8 - After Action

"Not another one" he tells himself under his breath.

Running like a madman possessed, ignoring the still unstable catwalk. Only slowing down when the wobbling and tilting brings him off balance for that moment. The ash from the dead Aparoids is kicked up and becomes like a visible trail behind him. Before he even knows it, he is back at the ladder. And it is not extending. Panting, he looks up at the window in the hope he sees any type of life. But he thinks he knows better.

Looking up at the last step of the ladder, he notices that it is too high up for him to jump. Further up the steps he does see a locking nut at the top left that keeps the ladder in place. He pulls his revolver and fires twice at it. The first shot misses but the second shot hits it clean. It triggers a huge spark followed by a small detonation of the charge hidden inside the projectile and the nut is flung far and wide. The ladder falls down unhinged and smashes down on the catwalk. Before that happens, Trevor already has his hands on and boots on the second-to-last step. His revolver is barely back into his holster, still smoking from the fired Sunburst© round which has received high praise under his breath. He makes his way up in a time that he really needs to check with his previous ladder climbing records.

A million thoughts are going through his mind; it is like he never left the metro tunnel. And now he is going into another. The door into the passageway opens with a tap of the button next to it. His revolver is back into his hands. It is empty and locked on the other side. Knowing that the communication system works here, he calls out to her but receives no answer. The door behind him closes and locks up. An alarm goes off and a red hue fills up the tunnel.

From showerhead-looking devices that spring from all around him, a hissing steam pours and envelopes him completely. Temporarily overwhelmed, he only manages to cover his eyes before the steam evaporates. He feels a little bit damp and chilly but that is it. He has no burns or singed hair. Not even on his mustache fortunately. The red hue turns to green and a positive 'ding' is heard. All is good with him now. Although he is still going to request hazard payment for this. From whom he does not know yet but someone has to answer.

That is a secondary priority right now. He calls out to her again, using her nickname this time but it has the same outcome. And there is no button that will open the door before him.

"Right. If it has to go this way." he mutters to himself before he makes the cylinder swing out and down to the left.

Inside he sees the backside of the shell casing that is big enough to fit snugly in the cylinder. There were markings on it at one point.

"Now they said not to take this out until it is completely depleted once loaded. Or it will be come very unstable." Trevor continues to mutter as he mimics the hand gestures of the definitely very trustworthy individual in a completely normal everyday back alley in the Corneria City equivalent of a no-go zone.

With the gestures also came sound effects akin to something melting due to intense heat. Despite the clear instructions on what not to do with it, Trevor has no choice. He removes the cartridge and approaches the door. He locates the lock that keeps it shut. The cartridge starts to glow and noticeably warm up. Although the rim he is holding on to is separate from the main load, that too is getting hotter. And like the instructions specified, the load starts to melt and bubble.

With a swing he smashes the shell casing tip first into the lock. Like throwing a pie at a wall, the now goo splatters are all around the surface and begin to sizzle. He presses down hard on it and it starts to give way. It is akin to acid eating away at organic material but it is thick and sticky like glue. It reminds him of plastic explosives used for demolition.

The rim he has his hand on starts to heat up significantly too and holding it down starts to really hurt. Biting the metaphorical bullet, he holds down until he is sure it sticks on. Satisfied after a few moments, he lets go with a yelp of relief and pain. Now there is a circular red spot in the palm of his hand. It is only surface level but that does not make the pain go away.

Although his good hand is now grilled until blue, the lock has become overcooked to the point of non-existence. The rim falls detached to the floor before him. A faint odor of burned flesh fills his nostrils. He blows it out and grabs the handle of the door. It has difficulty opening manually and it stalls at multiple points. Presumably an automatic system that is not understanding why the door is being opened without an operator pressing the correct button. However Trevor is not having any of it and pushes on.

When there is just enough room for him to pass through, he first throws out his radio set and then himself. With no one trying to pry or keep the door open, the automatic system does what it is programmed to do and shuts the door.

