Chapter 8
"There they are," says the second teen as he points at the Mitchell twins and their asari sibling.
The teen with the black bandana comments, "I'm ready when you are."
The two older teens follow the three siblings to their family's skycar. Both have weapons with them. The bandana wearing teen has a switchblade while the second teen has a pistol. The parking lot has thinned out considerably and luck is on the two teens side with one of the lights near a lone skycar is dimmed and flickering like it's about to finish burning out. That's the skycar Karrera and her younger brothers are headed towards.
"Ragtop, take the one on the right, Derek. I'm going to pistol-whip the asari then shove the gun in Eric's face," whispers Mico Borsa.
"You do that and I'm going to start calling you, Pistol-whip," replies Ragtop.
Mico says, "That's my new name then." He waves Ragtop around to his right. Mic is surprised being they are kids of a cop, they would pay more attention to their surroundings, but the siblings are talking and looks like joking with each other. Since they're not, walking up on them is easy enough. Mico holds the gun in his hand and makes sure he has a good firm grip. "Hey, bitch!" yells out Mico as he hits Karrera between her right ear and eye, causing her to fall to the ground like a sack of potatoes.
Ragtop flips his switchblade open and lunges at Derek. Derek moves enough for Ragtop to cut only his shirt while missing skin. The older twin grabs Ragtop's wrist, forces his elbow into Ragtop's ribs. The teen with the black bandana doesn't let go of the knife. He wrestles his arm free from Derek's grip and swings the blade at the older twin, missing him. Derek keeps his eyes on the knife and counters every move Ragtop makes before Ragtop lunges at Derek again. This time he leaves a minor wound across Derek's inner left forearm. Derek gets his hands on Ragtop's wrists again and this time the switchblade drops to the ground and the two boys start exchanging punches with Derek gaining the upper hand with each punch.
Karrera lies on the ground with blood dripping down her neck from being hit. She makes a few noises in pain, but neither sibling is in a position to help her. As soon as Mico hit Karrera, Eric was on Mico in an instant. Mico didn't have time to put the gun in Eric's face, like he wanted. Instead, Eric grabbed at Mico's wrists, trying to disarm him. Eric has Mico's arm above his head, but can't get Mico to loosen his grip. The older teen moves his arms downward, Eric elbow's Mico near his neck, causing the older teen to move backwards.
Eric's hand moves over Mico's and both teens have their hand on the pistol. They struggle for a few more seconds when the gun fires. Mico releases his grip, leaving Eric holding the pistol. Ragtop tries to grab for his knife, but Derek kicks it under the skycar. Mico and Ragtop run as fast as they can to Ragtop's car before the police show up. Eric looks down to see Karrera bleeding from her abdomen and not moving. He drops the pistol on the ground then quickly removes his shirt so he can use it as a bandage. "Call for help, Derek! Karrera's been shot!" yells the younger twin as he presses on his sister's wound hoping he can slow down the bleeding. "No, no, no, no, noooo. Please, oh please."
The amusement park's security is slow to react to the fight, but responds quickly to the gunfire. Derek runs towards a security guard who is headed in their direction. He is panting as he speaks. "We need an ambulance, quick. My sister's been shot." He points at Karrera and Eric.
The security guard replies. "We've already notified the authorities From the looks of it, you need medical attention too." The guard points to the wound on Derek's arm.
Derek looks at his arm and sees the blood seeping from the wound and the hole in his shirt. "Yea, I suppose I do. I didn't even feel it" He touches on it and it stings, but nothing too painful. "It's my sister, who needs help. Not me." Derek runs back over to his siblings.
Eric mumbles "no" over and over. He's scared that he might have accidentally killed his sister. He's not sure if his finger hit the trigger or Mico's, but when it was over, his was the one holding the gun, so when they run for prints, his will show up. With him being on probation, they'll know the prints are his as soon as they scan the gun. He's in the system. What Eric doesn't know is, so is Mico.
Derek uses his omni-tool light to look for the switchblade, he finds it under the car near the front. He knows he shouldn't touch or move anything, but wants to make sure the police know where it is when they do show up. They're close. Derek and Eric can hear their sirens getting louder by the second. Derek kneels down next to Karrera to see if he can help keep with anything. The twins exchange looks. Eric's eyes show absolute terror, while Derek's show compassion. Derek reaches down to feel for a pulse and finds one. "She's has a pulse. Everything will be okay, Eric."
