Yeah yeah -- I'm not so good at interrogations, am I? I put it down to never having been in one, myself... Because I am a good girl.

Gosh, I've gotto get this thing finished ... One more chapter to go!! Yaaaaaaaay

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She'd seen it many times on television on documentaries and procedural dramas, but never in her life had Princess ever been in an interrogation. She'd never taken part in conducting one, nor had she ever been inside an interrogation room. It went without saying, then, that the G-Force Swan wasn't as calm and collected as she was trying to project when she was fairly forcibly dragged into a small room and told to "sit".

Her drive in the back seat of the old, black Cadillac had been in total silence on her part. Of course the FBI Agents had spent much of the drive trying to scare her into talking by regaling her with threats and promises of the vast amounts of evidence they had against her. However, as per her Commander's order, she was mute. She killed time by staring out of the tinted windows at the passing scenery wondering silently if this just might be the last opportunity she would have to be outside to enjoy it – well, as "outside" as the back seat of a vehicle was.

And so now here she was, seated on a cheap aluminium and vinyl chair, her legs delicately crossed at the knee, waiting for the inevitable game of "good cop, bad cop" from the pair seated across the table. Part of her cursed the fact she had not asked for a moment to change from her nightgown into her civilian G-Force uniform. She found it difficult to remain stoic and appear brave when she was wearing a pink frilly nightgown and matching robe. Of course the tactical part of her mind was pleased that she didn't; in this attire she screamed "innocent".

Innocent.

She didn't know that she believed she was. Many factors led her to believe she was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. It was hard to dispute the fact she was on the warpath, that she had deliberately drugged her Commander so that she could sneak off and do the deed. Add to that the fact she was later found staggering, covered in blood and incoherent in the face of extreme psychological duress in the same premises as the deceased, and yeah, sure, she was as guilty as Hell.

The more theoretical side of her argued that, however. She was a woman who loathed killing a man. Even in the midst of war and battle, to kill made her physically ill. Too many times had she sought solace in the arms and chest of Tiny after a particularly bloody fight. It made no sense to her that she would deliberately seek out and destroy a human life.

Even if all of the evidence pointed to exactly that.

She took a moment to glance up at the large mirror on the wall and wondered if her team were watching from the other side. She could hang on to her sanity if she knew they were there.

"So," a larger Agent than the one who had initially dragged her to the car asked to draw her attention from the mirror. "You know why you're here."

That wasn't a question, so there was no need to answer. She let her eyes slide slowly to his face and maintained an impassive stare.

He cleared his throat and tipped his head to the side to indicate his partner. "Agent Rice and myself need to ask you some questions regarding your whereabouts last night."

Her stare remained cool. "And you are?"

"Special Agent Don Lee," he barked quickly. "Now I've answered your question how about you answer mine?"

She blinked and took in a long sigh before letting her eyes fall back to the mirror. She said nothing.

Agent Lee tapped a pen on the table in annoyance. "You know. This would go a lot easier if you would just answer the question."

"Easier on whom," she replied absently, her eyes still on the mirror.

"Don't be smart," Agent Rice snarled. "Just because you're a part of G-Force doesn't mean you have immunity to go around and kill innocent people."

Her eyes slid to him. "No, only serial rapists and killers get that privilege."

Both agents looked at each other and then focused back on Princess. Rice was the one to respond. "The victim is not the one on trial here."

"Neither am I," she suggested softly as she absently played with the hem of her nightie. "I'm just here for questioning, aren't I?"

"Then maybe you should answer one."

She let her eyes rise, but kept her head low. "Not without my lawyer or Commander present."

Rice sniffed hard as his mouth broke out into a smile. "You're a big girl, Princess. You can speak for yourself."

She humphed a short laugh in response.

Lee rolled his eyes with a groan as he slowly came to realize that this young woman wasn't about to play to their rules. He let out a long breath and opened a manila folder of photographs. He laid three side by side in front of her and pointed at the first two. "Isn't that you?"

She pursed her lips and tilted her head to scrutinize the photos. The images were grainy, black and white. In the first it was she, being led inside by a short man. The second was she toying with Jason. Her brow creased at the recognition of the G-Force second.

If this image was taken before the attack, was he part of the plan?

Rice interrupted her thoughts by pushing them yet closer. "So. We know that the gentleman in the second image is your Condor, which means the girl is you."

Her head shook lightly. "I'm not blonde."

"It's a wig."

Her eyes rose. "Which you can determine from this image?"

"No, from this one." His finger tapped on the third, which was a photograph of she walking through the club, sans wig, looking lost. The images were so full of distortion that she was unable to honestly say it was she, although she was certain it was.

