File 3.3 Bitter Poisons

Outside of the hanger, two soldiers escorted Captain Fin and Sheila back to their vehicle. After the completion of the payment, the man that accompanied them parted ways. Sheila voiced her concerns about the situation, but Fin kept her moving. At the vehicle, they stood staring back at the hangar. There was a sense of expectation of seeing Edgar for a proper farewell. Fin started to open the door feeling the atmosphere change.

Sheila looked over at the Captain trying to keep her frustration with the military in control. “Ain’t we gonna wait for Ed?”

Fin looked over the car door at the two soldiers watching them. They looked to be close enough to hear, but not enough to be imposing. “Ed knows the way back.” He stepped in to take a seat starting the engine.

She grabbed a hold of the door before Fin could close it and leaned into the interior. “But he’s one of us! For a lil’ while longer, anyway…”

“Get in. I’m feelin’ a draft…” Fin glanced up to Sheila as she backed away from the door. He closed the door and waited for her to get into the car. The vehicle shifted a little with the weight. Once she finished, he set the car to drive, putting the soldiers in the rear view mirror.

“Cap’n? What’s wrong?”

“Seems we ain’t welcome anymore…”

Sheila looked back towards the hangar and the soldiers walking away. “But Ed’s still back there!”

“They may be jackass military types, but I can’t ‘magine them not lettin’ Ed have a chance for goodbyes.”

“…I guess…” She pulled away to look forward at the gate in front of them. The guard checked their badge and let them out without trouble. They still had a lot of the base to travel around with all of the secrets hidden behind numerous buildings. “There’s som’fin unsettlin’ about this place.”

Inside the adjacent building to the hangar, Ed managed to discover another door out. It only connected to the hangar and brought them into a different building, but it did mean they could buy more time. They fortunately hadn’t run into anyone else working in the facility. So they could hide for a time. A storage room partially filled with boxes served their needs.

Ed sat down on one of the boxes catching his breath. He didn’t run too far, but the danger of their situation made his heart pound and lung feel shallow. Once he felt a little rested, he turned to face Shizuka, resting on the tiled floor. She said something that he didn’t hear clearly. “Huh? What ya say?”

A little bothered by his lazy response, Shizuka wrinkled her brow. “I said, why are you doing this?”

“That ag’in?” He reached his hand up to pull on his fedora, a habit of his, but remembered he left it on the ship. Looking a little lost, he scratched the side of his head.

Shizuka stood up taking him over in height and leaned in. “You go on the ship about not being humanitarians and being in it for the money! But then you help me!”

The words pushed him a little back before she settled down. She looked a little calmer after getting it out of her. Unfortunately, Edgar didn’t have a good answer for her, but he knew she wouldn’t be pleased with a carefree answer. He didn’t entirely understand why he helped her. She annoyed him and made his life hell for the brief time he knew her, a skillful feat for anyone. She got on his nerves with her attitude and stubbornness. The thought of handing her over and not seeing her anymore made him happy. Yet he acted anyway. He needed an answer for her. “…reh’spons’ability…”

“Huh?” questioned Shizuka. The notion that he had any sense of responsibility set her back a step. It didn’t even seem like a reason to help someone.

“Well Cap’n said yer me reh’spons’ability.” He turned away from Shizuka thinking back to the words her father said. Ed couldn’t believe that a parent would ever do something so cruel.

Repeating his words didn’t clear things up for Shizuka anymore than the first response. She still stared back at him in disbelief that he acted for such an empty reason. “You can’t be serious! Your responsibility as a mercenary to protect your cargo?”

“What?!” Edgar jumped back around at the accusation that she leveled at him. “That’s got nothin’ tah do with it?!”

“Then explain it to me!” Shizuka stepped up to Edgar’s face demanding a proper answer from him. Her features narrowed with her stare.

The nearness of her made him a little uneasy. Her fiery temper and tendency to act like a boy made him forget until that moment that she was a girl. His time on the Niph rarely afforded him the chances to meet anyone close to his own age, let alone an actual girl. Shizuka’s face only centimeters from him made it all very clear, unfortunately she still smelt like sweat and dirt. A grunt from her that started to roll into a growl snapped Ed out of his distraction and let his emotions respond. “That’s not ‘ow a parent should act! Happy?”

Shizuka backed away even more shocked by his answer. “…wha…?...” It felt genuine, but she didn’t expect him to actually say something like that. She fought to regain her composure in front of him. His words agreed with her feelings, but she didn’t want to admit that to him. Seeing that she couldn’t control her expressions, Shizuka turned away from Edgar and sat down on a box away from him. “…that’s how parents are…selfish…”

Ed closed the distance between them. His emotions controlled his body. “No, its’not! It’s wrong!”

“You should face reality,” laughed Shizuka in a rough tone, “That’s the adult world, self-centered.”

“How can ya—“ Edgar grabbed Shizuka’s shoulder in anger, but cut himself off quickly. He felt her body trembling in his hand. His eyes widened a little. With his emotions expired, Ed no longer had any fight left in him. He backed away from her, letting stay alone. Ed sat down on his box roughly.

Back in the hangar, Dr. Kitawara addressed returning soldiers. They searched for the last twenty minutes trying to find two children and the failure started to get on his nerves. “How incompetent are you to lose two children? They can’t have gotten far! Don’t stop until you find them!” He dismissed them with his hand. Once they left he turned back to the two machines. “We’ll find them.”

Karen kept her distance from the Doctor. The unease she felt left her unfocused and unable to work. Her hands just held the tools, but didn’t move. ‘Shizuka…I’m sorry…but…’ She knew the consequences and what needed to be done. Even knowing the truth, she thought that she had accepted all of the bitter poison, but some of it still lingered on her lips, stinging her. She couldn’t wash it away.