Ch.73You may know what lies beneath ten fathoms of water!

#073

“Why are you walking around with that smirk on your face?”

While Dexter usually had a faint smile, today he was smiling excessively.

When Jesse caught this and looked at him strangely, Dexter maintained his expression and replied.

“I stretched my body a bit yesterday after a long time.”

“Anyone would think you won the lottery.”

Not just Jesse, but others could also notice that Dexter’s mood was significantly elevated.

“Did something good happen? You’ve been smiling all day.”

“Does it look that way?”

“Yeah. Very. Extremely.”

Even to Dan, Dexter was definitely smiling to an unusual degree.

“Ah, it’s nothing special. I just exerted some strength yesterday after a long time.”

“Strength? Oh, that kind.”

When Dan flashed a lewd smile, Dexter furrowed his brow.

“I understand why you’d think that way when I mention strength.”

“What other outlet does a man have for his strength? Nobody gets this happy just from working out.”

“Well, about that…”

After pondering for a moment, Dexter nodded, acknowledging that Dan wasn’t wrong.

“I guess you’re right.”

“See, I told you.”

With those words, Dan’s eyebrows twitched suggestively.

Judy, who recently worked in Detention Facility Building 1, was simply smiling at Dexter’s expression when he came for lunch.

“Why are you smiling?”

“Huh? Oh, you just look like you’re in a good mood.”

Seeing Judy smile bashfully, Dexter nodded and gave a slight smile.

‘Have I been smiling too much?’

Thinking that he should probably restrain himself if everyone was commenting on it, Dexter’s attention was drawn to the TV screen in the corner of the cafeteria.

[…In other news, several individuals believed to be members of an emerging violent group were found beaten and collapsed near McCarran Airport last night. A citizen discovered them, and police authorities have stated they are investigating.]

‘Oh, that?’

The location shown as file footage on TV looked very familiar.

As the anchor mentioned the area near McCarran Airport, the footage briefly showed traces of fallen pipes on an exterior wall, and Dexter confirmed that this was where the incident had occurred the previous night.

[Police are investigating what appears to be a one-sided territorial dispute between violent groups, as the suspected gang members were beaten to the point where movement was difficult, and various blunt weapons including baseball bats were found at the scene…]

“Serves those bastards right.”

“People like that should all be locked up in prison.”

“But if they were beaten so badly they could barely move, whoever did it must have been pretty brutal.”

“That’s why it’s gang-on-gang violence. No ordinary person would do something like that.”

Dexter overheard other correctional officers talking as one gulped down a cup of coffee.

Not only had he had someone thoroughly wipe any fingerprints that might have remained on the pipes, but there was absolutely nothing that could identify Dexter.

Dexter showed no reaction and simply smiled as he ate his lunch.

After finishing his shift without incident, Dexter exited the prison but noticed that William was nowhere to be seen.

‘Is he not protesting today?’

He craned his neck to look around and even asked the correctional officers working at the entrance and exit facility, but was told that William hadn’t come today.

He wondered if something had happened, but then understood William’s decision, considering the temperature was approaching 30 degrees Celsius.

However, Dexter didn’t see William again until mid-May.

About two weeks had passed.

During that time, Dexter had gone on a second date with Himena, but they had to part ways regretfully when a situation arose requiring all OSA headquarters agents to assemble. Recently, Himena had been busy with other assignments, making them feel like forced Romeo and Juliet.

Meanwhile, the body correction device he had sent for repair had arrived.

After setting it to low-speed mode and having Judy wear it, they were diligently training their muscles together.

As for Jesse, she had a parole review in two weeks, so she was constantly walking around with a smile like a woman who had lost her mind, similar to how Dexter had been smiling.

It was so extreme that other inmates asked if she was going crazy again.

“Nevada is really hot, isn’t it?”

Though he wasn’t sweating, Dexter’s face was redder than usual as he fanned himself with the file he was carrying and spoke to Dan beside him.

“This is nothing compared to real heat. From late May, 30 degrees is the baseline.”

