Phoenix: Chapter Fifty-three
Ellone had left sometime after three in the morning, exhausted and emotionally drained. Unable to sleep, Laguna spent the remaining hours of darkness pacing the small room and staring out the window. He watched as the faint glow of the rising sun behind the hospital building began to glint off of the high rises surrounding him.
The city looked so peaceful in the dawn light.
He turned around to lay eyes on his son. Nothing had changed during the night, the nurses kept coming in every hour or so to check vitals and change bandages. They were still a bit concerned about his blood pressure, but didn't seem overly jumpy about it. Laguna took that as a win.
Sitting down, he took Squall's hand in his own. It felt warmer than usual. "Good morning, Squall. It's a new day. Let's make it a good one." He blew out a long breath and stared at his son's pale face. "Today's the day you wake up. I can feel it." The young man offered no response, not that Laguna had expected him to.
He looked at his watch. It was almost seven. He figured Jane would be arriving any moment. In the stillness of the room, Laguna began to bop his body back and forth in his chair, almost as if he were dancing. The beeping beat of the monitors, the hum of the IV pumps; it was like they were making their own music. He released Squall's hand and went to the window to observe the waking city. He continued to move his body to the rhythm of the machines, completely unaware that someone had entered the room.
"What the hell are you doing, Laguna?"
He spun around to find Jane eyeing him quizzically. He smiled sheepishly and scratched his neck. "I, uhhh…I was dancing."
"Dancing?" Jane looked around the room, eyebrows arched. "There's no music."
"Sure there is! You just have to listen for it." He motioned for her to come over to him. She edged him out of the way and leaned in to greet her fiancé.
"Mornin' Squall. I'm back now." She kissed his forehead lightly. "He's warm this morning." She lifted her head to look at the slightly embarrassed President. "So, you claim that you hear music. Do you need a little trip to the psych ward?"
Laguna shook his head. "Listen. The heart monitor supplies the beat. And the IV pumps make their own individual little melodies." He snapped his fingers to the sound of the machinery.
Jane just stared at him blankly for a moment. "I think you might be going crazy, Laguna. You…" She stopped herself, her own body beginning to move with the sounds. "Hey, you know what? You're kinda right. It is like music."
He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and they "danced" together for a long moment, staring at the young man. Jane finally spoke. "You realize we've both gone insane, right?"
Laguna chuckled lightly, the first time any hint of laughter had escaped his lips in well over a day. "Well, if I'm going crazy, at least I have good company." He turned to look at her and smiled. "Did you get any sleep last night?"
Jane shook her head and took a seat next to Squall. She ran her fingers through his hair. "Not really. Everything reminded me of him. I tried to sleep in his bed, but all I could smell was his cologne on the sheets. I thought it would comfort me, but in the end it just made things worse. I ended up on the couch."
Laguna placed a comforting hand on her back. "He's gonna wake up soon, and be home before we both know it. Then you can sleep at ease again." He patted her shoulder. "You'll see."
Jane sighed. "I'm just so stressed out. I can't shake the feeling that he's not coming back to us, and I curse myself for thinking such horrible thoughts." She hung her head. "I feel helpless."
Laguna sunk down to be at her eye level. He placed his hand on her knee. "Hey, I'm scared outta my mind right now too. But he's going to need us to be strong. We can't be afraid anymore." He turned to look at his son, and could feel his cheeks flush. "I'd like to believe that he knows we're here. And he can sense if we're frightened."
The young woman nodded. "I know you're right." She sighed and leaned back in the chair, never removing her fingers from Squall's locks.
Laguna stood and stretched his arms behind his back. "You gonna be okay if I leave to take a quick nap? I'd only be gone a few hours."
"Yeah. Leonhart and I will hang out." She mustered a small smile.
"Great. I'll be back in…"
The monitors of the room began to blare, lights flashing. A nurse was inside in a heartbeat and immediately ran to the machines. Laguna began to panic.
So much for being strong.
"What's happening?" Laguna fought to keep his emotions in check. He could tell Jane was just as scared as he was. She was trembling.
"His blood pressure has dropped pretty significantly and his heart rate is elevated." She placed the back of her hand on Squall's suddenly sweat drenched upper chest. "He's very hot, too." She grabbed a thermometer that had been stored bedside and stuck it in the young man's ear. When it beeped, she scowled. "One hundred and four." She pressed a blue button on the wall, summoning more nurses. "I need a rapid response team in here stat. I think he's in septic shock."
Laguna felt as if he were going to vomit. Here he thought things were going well because Squall hadn't had any crises. And now, the nurses were buzzing around again, trying to help his son.
Laguna was terrified.
"Septic shock? What?" He felt Jane's hand tighten around his own as they both moved to the foot of the bed, out of the way.
"Sepsis, Mister President. It means an infection is shutting his body down. It's possibly in the IV line or from the surgery. We'll have to do blood work to know for sure." She retrieved a small tote from the side counter and wrapped a tourniquet around Squall's right arm, scrubbing the skin thoroughly with antiseptic. She flicked the vein to get it to swell a bit before inserting a needle. She removed two vials full from one site and then proceeded to do the same on the other arm, inserting a new needle and filling two more test tubes worth. After removing the needle, she taped a small square of gauze on each of the dripping puncture wounds.
