Chapter 6 – Twin Breaches of Privacy.
A/N: Uh oh, Seraph made a bit of a mistake in admitting that. Oh well, it's all going to be all right isn't it? Well, not if you lot are anything to go by it's not:
HHH – And you're calling Lien sick with that diary devoted to KnuxRouge disturbingness? Oh BTW, to help with science, this chapter's got a few biology references to give you a hand :-).
Ri2 – Julie-Su, where are you? Hmm, she's not here right now but, then again, with me you can never tell…
RGN – To find out about Seraph with the EST, keep on reading.
TH – I know it's funny; here's a bit more to keep you happy.
As a student of biology, even if this avenue of science had been diverted slightly due to an aversion of the sight of blood, Kommissar knew that she and most other echidnas had approximately eight pints of blood circulating in their systems at any one time. This figure was by no means concrete; it was subject to change according to any number of factors from injury to, in her case, what time of the month it was; still, she had eight pints as a rough figure.
However, going on the evidence she could feel now, at least seven and a half of those eight pints were currently not circulating. They were lodged immovably in the region of her cheeks; mind you, it wasn't like the rest of her needed it – her insides had shrivelled up and died of embarrassment and her heart had stopped beating what felt like eons ago. She couldn't even consider anger; all she knew right now at this precise moment in time was pure, unadulterated embarrassment.
"Oh Gooooddddd!" She clenched her fists against her face, feeling the heat on her fingers as she groaned aloud; she'd kept a diary since almost before she could remember. Her mother had got her into the habit, though Lien could barely remember her now – she and Kragok both had been brought up to regard a diary as something inviolatable; a repository for someone's deepest feelings and secrets, never to be touched by another person. To even think of reading a diary, someone else's diary at least, was tantamount to unthinkable; no-one had the right to invade someone's private world in such a manner. And; she squirmed, feeling like a worm in a dissection class as suddenly every tiny, embarrassing thing that small book in her quarters held stood out in her mind with crystal clarity; some of the things in there really should have stayed private.
Unpleasant scenarios span through her head dizzyingly; she couldn't even begin to image her great-grandfather's reaction if he ever found out what the little red hearts spread liberally throughout the book meant, or even worse, what the even smaller numbers inside them represented; Dimitri for all his faults was a staunch believer in monogamy. All her secret dreams and desires had been systematically turned over and examined by the Mobian in front of her; suddenly his hand under her clothes to get his weapon back felt like the height of modesty compared to this violation. Slowly dragging her bunched fists down her face, unable to muster the energy to be outraged, she set her gaze on where Seraph still stood, immobile and waiting for her,
"I take it what was in there is now on its way to the EST?"
"Technical plans only; nothing personal". There was a slight crumb of hope, a mere sliver of hope as Lien suddenly stood swaying, pointing at the hidden infiltrator with a shaking finger,
"So, no-one knows about that except you?"
"Incorrect"; oh no – who'd you…?; "you compiled the information".
"Okay, you and me then", she snapped, the path of hope a little brighter now as she carried on, "no-one else – you haven't passed it on to anyone?" He shook his head and with that great relief, a sigh like something from a wind tunnel echoed through the silent corridor; Lien finally managed to convince her blood to stop burning her cheeks and get back to its normal route before making her mind up; I gotta get hold of that book before I get out of here – if anyone else reads that…especially now the guardian knows I'm Kommissar; she cringed, not able and most certainly not wanting to even consider that book being put into circulation. Right, the situation's gone from 'wish I was dead' to 'grandfather's gonna kill me when he gets his hands on me' – I can manage that; not like she hadn't had the practise at deflecting Dimitri's criticisms of her personal life and rather flamboyant attitude to rules; if anything Kragok would be in a worse boat than her as she had experience in this sort of trouble.
