Friday, April 30th, 50XX
They sat for hours, the clock having just gone past midnight just outside Kiera's room. "It's Friday morning." Maxis whispers, checking his watch. "The last day of the month, April."
"Maxis."
"Yeah, Elliot?"
"Can we talk about something?"
"Sure... What's on your mind?"
"It's something, Kade said quite ago while now and I tried to save him today. You know how he cut his neck?"
"Yes..."
"He told me when I first met him that suicide was always a valid option and stuff."
"Well, that's not scary."
"It's just... I'm worried."
"Understandable-"
"No, but I mean. Like, um... But the family he and Kiera came from. After what I saw today and what the sides, I saw of Kade and Kiera in the past...
Kade did some really scary things. He infiltrated a trafficking and organ harvesting company alone, deleted security footage, and violently attacked Nadine May in order to get to Kiera.
And combining that with the dark things he said and seeing him slit his own throat just now, I could see he changed his mind and didn't want to die when he saw me.
I saved him once, thwarting a kidnapping and then he was the one he wanted my help, but I never once checked my phone saw I knew saw any of his texts and calls. I'm too scared to check my phone now and look to see what he was talking about so he did the unthinkable alone and I tried to save him again this time, but I was too late.
So he told me to tell Kiera he loved her instead."
"There's not a single thing I can say Elliot that will make any of that easier."
"I know, but also. Do I tell Kiera? He explicitly stated what he wanted me to tell her, his final words before he died.
But she didn't want to know him back at the hotel."
"I-I'm biased against Kade, Elliot. You might want to talk my Dad about that.
There is alot of ways this could play out.
You tell her and she doesn't want to hear it, you tell her and she gets upset, causing her further emotional distress or you lie to her and she's none the wiser... And you register his last words with the department of deaths as they will want to interview you."
"None of them sound any good."
"Yeah."
"Hey, guys."
They look up to see Vincent and his got someone on his arm. "Levi." Elliot says.
"Uh, yeah. This is Levi, Maxis. His an old friend of mine and his going to be crashing at my place here on base till he gets set and readjusts to ordinary life and contacts his family and we get him removed from the missing persons register so he can reclaim his assets."
"What's your relationship with your parents like, Levi?" Elliot speaks up.
"I-I-What?" Levi responds, adjusting his glasses nervously and looks to Vincent.
"His relationship with them was fine. I mean, the Government has to tell them his alive and safe now that we're back home... Which will come as a shock to them, but they weren't on bad terms if that is what you're asking." Vincent speaks for him.
"I-I'll go back home and live there for a bit afterwards." Levi murmurs. "What about you? I heard you're being exited from the Military honourably."
"That's right..."
"Do you have family to go home too?"
"Kiera and Maxis are my family, Levi."
"Oh..."
"But my Mum and me are speaking so I guess I'll go visit her and stay there for a bit. And as for my Dad, all I have to say about him is good riddens.
His an asshole for walking out on my Mum. One can't parent alone. I hope his homeless somewhere wherever that is and he can stay there.
I want nothing to do with him, I hate him more than I hate Scarlett."
"That's your Mum's name? Scarlett Coleman?"
"Yes, Levi."
"Hey, Lev. We should go and leave these two to finish clocking out for the last time. They've got a lot of paperwork and people, agencies who wanna talk to them no doubt, okay?' Vincent tells his friend.
He nods softly and Vincent leaves with him, both parties waving goodbye to eachother. As they walk away from Maxis and Elliot, Elliot mouths to Vincent, 'Get laid' and Vincent mouths back, 'Fuck you' then smiles, shaking his head.
"So, considering we have a lot of waiting around to do, you want some honesty? I know things about people.
I've lied to you about myself and the people you've worked beside these last few years."
"Yes, that would be nice..."
"Vincent is not used to trusting people. It can be hard for him, but the flipside is his lonely. He has a come a long way though since he joined."
"What did he do to end up on the General's taskforce of young adult delinquents? I wouldn't pick him for one.
You either before you told me the truth about yourself."
"He paralysed his young sister."
"Wait, what? You serious?!"
"Yes, his sister."
"How? Did he hurt her?"
"I don't know the full story, but I do know he has a sister who ended up paralysed and apparently he blames himself.
I have heard him say it was his fault many times to Derrick who's now dead, but I've never once been presented with proof he physically did it.
Maybe it was indirectly because of someone's else actions or something.
He moved out of home after it happened at 17, went to further schooling, did a course in social work and got his high school diploma from there too, then threw himself into delivering parcels where he met Levi and so forth till he ended up in the Military."
"Is his sister alive?"
"Oh, yeah. She's alive, I've never met her though and I don't her name or what she looks like. I think she and Vincent's parents live far away, Vincent's a long way from home."
"Do any of them ever visit him?"
"I don't think so. Like, I said, he is lonely. Imagine not having anyone to celebrate your birthday with?"
"That sucks. We should defiantly throw him a birthday party, a surprise one on his next birthday."
"Totally."
"Why was Allie in the taskforce?"
