Cloak & Dagger [Matthew]

[Artemis]

Brody could feel his pulse quicken at the raw panic on Matthew's face when the Lieutenant ordered him to regard his suspect (his friend) as hostile; as if it wasn't enough that he was going to be expected to react with physical force if Matthew's attitude persisted, they had sparred together. He didn't think for a second that Matthew would just allow Brody to manhandle him, even rough him up without making some attempt to defend himself. And with the Lieutenant's short temper and even shorter fuse, he wouldn't put it past the man for a second to treat it as an assault on a Peacekeeper.

He'd sooner cut off his own right hand than do to Matthew what he'd done to Eiten Ruze. But Brody didn't want to die either by disobeying a direct order.

"With all due respect, sir. I'm not the enemy. Forgive my bad choice of words."

"Then I suggest, Recruit," Stahl replied, his tone sarcastic and speaking slowly as if Matthew were stupid, "You watch your fucking mouth, and answer the questions the Corporal asks you with the military bearing and respect they should have taught you at the Academy."

Brody could feel Stahl's eyes on him through the one-way glass as Matthew shuddered.

"I hope you weren't planning on Academy Instructor being your long-term assignment, O'Rourke." He snapped, "Your boy here is a disgrace."

He narrowed his eyes, his own pride stung from having his handiwork rather viciously criticized and growing increasingly irritated by Stahl's prodding; it wasn't uncommon for the observing Peacekeeper to goad a reaction out of the suspect, but Stahl was particularly biting and impatient. Brody sighed, reiterating the question to get the interrogation back on track.

"I don't know, sir." Matthew said finally.

"As in you don't know your reasoning, or because it never occurred to you?" He prodded for elaboration, "Jeran Ruze called the assault in after it already occurred, saying you asked for me by name, but you didn't think to contact the Peacekeepers sooner? Why?"

ffffff - Brody
1979e6 - Matthew
45583a - Max

[Jack Lexington]

"Oh my." I blow out some air and run my fingers through my short hair because I simply don't know. I want to really scream at him why he's asking me all these fucking stupid questions when he would have done the same thing if he was in my shoes and his pregnant girlfriend was being yelled at and pushed around.

"As I said, no idea. What would you have done? Call the pks and leave her alone with her angry father or handle it yourself?"
My voice is the tiniest bit irritated but I simply can't keep my cool with all these egos in the room. Especially the one out of the room behind the glass, who tells me to be respectful but apparently doesn't have the slightest bit of respect for me,a future peace keeper.

I can feel a knot forming in the pit of my stomach...the angry kind, that's really hard to soothe again. So many times before I felt exactly the same and usually it only takes a few seconds for my fuse to blow. So I lower my gaze and dropmy hands under the table again.

"I didn't think to call the peace keepers sooner because I am becoming one. I figured I could handle the guy myself and protect her."

It takes a lot not to roll my eyes at him. Is he really still being my friend here? It seems an aweful lot like he's trying to set up some trap toletme go down alone,now that he's been threatened to loose his position as interrogator.

"Why am I even being questioned here? Eiten Ruze is the one who's done wrong, not me!"

[Artemis]

So this was how it was going to be. Brody had found Matthew early, told him what to do and what to say, and he was just watching this interrogation spiral downwards as he failed to control his temper under Stahl's input. He had never expected this to be easy, and though he had acknowledged in the back of his mind that he might be forced to put his hands on Matthew to keep his friend's secret, Brody hadn't actually believed he would have to do it; it was easy with other suspects, whose personal lives he knew about only on paper and had no emotional attachment to.

This was every interrogator's worst nightmare; having a loved one across the table from them, and having no other choice but to do their job.

"I didn't think to call the Peacekeepers sooner because I am becoming one. I figured I could handle the guy myself and protect her."

It was a reasonable answer to a reasonable question. Brody was about to breathe a (mental) sigh of relief when Matthew just had to open his mouth again, looking distrustfully at Brody.

"Why am I even being questioned here? Eiten Ruze is the one who's done wrong, not me!"

Brody didn't wait for Stahl to give his unwelcome opinion about Matthew's attitude; in a second, he was across the table, hauling Matthew from his seat and pinning him to the wall by the front of his shirt, their faces centimeters apart. The intercom would pick up anything but the barest whisper, there was only so much he'd be able to do.

"You are here because you trespassed and violated the law," Brody snarled, "Are you changing your story? Claiming you're innocent now because you think being a recruit means our leniency is indefinite?"

