.
Fall
It took him until the autumn to begin reading through the files. Even then it was only to put his anxious mind to rest and to try and distract himself from the looks he kept getting from the villagers. From Maru, mostly. And his son… He wondered why Jodi was even still here at this point… He'd done nothing but hurt and disappoint her since his return. He'd asked her, once, if she wanted to leave. She confessed she had thought about it, and that had hurt but he'd seen it coming. He asked her if he should pick up the papers at City Hall. She'd rolled over, looked into his eyes, and promised him she wasn't going to go anywhere. Not now, at least. But she'd made him promise to try and get better, and he'd agreed but it was just so hard. Part of what held him back had to do with his increasing guilt over Harvey.
He'd heard no news about the man, he hadn't pressed for information, he'd just wanted to forget. But he couldn't, no matter how hard he tried. So, to put his mind at ease, or try, he had finally brought out the dossier he'd obtained from Dobson. He took it with him out to the backyard, sat, and began to read… And immediately regretted everything…
They called themselves the Silenced Sun, an organization made up of three siblings. Two brothers and a sister. It had started as a wry joke, nothing serious or major. Both brothers had spent some time in military training when they were teenagers, and a bit as young adults, so had a good foothold and decent contacts.
The younger brother wasn't cut out for army life. The older brother, knowing this, moved mountains to get his sibling pardoned from any kind of potential future draft or military service, and had taken up the slack. He'd gone in for the air force, he'd always dreamed of being a pilot, but he wasn't exactly army material either, and his bad eyesight and crippling fear of heights put a stop to that aspiration. On top of that he was considered something of a coward. They'd been on the verge of kicking him out of the army when his unit was ambushed by a Ferngillian one. Many died that day on both sides. The numbers would have been higher still if not for this young man who had only just started his medical training and despite that still managed to save many lives on both the Gotoro and Ferngill sides. It seemed it was at that time that he discovered his interest in saving lives instead of taking them. He trained to become a field medic, but that wasn't enough for him. The death he'd seen and the things he'd had to do haunted him. He wanted to try and ease his agonized conscience, he wanted to rescue not to kill, and so as soon as his mandatory service period was up, he continued at school for the remainder of the eight years it would take him to become a doctor.
Only while he was gone, the war got that much worse…
One night, while listening to the reports of the war with his sister and brother, they got to talking about the direness of things. Then they got up to mischief. As established, both brothers had military know-how, and the oldest had extensively studied aviation and communications, so they decided to play around and got on the radio waves. They prodded for information pretending to be soldiers or officers acting on orders from higher-ups, and they began to disrupt the plans of both the Gotoro Empire and the Ferngill Republic, sending missions to fanciful locations, misdirecting bombers, switching up orders. Harmless, petty things they didn't think would make much a difference. Then those little things started to make a difference. They started to make a difference, and the little things became medium things. Then the medium things became large things. Then the large things got real…
The older brother had high-ranking friends in the military, and had known many powerful officers, even saving the lives of some. He had had access to classified files, during his stint, and had learned the names of prestigious officers even in the Ferngill Republic. He had insight into plots and campaigns that others didn't even have an inkling of, plus his aviation skills? Enough said. The younger brother, for his part, had his hooks in the economic and commercial worlds, and was surrounded and close to many influential people on all sides, often playing the socialite. Those people included government officials and military personal. Meanwhile the sister had her hooks in the underground and regularly smuggled goods from the Empire to the Republic to sell. As it turned out, it was a potent combination.
Kent read of battle plans that had been completely botched, battles that would have cost hundreds of lives but failed to work out because of the actions and plans of the Silenced Sun. Supply lines interrupted, bombing missions diverted, false coordinates given, sabotage operations carried out, intelligence swapped, the list went on! Dobson worked from out of the Empire, obtaining intelligence from them and sharing it with Harvey to give to the Republic. Harvey worked from out of Ferngill obtaining intelligence from them and exchanging it with Dobson to give to the Empire. This intelligence consisted of battle plans, secret bombing missions, potential raids, etc. Not small stuff. The older brother even went back to the army and offered his services and got an even stronger foothold. The younger brother used his position as a trusted Joja employee to win himself favors and friends. The travelling merchant was the go-between for them. The one on the ground so to speak. She could move utterly undetected, and her contacts in the Underground helped keep things running smoothly all around. After information was swapped, the siblings worked to mess it all up on both sides, sparing as many people their lives as possible… And Kent saw more than one instance in which he would have been killed without question, that had been diverted or interrupted or scrambled… More than one instance where his life and the lives of countless others had been saved…
It makes him a neutral party playing his own games…
The doctor's loyalty was not for sale. He would not compromise his honor and conscience and morals to make life easier for himself. Lives were not expendable in his eyes and would never be, and no one would force him to throw lives away just because they wanted him to pick a side.
What is it they judge in the end? A hero or a traitor?
"A hero would want for no death at all…" he whispered to himself out loud, recalling the elf king's words. The king had said there was no hero in this war… But the more he read, the more it seemed like the Silenced Sun might just be the closest things to heroes there was… And one of them was now a captive of Ferngill, being tortured and humiliated for information he couldn't give… Because of him… Kent swallowed thickly and let out a shuddering breath, bowing his head and letting the file fall to the ground before burying his face in his hands, shaking his head.
Stardew
"I'm going to the city," Kent said to Jodi, stepping into the kitchen the next day dressed in military fatigues. She was sitting at the table, hands balled together and tears in her eyes. She looked up, and devastation flashed across her face. "I'm not going back, Jodi," Kent said quickly to try and reassure her. "Even if I wanted to, they wouldn't let me. I'm not… in a stable enough mental place to be sent back. I just have some things I need to tie up."
"Has Sam spoken to you yet?" she asked quietly. She knew how hard Sam's silence and bitterness was hitting her husband. Very, very, very hard. Her husband had never wanted to be the villain… He hated being the bad guy.
Kent was quiet, looking away. Finally, he turned back. "No," he answered. He frankly wasn't sure his son would ever speak to him again… But maybe after this, Sam would at least stop looking at him with such hatred… Or be willing to breathe the same air or walk the same path… Or anything…
"He'll come around," Jodi said sympathetically. Kent couldn't say he agreed. "Drive carefully."
"I will," Kent said. Driving was the safest thing he'd be doing. He could drive blindfolded without a seatbelt and with the airbags disabled, and it would still probably be the safest thing he was about to do. "I love you."
"I love you too," Jodi replied.
"I'm… sorry… That I wasn't there like I should have been… I'm sorry I came back so wrong… I'm sorry I came back a stranger… I wish I could have made it alright again… I should have let it go. I should have let all of it go," he said quietly.
Jodi frowned in concern. "Why are you using past tense?" she asked, audibly nervous now.
