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As a reminder,
patrons have a grand total of 4 advance chapters, plus some sidestories that you'd normally have to wait till Saturday to see. In just one more week, they'll get to see the final chapter of book 1!
Enjoy.
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"So convenient, that you've hidden in a place where the problems of faith can be addressed… in a much easier manner." Being X's booming voice echoed, stroking his malevolent mustache. "All of that pesky defiance, that demonic desire to surpass God… It can just be removed."
Tanya screamed once more as she leapt out of her… bed? No. She remembers now. She found a rest stop on the highway and made use of the facilities, sleeping in the handicapped stall after fashioning a hammock to remain out of sight. It was just a dream. Being X hasn't found her again. She needs to stay away from the Psychonauts.
Still, she had enough packed food for another day or two before she'd need to interact with civilization again, more if she supplemented things with grown fruit and nuts via herbaphony. She took off in a random direction, flying low enough to be difficult to discern.
Once more, she sensed Mom trying to enter her mind via the Collective Subconscious. Just like before, she kept her mental shields up, rebuffing the attempt. She needs to stay away from the Psychonauts. It was quite fortunate that she had enough practice keeping them up even when asleep. That could let Being X find her.
But… she couldn't just become a hermit, could she? She'll need to figure out a new identity. Something that would allow her to escape notice. Somewhere… unregulated. A tricky proposition. She did manage to get herself thoroughly lost, which was good… perhaps some small farm that could use some strong hands? America has a lot of farms, right? Thinking back over the last few days… yeah. They do. But she needed a small farm. Not one of those industrial setups. That would be inviting scrutiny. But as long as she stays away from the Psychonauts, it should work.
But did she really want to hide out in the boonies? It did seem like her only option but…
…Wait, what's that in the distance? It's a small town. With circus tents erected.
Now there's an idea…
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As it turned out, the Psychonauts worked quickly when they felt a need to. Using invisibility, Tanya checked the post office and police station for any kind of missing person notices, and indeed, her face was prominently displayed.
This is an obstacle that requires some minor moral compromise. Two quick thefts later, Tanya was now sporting black hair, and with the stolen cash, she purchased a haircut from the local barber. She wore a mask and faked a stuffed up nose when communicating with them, so while she got a strange look or two, she rather liked her new short hair. Come to think of it, why did she keep it so long when she was in the military? It only served to make her seem more feminine, which was not something she wanted to encourage. She was supposed to keep it shoulder length, but it kept growing and she just… kept tying it up without cutting it.
…She did vaguely recall allowing the barbers to use their professional discretion… That must be it. She just never put any thought into the subject. Also, Visha took over her hair care at some point, and she definitely liked it better when Tanya had long hair she could play with. It was one of the few expressions of femininity Visha was allowed in the army, so Tanya indulged her at times.
Mom liked playing with her hair too, but that can no longer be allowed. She needs to stay away from the Psychonauts. Now that her most obvious physical features have been handled, all she really needed to do was pretend she was back in the army and control her expression as much as she was there. The fact that Mom always insisted that she smile before any pictures were taken was the weakness of the photos: if she wasn't smiling, it would be a lot harder to connect her to the pictures. That's good, because she must stay away from the Psychonauts.
With these precautions, Tanya entered the circus, by the name of 'Circ de Mirare', obviously capitalizing on a foreign language to turn an innocuous name into something exotic. She still had enough money for the fare, so she just bought a ticket.
According to the little playbill, the circus was actually a fusion of several smaller circuses that all fled Grulovia during and after the war. The Aquatos, the Pyras, the Terrandi, and the Auranas. Over time, they focused more on their specialties as acrobats, game booth runners, beast tamers, and clowns, respectively. So the language was Grulovian, huh? She never thought she'd regret not learning more Dacian before, but here she is.
