A/N: Shout outs to my anonymous reviewer and James Birdsong! Glad you liked it. More on our troubles now.
Chapter 31
Elphaba had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, but she fought it off as she approached the man in the cell. He looked like a tough nut to crack but she'd met scarier men who crumbled before she'd even said a word to them. They were afraid of her powers. Now that her name had been cleared, she wasn't sure if that her powers would be enough.
"So, they sent you to break me," the man said.
"I volunteered. We have a missing family and we're worried that their lives hang in the balance," Elphaba didn't bother to hide her true motive for her visit.
"And you think I know something," the man gave her a look.
"Well given your past as an actual soldier, Foster probably trusted you more than those other men who joined his group. I'm not entirely convinced that you'd want to die for Foster, no matter your beliefs," Elphaba told him.
"Why would I die? I'm no angel, but I haven't done anything that warrants that," he said.
"Oh, I think we both know that isn't true. Foster tried to have a woman murdered after she was kidnapped, threatened a local businessman, and then there's the business with the attempt on Lady Glinda and Lieutenant Bayram lives. You know as well as I, that attempted assassination is not something the laws of Oz take lightly," she said.
"He tried that? I figured the Captain was pulling my leg," the man gave her a look.
"Foster did try that. We have proof. What we don't know is why. Was he hoping that Glinda's death would lead to him being in control? I don't see how since he'd have to get through the new Gale Force first. Her death wouldn't change the laws of Oz, not on its own. The Council wouldn't turn on the laws either. So, what was the end game?" Elphaba wanted to know. The man heaved a sigh.
"This was not a well-executed plan. Certainly not the one we discussed. Something must have changed after I was captured or perhaps before. Seems I wasn't as trusted as I thought," he said.
"So, there was a different plan in place," the green woman wasn't surprised. Foster's behavior had been noted as changing prior to the attempt. Something had made him do something that most of his followers weren't expecting.
"Yes, but he… there was something going on. I'm no doctor though," the man admitted.
"Slipped a cog, did he?" Elphaba raised an eyebrow.
"It was that other guy that showed up. He was all about doing something stupid. I tried to get Foster to listen, but he wouldn't. We didn't need violence. What we needed was the masses – protests, petitioning Council members, there were any number of ways to get our voices heard. I would have thought after the Wizard mess that he would have seen that. This guy… he was doing his best to convince him that my ideas were no good," the man shook his head.
"This guy, he have a name?" Elphaba asked.
"I'm sure he does but Foster just called him Rocky," the former soldier said.
"Odd name. You think you could describe him to an artist?" Elphaba wondered.
"I think so but what's in it for me?" The conversation had been going too smoothly, she'd known that.
"Well, I'll tell the lawyers that you were helpful. I'm sure the judge will look kindly on that," the green woman said. The man nodded – it was the best he was going to get and he knew it.
"You get your artist. Now as far as this family, what locations were you searching? I don't know why he would have them, but I might have a location," the man said. He never got to give them though as Chistery came down into the cells.
"Back already?" Elphaba was surprised. Worse still, she saw the look on his face.
"What happened?" She asked.
"Foster killed the wife. The kids are still missing," Chistery's shoulders sagged. Elphaba cursed under her breath.
"I'll give you the possible locations," the prisoner reiterated.
To Be Continued…