Chapter 2: Always Hard

Locus sat in a hospital detainment room clearly used for mentally ill patients and studied the padded walls.

Appropriate.

The restraints were still in place, his weapons confiscated. Wash's blood was dried on his gauntlets. It had been hours since he had walked in. But he still wasn't worried. Felix would definitely call him crazy. Locus was certain that he could break out if he wanted to, but he was more curious to see how things were going to progress before he acted.

No one had come to stare at him through the door to his padded cell. Not one angry soldier came to throw epithets and glares his way or threaten his life. No awestruck young staff staring at the legendary Locus captured. None. That could only lead him to believe that his presence was being kept quiet by someone with quite a bit of authority.

Like a president.

Kimball would happily announce to the planet her plans to put him on trial and eventually execute him if that were her plan. She would use it to lift the morale of the planet, no doubt. But she didn't seem to be doing that. So when the thoroughly cowed lieutenant from the ship arrived and unlocked his makeshift cell, Locus didn't immediately go on the offensive. He did tense for action though, just in case.

The lieutenant cautiously approached him, gun only partly raised. "Someone—," he cleared his throat before he could speak well enough to finish, and Locus felt the corner of his mouth turn up. Nice one, Dr. Grey. "Someone wants to see you. Don't move."

He dropped a teleportation grenade on the floor between them, and Locus felt the familiar nausea along with the pull to another location.

They emerged in a high office with a view of the city through its glass walls. But "office" was a generous term. It had a long glass topped table and many stacks of equipment lining the floor and shelves, along with a small console off to one side. In truth, the only thing that made it an office at all was the woman watching him from behind the table. President Kimball. This was clearly her headquarters and just as practical as she was. Paperwork was not her focus, obviously.

Locus held himself still, though not at ease. There was a small pause as she sized him up and he quickly surveyed the room, recognizing left, right and middle privates at separate locations around the room (but all in close proximity to Kimball) and his weapons laid out on a far table. Not surprisingly, all of them had their weapons trained on him. Once he had sized up the location he returned Kimball's stare evenly and waited for her to speak first.

What she said surprised not only him but everyone else as well.

"Leave us alone," she told the privates. They hesitated briefly before reluctantly moving toward the door.

The lieutenant didn't move. Locus had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. Predictable. "Ma'am, with all due respect—"

"Show me that respect and leave us alone, Lieutenant. That is an order," Kimball's voice sharpened considerably and removed any hesitation on the lieutenant's part. He moved quickly to the door and left.

Kimball focused squarely on Locus, who still hadn't moved. Her desire to be alone with him showed that she might be willing to hear him out, but her grip on her weapon told him she still didn't fully trust him. Not that he'd expected it. "What's going on with the Reds and Blues?"

Locus cut in with a question of his own. "How is Washington?"

Kimball paused briefly, considering, before she allowed the diversion. "He's in recovery and stable. He's lost a lot of blood but there are donors lining up. Once they heard who was in need we couldn't keep the soldiers away."

Locus nodded to himself. "The Reds and Blues are up against other simulation soldiers like them, we call them the Blues and Reds. I heard they've caused you a bit of trouble as well. They have some plan involving a large machine. The Reds and Blues were planning to go after them."

"How did you find the Reds and Blues in the first place?"

"I was tracking the Blues and Reds and happened to intercept the robot Lopez's head. They'd launched it into space as an attempt to summon help. He informed me that the Reds and Blues were in trouble. I decided to help." Locus realized how ludicrous his reply sounded when compared to Kimball's past experiences with him, but it was the truth.

She processed his words silently. "Why were you tracking the Blues and Reds?"

"They stole a power source from a colony and in doing so killed everyone in it."

Kimball's head came up sharply. "I heard about that. Those were the same red and blue soldiers who've caused us so much trouble? The reason the UNSC is one step away from attacking Chorus?"

"Yes."

"And now the Reds and Blues are trying to stop them?"

"Yes."

She stared at him a moment. "Could you…find them again? Do you know where they are?"

Locus knew what she was really asking. She wanted him to go help them, now that Wash was taken care of. Perhaps she trusted him more than he'd thought.

"Unfortunately not. They'll have gone after their counterparts, to stop them. I don't know where. I was going to slip a tracker on Grif as a precaution before the shooting started, but he was so hyper alert I never got the chance."

