ACT TWO

"So you became leader of the Toppats the first time because Reginald surrendered the airship to you? And after the government sent one thief to infiltrate a whole clan of 'em, huh?"

Henry told her the story in detail of how he obtained the top Toppat title the first time around, and she found herself grinning in mischief as Henry sheepishly rubbed a hand behind his head. "I don't blame you. Getting a sweet deal like that? I think it would have been harder to resist the temptation." If given the chance to rule over a whole clan of thieves, take as much as they wanted and live life their own way with no one to stop them? While not quite the same, it provided another reason why she said yes to his offer to accompany him back to the Toppat secret base. Freedom to live was a precious treasure to her.

"So after you became the leader of the Toppats the first time, you did your thing as the Toppat chief. At least before you got captured and sent to the Wall." The name of that awful place tasted like poison, burning her tongue.

Henry displayed a similar kind of bitter ice through his narrowed eyes and vice grip on his blanket.

"Since you and I both know what happened from there, I'll gladly skip that," she quickly said with Henry agreeing with a thumb's up, "And we also know what happened at the Toppat base. But." She tilted her head. "What does any of this have to do with how you're feeling? I might have a better idea of what went down between you and Reginald on the airship, but did something else happen before you got locked up at the Wall to make you think you're expendable? Which you're NOT by the way."

Henry averted his eyes. And instantly, he reached over for his tea. Cushioning the cup into his hands, he took another drink. Still warm, but slowly beginning to lose its warmth. After putting the cup back on the nightstand, he whispered into Ellie's ear.

"Wait. After your time at the Wall? ...I still don't get it. You were with me the whole time and even when we met up with Icepick and Snowcap back at the tavern. As far as I can see, nothing happened. Unless..." A terrible thought occurred to her. Creasing her eyebrows in dread, she held a hand over her chest and asked, "Did I do something wrong?" She nearly jumped when Henry frantically whipped his head and hands back and forth to indicate 'no'.

That was a relief. But then what was he referring to?

Seeing Ellie's puzzlement, Henry fiddled with the blanket edges in his fingers as he thought about how to properly explain his next line of thought. Without a sudden warning, he grabbed his hat and shuffled off the bed. The urge to stare out of his porthole felt strong, and he gave into it; he stood over to the wall at a spot in the wall where the porthole offered a magnificent view of the Earth. It glowed, a blue diamond lit up in a sea of eternal blackness.

Ellie stood to her feet as Henry shrunk deeper into his blanket. "Henry?"

"..." He brought his hat up to eye level, eclipsing his view of the Earth. He stroked the dollar sign necklace again. And he closed his weary eyes and flipped through his Rolodex of memories.

He jumped off the tank. The rocket was so close... but the distance quickly widened. Henry couldn't grab the ledge!
But someone grabbed him.
"I gotcha, Henry," a familiar nasally voice rang out over the wind.
He looked up.
Reginald?
"You know, I could drop you right now and nobody would know..."
No. No! He wouldn't dare drop him. Don't leave his life hanging in the balance just to satisfy your own -
"But why would I do that?"
And Henry was pulled to safety. Thank his lucky stars.
But would his own star align and shine brightly within the clan now that he was back?
"He..."

Ellie inwardly cringed at Henry's ragged, beaten and hushed statement. But pressing on, she took a step forward and gently asked, "He? Who's 'he'?"

He peeked around his shoulder to check on the closed door. Then he resumed stroking the necklace.

"..." Ellie wanted to sigh. Just because she understood that Henry preferred action over word did not mean she could always understand Henry's silence, as in the case right now. But in his gloomy state of mind, it was deemed a necessity for her to uphold her patience. Even if it wasn't one of her best virtues. "Hen. Who are you talking about?"

Bringing his fingers up to his nose, Henry curled his wrist down and then up while holding his index finger and thumb together as if he were twirling a mustache.