Jane stepped forward slightly. "Why are you taking so much blood from different places?"
"We want to make sure we don't get any false positives." She dropped the vials into a small basket on the counter, while another nurse attached a bag of clear fluid to the IV pump, running it in at full tilt, along with various other medications Laguna didn't have a name for. She pressed buttons, changing the readouts on the monitors.
"What are you doing now?" Laguna tightened his grasp on Jane's tiny hand. He could feel it shaking.
"I'm increasing the blood pressure medicine he's on. We need to get his pressure back to normal. It's the infection talking. Plus I need to run some more fluids in rather fast so Nurse Beltran can draw blood from the central line port."
Everything seemed to be moving very fast. He watched as the nurse he now knew as Beltran attached another glass tube to the port in Squall's neck. The scarlet liquid flowed in quickly, and she swiftly replaced the full vial with another one to collect more.
A doctor that Laguna did not recognize flew into the room, barely acknowledging the pair. "Stats?"
The nurses both rattled off all kinds of numbers and statistics that Laguna didn't understand.
The doctor scowled. "Alright, definitely sounds like sepsis. Send those cultures to the lab and start him on Vancomycin and Zosyn. My money's on a line infection, probably that quick one from the ER, but since they were digging around in his stomach... add some Flagyl just to make sure. 500mg Q8. Did you give him a fever reducer?"
"Acetaminophen is already on board, doctor. I'll run in the antibiotics right away."
He cupped his chin in his hand. "Increase the Levophed for his pressure and let's wait twenty-four hours for the antibiotics to work." He moved to the left side of the bed and studied the monitors. "Let's call for a portable chest x-ray to rule out pneumonia."
He left his position at the bedside and approached Laguna and Jane. "Mister President, Miss. I'm doctor Randon. I'm the on-call physician today. Let's go outside so the nurses can work and we can have a chat. Radiology will be coming up soon with a portable x-ray and they'll need the space." He motioned for them to exit.
Laguna felt Jane's hand slip from his own and she quickly made her way to Squall's bedside. She leaned in close to his ear, Laguna barely able to make out what she was saying over the noise of the suddenly bustling room.
"…be outside, Squall…don't let an infection…better of you…love you…"
Swiftly, she rejoined Laguna and the doctor and they moved out of the room. He led them into a small room next to the nurse's station. He closed the door and sat across from the duo. "Well, quite a morning, huh?" He smiled gingerly. Laguna just stared at him. He wasn't in the mood for light banter.
"I suppose you're pretty worried right now with all of this. I'll be honest, alright? Your son is showing signs of septic shock. More than likely he developed an infection from the central line they put in downstairs in the ER. Most of the infections I see come from that sort of scenario. There is a possibility that it's stemming from the surgery though, and that's why I've ordered some pretty potent drugs."
Jane sighed and slumped her shoulders. "Sepsis is really bad, isn't it?"
"It can be. Hopefully we've caught the infection early enough. He's lucky he's not allergic to any of our arsenal of antibiotics. We can run in several at a time because of that, and that will help tremendously. We'll wait for the blood cultures to come back to see exactly what kind of bug we're dealing with, and they we can adjust the meds accordingly if need be."
Laguna clasped his hands and hung them between his legs. "What's with the x-ray? You said something about pneumonia?"
"Just a precaution, Mister President. Pneumonia can surface in patients in your son's situation, although I'm fairly sure that's not the cause of the infection. I just want to rule it out." His pager beeped, causing him to hold a finger in the air asking for a moment. He replaced the device to his waistband and turned his attention back to the concerned pair.
"We'll give him a day for the meds to attack the infection and then take more blood cultures. I'm confident that whatever is pestering him will be no match for the antibiotics." He smiled sincerely. "If you'll excuse me, I need to answer this page. Just stay here and one of the nurses will come get you when x-ray leaves."
He stood, Jane and Laguna following suit, and shook both their hands. As he left, he stopped and turned. "This is just a little setback, Mister President. I can tell your son isn't one to give up so easily."
Laguna watched as he left, closing the door behind him. He just caught a glimpse of an x-ray machine being wheeled towards Squall's room. Not wanting to sit again, he leaned against the wall. "Everyone keeps saying he's a fighter. Let's hope he doesn't prove us wrong."
Jane closed her eyes and leaned back on the sofa. "I don't know if I can take any more drama, Laguna. This infection seems really serious. What if this is what…does him in?" She shook her head, a tear dripping down onto her lips.
He dashed to her side and sat, instantly throwing a comforting arm around her back. He wasn't used to seeing her unglued. The once tough and spunky young woman was reduced to a weeping mess. He just wanted the old Jane back.
And Squall back.
"Hey, the doctor thinks they caught it in time. He's gonna respond to the drugs, you'll see. A little bug won't keep him down." He noticed that Jane looked pallid. "You feelin' okay, sweetheart? You look a little pale."
"I'm just really tired, that's all. And my stomach's been kinda touchy since this all happened. Nerves, I guess."
