Chapter 34 #2
“I’ll make sure he stays impartial,” Morgan stated, meaning he’d play human lie detector. Saint snorted, and the sniper served him with a death stare.
Grady’s shoulders rounded into a slouch as he shuffled to the inner circle. The big man spoke to the ground, describing Elsie’s growing paranoia, the information she’d asked him for, and why. He told them of her failed attempts to figure out what Cornick was up to.
He nodded at Trenton. “Her suspicions weren’t hers alone.
We talked extensively about the chimera and where it potentially came from.
Especially when a second, and then a third, popped up, and other squads were sent after them.
All three were not terrifically far away from Dominion, the research facility the captain was brought to. ”
He barely looked at Elsie as he spoke, wallowing in the guilt of his honesty. But even as he testified against her in front of his peers, he still tried to give context and reason for her behavior.
She wasn’t sure how to feel about the kindness he offered after his assault.
It was a queer surrealness to be grateful to a man who’d acted without her consent while others in the room were ready to tear into her.
A few weeks ago she’d have thought Grady was genuine, but now it felt like he was simpering at her feet while seeking favor from her accusers.
Grady sat down, and Trenton took the floor once more. “Since I haven’t brought Albright into this, I’m going to tell you verbatim what he witnessed when he left to bring the captain back because she was discovered missing after leaving the research facility.”
Fuck. She’d been confident that Albright wouldn’t say anything about what he’d seen that day. Her mentor didn’t want his only student dead. At least, that’s what she’d thought.
Perrie leaned closer to Marley. “Did you know she was missing?”
“No. There’s been a lot of secret-keeping going around lately.”
Trenton explained why Mordane had sent Albright after her.
“Elsie should have returned to the compound weeks before she did, but in Albright’s words, she wanted to spend time playing house with her demon.
When he found them, they were in a compromising and intimate position.
Captain Chantraine deserted, and only came back because someone she couldn’t say no to dragged her back. ”
“That’s not true,” Elsie muttered.
Trenton’s furious gaze bored into hers. “Which part?”
“Cornick threw us out of Dominion and didn’t arrange transportation out of there. We were given no access to Apothecary’s tram station, and had no easy way to return. Since we were left to our own devices, we took a detour. I wasn’t deserting, and we weren’t planning to stay permanently–”
“That’s the part you take issue with?!” Trisse sneered.
Trenton cleared his throat. “The floor is open. Who wants to speak first?”
Marley raised her hand, but she didn’t stand up.
“The accusations against her are terrible, and we can’t let it go, but we have to remember that Elsie started acting strange the moment he got here.
How can we be certain the demon hasn’t been casting spells on her, or brainwashing her into this crap?
The captain we all know and trust is not a demon sympathizer. ”
“Maybe not before, but we’ve all seen the signs, we’ve all questioned how close she is to Mutt and how much she trusts him. Mordane would never accept brainwashing as an excuse. What solution is there in a situation like this?” Banks questioned.
“The solution is to dump his carcass in a swamp and pretend none of this ever happened. Once he’s gone, the captain will go back to normal. Problem solved,” Marley answered.
“The problem with that is the captain’s a big girl. She makes her own decisions, and we already know she won’t give him up,” Trisse said.
“Then we make her,” Marley argued.
“That’s not how this works,” Trenton interjected. “Captain, are you willing to give up your companion demon?”
“No.”
Her second-in-command made a gesture that said, ‘well there you go.’
“Are you fucking him?” Marley demanded. Grady sat back in his chair, hard enough that it rocked and teetered for a second, and Steve let out a long, audible sigh, hands in his hair like he couldn't believe what he’d heard.
“What did you say to me?” Elsie demanded, her voice low. Never had she been so blatantly disrespected by a member of her own squad.
“She asked what we’ve all been thinking. Roz gave you a new room and let him keep your old one, but you’re sleeping together anyway. Everywhere we go, you share tents and rooms, even when there are other options available,” Banks added.
“Is that what companion really means?” Marley asks.
“This is what you all think of me? Hell, if I’d known that, I may as well have fucked him, then at least I’d have had some fun worthy of the accusation. I keep him close because I trust him.”
“You’re supposed to trust us!” Morgan spoke up, then shut back down to glower at the floor.