Silence reigned for a few more seconds before, with a second sigh, Lien gripped the flashlight again, swinging it up to allow the glare to reflect of Seraph's mask once more, though he didn't appear to take much notice of the fact as she spoke,
"Right, change of plan", her words were brisk and clear; she didn't want him to have a chance to argue, "we're going to the officer's quarters, next floor up, before we get out of here".
"Reason?"
"There are some", the image of her diary, nestled safe in the top drawer of her dressing table whirled in her head; she paused for a second, trying to blank the vision out before finishing, focussing on the other material she had hidden there, the small disk and the hope it represented form the Legion, "details I need to collect from them; once that's done, we can get out of this place".
Delay increasing. Logical to assume Echidnopolis Security Team will locate and search base. No further debt to Echidnopolis Security Team. Conclude business with Dark Legion; safeguard documents to settle debt.
"From the map, we take the next right, second left and then a set of stairs should be right in front of us on the right", Lien plotted the course with minimal effort and pointed the flashlight to illuminate the way, "if we get started we can be out of here in the hour; do not even try to pick me up, I am walking there". She made that very clear, raising the flashlight as a weapon as Seraph made to move.
Risk exceeding acceptable level; Spyder location known to innocent.
He stepped forwards and she felt his hidden eyes on her all the time, his guard not daring to lower even after this time; she tried to lean back and catch a glimpse of what still puzzled her on his back but he twisted on the ball of his foot, facing her head on, cheating the light beam of a clear view as he pointed at her to make a move. Relived that she wasn't about to be slung over his shoulder again, Lien felt rather than saw him fall into step beside but slightly behind her, her flashlight leading the way as he apparently didn't need it. He really can see in the dark; she caught herself suddenly, scowling as she crushed the flicker of admiration, however faint, from her soul. This time, however, the flicker set light to the parts of her she tried to crush it with; the more she thought about what he'd done, leaving aside Kragok's wounding as that was on another level entirely, a level that could only be met with retribution and pain, it was actually very impressive. Maybe it was the darkness finally getting to her, maybe it was the realisation that, after what he'd just said, she didn't actually have any real secrets with this guy or maybe, just maybe, it was the realisation that whatever faults you could lay at his door, and callousness, cold-heartedness and GBH would have to be among them, Seraph wasn't actually inherently nasty.
I jumped on him with a knife; rather than seeking a way to crack the fortress with a concentrated attack, now Lien tried to take a wider view, seeing what made the dark angel tick; he could have killed me then, and if not then certainly afterwards, but all he did was get back the weapon I stole. Hang on a minute – 'I owe you nothing'…; she licked her lip, some of Seraph's very few words making a lot of sense now, in light of what she'd managed to uncover off her own bat. He seemed to have some kind of fixation on debts and the payment of said debts; the only reason he was here now was because, rather than her individually, she guessed he felt he owed the Legion something. Her earlier shot in the dark had hit a target; he'd taken board and lodgings from the Legion without them knowing anything about it, and now he was paying them back for taking such spirited away gains.
Without turning her head, Lien-Da cast her silent companion a side-long glance and wondered how he could endure the solitude as he did; he certainly didn't revel in it because he would talk to her, but she had to ask the right question for that to happen. Darkness she could understand; he could see in it, she couldn't; he had a big advantage, and even to a certain extent she could understand why he preferred to be silent; his voice, or what she assumed his voice must be like, didn't lend itself well to prolonged conversation. Besides, everything she'd gotten from him thus far indicated a professional hit-Mobian, and a very accomplished professional at that. He was hired by someone, that wasn't a doubt, but even as the thought crossed her mind she couldn't understand who; he'd given the EST vital information true, but now he was helping her escape the wreckage of her own base – surely if he was working for Remington, or for that matter the guardians, he'd be bringing her in. As she ticked off the next step of her journey and hung a hard left, she totted up the potential gains and, deciding that even if she got one word it was worth it; silence bugged her far worse than it did him; she asked,
"Seraph?" He was listening; she didn't need to hear or see him to know that – her voice alone would have him taking an interest in her words.
