Saturday, April 10th, 50XX
They all head into a secure compound, passing endless buildings and doors without building numbers or room numbers. Natalie clings to Clara shaking.
"It's okay, I got you. I'm not leaving you and you've done nothing wrong, sweetie. It's just sad your sister is mixed up in all this.
I had someone else at the station I'm based out of, run a check on your name.
You are in the system as such, but not exactly. Not the criminal one that is, the recordered people in the country one.
It's how we found you so quickly, and could see your visa was expired. You we're a child when you we're bought here, yes? Immigration was always aware of who's overstayed, but till someone actually tips us off where said person is, you could be anywhere."
"Yeah, I was a child. I was 6 and Nadine was 4."
"Can you speak Russian, Natalie?"
"No. Nadine can though, she loves the language. I hate it."
"Where did you work in Canada?"
"Uh, soup kitchen for the homeless. Religious church affiliation."
"I see."
"Clara, what do I do?"
"What do you mean?"
"I spent so much time trying to keep the house my parents had been renting and paying their medical bills and visting them in the hospital, I neglected my little sister.
I didn't see what she had gotten herself mixed up."
"Natalie, you're not to blame for this."
"But you still understand don't you?! Your fiancé is mixed up in this too and you never noticed!"
'That is true, I didn't notice. While I didn't neglect Bobby as such and I've always shown him I love him morning and night and weekends, sometimes I was just tired. We both we're, he sometimes worked nights and so did I.
I can see how I easily missed this, but dark crime underbellies thrive on not being seen so people like my fiancé and your sister are masters of not being easily detected over time."
"I just don't understand how they are okay with this. They're more worried about themselves and us being killed than the people they have probably hurt..."
"I can't tell you the specifics of the details they and Bonnie shared with me, but just knows it's dark and bloody..."
"So, how are they okay with it?"
"Probably desentized to violence over time. It happens with cops too, we face so many situations, they just become another statistic we add to a group over time and while I'd do anything to save a life, run in front of a delivery van to stop it hitting a young girl, I couldn't care less about the blood shed if I was too late or I was hit and had a bone sticking out of my leg."
"Do you think they're sick? My sister had that drug in a bottle she overdosed on."
"Clonazepam?"
"Yeah, that. What is it exactly?"
"It's to treat panic disorders and anxiety, it's a tranquilizer from the benzodiazepine class. That doctor in front of us, if she even is one as we couldn't verify that."
"So, do you think they are sick?"
"Mentally, yes. Are they evil? No. While this situation is serious and confusing and I'm going to have to do a fair amount of paperwork, I'm relieved to be able to hand this shit off to someone else and then I can just stop being Police Officer Clara Green for the day and just be, Bobby's future wife, Clara Green for the rest of the day.
I feel like they and others we're probably lured in on the premises of money and eventually discovered there was strings attached and by then, they we're in too deep and out wasn't a possibility.
If they weren't suffering depression, anxiety, ptsd, panic attacks, they are now. I and Bobby went to high-school together and dated all through out it.
If I didn't know what I knew today and you asked me what I thought of him, I'd say he was normal. But I can see it in his eyes, his been looking around sporadically, checking every dark crevice and checking all the exits so he knows where they are.
His scared and probably has a profound disorder of some kind now. He, Nadine and Bonnie will need to undergo a psychological evaluation, they might not even prosecuted criminally and it will become a mental health case instead.
And from what I have heard so far, having not had a chance to meet and talk with General Peterson directly, I don't think the U.S and Canada are even that interested in the lower tier people like my love, your sister and whoever Bonnie is.
Why go for the scraps when the scraps can help you find your way to the bread and butter? Taking down the leaders by the sounds of it, a Dion Cohen and a Gavin Taylor is far more worthwhile and by association, their associates.
Who are the benefactors out here contracting, playing around with large amount of money that are even contracting companies like these and are buying organs? And that could lead to busting a large sector of the criminal world.
