Stun sticks suck. Maybe not as much as a plasma bolt to the back, but more than the nerve gel. About as much as a beanbag to the belly, though not as much as two beanbags in succession. Oof, did all of this really just happen in the past few hours? I'm really having a bad day. And I never did get Sparrow that coffee. Sometimes the universe just piles it on.

  Still, at least I'm a little caught up in the game. I'm beginning to see the players this time. Jax, and that guy Dyer, seem to be playing for the old guard. Cid and his goons are backing K.C., along with some local support. K.C. is either Gaian or working for them, and Sparrow is a target.

  And Alex? He's just some dumb cop transferring in from another station, caught in the middle. He's the newbie, accidentally stepping in the thick of it without any friends or allies. Holy hell, that's a familiar position; feels like me on Ursa Miner station.

  But it's a little hard to empathize while I'm cuffed and stuffed in the bedroom of his quarters.

  That's not a dirty joke; he frog-marched me to his quarters, almost a quarter mile. It was impossible to tell the route with my dampener active and links down, and he basically shoved me in his bedroom. The lucky duck has a three-room unit; he gets a kitchen and a bathroom too. I'm trying not to be jealous. Though it does beg the question; why did he bring me here, instead of to his local precinct? I assume he's suspicious of some of his colleagues. Oof, ok, I empathize with that too.

  In any event, he's not in a talkative mood, and gives me his classic silent treatment while he pings messages out and logs work reports in the next room. Strangely, he didn't take my dampener; it's active and in my pocket still. I'm not sure why, but I'm not about to ask and draw attention to it.

  As the minutes drag on, I nod off to sleep again. I'm not sure how long; kinda scary how reliant we are on tech to tell us time... and everything else. But long enough for my arms and legs to grow stiff. As I come around, I can hear Alex speaking to someone, and it only takes a second to twig that it's Ashton Cartwright.

  There's only a small pause between responses from the light-delay, but Alex sounds frustrated. "I'm just curious why you never investigated the death of your own sergeant, Captain."

  "As I told you last time, I closed the investigation. Rockchaser's death was ruled accidental."

  "I have evidence it wasn't."

  "I would be very interested in hearing about this evidence." I can almost picture Cartwright's tepid frown.

  "I pinged you a report. In any event, I believe either Sparrow or Melody Cruz murdered him and left his body on the surface to cover up the act."

  This pause is a little longer. "It's my understanding that Sergeant Rockchaser used his CE key to aid the endeavor shortly before his death. This would suggest he was a voluntary participant, if not the principal agent, in the detonation."

  "Exactly. And he's the only one that didn't make it back. And the only one we're certain wasn't Gaian. They were cleaning up loose ends."

  I hear Cartwright hum for a moment. "Yes, the circumstances could lead an investigator to the conclusion that they used the good sergeant, and then he was killed to cover their tracks."

  "And yet, your own report didn't mention any of this, sir," Alex asks pointedly.

  I can't see his face, but I can feel the proverbial temperature drop. "I take issue with your tone, Lieutenant. I knew Brent Rockchaser, and he was nobody's fool. And while I don't fully trust the judgement of Ms. Cruz, I don't believe she killed her partner, nor do I believe that Sparrow murdered him. Your evidence is circumstantial and speculative.”

  "Mel Cruz has a habit of engaging in this sort of behavior, sir." My mouth falls open at that. Technically true. But still… Alex…

  There's another long pause. "Lieutenant, I don't know the nature of your history with Ms. Cruz, but have you considered that your judgment may be clouded by your proximity to the suspect? Forests and trees, son."

  The silence is longer this time. "Thank you for your assistance, Captain," Alex says smoothly.

  I twist my arms in the cuffs, more to work some circulation into my wrists. "You're a vacuum-sucking idiot, Alex."

  He turns to me, shaking his head. "Welcome back, Mel."

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  I cease squirming, lifting my head to meet his eye. "Do you really think I murdered my partner?"

  His expression is blank. "I think I don't really know you. I don't understand why you've made the choices you have, and I don't trust you."

  That makes my eyes water. The air is too damn dry. "Alex, I'm more sorry than you can imagine for how I left things. I wish I had done things differently or reached out sooner. It wasn't fair to you, at all," I say softly, breath catching. "But I'm not a void-spawned maniac, or a cold-blooded killer."

  Alex breathes deeply, silently. Damn, I forgot how good his poker-face is. "Who killed Brent Rockchaser? You or Sparrow?"

  I lick my lips. "Communion killed him. The alien malware ate him alive from the inside," I say urgently. "I know how it sounds, but it's true. As for who shot his body, that doesn't matter."

  He tilts his head. "Communion ate him and killed him. But it didn't kill me? Or did it?"

  Is that what this is about? "Fuck... Alex..."

  He shakes his head. "I honestly don't think you're lying to me, Mel. But Sparrow is a terrorist, and you're emotionally vulnerable. I think she's got you so mixed up; you can't tell right from wrong."

