The Life Of Normal-Taro

Chapter 185: A Productive Conversation

"Man, I did not think that you'd have such noble thoughts!" Thankappan replied.

"Ha! Surprised?" Ponnappan smirked.

"Well, when I said I didn't think so, I meant I still don't think that you would have such noble thoughts. So, what's up? Why are you acting like this, huh?" Thankappan asked.

"What do you mean? This is no act! It's my honest belief." Ponnappan replied.

"Sure, man. If that's how you wanna put it as. I'll act as if I believe your words." Thankappan replied.

Ponnappan sighed. "I just can't make you think otherwise, huh?"

"There are reasons behind my belief. So, yea. You can't." Thankappan replied.

"And what would that reason be?" Ponnappan asked, slightly curious about it.

"You see, why would YOU, the embodiment of loyalty towards the MIB do something like this. I mean, in my entire tenure in this base, I've never seen you do something like this. I mean, you're pro-MIB, right? I feel like it's an elaborate setup for something rather than a simple dream." Thankappan spoke his mind.

"Hmm, that is where you went wrong. Haven't done anything like this, you say? What about Ajish's spare parts shop, huh? It's an illegal establishment in MIB's eyes, isn't it? So, that directly contradicts your statement." Ponnappan shrugged.

"That's different." The junior agent replied.

"How come? It literally goes against what you said. So, why is that any different from what I'm trying to do?" The commanding officer asked.

"Well, I'll agree with one thing. Ajish's shop is very anti-MIB of you. However, think about it. You have nothing to lose by supporting such an establishment. Rather, you gain something by this transaction. I mean, gaining alien tech is certainly a good deal, isn't it?" Thankappan paused for a while before continuing. "However, this scenario doesn't benefit you in any way, shape or form, which makes me think Why? Why would the commanding officer, an ultimate opportunist, do something like this? What is there for him to gain?" He posed another question before him.

Ponnappan sighed yet again after hearing this. "Okay, let me see. First, you accuse me of being pro-MIB. Then, you accuse me of doing something anti-MIB, saying that I have a cash grabbing mentality. And now, you accuse me of having an anti-MIB mentality, saying that I have some kind of ulterior motive for doing something my heart asks me to do. Now tell me, how am I supposed to take your words seriously and give you a proper answer? I mean, you'll find some wonky counter for that as well, won't you?" He asked.

"Well" Thankappan shrugged, since he was planning to do exactly that.

"So, yea. Believe me if you wanna. I don't really care. It's your choice to, after all." Ponnappan replied.

The junior agent thought for a while before replying. "Just this once. I'm gonna listen to what you have to say just this once. Hell, you could've just placed an order on me to listen and I would've, now that I think about it." He spoke.

"Nah, I didn't want your attention that way. I wanted you to listen me for real, rather than bearing a grudge against me for listening something I asked you to listen." Ponnappan spoke.

"The more you say shit like this, the more suspicious I get of your actions. So, let's skip over it and speak about the important stuff." Thankappan suggested.

"Ah, yes. Let's do that." Ponnappan nodded his head in agreement. "By the way, just a few minutes ago, why did you say that having Scarlet under our protection here isn't practical?" He asked.

"Ha, you know about Scarlet's skill, right?" Thankappan asked.

"The invisibility one? Yes. The Glomerans were pretty quick in giving his profile." Ponnappan replied.

"I see. Anyway, that's the reason." Thankappan replied.

"What is?"

"That he is invisible."

Ponnappan looked baffled as he heard the reply. "How would that be a problem?" He asked.

"He could escape your facility at any given time if he wants to." Thankappan replied.

"Hey! I'm not gonna-" Scarlet tried defending himself, however before he could do so, Thankappan interjected.

"I know that. However, our commanding officer here isn't someone who trusts people that easily." He replied.

"Where did you even come to know about stuff like this?" Ponnappan asked, showing off a bizarre expression.

"Ah, I got a profile on you before I came here. It said quite extensively about your behavioral pattern." Thankappan replied.

