Elunara burst into Mathias' office. "WHERE IS HE?"
"The prisoner has been moved to a safe house that even you are not aware of."
"WHAT?"
"You were ridiculously calm at the interrogation. I knew that, once your initial shock wore off..." He sighed. "That lunatic had at your son, in almost the same way your husband endured. I knew that once you returned to your emotional side--"
Elunara yanked a sheet of paper off his desk and began to scribble on it. After a moment, she handed to him.
He stared at the paper. "No."
"That's what he just told me."
Mathias sat heavily in his chair. "I... I don't blame your rage. But, we don't do things like that here." With a sigh, he tapped his fingers on the desk. "We've known each other a long time..."
"That we have."
"At the time in which these same things happened to you..." He tapped the paper. "You terrified me." He shook his head. "I've been through a lot of agents, and I've been at this a long damned time. When I read these things in your reports, I considered retiring you after each one. Any other agent, I would have... any other agent would have died or killed themselves. But not you. You terrified me, because you shrugged, and asked for the next assignment. I had you tested repeatedly. None of it EVER affected you. You were our best because your brain was goddamned broken. You didn't see things the way a normal person would. You have been tortured in ways that shake me to my very core, and you couldn't figure out what the problem was.
To finally see you stand before me, heavily bothered... not by what happened to you, but what happened to your son... is a strange relief. Because the first half of your career, I was terrified of you. Of what you were or could be. Should you get it in your head to betray us, there would be nothing to stop you. Even when I sent you into Iron Horde territory, I was almost hopeful you wouldn't come back. I felt like I was living with a time bomb, and the Gods themselves would have NO damned clue when you'd finally break."
She blinked at him. "Really?"
"But you know, I don't think you came back. I've read your reports so many times, that I have them memorized by rote. You came out of that compound a new person. Someone completely unrecognizable, and I will be damned if I wasn't completely relieved. The human part of my heart, sees these things happening to your son, and sees the pain in your heart right now, and I WANT to let you have at the crazy fucker. But I can't. Elunara, I just can't. It's not how we do things in this city." He sighed. "If, in the course of interrogating him, you had to use excessive force, then I'd let you at him. But he sung like a canary."
Her whole body shook. "He should pay..."
"Then take it up with Varian, though I doubt he'll order the torture of a prisoner." Mathias sighed. "Regardless of your status."
Elunara marched down to the training yard and dropped off of the platform. Yanking up her staff, she went to the center of the ring. "SOMEONE FUCKING FIGHT ME!"
Susan blinked. "Someone's frustrated."
Chrissy nodded. "Badly."
Meanwhile, Bradly sat in bed. "I'm so damned jealous of you, brother." He sighed.
Darguni was cuddling Dargek. "Hm?"
"You and your damned babies." He sighed.
"You can hold them when you want." Lydia smiled.
"Yeah, but I want my own, damn it."
"You're waiting a couple of years, at least." Lydia snorted. "Unless you find another woman in the mean time. I am SO taking my time."
"You mean it?" He whispered.
"Well, yeah. I mean, Susan didn't get her space between her three, and Zelinnia went insane over the space between hers..."
He wrapped his arms around her waist. "Just the fact you'd even consider it!" He whispered.
Darguni grinned. "Actually, I'm rather pleased you'd consider another one, given..."
Lydia sighed and looked down at little Lily. "Your friends helped."
Darguni scooted closer and cuddled up to her. "I'm glad."
"Hey! No threesomes, he's not healed yet!" Elunara pointed.
The three of them giggled.
Elunara sat on the bed and wrapped her arms around Bradly. "My poor son..."
"Eh, it's ok, Momma." Bradly sighed. "I'm free now, and that's all I need."
"You're stronger than I was."
Bradly grinned at Jordan. "I learned from you, dad. It's not my fault."
Jordan sat on the bed and put his hand on Bradly's leg. "Good. You know I'm here if you need to talk."
"I might." Bradly shrugged. "Right now, I'm just so damned relieved." He wiggled. "Speaking of relieved... Uh, am I cleared to go to the...?"
"I think you should, actually." Elunara sighed. "Might hurt, but..."
"Ok, let me up, damn it." He wiggled out of bed and shot out of the room.