He shook Matthew, feeling absolutely sick of himself; but, then, Brody supposed his sense of self-preservation was stronger than his friend's.

"I suggest you think very, very carefully about the consequences if you have the inkling to raise your hand against me," He growled, his tone dangerously low and hoping Stahl wouldn't catch it. "Before you make this worse for yourself."

Brody's words were so much more than he meant; it was the closest he could get to begging Matthew to settle down and just take this interrogation like a man. At this proximity, neither Stahl nor the video feed would be able to pick up the desperate expression on his face.

Don't make me hurt you. Please don't make me hurt you. I will if I have to but please don't make me hurt you.

ffffff - Brody
1979e6 - Matthew
45583a - Max

[Jack Lexington]

My fingers are starting to twitch under the table with frustration threatening to get the better of me. Great, my friend has turned on me and they're just going to grill me until I slip up. The guy behind the glass has probably made up his mind already. I wish I could see his face!

When I demand to know why I'm even being grilled Brody suddenly shoots up and grabs me by my shirt. Instinctively I pull my head in and my arms shoots upto block his but then I remember not to get into a physical alceration with him. That would look especially bad right now.
I let him shove my back against the cold concrete walls but stare him down to let him know that under any other circumstances he's have my fist in his gutt now.
My nostrils flare slightly as I press my lips together when his hot breath hits my face.

"You are here because you trespassed and violated the law," My mentor , scratch that previous mentor, snarls, "Are you changing your story? Claiming you're innocent now because you think being a recruit means our leniency is indefinite?"

I just squint my eyes. 'Whatever.'
"Whatever I say can only be wrong." I whisper at him in a low but angry tone.

With cold eyes he resorts to shaking me making me tense up and ball my fists at my side. Oh how I wish we were back in the yard of his home. He wouldn't be shaking me for long.
My face turns away from him to somehow controll the anger that's boiling up towards the surface. It's a matter of self discipline, which I have under a lot of circumstances. Now I just want to kick his ass but I can't.

I try hard to controll my breathing that's running away with me under the certain attack.

"I suggest you think very, very carefully about the consequences if you have the inkling to raise your hand against me. Before you make this worse for yourself."

My eyes narrow with the urge to grab his windpipe like he did before. I'm not in cuffs like any other person would be. i could easily grab him.
"Get your hands off me." Those words are mouthed, nothing more. No microphone would be able to pick them up.

I shrug his hand off my shoulder, then state in a very low, calm tone.
"I guess that would only be okay if we were back at the academy...any time."

Right now I don't care in which way he looks at meanymore or warns me. I can only workwith my own gutt feeling which is greatly influenced by my temper. But I don't feel Brody's on my side any longer. For some reason I get the gutt wrenching feeling of him wanting me to strike him so he can lock me up and get out scott free. I won't give him that satisfaction.

Sidestepping a way from him I glare at that damn one way glass again.
Raising my outstreched palms I shurg. "You got me. I was at his home when he told me to leave. How was I supposed to know he was serious that time. Just get it over with. In my mind I did nothing wrong. If a peace keeper enters a property because somebody is in danger nobody charges him for trespassing. You're measuring with two different cups here!" I'm pissed, right. But my words hide that as well as I can.

Just like in the arena I'm able to blend out the possible dangers awaiting me or the audience. I just fight. I want to win. Today won't be any different.

[Artemis]

As if it weren't bad enough that his relief was late, Max generally had no interest in watching the proceedings of interrogations. Not that he couldn't stomach them, on the contrary; Max could count the number of people he gave a shit about on one hand. But there were about a thousand other things he'd much rather be doing, and instead he was standing in the hallway, watching through the one-way glass as some recruit kept mouthing off to the interrogator that had previously been his instructor. Kaiser sat silently beside him, not understanding what they were doing down here, but just happy to be next to his master as he always was, ears flicking this way and that as sounds echoed down the corridor.

He folded his arms and sighed as O'Rourke stood from his side of the table, grabbing Recruit Dunham by the front of his shirt and slamming him into the wall behind him. The kid wasn't very bright, that much was certain, but to his credit he was smart enough to figure out that if he fought back, he'd be in for far worse than an interrogation and a little manhandling. O'Rourke, though, was beginning to grate on his nerves; this was not the ruthless, empty-eyed interrogator that ripped his suspects apart from the inside that he'd heard about. The Corporal was pulling his punches.

There was a reason they had protocols in place for removing Peacekeepers that were too personally attached to cases.