“The sun never sets… I think I’ll take a cold shower when I get home and go to bed.”

“At least your shift is over today. Be grateful for that.”

“That’s true.”

After completing the handover, Dexter headed outside the entrance/exit facility and saw a man in familiar attire.

“Oh, Mr. Pilgrim.”

“…Have you been well?”

William, whom Dexter was meeting after two weeks, wasn’t twitching his eyes, and while he still wore hippie-like clothes, they were clean unlike his previous disheveled appearance.

The fact that he didn’t rush at Dexter and simply greeted him calmly made Dexter suspicious first.

“Mr. Pilgrim… is that really you?”

“Haha, others have had the same reaction.”

William smiled awkwardly at Dexter’s suspicion and continued.

“I apologize. I heard from Dr. Abernathy that you helped me.”

“It was nothing. I just took you to the hospital.”

When Dexter spoke as if it truly was nothing, William nodded and gave a slight smile.

Grateful for Dexter’s attitude, William took a breath and said with a slight upturn of his lips:

“I know it’s after your shift, but would you mind coming to my home? I’d like to repay you somehow.”

“Your home?”

Dexter was about to immediately agree but hesitated for a moment.

‘I should probably contact Himena first in case this becomes troublesome again.’

“Sure. Did you drive here?”

When William shook his head in denial, Dexter led him toward his pickup truck while taking out his cell phone.

-I’ve been invited to Mr. Pilgrim’s house. I’ll be going there.

After sending the message to Himena, Dexter felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

‘She’s quick to reply as always.’

Having messaged Himena in advance so she wouldn’t worry if something happened to him, Dexter headed toward William’s home with him in the passenger seat.

“What exactly is your diagnosis?”

“I think you can probably guess.”

Unlike the frivolous, trembling voice Dexter had heard when they first met, William in his right mind spoke with a gentle voice, though still high-pitched.

William’s illness was one that even Dexter, with no medical knowledge, had heard of enough to have a rudimentary understanding.

“…Schizophrenia?”

“That’s what they say.”

Dexter nodded heavily without adding anything.

“That must be difficult for you.”

“Not at all. In a society where any opinion can be dismissed, perhaps going insane is the right response.”

After William let out a self-deprecating laugh, he stared out the window without saying anything more.

Dexter also focused on driving and didn’t initiate further conversation with William.

After a period of silence, they arrived at the address William had provided, which turned out to be a camping trailer parking lot rather than a house.

“Is this it?”

“Yes. You can park anywhere there’s space.”

Dexter parked in a suitable spot as instructed and got out of the car. William was pointing to an old silver camping trailer.

“This is my home.”

When Dexter was struggling in his younger days, he had lived in a room smaller than 8 square yards (about 2 pyeong) with just a worn-out blanket for bedding.

“It’s nice.”

Dexter said sincerely, reminded of old memories.

When William opened the trailer door, a cluttered but comfortable space with everything one might need came into view.

Though it seemed recently cleaned, there were still areas covered in dust, but Dexter found it quite impressive.

Especially seeing the old machines that looked like they belonged in movies and the numerous science books piled in the corner, Dexter could tell that William was not just a simple conspiracy theorist.

“With all these machines and alien discovery articles plastered on the wall… a researcher’s home really is different.”

“You’re the first person to come into my home and say something like that.”

“Why? It’s genuinely nice.”

There are space mites or fleas, similar to bed bugs.

Having once stayed at a cheap accommodation due to lack of money and suffered for three days and nights after being bitten by space fleas, Dexter truly thought this small trailer looked decent.

While Dexter continued looking around, William opened a new bottle of juice from the refrigerator and offered it to him.

“It’s not much.”

“Not at all. Thank you.”

As Dexter took a sip of juice, William got to the point.

“I’m truly grateful that you took me to the hospital when I collapsed.”

“It was nothing. But what happened during these two weeks?”

William looked at Dexter, who had been curious about this since earlier, and said with a dismissive smile:

“I was confined to that clinic because of Dr. Abernathy and just took medication. It seems that when my schizophrenia worsens, I dislike going to the hospital.”