"I am unable to accurately determine gender, let alone whether it is me or not," she sighed softly. "I would expect the images to be a little clearer."

Lee responded to that. "There was interference of some kind that distorted out surveillance equipment."

She noted the disdain in his tone. "You say that as if it is my fault."

"Was it?" he asked accusingly. "Did you and your team conspire to do this?"

She blinked slowly; insulted that he would accuse the team of this. "I won't dignify that question with an answer."

Rice gave a one-sided smirk. "Well we are waiting for radar and satellite images for confirmation of your warship's location last evening."

Lee slapped his palms on the table. "Look. Enough of your little game of roundabout answers. We know that you have been dodging treatment by your federation medical and psychological units regarding your abduction. We know you have accused our agent of raping and torturing you. We know you were upset that your Commander had to abide by our agreement and let Mason go. We also have proof here," he tapped the photographs, "of you being at the club last night with the Condor and Owl."

"You can't prove that's me," she countered softly as she settled her hands on her knees. "All you have are grainy images of what you assume to be me."

"I know it's you," he hissed in response. "You were on a personal vendetta against our Agent. You think he deserved some retribution for what you think he did to you during…"

"What I think he did?" She retorted hotly, her quiet demeanour suddenly disappearing. "What I think?"

"Well," Rice continued with a smirk, glad to have finally sparked a response from her. "He wasn't convicted of raping you, so…"

"He wasn't convicted because you wouldn't let it happen," she growled. "You felt it within your power to deny every girl he raped justice by making your perverted little deal. You gave him Federal protection, a salary, his own nightclub and freedom, for what? So he can fail as miserably as Zoltar does."

"That made you mad, didn't it?" He said with a smirk as he shared a glance with Lee. "Really mad."

"Yes," she snapped angrily. "Damn straight it makes me mad. He raped thirty-three women, thirty-four including myself. And he gets off scott-free for it?"

"So you wanted to seek justice for you and those other girls?"

"I deserve justice, and those girls deserve justice," she growled. "Tell me. If it was your sister, your daughter, your mother or your wife – would you be content with this arrangement?"

"So you went out to seek justice for them. As the defender and role model of women all over the galaxy it is only right that …"

His words halted as the door to the interrogation room slammed open and struck the wall loud enough to startle all present. In the doorway stood the Eagle and Condor, in full battle glory. Mark stood at the front of the pair, with Jason half a foot back and standing to his right.

"I think that's enough," Mark boomed low, his irritation at the treatment of his third obvious. "The Swan has specifically requested presence of her Commanding officer and lawyer. By law you are to cease and desist all questioning until that request has been granted."

Lee let out a low moan and waved his hand in the air. "And here you are. Request obviously granted."

Mark looked down at Princess. "You okay?"

She nodded as she gulped a mouthful of air. "Yes, Commander."

Mark waved behind him to invite Jason into the room and took up position next to Princess. Instead of taking a respectful seat, however, he merely pressed his fists into the tabletop and leaned into a heavy hunch. "So now that Princess has some form of representation, you may continue. I do warn you, however, I will not tolerate any low-handed methods of questioning. You stick to the questions, and only the questions." He took a second to spread a look between the agents before continuing. "If you attack her, so help me I'll attack you in return."

Rice seemed a little less intimidated by the Eagle, so he chose to respond. "Is that a threat, Commander?"

"Yes," he answered simply. "It is."

"You'll be best served if you don't make threats."

Mark offered a sarcastic smile. "Just go ahead with your questions. Play nice. And I won't have to act on it." His eyes swept to his side as he heard Jason drag a chair across the floor and slump himself on it with his chest pressed against the backrest. He set his elbows on the lip of the backrest and dropped his chin in the space between both forearms. If his intention had been to intimidate with a glare, it seemed to work, as both men seemed to shuffle uneasily in his line of sight.

Lee finally took his attention off the scowl and let his hand shakily grab at his pen. "So. Princess. To begin. Where were you last night?"

She looked up at Mark for permission to answer. He gave a short nod and she looked back at her interrogators. "I was at home."

"All night?"

"Yes," Mark answered for her. "She was home all night."

Lee looked with irritation up at the hulking Eagle, but turned his focus back to Princess. "Can you have someone verify that?"

"As in an alibi?" She asked softly.

"Yes," he replied with a hint of frustration. "Can anybody confirm that you were home all evening."

"I can," Mark interrupted firmly. "She was with me all evening."

Princess' eyes flashed wide at his lie. She let her lashes close over her eyes a moment as she looked back at the agents and cleared her throat to agree.