Recruit Dunham shrugged O'Rourke's hands off of him, and amazingly the Corporal didn't immediately tear his throat out; Max's mind was made up.

"Corporal."

O'Rourke didn't take his eyes off of Recruit Dunham, but cocked his head slightly to indicate he was listening.

"Sir."

"I'm relieving you of your duty as interrogator for this case."

Did he catch O'Rourke going pale? Apparently his reputation was awfully important to him; being pulled from a case was an embarrassment to say the least. But O'Rourke didn't protest, turning from Recruit Dunham silently and exiting the room; he was definitely pale. He stood at very stiff attention, eyes boring a hole into the wall behind him.

"Sir, I can continue with the questioning--"

"You can't, and you won't." Max interrupted him, not caring that the intercom was still on. "You're holding back and it's fucking embarrassing to watch. You'll take over as Peacekeeper in observation, maybe you'll learn a thing or two."

Max had much less formal training than O'Rourke, but like all officers he knew how to conduct a questioning; torture wasn't really his cup of metaphorical tea either, but he had never been shy about using his fists. Directing Kaiser to sit and stay where he was, Max entered the interrogation room.

ffffff - Brody
45583a - Max
1979e6 - Matt

[Jack Lexington]

Aren't wedone yet? I confessed. What the fuck are they still asking me questions for?

Before I know what on earth is going on I hear the coice throught he intercom, that same voice that's been rubbing me the wrong way for the past ten minutes.

"I'm relieving you of your duty as interrogator for this case."

Oh damn.
For once I'm not even thinking about myself but about my former trainer.That's a fucking low blow of the worst kind. He loves his reputation as bad ass interrogator and here he's getting pulled. Not that I care anymore. Seems like e's against me like the bastard behind the glass anyway.

I glare at him while he disregards me and stares at the wall. 'That's what you get for asking so many dumb questions' I think to myself when in reality he probably didn't ask with enough 'velocity' behind it.


"Sir, I can continue with the questioning--" He declares but gets brushed off and talked down to just like he did to me. At least a little satisfaction.

I bite the inside of my lips when roles are being reversed and the Lieutenant who gave his snappy comments from behind the com enters the room.
My jaw almost drops when see the same guy who's been trying to screw with ym head a little earlier.

I think it's plainly visible on my face that I'm not delighted. 'What the fuck? That's the jackass making comments?'

I watch O'Rourke leave the room while I still remain standing near the wall taht he slammed me against.

For some reason when the door closes behind him and he's no longer with mea bit of fear returns to me. The last words "You'll take over as Peacekeeper in observation, maybe you'll learn a thing or two." don't help.

But I play it down by stating.
"I have nothing else to say, sir." At least I'm keeping it respectful by calling him sir.

With a mixture of worry and anger I watch him stride through the room claiming it as his playpan with me as his toy.
I'm not game to play though so I avert my gaze.

For now I remain as quiet as can be although I'm fuming on the inside. The last thing I want to do is blow my top though because I get a feeling they're just waiting for that. I focus on my breathing instead of the man in front of me, who's maybe 5 years older than I am.

[Artemis]

_{Double blitz!}

He'd tried.

Brody rested his hands on the thin windowsill as Stahl took over the interrogation. He wasn't just talking about today's disastrous events, either. He'd tried to make Matthew better from the minute he'd set foot at the Academy.

Weeks of physical conditioning, working around Matthew's injured lung, tutoring for exams, showing him how to look and talk and behave like a model Peacekeeper, getting him past his fear of the water, torturing Eiten Ruze and coaching him how to survive the Detention Center.

Matthew had thrown all of it back in his face in one fell swoop.

The more he thought about it, though, the angrier he became. Brody had taken him to meet his family, and had potentially put them in danger by doing so. He had pushed Matthew for weeks towards the finish line of graduating the Academy only for him to stop, literally, a single point away. He had lined everything up so Matthew could become a Peacekeeper, get the medical help he needed, and have a bright career ahead of him. But then he thought back to the beginning, when he and Matthew had only known each other for a matter of hours, and he had mentioned wanting to stay in the district to take care of his father.

That son of a bitch.

He knew.

Matthew had known all along that his girlfriend was pregnant, and had been planning to skate by, become a Peacekeeper and apparently thought he could have a family on the side. He knew the consequences and the risks, and had allowed Brody to waste countless hours training and teaching and protecting him, bending over backwards to make sure no one found out about the baby, and dragging his own name as an interrogator through the mud by mouthing off despite knowing that Brody was on his side.