He shrugged. "Didn't mean for it to come out that way. I'm not going to do anything like that, Jodi."
"You damn well better not," she hissed with a scowl, tears slipping from her eyes. She furiously wiped them away. "You don't get to leave me like that, Kent. You don't get to leave me and our sons alone. You don't get to give up!"
He shook his head and caught her around the waist, pulling her close against him. "I'm not going to give up. I'm never going to give up. I'm not going to leave you. Not of my own volition. I promise," he said vehemently, keeping her as tight against him as possible as she scowled up at him, eyes blazing. She threw her arms around his neck, kissing him angrily. He retuned her vehemence before finally drawing away and nuzzling her softly. "The only way I'm not coming back is if some accident happens, but no accident is going to happen. I'll come back, Jo. I'll come back." She seemed, at first, like she wasn't going to let him go, but finally she sighed and released him, looking brokenly up at him. She didn't know what to do anymore…
"I love you," she said to him a second time.
"I love you too," he replied again. He kissed her forehead gently once more then left. She watched helplessly after him, arms wrapped tightly around herself. Damn him if he didn't come back… Damn him if he left them like this…
Stardew
Kent drove straight to the military prison and parked, getting quickly up and marching towards administration. He'd called ahead so they were expecting him. "Kent, it sounded important. You mentioned your concern was the doctor we're holding under suspicion of espionage. You have a right to be concerned. He's proven unexpectedly difficult to get information from. It isn't sitting right with me. He knows something," the man greeting him said.
"Has he even confessed to espionage?" Kent bit a bit tersely.
"Yes. It didn't take long to break him in that regard. We thought the rest would come easily, given he was so cooperative in answering the first question. We were wrong," the officer replied.
"Cooperative, huh?" Kent asked coldly. "What did it take to get him that cooperative?"
The officer was quiet. Kent could feel the unease radiating off the man. "We've broken no law," he finally said.
"I didn't say you had," Kent replied. He knew they were telling the truth, but the law was less than stellar regarding 'acceptable interrogation tactics' in cases of espionage, terrorism, or treachery, and he was through turning a blind eye when he knew better. "You going to answer me or am I going to have to see for myself?"
"You don't have that…" the man began.
"Yes. I do," Kent cut off.
"Give us twenty minutes to prepare the prisoner to receive visitors and…" the man began.
"I'm seeing him now, Captain!" Kent shouted, turning on the officer, subtly pulling rank.
The man was quiet, staring at him. "Very well," he finally, and more than a little reluctantly, relented. Kent grunted, nodding, and gestured for the man to lead the way. The man did so and Kent followed closely, mentally bracing for whatever it was he was going to see. He knew it probably wouldn't be pretty. He knew it was going to hurt. He deserved it, though. For what he'd done to contribute to it. He deserved whatever pain came from this…
They brought him into a dark place. Solitary confinement, he realized. How long had Harvey been here now…? "How long?" he asked bluntly, looking around. The Captain was quiet. "How. Long?" Kent repeated.
After a while the Captain turned to him. "Since not long after you handed him over," he answered. Kent's jaw twitched. He swallowed quietly as they neared a cell. The man with him withdrew a set of keys. "Night vision goggles?" the man asked.
"Give me a light," Kent replied.
"The man's been in pitch blackness for…" the soldier began.
"Something that gives off a faint glow," Kent cut off.
The man turned to the door and began to unlock it. He reached into a pocket, pulling out a glow ring, and gave it to Kent. "If anything goes wrong, you know how to reach us." Kent slipped the ring on his finger, nodding. The door was opened, Kent took a deep, shaking breath, and stepped inside…
Stardew
The door shut behind him. It took Kent a moment to realize his eyes were still closed. He swallowed, opening them slowly, and immediately he regretted this so much. The doctor was stripped, curled into a corner with head buried in his knees. He was shivering, from cold or from fear or maybe from both. He looked pale in the ring's glow, and thinner than it was okay for him to be… He saw angry marks on his body… Chain indents from bonds tied too tightly when they strung him up. Bruises from rough treatments and perhaps secret beatings. Scratch marks from fighting back. Burn marks, bad ones, massive ones… Electrical and flame both… Kent could only stare in silence, suddenly lost for words. After a long time, he sat and stared.
You did this to him… You gave him over to this…
"When…" he began, but his voice came out a cracking whisper, which was not what he'd been going for. He stopped and cleared his throat. "When did you eat last?" he asked. Harvey was quiet. "I'm… I'm not interrogating you…" No answer. Kent shifted. "H-Harvey… please…"
Harvey tensed at the use off his name then drew a deep breath, carefully looking up. His glasses had been taken, but it was probably a good thing he couldn't see too well right now because the glow from the glow ring would probably really, really be hurting his eyes then. It was apparent that even now it hurt them. He looked sharply away almost immediately before slowly turning back. "Long enough," he answered hoarsely.
"Can you not play the 'long enough' card right now? Please," Kent said.
Harvey was quiet. "Two weeks," he finally answered in a whisper.
"And… and water?" Kent asked.
"Every three or four days. I'm given enough to stay alive," Harvey replied. Really there was nothing else to be said except for that.
"When was the last time you slept?" Kent asked.
Harvey frowned, furrowing his brow. "Two, maybe three days. Maybe more," he replied. "I… I don't know… Day and night don't matter in here… They keep me awake, so I can't tell anyway…" Kent thought about asking what kind of torture methods they'd tried on the man, but he didn't think he could handle that right now. "Why are you here, Kent?" Harvey asked. Kent was quiet. He didn't know… He'd known when he'd come, but now? He shook his head, not answering. Harvey watched him a moment. "How is your family?" Harvey asked after a moment.
"Broken," Kent answered. "Vince is still missing, Sam unofficially officially moved out, Jodi is at the end of her rope, and me? I'm just lost… So, so lost…
Harvey hummed quietly. "Panic attacks lately?" he asked.
"For Yoba's sake, you're locked in a cell in solitary confinement, freezing, half starved, dehydrated, sleep-deprived, stark naked, and probably fresh out of another bout of torture, and you're the one trying to give me a psych session?" Kent demanded.
"Giving you a 'psych session' is my psych session," Harvey replied. He just… he wanted to feel normal again. He wanted to pretend like all of this wasn't happening and he was home again… He needed this… It was the first respite he'd had since this ordeal started.
Kent glared at him. "Sometimes… But I remember your tips and they usually pass soon enough…" he finally answered.
"How is your relationship with your family?" Harvey asked.
Kent was quiet. "Sam won't talk to me. Won't even look at me. Can't stand to breathe the same air I'm breathing or walk on the same path I'm walking…" he answered.
"Have you tried to speak to him?" Harvey asked.
"Of course I've tried to fu…" Kent began.