Laguna was concerned. He wanted to make sure she was taking care of herself. "Have you been eating enough? Do you want me to go grab you something?"
She shook her head. "I tried to eat a muffin this morning, but after a few bites it felt like it was going to come back up so I stopped." She put her head in her hands. "I just feel so fatigued. And I hate it." Laguna tightened his arm around her shoulders as she continued. "Everyone thinks I'm so strong, that I'm tough. Truth is, I've never been so scared in my life. I'm trying to keep it together, but I'm afraid that I won't be able too much longer." She looked towards the door leading back into the ward. "Every hour that goes by that he doesn't wake up, and now this whole infection thing…" She turned back to Laguna, eyes teary. She snuggled close to his body. "…it just terrifies me more and more. I can't live without him, Laguna."
Hearing the pain and fear in her voice tugged at Laguna's heartstrings. "You aren't going to have to live without him." He patted her shoulder. "You don't have to keep anything in. Scream and cry, let it out. If you keep all those feelings bottled up inside, they'll eat you alive. Like grats."
Jane chuckled slightly into his side. "Grats? I could kill a grat with a flyswatter."
Laguna smiled. "Okay, bad example. But you get what I mean."
"Yeah. Maybe a good cry would do me good. I'm just so tired I don't even know if I can do that anymore."
Laguna sighed. He knew that Jane needed to get more rest, and that she wasn't going to be able to do it here. And, if he didn't get some sleep soon, he would collapse. Even though he didn't want to leave Squall alone, he conceded and decided to take Jane home himself. They both needed to take better care of themselves.
"Come on, honey. There's nothing we can do right now for him. Let's allow the nurses and doctors to work and we can go home and rest." He rose and extended his hand to her. "After we both get a nap and some food, we'll come back."
"I don't want to leave him alone, Laguna. I don't want him to be scared if he wakes up and there's no one here." Her eyes glistened with tears.
He beckoned her with his fingers. "I think it's the best thing for all of us, Jane. We're both gonna fall over if we don't get some proper rest. And, as much as I hoped he would wake up today, I don't think that's going to happen." His eyes dropped to the ground. "The nurses will take care of him, and they'll call the minute anything changes."
Her shoulders sunk. "You're right. Can we at least go and say goodbye first? I want him to know that we're coming back."
Laguna mustered a small smile. "You got it, kiddo."
XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX
Relieved that he was finally able to get some sleep, Laguna arrived back at the hospital around three in the afternoon. He had finally convinced Jane to do the same, and before he left the residences, he had checked in on her. Using the spare keycard Squall had reluctantly given him—and sternly suggested that he never use—he had found Jane sprawled on the couch, fast asleep. He had gently draped a light blanket over her and left her a note saying there was some soup from the central kitchen waiting for her in the fridge. He hoped she would actually eat it.
He washed his hands at the door and slid the heavy glass panel open. Squall hadn't moved, not that Laguna had expected him to. He noticed that his son's color was beginning to return, in the form of flushed cheeks. He figured it was from the fever. He approached the beside and sat in the uncomfortable but increasingly familiar chair. He quickly decided that once this was all over and Squall was home, he would liberate the chair and dispose of it in a raging bonfire.
Taking Squall's hand in his own, he instantly noticed that it was no longer as hot as a raging inferno. He reached out and placed the back of his hand on the young man's chest, as the nurse had done, and was relieved when the skin was dry and much cooler than it had been that morning. It seemed like the fever was beginning to come under control. Laguna sighed with cautious relief and sat back in the chair.
He sat quietly for a few hours, watching as the nurses flowed in and out, checking monitors and medications. It didn't faze Laguna anymore. He just smiled at them and let them work, hardly asking any questions. He had brought a book with him to pass the time. His phone ringing snapped him from his adventure novel about a dragon and its master.
It was Jane.
"Hey there, sleepyhead. How ya feelin'?"
"Better, thank you. Thanks for the soup, by the way. How is he?"
"Still here. The nurses said the fever went down. The seemed pleased."
"That's a relief. I need to call my mom and update her and take a quick shower and then I'll be back."
"Take your time, sweetie. I promise I won't leave until you get here."
"Thank you, Laguna. See you soon."
The call ended and Laguna replaced his phone in his pants pocket. He turned to Squall, the vent still shaking his chest. "Jane will be here soon. Wouldn't it be great if you just suddenly woke up for her?" Laguna sighed. He knew that really wasn't a possibility, but a president could dream.
He turned his attention back to his book and read for just a few moments when the sliding glass door make him look up. He was surprised that it wasn't a nurse.
It was Kiros and Ward.
The two men had not been to the hospital to visit. Kiros immediately brought his hand to his mouth to stifle a gasp, while Ward just dropped his head. Laguna stood and approached them, Kiros pulling him into a tight embrace.
Finally letting go, Kiros wiped his eyes with his thumbs. "Hyne, Laguna. He looks terrible."
Laguna nodded. "He actually looks a bit better than he did yesterday, if you can believe it. He's got some of his color back today. It might be from the fever, though."