While crime will always be rampant, it saves lives of innocent people who we're probably snatched off the street, drugged and either sold or killed and had their organs harvested.
There's a lot of good that is going to come from this."
"And paperwork."
"Ugh, yeah." Clara laughs and Natalie smiles, some tears in her eyes. "Aw, come on. Wipe those tears." Clara pouts, rubbing them away from with her thumb.
"Natalie."
"She is still your sister. You ignore her for too long and she will give up completely and we will likely have a repeat of today's suicide attempt at a later date." Clara warns her.
"Yes, Nadine?"
"I was 14."
"I'm sorry, what?" Natalie responds confused.
"I was 14." She repeats and Bobby looks over his shoulder back at them, hand still cuffed to the bed while Bonnie doesn't even care and just keeps looking forward.
"Nadine, what do you want to tell me? Tell us." Clara probes.
"He..."
"The problem is Gavin." Bobby says quickly.
"Bobby, what has been doing?"
Bobby sighs. "He has a reputation for... Well, let's just say while Dion is just as evil, but his only interested in running his business and treating his workers right compared to Gavin who..."
"Gavin mistreats you all, doesn't he?"
"Not so much the guys. He... Likes the women and even some of the girls. We don't hire anyone under 18, but some of the people we take off the street are under 18."
"Oh my god, you are saying his paedophile!" Natalie says angrily and she walks around to look at Nadine to Bonnie's annoyance.
"Too close." Bonnie hisses.
"Natalie, I suggest you step back a bit. We don't know Bonnie well." Clara warns. Natalie obeys.
"Nadine, did this Gavin fucking touch you? Does he do the same to some of the other female workers, some of the people you guys hurt?
Tell me right now, I'm your older sister and it's my job to look out for you, and I haven't been doing that recently."
"You haven't been doing that in years! I was 14 when I first joined Ring, Natalie! I've been doing this for years and I'm now 25! Bobby only joined last year and Bonnie's been with us since two and a half years ago!
The asshole has been grooming me!"
"Oh my." Clara says. "No comment." Bobby says quickly. "No comment either." Bonnie adds on, looking away.
"Can I make a report? I want this fucker to go down. My sister is suicidal, can I fight for guardianship over her or something?"
"Well, she is considered not mentally sound at the moment so you can fight for that and make a case."
"And filing a report?"
"I'll take one down, but can we do it later? We're standing in a hall of a U.S military base, they're watching us obviously, but we do need to hurry up and go meet with this General Peterson."
"What she said, you five are slow." Snaps a voice. "I'm Vincent, we'll take your report later. Transport dropped you guys off a while ago, but we still need to direct Nadine, Bobby and Bonnie off to holding.
My General wants to see you and girlie with you."
"Vincent, my name is Officer Green and this is Natalie May, the older sister of Nadine May."
"Yeah, yeah, hurry up." Vincent snaps back, gesturing for them to follow him.
---
They make it into a large room, Bobby and Bonnie still pushing the bed Nadine's in as they wouldn't have it any other way although still handcuffed.
"General, they're all here. They just took their sweet time." Vincent tells him and General Peterson turns around from looking at the table, reading something.
"Hello, it's great to finally have you all here. Was the ride, okay?" He asks.
"It was fine." Clara responds, Natalie shaking and clinging to her.
"Is she okay?" General Peterson asks.
"Uh, not really..." Clara responds, then yawns.
"Ah, yes. It is Midnight, I'm sorry about how this all went."
"It's fine, I have the data you wanted." She says, holding it all and their arrest paperwork. Vincent takes it instead.
"Uh, so, where are we going from here? Sorry for my weirdness, but no amount of Police academy training prepared me for dealing with something of this grand scale and transporting three prisoners, one of them being my idiotic boyfriend."
"Ooh, she mad at you, dude! You're sleeping in the dog house!" Elliot laughs.
"Shut up." Bobby says, not remembering Elliot.
