Chapter XII
Phil hobbled down the sidewalk, his steps becoming more and more erratic. Eventually he fell over, then slowly brought his head up and looked in front of him. There was a small alcove that led to the front door a building. He crawled into it and propped himself up against the wall, then reached into his coat and withdrew from it a cell phone partially covered in blood. He dialed Sofie's number and listened as it rang. "Please, please, pick up." he said quietly to himself. On the other end of line, Nikki slowly picked up the phone and put it to his ear. "Nikki, are you there?" he asked weakly.
"Daddy? Where are you daddy?"
"Just listen Nikki." He paused. "It wasn't your fault what happened." Phil was starting to get lightheaded. "I love you son. You gotta' to grow your own wings." He felt his eyes growing heavier.
"Daddy? Daddy?" said Nikki nervously. Phil's hand slid to the ground as his breathing became more and more scarce.
"Gotta grow your own wings." He reached down and lopped up the blood on his thigh with his hand. Slowly, his eyelids fell and covered his eyes.
"I love you too, daddy."
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Mike watched from the outside of the car as Cagalli and the Ambassador rifled through the photos. The prime minister brought her hand to her mouth in shock as she continued to look through them. When they found the report with the information about the deportations, she dropped her hand and revealed her mouth to be agape. All the while, Patrick Zala looked down from the platform with a look of uncertainty but tried to remain confident. Finally, the Prime Minister looked up and tapped her driver on the shoulder. He immediately turned the car around and sped down the avenue, the police motorcycles and bodyguards trailing close behind. "Attention, ladies and gentlemen." said a voice over the speakers. "Due to Blue Cosmos bomb threats, these celebrations are hereby cancelled. Prime minister Attha will returning to earth and takes with her the best wishes of the Plants and their people."
"Jesus." said Mike as he removed his hat and wiped some sweat from his brow. He turned around to see where Miriallia was, only to find she had disappeared.
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Not too far from the Supreme Council Chambers was the same park where Miriallia and Phil had first looked through the evidence of the genocide. She sat down on a bench and began to catch her breath, looking around for any signs of the inspector. She was alone in the park, and she was alone still when the rain began to fall. She would be alone all through the night as she sat and waited, and waited, and waited…