Rice didn't buy it. "The two of you were together?"

"Yes," Mark said simply.

"Doing what?"

"I really don't think what we were doing is any of your business. Just know that she and I were together all evening."

Rice tapped his pen on the table and cast a suspicious glance at the Eagle. While Mark's expression was straight and confident, the Swan was obviously finding trouble with his answer. He opted to press further. "Convenient that you and she were together, Commander. Can this be verified by anyone else?"

"Convenient." Mark grunted. "Hardly. I was with Princess to keep her company and ensure she was okay. What your agent put her through in the name of Spectra was …"

"Was your third unstable, Commander?"

Mark's head tilted to the side. "Unstable, no. Upset, yes."

"Upset enough to kill a man, Commander?"

Mark pursed his lips and shook his head. "Princess isn't like that."

"Speaking of Princess," Lee muttered, "how about you let her answer some questions."

Princess set her hand atop of Mark's and nodded. "I'll be okay."

"So you were supposedly with your Commander all evening. Can anyone verify that the two of you were together?"

She pressed her lips together and gave a slow nod. "Yes. My youngest brother can verify that Mark and I were together."

"Can he verify what you were doing together?"

"Yes, he can," Mark snapped tightly. "Because it seems so desperately important to you what activities Princess and I were engaged in last night, I'll tell you. We made love; something that can be confirmed by Keyop, although I hardly recommend that you make him admit it."

Princess immediately reddened. Rice seized the opportunity. "So you and your third are lovers?"

Jason smirked and swallowed his own response to let Mark answer. "Since last evening, yes we are."

"Isn't that against regulation?"

Mark let his head flick to one side as if to shrug. "It is something I need to sit down with the project heads to discuss; but that is hardly relevant to this discussion."

"Oh," Lee muttered inside a laugh. "I think it is, completely. If you are willing to so blatantly ignore the regulations of your own agency, then who is to say you aren't willing to go against ours and lie about Princess' activities for last evening?"

"Because that would be breaking the law," he breathed in response. "Breaking an archaic rule is a little different to breaking the law. Sleeping with my third will only result in minor disciplinary action, to perjure myself will result in jail-time."

"I am glad you understand that rule, Commander. Believe me we will explore that avenue should you be found to be lying and impeding this investigation."

"I hope that you would."

Jason snorted to Mark's right. "Or maybe you can offer him immunity for defecting to Spectra."

Mark threw a glare at Jason, but said nothing to him in reprimand. He took note of the photographs on the table and drew them toward him using a finger. "Are these your proof that Princess was involved?"

Jason's neck craned to see the images, while Mark's eyes narrowed in attempted focus. He scrutinized them for a moment before finally flicking them much like a Frisbee back at the agents. "You'll need something more substantial if you feel like hanging one of my team."

Rice stooped to pick up the picture from the floor. "We have our photograph experts currently working on enhancing the images. Once we have a clearer image I will be sure to frame a copy for you."

Mark's lips pursed. If not didn't know him better they'd have assumed it was in amusement. To Princess and Jason, however, they knew it was slightly victorious. "Manipulate away gentlemen," he mused. "All doctored images will be inadmissible in a court of law, and then even if you do make it past the judge, our lawyers will tear them apart and make them useless in the eyes of a jury."

Both agents offered him surprised, but annoyed glares. It was Rice who opted to comment. "This doesn't add up to a G-Force victory, Commander. There are still a myriad of evidence options we have to follow up with. As we speak the CSU teams are collecting every solitary drop of blood, hair, fibres and anything else they deem to be of interest."

Mark pushed his fists off the table to lever himself to a stand and held his hand down to Princess. "Then if that's all, we'll be leaving."

Lee raised his hand to ask for a moment. "Not so fast, Commander. There is still the matter of the Condor and Owl's presence in the club."

Jason had settled his chin back onto his forearms. This gave his voice a more gravely sound than usual when he took over and answered. "That's easy, to look at naked chicks."

Princess gasped. "Jason!"

He looked over at her and shrugged. "What do you want me to say, Princess; that I was there to save their moral souls and preach the good word to them?"

"You really don't have to be that blunt."

Mark cleared his throat in a long-suffering manner. "Both of you can it." He offered an apologetic expression to the two agents. "For the record, Princess was with me all evening, while my two teammates were enjoying the naked arts. Is there anything else?"

Rice grunted from his position. "I would recommend that you and your team treat this incident with far more respect and seriousness than are currently displaying. One of my agents is dead, murdered at the hands of one of yours…"

Anderson's voice slid in from the open doorway. "Actually, gentlemen. Philip Mason was, at the time of his murder, not a Federal Agent."

