Flame Vs Flame
Chapter 11 – Terminate
Jean decided then, as he walked down the long off-white hallway of the hospital for what felt like the hundredth time since his sister had reappeared just over a week ago, that he seriously disliked visiting hospitals. He had been there way too many times in the past week, and each time it had been for the same reason. Nodding to the MP guard seated near the door, he slid it open, and stepped inside closing it quickly behind him. There, lying on the only bed in the room, a single set of handcuffs locking her left arm against the railing, was Jennifer – his long lost sister. The two of them hadn't seen or heard of each other for twelve years when she suddenly appeared again.
It was only when the report came in that Alphonse Elric had been kidnapped and that Edward Elric had been injured in the attack, did Jean know that his sister was back in town. She later explained that she had been sent by a faceless organization that wanted Alphonse for experiments of an inhumane nature, similar to the ones they had done to her since they had kidnapped her just over twelve years ago. When the military had caught up with her, they rescued Alphonse and injured Jennifer, though not after losing some of their own soldiers first. Jennifer had escaped them then, after threatening Colonel Mustang with a fierce display of controlled flame alchemy. It was then that Jean started to realize the level of which the little sister he remembered had changed – and understood that it was something so damaging she was likely never to be free of it.
She had ended up in the hospital later, similar to the way she was now, after being found by the same Elric brothers she had attacked. It was there that she made a deal with Mustang to aid in the capture of members of the faceless organization, and merely hours later they were planning out the arrests. That didn't end up going to plan though, as there were things about Jennifer that even she didn't know. The organization could control her beyond her own freewill, and they used that to send her back against the military – against her older brother. The resulting fight was how she ended up in the hospital, where she had remained in the days since then, her injuries healing at a much slower rate than they had earlier displayed.
"Afternoon, Jean," Jennifer spoke softly, turning her head to face him as he pulled a chair up to the bedside. "I didn't think I'd be having any more visitors today."
"You're my sister; I'll always come see you."
"A military man like you shouldn't have a criminal sister like me." Jean tried to ignore the pained expression that passed over his sister's face.
"You said you didn't think you'd have more visitors today. Who visited you before me?" Jennifer looked away before answering his question.
"Colonel Mustang... and a lawyer." Jean understood exactly what that meant before she had to explain. The arrest charges were going to be followed through, much to Jean's disappointment who had been hoping that after everything she did to help them, the charges would be dropped. "Once I've recovered enough, I'll be standing trial."
"You-I-"
"Jean, please, don't do it to yourself. There is nothing that you can say or do that'll change this, and... and it's no worse than what I deserve. I'll take my punishment, whatever it may be." Jennifer tried to sit up when she saw the despair screw up her brother's features, her injuries worse than they normally would have been so many hours later could not stop her. What could stop her though, was Jean's hand on her shoulder making sure she stayed down, so instead she put her hand on his as a sign of comfort.
"What if I never get to see you again? I just got my baby sister back, Jen, you can't expect me to let you go again so soon."
"I promise, Jean," Jennifer said, smiling. "I won't be gone for that long, and it sure as hell won't be twelve years, even if I'm sentenced to life in prison."
"Jen..."
"Take my wristbands as proof," Jennifer continued. "That way, I'll have to come back and see you." Jean pulled his sister into a hug.
"I'll do whatever I can to help you, Jen, you deserve it."
Jennifer couldn't believe it. They had sentenced her with four years in prison and 120 hours of community service – a lightened sentence they said, for 'aiding the State Military' in finding and kicking some bad guy ass. There was an upside, at least she had been able to deal a fraction of the payback those people owed her, and her cell was nothing like they had given her – like for starters it didn't smell like some indescribable thing. Nor did it have indescribable goo caking the walls, and there was a bed, not a hard floor with a piece of cloth that was called a bed. A real bed, Jennifer smiled, this all felt like it was going to be a breeze compared to what she had already lived through.
Stopping any continuing thoughts in their tracks, Jennifer focused on something that wouldn't drown her under waves of despair. She wondered what her friend Tora was doing right now, and if she should contact her. That girl could con money off a tree, surely she could talk somebody into livening this place up a little, or perhaps dropping the charges and letting Jennifer out. Then Jennifer realized how that was a bad idea; don't have a criminal lawfully break out another criminal, and Tora would never let Jennifer live it down. Not that Jennifer planned on living it down; she just would rather do it without Tora's comments or whatever else she would do.
It wouldn't hurt Jennifer to stay here for a while anyway, at the very least she deserved to be here, and she had the sense that once she got out things were gonna get crazy. That was at least six months down the road though, after the first parole hearing, so Jennifer had plenty of time to relax and get her headspace right for whatever happens next.
Because there were always things to be happening next.
