Chapter 13

"We've been over this. I told you everything Leah said." Abby shook her head in frustration. For the past hour, she'd been sitting in Kane's office, going over the events from the day before. "I've recorded everything she said, you know that." She ran a hand through her untamed her, loose strands sticking out everywhere as she didn't have time to braid them.

"Think of what she hasn't said. Has she made any gestures or signs, have you picked up on anything between the lines? Anything." Kane was desperate to get any clue, something that would let him start the investigation because as of now, he had nothing to go on.

"I've been going over it again and again, there's nothing more," she said, resignation clear in her voice, her shoulders slumped.

"Are you sure?" he pressed.

"For the hundredth time, yes! Do you think I'd hide it from you?"

"No, but you might not remember everything and need something to jog your memory, it was a stressful day."

"You don't say. That's why I recorded everything."

He chewed on his lip, careful not to push her too far. "You're right. I'm sorry."

Abby nodded.

"Leah was hysterical, I couldn't get her to calm down. She would've told us more today if—" Abby's voice broke off but they both understood.

"How long before the DNA samples are analyzed?"

"It'll take some time and if we don't have his sample yet, it'll be even longer to get it."

Marcus nodded.

"Have you got any suspects in mind?" Abby asked.

"It's only a hunch, you can't do much with that."

"Who?"

"Like I said, it's only a gut feeling, nothing more."

"Who?" she asked again.

"Frank and Joe."

"Surely not Joe! Frank's well, Frank but he'd never actually done anything illegal."

"You of all people should know better than anyone about Frank's feelings for women. Patter of escalation is likely."

"Sure, but he's all bark and no bite, you know that. Do you really think he's capable of something like that?"

"I think we're all capable of doing things we never thought we would." Abby's face fell and Marcus regretted his words as soon as they left his mouth, but Abby composed herself and continued.

"I can understand Frank but Joe?"

"Yeah, well, on the Ark, when you gave birth to Clarke, you were off for a while." Abby nodded listening carefully. "There was an assault case, a nasty one, my first one ever. Your father, the chief doctor at the time handled the case on the medical side."

Abby's eyes widened, she only heard bits and pieces but never knew any details of that case, she was preoccupied with newborn Clarke at that time and she only remembered that the case was never solved.

Marcus continued, "Joe was the main suspect. The only suspect. The circumstantial evidence was strong but there was no physical evidence. Nothing. The chancellor at the time refused to sentence Joe based on that alone, he demanded more evidence that we couldn't provide. Joe went free, was never found guilty and the case went cold."

Abby shuddered and shook her head, the news was overwhelming, it's crazy how little you know about people despite living in an enclosed space.

"He must have been what, 17, 18, at the time?"

"19."

"I never knew."

"Not many people did. I think, apart from me, the only people left who know about this are Jaha, Miller Senior and now you."

Abby's head was a mess, "Right…" not sure what to say, she looked at the clock. "Is there anything else you want to know about yesterday? We need to wrap this up, I have to be in medical in 30 minutes."

With his gaze fixed on the floor, Marcus chewed on his lip knowing that he shouldn't ask, he didn't want to push but he couldn't stop himself.

"About last night—"

"I meant about Leah." She stopped him.

Kane lifted his eyes and looked at her, briefly meeting her eyes before she looked away unable to stand it.

"And I mean about you."

"Don't—" she pleaded.

"How are you holding up?"

She sighed, "I'm fine."

He pressed his lips together piercing her with his eyes.

"I'll be fine." She corrected herself and pressed her tongue against her cheek, fighting with herself. "Thank you for last night."

Marcus' eyes widened in shock. He wanted to say something, anything but was too stunned to speak so Abby continued, "How are you though?" Her voice filled with worry.

Marcus looked at her like he was seeing her for the first time in a long time. There was a glimpse of the old Abby, the one who cared for him.

"I'll be fine," he repeated her own words, and she nodded understanding perfectly well what he meant. After that, silence fell between them, neither of them quite sure how to proceed. Abby chewed on her lip before she said, "I have to go, I need to get on with work."

"Remember that we have a general meeting at 1900 hours. We have to announce Leah's death."

"I'll be there," said Abby dreading the evening just as much as he was, neither of them wanted to be there but it had to be done.

With every step, Abby got closer to the main hall, her fingers busy braiding her hair, paying no attention to her surroundings, she already knew the halls by heart, could find her way around in total darkness. As she was about to turn the corner, she heard the muffled voices of two people, she couldn't yet see who they belonged to but as she approached closer, it all became clear and she stopped before she turned the corner.