Tanya found herself smiling at the description. Truly, a shining example of capitalism. Instead of four circuses that had to spread half of their effort on sub-par attractions in order to draw in wide enough audiences, they banded together and had one large circus with something for everyone to enjoy. It would also be the perfect place to stay away from the Psychonauts.
After several hours of observing the attractions, including seeing each show twice, Tanya came to the conclusion that the best of the four families to approach for work would be the Aquatos. Of the groups, they were the most obviously psychic of the bunch. It was subtle, but the smaller children, Frazie and Razputin, were capable of supporting the weight of their father during routines, and that was not the kind of strength that could be accomplished without telekinetic assistance.
Well, she was reasonably certain that there was at least one telepath among the Terrandi, but she couldn't make use of zoolingualism while maintaining the shields that kept Mom from astrally projecting into her mind. Taking them down for small feats of herbaphony or telepathy was doable, but risky.
So she waited until the schedule for the Aquatodome (a silly name for a tent, but it is what it is) had a gap towards the middle of the day, presumably when they took a break and had lunch, and then sought them out.
The Aquatos numbered six; the father and three children that performed in the show, an old woman who is presumably a grandmother, and a heavily pregnant woman who was presumably the children's mother. They ate a stew cooked in a cauldron by the grandmother, having an animated conversation about a possible routine.
Before she could introduce herself, the smallest child, Razputin (about Lily's age if she had to guess, possibly a year older given how nimble he was.) noticed her. "No autographs when we're eating!" He announced with pride. Tanya chuckled at his gumption.
"Oh?" Said the father, Augustus. "I remember you. You were the one who came to the show twice, but didn't seem to enjoy it."
Oh? It appears she's left a bad impression. "I apologize if I've caused offense." Tanya said. "Your acrobatic routine was quite impressive, I assure you. In particular, I'm surprised that your young children are capable of lifting that much weight."
He beamed with pride at the flattery. "Well, Raz and Frazie take after me. We're all stronger than we look." Ah, so he's a psychic too.
"Well, now that that's been smoothed over, introductions: My name is Elya Roth, and I wish to join the circus." Using Visha's friend's name should be relatively safe. She's never uttered it once in this life, after all, and Mary has no reason to know it.
"That does explain the luggage you've got there." Augustus said with a smile. She had stashed it in the woods while enjoying the circus, but had retrieved it before this.
Augustus' wife seemed similarly pleased. "Ah, another runaway. Let's see if you last longer than the last one."
Tanya nodded. "I'm prepared for anything you have." Physical labor, unscrupulous business practices, and public humiliation are all part and parcel of running with a circus. All that matters is that she's safe and hidden from the Psychonauts, and by extension, Being X. She must stay away from the Psychonauts.
The woman seemed amused at Tanya's confidence. Well, she knew that she'd have to prove herself. "Well, come get a bowl of stew. There's plenty for everyone."
Tanya sat, and Augustus gave her his bowl after rapidly finishing his serving. The stew was about on par with the best food on the front, made from actual ingredients rather than stored rations. She ate it easily, which seemed to impress the adults. As she expected, it was a test. The first of many, she's sure.
Dion, the older boy (a little younger than her, she thinks), spoke up next. "So… you think you can fly high with the Aquatos?" He spoke in a way that he probably thought made him sound tough.
"If it's all the same to you, I'd rather stay out of the spotlight." Tanya said. "I can shovel latrines, erect tents, even carry water for you. I'm also-"
The grandmother, who was lightly dozing, shot up. "Stay away from the water!" She exclaimed. What?
"Mother…" Augustus said, embarrassed at the outburst.
Tanya blanched. "Ah… right. As I was saying, I'm quite adept at financial matters, if you wish for assistance with bookkeeping." She will need to look up applicable tax law, though… libraries should contain such things.
"You're quite prepared, aren't you?" Augustus said approvingly. "You can stay with us. We'll figure out your regular duties tomorrow. For now? Just follow around the children and help them with whatever their jobs are. Relax during the shows."
"Understood." Tanya said seriously.