"Allie? Oh, geez. That is one question I don't know the answer too, can't help you there. You can ask my Dad, but he probably won't divulge that on account she's dead so we can't get her consent and we don't ruin the dead's living memories left behind."
"You must know something about her."
Maxis sighs. "All I know is when I first joined the Military fully after completing my schooling, top of my class, she appeared from nowhere onto the taskforce."
"That's it?"
"Yeah, very mysterious and uneventful. Kind of like Kiera, just showed up.
Except we now know Kiera's past."
"Do you think she ran away from home or something?"
"I don't know."
"Running from someone? A ex-boyfriend? A stalker?"
"I don't know, Elliot."
"She was running from herself."
Both boys flinch as they see Kiera waking up, peeking through her eyelids. They stand up and head into her room.
"What did you say?" Elliot asks, leaning over her.
"She was running from herself."
"Did she tell you about herself?" Elliot asks. Kiera nods. "She liked me, we hung out. I'm not really one for being girly while she was super girly, but I didn't mind her company."
"Kiera, how do you feel? Do you remember what happened?" Maxis asks.
"Why do I feel sick? What happened?" She groans, sitting up. "Woah, woah, don't do that. Stay down, you have an IV in your hand." Maxis warns her and she complies. "I'm going to throw up."
She groans, rolling over and Maxis grabs a sick container for her. When she is done, he wipes her mouth over and she rolls back onto her back.
"I feel so sick."
"It's going to feel like that for a while. You we're dosed by Dr V and never had a chance to come off any of the drugs uh, Nadine and Bonnie had you on either.
It all has to work it's way out of your system before you can be released from the Hospital. Also, you're dehydrated and lost some weight. They have you on fluids." Maxis tells her.
She nods desperately and closes her eyes again. "Kiera, you still with us?" Elliot worries, gently nudging her.
"Y-yeah, just let me rest my eyes. They hurt." She speaks. "How about me and Elliot leave you to rest?
We're still goanna be on base though, okay? If you need us, ask the Hospital staff."
"O-okay." She says, falling back to sleep. "Let's leave her to recover." Maxis gestures to Elliot and both boys slip out the room.
Once outside, they see General Peterson. "Dad!" Maxis says, hugging him. "What are you doing here?"
"How is she?"
"Uh, awake now. She's going to be here a while though, isn't she?"
"That's up to the Doctors to determine her physical health, but also her psychiatric health."
"Yeah, I figured."
"General." Elliot speaks up.
"Yes, Elliot?"
"What do we do about her brother's death? He killed himself."
"Yes, that was tragic. Someone so young, but also desperate just to have a relationship with a sister he didn't know he had before."
"He probably didn't think he was going to get to escape again and/or Dr V was going to hurt him worse than last time or kill him so he decided to escape from it the only other way he knew..."
"Likely so, Elliot. But he clearly had some underlying mental health problems and was engaging in risk taking behaviour.
Kiera struggles with a fluctuating temper, depression and PTSD, her Mum, Dr Kaylee V is a sociopath we think, mental health issues probably run in the family line.
We don't know anything about Kaylee's extended family yet, we're trying to track them down, but as she changed her name from Beckett to Vaughn, some documents are permantly sealed or something else."
"You're saying you think mental illness runs in their family?"
"Kade likely was bipolar, he did risky things and you said he engaged in underage drinking, was he telling the truth about how much he drinks? We can't be sure, and not knowing too much else about him as we have not met him, it's only speculation based on others accounts who did know him.
"What happens now?"
"You mean his body?"
"Yes."
"Kaylee because she's been arrested and is on a 72 hour hold right now for assessment, cannot lodge any kind of claim towards his body and she did give him...
Obviously too, I won't let the woman who hurt him do so as well even if she wasn't arrested and on a hold.
Kiera is too sick too and not with it so she is automatically disqualified from having those decision-making capabilities, nothing stops her being his sister in the eyes of the law to here.
"So, unmarked grave?"
"No, he was adopted. Maxis said he told you three that. I have to call the family who adopted him, and this won't go down well, hearing his biological mum and biological sister are now in the picture.
They never knew about Kaylee or Kiera."
"But what if Kiera wants to visit her brothers grave? She won't know where his body is."
"The problem with that is he belongs to the family who legally adopted him. She could fight it later, but that's a financially and emotionally taxing battle in court.
What they choose to do with Kade's remains is up to them. And Kiera can always reach out later through the department of death, but there are no laws that can force them to contact Kiera back and tell her where his body is once they take custody."
"You're joking."
"I'm afraid not. It's just how the law is right now till it's changed which could be never.
"So she doesn't have the right to information or be able to visit him once she is well and even a little back to her old self?"
"Sadly, no. There is nothing I can do. But I am more than happy to assist Kiera with leaving a letter with the department of death.
It cannot be directly though as I and the Government are obligated to protect the family who adopted Kade, it was a private and closed adoption as Kaylee gave him up.
Now, have you told her Kade is dead...? We didn't mention it to her when she was bought into the emergency room."
"No, Dad. She's disoriented and just threw up." Maxis steps in.
"How do you think she will handle it when she finds out?" Elliot asks.