"Kent," Harvey warned.
Kent glared at him. "Of course I've tried to talk to him," he replied. "He won't talk back!"
"Don't expect him to. Just talk… You alone. Talk to him, even if he tries to ignore you or shut you out. Talk to him even if you don't think he's listening. Talk to him through his door when he locks you out if you have to. Don't give up on Sam. He loves you, Kent. No matter how it seems or what you think right now. And if talking doesn't work, write. Sometimes the written word is more powerful than the spoken one. Or sing. A song you used to sing to him when he was little, maybe. He likes music. Sing… Maybe that will touch his heart where nothing else will…" Harvey said.
Kent was quiet, staring miserably at the ground with tears burning his eyes. He hated them. "Okay," he said in a whisper finally.
"You're more cooperative with me in this situation than you ever were at the clinic," Harvey dryly said. Kent winced. Harvey regretted his words. "Sorry. Bad taste… How are your nightmares, lately?"
Kent was quiet. "Bad… But they're not about the war or the POW camp anymore…" he answered.
"Go on," Harvey said.
"They're… they're about my family… And about… about you… In here… Like this…" Kent said. Harvey was quiet. He didn't speak again, instead burying his face in his knees once more. "I met your brother," Kent said. Harvey quickly looked up, eyes wide in shock. "Came to pick me up. Car company my foot… He gave me a set of files… About you… About all of you…"
Harvey was quiet. "Where is he?" he finally, and slightly darkly, asked.
"He's fine. I didn't turn him in. I didn't say anything," Kent replied. "Haven't seen him since he dropped me back in town. Can only assume he's going at it still, along with your sister."
Harvey was quiet, reading him for any sign of a lie. Seeing none, he nodded and dropped his head back in his knees again. "Don't let them try to come for me," he finally said.
"They won't have to… I've come for you…" Kent said. Harvey bristled a bit, slowly looking up at him and staring like he couldn't believe the man had just said that. Kent sighed, standing up, then left without a word more, locking the door behind him and walking away.
Stardew
He tried everything he could to avoid this. He'd asked for a chance to see Harvey upstairs. He'd gotten the man clothes again and his glasses, and food and drink and sleep. He'd argued and fought for the man's rights, insisted there wasn't enough evidence for them to hold him like this, insisted that the confession obtained had been a false one in an attempt to have the pain stop, but nothing worked. He'd gone to the military courts and they'd all but laughed in his face, then he'd gone higher with the same result. He'd been working on this for weeks now. Everything he'd tried was fruitless… So now he had to resort to something worse…
He'd never wanted this. He'd never wanted to edge on—no, full out cross into—treachery territory. The last thing he'd ever wanted to be was a traitor. Once upon a time he would have advocated the death penalty for traitors! Now look at him. He didn't know whether to be disgusted with himself at this point or not. He tried not to let his hands shake so much as he got things ready for this. Harvey had done it, he told himself. Harvey had inadvertently shown him how to carry out a stunt like this, orchestrate an escape that is, when the doctor had broken him out of the Gotoran secret base. Gas, drugs, darkness, alarms, gas, drugs, darkness, alarms. Oh, this was insane. This was never going to work! He didn't have the gas, but he had the drug. He didn't have the darkness, but maybe he wouldn't need it? Mess hall. He'd volunteered to help with preparing food. He knew how much to slip in to knock them out for a few hours, he told himself. No one was going to get hurt. No one was going to get hurt… He just had to psych himself up for it.
Suddenly an alarm began blaring. Kent dropped what he was working on, looking quickly up in surprise. He rose, lips parting in disbelief. No way… "Harvey," he whispered. He cursed under his breath and raced from the office, hurrying down towards solitary confinement. Had he gotten out? He couldn't have! How had this…? What even?! It didn't matter, he determined. If he was out, he was out. It didn't change what he needed to do. He had to get Harvey out of here alive. Two soldiers were urgently shouting at others who were racing towards Solitary. One of the two soldiers pulled him to the side as he was passing. "With me, soldier!" he said loudly. Kent knew the voice instantly. His eyes widened. Harvey looked at the one across from them. "Get down there and help them subdue him! We'll check on security. They couldn't have missed this."
"Yes sir," the soldier replied, racing down.
Kent looked over at Harvey quickly. "How?" he demanded quietly.
"Careful observation, human error and carelessness, general good fortune," Harvey replied vaguely, not directly answering. Kent sensed it was a lie. Something else had happened, and whatever it was Harvey looked completely shaken over it, so Kent wasn't going to ask right now. Maybe after the doctor was safe. "Now get me out of here before my siblings get it into their fool heads that they need to," Harvey continued.
"Harvey, you're not going to pull this off a second time," Kent hissed.
"I know," Harvey replied. "Which is why I need you." Kent cursed under his breath, looking back towards the stairs. "Okay, follow me," he said, starting off at a run. Harvey followed quickly.
Stardew
They made it out of the base alright. They didn't make it out of the city. Roadblocks were almost immediately set up and the whole city had been locked down in a desperate effort to find the spy and the 'kidnapped' soldier he had with him. Kent and Harvey eyed up one of said roadblocks grimly from a distance. Kent cursed. For once Harvey was inclined to agree. Holy crap indeed. Of course, 'crap' hadn't been the word Kent used. And he'd combined it with another four-letter word starting with F, which had come before it, so yeah.
Harvey sat utterly still, staring. "They're going to rip the city apart trying to find me," he finally said. "I suppose, to be fair, they'd do worse in Gotoro." Treated their prisoners more humanely where he was from apparently, but there were also fewer laws keeping the authorities in the Empire from barging into houses willy nilly and ripping people from their homes while said houses were searched. And or shooting them if they weren't happy with what they found. Kent flipped through the stations, listening grimly. Roadblocks set up on every main drag and even the side roads, police and the military scouring the city for the escaped spy… It wasn't good. Everyone was on high alert, Harvey's description was plastered across the city, and this was just all around bad news. He growled lowly in his throat, annoyed at this inconvenience.
"You have a safehouse?" Kent asked.
"We didn't plan on needing one. Of course, we didn't plan on a suspicious PTSD war vet ripping apart every aspect of one of our lives," Harvey replied slightly bitingly.
Kent gave him a sharp glare, eyes narrowed. "Is there anything?" he asked in a growl.
Harvey sighed, thinking it over. "I… There's a man who found out about us when Dobson got drunk in a casino one night. He was surprisingly okay with what he learned and went as far as to offer his services and aid to our cause."
"Oh god no," Kent said grimacing. "Don't tell me it's…"
"Qi? Fine, I won't tell you," Harvey replied. "Said mysterious man who you haven't at all heard tell of, lives part time in a penthouse somewhere in this city. It could serve as a temporary haven. It's getting there that will be the issue. I… I don't know if we can make it."