His hands clenched into a white-knuckle grip. That son of a bitch was worse than those uniform-chasers that had made Brody choose to distance himself from others to start with; it wasn't enough to use his power, he'd had to take advantage of Brody's camaraderie, his devotion to the Peacekeepers and his devotion to who he thought was his friend.

If Matthew Dunham expected any more help from Brody, he was sorely mistaken.

Max didn't sit as he entered the interrogation room, already hating the slight glare of the light off the white-washed walls. Dunham was still leaned against the wall where O'Rourke had left him, looking at Max like a deer in headlights.

"I have nothing else to say, sir--"

"Sit the fuck down." Max snarled. "I don't know why O'Rourke is so goddamned soft on you, you would have been an embarrassment to the Peacekeepers if you'd been allowed to graduate."

The hell was this punk going to be in his military. Max had already written into the report that Dunham's enrollment with the Academy be swiftly and immediately terminated; Dunham apparently wasn't smart enough to get his last single point and his badge before he went and fucked up.

"You will be done talking when I've decided you have no further useful information." He went on, "And unlike your instructor, I won't hesitate to use force."

He hadn't brought any weapons or implements with him, and although Dunham was slightly taller than he was, the kid was probably barely 18. Max had a good 7 year head-start of back-alley brawling, sparring and fighting dirty to stir up some creativity if Dunham didn't wisen up very, very quickly.

"Personally, I don't believe that you were hanging around Old Man Ruze's house just to hang out with your 'training partner'." He growled, hands on the top of the chair and leaning forward menacingly, "Do you really expect me to believe that you were trespassing, repeatedly apparently, because you were worried about your 'training partner's' safety?"

ffffff - Brody
1979e6 - Matthew
45583a - Max

[Jack Lexington]

He doesn't sit down but struts his stuff, nicely pressed uniform, neat haircut, spit shined boots. Not quite as well presented as O'Rourke but still a poster boy. Only that this guy is older and much more cynical.

He doesn't sit but orders me to take a seat even though I've just told him I don't have anything else to say.

My nerves are getting ground down fast now.
"I don't know why O'Rourke is so goddamned soft on you, you would have been an embarrassment to the Peacekeepers if you'd been allowed to graduate."
Does that mean I'm not graduating? I'm glad he stands behind me now so he can't see the expression on my face.

Maybe it's because he knows who I really am. I'm not a disgrace, sir. I've done everything I could to pass every single test even after I got injured when I help taking down a tripple murderer...attempted murder.

My new interrogator has no idea who I am and just treats me like dirt, like any common criminal.

But I remain silent, even when he tells me.

"You will be done talking when I've decided you have no further useful information. And unlike your instructor, I won't hesitate to use force."
'I'm shaking.' I mock him in my thoughts. During my time as career I've fought bgger guys. Heck I went up against a total lunatic. The only thing that worries me is that I'm not allowed to touch him. Not even in self defense, I guess.

I just shrug because I really have nothing left to say.

That's when he starts digging in the one spot I'd rather leave alone: Kyanite.
"Personally, I don't believe that you were hanging around Old Man Ruze's house just to hang out with your 'training partner'. Do you really expect me to believe that you were trespassing, repeatedly apparently, because you were worried about your 'training partner's' safety?"

He's got it figured out. It's obvious that he knows Kaynite is my girl friend. I should have just left the statement as it was when O'Rourke read it. Now it's too late to take it back.

"Yes, I do." I look at him blankly while very closely under the surface I'm scared shitless and fuming at the same time. An odd mixture that can't stay hidden for long.

"I told you, I have nothing else to say but if you want me to repeat myself. She's just a friend." Does my slow talk sound self assured? I hope so because he'd better drop this and let me go now. I'm out of the academy. That's good enough, although now that it's becoming official I feel the strange urge to fight for it again.

[Artemis]

Max narrowed his eyes at Dunham. He wasn't as well-versed as dedicated interrogators were in deciphering body language, but he didn't have to be in order to see that his prey looked much more afraid now that his instructor wasn't around to take it easy on him. This little shit probably thought that being a recruit made him a big dog.

Very much unlike O'Rourke, Max doesn't waste a second calling Dunham out on his shit. The recruit didn't get to finish the end of his insistence that Kyanite Ruze was just his friend, receiving a punch in the back of the head for his efforts.

"You're a fucking liar," Max growled, "And not even a good one, at that. I bet you were sneaking around Ruze's place looking for some alone time with your partner."