"Hey, we should, uh, get them all sorted and moved along? It's midnight and no doubt the police officer here and the uh, other girl? Is tired too." Maxis speaks up.
"I'm... Natalie." She whispers back.
"Yes, of course. We should, it is late, we need to start putting a tactical plan together and relay that to Canada as they are assisting, but they said the plan was our duty and responsibility.
It will take a few days at the least, and uh, in the mean time we can get to know our three insiders here." General Peterson says.
"More like snitches." Elliot says under his breath, joking.
"Dude, I heard that! Seriously shut up before I knock the daylights out of you!" Bobby hisses.
"Bobby Dennis Green!" Clara yells at him and he backs down. "How dare you."
"I-I'm sorry, baby."
"Don't baby me, and this man here you need to say sorry too even if he is being an ass. I'm not going to fuck with the Military. I'm just a cop!" She yells at him more.
"She's right, reign it in, Elliot." General Peterson warns him. "Say sorry."
"You can say sorry too, I don't care." Clara pokes her boyfriend in the shoulder.
"Sorry, Bobby Green."
"Sorry, Elliot, uh?"
"...Coleman."
"...Right."
"Okay, lets see. It says here, Nadine swallowed 12-13 tablets of Clonazepam. Is that correct? Which of you girls is, Nadine May?" General Peterson speaks up and Bonnie points to Nadine, expression stoic.
"Yes, of course. I suspected as you're on a gurney, but I didn't really want to make an assumption incase it was wrong."
Nadine sinks down a bit, anxious and silent. "It's okay, we're not going to hurt you. I promise. Has she had activated charcoal, Officer Green?"
"She has, yes. She was stable for transfer."
"Cool, cool. So, let's get you admitted anyway to our medical floor just so we can watch you more that you are indeed okay and that it seems you we're taking Clonazepam regularly before?"
Nadine doesn't speak. "She was, one tablet three times a day." Bonnie speaks up.
"That's... excessive, and also if you wanted my opinion, it's not the most suitable medication for her and she overdosed on it. We can ween her off that and evaluate what might be better for her once we know what she's actually going through as I don't want to just give a patient something they just tried to kill themselves with."
"You're seriously going to force me to go through withdrawal?" Nadine speaks up.
"It's not our intention to do anything directly to hurt you, but we need to get you off it for the moment. We can't evaluate, nor question you... on it, Nadine.
"I hate you."
"And that's fine, if you want to see me as the enemy in all this, go ahead. But co-operation would be more ideal and make this transition more smooth for you in the long run, Nadine.
Anyway, it's heading to 12:30 now so let's get you moved up a floor and transferred into a proper bed for the night.
Do we have the key for her handcuffs and theirs?" He asks.
"Yes." Clara says, handing the key over and Vincent and Adam undo her handcuffs and Derrick and Thea does Bobby and Bonnie's.
They hand the key back and cuffs to Clara. "You guys can try to run so you know, but this is a special ops department so you will not get far. Just letting you know." He tells all of them.
"What." Clara says, eyes widened. "Shit, Ring had to piss of a department like that."
And Thea and Adam begin to wheel Nadine towards the elevator when she sits up, horrified. "Lay back down right now or I will re-handcuff you back to the rails myself." Thea warns.
"Kiera Bailey." She says, seeing her standing a distance away from Elliot and Maxis, Kade beside her, but unknown to Nadine.
"Wait, is that the girl who disappeared on your watch two years, you said you we're scolded for losing?" Bobby asks.
"Yep."
"Shit." Bonnie says, turning her head away so she doesn't have to look at Kiera. Having done her own number of things to her before, just like Nadine has.
"We're well aware you guys who contracted you for her kidnapping. The women has been arrested." But he neglects to tell them she's now missing.
"You know what? Fuck it, fuck my job. Kaylee V seemed like a bitch anyway, and I couldn't stand her. But she had money and Dion really liked that." Nadine says harshly. "So, who's the blonde guy?"