"We can make it," Kent said firmly, turning the car around. "Just give me the directions and do whatever business you have to do to set this all up." Harvey nodded, mission on lock.
Stardew
"Thank you, Qi. For letting us lay low here for a bit," Harvey said to Mr. Qi as they sat in his penthouse. Harvey was mixing tea around in a cup and Kent was agitatedly pacing the living room, looking like a caged animal.
"Of course, Dr. H. Anything for a member of the Silenced Sun," Qi answered.
"I promise we won't be here long. I just need to make the arrangements for us to get out and then we'll be out of your hair," Harvey said, pulling out a burner phone Qi had given him and starting to fire off some text messages.
"What's your plan?" Kent grunted.
"If we can't get back to Pellican Town by land, then maybe we'll be able to get back to it by water," Harvey replied. "And I know a man who can help with that. Elliott."
"The beach hermit?" Kent asked, sounding unimpressed.
"Scoff if you must, but Elliott's capable of more than people give him credit for," Harvey said. "I'm alerting my sister and brother of what's happening right now, so they won't try anything stupid. My brother may meet us at the rendezvous point, but that's about the extent of what they'll do. After I'm done texting them, I'll call Elliott personally." He finished the text messages and looked up at Kent. "I can't travel the roads, but you can. I'll need to go under them."
"Why not over?" Kent incredulously asked. "It would be easier, safer, less obvious…"
"I said I'm going under!" Harvey slightly testily snapped.
Kent started and frowned, not liking the tone. "Why do you want to make this more complicated than it already is?" he demanded.
"It's not more complicated," Harvey insisted. Kent glared at him, unimpressed. Harvey shifted. "I have reasons alright?" he lamely tried to brush off. Kent continued glaring. Harvey grimaced, hesitating a moment, then sighed. "I'm… scared of heights, okay?" he mumbled, flushing a bit. Kent face-palmed, shaking his head. He'd forgotten about that. "What?" Harvey bitterly demanded.
"You know what!" Kent shot sharply.
Harvey looked ready to retort then decided against it, huffing and turning back to the phone to dial Elliott. He held the phone to his near a bit nervously. Would he even pick up, he wondered? Once, twice, thrice. Harvey grimaced, fearing there'd be no answer. Just then, though. "Hello?" the familiar voice said.
Harvey let out a quiet breath of relief. "Elliott," he greeted. "No doubt this is a voice you never thought you'd hear again for a long while."
"…Harvey?" Elliott asked in disbelief.
"Harvey? Really?" a voice said from behind. Leah, it sounded like. Odds were Leah had dropped by to see him, then. There was a brief scuffle. "Dr. Harvey? Harvey, is this really you?" Leah asked in disbelief.
"Yes. It is. Hi Leah," Harvey said.
"Oh my god, what happened to you? Are you okay?" she asked, concerned. "Everyone's been talking about it! You've been the town topic since you disappeared. Maru's absolutely devastated. How could you do this to her?!"
"You think I chose to vanish?" Harvey asked with a bitter laugh. "What other rumors are going around there?"
"That one was the most palatable of them. Some are saying you probably committed suicide, some were saying you were a spy after all who fled when the heat was on, some are saying you were kidnapped by the military or an intelligence agency… I'm just glad you're alive, whatever happened."
"I appreciate that," Harvey replied. Good to know not everyone had turned on him or started to hate him. "Have Jas and Vincent…?" He trailed off.
Silence. "No," she finally replied sadly.
Harvey winced, bowing his head. He shook it, closing his eyes, then put the phone back to his ear. "Leah, you need to give me Elliott now," he said.
"Why?" Leah asked.
"Just… do this for me, okay?" Harvey said. Silence. Soon, though, he heard the phone being passed over.
"Harvey?" Elliott said, still in disbelief. "What on earth happened to you? What did… what did they do…?"
"I don't want to talk about it," Harvey replied. "I need your help, Elliott. If you've been keeping up with the news you've heard that Zuzu City is on lockdown."
"I heard," Elliott replied. "Oh no. Don't tell me."
"Well we didn't expect them to lock down the city," Harvey hissed quietly. "Kent got me out and helped me escape. Now we're trapped here and the only way back to Pelican Town that isn't blocked is by water. Air is out of the question for reasons, the roads are a no go… I need you to sail to Zuzu City and moor off the coast away from the docks and wait for us. Just wait. Then get us the hell out of here before mayhem ensues any more than it already has."
"They locked down the city just for you? My, my, doctor, you're higher profile than I thought," Elliott said.
"I didn't choose to be," Harvey flatly said, giving a look to Kent, who awkwardly cleared his throat and looked away.
"You of course realize my boat is a row boat, right?" Elliott replied.
"My sister is the travelling merchant," Harvey replied. "She has a boat that can weather the sea better than your dingy. Go to her, confirm to her I'm alive, and let her know about this plan. If she asks questions, just tell her I didn't give details because I'm not giving details. Tell her to trust me. Kent and I are finding a way out of this. Somehow."
Elliott was quiet. "Very well," he finally replied. "It shall prove to be an exploit most worthy of fuelling my next book." Or two. Or three.
"Be careful," Harvey said.
"You as well, doctor," he seriously said.
"I… How's Maru?" Harvey asked a bit quietly.
Silence. "Heartbroken," Elliott finally answered. "Fearing the worst. Do… do you have a message for her?"
Quiet. "No," he finally answered. "Anything I have to say to her will be said in person… That way if I don't make it through this, I wouldn't have given her false hope I'd come back…"
"Is it so dangerous as that?" Elliott asked quietly, audibly concerned and solemn.
"I don't know, Elliott. It might be," Harvey replied, shrugging hopelessly. He was pretty sure that if the orders weren't 'shoot on sight' yet, they would be soon if they didn't play this game right.
"Alright. When shall I head out?" the author asked.
"Tomorrow. Early, early in the morning. We'll be leaving here at three probably, when it's quietest and still pitch black," Harvey answered.
"Very well. How long will it take you to make it to the docks?" Elliott asked.
"Be early rather than late. Shoot for four or five. Six at the very latest. If anyone tries to stop you, well, you're creative. I'm sure you'll think of something," Harvey said.
"Where are you staying tonight?" Elliott asked.
"With… an ally," Harvey replied. "Whose name is best left unmentioned."
"Spoil sport," Elliott said. Harvey could hear the worried smirk in his voice. "Your sister and I will be there, I promise."
"Thank you, Elliott. I know this is asking a lot," Harvey said.
"Not at all, Harvey. I find it most thrilling," Elliott replied, chuckling a bit. Harvey smiled. "Farewell, doctor. We'll see you soon."
"Goodbye," Harvey replied.