"No it won't, Derek. I..." Eric can't finish his thought as he looks down at Karrera. "Please forgive me."
The ambulance and police arrive and the medics start working on Karrera. The police separate the twins and start getting their statements. A second police unit arrives on the scene. The new arrivals create a buffer between the few onlookers and the crime scene. Officer Zahn recognizes Eric as Sergeant T'Soni's son. "Damn, Gessel, this involves Sergeant T'Soni's kids. Look, there's her son, Eric."
"You're right. This isn't good. Not good at all," replies Officer Gessel.
The partners find the Sergeant in charge to inform him about how this involves another police officer's kids. They're given permission to find and tell Sergeant T'Soni about the situation. The medics get the asari on a stretcher then in the ambulance. A medic is wrapping Derek's left arm with a medi-gel wrap before the detective has Derek get into his car, so they can finish giving their statements downtown . Eric sits, handcuffed in the back of a squad car. He sits quietly, but his mind is racing a million miles a hour and he wants to yell out to Karrera as the ambulance leaves the scene.
The police have already found the switchblade and the pistol. Even though the twins were separated, their account on what happened is the same. Derek doesn't know who pulled the trigger, his focus was on Ragtop. Because Eric's on probation, he doesn't say anything to the police. He asks for his attorney, Paige Davenport, and refuses to say anything until he speaks to her or his momma. He hates his momma most days and blames her for everything he hates about his life. As he sits in the back of the squad car, handcuffed, he realizes her feelings about Mico were correct. He's thankful, she's loves him enough to hire someone like Paige to represent him. Randy took his lawyer's advice and fought the charges and ended up with a tougher sentence than Eric's.
What do I do now? My life is over. I shot my sister of all people. Momma will never forgive me. Karrera will never forgive me. I'm so, so sorry, Karrera. It was an accident. I was trying to get the gun away from Mico before he shot one of us with it. Eric closes his eyes and cries softly. Don't die, Karrera, please don't die. I didn't mean to, honest. He leans forward enough to rest his forehead against the cool metal dividing the front from the back. A police detective removes Eric from the squad car, removes the cuffs from the youth's wrists then transfers him to the other detective's car with Derek already sitting in the backseat. The detective drives them towards the police station.
Kaja's House
Neena walks into the kitchen, where Kaja is getting them a snack and something to drink, wearing a IPD shirt that hangs unevenly on the turian's body with her pants. "I need to bring a few things over here. I really can't wear your clothes. You wanted to see how it would look, well, here it is." Neena spins slowly in a circle to show Kaja her backside too. The shirt rides up in the back because of the way the upper body of turians is shaped around the shoulders and neck.
"Well, I like it. It has an unique sexiness to is." Kaja grins from ear to ear. She hands Neena a small plate with a few turian snacks on it.
Neena takes the plate then sets it on the kitchen table. "I'm going to change back into my own shirt. This doesn't feel right on me. I can feel it hanging in the back."
Kaja covers her heart with both hands, "Awe, but you look sexy, I swear."
Neena shakes her head, "You can make anything look sexy, Kaja. Even the IPD shorts and shirt you're wearing with those..." Neena points to Kaja's slippers. "Blasto slippers of yours."
Kaja lifts her foot in the air. "What? You don't like Blasto? They were a gift from Liv and Tracy for my birthday last year. I haven't worn them out yet. I'll get a new pair of slippers when I do finally wear Blasto out." She wiggles her foot making Blasto's arms fling around.
Neena can't help but laugh at her asari lover. "I always wondered who the hanar was, but didn't ask. It's so good to see you goofing around, Kaja. Maybe we should do this more often?"
The asari peels a banana, but before she takes a bite, she points the banana at Neena, "It's all because of you and I agree, we need to meld more often." Kaja grins before she bites into the banana.
"I'm going to change into my clothes. Next time I come over, I'm leaving a few things here. O you have room for a few of my things?" Neena bats her eyes at the asari, grabs a snack then leaves for the bedroom.
Kaja chuckles and grins at Neena while eating her banana. She follows Neena to the bedroom and pulls the turian into an embrace once she's done getting dressed. "I'm sure I can make room for you and your stuff. We need to keep making baby steps and I know it's hard when we both want to take bigger steps."