Which begged the question, what else was Dunham hiding. Max could see the anger boiling under his skin, and it probably wasn't going to take much more to get a rise out of him.

"I wonder what else you're lying about, Dunham."

ffffff - Brody
1979e6 - Matthew
45583a - Max

[Jack Lexington]

As soon as the guy brings up my 'training partner' I know I'm in trouble so I claim again that she's no more than a friend.
My eyes are fixed to the glass I'm sitting opposite of, which I assume O'Rourke is now looking through. He knows that Ky is much more. So much more. The guy behind me is only making assumptions. At least that's what I think.

Even before I can finish my sentence his fist hits me in the back of my head causing it to get whipped forward and putting an unexpected strain on the muscles of my neck.
I don't think I've ever been punched in the back of my head and that is good because it sucks.
"Shit." Escapes me as I bite back the pain and let my flat hand smack against the table top in an instant reaction.
'Arghhh.' Now he's really got me pissed off. On the table both of my hands ball into fists until my knuckles turn white. I'm only a hair away from punching back. But somehow I manage to controll my anger. I know what's at stake here.

"You're a fucking liar," his menacing voice sounds behind me, "And not even a good one, at that. I bet you were sneaking around Ruze's place looking for some alone time with your partner."
He's absolutely right but I'm not about to say that. Instead I grit my teeth.

"I wonder what else you're lying about, Dunham."
Oh shit. Does he know more and is just waiting for me to say it? Or is he fishing for something?

I feel if he keeps digging some more he might actually get somewhere that I cannot let him know under any circumstances or it will mean the worst possible outcome for Me, Ky. Who knows what they'll force her to do?

So I do my best to distract him. My palms flat against the table again I turn my head to see him and shoot him a disgusted look. I'm at a point where I'm willing to do almost anything to cover up the truth.
"Think what you want. While you were out taking your dog for a walk I actually took down a guy who attempted to kill three people. You're beating down on the wrong guy here, sir."
Why do I even still call him sir?

[Artemis]

Honestly, Max wasn't sure what pissed him off more; the fact that Dunham had professed to his crime and was now suddenly changing his stance, or his fucking attitude. The look of disgust on his face as he turns to glare at Max gets his own blood boiling; he was defiant. Against not only his superior, but an officer.

He would fix that.

"You're beating down on the wrong guy here, sir."

In one swift movement, Max smashed Dunham's forehead into the table, his forearm braced across the back of his neck to keep him down.

"Am I?" He hissed, "Because I'm pretty sure I'm beating down on a slimy little maggot with a record of offenses and is trying to talk his way out of a trespassing charge he already admitted to, and is doing a piss-poor job of lying to my face."

His elbow ground into Dunham's neck.

"Did you think being a Peacekeeper recruit made you hot shit? Is that it?" He paused a moment, letting his words sink in, "Bang-up job of bringing in that attempted murderer, by the way; he only managed to nearly kill you, your buddy and your little girlfriend."

As a matter of course, Max had glanced through Dunham's file while O'Rourke had been pussyfooting around his interrogation, and there was some rather useful information in it. Nothing quite like twisting the knife where it hurt.

ffffff - Brody
1979e6 - Matthew
45583a - Max

[Jack Lexington]

I'm stressing that I actually did a great job for the peace keepers and belong amongst their midst doesn't sit well with the lieutenant. Maybe my attitude has something to do with it. Isimply feel their breating down the wrong guys neck. I've done nothing wrong. I'm a good guy and being treated like a criminal makes me want to lash out.

The new interrogator apprently feels the same. At rapid speed I see the white metal surface come closer before my face connects with it hard. The loud bang resonantes through my head while it feels like he just split my forehead wide open.
"Ouch." I yelp in pain.
Instinctively I want to reach for the aching spot but I can't even lift my head off the cold surface because of his elbow digging into my neck.

"Am I?" He hissed, "Because I'm pretty sure I'm beating down on a slimy little maggot with a record of offenses and is trying to talk his way out of a trespassing charge he already admitted to, and is doing a piss-poor job of lying to my face."

He must feel like the king now.

My hands reach behind my head to push his arm away, which is damn near impossible.

"Did you think being a Peacekeeper recruit made you hot shit? Is that it? Bang-up job of bringing in that attempted murderer, by the way; he only managed to nearly kill you, your buddy and your little girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend." I press out trying to blink the little stars away that are dancing in front of my eyes.

