“And then you’ll take my gun?” I asked, letting the itch on my trigger finger hold off.
“No one is taking your gun away,” Janus said, waving me off again. “At least, no one with me. You keep it, this is only...a conversation. A chance for us to talk, to clear the air.”
“And will it be a truthful conversation, Janus of the two faces?”
He smiled, that much I could see in the stark dim light of the hallway. “On my side it will be. On your side...well, that’s really up to you. Now, you needn’t tell me the truth, because I know it, for that’s my gift...my power. But if you feel the need to lie, well, then, that’s entirely on you, and keep in mind that you’ll be the only one in this hallway that you’ll really be lying to.” He seemed to take a breath. “And may I point out, that nickname, the one you’ve heard, about me being two-faced—it’s really not accurate. I always tell the truth, to whomever I’m speaking to. The problem is, sometimes I tell them things they don’t want to hear. Sometimes I stick to the truths that I know they want. Does that make me two-faced, do you think? Sometimes callous and blunt, others light and dancing around the edges of everything they believe?”
“I guess it kinda makes you selective,” I said, not wavering with the gun. “Why don’t you stick with the ‘whole, unvarnished’ version of the truth for me?”
“That’s a special kind of truth,” he said. “But if you think you can handle it...sure, why not?”
“I’ve been able to handle everything you’ve thrown at me so far,” I said. “Why should this be any different?”
“Ah, yes, well, let’s start with that, the beginning, shall we?” He stretched as though he were looking for a comfortable place to sit, and instead ended up leaning against the wall. “You’ll forgive me for leaning, but I am of an...advanced age, for even my type of meta, and it brings with it...certain...unpleasant side effects. I grow weary, especially in moments such as this.” The ground shook as something exploded in the distance and I turned to look, then darted my eyes back to him as I realized I didn’t want to turn my back on him. “Not to worry, that was just the car garage. We’re trying very hard not to kill anyone.”
“You’re failing,” I said, teeth clenched. “I just came from the body of Dr. Ronald Sessions. You blew him up with the science lab.”
“Ah,” Janus said, and it sounded genuinely pained. “That is a shame. You know, let me get this explanation out before we get any farther, because I feel...truly, bad about it. You see, I’m part of the ‘old guard,’ you might call it, of Omega. I detest killing, even when necessary. It’s such...an...unpleasant expression of powers that most men would crave. We’re better people, we should uphold the sanctity of life, even for humans. Now, I explain this because...frankly...you haven’t been dealt with in the fashion that I would have chosen had I been in charge of your case this entire time.”
“My ‘case’?” I almost scoffed.
“Yes,” he said. “You see, the...individual who...runs Omega, had gotten some very bad advice from the ‘new guard’ about how to conduct things. The old ways are fading away, and older metas like me, well, we’re not as influential as we used to be. There was a time when I held the ear of the Primus of Omega, when I was first advisor. Now, a chain of failures has elevated me once more, but for a time, I was...persona non grata. And I tell you this because it’s so important that you understand that none of what you’ve seen from Omega came from me. Not Wolfe, not Henderschott, certainly not Fries...none of it.”