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Joining the circus, as a plan, was going disturbingly well. As expected, there was a lot of manual labor that needed doing, and the adults weren't shy about complimenting her work ethic. The four families only constituted about half of the carnies, the rest working for the circus as a whole as an unaffiliated faction that accepted the collective leadership of the original organizers and their designated heirs. She now counted herself among their number, pitching in her telekinetically enhanced strength to help ensure the smooth operation of the circus.
She still hovered mostly around the Aquatos, as while revealing herself as a psychic would likely make it a lot easier for any investigators to track her, if she hid among the circus folk, she can take advantage without standing out.
It was… nice, to be able to relax in obscurity. It was unfortunate, to have to abandon all of her plans, but it would all be for naught if it means Being X could find her again. All she needs to do is stay away from the Psychonauts.
"Do you miss your family?" Asked Razputin, interrupting Tanya's thoughts.
"What?" Tanya asked, looking at the small child. He reminded her of Lili, a bit. Same age, but more… deliberate. Still impulsive, but not as much as Lili.
"You felt sad. And scared." He explained. Tanya checked her shield. It was still up, so he must not mean literally. "Don't tell my Dad, but… I'm psychic."
Oh? It appears that avoiding stating such a thing was prudent. She must find out more. "Why shouldn't your father know? I'm sure there are plenty of useful tricks a psychic could use to enhance the circus experience."
He brought out a comic book, True Psychic Tales number three, by the looks of it. "Dad… doesn't like psychics. There was a family of them, the Galochios, " He sounded out the word carefully, more comfortable with English than Grulovian. "-they cursed our family to die in water." He was actually pretty cogent, for a three year old. Much like Lili, which was explained by both being psychic. Their brains were more developed than their age indicated. "It's why Nona's always warning us to stay away." That did explain the old woman's eccentricities. She'll have to get the full story about that later. How would that even work? Hypnosis to sabotage their ability to swim? But how would you propagate it throughout generations? It doesn't make sense. "But the Psychonauts are good psychics!" Tanya flinched. They really weren't as good as they pretended to be. She had to stay away from the Psychonauts. "They're not all phony fortune-tellers. The Psychonauts find the bad psychics, and stop them." He clenched his fist. "I want to be one." He said, with far more resolve than a three year old should be capable of.
Tanya nodded along to his simplistic explanation. In lieu of confessing, she telekinetically took the comic from the boy's hands and opened it, allowing the blue psychic hand to hold it up. "This one… introduced Agent Ho-" She stopped and corrected herself. "Agent Forsythe." True Psychic tales was her idea, if scuttlebutt was accurate. About five years ago, they headhunted enough comic book artists, forming their own publishing house, to dramatize the history of the Psychonauts, for monetization more than anything else. Conveniently, it also laid the groundwork for the organization to persist after the Soviet Union falls.
"Wow!" Razputin said with wonder. "You're a psychic too?"
Tanya returned the comic book. "I am." She confirmed. "Thank you for warning me to keep it a secret."
Razputin mimed zipping his lips. "I won't tell anyone."
"Good." Tanya said. "Now. Is dinner ready?"
"In a bit." Razputin confirmed. "Mom sent me to find you." He looked around. "Why are you on top of the world's smallest horse trailer?"
Tanya shrugged. "My last task for the day was cleaning it out." She replied. It really was that simple. "As for what I was doing… I was planning." How to identify the Psychonauts sniffing around before they notice her, plans on how to surprise Mary if Being X sends her on the hunt. She really should have killed Mary when she had the chance. Then again, if she didn't have that cheat from Being X that lets her recover from wounds… she might have been killed by that half-effort explosive formula. She didn't appear to block it at all, thinking back…
Can Mom track her from her attempts to access her mind? Could she do so with some technology that Otto Mentalis cooks up for the purpose? It is unclear. She needs to stay away from the Psychonauts.
"Hello?" Razputin said, interrupting her planning again.