He gives it little notice as a new shell of Sunburst© is loaded into the cylinder. Quickly snatching the radio he rushes up the steps to the door of the main control room. He puts his ear to the door but hears nothing in there. He calls out to her one more time and does not wait for an answer as his boot meets the door with significant force. The door swings open and slams against its neighboring wall.

The room is pretty much the same as he left it before. Aside from a three large claw marks made into the console, Ashley lies against it out of commission surrounded by empty shell casings and a monstrously mutated Aparoidedation victim with male physique slumped against the far right corner. It is motionless and has a lot of visible bullet wounds from which a purple mucus is leaking out.

Seeing that it is clear, he immediately darts over to Ashley. He puts two fingers on her neck to feel for a pulse. His eyes widen and a smile begins to form. He thanks the stars for it being there. He lifts her head off the cold machinery and in his half cradling arms. Making sure to check if she has any wounds. Aside from some bruises and a small yet deep cut just below her unbandaged eye, he cannot see anything life threatening.

He sighs in relief. He has to play doctor again but she was not lost on his watch. Not gone from him and not dead either. Still reeling from the rush, he turns his face away from her as he puts his radio backpack combo on the ground next to him using his free arm.

With his gaze averted from her, he cannot see that more signs of life are adorned her face. Her nose twitches and her eyelids flutter. Trevor does not notice until he sees her foot make thumping motion from the corner of his eye.

With a groan that grows louder the longer it goes on. It is like a teenager not wanting to wake up for school in the morning. If it was not for the pain she must be having, he would say it reminds him of himself. The description given by his girlfriend that is.

Then Ashley's eyelids part. The lights of the main control room are the first thing she sees and they close on reflex. But it does not take long before they open up once more. The brightness makes way for a more calming sight. And the two see each other.

"There you are. I thought I would never see those eyes open. I wasn't gonna lose another one." he says with a smile before helping her sit upright.

She groans still as Trevor fetches his trusty Metro Society bottle. He puts it up against her lips and encourages her to drink some. After some wet lips and chin, she grabs the bottle with her own two hands and takes several large swings. She returns the bottle and wipes her mouth and chin. Looking at the wiping hand, she notices blood on it.

"You got a small cut underneath your eye. Nothing too bad but it might become a scar."

In response Ashley utters some very colorful words under her breath as the first aid kits are brought out again. No spectacles this time as a simple bandage will do. Disinfectant first however. He dips a q-tip into a pot of iodide and applies it to the wound. Of course he warns her about the stinging pain first. Once the bandage is in place, he asks her how she is doing.

"Headache." she states firmly.

"Dandy for the rest."

Ashley then leans further forward and quickly comes back on her statement. She yelps in pain.

"No! Also back pain."

Trevor makes sure to check if he can see any bleeding but he cannot see anything.

"What happened to you?" he asks.

After a heavy sigh, Ashley tells him that this thing broke the door down and immediately went for her upon spotting her. The two shots she fired were enough to throw off a set of pointed tentacle-like appendages flying straight at her. Only managing to scratch her face, hence the blood on the window.

"It stormed towards me. I must have run circles around it because my bullets didn't seem to do much. It was wildly swinging that whip arm off his around so I had to keep my head down. Until I was back where I stood before. I then managed to hit it somewhere where it really hurt him; just beneath his jaw. It stumbled back but not before pushing me against the console. Hit my head pretty good. In the haze I fired the last shots I had. I must have hit him good again because he was against the wall over there when I lost consciousness." she explains.

"You did an excellent job dispatching that thing Private. It won't come after you again."

"Are you sure it's dead though?"

Trevor knows what she means. As a precaution he takes out the revolver and fires one round straight into what he can presume is its head. Nothing more than a splat of blue-ish red on the wall remains of the inside of its skull. The body slumps further down and falls limp to its side.