Neena loves nothing more than being in Kaja's arms. She still hasn't put her finger on what exactly it is yet about Kaja that sets her apart from everyone else she's dated in the past. Something is there though and at times Neena doesn't care if she ever figures "it" out. Because she enjoys being with Kaja and how Kaja makes her feel. That's all the matters to the game designer. She nuzzles against Kaja's left, uneven shoulder, "It's okay. My lease isn't up for another ten months."
"Oh, good, no pressure then. I love you. I don't think I can say it enough, Neena." Kaja kisses Neena's forehead.
The turian moves so she can kiss Kaja on the lips. "I love you too." Giving Kaja a quick peck, Neena heads back to the kitchen to eat her snack, strips of a red-meat jerky imported from the turian colony world of Oma Ker. There's a knock at the door. Neena yells out, "Someone's at the front door. Do you want me to get it?"
"I got it. Enjoy your jerky," answers Kaja. She opens the front door and is completely surprised who she sees. "Officer Zahn, Gessel...what are you doing here?"
Zahn answers, "Sorry, Sergeant, may we come in?" Kaja steps out of the way and the two uniformed officers enter the house. Zahn starts explaining once Kaja closes the door. "How do I put this." He rubs his forehead. "There was an incident involving your kids at Adventure Park after closing. Your daughter, Karrara, was shot in the abdomen and taken to Memorial Hospital. From the preliminary reports they were jumped by two armed teens. One with a knife, the other had a pistol. Both suspects are still at large, but we are looking for them, Sarge."
Zahn pauses to read the updated information on his omni-tool. "Karrera is in surgery and I hate to tell you this, Sarge. Eric and Derek have been taken downtown for questioning. Eric's fingerprints are on the gun. Along with another set belonging to a Mico B..."
"Borsa," says Kaja before Zahn can finish saying it.
Gessel asks, "So there is a history between the twins and Mico Borsa?"
Kaja nods her head, "Yes, Mico was their school's bully until roughly two months ago. He got into a fight with Derek when Derek stopped him from bullying a younger student and Mico got transferred to another school. That kid's problem is his parents. He tried to bully the twins last year and that didn't turn out very well for Mico. He seems like a kid who will hold a grudge too." Kaja looks behind her. Neena is standing a few feet away, but giving her some privacy.
Zahn says, "Your car is still at the crime scene. Where do you want us to take you, Sarge?"
"Give me a few minutes, Zahn. I need to change clothes." Kaja walks away from the two officers, waves for Neena to follow her. Kaja closes the bedroom door once Neena enters. "Goddess, my worst fears are coming true." She paces back and forth "I need you to go to my mother's, tell her what is going on then head to the hospital. I'm going downtown to be with my sons." Kaja has both hand on Neena's shoulders. "Please, do this for me. My sons needs me and I have to be there for them. I know what Eric is thinking, Neena. Karrera is in surgery, so I have a little time before she wakes up from that."
Kaja quickly changes back into the clothes she was wearing earlier in the evening. Neena's heart goes out to Kaja. She heard everything the two officers told Kaja and is willing to do what ever Kaja needs from her. "Is your mom even home? You mentioned earlier she was at the university giving a presentation to potential donors."
"She should be it's after 2200. She might have gone out with others for drinks, so please wait for her. I'm going to have Zahn and Gessel take me downtown. Meet me at Memorial Hospital." Kaja kisses Neena then leaves with the uniformed officers.
Neena walks around the house, turning off all the lights before she heads over to Liara's house. When she gets outside, Liara is talking to Kaja. Neena joins them. Liara says, "...take Neena with you. It will help in the long run."
"What makes you think that, mom?" asks Kaja. She wants to go see her sons then to the hospital to check on her daughter. Neena listens and remains silent to find out Liara's reasoning for her to go with Kaja.
"It will show Eric that Neena is there for him too." Liara turns to the turian to comment bluntly, "Or am I wrong, Neena?"
Shaking her head, Neena replies, "No, you're not wrong, Liara. I'm here for him. All I need to know is what do you need from me. I'll help all I can, but I do have to work on Monday."
"You're with me. Mom, we'll be there soon. If you hear anything new, contact me," says Kaja. She hugs her mom, "I love you, mom."