"Oh? Sorry." Tanya apologized reflexively.
"Sumi-what now?" Razputin asked. She's been reflexively speaking Japanese a lot more often lately… she never had this much trouble with the habit in her second life.
"Ah, I apologized." Tanya explained. "In another language. Forget about it."
"Don't worry, Nona does that too, sometimes." Razputin said consolingly. "She's from Grulovia."
Tanya accepted the information. She already knew it, but Razputin was three. "Let's go eat, then." She picked the small boy up and stepped off the horse trailer, neutralizing her weight with levitation and allowing Raz's smaller weight to pull her down. He giggled as she set him down, noticing the subtle use of psychic powers.
The Aquatos had gotten another bowl for her, and the daily stew was somewhat better than yesterday. It had fresh venison. One of the Terrandi had hunted down a deer and shared it around, apparently.
"So how did you enjoy your first full day of work, Elya?" Augustus asked her during the meal. "We'll be leaving town soon, so if you're having second thoughts…" He trailed off. "We can help you back home."
Tanya flinched. Did he see the notice? Did he recognize her face? Was she about to come back into Being X's sights? She needed to stay away from the Psychonauts!
"Woah, calm down." Augustus said, frowning. "Most kids who join the circus change their minds pretty quick, is all."
Tanya huffed. She wasn't afraid of a little hard work. Even if it was a rather substantial step down in future prospects. But alas, she needed to stay away from the Psychonauts. It couldn't be helped. "Changing the subject," Tanya said, glaring at Augustus for questioning her resolve. "Razputin mentioned something about a curse. Something about water? How does that work?"
Nona jolted alert. "Stay away from the water!" She insisted. Augustus put his hand on his face, a long-suffering expression on his face.
"Well, the Galochios were a family of fortune-tellers." Began Donatella, the mother.
"Nono, I'll tell the story." Augustus said, before shifting his entire demeanor into a proper storyteller's persona. "Long ago, when I was just a boy growing up in Grulovia, the Galochios were rivals to our circus. They were jealous of our water shows, which always drew a crowd. Honest entertainment, not fortune-telling scams."
He stomped and raged, or pretended to, anyway. Even if they had doubtlessly heard this story told before, all three of the Aquato children were enraptured with their father's tale. "One day, the Galochios had had enough. They used their psychic powers to cast a curse on our family line, to die in water." He chuckled, all smiles and amused derision. "We laughed them off, of course. The Aquatos? Afraid of mere water? Nonsense."
His demeanor flipped back to a glower, his eyes haunted. "But within the month, the dam had burst, and the Deluge of Grulovia killed the entire family, save for me." He closed his eyes, wiping tears of grief. Even Nona, who supposedly just died in the story, took on a somber tone. "Or so I thought!" He said, flipping his demeanor back to triumph. "After a week at a church orphanage, someone had brought my mother, " He gestured to Nona. "to the orphanage, and we fled the country, and further wrath from the Galochios, immediately."
He started to pace, irritated. "Now, you may say: This is just a coincidence. The Galochios couldn't have foresaw that tragedy. It is nonsense." He nodded. "It's true, if they had foresaw the Deluge, they would have survived it themselves, and they did not." He gripped his hand like a puppet, fingers writhing, as though grasping at nothing. "But their curse lives on, for as long as the Aquato line continues. The Hand of Galochio will continue to harass and draw us to our watery demise." To emphasize his point, he mimed his hand pulling the rest of his body to grasp at the faces of his children. They giggled at his dramatics. "So children, remember to do as Nona says, and-" He gestured to his mother.
"Stay away from the water!" She said simultaneously with the children, finishing the tale.
Tanya had to admit, the man was an excellent showman. "So, is this Hand of Galochio… metaphorical?" She asked.
"It is very real." Augustus insisted. "If we get within two or three feet of a body of water, it reaches out and attempts to drag us inside, drowning us."