Then Trevor groans and the revolver falls out of his hand. Ashley can clearly see the fresh burn mark. Ignoring the pain she grabs hold of his hand.

"What happened to you?!"

"Nothing much." he lies between clenched teeth.

"Had to burn the lock away because it wouldn't open otherwise. I didn't want to lose you. Not on my watch. Not another..."

Ashley's eyes slowly turn away from his hand to him. There is a moment of silence between them. He can swear he sees some kind of glimmer appear in her iris and her pupil widens. Within a fraction of a second she rotates herself and almost binds herself to him in a tight hug. He is overwhelmed by her sudden show of appreciation.

"I was so scared. Thank you for coming back for me." she says mostly muffled into his chest.

Trevor can hear her sniffle a bit. Looking back at the creature that assaulted her, he understands. The thing looks like it rips trees in half for fun. He would probably have a moment after fighting such a monster one on one. His training definitely helps suppress those feelings but it would have an effect nonetheless. Ashley on the other hand...

"No problem Eyes. You're okay in my books. For a Deputy that is." he compliments with jokingly mocking intent.

Lifting her head up from her comfort spot, she dries off a few small tears and gives Trevor's comment a hearty chuckle.

"You suck." she retorts with the same seriousness.

The both of them stand up, with Trevor assisting Ashley with his left hand. Both are bruised and potentially contaminated but the mission is complete. Leaning on each other with the balance more tipped in Ashley's favor, they reminisce while walking back. Not very graciously as her back hurts and Trevor is sure that he must have sprained several leg muscles during his sprint. He calls himself old again but Ashley is quick to smack the silly out of him. Claiming elderly abuse she asks if he would like another one but he humbly declines. Trevor hits back though by highlighting the fact that her nickname of Eyes is now even more applicable. To a smidgen of surprise, she actually agrees.

She then takes the gold-plated shield badge of her uniform. A safety pin attached to it comes loose easily enough. She grips it tightly, almost like she wants to crush it. A cold stare continues before putting it back and returning a smile to Trevor.

"Eyes is fine by me, Corporal." she says with a little hint of insecurity.

"Eyes it is then Private."

"So does that mean I'm like... your new partner now?"

"Uhm. I-I think so?" Trevor answers stuttering the whole way through.

But Ashley knows what is up.

"I'm not trying to replace anyone, you silly. But I didn't hear a no so I assume you at least agree on some level."

"Ah, but then assumption is the mother of all mistakes." Trevor brings up with a raised finger.

"And yet I still haven't heard anything contradicting me. Therefore, I must have assumed correctly." she retorts.

"Keep dreaming. But for now keep 'em open Eyes, will ya?"

"Don't worry, I will."

Light banter continues all the way through the hallways leading back to the stairs they went down on. From an outside perspective, the pair would not look out of place late at night utterly hammered and hanging on to each other to stay afoot. Arriving at their destination both sigh looking up the set of steps they will have to climb before they can rest their feet. Ashley goes first. Not out of chivalry but because Trevor's leg is still hurting and at his tempo they would both have beards by the time they reach the summit.

"Move it along Eyes. Your attempts at humor will be noted in the after action report. Duly noted."

She rolls her eyes and hops up the stairs like only a bunny could do. With the "old" man limping behind in comparison. At the door she can see that there is also a keypad. She remembered the code from when Trevor put it in in the first place.

"0-7-2-8" she reminds herself while pressing the corresponding buttons. But a low-pitched alert denies her an open door. And strangely a bump against the door from the other side. To make sure she did not put it in wrong, she tries again. Slower this time and really pushing the buttons down as far as they go. But the result is the same. In the meantime, Trevor has caught up to her. Seeing the pickle she is in, he decides to give it a try too.

"0-7-2-8." he tries as well.

Nothing.

"But that was the code you put in before. The one you were given by... him."

"Indeed. Do you think he changed it?"

"Why would he do that? Unless..."

"He wanted us in there but never to come out again." Trevor finishes.