Stardew
Elliott hung up and Harvey let out a sigh. "Are you sure we can trust him?" Kent asked.
"I'm certain we can. I'd trust few more," Harvey replied. "I know asking you to get up so early is unfair, but…"
"I'm no stranger to sleep deprivation and early, early mornings," Kent said with a shrug. "I'm ready when you are."
Harvey nodded. "I'm going to text my brother again. Get him to meet us at a rendezvous point. Any suggestions?"
"The park," Kent answered. "It's pretty lush, plenty places to hide if need be… we should be okay there. It's reaching it that'll be the problem. It's not a short distance. A car so early in the morning is bound to draw attention."
"Later in the day will do you little good," Qi spoke up. "They're setting up roadblocks all over the place. Kent was right in saying it's safest up high."
"We're not going up high," Harvey flatly said. "I'd take the sewers first. In fact, get me a map of them if you please, Qi."
"Really?" Kent flatly asked.
"Yes," Harvey replied bluntly.
"The streets should be fine to walk down. As long as no one catches us walking them, we'd go undetected," Kent said.
"Then we'll stick to the streets as long as we can," Harvey replied. Once in agreement, the two men settled in and mentally prepared for an early, early morning.
Stardew
They silently gathered small bags together. Harvey's leaned more towards medical necessities should anything go wrong, and a flashlight and some other things Kent hadn't seen and didn't ask about. He for his part was leaning more towards the self-defence angle. Weapons. Weapons were his priority. Would he use them? Probably not, not against his own side, but if they were going into the sewers he'd like to be prepared. Yeah, he got alligators in the sewers were an urban legend, or so they said, but better safe than sorry. Besides, who knew what monsters lived down there? If the mines in Stardew Valley were anything to go by, various unpleasant creatures liked dark underground places. He looked over at Harvey. The doctor was shouldering his pack and looked back at him. They nodded to one another and got up, slipping out of Qi's penthouse and heading down to the streets via elevator.
"No cameras in here?" Kent asked.
"There are, but Qi has that matter dealt with," Harvey murmured in response, though he wasn't looking up at where it would be as he spoke. Probably just to be extra safe. Then if they did somehow get footage, they at least couldn't read his lips and find out what he was saying.
Kent copied him, looking down. "Plan for on the street is stick to the dark, avoid streetlamps, avoid people. Easier said than done. Plus there are cameras on these streets, either from stores or general street cams, things like that."
"I've mapped out a route that should be mostly invisible. To be safe it should look like I am in fact kidnapping you," Harvey said. "You don't deserve to be branded a criminal or traitor for this. You don't have to be." Kent was quiet. "Think of your family," Harvey said as the elevator reached the lowest parking garage.
"I won't have one when I get back, I think…" Kent quietly replied.
"Yes you will," Harvey answered. "You're going to fight for them, even if you think you'll lose. It's what a soldier does. Fight to the death."
"What if this time letting them go is better? Like it would have been with you," Kent replied.
"Don't decide for them what's better for them," Harvey answered as they moved through the garage, sticking to shadows and pointedly avoiding as many cameras as they could. Harvey stuck close to Kent though, at his back as if forcing him along at gunpoint.
"Should we be having a psych session while trying to escape?" Kent asked.
Harvey was quiet. "If things go wrong, it might be the last one we ever have," he finally replied.
Kent was quiet, the weight of those words sinking in. "Talk to me doc," he finally relented.
They did in fact continue to talk. Mostly generic things, sometimes delving into psychology, sometimes talking about their families. Dobson received a lot of Kent's jabs. Apparently Kent hadn't been thrilled with the man. 'Your brother's a jackass, you know that right?' 'Who spit in his cereal?' 'Spoiled, entitled asshole' 'Whiny little prick', things like that. Most of which Harvey tended to low-key agree with, so he didn't spend much time defending his little brother other than to call Kent down if he was getting too cruel towards his sibling. "I really don't like your brother," Kent flatly said after a moment's rest in roasting Dobson.
"You're going to love this, then. He'll be meeting us at the rendezvous point," Harvey replied. Kent grimaced in distaste. Harvey smirked then froze, smile falling. Kent paused too. Up ahead was a car driving along. Quickly they moved into an alleyway, walking down it instead.
"Did you map for error?" Kent asked.
"Mmm hmm," Harvey replied, refraining from a sarcastic 'why do you even need to ask' remark. He led them down a few twists and turns before emerging onto another street, and for a while it looked like they'd actually get away with this... But they couldn't have hoped to avoid every camera...
Stardew
It happened suddenly. One second the street was empty, the next military and police vehicles were screeching around the corner, headlights ablaze! "Shit!" Kent exclaimed.
"Run!" Harvey panicked, of course choosing to flee rather than try and take on military fire power. Fight would be the stupidest thing to do in this situation. He dragged Kent with him in a frantic and mad dash for escape knowing full well their odds were slim at best. Sure enough the next street was flocked in short order with more vehicles! Harvey began cursing up a storm in Gotoran, darting into a network of adjoining alleys frantically.
"We can't get away from them! We need to get to the roofs," Kent insisted.
"We'd be sitting ducks for helicopters!" Harvey argued.
"Not if we can vanish inside a building!" Kent argued.
"We're not climbing! We're going under," Harvey stated firmly. "The roofs are a death-sentence, the sewers aren't, and this time it isn't fear talking. It's common sense." Kent grimaced but didn't argue. Thinking about it, Harvey had a point. Harvey darted to a manhole cover and withdrew some tools from his bag, working quickly to get it up. He got it open in record time. Kent was actually shocked. He got a feeling this wasn't Harvey's first-time playing mole and vanishing underground. Harvey all but leapt down into it. Kent almost thought he'd free-fallen but heard the ladder clanging so knew Harvey had caught it. Quickly he followed the doctor down, pulling the manhole cover over top of them. It might buy them a couple minutes, but the police and the army weren't going to be thrown for long.
Stardew
They walked in silence, Harvey shining the flashlight to light their way and looking highly annoyed and peeved, covering his mouth and nose with a hand. "Spryer than I gave you credit for doc," Kent finally said, daring to break the silence.
"Aerobics," Harvey replied. Kent gave him an incredulous and unimpressed look. Harvey flushed in embarrassment. "What?" he defended. Kent rolled his eyes, not responding. Harvey froze suddenly, listening. Kent stopped too. Footsteps and shouts. Quickly Harvey turned off the flashlight and winced at the dark. He could see reflection of light now and cursed. Quickly he flicked his own back on and took off running. Kent followed him. "You should go to them, Kent. They're not after you!" Harvey said to the other. "Say you got away. Don't come with me! Get back to the street, get to the rendezvous point, and I'll meet you when I can."
"You're a sitting duck down here alone, Harvey! If I stick around, I can play meat shield for you or try and reason with them," Kent argued.