"Why did you help Knuckles, the guardian, escape from that trap we set for him? You said you were paying off the EST; you owe him as well?"
Innocent attempting understanding. Not possible. Reply in affirmative.
His head lowered and than raised, a solitary nod to match a solitary owner; she wanted to press him on that point but resisted the unwise idea; he'd just clam up further and all her efforts would be undone. Instead, pursuing a scientific interest, she stopped suddenly just before the doors ahead and asked a second question, one crucial plank in the structure of her thirst of revenge had to be nailed down proper before she could plot any more,
"So why did you beat up my brother?"
"Immaterial", the husked reply made her raise her eyebrows; to her that was anything but an immaterial point, "grudge settled". A grudge; that put a new angle on things; debts and grudges, a two-tier system depending on whether people had helped or hindered him; as the journey wore on Lien started to form a picture in her head, a more vivid, detail picture than anything her eyes could pick out in this darkness.
On paper it's simple – someone helps him – the EST, or the Legion for that matter; that was one bone of contention she couldn't quite settle – apparently Seraph worked for both sides equally as it suited him; he really must be good at his job or he'd be dead by now, but anyway; she got back on track, shaking off the distracting tangent even as she remembered Kragok's beaten face, using her brother's blood to quench the fires, however slight, of admiration of this obtuse, awkward merchant of destruction; he will help them out – he got the guardian out of that trap and obviously settled something with him. And the same thing in reverse; her teeth gritted, another sideways glance, this one much sharper, slid from the corner of her eye; he thinks someone's done him a wrong turn, he'll make it up to them, with interest if Kragok was any example. The memory pricked her thought and she stopped, Seraph effortlessly ceasing motion beside her to shield his apparently vulnerable back,
"Hey, it is not immaterial", she raised the light, illuminating her own face slightly as she spoke on, "that was my brother you beat to a pulp, and know this", she spoke to reassure herself as much as to warn him, "I don't like you Seraph, in fact, I detest you, not because you beat him, but because you're a coward; you hit Kragok from behind and took him down without mercy; for that, I will get even".
Warning heeded; discounted. Innocent not proficient – little risk if not allowed to acquire firearms. Statement also incorrect.
He said nothing, she hadn't expected him to; therefore, after she'd turned back around, his death-rattle of a voice sliced through the air, she froze and listened,
"Incorrect", she span to face her tormentor in the darkness, the flashlight highlighting him, banishing the shadows he seemed to inhabit, "former target not proficient in self-defence".
That was a joke; in all the time she'd ever been a fully-fledged member of the Dark Legion, she'd never yet known a single foe Kragok hadn't been able to put down. He'd routinely bested every combat trainer, in martial arts as well as marksmanship, the Legion had been able to provide him with and made it look easy; in fact he often complained to Dimitri that the Legion's martial strength was too weak to allow them to complete their divine mission. However, strength of arms was only one way, and in Lien's eyes, and thankfully her great-grandfather's as well, the worst way to win a war; in this new environment, with Enerjak adamant on a path of pacifism and diverting much of the Legion's focus to other paths away from warfare, soldiers were becoming rarer. Lien-Da knew that, even with the surprise of Seraph's blasts, the guardian wouldn't have triumphed against soldiers of the Legion of old; the troopers who had fought then had been green, out of practise and, once the battle line had been broken and especially when Kragok had fallen, they'd been afraid and that fear had done more damage than any of their opponents. Just like she knew that, had Kragok been able to fight properly, this black angel would have been ripped limb from limb before he'd even laid a finger on her twin,
"Really?" Her voice dripped with scorn and mocking disbelief, "what would you say if I said I didn't believe you?"
"Immaterial".
"Immaterial?" She stepped in close, face an ugly sneer as she snarled her next threat, "remember that when I put a gun blast through your head".
