BIP,,
The disconnected call struck the room in sudden silence, no one expected a pizza shop to so abruptly unsettle them.
Reginald, who had already anticipated this, let out a long breath as he looked at his two younger siblings, both still in shock.
"This is nothing," he said quietly."Someday, you'll see something far beyond this."
"Should we move somewhere else?"The voice of the man from the pizza shop still echoed in Richard's head.
"Why should we move?"Reginald shook his head at Richard and glanced at the phone lying on the table.
"If they wanted to stop me, they would have done it before I even reached this place."
"How can you be so sure about that?"Robert asked, his eyes scanning the room, as if someone could be hiding in a corner, watching them.
"I know," Reginald replied."And I know their steps well — and what they will do next."
He picked up Richard's phone and stared at the photo of a beautiful woman set as the wallpaper.
"And the fact that they didn't stop me from coming here means they still underestimate your potential, and they don't consider you a serious problem."
His words once again created awareness within the silence—
the awareness that they were still safe for now,and the silent truth of how weak they truly were against the secret organization behind the curtain.
"What if they come to this place?"
Reginald shook his head."They won't."
"Why?"
"Because they're already here."Reginald sat back down and placed Richard's phone back on the table.
"Didn't I warn you earlier?""Do you regret it now?"Reginald stared at the table, as if trying to recall something.
"May I ask a question?"
Richard's voice echoed, breaking through the hum of the AC and the dripping water in the corner of the room.
"You're free to ask anything," Reginald nodded, his eyes still fixed on his thoughts."I'll answer if I know."
"What do they want?""I mean, what do they gain from raising and taking care of so many children?"
"Absolute loyalty."Reginald exhaled softly, his gaze complex — like a military veteran recalling his first war as an officer.
Reginald's eyes met Richard's.
"Do you still not understand?"
Richard looked at Robert beside him, and both of them shook their heads.
A thin smile appeared on Reginald's lips before he explained again.
"Do you still remember?""The verses every child at Mayer's had to memorize?"
"There were several verses we were required to memorize," Richard replied, frowning in confusion."Which one do you mean?"
"All of them."
"I can't remember all of them," Richard smiled awkwardly."Only a few."
"Hm… I think I remember all of them," Robert interjected.
"You remember all of them?"Richard was skeptical — even Reginald looked slightly surprised.
"Give me one verse you remember," Reginald smiled at the broad-built Robert.
They say there's a group you don't get invited to.
You just know one day.
Your shoelace unties itself.
A chalk mark appears by your door.
The rules are passed at recess, quiet, like trading secrets:
Never answer twice.
Never point at shadows.
If someone hums the old tune, you hum it back.
No badges. No names.
Just a promise everyone keeps—that if they watch you,it's only to make sure you're ready.
"Hm, is there more?"Reginald nodded as he listened.
Reginald lifted his gaze, staring blankly at the ceiling, his eyes fixed on the tangled cobwebs — but his thoughts pierced through time, returning to Mayer's and the memories that haunted him.
"I think I still remember the verse Marry used to say most often."
"Can you say it?""I think I know which one you mean."Reginald looked closely at Robert.
"Marry had her own verse?"Richard frowned, confused, looking between his two brothers.
"Yes," Robert nodded."Marry had one verse she always sang while combing my hair. She said it was only meant to be heard by those who were special — those who were being prepared."
"What do you mean by 'being prepared'?"
Richard didn't want to let the question go.
"Hold on," Reginald said calmly."Let him say the verse first. If what I suspect is true, I'll explain it to you."
"Go on," Reginald nodded at Robert.
We wear our badges cut from tin,They say they help us all fit in.
We earn them when we follow rules
And never question grown-up tools.
On Thursdays we stay late to clean,
The rooms they say we've never seen.
We sing real soft, we hum real slow,
So no one hears the doors below.
They tell us stories, sweet and kind,
About the world they've left behind.
They say one day we'll understand
Why secrets need a guiding hand.
I tried to ask, but lost my turn—They smiled and said,
"You'll learn. You'll learn."
So now I draw us all the same,
With empty eyes and matching names.
The room fell so silent it felt suffocating.
There were many questions in Robert's head — and far more in Richard's — yet neither of them spoke.
"What does that verse mean?"Richard broke Reginald's trance.
"I heard this verse from a Harryand a Marry," Reginald said, tapping the table softly."I once asked the Marry we all knew, i ask her about this verse"
"What did she say?""What does it mean?"Richard pressed him with questions.
Reginald shook his head.
"You forgot?"
"She didn't say anything," Reginald replied."She just told me to forget it."