Ashley is not exactly surprised thinking about it. And now that she is thinking about that moment, she did hear that the code used to be different. She alerts Trevor who in turn remembers it.

"2-8-0-7".

The positive set of high-pitched beeps is heard and the lock is heard disengaging.

"Right, time to have a little talk with your Sheriff. Wouldn't you say?"

"That after action report?"

"That and a few other things that we need to clear up with the actual old fox in the room."

On Ashley's face a wry smile forms. She knows what he means and she is looking forward to it. Trevor pushes the door handle down and tries to open the door but something is blocking it from the other side. Then this something actually pushes back and shuts the door on them. Not pleased at all by this, Trevor rams his shoulder into the door and is pushed back again. He can swear to hear a mocking snicker coming from whatever it is.

He turns to Ashley and gestures to the door. She nods and stands ready to bash the door down with him if necessary. Quietly counting down from three to zero, the both slam in the door and the someone holding it closed is tossed aside.

Now standing back in the hallway, there is no trace of Silva anywhere. But there is someone else familiar here.

"Felix!" Trevor calls out in anger to the fallen dog.

He tries to crawl towards his pistol that was knocked out of his hands when he was thrown to the ground. However, a firm stomp of Trevor's boot on his back stops him instantly. With the air literally stamped out of him, he resists no longer. That and also because the racking slide of Ashley's reloaded pistol now at the ready.

Trevor kicks the gun away further and flips Felix over to put him on his back. He grabs him by the collar of his uniform and pulls him up.

"Where's Silva?" he asks with little patience to test.

And yet Felix intends on trying. He persists in saying nothing and shakes his head. But the wide-eyed claim of innocence is not believed.

"Have it your way then." Trevor states viciously.

Once more the dog did not cooperate. Clearly a hard learner and confident in his connection to Silva. He has no one to fear as long as he got the Sheriff. He was in the way again, doing his master's bidding. Not for long.

Trevor's vicious words are backed up with action. Holding the collar up with his burned hand, his now clenched left hand impacts unapologetically with Felix' nose. A satisfying yet sickening sound of breaking nasal cartilage is heard along with a yelp from the victim who instantly cups his hands around it once Trevor lets go. He moans and groans along with wild whining as Trevor lets his collar go. Ashley is tempted to add insult to injury but stays clear for now.

In response to the fight and Felix' cries, Silva has turned up. Not with too much haste however; he might trip over the dropped pistol. Once he sees the dog on the ground, he looks genuinely distraught.

"What... did you two do!?"

Insulted by Silva's insinuation that would not know why this has happened, Trevor walks up to him and stares him down.

"I told you. Multiple times. To keep that bloodhound away from me. Now I made sure that blood is the only thing he will smell." he tells Silva straight to his face using his more fancy accent again.

This time the thumbs stay away from the belt and hang motionless by his side. No laughter, no even a smirk appears on his face. Instead it is a facial expression stuck between surprise, contempt and anger. His eyes dart away from Trevor's gaze from time to time before giving up completely. He takes a step back and averts his face away from him. Then he extends his left arm out, pointing towards the kiosk bunker.

"Please." is the only thing he says.

Trevor looks back at Ashley who is in the middle of putting her gun away. She agrees with going along. When Trevor looks beyond her, he can see several of the civilians have come out to take a look at the commotion. Silva is ready to address them but Trevor does this instead. Dismissing it as a simple incident; the poor Felix lost his balance opening the door and slammed face first in the wall. He sees Jane in the crowd and since Silva and Felix are close, she is the perfect lady to take care of him.

She wholeheartedly agrees to do that, though the definition of taking care of him might be different in her book. Either way, the situation has been written off and it is left at that. With the onlooking crowd now gone, Silva insists with venom nearly dripping from his lips in sour anger that they move to the kiosk. Trevor and Ashley oblige him. In this case Ashley goes first, so that Trevor is between her and Silva.