Liara hugs her daughter back. "I love you too, Kaja."
Kaja and Neena get into the squad car. Zahn drives them downtown to the juvenile detention center. The two officers ask Kaja a few more questions about Mico Borsa, which Gessel passes along to the detectives investigating the case. Kaja is unable to provide any information about the second suspect. The teen with the black bandana. Zahn drops them off at the detention center then they go on the hunt for the second teen.
Kaja's omni-tool starts buzzing before they get inside. "Derek, are you okay?" She can see from his face, he's worried and scared. He also has a calmness about him.
"Yes, momma, I'm fine. I got cut, but a medic patched me up. Eric and I are at the detention center, momma," answers the older twin.
"I'm outside the detention center. What happened and how is Karrera?" Kaja's free hand takes Neena's. They sit on a cement bench outside the building in an area designed for family and friends to wait for their loved one to be released.
Derek turns his attention to someone at the detention center. "Okay, okay. I'll hurry up." He turns back to the monitor, "We got jumped by Mico and someone else. Never seen him before. I don't know. They took her one direction and me another and won't tell me anything because I'm not an adult." He uses air quotes when he says "adult" "I have to go, momma. Get us out of here!"
Kaja says before the call terminates, "I'll be there in a few minutes. I love you Derek."
"I love you too, momma," is the last thing Derek says before terminating the call.
"I'm glad your here," says Kaja as she leans against Neena.
Neena pats Kaja's hand, "I'm glad to be here. We need to get them out of there, Kaja."
Inhaling to calm herself, Kaja says, "I know and we will. I need to contact Paige and get her here." She brings up her omni-tool to contact Paige when she sees the human lawyer. "Oh never mind. Here she comes." Kaja stands to greet Paige. "I'm glad you're here, Paige."
"Hi Kaja. Hi Neena. What happened?" asks Paige.
The three adults enter the building together as Kaja tell Paige what she knows. Because Neena isn't related to Eric, she's not allowed in and is asked to wait outside. Eric and Derek are alone in an interrogation room containing a two-way mirror. Eric still refuses to say anything until either his momma or attorney show up. Over the past few minutes, Eric has wondered if his momma will let him sit and not come for him. He hopes he's wrong. He has been slowly finding out he has been wrong about many things. What happened tonight is more proof, his momma is right more times than she is wrong.
Eric hasn't said anything to his brother either. Derek sits next to his brother with a worried look on his face. Derek gets a feeling the detective wants to keep Eric in custody because they found his prints on the gun along with Mico's. The older twin doesn't like that the detective brought him and Eric to the police station. Not when he feels he needs to be with his sister at the hospital. The twins exchange looks. Derek has never see Eric this scared ever. It's a little unsettling. Eric didn't do anything in Derek's mind except try to get the gun away from Mico. It's not his fault it went off.
The door to the room opens, Kaja and Paige are in the doorway with two detectives. Paige says with a warm smile,"Hello Eric, Derek. I hope the detectives have been nice to you both. Now, you get to tell the story again."
Seeing her sons in this setting is tearing Kaja up emotionally, but she knows she can't show anything but calmness. Having Neena outside, waiting is making things easier for Kaja. Neena's presence gives the asari someone she can lean on without feeling weak because of it. Eric runs to Kaja to give her a huge hug. He doesn't say anything, but does make eye contact with her. Kaja's calmness tells him things are okay.
There are times when Paige feels she talks down to her teen clients, but she always wants to make sure they understand what is going on with their case. Some kids listen to their parents more than her and it ends up costing the child in the long run. However, Eric is a rare client, one who understands the law better than most kids his age. "Eric, you can start."
"Yes, ma'am. Mico jumped us. He hit Karrera first, she went down hard too. I lunged at him while the other kid attacked Derek. I tried to get Mico to drop the gun then next thing I know it went off. Mico ran off, leaving me holding it. I don't know if I caused it or he did, but Karrera got hit here." Eric shows Kaja on his body where Karrera's wound is located.
"What happened to your shirt?" asks Kaja.
"I used it to apply pressure to Karrera's wound. How is she, momma?" asks the younger twin.
"I don't know yet, Eric. She's in surgery. I came here first. Neena is waiting outside because she's not family, they wouldn't let her in, but she is here for you too. We love you, Eric, Derek." Kaja pats Eric's shoulder.