  "You vacuum sucking- gah!" I writhe and tug my arms uselessly against the cuffs. "Why don't you try speaking with her for five minutes before you leap to conclusions?"

  He folds his arms, tossing his shaggy hair. "About what? She's a hardened felon; a criminal and a terrorist. You're sleeping with her because you're heartbroken over the death of your fiancé. What else would you conclude? Really? As a cop?"

  Tears roll down my cheeks. "Fuck you, Alex! You're a chrome-licking idiot, rolling in with your pre-conceived notions and jumping to conclusions you held before you even spoke to me!"

  A moment of silence drags out, and he runs a hand along the helix wrapped around his head. "You could have pinged me to explain it all anytime," he sighs, breaking eye contact. "Besides, Mel, it's the logical conclusion. One that doesn't rely on crazy conspiracies and superintelligent wireheads and transapient alien malware. Occam's razor."

  I just shake my head. "Screw off, you oxide-huffing prick."

  There's a long pause between us, broken only by erratic breathing. Finally, he sighs and lets his hands fall. "I have some contacts to talk to and leads to run down. It should be less than an hour, hopefully much less. Once that's done, I'll take you to the precinct and log you in," he says, turning away, tapping something on his augment. "Since you called me, I'll log it as you voluntarily turning yourself in. That should help."

  I snort. "How generous. But why the delay?" He doesn't answer, and I turn my head to him. "What's the matter, Alex, not too sure of your coworkers? I've been there,” I say, rolling my eyes. He still doesn't reply. “Need someone to talk it through with, like old times?"

  He opens his mouth, but then closes it and shakes his head. "I'm fairly new to the station, just getting a lay of the grid."

  Alex, talk to me. Really talk to me. "The League has infiltrated administration on Ganymede. You must have noticed the private security. Violence is up, someone's running guns in the Jovian. Someone named K.C.," I say quickly. His eyes narrow. "Heard the name?"

  "Sparrow's boss?" He asks quietly.

  I grit my teeth. "No, damn it, Sparrow isn't involved! But if Codes is involved-"

  "If? So, you don't know. Besides, that's not your concern; you aren't a cop anymore, you resigned," he snaps. Way too quickly.

  Where's that legendary self-control, Alex? You worried your colleagues are selling out? I kick a foot against his sleeping pad. "This is voidspawned bullshit! Sparrow is in danger, this K.C. is trying to kill her. And you may be in danger now too."

  His lips quirk in a smile. "I thought you just said she's not involved."

  "She's- grah, you always do this!" I seethe, clenching my fingers. "She's being targeted for previously having run Gaians through the Jovian," I explain with heat. "Her handler is dead, and now-"

  "And now they want to take care of loose ends?" He offers, nodding. "Sure, and now she wants out, because they're trying to kill her."

  "Yes! I mean, she wanted out for a while. Got in over her head...," I say, trailing off. It sounds weak.

  Alex lets his head fall back and closes his eyes a moment. "You really don't see it, do you Mel?" His voice is soft. "She became a liability for the League, so they were going to kill her. You think you met her just when she needed help by coincidence? She was looking for an out, for someone to off her handler. You didn’t ‘save’ her, she used you.”

  I kick the pad a few more times, bunching it up. "No! It's not... like you're saying it," I practically spit. "It wasn't designed, it wasn't a plan, things just... happened!"

  He finally opens his eyes and meets my gaze. "Do you believe that? Or do you just want it to be true?"

  I swallow. "Alex, I know my flaws. I can be blind, sometimes, where touchy-feely stuff is concerned," I admit, closing my eyes. I take a deep breath, then open them. Meeting his gaze, his challenge. "But I know Sparrow. I trust her. I love her. I saved her and she saved me. If she goes down, I'm going down with her. And if that's how you're going to play it, then fuck you!" I shout, tears spilling down my face.

  Alex opens his mouth to reply. "Mel-"

  "No!" I snarl. "I loved you. I'm so sorry I hurt you. I'm sorry my apology comes so late, with so little. I want to help you, and I admit, I need your help. But this ends with me and her flying away together," I say, all the heat fading. My shoulders slump. Like I've burned through my reserves.

  For a moment, the mask cracks. I see something in his face. Pain? Guilt? Anger? Sadness? Some mix? But then he takes a breath, and the Scouting Officer is back. I get the ghost of a smile. "Fair enough. I respect that, and I know better than to argue with you when you've made up your mind." He turns and reaches for the bedroom door. My heart sinks as he rolls it shut. He pauses before fully closing it. "For what it's worth, Mel? I'm sorry too. But even so, it's good to see you."

  The door clicks shut and the lock snaps. Not an electronic lock I could hack, but the antique kind with a physical key. And with my dampener on, I can't link into the nodes to check for pings from Sparrow, or Jax, or anyone else. I'm stuck waiting in this dark bedroom. Ugh, I can't even play a game in my overlay to pass the time.

  I wish I had a book.