Stuck in The Middle (Ep. 14) "Promise Me"
16 Oct 2021Isabella Levine
Continued from Episode: Ep. 13 " - With You."This story comes to an end with this short episode. But I do have a long epilogue coming up right after and that will be final. Thank you guys!
Here she sat in a steel chair and in a room that was small, dimly lit, and had a one-way window she couldn't see out of but they could see in. A typical interrogation room. Nearly the same as the last time with the Empire but at least this time she wasn't handcuffed to the table. Albeit there was an armed guard that stood in the corner with a loaded carbine at his chest. Different but nearly the same.
Isabella tapped her foot anxiously as she glanced at the one-way window. She knew they were there. Conversing. Scheming.
"You guys do this crap on purpose, don't you! Make me sit and wait here to fester over the horrible thoughts of what might happen. I know that tactic, I've been through this crap before. Where's the 'bad cop'? Let's just get straight into it."
She looked towards the guard in the room and eyed him.
"You in on this? Made to stand there all menacing-looking?"
No response. Of course, that wasn't a surprise. She rolled her eyes and continued to tap her feet. She was tired, sore, a bit hungry, and extremely ancy to walk out of here with Violet and try to forget all of this. Speaking of her; she glanced back at the window and snared like she could see someone behind the glass.
"Hey! And where's Violet? You guy said you'd give her medical then let her go? Are you doing what you're doing to me? Huh!? Is anyone going to-"
The door slid open and in came only one Federal Agent. Jet black hair, a stoic-like appearance accompanied with deep blue eyes. He looked pretty attractive but she pushed those thoughts aside for a moment studying his visage longer. She didn't remember seeing him on the Dropship but he was still suited up unlike some of the other agents around. That means he was most likely on the second Dropship that showed up and touched down on the Megaship they currently inhabited. Yes, the Megaship, she thought. Had to be a detention center. She only knew they were on one of these floating cities not from visually seeing anything being in the back of the Dropship but because there weren't many places she could be that had zero gravity and had long stretching corridors. Where she sat currently had some sort of gravity. Wasn't a full, 1.0 G but half that maybe. She was in a ring section. Had to be, she concluded.
"Ma'am...please. Enough of the continuous yammering. I mean you've been going for twenty minutes now. We'll talk to you. Happy?"
Isabella could've gotten offended at that. She could talk a lot of crap about the treatment of someone who's only a suspect or make up something that isn't true to complain about, but instead, she simply smiled knowing she'd raised enough hell to annoy someone. Like the handsome gentleman before her.
"Happy? No. You guys wanted me to give my statement or whatever. I don't really get a choice in the matter. I just want my ship back, a shower, food, then sleep for thirty hours maybe."
He seemed to force a smile while standing at the other end of the table; hands resting on his belt. She eyed a sidearm set in its holster, safety off. They couldn't have actually thought she could do anything? Not here surrounded by trained agents and sentries. Did they fear her or was this a typical federal precaution when dealing with suspects? She didn't know but the weapon now made her a tad bit nervous. She chose to ignore it and looked back into his eyes.
"You don't really have a choice, no. We know if we let you go, you commander types tend to drop off radar. We'll get you your ship back here and cover the cost of it. Once you answer a few of my questions you'll be free to go. Deal?"
Isabella dramatically signed and sank back in her uncomfortable steel chair. She frowned to "deal" comment.
"I'll answer your questions when I know Violet's been cared for and will be released safely and without interrogation."
"She's fine. We had one of our nurses check up on her and she only had mild bruising and slight disorientation from head trauma. She needs rest for a day or two. Tell me, are you her...guardian? We pulled her record and found she was born in Sol. Parents divorced and father later took custody of her after her mother had abused her."
Isabella's eyes widened to that revelation. She knew her mother wasn't the most upstanding citizen but abuse? That's rock bottom of being a trashy parent. Sadness filled her over for a moment before about Violet but was followed by the feeling of rage for her mother. What horrible person abuses a child. What kind of abuse? Isabella wanted to know but at the same time didn't.
"I'm...I guess technically I'm not her guardian, no. I just found her at the settlement. But we...bonded and I feel like I'm responsible for whatever happens to her. I see myself too much in her; it hurts me. I can't let her be sent back to her mothers. I know I'm not a legal guardian but she shouldn't live with someone who's an abusive drunk. I'll take care of her."
"That's not your call, Commander. You know you need legal guardianship because she's underage. She's sixteen."
Isabella hit the desk in a miniature emotional outburst she failed to control. The agent braced a step and set a hand on his holster.
"Where the hell's your morality, huh? She's sixteen years old and you're going to send her back to her lowlife scum of a mother!? Are you insane? I'll take her."
"No...no you won't. That's considered kidnapping. That's a huge offense and could land you 7 or 10 years in prison."
She scowled at him. If he was trying to keep her calm, he was failing horribly.
"Awe, screw you! You know that's bullshit. You can't send her back to Sol. You can't!"
The agent scratched the top part of his scalp before sighing heavily. He took a moment's glance at the oneway mirror the back to Isabella.
"You can go through the process of obtaining legal guardianship of her. Could take a while but realistically you could. If not, we can send her to an orphanage or a Navy Boarding Acadamy."
"What!? No! An orphanage? The military? Listen, agent...whatever. Put yourself in her shoes. You just witnessed the most traumatic thing in your life. Lost the only parent that gave a shit about you, met someone who will take care of you and protect you but then the Federal government steps in and takes you away from that someone and sends you away to some orphanage where you're essentially just a prisoner and no one gives a shit about you. Yeah. Screw you guys. She and I don't have that kind of time to waste., she's leaving this place with me."
She watched him closely as he fidgeted and continued to scratch his forehead. Isabella could almost see his little brain working. Fighting between the right thing and following whatever orders he had to follow. She caught him glancing quickly at the one-way window again and she called him out this time.
"Screw them. You know the right thing here is to let me handle this. She's safe with me. I can provide everything she ever needs."
He sunk his head and slowly shook it blowing out a frustrated sigh.
"Life with a Pilots Federation Commander isn't exactly very safe. Space is an unforgiving place but listen to me. You tell me everything that happened in the Styx system and your involvement and I'll work something out behind the scenes on getting Violet to you. Deal?"
Isabella reached out her hand.
"Deal. But promise me. Look me in the eyes and promise me you'll hold your end of the deal."
He grabbed her hand and shook it firmly.
"I promise."