Eric isn't sure what to say, he is fairly certain his life is over. He didn't think his family would forgive him, but Kaja isn't blaming him for what happened to Karrera. "Momma, what's going to happen to me now? I don't want to go to Shatta House."
Derek asks, "Why are we here? We were jumped and defended ourselves. Mico hit Karrera with the pistol. Some guy with Mico came at me with a knife. We told you this at the amusement park."
Detective Phil Caine, who doesn't like Sergeant T'Soni after she transferred him from her unit, says, "This is the official statement then your momma can take you home. Eric we just need your statement, you're not going to Shatta House" Not yet anyway, but I'm sure you'll mess up again and end up there. The detective holds a grudge against Kaja because he got transferred to a shift he didn't want to work. He would love nothing more than to keep Eric in custody for what he feels is a probation violation. The evidence isn't in the detective's favor, but it's how he feels. Caine's gut screams Eric provoked the attack some time before today. He just needs to prove it.
Kaja knows Det. Caine doesn't like her and she doesn't care if he does or doesn't. Her concern and focus is to make sure Caine doesn't try to railroad her sons into a charge they don't deserve. She didn't check, but she highly doubts any of her pistols are missing. All her weapons are in a safe and she's the only one who knows the combination. The safe is in her bedroom and no one besides her and Neena have been in her bedroom today. That much she knows for certain.
Caine's partner, Detective Sabeeha Ta'anari reads from her omni-tool, "Here is what we know so far. You and your sister were walking to your car when two other teens jumped you. Mico Borsa hits Karrera in the head, knocking her down. Eric you struggled with Mico while Derek you were dealing with the second teen." She stops reading, looks at Derek. "Can you describe him for sketch artist?"
Derek whispers to Paige and Kaja. "Is it okay to say I can drawn him? I won't forget his face any time soon."
Paige looks at Kaja, who asks, "Can you do it quickly, Derek?"
"I think so, momma. I can't be any slower than me telling someone the details," replies the young artist.
Kaja thinks that is true enough. Derek can draw a sketch quick enough, he slaves over the little details and that is why his work takes time for him to complete, but this is a simple sketch. Kaja says, "Let Derek draw the sketch. He's a very good artist."
The two officers look at each other with Ta'anari getting their CO involved to receive the okay for Derek to draw the picture. This is the first case where the victim can draw a sketch instead of the department's artist. Ta'anari returns with a large data pad the artist's uses with a large pencil shaped stylus to draw with. Derek looks at the tools he is given and would rather have actual paper and pencil to draw with, but he'll work with what he's given. The artist stays to see if the youth needs help with the drawing program then leaves once he sees Derek knows what he is doing.
While Derek draws the sketch, Kaja steps out of the interrogation room to call the hospital. The only information the hospital has is Karrera is still in surgery and they'll know more once the surgery is over and Karrera is in recovery. Kaja reenters the room and sits next to Eric. "Can we get Eric a blanket, jacket, or something to cover himself with? He looks a little chilled. If I was told he didn't have his shirt, I would have brought him one."
Caine starts to say something but sees the look on Sergeant T'Soni's face then decides against it. She's the parent in this situation, but she's also outranks him within the department. Messing with her or her sons is a bad idea and one Caine knows is a bad idea. "I'll get him a blanket, Sergeant."
"Thank you, Detective," replies Kaja when Caine brings in an unfolded blanket and hands it to the asari. She unfolds hit and wraps it around Eric's shoulders. "Go ahead, Eric, tell them what happened."
Eric still can't believe it. He really thought he momma wouldn't forgive him for what happened to Karrera, but she's done nothing, but show concern for everyone including him. He tightens the blanket around his chest to keep the cool air off his bare skin. "It's like what Derek said. We were leaving Adventure Park to get something to eat when Mico hit Karrera in the head. I was standing right next to her and I grabbed his wrists to keep him from shooting anyone and at one point I had his arms above his head like this." Eric stands with his hands above his head, showing the detectives what happened. "Then our arms came down. I move my hands over his and the gun fired. Mico let go and I was left holding it."
