Follow up

Posted on Thu Jun 18th, 2020 @ 2:58am by Plexie Zane Ryan & Security Johannah "Mack" Shepard

Mission: This Week's Special
Location: Med Center

Mack walked into the Med Center and up to the reception desk. She showed the receptionist her ID and asked to see Zane Ryan. The receptionist's raised eyebrows at the sight of Mack's ID Badge clearly communicated that talk was going around the station about her shooting up a restaurant to stop a kidnapping, facing down rioters with a really big knife, and facing down and brutally killing a predatory feline (with a different big knife), all on her first day. The receptionist called a orderly who escorted Mack to Zane.

"Here you go, Chief," the orderly said. "Mister Ryan, Chief Shepard needs to talk to you a bit." The orderly turned to Mack. "I'll be right outside if either of you need anything."

"Thanks," Mack said. She walked over to Zane's bedside. The ex-Browncoat smiled at the Plexie boy. "How are you Zane? You don't look half bad, considering."

Zane was fairly doped up with meds at the time Mack arrived. Recognizing a friendly face with Mack his face brightened a little. "I think half is about all I got." he said, pulling up the bedsheet to reveal the stump 1/4 down his thigh where is leg used to be. "Its weird. It feels like its there, even though its not." He patted the empty space ahead of the stump. "I guess I'm fine, if you know, never walking, running or being anything close to normal is fine." he said with a crestfallen sarcasm.

"I know things look grim, kiddo," Mack replied. "But self-pity isn't a good look on you. Not attractive at all. You're alive, Zane. Not everyone who met up with that cat was so lucky. So let's you and me not insult their memories by feeling sorry for ourselves. Okay? Besides, you'll walk again, you might even run. It's just going to take some work to get there." Mack sighed. "Now, let's get the unpleasant stuff out of the way. You're not in trouble, and unless you're the one who murdered that girl and she wasn't killed by the cat, I'm not looking to jam you up. I do need to know what happened. When you went down there, why you went down there, why she was there, etc. Just to fill in the blanks. I'm not going to share any of this with your girlfriend, and unless they force my hand, I won't even share what you say in here with your parents. Okay? You could try and put me off Zane, but honestly this is just one of those things you're going to have to get through to get to the other side of this valley of suck. So, you ready?"

Zane didn't realize this was going to be a formal interview. His face dropped to the expressionless mask of a late teenager. "Not much to tell. We were walking around, and suddenly Jessica disappeared and there was this loud roar. I woke up in warm body parts and you killed the thing. That what you wanted to know?"

"Okay," Mack said. "Look, honestly, I don't really care why you were down there, so just give me a reason I can live with and we can talk about whatever you want." She reached into her Coat of Many Pockets and pulled out a bag of perfect, absolutely not crushed, ponchiki. "I can't eat all of these, and frankly Sergeant Chang doesn't need the calories. Want some?"

Zach was conflicted. Mack literally saved his life. She was a hero for taking down the big cat that killed Jess and the others. But she was also a cop, or the closest thing the Plex got to one, he still had enough of a reputation to know you don't rat on people, even if it wasn't really ratting. He took a couple of the thin confectioneries. "Thanks." he said. "I saw on the cortex that they are having a memorial service for Jess tonight..." he stopped, not sure exactly where he was going with the sentence. Jess was dead because of him. That was a fact. Alive or whatever, he had killed the girl as much as the gorram animal. His eyes dropped introspectively. "She didn't deserve to die... I do."

"Why?" Mack said. "Because you didn't get killed? Because she did get killed? Zane, I've seen a lot of death and I've cause a lot of people to be dead. A lot of factors contribute to a person's death. In my experience, deserving death has next to nothing to do with dying."

"Well Jess is te ma de cao dead!" cool guy Zane shouted out, pounding his fists into the mattress, knocking himself slightly off balance in that his leg wasnt there to adjust his weight to. He bounced against the fold up arm of the bed. "Gose!" his eyes filled with tears as he pulled his arm across his face.

Mack reached out and took Zane's hand. "Yeah, she is, and that sucks," she said. She sat with Zane while he cried. While she waited for him to finish, she pulled out a handkerchief and held it within his reach for when he needed it.

After several moments Zach looked up, seeing the handkerchief, he shook his head and wiped his face with his arm. "I think I need to be alone." he said focusing his vision on the lack of a leg on his left side.

Mack nodded. She put the handkerchief away and gently brushed Zane's hair away from his eyes, her fingers lingering a bit as she ran them through his hair soothingly. "If you'd like," she said. "But if you need someone to listen, come find me." She didn't offer a shoulder to cry on. The kid was embarrassed enough as it was. "I may sound like a coldhearted hardass on occasion, but I'm fairly friendly when you get to know me. Rest, grieve, and when you're ready, recover. Until then... well, I think we'll go with the story that you went to the warehouse decks to get away from the crazy going on in the Hub, maybe just walk around and clear your head. We'll say that Jessica tagged along uninvited, despite your attempts to tell her you wanted to be alone. Assuming the Alliance forensics guys confirms that she was killed by the predator, which I'm nearly one hundred percent sure they will, that'll be the end of it for now. The Feds could decide to open some kind of official inquiry, but this seems pretty straightforward to me." Mack smiled. "Still want me to leave? I will if you say so, but I can stay for a bit if you want."

Zane kept his eyes focused on his bed. Mack had the story about right, even if she was just making it up for Zane's benefit, but he didn't want to comment on it. He told Jess to stay behind, that he didnt want her company, but she was stubborn and wasn't listening to anybody once her mind was disposed. He remembered her hopping along in his wake as they went down to 7. He remembered her topless shredded face when he awoke in the lair. His stomach began to roil. "Can you... call the nurse..." he said as he spit up on the bed.

Mack deftly moved out of the way before Zane got any on her. "Whoa there, kiddo," she said. She called for the nurse. An orderly got there first.

"Okay, kid," the woman said. "Let's start getting you cleaned up while we wait for the nurse. Can you give us some privacy, Chief?"

Mack smiled. "Sure thing," she said. "Zane, we're all set officially, you and I, unless something changes like we talked about. Would you like me to wait around a bit and come back after these folks help you get cleaned up? Or should I check in with you later? Your call."

Zane's eyes looked bugged out and he looked on the verge of another episode. "....thank.....anytime...." and he threw up again, more forcefully this time.

Mack was far enough away that she didn't get any vomit on her, which was good, because her other coat was at the cleaners. The smell, though, caused her eyes to water and her nose to wrinkle. "I leave him in your capable hands, Ma'am," Mack said to the orderly. "It's been a long time since I had to deal with a teenager trying to puke on me. I'd almost forgotten how much I didn't miss it." She winked at Zane. "Later, kid. Feel better soon."