Well, you could do that with hydrokinesis, but from beyond the grave? How would that work? Maybe some kind of… psychic parasite? But how would it infect further generations? "I'll take your word on it." Tanya said. There was no point in pressing the subject. They would still help her. She had to stay away from the Psychonauts. "I was wondering why your circus lacked fortune-telling. It seemed traditional to include, after all. Even if it is mostly cold reading and telling people what they want to hear. It's hardly difficult." Most people who go into a circus are expecting to get scammed, as carnies are notorious shysters, but as long as the scam was entertaining enough, it was allowed.
Tanya felt Mom trying to contact her through the Collective Unconscious again. She had to stay away from the Psychonauts! She kept her shields up, rejecting the effort.
"What was that?" Razputin asked. What? Did he sense Mom's telepathic contact?
Augustus seemed confused as well. "I don't know, Razputin." He looked towards his wife. "Did you hear something? Donatella?"
"No." She said, "What are you talking about?" She poured herself a second bowl of stew, eating as if starving. She was eating for two…
"...It must be nothing." Augustus concluded. Razputin raised his hand to interject, but Augustus cut him off, uncharacteristically serious. "It was nothing, Razputin."
"...Alright." Raz said, staring at Tanya. His senses were terrifying. And he wants to join the Psychonauts… That could be troublesome. She needs to stay away from the Psychonauts.
Frazie immediately started talking about Sugarcube, the pony with dwarfism, which led to the conversation away from sensitive topics.
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Moving an entire circus was quite the endeavor. Despite the circus taking pains to look 'old-timey', having wooden wagons that the carnies lived in rather than modern trailers, they did possess a set of four large trucks, which allowed the circus to pack everything up, drive a few counties over, and unpack everything again over two days.
There was, however, something of an unanticipated outcome: The next location, a city by the name of Springfield, had a satellite office for the Psychonauts. She needs to stay away from the Psychonauts.
Still, the office was fairly distant from the location that the circus set up in, so it was… probably fine. She just needs to stay away from the Psychonauts. Easy.
"Coffee…" Tanya said, moaning in pleasure as she sipped the shitty coffee. It was no VIsha coffee, but the taste of inferior coffee always brought to mind that perfection…
"There you go, dear." Donatella said, patting Tanya on the head. "I know nightmares aren't any fun, but there's nothing like coffee to get you started on a new day when you haven't been sleeping right."
Tanya flushed in embarrassment at her mentioning of the nightmares. They were still quite bad, but she wasn't able to find an isolated location last night to not disturb anyone else, so Donatella found out… and she promptly started doting on her as if she was her own daughter. It was nice… but it reminded her of what she had to give up because of Being X. But she needs to stay away from the Psychonauts, so it couldn't be helped. "Thank you for the coffee." She said, to be polite. She resisted the impulse to bow.
"Just be sure to eat, dear. You're too thin." Donatella said, pouring more porridge into Tanya's bowl. She then gently sat herself down, wincing. "Ooh, the baby kicked. Ow."
Tanya subtly shifted away, allowing for the Aquatos to gather and fuss over her swollen belly. She exchanged glances with Dion, who was similarly apathetic to the scene. He gestured to his mother, who was lapping up the metaphorical spotlight and playing up her infirmity, and twirled his finger over his ear. Tanya nodded in agreement.
She ate more porridge.
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Tanya jumped up and down, a fake smile plastered on her face as she raised her hand and waved it excitedly.
"Ah, there's a good volunteer!" Augustus announced. Tanya bounded towards him, the curls of her red wig bouncing as she went. "Now, here you are, little girl." Augustus handed her a brace of knives, each with dull edges but sharp points. She pretended to cut herself on one of them, to sell the sharpness.
Turning back to the crowd, he gestured grandly as he announced why he just armed the preteen girl. "Now, this little girl will-ow!" He jumped up and down on one foot, as Tanya had stomped on the other one.
"I'm not a little girl!" She announced petulantly. All part of the act.