"M-me?" Kade stammers, pointing at himself.
"Yes, you."
"I'm her brother."
"She doesn't have a brother."
"Well, apparently I do, Miss Bitch-ass Supervisor. He was born here in the U.S and I was born in Canada. We didn't know about eachother.
You should ask V about that, oh, wait, she's missing."
And General Peterson slaps his hand to his face. "Kiera, shut up. Maxis, Elliot. Get her out of here."
"Wait, V is missing? She paid us, she's not in debt to us." Nadine says.
General Peterson sighs. "We're not entirely sure, we're still trying to investigate it."
"A fancy steak dinner says V's their Mum. I bet, look at the guy beside her, his the spitting image of Kaylee V." Bonnie pipes up.
"Shit, I think you're right."
"So, you are working it all on your own. Alright." Vincent says. "Anyway, that's enough out of all of you. It's heading towards one."
And he gestures for Thea and Adam to continue on with Nadine. They do and Nadine's left stunned as they roll her away.
"So, just us..." Bobby trails off, pulling a goofy expression.
"Yes, indeed." General Peterson responds. "What's going to happen to us?" Bonnie speaks, looking up, a real hint of emotion in her eyes when they hear coughing.
"Natalie?" Bobby says worried, seeing her clutching her chest, bending over and Clara holding her hair back, rubbing her back.
Some black flowers fall out, fluttering onto the floor. Elliot approaches her. "You have Hanahaki, I had that."
"I-it hurts." Natalie croaks out.
"I had her see one of the Doctors before we left from the ER. They said she had that and they plucked some out, but said it wasn't a fix.
Canada has no actual treatment for the condition there." Clara intervenes.
"That's okay, we can admit her and have one our doctors do the same thing.
They'll put you to sleep though and go deeper. More ethical. Did the doctor who see you only numb your mouth while awake and pull a few out?" General Peterson asks, and Natalie nods, in pain and not speaking.
"I suspected, that's a really poor method to approach it with. If you have a writhing patient, you can't go too far otherwise it will choke them when trying to pull some and to do a proper job, you'll need oxygen and anaesthesia.
I promise we'll help you. But we can't cure it, there is a school dedicated to the condition in this city, we can get you a referral to there and they can push it into the remission."
"What? No, no, no, no!" Natalie panics, clinging to Clara. "I"m not doing it."
"Natalie, Natalie. Look at me, you'll die otherwise. Do you want to leave your sister alone? I don't want to sound like I'm guilt tripping you, but that's what will happen if you don't treat it.
And it will be a really painful way to die too." Clara tells her, holding Natalie's hands together, rubbing them as they're cold.
"I don't want to go alone, please."
"And you don't have too, I'm right here. I'm not leaving you. I hand this case and the paperwork officially over and resign from this case, I can come with you and I can also be your friend as it seems you really need one."
"T-thank you."
"General Peterson, I resign from this case now. I delivered what you wanted to you and my job is done."
"Understandable, and I need you to sign an NDA when you can. You're welcome to stick around too, I don't mind."
"W-wait, what about mine and Nadine and our parents stuff? We left it in Canada and we can't go back there, but we also cannot go back to Russia!
I've never lived there, I won't survive."
"Natalie May, no one is making you go back to Russia. You can stay here forever if you like. We need your sister and her friends anyway." General Peterson tells her.
"Natalie, Clara and I can arrange for the stuff at your home and the hospital. We can collect and bring it over and/or ship it." Bobby speaks up, trying to calm her.
But Natalie keeps crying, really breaking down. "Okay, I think alot of this is now the Hanahaki catching up with her. It does cause intense moods and mood swings and gets often mistaken for bipolar disorder and/or psychosis." Clara says.
"Natalie, you need to go with them. I know it's late, but they should probably operate now." Clara tells her and Natalie just looks more upset, breathing now rapid and Clara gently tries to let go of her hands.