"Come on, tell me what's this all about. It sounds serious."

"You'll find out in 15 minutes with everyone else."

"Please, I won't tell anyone. You can trust me." Abby recognized those voices, Marcus and Leanna, her voice slightly whiny as she pleaded with Kane. Abby wondered if it ever worked on him, a year ago it would have annoyed him, he'd have no patience for it, but now? Abby didn't know but she could hear a hint of annoyance in his voice that he clearly tried to hide.

Getting in the middle of their conversation was the last thing Abby wanted to do but she didn't have very many options; she could turn the corner and face them, turn back and walk away even though she'd have to come back in a few minutes, or stand there risking that someone will catch her eavesdropping. She chastised herself for being childish, squared her back, swallowed hard, and turned the corner coming face to face with Marcus and Leanna standing opposite each other.

"Chancellor. Leanna." Abby nodded at them as she passed by them trying to enter the chancellor's office where she was meeting Kane. Marcus nodded at her in reply and Leanna gave her a polite smile that never reached her eyes. As she entered the office, she heard Leanna's voice, "It's about what happened in medical, isn't it? She knows, doesn't she?"

Abby walked over to the table at the opposite end of the room and didn't hear Marcus' reply instead she poured herself a glass of water, her throat dry. She was parched. With the glass half full, she sat down on the couch waiting for Kane. But before she could relax, Marcus entered the room, his face unreadable, his whole body tense. Abby wasn't sure if it was because of his recent conversation or because of the meeting ahead. Either way, his body was stiff and square, it reminded her of the Kane she knew on the Ark. No nonsense, all business guy, but now she knew it was all a façade and she felt for him knowing how tough this meeting was going to be.

"Are you ready?" he asked her.

"Let's do this." She got up from the couch, placed the glass on the table, and joined him. They walked side by side to the meeting room, her fingers brushed against his, tingling, she wanted nothing more than to squeeze his hand to give him strength. She pressed her nails inside her palms to stop the temptation as she watched him walk, his eyes fixed on the door ahead of them.

As they approached the door, they paused in front of it and looked at each other reassuringly, they both took a deep breath, straightened their backs, and nodded at each other. As Marcus reached for the handle, Abby grabbed his other hand and squeezed it reassuringly, he looked down and smiled sadly, he squeezed it back and Abby removed her hand. He turned to face the door, closed his eyes, and opened it.

The meeting hall was brightly lit, and the light flooded the dim hall. As soon as the door squeaked, everyone's head snapped in that direction and silence fell across the room, you could hear a pencil drop despite hundreds of people present inside the room. The air was full of tension and anticipation, you could almost see it.

Marcus took the first step and entered the room; Abby followed him to the small podium on one side. It was time.

Abby climbed the three steps, and they stood side by side drinking energy and courage from each other. Looking around the room, she could see the rest of the council members sitting on the right side of the podium already aware of the situation. There was no need for all of them to stand there. Marcus, as the chancellor, was the one giving the speech, Abby was delegated as the doctor who handled the case and evidence, adding anyone else wasn't needed.

"Today, we are meeting under extremely sad circumstances. As you all know by now, there's been an incident— an attack." His voice faltered and Abby reached out with her hand and gave it a quick squeeze trying to give him the courage to continue. He squeezed it back and she tried to take it away, but he held her hand firmly in his larger one. Hidden behind the half wall of the podium no one could see that small gesture, but it meant everything to Marcus and Abby wasn't about to take that away from him.

"The victim was Leah Davanoff and tragically, she passed away from her injuries."

As Marcus continued his speech, Abby scanned the crowd; many people gasped loudly, some covered their faces in silent shock, others started to cry. News of Leah's death wasn't public knowledge up until now so it was a shock to everyone.

"We're conducting a thorough investigation and rest assured that the perpetrator will be caught and punished appropriately."

It was time for Abby to take over and Marcus took a step back before squeezing her hand, returning the small gesture before letting go of her hand.

"We have collected evidence that will help us identify the perpetrator. You may be asked to provide a sample of your saliva or blood or your fingerprints. If you are, please report to medical as soon as possible to help speed up the process…" she knew her speech by heart and tried her best to carry on with it but voices from the crowd grew louder, distracting her.

How did she die? What happened to her? Have you got a suspect? How will you punish them, if we can't float them?