The bravado nearly worked; it had precisely no effect on the monolithic assassin, but it very nearly squeezed the last of her respect for him out of her – in this case though, nearly wasn't enough. Like a dormant coal, almost as soon as she'd turned away her thoughts re-ignited and somehow, almost blasphemously she found herself drawing lines between Kragok and this monster who had put him down unfairly. The way he got in was smart; she ran over his ingenuity in picking a disguise that meant he'd been able to camouflage not only his mask, but also his colourless voice as well; after all, who expects someone designated as a mute to talk? Actually; she smiled a little, a slight serendipitous quirk of fate allowing her to see a little humour in the bleakness; it was a pretty accurate pick. That was the sort of thinking Kragok relished; he always looked for the advantage, that little bit extra when trying something new; that was why he pushed himself so hard to understand the secrets of the Legion, get closer to the heart of their mission – he was forever asking permission to study the Central Dogma Dimitri had entombed himself within but, as yet, the venerable echidna had denied him access, stating he wasn't experienced enough to handle such knowledge.
It was strange; she considered all the angles, but it appeared her twin had been beaten by someone who was more proficient at his own game than he was; this hadn't just been a rush in all guns blazing, it had been a meticulously planned and executed extended reconnaissance mission that had, at the precise second he needed it to, turned into a failed assassination. If things had been different, if he'd have been working for us…; that was it!
Lien stiffened, a sudden surge of excitement tingling her; this was one way she could curry enough favour with her great-grandfather to, if not get him to discount what a monumental mess-up this had been, at least soften the blow somewhat. She had to trap Seraph, not to kill or wound him, no; compared to this idea that was far too crude and unpleasant – here she was using his own rough sense of honour, such as she understood it, against him. All I have to do is get him to owe me something; she had a sudden vision of leading the dark angel into Necronopolis meek as a lamb, all bowing before her as at least some would remember what Seraph had done and wondering how Lien-Da had succeeded where her brother had failed. Kragok's jaw would fall open, astonished to see his conqueror humbled as Enerjak was forced to choke back his rage and admit that, despite all the odds, there had been a slight bright side to this tragedy. Seraph was, as far as she could tell, a lethal weapon with no real weaknesses as she could understand them; something like that gaining information on the EST or, dared she imagine it, the guardian Knuckles, the secrets he could unearth; it was enough to send a shiver down her spine and inject a little brightness back into this subterranean pit.
XXX
"Lines down"; he'd stopped her moving with his words alone; Lien swung the light up to see with chagrin that he was right; it must have been some blast to make so many lines dangle like socks draped on a washing wire. He'd disrupted her chain of thought but it hadn't really had too many links in it; she was stuck on the first, and possibly the last, part of her plan; somehow, she had to get an advantage on this impassive shadow in her footsteps. It would be so much easier; she reasoned as she slid her back to the wall, acutely aware of how damp her clothes still were as she squeezed past, giving the lines as wide a berth as possibly, trying to even hold her breath in the claustrophobic environment in case the displaced air set the wire swinging. She swished past as soon as possible, screwing up her frayed nerves to make sure she had enough to rush past, exhaling explosively in time to point the flashlight back as Seraph; incredulous but not exactly surprised, she watched on as he just strolled past the descended cable, unperturbed by the potential death mere feet from his side. If only he'd slipped; she grumbled at the bad hand fate seemed to be dealing her; I could have made the diving save and he'd owe me his life – oh the things I could do with that. The pleasant thought occupied her so much that it was only when the rasping hiss of,
"Incorrect direction" jerked her back to the present she stopped and examined everything she could by the light of her beam. Once more her cheeks reddened slightly; whatever else had happened today her blushing reflexes had been proved as all present and correct, and she began to stalk back to where Seraph awaited her.
"Why'd you warn me?"
"Potential danger in separation".
"So?" She affected nonchalance cleverly, seeking to determine if this was a way she could lever open the shell he'd cocooned himself within, "what's that to you? You're not under any obligation here…"
Incorrect. Innocent delivered safely to surface to repay debt to Dark Legion.