That made her stare at him. "Grif hyper? Alert?"

"It's a long story…" His long-suffering tone convinced her it was not something she needed to hear, but it was definitely in keeping with their antics.

"How—how were they?" Her question should have seemed strange, but Locus knew what she was really asking.

"They were all alive when I left with Washington. Arguing, impulsive. Idiots. Same as always."

Kimball looked at the table between them for a moment, and Locus was sure she was smiling behind her visor. "I bet." Her head came back up as a new thought struck. "Did they say anything about…Church?"

"Tucker mentioned something about their enemies lying to them about him, nothing else."

Kimball looked away. "So it was a trap. Dammit." Locus didn't reply. She looked like she needed a moment. Finally, she looked back at him. "You have no idea where they are?"

"None."

He hadn't meant his answer to be so abrupt. It hung in the air between them, and Locus realized she felt helpless. He was feeling the same. It didn't feel good, wanting to jump into a fight but with no possibility of finding it. Waiting for word of the battle's end and resulting casualties was something no soldier liked. Not when the squad fighting the battle felt like your squad. That was always the hardest part.

He opened his mouth without any idea of what he planned to say. "They seem to be a magnet for trouble, but somehow they always scrape through. They'll reach out to you when it's over." He could not believe the words coming out of his mouth. Was he trying to…reassure Vanessa Kimball?

She must have felt awkward as well because she suddenly addressed the console to his left.

"Santa?"

The alien A.I. appeared immediately. Later, Locus was proud of the fact that he didn't jump into the air in his surprise, but there was still an involuntary twitch he couldn't conceal. Kimball ignored him and addressed the new arrival.

"Is he telling the truth?"

"Odd as it sounds, yes he is." Santa was appraising Locus closely, as if he had found an entirely new person in Locus' place. Locus wasn't sure he believed that, but it felt good nonetheless. He returned Santa's gaze, reflecting on the last day they had met.

"Locus," Kimball drew his attention back to her. She took a breath. "Thank you, for saving Wash. For bringing him to us. And I know your actions helped us get our message out at the end of the war with Charon."

Locus nodded, waiting for the other shoe to drop. She clearly had one. Santa observed, silent and watchful.

"We owe you a debt" Kimball continued, "and I want to repay it. But you're a wanted criminal here. Even if I thought it appropriate, and I'm not saying I do, I couldn't possibly pardon you. I can't let the public know you're here without inciting a riot. And considering our tenuous position with the UNSC the last thing I need is for Chorus to be found harboring a war criminal. There's no place for you here."

"I know." He didn't mention that he hadn't planned on staying; just let the consequences of his past fall as they would. Of course he wouldn't be welcome on Chorus. His current choices didn't erase his past ones.

Kimball studied the table closely. "If you were to be suddenly and accidentally left unsupervised, what would you do?"

Locus didn't need Santa's presence to ensure he would tell the truth. "I'd camouflage, take my weapons, make my way back to my ship and take off. As quickly as possible."

Kimball was still studying the table. "You wouldn't harm anyone?"

"I would not. I see no need for violence."

She nodded to herself, deep in thought. Locus couldn't contain his own thoughts on the possibility she was proposing. "Don't people already know I'm here? What if word gets back to the UNSC?"

"Only a few soldiers know who actually arrived on that ship. It's containable."

"How are you going to explain Agent Washington's sudden appearance?"

"My official response would be…I have no idea."

Kimball's helmet tilted to one side, showing her amusement at her newfound politician's skills. Locus felt the corner of his mouth turn up in a return smile. He had no love for politicians and their manipulations, but Kimball was not one of those. Chorus was in safe hands. As long as the UNSC didn't attack.

"Is there…anything I can do to help facilitate peace talks with the UNSC?"

She turned on him in surprise, her shock and distaste apparent. "Are you suggesting you'd assassinate someone to help Chorus?"

"I don't do that anymore. I was just offering help if it was needed." His stiff tone indicated he was somewhat offended despite his attempts to mask it.

Kimball tipped her head in apology. "Oh. Good. Thank you for your offer. I'm hoping to get this done right, through official channels. Maybe next time. But no assassinating, obviously."

"Obviously."

There was a strange moment of shared amusement. Santa looked between them.

"Locus is willing to shoot kneecaps if you desire it, Kimball."