"Or be branded a traitor and put in prison the rest of your life! I can get do this alone, Kent. Just… if I'm not there in an hour you and Dobson stick to the plan!" Harvey said.
"Saying that tells me you're not sure you're coming out of this!" Kent argued.
"I'm not. But we don't both have to go down. You playing meat shield isn't going to help me if more come up from behind. If I'm not shot from the front, I'll be shot in the back because as far as they'll know you're a hostage and their priority is to protect you. It'll definitely be shoot first ask questions later then. Considering thing go wrong, if you're not with me and in perceived danger, I might still have the choice of surrender," Harvey answered.
Kent winced. He hated to admit the doc talked sense. "What if you can't do this alone? What if you're killed?" Kent asked.
"At least I had as much an opportunity as I could get… It won't be your fault, Kent. It was this or kill myself in your military base, and I was dangerously close to that point. I wasn't sure how much longer I could have held out and I was not under any circumstance risking breaking and turning in my siblings. You gave me a chance. Remember that if I do end up dead," Harvey replied, scanning for a ladder. He found one and stopped, looking at Kent. "Go."
"What am I supposed to tell your brother and sister if you don't make it?" Kent asked, sounding suddenly exhausted and incredibly strained.
"Don't tell them anything. They'll know if I don't return with you," Harvey replied. "And if you're afraid of them asking, 'what happened', don't be. In the end what happened doesn't matter. I'll still be gone. They'll know that. Maybe they'll ask how or why, but neither of them will begrudge you not answering."
"Harvey…" Kent began.
"If the worst happens, you still have the names of alternate doctors I recommended to you right?" Harvey asked, cracking a weak smile.
Kent was quiet, swallowing over an uncomfortable lump in his throat. "I'm sorry," he managed to finally say.
"Don't be. You were right, in the end," Harvey replied. "You were just doing your job. I don't begrudge you that. And I don't blame you… I'll see you in the park."
Kent let out a shaky breath, bowing his head, then nodded and turned to the ladder, quickly climbing it. Harvey waited until he'd gotten out, looked back in the direction of the nearing shouts and footsteps, then took off running once again desperately mapping out the sewers as he went.
Stardew
When Kent showed up in the park alone, a chill ran through Dobson's body as he frowned and slowly straightened up from the wall he'd been leaning on, eyes fixed on the soldier in dead silence, narrowed almost accusingly. Kent, shaken, approached the man wordlessly, not meeting his eyes. There was quiet. "Where the hell is my brother?" Dobson asked curtly.
Kent tensed up before glancing over at him with a frown. "He said if he's not here in an hour, proceed as planned."
Dobson was dead silent. "Where the hell is my brother?" he repeated again. This time his voice was quieter… Almost scared…
Kent shook his head, closing his eye and sighing through the nose. "Sewers. He's trying to get away from the military and the police… He told me, in so many words, that his chances were better without me tagging along… So I left. He wasn't going to let me stay." Dobson didn't speak. Kent glanced at him again. The younger man's eyes were fixed, now, on the trail his brother was supposed to walk. Kent winced and turned away from the sight in pain. He'd seen his fair share of siblings separated on the battlefield… Too many of those siblings had never met up again… Not alive at least. "You should sit down," Kent murmured. Might feel more bearable that way. He didn't want to imagine how overwhelmingly heavy Dobson's body must feel to him right now. Dobson just shook his head, and though Kent couldn't see it the soldier was willing to bet the young man was fighting back tears…
The hour passed.
There was no sign of Harvey…
They waited another hour just to be sure, and Kent was willing to wait as long as Dobson chose to try and wait, but finally the young man turned mechanically and just… walked away… Kent watched after him a moment, looked back once more hoping to see Harvey, then turned and trailed after Dobson, who was silent as a grave, jaw tight… And crying, Kent saw… Silently, subtly, but certainly crying…
Stardew
They walked down the misty beach. Neither had spoken. Dobson's tears had stopped, but Kent knew it was only going to be temporary. The young man was trying to put on a brave face. Probably for his sister or to try and hold onto his 'manhood'. Which was a stupid concept that didn't even matter in war, Kent bitterly noted to himself. Or in situations like this. The guy wouldn't hold back for long, though. Not upon reaching his sister.
They saw the outline of the boat. Kent paused, staring. Dobson kept robotically going, forging on like he was on autopilot. He probably was. Guy was a trouper, he'd give him that. He honestly didn't understand how he hadn't been considered army material, given his stiff upper lip and flat determination. Good pacing too. Steady. Dobson finally stopped. A rowboat was coming out from the barge, Kent saw. Elliot's, probably. They must have brought it along for just this reason. Elliott pulled up to shore and looked nervously for Harvey. Of course, Harvey was nowhere to be found… Dobson got in the boat without a word. Kent followed.
"Kent, where's…?" Elliott began. He paused, though. Was there a point in asking, the writer wondered to himself? He had a dark feeling he knew where Harvey was… But he wanted to hear it confirmed from the man's own mouth. "Where's Harvey?" he finally managed to choke—yes, choke as in choking back a sob—out.
"MIA," Kent replied. He paused. "MPD," he amended.
Elliott let out a shaking breath, closing his eyes. He would have much preferred Kent to stick with MIA… Missing in Action was a thousand times more palatable than Missing Presumed Dead… He heard the young man behind him let out a soft and shaking and watery breath. Elliott looked questioningly at him, then back at Kent.
"His little brother. Dobon," Kent stated quietly.
Elliott was silent. Kent was getting really, really sick of the silence. Elliott turned to Dobson again. "It's a pleasure to meet you," he murmured. Dobson didn't reply. Elliott wondered if he should say something like 'your brother was a good man'. He grimaced to himself. If he were to ever write a character saying that to another recently bereaved, he would have written the other's response to be something like, 'I don't need you to tell me my brother was a good man. I know he was a good man. But now he's gone so what does that even matter?'. It was probably best he not offer unhelpful sentiments or state the obvious. Elliott turned to Kent. "I think I prefer the MIA diagnosis. Our resident doctor is simply full of unexpected surprises," he said, pulling the boat away from shore. Maybe those words to Kent would vicariously help comfort Dobon in some small way. Kent grunted a response, staring back at shore. Dobson's eyes remained fixed on the barge. His sister could be seen now standing by the railing. Tears were in her eyes. She could already see plainly that her big brother wasn't there…
The moment they'd gotten aboard the barge, the travelling merchant had moved swiftly to her brother, taking his arms. He took hers in turn and the young man couldn't refrain anymore, sobbing audibly and hanging his head low in grief, teeth gritting together as he rested his forehead on his sister's. She sobbed as well, and continued to. She held her sibling tightly and quickly ushering him away from Elliott and Kent, who were left to haul the rowboat back onboard. "What happened?" Elliott finally asked.