"…you could have just let me go. After all", she put her hands on her hips, posing slightly even if she wasn't hopeful that this idea would work now any more than it unwittingly hadn't earlier, "I did promise to kill you".
"Harm not the innocent".
"You said that before", she reminded them both, delighting in uncovering something else, another hidden meaning in his clipped code of conduct, "you said that's why you didn't hurt me, but now you're not. You mean you can't let me come to harm either"; bingo; that was it, the one chance she needed – for some reason this idiot actually thought she was some helpless damsel in distress and wasn't about to let her risk herself no matter what she threatened; and if that's not an invite I don't know what is. All I have to do is box clever – fake like I'm in trouble, let him come the gallant rescue then save his ass – he owes me and I get control. She searched ahead, thinking of what she could do in the circumstances even as Seraph turned his head slightly, indicating the way they needed to go next, she was plotting against him.
Strategy predicted; discounted. Code allows attempted suicide of innocent to proceed unimpeded.
XXX
Had it not been for her scientific mind, her quick and logical thinking, the whole course of the future might have been altered by Lien-Da's ignorance.
The female echidna had searched through all the possibilities she could conceive and, she shook her head, none of them looked feasible or, if the did look feasible, none of them looked safe for her. The best she'd come up with so far was dangling herself near an 'unseen' power line, but even that she didn't trust; if he messed up there was a good chance she'd get shocked and possibly be entombed in this base. As the door to the stairs they needed loomed up ahead, Lien broke away from those thoughts; she wasn't making any headway here and the more she thought about it the more frustrated it was making her. She had to take a break for a while, think about something else for a bit then come back, mind refreshed and ready to look at the same problem from a different angle. Thing is; normally this was never a problem for someone as charismatic as Lien; she could normally strike up a conversation with anyone on her research team to break the tedium, but in this case her charisma was matched by utter dourness on the part of her singular companion; what can I possibly talk about in this case?
She thought about it as Seraph pointed at her to turn around and break the door, passing her the Spyder, keeping the flashlight down with one hand as he seemingly sought to shield whatever weakness he had on his back, the regions where his suit didn't protect him; in the end, as she gingerly unscrewed the panel on the front of the door access panel, Lien decided she could do two things at once; she could first clear a little tension from the end and sort out her mind, and second she might just begin to recover from the humiliation Seraph had just put her through. Her shoulders began to shake; she still kept her back turned even when she heard the creak of chafing leather; Seraph turning to regard her as she choked the laughter down,
"I can't believe", she knew he was listening, "you read my diary; do you have any idea how rude that is?"
Information source should have been better concealed.
"Easy to locate; information valuable"; yeah, if you were after bribery you'd have me over a barrel; Lien shuddered, pausing in her work as she considered what would happen if, at some stage, he decided to use that against her; she couldn't afford to become a target in case he used that information against her. But; the time out worked as a light bulb was lit with a typical 'ping'; what other information did you get?
"Remind me again"; make sure he knows I'm not asking for any new info; "what other of these 'information sources' did you turn over to give to the EST?" He peeled through the old list she could remember perfectly; it was when she reached the end alongside him she added,
"And of course, my diary as well", she smiled, crossing her fingers out of his line of sight as she spoke, her tone light and conversational even if inside she was screaming for the right answer to come her way, "just out of interest, you being very through in you matters, did it not occur to you that you could have become number eighteen? Come on", she stood at his silence, the twinkle back in her eye as she stood tall, "you aren't blind; I was all over you and you could have just slipped off that leather, walked in with your disguise and had some fun with me. Why didn't you?"
Unnecessary delay. Copulation unnecessary to obtain information. Risk of camouflage breech.
"Unnecessary"; that statement put the final nail in that coffin – Lien shook her head and squatted back down, knife in her hand as she at last gave up on seduction; just my luck to have a gay hit-Mobian after my blood. Still, she had one last card to play and, having held it close to her chest for so long, she finally brought it out into the open,
"Hey Seraph", she paused, licking her lips before biting the bullet, "when you were cleaning, that was when you got all your info wasn't it?"