"No, no, no!" Natalie cries, feeling Derrick and Vincent restrain her, pulling her back. "Clara, please! Please!"
"I'll be waiting for you when you're out, it's going to be okay, Natalie. You'll see in time and you'll feel better emotionally too. While today has been a ton of shit, the Hanahaki is also not making you feel real well."
"Come on, Natalie, now." Derrick says, him and Vincent pushing her to the floor as she's struggling. Someone passes them a needle and Vincent stabs it, her passing out and they quickly load her onto a bed, inserting a breathing tube and attaching the manual pump as they wheel her off.
"Oh my god."
Clara hears Bonnie cry, hugging Bobby who's rubbing her back.
"Excuse me, that's my man. Let go, hussy." She says pissed off and Bonnie and Bobby quickly separate.
"So, any arguments you both want to raise? Or can I just send you both off and there will be no arguing for the rest of the night?" General Peterson snaps, running out of patience now.
"I'm not sick, I'm not on anything. I don't want you to make me a psych case. Just fucking book me and put me in a holding cell. Please." Bobby begs.
"Clara, what do you think? You are his fiancé. You know him best." General Peterson says.
"Just book him and put him in a holding cell. But if he demonstrates psychiatric distress later, go that route. You have my permission."
"Seriously, Clara?" Bobby says.
"Yes, seriously. Look at where you are, you're the one who got yourself into this mess." Clara snaps back.
"Dude, come on. No complaining, it's past one now." Another military worker says, escorting Bobby off, leaving only Bonnie remaining in the room with Clara, General Peterson and Elliot.
Maxis and Kade slipped out with Kiera at some point during Natalie's emotional distress.
"And you, Bonnie Desmond? If that's even your real name. We have no info on you, but I thank you for sneaking data out." General Peterson says, and she crosses her arms, clearly indicating she's angry.
"How do you want us to proceed with you? Are you able to tell us something about yourself that is genuine and true?
Do you have any documents to verify your identity and/or know anyone who can?"
"I'm tired so I don't want to co-operate and no, and no."
"You sure? Where are you from at-least?"
"I don't know."
"Wait, have you been trafficked?" Clara speaks up. She shrugs.
"I guess, but not exactly..."
"Meaning?" General Peterson responds.
"I don't know."
"Bonnie Desmond, it would benefit you to tell them-"
"I don't know Clara Green! My whole life has been one giant façade, okay?!
I don't even know my real name, I never chose this name I have, but I rolled with it anyway and I left what was just another version of Ring when it fell and with nowhere to go really afterward, I just ran because it was driving me insane!
Got involved with Ring because it was comfortable. Before Ring, I've never harvested someone's organs before or assisted in kidnapping.
I'm a great doctor, it's all I know how to do, I was talented it from Day one for me and I don't know how old I am.
I have no documents to show anyone."
"I see. We'll need to run your face through our system then and put your face out to every country. Hopefully there is someone out there missing you.
The you we're before. Adults don't just find themselves in your situation with amnesia."
"What are you going to do to me?"
"Is their anything else you would like to add?"
She sighs. "I give up. I'm on Sertraline aka Zoloft. Just get me off it, and Demons disguised as Gods exist. I've encountered one before." And she walks off, going quietly with a female military member.108Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd9Lm45CXRe
"So, Psych." General Peterson says. "The fuck." Elliot says. "I second that..." Clara responds.
"Um, Elliot. Can you find Clara a bed somewhere near Natalie May so she can get some rest and be nearby for her friend when she's out of surgery?
She's had a long day, I'm going to head to bed and resume this case in the morning. You can head to bed too afterwards." General Peterson tells him, walking off.
"Yes, sir."
And Elliot leads Clara off to find her a bed somewhere. As they do, Clara slips her engagement ring off, pocketing it which Elliot notices. His just ruined Bobby's future and shattered Clara's reality.108Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFdwA9CBexY