Kimball smothered a laugh. "I see. Thank you, Santa. And you too, Locus. Can't believe I'm actually saying that…"

Locus nodded in return. "Thank you…President."

It took some time to get back to the hospital after he left Kimball's office, considering he was on foot and using his camo meant he had to avoid bumping into others. That was a trickier thing in a city full of soldiers and a hospital crawling with staff. By the time he made his way into the Recovery wing, intent on peeking in at Washington before he left, at least an hour had passed.

He rounded a corner, looking in through glass windows for a glimpse of Wash's armor and almost bumped into left, right and middle privates, all lined up in order, standing in front of a recovery room. They were clearly being lectured. Or terrorized.

"…and that's when he finally decided he would talk to the Freelancers, after I put him back together of course!" Dr. Grey's cheery voice was a stark contrast to the fact that the privates were literally shaking in their armor, trembling so badly they were clanking together as they pulled closer to each other for reassurance. Dr. Grey took no notice of their state and leaned in closer. "So remember, just forget about who else was on that ship, okay? Doctor's orders!"

"Y-y-yes ma'am!" all three replied as fast as they could utter and retreated as fast as their quaking limbs could carry them. Dr. Grey turned away from them to look into a room, humming to herself. Locus slid into place next to her, still invisible, and studied Washington's still form. At least he was breathing, Locus could see that from feet away.

"Well done, Doctor. I doubt they'll ever share this incident with anyone."

He had expected her to jump or shriek in surprise and hoped any passersby would chalk it up to her already questionable sanity, but she never did do the expected. She didn't move at all, didn't twitch in surprise, didn't even emit any kind of startled noise. She simply lowered her voice to reply.

"Thank you. President Kimball's orders. They'll never breathe a word, or they'll never breathe!" she laughed.

Locus honestly couldn't decide whether she was serious or not and decided not to find out. "What about the lieutenant?"

"He'll go along or find himself stationed in a remote location, far from civilization."

"I see." Locus tried to feel bad for the hapless soldier but couldn't quite manage it considering his zeal had nearly got Locus and Wash killed.

Both stared through the window at Wash for a silent moment.

"Is he going to make it?" Kimball had already told him yes, but Locus felt the need to ask again.

"He'll be fine. He just needs a little blood, some hydration, and some food."

"Will he be able to speak?" He didn't know why, but the thought of Washington unable to talk bothered him.

"Yes. He was very lucky. The bullet nicked his jugular but missed his vocal chords. He should make a full recovery."

"Good." There was a small pause. Even Locus was surprised to hear his next words.

"I didn't take the shot."

"What?"

"We were in a firefight, pinned down. I could've taken out the gunner but it would have been through his visor, a kill shot. I didn't take it. I moved to get a different angle and that was when Washington stumbled out into fire. I should have taken the shot."

Dr. Grey stared straight forward, giving no indication that she had heard any of his words. There was a moment of silence. "As a doctor, my first duty is to preserve life. Sometimes I can, sometimes I can't. But I'm not going to start killing patients just because other ones die." She laughed. "I only experiment on dead bodies."

Locus turned his invisible head to look at her. Slowly. Her words should have done nothing but prove her unstable mindset, yet somehow Locus found comfort in them. His hesitation had ended with a bullet in Agent Washington, but his actions after had saved his life. There had to be some kind of peace in that. And he hadn't killed anyone. There was definitely peace in that. For the first time, he wondered if Dr. Grey's permanently optimistic mindset was her way of coping with all the death she couldn't stop. It was almost the inverse of his past, but it still felt familiar somehow.

"I guess you're right. I should be going now, but I had a request for you. If anyone can help me, it's you."

She half glanced his way in surprise, even though she couldn't see him. "Really? What do you need?"

He hesitated. "Do you have something that gets out blood?"

A few minutes later Dr. Grey had discreetly handed Locus a small container of what she insisted was the best blood remover in the galaxy. Locus noted a few people walk past and marveled at their lack of surprise that Dr. Grey was seemingly having a nice discussion with herself. Locus checked Agent Washington one last time and prepared to leave.

"So, I guess there's no time for psychoanalysis then?" Dr. Grey was still staring straight ahead, but the tone of her voice told him she was only partly teasing him. His lips twitched.

"Maybe next time." He left soundlessly.

Dr. Grey continued to study Wash. "Maybe next time."

Small epilogue to follow!