"Correct".
"Well, in that case, you had pretty much full access to the base; I know you were in my room", that much she was certain of; it was the next bit she wasn't so sure of, "did you go into Kragoks as well?"
"Yes"; right, now we're getting somewhere;
"Okay, and you read his diary as well didn't you; I mean, you're good at what you do, so you'd have checked out his sources of information as thoroughly as you tested mine", she didn't wait for an answer; she just knew she was right this time and carried on, grinning at her own cleverness. Lien had morals; she'd never even think of stooping to read her brother's diary and learning his secrets, but asking someone else who had done, well that just wasn't the same thing. If nothing else I want bribery; she chortled a little, having to suspend her breaking the door as the tremors affected her hands, making them less than perfectly steady; nothing really bad, just enough to make him squirm when I want him to;
"Well in that case, I want a bit of gen about my brother", she wasn't as close to Kragok as she'd have liked to be; he'd been distant from her for a while now, since before Dimitri had sealed them away to be precise, just growing up as a different person from her; her was the perfect opportunity to get a little closer to him again, "what's his, er, you know, the thing he wants most of all – like his greatest desire – you know mine right, it was written in my diary".
"Yes"; that was no surprise; all Lien really wanted was a method of immortality that didn't involve mechanisation; she had no real desire for her body to become armour-plated, hidden and mutilated to preserve her life. It was a difficult thing to even consider doing though, the Legion was all about technology as it was proven to prolong lifespan; Dimitri was very much of the if it's not broke why fix it mindset; so far she'd managed to get away with just a few of her dreadlocks being replaced with a few well-timed excuses, but the day when more of her would be replaced with silver was coming closer and, much as she didn't like the idea of death, she was reluctant to lose more of her body.
Kragok, now there was a different kettle of fish entirely; he was always pressing everyone, including her, to get more augmentations; it was one of the things that really bugged her about him, that persistent drive for mechanics – at least he could wait for her to perfect her emotional programming before he insisted everyone fitted into as perfect a tin can as the Legion could fit them in. So much so, Lien really didn't have a clue what her tempestuous brother really wanted and this was a golden opportunity to find out; whatever anyone else could say about her, Lien never looked a gift horse in the mouth
"So come on then; what's his greatest goal then? I'm his sister, I've got a right to know".
True. No risk in disseminating that information.
"You and Enerjak dead".
XXX
The Spyder clattered to the floor, a verbal blade sharper and more lethal than even it was slashing out at Lien-Da; like a lot of wounds, it took a few seconds after the blow had been struck for the pain and shock to register. The redness that had seemed to have concentrated around her face of late drained away, down to the very soles of her boots as she panted, trying to come to terms with what Seraph had just told her, how he'd lied about that so callously, just to add to the misery and torment she was having down her by insinuating Kragok would…
Fury, reforged in the light of this second betrayal by the angel in black and focussed like never before as it was directed at her, personally, bad-mouthing her own flesh and blood, took over, lent her strength. Lien shot to her feet, forgetting the blade on the floor as she knew she wouldn't need it, not to gain this apology,
"How dare you", she pointed with a finger that could have punched a hole in the wall, "how dare you kick someone when they're down like that? What else do you have against him; not enough to beat him up physically? You have to try and besmirch his memory like that, with a craven, filthy lie; I am his sister. Kragok would lay down his life to defend me, I would for him; you dare to try and make him out as a killer. You disgust me", she spat, the fluid striking the dark angel's leather and sliding down, glowing in the light of her torch beam. She glared piercingly; if he tried to deny this, uttered one word that even had the inflection that Kragok wanted death and she'd pounce; she'd just destroy him with pure rage; and here we go then; he tensed and she followed suit, blood thundering through her in readiness to defend her absent brother's name,
"You believe", the words wrong-footed her a little, leaving her open for the second blow, "I know".