Dexter quietly acknowledged William’s words, which sounded as if he was treating his ill self as a separate person.

“I believe I gave you a book, how was it?”

Dexter took another sip of juice before answering William’s question.

“Well, to be honest, I only saw you when you were briefly unwell, not in your right mind. So I read it with preconceptions, but it was surprisingly good. Unlike other conspiracy theorists, there wasn’t much far-fetched talk or claims about aliens ruling over humans, which was the main point.”

After Dexter’s brief review, William stared at him intently and then shed a single tear.

“Oh, why are you crying?”

“No, it’s nothing… It’s just that someone actually listened to what I had to say…”

William quietly wiped his tears, but seeing Dexter seemed to make him tear up again, and he kept wiping them away.

While Dexter didn’t cry along with him, he could somewhat understand William’s feelings.

‘I suppose even OSA gave up on recruiting him because of his illness, and ordinary people wouldn’t listen either.’

Even among similar conspiracy theorists, it would be difficult to become friends when their theories differed, and according to Himena, William also posted on internet blogs.

However, since his content seemed more academic than sensational like other conspiracy theories, other people didn’t particularly seek it out.

“I’m sorry… I got a bit anxious just now.”

After crying for a while, William suddenly excused himself and got up from his seat, selecting one of the many orange pill bottles from the cupboard.

He immediately took out two pills, put them in his mouth, and swallowed them with the juice he had poured earlier.

“Panic, panic medication.”

“I see.”

Seeing the numerous pill bottles in the cupboard, Dexter felt a bitter taste in his mouth.

‘He’s living an unstable life.’

Just as Dexter was feeling sympathy, one of the machines in the trailer suddenly activated.

-…85, headquarters requesting response.

A rough male voice came from the machine.

Dexter was a bit startled by the sudden sound and stared at the machine, but William pressed a few buttons on it with an expression of exasperation.

It looked like he was turning off a switch, so Dexter pointed at the machine and asked:

“What is that?”

“Police radio. I usually keep it off, but it’s been malfunctioning lately and turns on by itself.”

‘Why is he listening to police radio?’

When Dexter looked at William as if asking for more explanation, William provided a brief explanation:

“What would a citizen with no threatening objects do when they first discover aliens?”

“Well, obviously, they’d take pictures with their cell phone.”

“And then?”

“Um, call 911, I suppose?”

“Exactly.”

Nevada is practically the foundation of alien conspiracy theories.

Especially Clark County, which includes Las Vegas and desert areas, is very large and suitable for collecting information related to aliens.

“I can sit here and listen to all kinds of information.”

“That’s quite impressive.”

“And, this isn’t in the book, but I believe there’s a government department related to aliens in Las Vegas, including Area 51.”

“…What makes you think so?”

“I’ve been hearing suspicious police radio transmissions for months.”

William pointed out various transmissions, most of which were cases unknown to Dexter, but some were related to him.

“Recently, there was a transmission about chasing a fugitive on a motorcycle.”

“Isn’t that a common occurrence?”

“According to the radio, the police said it was related to the FBI, but there was no such information from the FBI’s side.”

“You also know FBI communication networks?”

“The FBI is a government agency, so there’s information citizens can request to view. I couldn’t find anything related to the fugitive on a motorcycle.”

This meant that he had directly investigated the connection between the case and the FBI through official channels.

“Wow, that’s impressive. Your information gathering skills are no joke.”

“It’s nothing special.”

William seemed unaccustomed to such praise and was genuinely embarrassed when his pocket vibrated.

-Buzz…

Dexter’s pocket vibrated, indicating a text message.

When he checked his phone, it was an urgent message from Himena.

-Be careful. NSA is heading your way. We tried to stop them but couldn’t.

Just as Dexter was checking the message, someone was knocking on the trailer door from outside.

-Knock, knock.

“William Pilgrim.”

William’s face turned pale upon hearing the low voice accompanying the knocks, as if he had heard it several times before.

“Oh no. It’s them.”