The door of the kiosk opens and both Trevor and Ashely make themselves some room to sit. Silva closes the door behind him and would rather lean against the nearby wall, twiddling his thumbs and forefingers together.

"What was that back there, Corporal?" he asks with much restraint after a sharp inhale.

"An incident, Sir." Trevor answers smugly and blunt.

Looking over at Ashley makes no difference, which is interesting.

"I figured we were here for the after action report." continues Trevor as he leans back, plucking at his mustache.

"A debrief, pat on the back and then some well-earned R&R."

Silva crosses his arms and rolls his eyes.

"Not particularly. However, if you insist. Your mission was a success, I take it?"

"Indeed, Sir. We managed to retake control of the energy core and managed to eliminate the problem causing the outages."

"We... uhm. Found that this place also used to be a containment site of sorts." adds Ashley a tad bit nervous to Trevor's report.

Much to his delight but it does lead to a curt "I did not remember asking you." from Silva. To which Ashley responds as she always does: petrification. But she recovers instead of freezing completely.

"Please Ashley, do continue." encourages Trevor, which helps the thawing further.

She clears her throat and resumes her reporting. Silva tries to stare her down but fails. So instead he averts his face and lets it happen.

"Corporal Trevor recognized them as military containment units. And unfortunately we found that they contained a massive storage of Aparoids."

This makes Silva look back up.

"Aparoids? Here?"

Trevor leans forward.

"Silva. Did you know about this? Did you know this place was a containment site? Did you know that you were sending us down into a killzone?"

With every question asked, his tone gets more direct and personal. There is a definite anger behind it. Silva pulls back and scoffs, trying his best to look as insulted as possible. But behind the theatrics, there is something he is definitely not telling. Still hungry for more but in the knowledge that this has to do for now, Trevor leans back and gives the word back to Ashley.

"We managed to fight off an armored bug. Potentially their leader. In the core room itself we found a massive nest of them. They were sapping the energy away. Cooperation between me and Corporal Trevor was of the utmost importance and we managed to overcharge and then reset the core. All Aparoids present were successfully vaporized in the process. Mission was completed with no casualties. Only minimal injuries."

While Trevor is looking at her like a proud friend who encouraged her to get on stage despite her stage fright, Silva could not look any more chafed by her enthusiasm. That is until he notices that her face has been worked on.

"I see your face has been treated. A new bandage and what I can only guess is some kind of cooling patch underneath your war wound." he notes with some delight.

"Y-yes. Corporal Trevor helped me with it."

"And just when I thought that all supplies were supposed to be in here for equal distribution?" he says through clenched teeth and a forced smile.

"We found a store room that contained a first aid kit. Very well stocked I might add." Trevor jumps in, lying through his teeth.

"Ah." is all Silva can say in return, returning to the sour mood he just came from.

Trevor crosses his right leg over his left.

"In fact, while I was treating her "war wound", she told me how she got it."

Those words create a response with the Sheriff, stopping to swallow a newly formed lump in his throat. His eyes are wide open. Not to a Felix-degree, but still noticeable.

"The whole story. Riveting material. She was very brave for sure. You have here one hell of a fighting hare here." he finished while sending the "hare" a wink.

Seeing this happen in front of him, Silva sees no other option. He asks as friendly as he can to speak to Trevor alone. And if Ashley would be so kind as to wait outside. He has heard enough about her role.

Ashley in turn is conflicted about doing this. Inside her head she is screaming at herself not to follow up on that bastard's orders but she is already standing. Out of the corner of her eye she notices Trevor doing the same, pretending to only do this to straighten the legs on his pants. He hangs his head towards her ear and whispers to her.

"Do what he says for now. I'm a big boy, I can handle him. Go."

With that said, Ashley excuses herself and exits the kiosk. Making sure to keep as much distance from Silva as possible. The Sheriff does not question it any further. He closes the door behind her and turns his full attention to Trevor who has retaken his seat. He pulls up a seat as well so he can level with the corsac fox.