Saint shifted his weight from one foot to another; every passing moment made it harder to abide by Elsie’s command to say and do nothing, no matter what her squad members had to say. Their blatant disrespect had him wanting to smash a few skulls into the walls.
“Trenton, Elsie’s supposed to be given her turn to present her side of things.” Grady changed the subject.
“Now we get to listen to her excuses.” The bitterness in Trisse’s voice was an ache given sound.
“That’s not fair,” Steve pointed out.
“She has the right to make her side known, as all of us would if we were put in this position. I’m sure she has a good explanation, right, Captain?” Perrie held onto hope, though she looked absolutely miserable.
Elsie rubbed the sweat from her palms onto her pants and stood, forcing the leaden weight of her legs to move into the center.
She explained everything in great detail, from her suspicions of Cornick to what happened with Angela.
The only truth she left out was her relationship with Saint.
There was no way in hell they’d get her to admit to the one thing that would get him killed.
“I want to remind you that you guys had zero qualms spending a little extra time to catch and release those horseflies from the barrier in Colony Nine.
Some of you played with them and thought they were cute.
You even said you wanted to keep one, Perrie.
Where exactly is the line between valuing life and sympathizing with demons?
We don’t hunt harmless demons and magical creatures. We never have and never will, because it’s needlessly barbaric. If we start hunting things that can’t defend themselves, we become no better than the humans that reigned before the collapse of mankind,” she said harshly.
Even Trisse and Marley accepted the truth behind it, each looking thoughtful in their own way for the first time.
“That squad captain was on a power trip with those rabbits. Morgan forgot one detail about them, by the way. They weren’t the big hares capable of breaking a bone if cornered and frightened.
They weren’t the big fucker jack rabbits that stand taller than Grady when threatened.
They were lop-ears. Small, timid, and gentle.
I’m not sorry that I refused to punish a woman for having a set of morals she wouldn’t break. ”
“Morgan, you were up there with me, be honest. You know Angela and Tommy are a perfect fit for Frost Hollow. They’ll fit right in, and her way of thinking won’t cause problems for anyone. I don’t see why it’s such a problem. We can relocate problem demons but not hunters that don’t quite fit?”
Perrie worried at her lower lip, her eyes wide.
“She got two people killed, Captain.” Marley scrutinized her face.
“Those deaths were not directly her fault. Her captain got those humans killed.” Elsie slammed herself back into her seat. The same argument all over again. Any hope she’d clung to, thinking she could get herself through to them, had died with Marley’s words.
“She’s right,” Perrie spoke up. Elsie held her breath, looking to the witch for any scrap of mercy.
“That woman was a factor in those two deaths, but no more than the captain, and he didn’t face erasure.
Those two deaths would have been avoided if he hadn’t acted the way he did.
What kind of coward hides behind a barrier over a bunny? ”
Grady nodded along as she spoke.
“Are we going to argue semantics? We all know guys like that get more protection in the colonies. Look at that moron marshal after we dealt with the rats. That’s not the problem at hand,” Trisse said.
“The fact is, the captain took pity on that woman because she’s gone soft for demons.
You’ve lost your damned mind, Captain. Going after Cornick over unproven suspicions?
Don’t forget we saw you that day after the rat battle.
Half naked, literally dying from your own fucking wounds, but sitting on that demon’s dick trying to take his clothes off,” Marley spat.
Elsie’s mouth shut so hard her teeth clacked together. It didn’t matter that one part of Marley’s accusation was false. Any rebuke she made against that specific point would make her look just as guilty as silence.
“She won’t even deny it,” Marley said haughtily.
“How many of us are on the hook if it’s discovered we knew she was falsifying records?” Banks asked.
“Just Morgan,” Trenton answered. “He was the only one who witnessed it directly.”
“Me too,” Perrie spoke up. “We lied so we could stay in Frost Hollow longer. We took a paid vacation without leave. Though historically, that’s apparently how things have been done when previous squads have gone up there as well.”
Trenton pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.
“How many of us did you try convincing to ease up on our views against demons?” Marley curled a lip.
“I…” Elsie faltered.
“Show of hands.” Trenton’s eyes swept around the circle, noting who made the claim. “Over half.”
“Do we consider that coercion or conspiracy?” Morgan asked.