Surprises, Part 2
Posted on Wed 29th Jul, 2020 @ 4:08pm by Commander Paul Graves PsyD & Lieutenant Damion Ildaran & Captain Andrus Grax & Lieutenant Adam Keller
Edited on on Thu 30th Jul, 2020 @ 4:25am
1,127 words; about a 6 minute read
Mission:
Resolution
Location: Intelligence Interrogation Corridor
Timeline: MD-3, 1145 hours
Tags: Adam, first part
In the interview room, Morrigan is starting the bargain process. Meanwhile, the observers are observing--or trying to.
In the observation room, Paul glanced at Grax, Fisher, and Keller. "She wants control of the situation now; she wasn't trying to play hardball before. That tells me she's afraid of something now that didn't bother her earlier."
He paused and shook his head. "I don't think this change is due to Muffet. Muffet's not threatening her. This feels like self-preservation. I think possibly it's become real to her all of a sudden. She really will have to discuss things she'd rather not think about, and if she has to bleed herself raw, so should we." He bit his lip. "Are any of you getting anything from her? What do you think is going on in her head?"
"I'm not sure that's Morrigan." Grax replied. "At least not completely..." he paused as he tried to articulate what he thought was going on, before he realised that he had absolutely no idea what was happening inside this young woman's head. "I'm with you," he glanced across at Graves, "I'm definitely getting more from her now than I could when Morrigan was completely in control. So either her personalities are fighting for control - or Morrigan's defenses are starting to drop."
"Hm." Paul considered that. "You think we could be reading a combination of Morrigan and perhaps Tanith?"
"Something like that," Grax speculated, "That seems more likely than Morrigan and Zelda."
Their prisoner glanced at the lieutenant who was still sitting quietly, still knitting. Although the sound of the needles was only a soft clicking, it was beginning to feel like Chinese water torture of the distant past.
"That's an interesting offer, but it puts us all in an odd position. Each side has something the other wants, but we can't talk about anything, because no one knows what the other has ... and if we did, we wouldn't be here in the first place," Ischemia said with amusement. "Why don't you lay out some possibilities. Then, when we have an idea what's possible, my client will lay out some information. We can trade back and forth a bit, see where we wind up. As long as we know that prison and hospital or scientific punishments are off the table completely, I think we can come to terms."
"I'll offer you this, as an opening gambit to trust," the woman they thought was Morrigan threw in. "I know where the Aenar hides his ship. He was not only our contact, he was our prison guard." She felt approval and a soft warning. Tread carefully here. He'll want it all. You can't save us that way, no matter what he says.
Chlamydia cleared her throat. "I have connexions who could offer you a ride out of the Triangle, and employment in legitimate, if occasionally dramatic, business. And 'dramatic' here is not a euphemism for 'people are shooting at us.' Depending on how useful your information is, it might be possible to set you up with a new identity to go with the new job."
For a moment, the prisoner dared to believe and dream ... but could that actually happen? Could something turn right for all of them? Why would the future be different from the past? Her shoulders slumped slightly.
Ischemia saw the hope and the doubt, and touched her client on the shoulder. "My sister never lies."
Morrigan looked at her and her eyes changed. "Thank you for the confirmation."
Turning back to the investigators, she straightened her back and exhibited a more definite demeanor. "For that deal, with or without a new identity and sight unseen, I will tell you everything I know."
Damion gave Morrigan a brief glance and then fixed his gaze on Chlamydia Addams, almost as if he were trying to have a telepathic conversation with her--though he lacked that ability. At last he let out a breath and spoke in a quiet voice. "The only reason I'm willing to work with that plan is, I read your report, Dr. Addams. I know you're aware of how bad the blaggard is who made the ring. You know what that person's capable of, what he'll do to get what he wants. I'm confident you, at least, have a realistic idea of what it will take to get Miss Alegari out of that person's sights, permanently." He interlaced his fingers on the table. "Thank you."
Chlamydia nodded regally, and smiled slightly at her sister -- so slightly, it would be difficult for anyone who didn't know her very well to notice. A reputation for honesty was a good thing, and in her case, quite accurate. Of course, that didn't prevent her from obfuscating, misdirecting, or avoiding, but what she said was always true. "It seems to me that Ms. Alegari is more sinned against than sinning; even if that were not the case, however, I would make and honor this deal because I do know the depth of horror that individual is capable of creating. I assure you, Miss, your ring is but the tip of a very deadly iceberg."
Morrigan ignored the incorrect name used, and nodded her head once, looking toward the interrogator for confirmation of the author. Ildaran nodded at her. The ring ... that was ill-done, and she hadn't known all the details of how dangerous it was. If she let herself, she would be seething with anger and cowering in fear, at the same time. She wouldn't allow either emotion.
"I was afraid of that," Damion said. "There was too much expertise behind such a comparatively minor artifact as that ring for it to be the culmination. Waste of a fine mind." He shook his head. "All right, Miss Alegari. We'll take it slowly, because I know the telling willna be easy. Give me a moment to collect my thoughts, if you don't mind?"
In the observation room, Grax cracked a smile. In part because, although he couldn’t be one hundred percent certain, he was fairly sure he knew who Doctor Addams ‘contacts’ were, and what opportunity she was referring to, but more importantly because this felt like the breakthrough that they had been waiting for.
"Well, something opened up just then," Paul said. "Whether it's everything we need remains to be seen."
"She is cautiously relieved with the deal. She's feeling optimistic, I think." Adam spoke for the first time in quite a while. He'd been listening and 'reading' the young woman. "I think we might get what we're looking for. She trusts the Addams sisters, but not much of anyone else.
Morrigan took a deep breath and let it out again. Was this the time?
RSS Feed