If only I could defend myself. He'd have my foot in his knee and then I'd grab his arm and yank him forward against that darn cold steel table he's pressing me against.
This way I just try to wind my head out of his grip but I'm afraid if I struggle too hard he'll snap my neck.

I'm sure Brody is having a ball watching this after he got talked down to by the Lieutenant.

With my cheek against the surface I want to mutter. 'You feel like the man now?'

It takes every bit of self controll to stop struggling against his arm and calm down again as much as I can under the circumstances.
"I honored every minute of the academy. I took it damn serious. Didn't even quit when that bastard stabbed me. I don't deserve to be treated like a criminal." It's my last attempt to get out of this by reasoning with him.

[Artemis]

Brody normally prided himself on his situational awareness, and greatly despised having anyone standing behind him. But with his forehead nearly pressed to the one-way glass and his hands clenched so tight his knuckles cracked, Brody hadn't noticed until it was much too late to realize he was no longer alone.

"Corporal."

He knew that voice. Brody stood, but didn't turn around; he didn't honestly know if he could face his Lieutenant with the evidence of his failure so visible in front of him. Rubbing it in his face.

"Ma'am."

Lieutenant Rochelle moved to stand next to him at the window, barely even acknowledging the presence of Stahl's dog still posted outside in wait for his master. She made no explanation for why she was late, and truth be told Brody wouldn't have heard even if she had; the clenching in his chest had given way to a dull numbness, and the only thing he could feel at the moment was the weight of the badge in his pocket.

It no longer felt like a reminder, but a burden.

"Ma'am..." He started, feeling his voice die in his throat.

"Permission to be excused, granted."

Lt. Rochelle was mercifully perceptive. While Stahl was handcuffing Matthew in the interrogation room, Brody turned sharply and made his way down the corridor, moving as quickly as he could at a walking pace but feeling like he was slogging knee-deep in mud.

He needed to be alone.

Max felt his pulse quicken as Dunham struggled under his arm, still insisting that whats-her-face wasn't his girlfriend. That wasn't the point of the interrogation, but it didn't matter. If Dunham wanted to insist he wasn't a criminal in spite of that being the entire reason he was here, he would get a taste of what being treated like one was really like. He let go of Dunham's head, reaching behind him to slap cuffs on the now-former-recruit's wrists.

"Recruit Dunham, you're found guilty of the crime of trespassing. You will not finish your time at the Peacekeeper Academy, and with any luck, forty lashes will teach you a thing or two about trying to lie to a Peacekeeper."

He hauled Dunham to his feet.

"Hope it was worth it."

ffffff - Brody
1979e6 - Matthew
45583a - Max
e6d300 - Lt. Rochelle

[Jack Lexington]

The pressureon my neck is starting to give me a headache (or maybe it was the impact of my fore head on the table) so when it finally get's released I reach upto rub my neck.

That only lasts about two seconds before the lieutenant grabs my arms and secures them with a set of handcuffs behind my back. My first thought is: 'Oh shit, he's going to beat me till I'm blue now'. But to my surprise he declares that the interrogations is over.

Thank goodness. I don't know how many more times I could have claimed that Ky was only a friend.


"Recruit Dunham, you're found guilty of the crime of trespassing. You will not finish your time at the Peacekeeper Academy."
Mission accomplished shoots through my head.
"... and with any luck, forty lashes will teach you a thing or two about trying to lie to a Peacekeeper."
'Oh shit. Forty?'I kind of expected some sort ofpunishment for the trespassing but not for lying.
The thought of lashes alone makes my knees feel a little weak but the number...I can't even wrap my mind around it.
Better than a lot of other options yu hear about the dc but still.

For some strange reason I also have to think about O'Rourke. I can only imagine how incredibly disappointed he is in me now. Not only have I sht on what he's done to me but managed to get him pulled from the room. Fuck. If only I hadn't such a temper.

"Please don't do this." Am I really begging this asshole to reconsider? I shouldn't do that.
So I shut up and just cast the nastiest glance I manage at him shaking my head before I get lead out of the room...in cuffs...like any ordinary criminal. Like Jins and like Mr. Ruze. Fpund guilty.

I may have accomplished what I wanted but the walk of shame to my punshiment still feels like I've made the wrong choice. 40 lashes vs. Kyanites safety and our love. It's a fucking high price to pay.

Just as we leave the interrogation room I catch a very familiar guy heading down the long dark hallway towards the elevators with firm, quick steps. O'Rourke.