"I don't know. If there is even a small part inside her heart that cares about her brother, she will ask.
If not, I doubt she'll care. You both did tell me she rejected him in the hotel room. If she doesn't ask, we can't say anything till she does."
"But that was shock, Dad. We'd just fled what could only be described as hell on earth."
"Maybe so, but if she does ask about him, she might not care still even when finding out his dead.
We'll need to assess her mental state. Now, what do you want to do?
I have some paperwork you can out if you want to stick about as this is the end of both your employments or if you want to go home and do it a week from now, that's okay too."
"I don't have to anywhere to go, I'll just the homeless again. I'm awful at maintaining the home unlike Maxis so there no point in buying or renting and I'm really not sure about going to see my Mum..." Elliot whispers.
"You can still live on base, I'm happy to make an exception as you're dating my son. But I'm sure your Mum will take you in Elliot, she wants to have a relationship with her.
You should at-least go see her even if it's for a day or two. You could stay with her for the moment, and look at getting a job in the economy or take up a hobby and live off your pension and saved funds.
"I don't know." Elliot says, slumping his shoulders. "Elliot." Maxis says, forcing him to look at him.
"Where ever you want to go, we'll go there. I'll follow you; I'm not leaving."
"And Kiera?"
"I hope she'll agree to come with us."
"And what if she doesn't?"
"No one can force Kiera to do anything. She very well might break up with both of us and apply for her passport again and go back to Canada where she's from.
She is a citizen of Canada, having been born there and try to pick up the remnants of her old life, or stay here as we're offering her permanent citizenship now, but still leave us." Maxis tells him.
"Elliot, if she chooses to leave, do know I'll do everything I can to set up a support network and accommodation for her.
There is halfway houses staffed with professionals she would be eligible for her based on what she's gone through and to make sure she doesn't end up harming or killing herself considering Nadine May and Bonnie, you and Maxis and Kaylee have all indicated she's suicidal." General Peterson speaks up.
"What's going to happen to Nadine May, Doctor Bonnie and the others?"
"I cannot divulge what their fates will be. The legal system is still deciding what to do with the staff as they have committed a few crimes along the way each of them. Fit to stand to trial, insanity automatically."
Then a name hits Maxis and Elliot in the face. "Bobby!" They said together.
"Ah, yes, one of the more lawful staff, although... Clearly has some problems.
His soon to be wife bailed him out and he went home with her. Canada's letting him go sort of for the moment.
Elliot nods.
"I think you boys should go. Don't worry about doing paperwork, it is 1 a.m, go home and sort your futures out."
"We could do with a break, Elliot. I'm tired and kind of craving drive thru fast food right now."
"You want to go through the drive thru? Sure. I'll pay, baby."
"Oh, baby? And you're paying? Well, I like the sound of that... Daddy."
"Uh, I do know your Mum's apartment is near a beach. I checked her address on Web Maps." General Peterson interjects.
"Damn, let me call her."
"You wanna call her?" Maxis says.
"Hell yeah! Da beach, baby! And if I call her, she will likely pick up. It is 1 a.m."
"Haha, okay. We'll ask and pack up some essential items of ours right now I guess."
"But we'll visit Kiera every day?"
"Dad?"
"If she is well enough for visitors. That is up to the Doctors assigned to her.
She's not on a psych hold right now, but a temporary one may be assigned later while they work out what do with her.
Now, go home for now, boys. I'll keep you updated on Kiera though. I'll talk to her, I can send along letters and photos from her. She can ask for phone calls.
Just have to be patient with her, we won't know anything till she is not on any medication at all. And if she does end up needing to be on some, that can be assessed and done properly.
Bonnie Desmond was not sufficiently trained in medication and so forth and Kaylee V didn't really care about other than keeping Kiera quiet."
"Have you talked to Kaylee? About why she's doing this?"
"Not yet, the Doctors are trying to stabilize her physical injuries, you left her to die, Elliot.
But I'm going to pretend that didn't happen as I already have a tornado sitting on my desk. Once she is medically stable and they get her on some cocktail of medicine to calm down whatever is going on, I can talk to her and the legal system can decide what to do with her."
"I'm calling it now. Not Guilty by reason of Insanity." Maxis snarls.
"Who knows, she might not even plea that, or if she pleas nothing, a judge might still find her unwell and order treatment for the next few years in a facility, son." General Peterson responds.
"Now, I have to go make a hard phone call, they might not answer and I'll have to leave a message. Kade's parents won't like me." He says, waving goodbye.
"Hey, you see that storage cupboard over there?" Elliot smirks. "Yeah?" Maxis responds and Elliot pulls him inside.
"You may not be able to pilot anymore, but I reckon we can still find a way to fly later. I'm interested in checking out the Mile High Club."
"Oh my, you naughty beast..."
"You haven't seen the best of me yet." Elliot whispers huskily into his ears causing Maxis to hold his breath.
"Once a thief, always a thief." Maxis says a moment later.
"You got that right, I'm after your heart and I think I've already successfully broken in too!"69Please respect copyright.PENANAntZGJdOyNJ
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