"…"
"Yeah, fever. He went into septic shock. The doctors think it was from the IV lines in the ER. They gave him tons of antibiotics and they seem to be working."
Ward approached the right side of the bed and laid his entire hand on the top of Squall's head. It covered all of the young man's hair and forehead. Laguna saw a tear slip from the large man's eye. He moved in close to Ward and placed a hand on his forearm. "I know you're scared, buddy. I am too. But we have to be strong for him, alright?"
The hulking man turned to face his friend with a mournful expression. He nodded slowly and turned his attention back to the fallen warrior.
Kiros had taken his place at the opposite side, eyeing up the machines and monitors. Laguna moved to his son's feet, patting them through the sheets. "All that stuff is monitoring his blood pressure and heart, plus tons of other junk that I don't understand." He scratched his neck. "Hopefully he'll be off the vent soon."
Kiros just sighed, taking the young commander's hand in his own. "I'm so sorry, Laguna. I don't even know what else to say."
"…"
"It's alright, Ward. You don't have to stay. I know this is really hard to see." Laguna soothed his friend.
Ward removed his hand from Squall's head and patted his hand before backing away from the bed. He briefly stood next to the president before pulling him into a humongous embrace. After he let go, he waved goodbye and took his leave.
Kiros exhaled deeply. "For a big guy, he certainly is a softie. He's really taking this hard, Laguna. We all are."
"Yeah, I know. Kiros?" He wrung his hands. "How's Raine?"
Kiros pursed his lips. "Terrified. Actually, that's what I came to talk to you about. I may have figured this whole shit storm out, man. And if I'm right, we might be able to spring her from police custody."
Laguna was shocked. She had just tried to murder their son and Kiros was talking about getting her released from jail. He didn't want to be overly optimistic until he heard what his friend had to say. Laguna motioned for the man to sit with him next the window. He pulled the chair from the right side of the bed around and sat.
"Already? That's quick, man. I mean, Squall's only been…" He stopped himself, then sat on the edge of his seat. "Well, let's hear it."
Kiros reached into his messenger bag and pulled out a stack of papers and files. He handed Laguna a piece of gleaming white paper. "Look at this."
Laguna studied the paper. It was his official letterhead.
"Recognize it?"
Laguna shook his head. "No. I've never seen this before in my life. Wait—I didn't send this…or sign it. Where'd this come from?" He was confused. "I think I would have remembered authorizing such a scathing letter. I didn't even know who Ash was until Raine came back. Who sent this? Why?" He handed the letter back to Kiros.
"It came from Ash's office. I found it when I was digging around after the police concluded their investigation." He paused. "As for who sent it, I think it was Odine."
"Odine? What the hell would he send a fake letter for?"
"I'll get to that." He pursed his lips. "Laguna, I have a theory about what is going on. Ash must have exploded after he received this." He held up the letter.
Laguna sat back in his chair, his eyes momentarily resting on his son. "Lay it on me, Kiros." He hoped it was good news. Laguna desperately wanted to see Raine, to make sure she was okay. His anger was still fresh and very much alive, but his temper had abated somewhat to the point where he felt he would be able to confront her without lashing out. If Kiros had evidence to help her, it would make their first meeting that much easier.
"I think that Odine sent this more than likely to rid himself of the threat of Ash returning or ratting him out once and for all. I'm guessing that he figured this would piss him off enough to effectively focus his anger elsewhere—namely on you."
Laguna looked pensive. "But what does Raine have to do with this, Kiros? And Squall? Why hurt him?"
Kiros looked out at the city for a moment. "I wracked my brain trying to figure that out. I didn't leave my office once since I got back from the interrogation. When I was first reading Ash's notes and files, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He was just a doctor trying to help his patient. Everything he wrote in the sidelines was caring and sympathetic. He truly wanted to help her." He tapped his fingers on the arm of the chair. "But as I dug deeper, the notes started to take a dark turn. Ash became bitter, vindictive and downright dangerous. There was even rambling notes about 'getting you.' I didn't know what it meant at the time, but I could tell that something had happened for him to change so dramatically. The timing of the letter coincided with the change. But I knew there had to be something else. This letter couldn't have been the only thing that set him off."
"Maybe he was on drugs. I know I'd have to do something to keep myself sane out there all those years. At least that would be semi-entertaining. Then he took it too far and got all nutty?"
Kiros rolled his eyes. "Come on, Laguna. I don't think he was using drugs. I was trying to figure out what would make a man plot something so heinous. And when the answer finally hit me, I almost didn't want to believe it because it was so cliché."
"Cliché?"
"Yes. It was love."
Laguna snorted. "Then he's got a funny way of showing it."
Kiros sat forward. "Think about it, man. How many wars have been started because of a scorned lover? Or vying for the affections of a woman? Some of the greatest love stories end tragically. Love is the most powerful emotion in the world."
"I don't know, Kiros. I mean, just because she rejected him? That seems a little harsh."
"They were out there in the desert for decades, Laguna. On top of her rejecting him, it looks like he was developing psychoses from being isolated. His mental state probably would have deteriorated whether or not he was spurned by her. Then that letter came and it pushed him over the edge."