Questions floated in the air, repeated over and over again but it was Frank's voice that caught her attention. It wasn't loud enough for everyone to hear but clear enough to reach the podium.

"She had it coming, she never treated a man with respect—" a fist collided with his nose silencing him. Frank stumbled back, blood spilled immediately, and his hand flew to his face. The guards ran over to separate the two men but it wasn't much of a fight, Frank was bent in half holding his nose, blood dripping down his face, and the man who punched him just stood there staring at him. Abby sprang into action, grabbed the first aid kit, and ran towards them.

Holding gauze in one hand, she put the other on Frank's back, "Lean back." She brought the gauze to his face, but he slapped her hand away.

"Leave me the fuck alone." Still holding his nose, he stormed out of the room leaving a trail of blood drops on the floor behind him.

Abby straightened her back and turned around to face the man responsible for the commotion. Only now she recognized him, the young man in front of her was Ree, Leah's friend who was now held by a guard, but he wasn't resisting, he just stood holding his palm. Abby approached him.

"Let me see." He put his hand forward and Abby gently grabbed it between her fingers, inspecting it, "It's not broken," she said.

"He deserved it, you know," Ree whispered to her.

Abby nodded not wanting to encourage the young man. "Still, you know there will be consequences." Abby didn't know what punishment Marcus would decide on but there would be one, they couldn't just allow people to go around and punch each other, they'd be living in chaos in no time, but Abby was glad for one thing, not all crimes were capital crimes, not anymore. They were finally free to be lenient, to forgive, to give second chances. If only Abby could be that lenient with herself…

"It was well worth it." A sad smile appeared on Ree's face.

His hand was fine and as soon as she was done with it, the guard took the young man to the holding cell where he would await his punishment. No more than a day in an isolation cell, she figured but who knew, they were still writing new laws and it would be the first time they were to be used.

This outburst pretty much ended the meeting, Kane asked for calm and patience, but it was impossible to carry on. Emotions were high and everyone was way too overstimulated to stay quiet, so Marcus called the meeting to an end and the two of them left the room trying to escape the preying eyes and eavesdropping ears of their people. The rest of the council was due to meet them soon but before they could reach the chancellor's office, they heard footsteps and Leanna caught up to them.

"I want to help," she said out of the blue.

"Excuse me?" Marcus turned around to face her.

"I want to help with the case."

"We've got it covered but thank you."

"Bullshit," she said. Marcus' eyes widened and Abby felt awkward standing between the two of them, she had a feeling she was in the middle of something they had started before.

"U-huh, I'm going to go—."

"No! Stay. There's no need to." Marcus pleaded and Leanna looked from Marcus to Abby. She didn't quite understand what was going on between the two of them, she didn't believe the gossip she'd heard before. After all, Marcus and Abby weren't even speaking to each other but now… Now Leanna wasn't so sure anymore but she ignored it and carried on with the conversation.

"I want to help; I can't just sit around and do nothing." Leanna looked at Abby expectantly, if she couldn't sway Marcus, perhaps Abby would cave in.

Abby bit her lip, at the end of the day, Leanna was to work in medical so she might as well use her now to speed things up, "I could use some help in medical. We're swamped with the case; I know it's not midwifery related but—"

"Thank you!" Leanna exclaimed. "See, it wasn't so hard!" She raised her brows at Marcus.

"Be at medical at 0900 hours tomorrow and I'll show you what to do."

"Will be there," she replied without looking at Abby, her gaze fixed on Marcus' face. "Are we still meeting for dinner at 2100?" she asked him.

Marcus nodded without a word, his eyes avoiding Abby, looking anywhere but at her.

"Awesome! I'll see you there." And with that she went away, her long braids twisting behind her like snakes.

Still avoiding Abby's gaze, he said, "Thank you, you didn't have to do that."

"We need the extra hands. There's a lot of work with the evidence and we could really use her," Abby replied but her mind was focused on what Leanna had said. She was meeting Marcus for dinner. Abby's chest tightened; her stomach twisted. She tried to push the thought away as he had no right to feel jealous or to ask about it.

"Right, thank you anyway," he said. He wished he could say more, explain what had just happened but he couldn't find the right words, nor could he look her in the eye and risk seeing her expression, the devastation that was bound to be present in her features.

Luckily for him, he didn't have to say anything because they reached the council office and heard the raised voices of the other members debating what to do with Ree. Marcus pushed the door open and they both entered, their focus shifted to the task at hand.

End of Chapter 13