The discomfort in Rory's stomach subsided slightly when the pod parked right outside the gate. It was already dark outside. When Rory looked out of the window, she was stunned at what she saw.

There were at least 3 large shuttles. Surrounding the home were many Generals dressed in heavy gear. Some were equipped with blasters, others were equipped with tech she had never seen before.

An air shuttle flew over the pod before flashing its bright neon-colored lights at her and Abigail. Rory realized that it was past curfew. She forgot about the time. A loud voice boomed out of the shuttle's speakers.

"Trespasser dressed in the black hoodie. Identify yourself or face the harsh penalty for entering on private property." The tone was harsh. The moment the speaker uttered words about a harsh penalty, the Generals at the gate of Decha's house all held their blasters aimed at them.

Abigail hopped out first with her hands in the air. "We're not trespassers! This is N926! I am returning a refugee to her temporary place of residence!" She held her wrist high in the air. There was a thin black bracelet around it, and a General came up to scan it.

When he got the confirmation of her identity, he backed away and motioned at the others. The shuttle went away, but the front door of the house swung open. Decha stepped out with an infuriated gaze on his face.

Instead of acting out, he gestured at the gates. The Generals who were near the pod motioned the women to walk forward. Abigail helped Rory out of the pod and guided her toward the house.

The walk was slow and nerve-wracking. Alongside Decha were Jax and Theodore. All of them looked very upset. Rory barely reached the patio before he voiced a command to one of the maids in a harsh tone. "Take Rory to her room." He dismissed her with his eyes.

"There's something you should know–" Abigail began, but she was cut off by Decha's words.

"I don't want to hear anything from you, N926."

"It's important–" Abigail tried to explain, but Decha wasn't having it.

"Give me one reason I shouldn't have you stripped of your title, fired from the agency, and have all your pins removed?" Decha spat. "You disobeyed my orders. I gave you a clear command to stay away. To stay out of my sight."

Rory wasn't aware of what was going on. She thought Decha was angry because she came back after curfew, but there seemed to be more to the story.

Did Abigail harass him? Were he and Abigail on horrible terms? She wished she had known that before going out to Kikos with her willingly.

"Decha, I'm not sure what's going on but–" Rory began, but the look she got from him terrified her into piping down.

"Address me as N96," Decha demanded. "As for you, N926, you're under arrest for the intrusion of an official's home, kidnapping a refugee, and–"

"Kidnap? She didn't kidnap me. I went willingly. She didn't intrude. The guards at the gate let her in!" Rory argued.

"Know your place, Bracketer." Decha snapped.

Rory scoffed at him. "Bracketer?" Although it was her nationality, she felt offended that he used the term as a slur for her. He'd never done that to her before, ever.

"When I am giving a command, an order for the greater good, you are to stand down and obey."

"You can't make an arrest under false accusations and call it the greater good! I understand that you're Mr. Big shot around all your colleagues. But all I'm asking is that you cool off for once and listen. Abigail didn't kidnap me. I went willingly. I forgot about the curfew–"

"The curfew doesn't apply to you. You're not allowed off the premises. Period." Theodore cut in. "As of now, you can't be trusted. Stand down."

"I'll accept the arrest." Abigail sent a frown to Rory, a signal for her not to worry about it. "I came here knowing I wasn't supposed to. For that, I'm guilty."

Rory was too stunned to reply. She realized that Abigail had approached her with ill intent. Her heart wrenched a bit. But even so, she knew that the accusations Decha was spouting were false. She knew she wasn't kidnapped. She went willingly. Not because she was coerced, but deep down, she wanted to get out and go somewhere.

And for the first time in a while, she felt safe. Nobody eyed her as if she was dirt or the scum of the world. They didn't gaze at her with pity. For once in a while, she felt, well, normal.

Decha nodded at Jax, giving him the okay to make a move. However, the moment Jax reached for the cuffs in his pocket and brought them to Abigail, Rory stepped in.

Her movement was quick. She was still in pain, but she forced herself to intervene. "This is wrong!" She spat, and the surrounding Generals aimed their weapons at her.

They were offended by her defiance. The clicking and revving of the blasters alarmed Decha. One blaster, in particular, was tilted a little too close to Rory than he liked. Decha pushed the tip of the gun up and flared his nose.

"What do you think you're doing?! Stand down!"