Laguna twiddled his thumbs. "But I still don't understand what hurting Squall would accomplish. I mean, I can see him wanting me dead, but my son?"
"She would be the perfect weapon to destroy you. And the best way to hurt you both at the same time was to hurt or kill your child. I think that's where the phrase 'payback' came from. It's payback for stealing her love away, even after you had 'died', and to punish her for rejecting him."
Laguna's stomach churned at the thought that Raine may have been a pawn. "Okay, if he wanted to use her, how did he make her do it? I mean, he's dead. It's not like he could have told her to do it from beyond the grave."
Kiros removed a small box from his bag and opened it. He took out the earpiece he had found in Raine's nightstand and handed it to Laguna. "He brainwashed her, man. He was an expert in subliminal messaging."
Laguna looked at his friend as if he were crazy. "Have you been doing drugs or something, Kiros?"
Kiros scowled. "Listen to me, Laguna. I'm serious. That thing is loaded with soothing sounds. Raine told you herself that she was having nightmares at the lab and that Ash had given her a sleep aid. I had it analyzed. It contains more than just calming noise and melodies." He handed Laguna a computer printout.
Laguna set the small device on the windowsill and read the text out loud. "We are waiting for the manager to give us passage? Kill? Kill…Squall Leonhart. Payback."
Laguna's hand suddenly went limp and he dropped the paper to the ground. His mouth hung open in disbelief. "That son of a bitch. What did he do to her?" He curled his fingers into a tight fist, his nails digging small crescents into his palms. Anger surged through his veins. "If he wasn't already dead, I'd kill him where he stood. He used my beautiful wife in his sick game!"
"Every message was added at different intervals over several years. This was very well planned. I think that his original intention was to kill you, but when the news that Squall was your son came out, his objective changed. That first phrase, about the manager? It's the trigger. We found it on a letter that had been attached to a package Raine received the morning of the shooting. It was spelled out ransom-note style with magazine clippings. It was taped to a gun case."
Laguna's whole body began to quiver with anger. The thought of his wife being brainwashed to kill her own child, just because some lunatic was jealous that he could never have her love was unthinkable. He seethed in his chair, finally needing to get up before he pulled the armrest from the frame on a count of sheer fury.
"There's more, Laguna. I'm fairly certain that William Ash is very much alive. I think he sent her the package with the full intention of Squall being killed yesterday."
Laguna stared at Kiros blankly. If what he said were true, he would find the rat and break his neck on the spot. He had never had such strong feelings of hatred for anyone in the world until that moment.
"I think he's hiding somewhere, waiting to hear word of Squall's death and the implosion of your career on the heels of your likely emotional breakdown from the events."
Laguna rounded Squall's bed and went to the right side so he could still face Kiros. He lovingly stroked his son's forehead, brushing a lock of hair away. He couldn't let his anger surface now, while he was this close to the young man. He didn't want to hurt him. It was his way of keeping his fury in check.
"But what about the body found at the lab?"
Kiros sighed. "Not him. I did some digging and it seems like the coroner really dropped the ball on this one. The body had been so brutally beaten that the face was unrecognizable. They just assumed it was him. Lazy bastards."
Laguna immediately vowed to fire the medical examiner.
"My investigations yielded some rather interesting information. The corpse was still in the deep freeze at the ME's office, since Ash had no living relatives to claim it. I asked one of the interns there to fingerprint it. The body belonged to a Frederick Thompson, an inmate at the D-District prison. He was executed for murder the day before Ash was 'killed'." He stood up and handed a sheet of paper to Laguna over the bed. "He was the same body type and size as Ash was. Same hair color and everything. I can't prove it because no one at D-District has returned any of my calls, but I'd be willing to bet that Ash paid the Warden a pretty penny with all his dirty Odine money for that body. That asshole always was corrupt."
Laguna once again clenched his fist. "Find him Kiros. Scour the planet and drag him out of whatever hole he's hiding in. I want him dragged by his feet and brought to me so I can deal with him." His lips curled with fury.
"Don't you worry, man. I will find him. It may not be tomorrow, but he will be apprehended. And when he is…well, let's just say you're not the only one who would like to personally introduce himself." Kiros smirked.
Laguna was absolutely amazed at his friend. Only Kiros could figure something this elaborate out in such a small amount of time. He wanted to feel happy that the man had potentially figured the situation out, but instantly he felt incredibly guilty. "Oh Hyne, Kiros. Squall was right all along." He hung his head. "He knew something was amiss, and I completely ignored him."
"You can't beat yourself up over this, Laguna. No one knew. Not even Raine."
Laguna cast his eyes on his motionless son. "He knew. How could I have been so blind?"
Kiros rounded the bed to stand next to Laguna, placing a comforting arm around his shoulders. "No one is to blame except Ash. Never, ever, think otherwise."
Laguna sighed. "Does Raine know? About your theory?"
Kiros shook his head. "No. Not yet. I was planning on going after I talked with you."
Laguna turned to look at his friend. "Stay with him, Kiros. I need to be the one to tell her she didn't intentionally try to murder her son." He felt like some of the weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "And I intend to bring her home."
XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX
The police precinct was busy for early evening. Officers acknowledged Laguna with nods or tips of their hats, but stayed silent. He felt ready to fly off the handle at any moment, and assumed his mood silenced the officers. Laguna could feel the heat in his cheeks, the racing of his heart.
He approached the captain's office and didn't even bother knocking before he threw the door open. The man instantly jumped from his desk and saluted the President.
"I want to see my wife. Now."
The captain motioned for Laguna to take a seat in front of his desk. "She's being held in isolation right now, Mister President. I'm afraid that's out of the question."
Laguna glared at the man and refused to sit, instead tossing the files Kiros had prepared on his desk. "Take me to her now, or pack your belongings." He surprised himself; he'd never threatened anyone like that before. "Look over those files from Ambassador Seagill, since your detectives and the medical examiner fucked up. You'd think with the President's family involved your men would have been a little more invested in solving the crime."
The captain stared blankly at him for a moment before responding. Laguna could tell that he was terribly embarrassed by the way he began to wring his hands nervously and wipe his sweating brow. "I'll take you to her personally, Mister President."
They walked down the hall to the holding cells and the captain instructed a young officer to disengage the lock on Raine's cell. As soon as the captain stopped at the chamber, the door unlocked with a mechanical chime and whooshed open. The scent of Raine's floral perfume immediately hit Laguna's nostrils.
She was curled up on a cot in the corner, her back to the door. When it opened, she immediately looked over her shoulder and nearly tumbled off the bed.
"Laguna!" She began to hurry towards him, only to have the captain step in and thwart her.
"Stay back, Ma'am." He held up a warning hand. "Turn around so I can cuff you. I need to protect the President."
Laguna grabbed his arm forcefully. "Cuff her and you lose your job."
The man turned to him, concerned. "Mister President, she's a suspect in your son's attempted murder. She needs to be restrained for your safety."
His stern expression never waning, Laguna responded firmly. "Go back to your office and read the statement that Ambassador Seagill wrote explaining his theory. Then you'll understand why I don't want my wife cuffed." He looked towards Raine, who was visibly shaking with tears streaming down her face.
The captain frowned and relented. "Mister President, if anything happens to you…"
"I'll take full responsibility." Laguna shooed the man away. He didn't even bother to watch him back away and leave the cell, the door sliding shut behind him. His eyes were on Raine. His terrified wife.
"Laguna?" She took a few tentative steps towards him. "Laguna! I swear I didn't mean to hurt Squall. You have to believe me!"
Laguna swallowed hard. He hated seeing her this way. He could sense the pain and suffering she undoubtedly must have been going through since being imprisoned. Her eyes were red and puffy, her hair a tangled mess, blouse rumpled. He could see the remnants of the fingerprinting ink on her dainty fingertips.
"I know, honey. And…" He hesitated, opening his arms to allow her to embrace him. "…Kiros thinks he knows what happened."
She melted into his body, and he could feel her heart thundering through her chest against his own. Her warm breath tickled his neck as she buried her head against him. The way she shuddered make his knees feel weak. She was a wreck.
"Tell me that he's okay, Laguna. I'm so scared."
He nuzzled his chin into her hair, his anger melting into oblivion as he held her. She wasn't a murderer, a criminal. She was his wife, the mother of their child. And she hadn't known what she was doing yesterday in the office.
"He's hurt pretty bad, Raine. He hasn't come back to us yet."
Her body began to quake and Laguna's shirt became wet with her tears. He held her close.
"I want to know what I did. Tell me everything. Kiros just said I shot him twice."
Laguna didn't want to. She was hurting bad enough as it was. Hearing about Squall's condition would do nothing but harm. "Raine, I…"
"Tell me, Laguna. Don't try and protect me. I don't deserve it."
Laguna's heart sunk. To hear her speak in that manner nearly broke him. "Don't talk like that. You most certainly deserve to be protected. From everything bad in this world." He tightened his arms around her back. "But I know you won't let me get away with not telling you. He's in a coma, Raine. You shot him twice in the chest." He felt her shudder. "He, uh…stopped breathing in my office and Kiros and I did CPR until the medics came. They worked on him in the ER for a long time. His heart stopped and they shocked him." He tensed at the memory, still fresh. "They had to remove his spleen in the trauma room; he was bleeding from it too much. Then they whisked him away to surgery and I didn't get to see him until hours later."
"What does he look like, Laguna?"
He exhaled deeply. "Well, he's got a breathing tube in his throat, and another tube in his chest that's draining blood. He looks…bad. Real pale. And then this morning he developed an infection. They think they caught it early enough, but we'll have to wait to see if the antibiotics work."
"I don't want to live if he doesn't, Laguna."
He sighed. "Don't say that. He's going to wake up. And we can be a family again."
Raine pushed back from Laguna, a confused look on her face. "Be a family again? How? I tried to kill our son, Laguna!" Her voice was shaking. "I deserve to be locked up forever!" She fell to her knees in the middle of the room, sobbing into her hands.