"I thought I told you not to let that rabbit get to you." he says while getting himself something to sit down as well.

That along with a plastic cup which he fills with fresh water straight from the tap.

"I apologize on her behalf, she can be very unnerving but she can be put into her place. I took your words to heart, Sheriff, I really did. And I really do know what you did too. Or rather, what you did not do yourself."

"Do you?"

"Yes." he retorts strongly.

"So you are responsible for her courage. Impressive. I thought that I flogged, so to say, that plucky-happy go lucky adventurous spirit out of her."

"You were looking for a sheep, instead you found a goat. Next time, try to keep the one you had in its pen. Even better idea than that; don't have one at all." he imparts on him.

Silva sighs, fed up.

"Do I need to remind you of the hierarchy again Corporal?"

Trevor cannot help but scoff and then smirk.

"I know about hierarchy, Sheriff. I have known about it my whole military career. It is a well known game to me. I also know various tricks outside the book. Who to ignore, who to woo and who to support. And despite my rank as Corporal, I can still lead effectively. And my method of leading is not flogging the spirit out of them. It is to understand them, hear them and make them feel part of a unit. So they can put their trust in me and be repaid accordingly. Just as much as I put my trust in them to help me get out alive. I ask a few things but you will know where you stand with me."

Noticing that he has sunken away a little bit in his seated position during his speech, he resets himself and continues.

"And when it comes to this hierarchy, it is so simple. The top is the armed ones. The law enforcement. You started with three and six unarmed civilians. Then I joined and you got four. When it came to choosing sides within that hierarchy, you started with the advantage. Yourself, a lap dog and beaten bunny against only me."

Trevor in the meantime is observing Silva well, who is fidgeting in his seat and occasionally glancing around him in a paranoid way. Like he is expecting someone to appear behind him.

"After this mission however, the balance has changed. Now there is you and a beaten dog. Versus me and a fighting hare. I am in the advantage here Silva."

Silva's eyes widen again. His mouth stands ajar in astonishment as Trevor's words get through into his gray mass. This is the sheerest form of attempted blackmail he has ever experienced. Trevor has no authority to go to to put a hole in his ambitions and current occupation but there are plenty of souls around that can be turned to his side. If he managed to string Ashley around his finger...

"You are a paper tyrant, Silva. A small man wearing a big hat with little understanding and a greatly inflated image of himself." Trevor leans in.

"Lay a finger on Ashley again and I will tear your paper hide in half!"

A moment of silence follows after the bark. It is awkward for one and well deserved for the other. Silva tries to find something to say but is at a loss for words. Trevor has said what he had to. And in the end Silva admits defeat in the matter.

"I think we are done here then. I will be enjoying that R&R if you are looking for me." Trevor stands up and starts walking towards the door.

He stops next to Silva however.

"I know you can't blame yourself so I'll do it for you."

The Sheriff grumbles in response and waves him away. Taking the hint, Trevor resumes his exit. With his hand on the door handle, he does hear Silva ask something of him.

"Send in Ashley please." he requests without turning to face Trevor.

Giving no response, Trevor exits the kiosk. He finds Ashley leaning against the building just right of the door. She looks happy to see him and considering Trevor has come out of his after action report rather shining, it makes her peppy attitude all the more proper.

"Glad to see you survived in there." she says.

"Superior intelligence, Eyes." Trevor replies a little humble.

"However, I would suggest taking that smile down a few notches. Silva is in a bad mood."

"As in violent...?" she asks with uncertainty.

"No, not like that. More like defeated. Grumpy. Like a small child who lost at a video game." he jests.

"And you said to smile less?"

Trevor shrugs playfully.

"You got me there. Now, go on. Don't make him wait any longer. He is already quite piqued."

Ashley nods and goes to enter back into the kiosk. When she is at the door, there is a moment of hesitation. When she goes in, she is on her own. Against him. A chill runs across her body, from her back to the tips of her four limbs and to the furthest away hair on her tail. Her hand starts to shake the closer it comes to the handle.