The youth looks at Kaja, who is showing nothing but support, so he continues. "I dropped it on the ground when I saw Karrera on the ground bleeding. That's when I took my shirt off and used it to help stop the bleeding. I barely saw the other kid and I don't know what he looks like. Wore a black bandana. It's the only thing about him I remember. They took off when they gun fired. I know it was Mico who had the gun."
Detective Caine asks, "How do you know Mico?"
"He went to the same school as us until he got into a fight with Derek in October and got transferred to Radcliffe High School. He was the school bully and tried that shit with us last year. Derek and I beat his ass more than once until he decided to leave us alone," answers Eric a little too bluntly for Kaja's taste, but lets him tell it as he sees fit.
Detective Ta'anari raises an eyebrow at Eric's colorful language and is a little surprised Sergeant T'Soni allows it. She wouldn't if he was her son. The female detective asks, "Have you had any run ins with Mico since October?"
"No, ma'am. I forgot all about him. He's not as school anymore and no one misses him," says Eric. He moves his chair closer to his momma.
Derek finishes the sketch. "Here, this is what he looks like. Bandana and everything." He hands the datapad with the stylus to Detective Caine.
Caine looks at the drawing. The face looks familiar to him, but can't quite put a name with the face. "Sabeeha, recognize this kid? I swear I've seen him before, but I can't remember where."
Kaja asks, "Mind if I take a look? Maybe I'll recognize him." Caine hands the Sergeant the data pad. Shaking her head, Kaja replies, "Never seen him before." She hands the pad back to Det. Caine.
Ta'anari takes the data pad from her partner to look at the sketch. She points to the pad, "I know who this is. It's Ragtop Moorehouse. His first name is Milo. He also goes to Radcliffe and is a member of the Rads street gang."
The squad's commanding officer enters the interrogation room. "We've picked up Mico Borsa. I've already passed on Moorehouse's description to the uniforms. We have enough to go on, let Sergeant T'Soni take her sons home and see to her daughter. If we have more questions we can ask them later. Sergeant, your skycar is still at Adventure Park parking lot, I can make sure an officer gives you ride to your vehicle"
Kaja stands to shake the Captain's hand, "Thank you, Captain. We're headed to the hospital after I get Eric a new shirt."
Eric leaves the blanket on the chair. Kaja has her arms around both sons as they leave the building. Paige sticks around to talk more with the detectives to make sure Eric is in the clear when it comes to his probation. Neena sits patiently outside, reading a few messages on her omni-tool from her friends on Palaven. The turian closes her omni-tool when she sees Kaja exiting the building with both sons by her side.
"Eric, where's your shirt?" asks the turian.
The youth grins at the turian. He is actually happy to see Neena and for the first time since he's known the game designer, Eric says, "Hey, Neena. I'm glad to see you. I used it to help Karrera. I need a new one."
Eric's new attitude towards Neena catches everyone by surprise. Derek nods in a happy-go-lucky way with a goofy grin. Kaja hugs Eric then whispers, "I'm so proud of you, Eric."
Neena joins the group. She pats Eric on the arm. "It's good to see you are okay, Eric." She turns to Derek. "How is your arm?"
"I'm fine, Neena. Better than my shirt though. He shows the hole caused by Ragtop's switchblade.
Kaja says, "You can change shirts when we get to the house. Then we're headed to the hospital."
Eric protests, "No,momma. Screw my shirt. I want to be with Karrera."
"I agree, momma our new shirts can wait," adds Derek.
Kaja gives each twin a hug before everyone gets inside a waiting squad car. The uniformed officer takes the family to the amusement park. The crime scene units have already left the area. Kaja's car is the only car in the lot. The officer waits until the Sergeant and her family drive away. The twins want to see Karrera, so Kaja is headed to the hospital instead of getting Eric a shirt and Derek a new one. Their actions tonight and how calm both acted tells the asari, she's been doing the right things with them after-all.
Eric's reaction to Karrera being shot makes Kaja a very proud parent and a scared one too. Will Mico attack them again? She hopes not. Once they get home and get some rest, they need to have a talk about what happened. Maybe give the boys more defensive training or work on what they already know. If Eric's attitude towards Neena remains positive, Kaja plans on giving him his privileges back again. She's starting to think he might have started earning them again. As with everything else when it comes to Eric. Time will tell.