"So you don't know anything about it?"
"No," Reginald said slowly."I know some things."
He rubbed his forehead, his eyes drifting to the shards of broken glass on the table.
"You know," he continued,"I once met several Harryswhile I was part of Them."
"Only several?""Aren't there many of Them?" Robert asked.
"Everything is a secret," Reginald replied."Identity, names, even blood type. You are only known as Harryor Marry."
He paused, staring at the old locker in the damp, dark corner of the room.
"Your former identity? They burn it. Erase it. Even the government won't find you in their records — as if you never existed."
The only sounds left were the AC's hum and the dripping water,
and the pounding of two hearts could be heard — they tried to remain calm, but hearts don't lie.
"Now you know how hard it is to find even one Harry or Mary." Reginald looked at Robert, who was still trying to process the situation.
"They wouldn't gather in one place unless it was theirs, and I wouldn't have found even one Harry or Mary if I hadn't diligently carried out the assignments they gave me."
"What about the verse?" Richard reminded him.
"Hmm, I met one of the Harrys while I was at the Vatican, this particular Harry. He was acting as a priest for a church-owned orphanage."
"An orphanage?"
"Another Mayer's," Reginald said calmly.
"I was on assignment there, and overheard the priest talking to a little boy. He was teaching him the same verse."
"The verse Mary taught me?" Robert was a little surprised, shifting in his chair.
Reginald nodded.
"Then I waited until midnight, when all the children were asleep and the nuns were out of sight."
Reginald took a piece of glass from a broken bottle and tapped it lightly on the table.
"I crept into his room and drew my dagger. Without making a sound, the priest still sound asleep, didn't even notice me."
Robert and Richard held their breaths as they stared at the shard of glass in Reginald's hand.
"Slowly but surely, I brought my dagger to his neck. The coldness of my blade must have woken him, but I covered his mouth—I forced him to spit out all the information."
"Information about what?"
"That verse, Mary and Harry. Then why did she teach the boy that verse and tell him not to sing it in front of others?"
"Did he say everything?"
"Of course it was difficult at first. They're trained from childhood not to open their mouths, even if their lives are threatened."
Reginald pinched his thin mustache and stared at the table.
"It's very difficult to get them to open their mouths, but I guess I'm lucky this one still has some fear in him."
"How did you do it?"
Richard tapped his finger, curiosity getting the better of him.
"Trust me," Reginald said quietly.
"You don't want to know that one."
The sound of the AC and dripping water could be heard clearly, with Reginald looking down and Richard still stunned.
"What did he say?" Robert's voice echoed in their ears.
"The priest said it was mandatory. Harry and Mary considered the verse as a manual."
"A manual for what?" Robert scratched his head, while Richard looked down, his eyes wide.
"The same manual you get when you buy a new car. It'll have all sorts of tips and even suggestions for car maintenance."
Reginald paused, staring at his scarred palms. He took a deep breath before explaining further.
"That verse is a manual for Harrys and Marys, a guide on how to maintain a Mayer's, and even how to care for children."
"Isn't that just a verse? I don't even remember any of what you explained in that verse." Robert frowned; it was completely different from the verse he had spoken.
"At first, Marry would sing the verse as if it were her favorite song, and only when she was around you, right?"
Robert nodded as his eyes met Reginald's,
There was no sound other than their heartbeats; all was silence before Reginald continued.
"Then, when you were still a child, you would be curious, and she would start teaching you, asking you not to sing it or even mention it in front of others."
This time, Richard stared intently at Robert. Their eyes met, and they were silent for a moment before Robert nodded again.
"That verse, at first, it was just a little secret between you and her, but as time went on, the secret began to become a task. You had to memorize it, you had to remember it."
There was no question, no answer, but the silence became an answer.
"You mentioned this method, that advice, this guide, that guide. Yes, it's true that Marry taught it to me and even told me to memorize it, but why do I still not know what this guide you're talking about?"
Robert, demanding the truth, broke the silence. Richard turned to look at Robert, but Reginald remained lost in thought, as if he hadn't heard.
"You didn't know, did you?" Reginald sighed deeply.
"Of course you didn't know, because I burned Mayer's that night, the night Emma was supposed to be picked up and you were made as a heir by Mary."
Robert fell silent, breathing heavily, holding his face as if it were all a dream and he needed to wake up. Richard himself wasn't much better, his hands and feet trembling, his breathing heavy.
The silence was deafening.
"Heir," Reginald sighed heavily, staring at Robert.
"Marry intended to make you her heir;
that would make you a Harry—one of Them."