She was left without a riposte; the few words he'd used meant there was little to work with anyway; but the basic, bitter truth of the statement was that, much as she tried to curse the fact, according to the principles of science she held so dear, he was right. She had no proof that he was lying and now, maggot-like, belated fears began to crawl over her, making her skin prickle and bristle as she couldn't think of a single instance in the past when Seraph had uttered an untruth. It didn't mean much; after all, he had lied about being a Legionnaire to get here, but since then, one-on-one, he'd been if nothing else truthful though she hadn't known him long. Still, she could, she would, get proof; Kragok would understand, in fact he'd never even find out if she was careful enough. She'd break her taboo this once; she had to – much as she hid it, Seraph's words had rattled her somewhat just because they had been so unexpected. It was one reason she'd never even considered for Kragok going so cold – he was burning bridges so he'd be better able to…what am I thinking?
She crushed the thought, refused to even let it enter her mind – she was going to get proof just so she could reaffirm another reason she had to obliterate Seraph – forget using him as a weapon now, he was far beyond that redemption. She wanted him dead and, as soon as she purged herself of this doubt, she'd be able to plan how she could do just that; Kragok would keep a gun in his room, all I have to do is find it and shoot first. With this thought in her sharp mind, she span and dropped, fingers scrabbling for the Spyder as she strove to unlock the door faster, the answers were waiting for her and she'd use them to cement the reasons for an angel's death.
XXX
"Don't try", she threatened as Seraph took back his safe knife, having nodded at the door ahead of him, ensuring the cables there were not in a position to impede them. After what he'd just said, she had no desire to get anywhere near him ever again, he was a poison to her that she'd be only to grateful to expel when the time came. She took the lead, picking out the stairs with the torch and mounting them easily, the climb quick as she realised she didn't have far to go to prove her brother's innocence. I'll show him Kragok; she promised silently as she heard Seraph just behind her, she had to fight hard to suppress the urge to kick backwards and send him flying with her boot-print on his mask; I'll teach him what it means to spread lies against you, or any of our family. If a part of her, however small, whispered that, by doing this, she'd be expelling her own doubt she never listened to it – as far as she was concerned, all this was Seraph's fault, and because of that, all she was doing was making sure he really was going to get what was coming to him.
She was so pre-occupied that she nearly tripped over her own feet trying to step up onto an invisible stair; she was at the top, the end of this fast and furious journey. She didn't even need to look to know which way she was going; Kragok's room was at the end of the corridor, opposite her own; they were the only two officers the base catered for and therefore the choice was limited. Quickly striding over to the door, Lien was astounded to see the door slightly ajar; Kragok's room was open, the lightless room beckoning her inside; she shone her flashlight into the revealed crease, the beam slicing through the darkness to deliver the silhouettes of silent, sinister shadows, deeper than the darkness that surrounded them. Swallowing slightly, the sudden chill around her skin not just due to the cooler air up here, Lien moved forwards, only to jump up and nearly drop her precious light source as something akin to a vice slammed onto her arm.
"Structure unsafe. Lines…"
"I don't care; get the hell off me", anger engulfed her fear; he was the whole reason she was in this mess and now, because of his haunting, unforgettable words, she was sticking her neck out still further even if she knew it had to be done; he had sounded so ghostly sure, so unemotionally right, that she knew if this wasn't checked out, if he wasn't proved wrong, she'd be sleeping with one eye open for the rest of her life, a residue or doubt, however slight, between her and her brother for all time. Pulling her arm out of his grip, unheeding as she uprooted a few hairs to do so, she strode onwards, though as his warning carried her ears she went slower than she had been, careful to check every footstep before finally, having analysed the door in front of her, she slowly exhaled, clipped the torch onto her belt and finally, stilling the trembling in her fingers, eased the door open.