"Eyes." she hears being called out to her from somewhere.

She turns to her left and notices that it came from the Corporal.

"If you need me in there, I got you." Trevor assures her while he pads his holster more than willingly.

"Just holler for me."

She smiles grateful at him and with a steadied hand she pulls the handle down and disappears from his view as she shuts the door behind her.

"And there she is."

A hunched over Silva, now seated on the opposite side, slowly rises up. His breath is heavy and his tone is sinister. The light has dimmed inside or is that the atmosphere hanging here? With a stretched out arm the Sheriff points at the spot he was seated in before.

"Please."

Silent and uncomfortable, Ashley follows up on his command. The chair feels uncomfortably warm and a little damp as well . She tries not to show any sign of fright but he can feel his gaze. And in places she would really rather not. Now she is a tad ashamed as well. A last glance at where Trevor was seated and she knows for sure she is on her own in here. Silva, almost as if on cue, slumps back down in his chair. Maybe he is trying to imitate the Corporal's smug demeanor.

"There we are. Just the two of us."

Ashley nods in response. Her legs are kept together and her hands are on her knees. She looks very tense and pale, like a deer caught in the headlights. With this view, Silva gets a feeling of nostalgia. The first time she came into his office.

"I apologize for Felix' absence. I know you always appreciate a second party to be present. Perhaps next time huh?"

Ashley nods again. No change in her demeanor except that she starts to avert herself from him. Perhaps she is getting overwhelmed? Either way, she should not try to show it.

"You treacherous wench." he then hisses.

"I gave you everything. The field work and respect you always wanted. The pay increase that came with it. Your dream coming true. All I asked in return was to take the fall for me on certain occasions." he orates like it is normal day to day business.

He sounds self-indulgent and self-righteous in the most toxic way. With a small dash of anger. All pretenses of a more southern drawl given up. Silva is taking his time with this one much to Ashley's visible discomfort.

"But you couldn't even do that could you? You had to be rebellious. I had no choice. I cannot let those under me go unpunished for not following the agreement made. You had to learn."

A single tear drips down from her unbeaten eye and is absorbed into the recently applied bandage. She had to learn. And she did learn. Feeling another come up, she wipes it away from view. But Silva has noticed. She tries to say something in retort but all she can do is part her lips and no sound comes out.

"I am not proud of what you have become, Deputy Ashley. Especially not with the type of folk you hang out with now. A soldier? Really? What did I tell you about those bastards? They think that they own everything. They attempt to take over everything that does not belong to them. Waving and shooting their weapons in the air like complete buffoons high on power." he continues impassioned as he gets up from his seated position.

He grabs his badge and shows it with much pride.

"We are the true bringers of order. That is what this badge represents. And so does yours. It is also an unwritten agreement between Deputy and Sheriff. To perform and obey. And you clearly did not get the memo. Despite it being served under your eyes with every reporting you had to do."

He puts his badge back on his uniform and sits back down.

"But I know what that soldier means to you. A way out. You are not willing to learn nor obey so you want to run. That is where you got your war wound from."

A stern grimace follows.

"I am not apologizing."

Secretly knowing he would not but in some corner in the back of her head still childishly expecting it regardless; that speck of hope is now gone as she sniffles. A third tear drips down, this time from her black eye which she lets go unhampered. It will be the last. Her left hand clenches as she looks up at Silva.

"May I?" she asks timidly for her turn.

The grimace plastered on Silva's face only gets bigger when he hears her. He lets her have her say in this. He will observe from his metaphorical throne as Ashley clears her throat.

"I knew you were... erhm. I knew you were never going to apologize. Some part of me thought that you would however. Like some small part of me thought that you deserved respect and you would turn around eventually."

A small but visible smile then breaks through her sad expression.

"I don't know why I was thinking that." she scoffs at herself.

