Chapter 6: About Half a Fuckton of Lying-Ass Lies

Steve wakes in a 1980s-styled bedroom within a suburban house, recalling his abduction from jail by the bloody man in a tutu. He explores and finds Carolyn with several unusual companions: David (the tutu-clad killer), Margaret (traumatized and fixated on a lighter), Peter and Alicia (a couple), and the kindly homeowner Eunice McGillicutty. Carolyn quiets Steve’s fury over being framed and promises to fix his legal peril if he performs a task.

Carolyn brings in Rachel and three injured, silent children and uses them to authenticate codes as she places a speakerphone call to the White House. After leveraging secret knowledge tied to “Cold Home,” Adam Black, and other kompromat, Carolyn compels the president to promise a pardon for Steve and to say “auld lang syne” during a live press event to prove authenticity.

While David and Margaret noisily retreat to a bedroom, Steve and Carolyn watch the press conference; the president delivers the agreed phrase, convincing Steve. Carolyn then outlines the job: Steve must jog to retrieve an unknown physical “token” at 222 Garrison Drive, fifty-seven feet from the curb, about two feet high on the porch. She describes it as the nexus of a “reissak ayrial,” a perimeter defense that harms or kills people connected to their Father but usually spares ordinary bystanders.

Carolyn explains symptoms (pain that escalates—headache, bleeding, even spontaneous combustion) as the cue to retreat, insisting on jogging to avoid sudden lethal exposure in a car. She admits the house is theirs—the Library—and that Father has powerful friends and enemies; the token likely blocks their entry, and they need access to check on Father and consult references.

Steve negotiates terms, receives back his duffel of cash and an HK 9mm with extra magazines, and is warned that Father’s sentinels might misread him as a threat, though “friends of her brother” could intervene. Testing boundaries, Steve briefly points the gun at Carolyn; David’s presence deters him. Finally, Carolyn wishes for a way to keep contact, and Steve incredulously suggests a cell phone.