"So, what you're saying is that everything you judged me off of is from some profile that you read about me, which was written by MIB officials, right?" Ponnappan asked, to which Thankappan nodded his head. "No wonder why you thought of me like that. I acted as the loyal version before them so that they won't sketch me. I never thought that you would believe in something like that after spending months here." He replied.

"Well, I don't easily trust people either." Thankappan spoke.

"But you trust reports made by people?" The commanding officer asked.

" It seems stupid, doesn't it?" Thankappan sighed. "But at that point, I trusted MIB more than you because of obvious reasons, so you gotta understand that." He replied.

"Yea, yea. I get it. I'm not gonna poke on it any further." Ponnappan replied. "Anyhow, the profile on me was right about one thing. I don't trust people. So, yea. I would always have this feeling that Scarlet might escape if we are to hold him here. Then, what's the alternative? Should we put in a special chamber in which he won't be able to escape from?" He asked.

"Hey! You're fighting for the alien rights. Do you think solitary confinement is the way to go?" Thankappan asked.

"Not really. But what other option do we have?" The commanding officer was baffled at this point.

"I see no way other than this one singular path." Thankappan spoke.

"And what would that singular path be?" Ponnappan asked as he tipped off his chair from curiosity.

"Let him stay in the Holy Land." Thankappan proclaimed.

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Ponnappan sighed and sat back as he heard Thankappan's words. "So, what makes you think that I won't get your obvious ploy, huh? I mean, I'm totally fine with it. However, you lot are not on the totally trustworthy level yet. And hence, I believe that you'll screw me over one way or the other." He spoke.

"Okay, I can explain the reason. Won't you listen to that?" Thankappan asked.

"Shoot."

"We have a method to find him." Thankappan made another bold proclamation.

Ponnappan stared at him. "Do you even know what you just said? Even the HQ can't sense this guy if he wants to just disappear. And yet, YOU have a method that could find him?" He asked, with a clear doubt on his face.

"Yes. That's exactly what I said." Thankappan nodded his head.

"Then what is it? Your brilliant plan to find Scarlet even when he is invisible." Ponnappan asked.

"Taro."

"Huh?"

"The Wadorian can actually sense Scarlet even when he is at a certain distance away from him." Thankappan replied.

Ponnappan suddenly went on a laughing fit. "Great! Fucking great! So you're gonna make an atom bomb keep check on a grenade, huh? That's the most bizarre thing that I've heard." He continued laughing as he said it.

"I wasn't kidding though. He's the only one capable of doing it. So, why not use him? I mean, it's not like you have a bad relationship with the Wadorian these days." Thankappan shrugged.

"Hmm, although you made an incredibly unconvincing argument, I'm gonna go with it because I feel like Taro will have fun with it." Ponnappan spoke.

"I don't think so, but he'll do a good job with it." Thankappan replied.

"Ah, I agree with you on that." Ponnappan smirked. "So, yea. That's it. I really didn't have much to ask to either of you. It's made to look as if I'm interrogating the both of you, but I just wanted to have an honest talk with you two. And I'm glad that I could have that."  He replied.

"Likewise." Thankappan gave out a small salute as he got up.

"And Scarlet. Have fun on Earth, I guess." Ponnappan gave out a pleasant smile as he went face to face with the Crimsoner.

"Ah, I'll try my best to do that." Scarlet replied, giving out an incredibly nervous laughter.

This entire conversation was particularly nerve wracking for him since he wasn't involved in it for even a single moment other than the time they wanted some opinion from him. And most of the time, his opinion held weight and he hated that. So, now that he was finally able to leave this conversation, he felt relieved. He felt like he never wanted to return back to this base if he were to be treated like a third wheel of a conversation again.

And with that, Thankappan and Scarlet left the base and set out for the Holy Land. Ponnappan heaved in a sigh of relief. He felt like he had one of the toughest yet productive conversations and hence he was satisfied by it.

"Dang, never knew you thought like this." A man emerged from the dark corner of the room saying those words. It was Lonappan.

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