Ah, now they were making progress. "Reginald?"

An affirmative grunt and then soon after, one again under the raspy code of whispering into her ear, he told his story and awaited her response. The reaction spectrum of the human female species ranged very widely, and Ellie, though she differed with her simultaneous mellow snow and blazing fire personality, shared one trait with the rest of the female population - unpredictability.

And her tone, thickened with subzero ice, provided a prime example of that unpredictable nature. "He what? He said that to you while you were hanging onto his hand?"

To hide himself from her cold stare, he buried himself further into his blanket cave. But he answered, tentatively nodding.

Cooling her fury down, she cast her gaze onto the floor, the gears in her mind working. "So that's why you've been keeping to yourself whenever Reginald's been near. And Right Hand Man too because of his cybernetics and their close bond. It makes sense now." She returned her gaze to him. "You're scared of him waiting for the right time to take you out so he can be the leader again."

He shrugged. But immediately, he regretted it - a sharp pain shot through his injured shoulder. He shuddered and hissed through clenched teeth as he clutched his shoulder tightly.

Faster than a speeding silver bullet, Ellie held him by the side. "You must have moved your shoulder the wrong way. Did the doctor give you medicine before you were discharged?" She followed his pointed finger to a drawer in the nightstand. "Got it. Here, you better lie down. I'll get them for you."

Still clutching onto the hat like a lifeline, Henry let Ellie guide him back to his bed. She pulled the covers off and he was tenderly nudged into the bed. As he climbed in, she removed the blanket off his shoulders and placed it on top of the other covers. She bundled them up all to his chest while he carefully nestled himself into the pillows underneath to accommodate his shoulder.

After he felt the pain briefly leave him, Ellie took it as her cue to paw through the drawer for the medicine. "Here they are." She held up the container and read the instructions. "I'll get some water for you."

Henry pointed to his tea cup on the nightstand, indicating that she could use it for the water.

"Great! I'll be right back." Grabbing his cup, she disappeared behind another door near the main entryway - the bathroom door. Like magic, she reappeared with his water-filled up in one hand and a medicine tablet or two in the other. Sitting at Henry's bedside, the makeshift nurse handed the water and medicine to the patient.

The latter threw the medicine into his mouth, swallowed the pain killers and took a gulp of water to drown them into his body. Reeling from their chalky aftertaste, he gave the cup to Ellie and relaxed his back into his pillows. He sighed in relief quietly before softly lifting his eyes to meet Ellie's. His wide eyes and tiny smile beamed out of thankfulness.

She smiled assuringly. But her mind snapped back to an important detail she learned. And she saw Henry's mind snap back to the present moment too. She sighed deeply and said, "But Reginald pulled you up, and he and Right Hand Man haven't made a move to take your place. They've offered suggestions and walked you through the hows of running the clan but that's it. They even called you 'chief' just like the rest of the Toppats. Besides, they know that they'll have ME to deal with if they try and lay a hand on you," Ellie smirked and bared her fangs viciously.

Henry could not resist chuckling at that. It was true - for all of Reginald's trickery and deceit and Right Hand Man's cybernetics and fierce fighting style, both quickly learned not to underestimate the woman in action. It provided another reason why Henry happily granted her the rank of Right Hand Lady when she was recruited into the clan.

The humor left Henry though, and he lowered his eyes again. They caught the hat next to him. He held it in his hands, contemplating.

She noted his hesitation. "You're still scared?"

He then whispered something so quietly she had to ask him to repeat it.

And he said, "Hurt."

A/N: Well, looks like I lied about this being a two-parter course. This seemed like a good place to stop, and it's good to slowly build things up without shoving too much into one's face, no? One more part after this and Henry finally spills the beans on what's been eating him this whole time. Poor guy. At least Ellie's being a good listener here!

References:
-For those who don't know what a Rolodex is, it's a rotating file device used in offices to store business contact information or information in general.

Enjoy!