Memorial Hospital
Dr. Liara T'Soni sits in the waiting room, waiting for her daughter and grandsons to arrive and news about her granddaughter. Liara wonders if there will ever be a time where she's not needed to sit at a hospital to wait on news about a loved one after being shot. This is the third generation to be either on shore leave, vacation, or on break from school to be shot. Karrera being shot bothers Liara the most. Both Leia and Kaja were trained soldiers, who put their lives in harms way every day during their duty. Kaja still put her life in harms way, though not as much being she is behind a desk more than she is on the streets.
It's well past midnight and Kaja has yet to show up with the twins. It takes time to get statements and with Eric being on probation, that might hold things up. Liara for the first time in a long time, left the house without a data pad to communicate with Glyph and her other agents. She's in the dark on what is going on downtown when it comes to the twins. All Liara knows is they took both boys downtown for more questions and Derek has a minor wound on his left arm. All she is getting from the hospital staff is Karrera is still in surgery and they will know more when the surgery is over and Karrera is in recovery.
Asari are naturally a patient species, but Liara grows tired of the wait. These are the moments she dreads the most and she thinks her family has had too many days like this. She is grateful, only one grandchild was serious wounded. From what she knows happened, one of the boys could have easily been shot as well. Liara is really wishing she had something to work on because this wait is starting to get to her.
Kaja with the boys in tow quickly walk down the hallway. Kaja asks when she sees Liara, "Heard anything, mom?"
"No, I have not and I'm getting worried, Kaja. She's been in surgery for almost three hours," answers Liara. She gives her daughter and both grandson's a hug. She asks a few questions when she notices Eric's without his shirt and Neena isn't with them, "Where's your shirt, Eric? Why didn't you pick him up one, Kaja, and where's Neena?"
Eric hugs his grandmother, "Neena went to the house to get Derek and I a new shirt and she's stopping to get me something to eat. I wanted to come here right away. Karrera means more to me than a shirt, grandma."
Liara is stunned, absolutely stunned by Eric's answers to her questions. He seems happy Neena is doing things for them while they sit and wait for news about Karrera. Liara thinks this is the first time ever, Eric has said anything nice about the turian. She hopes this new attitude sticks around too. It fits who Liara feels Eric really is, a good kid. Liara glances at Kaja, who is nodding with a grin. "That is nice of Neena. Derek, are you okay? Get hurt in the struggle?" Liara points to Derek's bandaged left arm.
"I'm fine, grandma. Mico's buddy cut me before I got him to drop the knife he had. And he ruined my favorite shirt too," Derek shows Liara the hole.
Kaja pats Derek on the shoulder, "I'll make sure to buy you another one tomorrow." Kaja sits in a chair and thinks her sons are amazing. Both keep their wits about them when put into a dangerous situation I wonder what would have happened if I hadn't taught them self-defense? Goddess, I knew that Mico kid was trouble. I hope Karrera will pull through this okay. She's so close to earning her law degree and I fear she's going to miss the next term recovering from this. They've both made me so proud of them tonight. Maybe I am doing the right things with them.
Eric sits to his momma's left and Derek sits to the right with Liara sitting next to Eric. Derek leans his head back against the wall behind the chair and falls asleep. Eric is still to wound up to sleep, but grabs a magazine to thumb through. The two adults sit in silence, waiting for news. As the minutes tick by, Neena shows up with the t-shirts she bought from work for the twins and food for Eric. Eric moves to give Neena his seat, so she can sit next to his momma and so he can eat his chili cheese fries. Kaja gives Neena a kiss on the cheek when the turian sits down.
Neena hands Eric a dark red t-shirt with a woodland elf holding a staff with a red power crystal. The image and "Blood Mage" written vertically is black. It's a shirt Neena knows Eric has wanted, but has been unable to get. Every time he went to order one, it was already sold out. Because Neena is the new girl at work, when a new shipment of shirts arrived, she was able to buy the shirt for Eric. "Here you go, Eric. I got word you've been wanting that shirt for a while." She gives the youth a warm, sincere smile.
Eric sets his chili-cheese fries down, so he can look at his new shirt. His eyes show absolute surprise when he sees what's on the shirt. He stands to give Neena a tight hug. "Thank you so much. I tired to get one when I heard they had restocked them last month and I still missed out." He put the shirt on and it's a perfect fit.