Laguna dropped to the ground after her and took her chin in his hand. He forced her face up to meet his gaze. "Listen to me, Raine Loire. Kiros thinks he cracked the case. You're not going to be locked up. I promise you."
In that moment, the last bit of anger he had held towards her melted away. There were no feelings of hatred or rage, only concern and love. He wanted to make sure she was okay. That they were all okay. He eased her to her feet once again and led her to the small cot in the corner where they both sat. He took her trembling hand in his. "Raine, Kiros thinks Ash is behind this."
"Ash? But he's dead."
"Just hear me out. Did he ever mention anything to you about a letter sent by my office?"
Raine shook her head. "Never. What does this have to do with me shooting Squall?"
"Everything, honey. Ash received a letter on my official letterhead years ago, except I didn't send it. Odine did." Raine gasped. "The letter said he was banished forever by me for terrible experiments. Ash got so pissed that he vowed revenge on me. He didn't ever think that Odine had actually sent the letter."
"Revenge? But what does this have to do with me Laguna?" Her eyes were pleading.
"You told me that you thought Ash was in love with you, right?" She nodded. "And that you rejected his advances? Kiros thinks the letter pushed him over the edge and he decided to use you to get back at me."
She got a confused look on her face. "But why would he feel threatened? He and Odine told me you were dead, so it wasn't like I was going to try and seek you out."
"Kiros thinks he got to a point where he knew that no amount of wooing or pining for you was going to make a difference. He knew he could never, ever have your heart. Even with me…dead. So, the only thing to do in his crazy mind was to punish you for not loving him."
Raine sat silently, her hands trembling in Laguna's. "But how can you explain why I did what I did? I don't even remember walking into your office." Her tears fell, splattering on both their hands.
Laguna swallowed hard. He didn't know how she would react to being told she had been programmed. "Raine, sweetheart. He…he brainwashed you."
She cocked her head, a mystified look on her face. "What? I don't understand."
Laguna scratched his neck. "Remember that earpiece he gave you to help you sleep? It wasn't just loaded with music. He had phrases on there that would get into your brain without you knowing."
Raine's breathing became erratic, and she let go of Laguna's hand to hold her chest. "He said he made it just for me. He…was so sincere when he gave it to me. The box even had a bow." She shook her head in disbelief and her eyes began to dart around the room. "Oh, Hyne, Laguna. All those years I used that thing every night…"
Laguna placed his hands gently around her cheeks, holding her head to get her to focus in on his eyes. "I know that this is hard to hear, but it's the evidence that will clear you of this crime." His eyes began to water. "I hate seeing you in so much pain, so broken. I can't imagine what it feels like to find out you've been used the way that you have. And to know that he made you hurt our son."
She immediately began to sob at the mention of Squall. Laguna pulled her close and began to rub her back. "Raine, shhhhh. I'm sorry if I upset you. We're going to get through this. All of us." He realized that he had neglected to share one very vital piece of information in that moment, and mentally pinched himself. He would have to upset her yet again.
"Raine? There's something else."
She pushed back from him, wiping her eyes with her fingers. "I guess I don't have a choice on whether or not I want to hear it, huh?"
Laguna sighed. "Honey, Kiros thinks Ash is alive."
Raine's eyes slowly tracked down Laguna's body and to her lap, where she rested her hands. She exhaled through pursed lips and began to tremble. Her voice was barely audible. "How?"
"He faked his death. Used a convict's body, which the Medical Examiner just assumed was him because of the condition. Raine, he planned this for years. All that hush money that Odine paid him funded this plan." He bit his lower lip.
They were both silent for a long moment, Laguna allowing his wife time to let all this new information sink in. She finally looked to him, her eyes no longer showing sadness and fear, but anger. "Laguna, find him. Drag him in by his hair. And when you do, all I need is two minutes." He had never seen such seething fury in her before. "I'll make him pay for this. He made me hurt my son. He tried to break our family. Tried to force us apart. He's going to wish he had never been born."
Once again, he pulled her close, letting all her anger pour out onto his sleeves as tears. She sobbed for several minutes, hiccupping breaths shaking them both. When she calmed slightly, she spoke. "Does Kiros think he can convince the police to let me go?"
Laguna pushed her back, looking her deep in the eyes. "You leave the convincin' to me. You're coming home."
XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX
Three hours later, Raine and Laguna left the police precinct in the bowels of the palace and made their way up to their home. The captain had finally agreed to let her leave on the condition that Laguna pay seven-hundred-fifty-thousand Gil in bail money and that Raine be fitted with an electronic monitoring device. She would not be allowed to leave their residence under any circumstances. Not even to see her son.
Even with the agreement, the captain had still been uneasy, but after reading the documents that Laguna had given him, he understood that he had some deep investigating to do within his own bureau. The medical examiner had screwed up big time, costing a potentially innocent woman her freedom, and it seemed as if his own detectives didn't give the case as much attention as they should have. It was obvious that he had been very embarrassed—his face had been red the whole time Laguna talked to him and he had tried to make as little eye contact as possible. No one ignored the fact that Raine had indeed pulled a gun on and shot her own son in cold blood, but as the evidence was piling up against Ash and away from her, feelings became more sympathetic towards the frightened woman.