Five sets of eyes blinked in Anderson's direction as he walked into the room carrying a stack of papers loaded with little tiny Post-it tags in varying colours. He took a seat, uninvited, beside Princess and set the papers on the table before petting Princess' hand in a purely parental manner. "How are you holding up, Princess?"

Before she had a chance to respond, Lee grunted and pushed his hands against the table to aggressively slide his chair out from underneath. "Did we send out invitations or something for this event?" He rose slowly from his seat and approached the doorway. He made a show of checking the hallway before he slammed it shut. "Do I expect anyone else from The Federation to barge in here unannounced and uninvited?"

Anderson's look was one of complete innocence. His tone and expression fell to matter of fact as he started to flick through the tabs to seek out the one he wanted. "When you take one of my team in for questioning on charges that are absolutely ludicrous, then expect more than just one person to come to her defence. For the record, gentlemen, Princess is the least likely to engage in such a revolting manner and we will do everything in our power to prove that to you."

"Oh how very chivalrous," Lee droned. "Dedicated. Inseparable. Invincible, indeed."

Anderson seemed mildly unimpressed, but pressed on with his own explanation. He found the chapter required and showed the highlighted section to the two agents. "If you will note Chapter 4, section 76, paragraph 3 of the agreement between the Federation of Friendly Planets and the Federal Bureau of Investigation:

This agreement, once executed by the Federation President Patrick Kane and Federal Investigative Bureau President Elijah Matthews, will be, as requested and reviewed by G-Force Commander Mark (no last name), considered null and void, should it come to light that Mr. Philip Mason has engaged in any activities thought of by the North American Judicial System to be unlawful. Such behaviour includes, but is not limited to, misdemeanours, felony, fraud, sexual and violent crimes. Activities not included in these considerations are limited only to those that pertain directly to Mr. Mason's role within any Spectran offensive, however if activities exceed known Spectran protocols, the incumbent will be held accountable to any and all military courts involved in the detainment of Mr. Mason."

As you can see, gentlemen, even if my swan was guilty of murdering this Mr. Mason, the investigation is out of your jurisdiction."

Rice coughed and attempted to read the highlighted paragraph and make sense of it. "In Lay terms, Mr. Anderson?"

"Doctor," Anderson corrected sharply before explaining. "The paragraph states, quite clearly if you read it, that if Mr. Mason commits any crimes that are not typical for Spectran armies, then our deal, and Mr. Mason's immunity deal, is null and void."

"Again," Rice muttered dryly. "What are you trying to say?"

Anderson let out a long huff of annoyance. "It means that the second he laid a hand on my Swan he violated his own agreement. As it was during captivity the crime would be considered military and Mr. Mason becomes our problem."

Lee held the paper in his hand and pretended to analyze it when he decided to speak. His gaze was not on any other individual in the room, but on the text that seemed to be swimming before his eyes. "Can you state beyond any reasonable doubt that Mr. Mason was not acting on orders from Zoltar; and that his actions were not typical?"

"I can," Anderson answered firmly. "This is not the first time that Princess, or any of the team for that matter, have been held as prisoners of Spectra. At no time has any member of G-Force been subjected to such cruel and unusual forms of torture."

"Perhaps the rules have changed, Dr. Anderson."

"Be that as it may, his actions were not typical. Therefore we must assume that Mason acted outside of orders from Zoltar to inflict unnecessary treatment upon the Swan."

Rice let out a breath that sounded much like a moan of defeat. "That does not justify what your Swan did, though, Dr. Anderson. Princess must be held accountable for her actions."

"Which will still need to be proven," Anderson continued. "As yet you have been unable to prove her alibi of an evening with her commander to be false." His gaze shot hotly to Mark, who actually seemed to redden somewhat under his gaze. "Regardless of what your "evidence" suggests, I am more apt to trust my Commander than I am a handful of grainy photographs. Quite simply he does not have a reputation for being deceitful."

"I would say that violating the regulations of the Federation might suggest otherwise, Doctor."

Anderson gave a short smile. "That was a regulation amended quite some time ago, gentlemen. My commander has been free to see his second, third, fourth or fifth if he is so inclined." He gathered his papers and used the grip on them to press his hands into the table to push himself to a stand. "Now, I will meet with your superiors and see to it that this investigation is turned over to the Federation from herein."

Lee raised his hand. "Oh I don't think so. I will not let you give her a get out of jail card because of a legal loophole. She broke the law and murdered an innocent civilian. Agent or not at the time, he deserves justice."

Anderson flicked his hand to his team and led them to the door. "I think he has already received his justice, don't you?"