"He didn't get away," Kent said simply.
"As far as we know," Elliott murmured.
"Shut up and ground yourself in reality for once," Kent replied. Elliott let the dig slide off him with little more than a frown. He didn't try to argue. Kent was in no place for that. In silence they started back to Stardew Valley, Elliott lost in thought and Kent trying to figure out what he was supposed to say…
Stardew
The boat pulled up to the docks silently. Kent and Elliott disembarked. Dobson and the Travelling Merchant, whose name they still didn't know, didn't. Instead the pig paddled away after the rowboat was offloaded, bearing them with it. Kent and Elliott watched after it quietly. "You know words, right?" Kent asked when the barge was out of sight. Elliott glanced over at him. "What am I supposed to say?" Kent quietly asked.
"That you tried to right your wrong," Elliott replied. "You can figure out the rest from there. You know your story better than I… And even if the unthinkable happens and they shun you, at least they'll know the truth. That you tried to do right by Harvey and by them. You did all you could, Kent. What they choose to do from that point on is on them, not you."
Kent was quiet. "Somehow the front lines seem less frightening than facing them," he finally said.
Elliott was quiet. "I can go with you," he offered after a moment. "But I think… I think this is something you should do alone. Do you want me to see you at your most vulnerable?"
Kent shakily sighed. "Thanks. For trying," he finally said. "He was right to trust you… He had a good friend," Elliott felt a knot in his throat and didn't dare try to respond. Turning, Kent left the author to remain on the docks looking out over the ocean in silence.
Stardew
Kent approached the front door of his house and hesitated outside of it, grimacing. Finally, he reached out and knocked uncertainly. It wouldn't feel right to just walk in after all this time he'd been gone. The door opened after a moment. Sam Kent saw, heart swelling slightly and somehow dropping at the same time, because he knew what the reaction was going to be. Negative. And he was right.
Sam blinked at him then laughed sharply. "I can't believe this. You actually have the gall to come back here after what you did to mom?! You took off on her, you psycho creep! For weeks without a letter or a phone call or anything! Get out and never come back!"
"Sam!" Jodi's horrified voice exclaimed. Her running footsteps. Then she stopped and gasped in shock and surprise… And hurt… Kent winced on hearing it.
"No! He's not welcome here!" Sam furiously shouted at his mother.
Jodi was quiet. "That's my decision to make," she finally said.
"You cannot seriously be thinking about taking him back after this!" Sam argued vehemently.
"I want to hear what he has to say," Jodi said coldly. Cold towards both Sam and him, Kent knew. Sam looked appalled. Finally he scoffed, turning angrily to Kent, and stormed back inside the house, entering his old room and slamming the door behind him angrily.
Kent didn't move to come inside. Jodi came to the door, eyes cold and exhausted. "Give me one good reason why I should hear you out?" she said.
"There isn't one," Kent replied.
"Then you should go," Jodi replied.
"If you want me to," Kent said.
Jodi was quiet. She looked down, closing her eyes and sniffing. Finally she looked back out, letting out a stream of air as she tried to stay calm. "Where did you go?" she asked.
"To Zuzu City," he answered.
"Why?" she asked.
He was quiet. "I needed to try and right a wrong," he finally answered.
"What wrong, Kent?" she asked.
Kent was quiet, looking away. "I wanted… I wanted to try and get Harvey back…" he finally confessed.
Jodi was dead silent. "For weeks?" she finally asked, voice audibly softer and less angry.
"I tried… I went to try and see him in custody. They-they'd put him in solitary. They… they'd been torturing him… And I couldn't stand by and let that happen, so I tried to appeal to my superior officers, then I tried to appeal to the military courts, then the civilian ones too, then court after court after court as far up the chain as they'd let me go, and it took weeks to get through the process and I had so little time and was so stressed, and… And ultimately it was no use… They wouldn't listen to me! They turned a blind eye because he confessed to espionage and a Gotoran spy was a Gotoran spy was a Gotoran spy, and they aren't human beings, they're the enemy. Animals to be treated as animals! But I had to get him out. I had to because… because I learned something about him that was so big… And I can't tell you what that was, but what we were doing was wrong, and I had to try and get him out no matter the cost. I tried to do it legally, I tried every avenue to do it legally, and it all came up blank! It was too late for him… And I knew it was get him out or he would die… So I started to plan…"
Jodi's eyes slowly widened as she heard this. Her lips parted. "Oh my god… Kent, did you…?"
"No! No, I was preparing to but before it came to that something happened and he managed to get out, and I found him and I smuggled him out of there and we hid in the home of a contact of his and tried to figure out how to get him out of Zuzu City after they locked the whole place down. And we came up with a plan and it was solid and good and it should have worked. It should have worked!" Kent said.
Jodi looked deeply concerned now. Kent was here, Harvey wasn't. She looked quickly around. "Get inside," she whispered quickly, pulling him into the house and shutting the door behind him. She led him quickly to the couch, sitting him down. "Oh god, what did you do Kent?" she hissed in alarm. "What did you do?"
"I was wrong, Jo. Wrong about him and wrong about everything! I tried to get him out. Things were going so good, and we made it so far… But cameras caught us and then the military and police were there—it's okay, they thought I was his hostage!—and we fled and went into the sewers to try and escape through them, but they followed us in and we ended up cornered and Harvey told me to get out because he had a better chance at survival if I wasn't there. So we split up, against my better judgement, and I went to the rendezvous point where he planned to meet me. He said to wait only an hour for him before just getting out. I… I waited two… He never came, Jo, he never came," Kent said, voice breaking with stress and guilt and grief as he clung to her hands as tightly as she was clinging to his, her eyes wide and brimming with tear now as she put together what it meant.
"You… He's…" he began. She sniffed, wiping her eyes. "He's gone?" she asked, voice breaking.
Kent shook his head. "I don't know… And I couldn't go back to find out…" But they would tomorrow, more likely than not… "I didn't mean for it to happen. I just wanted him to have some justice and dignity. He wasn't supposed to… I didn't mean for him to…" He broke off with a sob, bowing his head low and gritting his teeth. Jodi, in shock, pulled him close to her chest to hold him, stunned at the story he was telling her.
Maru…
She caught her breath. What was she supposed to tell Maru?! She'd tell Robin first! Robin would know best how to break the news to her daughter… Or maybe it was better if Maru went on believing he'd just left and never come back… Oh she didn't know. But again, Robin might… "Baby…" she whispered. She held him tighter and pressed a kiss to his head. "Shh, shh. It's okay," he whispered, voice breaking. "It wasn't your fault. It wasn't your fault." The door to Sam's room slammed open and she jumped, gasping and looking quickly over with Kent. Sam was barrelling from the house in tears, furious. Oh no. He must have heard! "Sam!" she cried out.
