home or call her or even text her.
"Well, you don't have to," Scrivens said, knowing she was close to the edge. She just needed one more good shove. "But if he really cared about you, wouldn't he have given you more of a foreground appearance at his little wrestling matches? Sure, cheating and helping him win made you feel useful, but where was your title belt? Where was your credit for his success when it would have mattered most to you?"
Sheri shook her head, perhaps in one final effort of denial, but he could tell she was truly having second thoughts about DB.
"You see, dear, I know how guys like Deadblood work," Scrivens said, leaning forward, close to her face. "The company has hired a lot of people like him over the years. People who think they're the best because they have the talent to do the kind of jobs we hand out. But in the end, they're all the same. Their egos overtake any sense of loyalty they might have, including towards their employer and co-workers, and as they spiral out of control, they also take down anyone foolish enough to stick by them." Scrivens paused, letting those words sink in, watching her face tremble. "Now if you'd like, we can let you go, let you resume your life with him, and continue pretending nothing's wrong. Or you can actually do something about his betrayal of your trust while putting yourself in a position of power you've never known before."