An officer escorted them to the door of their apartment, then remained as a guard when they went inside. There would be a sentry at all times.
Once through the door, Raine immediately went to the couch and collapsed into the soft leather, curling up into a ball. She pulled at the bracelet on her ankle with a scowl. It was cutting into her skin. She felt the couch dip as Laguna sat beside her.
"You don't have to stay with me, Laguna. I know you want to get back to Squall." She drew her knees close to her chest. "He needs you more than I do." She lay silently for a moment before sighing and sitting up. "Will you do something for me though? I want you to take a few pictures of Squall with your phone. I need to see what I've done."
"You didn't do anything, Raine!"
Anger flashed in her blue eyes. "Yes I did! Why can't you see that, Laguna? Did you just forget what happened yesterday? No amount of evidence is going to change the fact that I tried to kill our child!" She held her hands out in front of her, shaking them for emphasis.
Laguna frowned. Raine could sense the turmoil within him. His eyebrows furrowed and he looked away from her. He finally met her gaze; his voice had a stern tone. "I didn't forget. I can never forget. It haunts my dreams, Raine. Even when I'm awake that horrible scene plays over and over again. And the ER…" He shook his head. "…I know what your body did. But your mind—your soul—it's innocent."
Raine lowered her head. She didn't deserve his love, his compassion. And she certainly didn't deserve his forgiveness.
"Just do it, Loire."
Laguna nodded. "Okay, if it's really what you want. But it's bad, Raine."
"That's why I need to see it." She leaned back into the couch. "Come on, go back to the hospital."
He patted her thigh. "I'll admit that I'm really torn. I don't want to leave you right after I finally get you home, but…" He hesitated, scratching his neck. "…I do need to get back. Kiros can't stay forever, and Jane was on her way back."
Raine sighed at the mention of the young woman's name. Up until now, she really hadn't even thought about how Jane might be affected. It must be terrifying for her, watching as her boyfriend fought for his life. "She must hate me right now. I can't believe you don't."
Laguna was silent for a moment. When he finally spoke, his voice trembled. "She's an amazing young woman, Raine. I know that she'll understand once I explain everything. And she doesn't hate you. She's just as confused as everyone else is right now, and just wants to get to the bottom of this whole mess."
He sighed heavily. "I was so angry at you in the beginning. It took my breath away to think that you could do such a horrible thing." He cast his eyes down at the floor. "But then I thought back to the way you looked when you came through that door. I knew something was wrong. You had vacant eyes, Raine. It was like there was no life in them."
A tear slipped down Raine's cheek. It ate at her to think that both Laguna and Squall were scared in that moment. Scared for her and for themselves.
"The next thing I knew, you pulled that gun out of your pants and just shot him. Your voice was so haunting. No emotion."
Raine leaned forward, crossing her legs underneath her body. The monitoring device caught on the bottom of her pant leg and scraped against her skin. She looked Laguna straight in the eyes. "I hate the fact that I lost myself for those moments. I feel so violated." She pursed her lips. "It was like Ash raped me. I feel sick to my stomach knowing that I had no control."
Laguna took her hands in his own, stroking them with his thumbs. "I can't imagine what it's like having holes in time like that. I know I would be scared out of my mind."
"I am, Laguna. I just keep going back to when I started to snap out of it, when Ward was holding me. My mind was foggy, but I remember watching as you and Kiros were helping Squall. Then the police were pushing me out the door. And the image of Squall lying on the floor, covered in blood…" She hung her head as her body began to quiver. "…and the paramedics trying to save his life. I wanted to die in that moment. I didn't know exactly what was happening, but the handcuffs around my wrists gave me a pretty good indication that I had done whatever horrible thing had happened."
Laguna raised one of his hands to her cheek, wiping away a stray tear. "We're gonna figure this out, Raine. Kiros' evidence will clear you and we can all be a family again." He hesitated, a small smile gracing his lips. "Speaking of our family, it got bigger last week, you know."
Raine arched an eyebrow, eyes still moist. "How so?"
Laguna's smile broadened. "Squall and Jane are getting married."
She knew she should be happy. This was the news every mother dreamed of hearing. But, in that instant, her heart sunk. All the guilt that she felt for putting bullets into her son's chest, rendering him comatose—it all seemed to explode tenfold. Now she had potentially ruined even more lives. This should have been a happy time for the entire family, and instead they were holding vigil praying that Squall would just open his eyes.
She began to sob.
"Raine? Why are you crying? This is happy news." Laguna seemed confused.
"I can't be happy knowing that this special time in his life might be destroyed before it even has a chance to happen."
Laguna pulled her close, pressing her body close to his own. "It's gonna happen, Raine. He'll wake up and come home and then we can all plan a wedding."
She allowed herself to melt into his arms, finally weeping away all her grief and frustration, and feelings of betrayal and violation. As she cried for what seemed like hours, Laguna just sat silently, holding her in his strong arms.
She finally felt some semblance of security again, and for the first time in days: hope.
Kiros would prove her innocence. Squall would recover. They could all live the life they so desperately deserved.
She just prayed her son could forgive her.