"Sam!" Kent echoed in despair, quickly standing and reaching out after his son who didn't even stop to turn, just bolted from the house. "Dammit!" Kent exclaimed, falling back onto the couch and burying his head in his hands. That was it. He'd lost him. He'd lost his son. He'd lost them both.
"You need to go after him," Jodi said, squatting in front of him and taking his arms. "Kent, you have to try! He loves you, still, I know he does! He has to!"
"Like hell he has to!" Kent frustratedly and angrily said. "Goddammit, I've become my old man!" He'd hated his father. He hadn't shed a single tear when he'd die. Not until years later when he'd been going through his stuff, and even those tears were more a 'what could have been if' sort of thing than an 'I miss you' thing.
"Try," Jodi said.
"My track record for trying, Jodi, is zilch!" Kent replied in despair.
"Try!" she insisted firmly once more. She wanted her family back, dammit! She wanted them back! She despised with a vengeance every time she'd ever implied anything else! She'd taken it for granted and now it wasn't there, and her life felt like it had come crashing down all around her! Not in a 'time will repair you' or a 'you'll move on' way either. In a 'I'm never rising up again' kind of way. Kent was silent, tears threatening his eyes.
He likes music, doesn't he? Sing for him.
Harvey's words. Rather, close enough to what the doc had said to him. He sniffed, closing his eyes, then stood. "Okay," he said. Jodi squeezed his hands and pressed a kiss softly to the side of his mouth. He nudged her with his head briefly then quickly hurried out of the house to go after Sam.
Stardew
Sam raced into the apartment he was sharing with Abigail and Sebastian in tears. "Sam?!" Abigail exclaimed, alarmed to see him like this.
Sam didn't answer, just went straight to his room shutting the door and locking it. Abigail looked shocked. Sebastian came out from his work room and looked at Sam's door in surprise and confusion. He looked questioningly back at Abigail, who looked totally lost as to what to make of the behavior. Sebastian went to Sam's door in concern. "Sam?" he called out, knocking.
"Just leave me alone, man! I am in no mood for this," Sam furiously shouted back. "Just go back to your cave and leave me alone!"
Sebastian started, alarmed. "Sam, what's going on? Are you okay?" he called again, more concerned than before.
"Get lost!" Sam shouted.
"Sam!" Sebastian called. This time Sam didn't answer. Sebastian backed away uneasily. "What the hell?" he said, mystified.
"No kidding," Abigail agreed in concern. The door was knocked on lightly and the two gasped, looking over. After a second Abigail went to check it out, peering out. She started. "Ooh… That's what," she said, grimacing. "Kent's back." Sebastian started and winced. Ooh… Abigail looked back at him. "Should… should we let him in…?"
Sebastian was quiet. His first instinct was to turn the man away. He looked back in concern at Sam's room again. He weighed the pros and cons of letting Kent in. Cons far outweighed pros, but… but something in him insisted that maybe allowing Kent to try and reach Sam would be the best decision in the long run. "I… I don't know. Maybe," he replied, looking hopelessly at Abigail and shrugging. "It can't get much worse."
"Don't jinx it," Abigail replied with a grimace. Nonetheless, she opened the door with a hard expression on her face. "What do you want?" she asked the man.
"I just need to talk to him," Kent said.
"Damn right you do!" Abigail shot. "You have any idea the hell you put him through? And Jodi?!"
Kent wisely said nothing. "He's in his room. Say what you have to and get out," Sebastian said, frowning darkly at the veteran.
Stardew
Kent entered without a word. Sebastian gestured at Sam's room and left to go into the living room with Abigail. Kent went directly to the door of his son's room and stopped outside of it. "I should have let it go… You were right, son. I should have let it go," he finally said. Silence met his words. "If you hate me, Sam, that's alright. I promise it's alright. I hate myself. Harvey was… he deserved better than that… I should have left him alone, I shouldn't have gotten paranoid, I shouldn't have shut out you and your mother and Vince, I shouldn't have left like I did… Everything I've done since coming back has been a mistake… And I wish I could take all those mistakes back, but I can't, and I understand why… why you came to hate me… I don't resent that. I can barely even believe your mother didn't just slam the door in my face when I returned… I deserve your hatred. I deserve hers too. I'm not going to claim to be any kind of worthy man, son… You and your brother were gifts I didn't deserve. And your mother? I was insane to think I was ever worthy of her in the first place… But I tried to do right by you, I really did. And I tried to do right by Harvey and I tried… I tried to make everything okay again… I tried to make it all right… I tried so hard… And I still wasn't good enough, and Harvey paid the price and I wish that he hadn't, but he did… I wish I could fix everything… I wish I could fix the world, but I can't even fix myself… Or my relationship with you… I know you hate me, I know the bonds we once had are in shambles now, I know I may never gain back your love and respect, I know it's my fault… And all I can do is say I'm sorry… It's too little too late, but I am so, so, so sorry… I'm sorry I'm not the man you once looked up to and loved. I'm sorry I came back so wrong. I'm sorry I returned to you a stranger possessing the body of a man you once loved… The reality is your father died on that battlefield a long time ago… I wish that I could bring him back, save him and send him home to you, but I can't… I don't know if I'll ever be able to again…"
Sam, inside, listened in silence and wept. Sobbed. He just wanted him to go away… He just wanted his dad back… He heard a sigh. He heard the man slide down against his bedroom door and hoped Sebastian would come and kick him out. That man wearing his father's face had said his piece. Sam was through listening to him now… And then the man began to sing a song softly to him and Sam broke down, unable to keep his sobs quiet anymore as he listened. He remembered that song from his childhood… He remembered it so well… He rocked back and forth, holding himself tightly and praying to a god he wasn't entirely sure he believed in anymore that he could go back in time to when everything was okay again.
"I love you, Sam," the man gently said through the door at the close of the song. Then he rose and Sam listened to him walk away. He wondered briefly—very, very briefly—if Shane would be interested in a suicide pact, because right now dying seemed a lot less painful and difficult than living… And then he imagined how much worse his father felt that feeling… It terrified him more than it had any right to…
A radio broadcast sounded out quietly in the background:
"A Gotoran spy who escaped military custody and led the authorities on a city-wide manhunt has been killed as he attempted to escape through the sewers. As of yet no body has been recovered, but teams have been dispatched to retrieve his remains as soon as possible."
A/N: I'm sorry for the delay in this chapter. My motivation for Stardew comes and goes, and even though I actually had this chapter planned out, getting from point A to B to C etc took me a long time to figure out. I'm hoping the next chapter won't give me the same problems this one did. I'm not entirely thrilled with how this one came out until later in the chapter, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. Thank you all for you support of this story.