"My apologies, Miss!" Augustus said, begging forgiveness on his knees. The crowd laughed. "As I was saying, this elegant young lady will stand right…" He picked Tanya up and placed her two feet to the right. More misdirection, providing fodder for those who are here to try and identify the 'trick'. "Here, and throw knives at me. I will be juggling them, of course." He walked to a different position. "Throw away!" He announced.
They had practiced this before, of course. That was the whole point of using a plant. Tanya had taken more steps to avoid getting recognized, primarily makeup, the wig, and a breezy dress that she hated wearing. Tanya clumsily tossed knives at the man, deliberately getting some sufficiently off target that he had to kick the blade closer to him before snatching it with his hands.
After all nine knives were in the air, she was "ambushed" by Dion and Frazie, quickly shackled to a wooden wheel that was placed on a special stand that allowed it to rotate. Before it actually did so, Augustus threw one of the knives, pinning her skirt to the board. Right as he did so, Tanya noticed someone in the crowd. They seemed to be as interested in the proceedings as anyone else, but unlike those other people, they were wearing the jumpsuits and badges of Psychonauts agents. The fake scream of fear at the skirt-pinning became much more genuine, at that. She needs to stay away from the Psychonauts!
She struggled from her bonds, and Augustus paused for a moment, glancing between her and the agents. But the show must go on, so he continued as if she had acted properly. "And now, I will throw these knives at our volunteer! But not to worry, my aim is as impeccable as my jugg-woah!" He faked a stumble, kicking one of the knives in Tanya's direction. It stumbled through the air, landing right to the left of Tanya's head. If she didn't end up slowly turning during her struggles, it would have hit her. "It's okay!" Augustus shouted. "Now… spin the wheel!"
"Hey, are you sure you're good for this?" Frazie whispered.
"Just hurry!" Tanya whispered back. "Get this done quick."
Dion, noticing that his sister wasn't helping him, allowed the quick exchange before using all of his strength to spin the wheel alone. Even if he wasn't a psychic, he still had a substantial amount of strength for his size. It was just all muscle.
Augustus then threw each knife with increasingly large amounts of panache, each one embedding themselves in the wooden wheel without touching her personal barrier. Admittedly, it would be less than ideal if they missed and ended up bouncing the knife off of the barrier, but Augustus was
very confident in his knife throwing. During the rehearsal, she thought that she saw signs of telekinetic homing, but his skill was good enough that she couldn't say for sure.
The crowd loved it, at the edge of their seats as they, presumably, imagined ever more gory results from each knife toss. After the last one, Dion and Frazie stopped the wheel, showing that Tanya was completely fine, not a single knife having even cut her clothes. She had stopped while upside down, so they turned the wheel to correct that, removed the knife that kept her skirt from flipping, and undid the shackles, allowing Tanya to stumble woozily off the wheel. She played it up, but it was genuinely disorienting.
Augustus took a bow to the cheering crowd, announcing the end of the show and directing people to the exit, throwing in an advertisement for some of the other attractions that were well-timed to be enjoyed after this time slot.
Tanya talked a bit with Frazie and Dion, pointing at people and describing them in as unflattering a way as they could. This provided an excellent excuse for why the 'volunteer' was leaving after everyone else, as she faked an animated exchange, which included some genuine laughter at one of Dion's particularly inventive descriptions.
Unfortunately, the Psychonauts were lingering as well. She needed to stay away from the Psychonauts! She stayed in place, however, trusting in her disguise. If she really needed to run, she could fly. Abandoning the circus would be painful, as she's already gotten somewhat attached (she used to be so good at keeping an emotional distance…), but not nearly as much as leaving Mom behind.
She didn't recognize the agents, but only the man seemed determined to stay. The woman seemed utterly disinterested, even annoyed at their partner. Augustus glared at them as they approached him, presenting their badges. "Is there a problem, officers?" He asked.