"I guess I really do never learn. At least not from your lessons. Because you never gave them yourself. Did you?"

Ashley's facial expression turns more serious and this unnerves Silva to a degree. What is going on here?

"No. You had a lapdog for that. Silent Felix. I, a dirty subject meant to be obedient, cannot be punished directly by the Sheriff. I am too low for that, so my own kind will do it to me. I wasn't worth being punched by your highness himself?" she asks with venom and spite behind her words only to be met with silence from the accused.

The corner of his mouth is twitching, clambering for a retort to come down from the nerve center but receiving nothing.

"And what of those soldiers that would take over everything? Talking with their weapons and waving them around like rampaging terrorists? So far what I got from one single soldier is nothing but compassion and respect. Cooperation and may I even say friendship." she states crystal clear before taking her badge like Silva did before.

"This badge represents to me what you said those barbarians would do. Because we are doing that as we speak. Your society."

Silva grumbles in himself, hurling the worst curses known to him at her but they have no impact for she cannot hear them.

"You were wrong and will always be wrong about so many things. Order. Respect. Obeying. Teaching. But I have to admit, you were right about one thing; Trevor is my way out. Because he wants out as well."

She stands up and the Sheriff can only watch her do it. Enraged but powerless. She is below him; how dare she get up without his say-so? He instinctively looks for his lackey but finds only himself in the position to act. Trembling with spiteful rage and yet glued to his seat by himself alone.

"I know that look." Ashley says calm now towering over him.

"I dare indeed. And I know what you are going to say next; I cannot leave with that badge still on me."

She takes one last look at the gold colored and shiny tin badge before she places it in her clenched right hand and tosses it underhanded without much effort in Silva's direction. The tin piece hits the floor with an audible 'cling' and hops like a skipping stone for a few moments before it lands in between the Sheriff's legs, still spinning.

"I quit!"

With her head held up high and a final sniffle, she takes her leave. She cares not for a speechless Silva, who is too busy staring down at the badge that has now come to a standstill. His stunned reflection staring back at him with a fake gold hue. The door opens in front of him and slams shut.

She is outside now. The difference in light is instantly noticeable. So much brighter and more open. It feels like she has exited a dinghy sauna now that the emotional impact her actions have had are catching up with her. She shuffles herself to the left of the door and slides down the wall until she sits on the floor. Her head is held in her hands.

That was something. She never felt so powerless and yet so strong in the end. Yesterday she wouldn't have dreamed of doing something like this. But now it has happened. It was hard but when she got going, she could not stop herself. It seemed that she needed only a push to get herself over the edge.

An emotional cocktail hits her like a freight train. It tastes salty and bitter but the aftertaste is sour and then sweet. Then she feels a hand on her shoulder. Slowly her head is lifted from her embracing hands and she sees Trevor squatted down in front of her.

"I take it you showed him what for. Well done Eyes. Well done." he compliments her, making her tear up just a little.

"Oh I'm sorry." she apologizes in haste wiping away any moisture from her eyes.

"I-I'm an emotional wreck right now. That was... so scary."

"But you pushed through."

"Yes. Yes I did. Didn't I?"

"All the way till the end, Private. Come, let's get you off that cold floor and get you something to snack on." he suggests while extending his hand out to her.

"But we missed lunch time. And I doubt the kitchen will serve us now." she wonders while being helped off the floor by the Corporal, who has a rather cheeky smile going.

"I figured that. Hence why I snuck a few small things out of the kiosk when Silva was sulking. You up for some R&R and a sandwich?"

"Oh hell yes!" she shouts while practically attacking the poor thing like a predator finishing the hunt on its unfortunate prey when she receives it.

There is no room for etiquette at this moment. She is loudly and fully enjoying that pre-made bread as the two walk back to the "neighborhood" of Metro Society. After all, Trevor was given the suggestion and encouraged to mingle before. What better time to spend your R&R than with the oppressed locals?