"I heard that shirt sells out in two or three hours too. The others take a little longer. Like four to five hours. I'm glad you like it." Neena hands Derek a blue t-shirt with a dwarf holding a big ax across his should with "Warrior" written vertically in white print. "I got one for you too, Derek."
"Thank you, Neena. I love playing with my warrior dwarf. I get to carry around a big ax and flop off the enemies' heads with it." Derek folds his shirt and sits it on the arm of the chair he is sitting in. It's going to be the shirt he wears when they go back to school.
Neena asks, "Still no word?"
"Nothing yet." Kaja shakes her head with a concern look on her face. The concerned parent thinks she sees a doctor in scrubs talking to a nurse. The doctor looks familiar to the police Sergeant.
The asari medical doctor walks towards the family. Dr. T'Sakos, the same doctor who preformed the surgery on Kaja's gunshot wound almost three decades ago says, "My name is Dr. T'Sakos and I'm..." The doctor stops the introduction when she recognizes Kaja and Liara. "Hello Det. T'Soni, Dr. T'Soni. Kaja, your daughter is in recovery. She's going to be here for several weeks."
"Several weeks? What about school? She's goes back to Thessia in two weeks," says Eric. The guilt he felt before they left the crime scene is back. Again, Eric feels responsible for Karrera being shot and now it looks like she's going to miss her next school term because of it. The youth sits in a chair with his head hung. Derek sits next to his brother and the twins talk quietly among themselves as the adults listen to what Dr. T'Sakos has to tell them.
T'Sakos says, "There were no complications during surgery. What took so long was repairing the damage the bullet caused. Because she was already on the ground lying partly on her side, when the bullet entered it nicked her liver and penetrated through the small intestine in several places. She's going to be here for at least two weeks if not three. She will need to finish recovering at a rehab hospital for a couple of weeks before she comes home. It could be months before she's fully healed."
Kaja tries hard to not show the sadness she feels about Karrera's injuries. Parents always fear the worst and for Kaja, this is the worst. There is only one thing that Kaja knows is actually worse. The asari closes her eyes then wipes them with her fingers before opening them again. "Can we see her, Doctor?"
"She's in ICU. I've ordered no visitors until Monday morning. I'm sorry. I know you want to be with her, but she's needs to heal right now and the less people around her, the less chance there is for an infection. I always err on the side of caution," replies Dr. T'Sakos.
"Thank you, Doctor. I suppose we'll head home and come back Monday." Kaja turns to the twins sitting behind them. "I guess we get to go home for the night. No visitors."
Eric stands up protesting, "No, I don't want to leave. I want to be here when she wakes up."
Dr. T'Sakos says, "Karrera won't be waking up anytime soon. We have her heavily sedated to help her body recover.
Derek asks, "When will she wake up?" He wants to stay too, but he also wants to sleep in his own bed and not in a chair with his head against a wall.
"She'll wake up once we take her off the sedatives and only time will tell how long she needs to be sedated," answers the medical doctor. "I am sorry, but it's what best for Karrera." She gives Kaja a sympathetic look before she leaves the family to check on Karrera's recovery.
Eric still doesn't want to leave and neither does Derek. They don't want to leave their sister behind even though Karrera is in good hands and is being well taken care of by the hospital staff. Neither boy says anything when told Neena is spending the rest of the weekend with them. There is always ample opportunity to have a fresh start when things seem at their worst. This is one of those times. With Eric's new attitude towards Neena is a fresh start and one Kaja hopes continues down a happier road.
For the next few days, the family's thoughts are on Karrera. The next morning Kaja calls her sisters to inform them on what happened. Gaia is two days from finishing a recording session for another anime vid and will come for a few days once she's done working. Liv and Tracy will arrive after work on Friday. Tracy can't take the time off and Liv has contract negotiations planned with the Citadel Council all week and is unavailable to come until next weekend.
Derek even moved back into sharing the bedroom with Eric, that way Karrera can recover in her own room once she's able to come home. Eric's guilt hasn't subsided any and he thinks it will once he knows Karrera is really going to be okay. What he really wants to know is, she does she or does she not blame him for what happened. Momma has not blamed him, nor has his grandmother. That's been a big relief to Eric. He was so certain, they would never forgive him. Not only do they forgive him, but they don't even think he did anything wrong.