"That girl was terrified." The angry agent said bluntly. "What kind of show are you running, here? Where are that girl's parents?"
Augustus relaxed a fraction. Clearly he had heard such complaints before. "Oh. Is that all?" He said, affecting a bored tone. "She was a plant, sir. An actor. She works for us."
"I told you." Said the other agent. "They don't take real volunteers for those stunts."
"Depends on the stunt." Augustus clarified. "But not for that one, no."
"The fear was real!" Insisted the agent. "All of you noticed something wrong, but you did it anyway!"
"I'm sure it was just a little stage fright." Dismissed Augustus. "I noticed her looking at the crowd."
"I think we should ask her." Insisted the agent.
"Well, you could…" Augustus said, still cool as a cucumber. "But she doesn't speak English, so…"
"Bullshit." Insisted the agent. His partner gripped his shoulder.
"Let it go, Gilbert." She requested.
"I know what I felt!" Insisted Agent Gilbert.
Frazie and Dion had abandoned all pretense of not eavesdropping on the conversation with the agents, and even Raz had snuck closer, listening in. "Hey, can you speak another language?" Frazie asked, whispering.
"Yes." Tanya said in Portuguese. What would be the best language to use? If they were looking for her, even if they didn't suspect anything, Japanese and German would be too easy, even if they theoretically knew all of the languages she could speak. It needs to be something she can fake a native accent for, but also fit her current combination of blue eyes and black hair. Francois seems the best bet, but she's better with Russy…
Augustus shouted in their direction: "Elya! Come over here!"
…Augustus might speak Russian. "What? Use your hands like the circus monkey you are!" She shot back in Visha's native tongue, shaking her hands to emphasize the point.
He gestured for her to come over. "No!" She shouted back. "I'm not getting near those cops!" There, imply a distrust of legal scrutiny. Outside of her mental defenses, as fully blocking their telepathy would be incredibly suspicious, she projected surface thoughts that backed up the implication that she wanted to avoid the police. The Psychonauts can't actually do whatever they want, even in countries that give them full enforcement authority like America. There have been multiple court cases that throw out psychic testimony that doesn't fulfill certain criteria. Not wanting to talk to cops wasn't even close to probable cause. Thus, she could be suspicious, but not 'powerful and unaccounted for psychic' suspicious. She needs to stay away from the Psychonauts.
Augustus shrugs. "Well, there you go."
"I must insist on speaking with her." Agent Gilbert repeated. "She's potentially suspicious."
"Do you speak Russian?" Augustus asked.
"...No." He admitted. "But Agent Sullivan does." Ah, drat. Russian is a common language for Psychonauts agents to learn. What a foolish oversight. She must stay away from the Psychonauts!
Agent Sullivan sighed, before shouting at Tanya in Russian, with a thick American accent: "We just want to ask you questions!"
"I don't have to tell you the time, copper!" Tanya shouted back. "Webster v. NYPD!" she added, naming the specific Supreme Court case that established their powerlessness to pursue cases purely on psychic hunches. "Get a warrant!"
"Well, I tried." Agent Sullivan said in English, shrugging at her partner. He waved his arms angrily as he built up a head of steam. "Don't waste more time on the girl who can quote court cases to back her point, Gil." Agent Gilbert sighed, conceding the point and pouting.
"There are many possible reasons for why someone at our circus would be unwilling to speak to the police unless absolutely necessary." Augustus explained. "I don't claim to know Elya's reason, but many here have met some unsavory officers of the law before. I'm sure that this exchange has, at least, assured you that she works here?"
Agent Sullivan grabbed her partner's shoulder. "It has. The show was wonderful. Good day." Agent Gilbert looked like he was about to object, but she squeezed his shoulder, causing him to cry out, before dragging him away.
Tanya exhaled a breath she didn't know she was holding. That went well. It was just an incidental encounter with the psychic spies. They weren't looking for her here. That was good.
After all, she needs to stay away from the Psychonauts.