With the sight cleared, the light she bore was able to pierce even this deeper darkness combined with shadow; the picture was revealed slowly under her tracking flashlight. With a sudden breath of relief, Lien lowered her guard minutely, stepping into her brother's room gingerly; as she looked around, it seemed almost as identical as when she'd been here the last time. The quarters were fairly Spartan; the bed was nothing like her own, a place to sleep rather than to…well, share; the few shelves were stacked with a few books, some of them his own works, dealing with strategy and martial arts; and you said he couldn't defend himself? She flashed a look over her shoulder to see Seraph, apparently still in the doorway, head up as though seeing something she didn't care about; she was too busy trying to suck water into her suddenly dry mouth, dispel the fear that, suddenly, she didn't want to do this.
I don't need to read this; she asserted it in her mind, but the voice making the argument was weak and pleading, almost as if afraid of what it might find; Kragok is my twin brother, we were together before we were even born, he'd never – he might – no, he wouldn't, he's my flesh and blood – he's always looking for ways to get ahead – with me – not always; she was caught in an internal struggle. Part of her wanted to turn around, walk out and blame everything on the silent sentinel behind her – he'd messed with her head in this dark dungeon, it was all his fault but another part of her wouldn't let that happen. His words were sticking in her mind, lodging in her thoughts and she knew she had to excised them, like splinters from her skin else they would fester and drive her to distraction. There was only one real place the information, the reassurance, she needed could be; the top drawer of his desk was the only conceivable place it could be stored; it was unlocked, but the thought of not trusting her own brother, betraying him like this…it was enough to freeze her in place.
For time immemorial, endless, countless seconds Lien-Da stood, paralysed with indecision, head and heart warring furiously as they tried to assess a problem on a scale as yet unseen by her before this day, this minute. And at the end, when the smoke had cleared, the debates blown away, there was only one statement left standing, unsteady on its feet, but standing still; I have to know.
With a lump of bile in her throat, flashlight shaking in her hand, the joint second-in-command of the Dark Legion slowly extended her hand and gradually, almost reverentially, pulled open the drawer. Her trembling hand slipped in and, a second later, withdrew just as slowly, the small book held within closed still for the moment. With a silent prayer of hope in her heart even if her brain was convinced this would be the moment of Kragok's vindication, Lien finally took her future in her hands and, with a sudden movement, let the diary fall open on the desk. Passing the light over it, she flipped a couple of pages and absorbed that which she had never been meant to see.
XXX
It had not been unexpected that she would react, but the violence of it was underestimated; the impact of the innocent on the bed was enough to send a tremor through the floor and up the walls, reverberating onto the very ceiling itself. This was enough; he saw it begin and was moving, impelled by the code to do so, protect those who had committed no sin against him, even before the screw finally popped free of its socket and the cable it had been supporting swung down in a deadly arc. It struck the springing dark angel squarely in the chest; Seraph had a second to realise that the shock of static as it earthed through him was not of sufficient magnitude to impair him greatly, but the energy it generated threw him backwards; he had no time to brace for the inevitable impact. Had Lien been capable of reacting, she may have caught Seraph and earned a favour from him as, with a muffled crash, the dark angel was flung into the wall behind him headfirst and slumped down, unmoving.
XXX
A single tear dripped from her eye though she never felt it leave her; similarly, all she had received from the drama behind her was a sudden scuffling, a smash and then silence. I was mistaken – I read the words wrong; she clung to a fragment of hope, a tiny raft in this new ocean of freezing despair, one that might just keep her head above water. Ignoring the slight pressure she could now feel on her back, Lien stood up, tottering forwards with her eyes wide and almost unseeing, lurching onto the desk and holding herself upright against it as she slowly raised her light again in a move that would either spare or sunder her hope forever:
My great-grandfather needs replacing.
No; she meant it both ways, a futile denial that she wasn't reading this reality correctly and, at the same time, an admission that she had not been mistaken previously; this is his diary, his writing, his feelings. Still, as she beheld that clinical, cold statement a third time, she could not have called herself Mobian if she had not wished, just for an instant, that this was all just a bad dream.
A/N: Sadly not – next chapter, the viper in the grass rears its ugly head.