"Don't defend her, N96." Theodore hissed. "She's taken a stand against your orders. Blocking a General from following orders is a crime. It may not be severe, but it's the start of causing mutiny against the council."

"I'm aware, but Rory is–"

"I'm not asking you to trust me." Rory cut in, looking Theodore Chen directly in the eyes. "I want you to acknowledge the truth, which you Astellians value so much." The sarcastic tone from her caught Decha off guard. "Look at the footage. It won't take you long to find out my tracks. You'll see that I went to Kilos willingly—"

"Wait. You went where?" Decha snapped. The name of that company made Decha want to burn a whole forest.

"To Kilos Mall. It doesn't matter. Just review the footage." Rory huffed.

Decha narrowed his eyes at her. He was lost in his thoughts. There was too much information for him to process to make a decision quickly. "Fine. N926, I'm letting you off with a warning. N9899."

"Yes?" Jax saluted Decha.

"Take the reinforcements with you, and monitor N926 until she is at least 10 miles away from the premises. I'll handle the rest here."

"Got it." Jax nodded.

"... Your help is appreciated," Decha mumbled under his breath as Jax passed him by.

"Don't worry about it." A faint smile appeared on Jax's face. "Good luck. You're gonna need it." He gestured at Director Chen, whose face was red.

Jax waved his hand forward and the Generals began to relax their stances and follow him off the property. He directed Abigail away from the house. While this was happening, Theodore was tapping his foot impatiently.

"You're letting her off? She disrespected you in front of your crew, in front of my Agents! And you're not gonna say anything–"

"I didn't disrespect him." Rory frowned.

"You embarrassed Astell's War Hero in front of his team, Bracketer!"

"I corrected his mistake."

"You're growing soft, Decha. All because of a woman who'll die anyway."

Theodore's words struck Rory like lightning. Tears formed in her eyes as she tried to gain composure. "My health has nothing to do with him. I mean you no disrespect, Mr. Chen, but you too knew that Decha was wrong. But instead of correcting your son for his honor, you focused on my defiance because you think I'm a threat."

"Enough!" Decha roared, having enough of hearing the two bickering. "Rory is my responsibility, Chen. Leave and let me speak with her."

"You're doing a lousy job."

"Then give me the chance to improve instead of standing over my shoulder like I'm your employee. I'm not one of your Agents."

Theodore rolled his eyes and stomped toward one of the shuttles. "I'll head back to the Agency. When you wrap up things, report to me."

Theodore stepped up and into one of the air shuttles. He shut the door behind him without looking behind, and Decha watched as it took off. The wind that followed whipped his hair back.

The heavy sound of it died down after a few minutes, and the sound of crickets chittering rang across the entire lawn.

"Rory."

"I have nothing more to say to you." Rory voiced in irritation. She stepped forward in the direction of the house, but Decha extended his arm and stopped her.

"We're not done yet."

"What else do you want me to say? After all, I'm just a Bracketer." She threw the words back at him.

"Don't be difficult." Decha shook his head. "I called you that to remind you that you were outnumbered. N926 was in the wrong. There are details you don't know, and I was only doing my job to enforce a rule."

"It seemed like you were trying to make a good impression on all your pals. Regardless of that, I did what I could to stand up for what was right. Which is supposed to be your job."

"You don't know what N926 is capable of."

"I'm not stupid. I can read body language."

"You're not stupid. You're naive." Decha sneered. "Just because I treat you a certain way doesn't mean everyone else will. This is still Astell. You are still a Bracketer. You are my responsibility. If anything happened to you while you were out there–" Decha stopped himself. He didn't feel like he had to explain anything to her. Not in this scenario. "Be honest, why did you go willingly? And why to Kilos of all places?"

"I wanted a break."

"A break?" Decha scoffed. "You eat and rest all day, every day. What more of a break do you need?"

"I needed a break from everything. This house, the treatments, even you. For the first time in a long time, I felt relieved."

"But... Kilos?"

"It's a mall FULL of technology. Why wouldn't I want to go there?"

"Rory, you're sweating." Decha noticed that Rory was standing stiffly and her breathing was a little heavy. But the sweat running down her skin made him worry.

"Am I?" Rory dismissed his observation. "I've been out all day. I need to probably wash up and get some rest."

"Rory, wait." Decha grabbed her by the arm, and the distraught look in Rory's eyes was enough to tell him something was very wrong.

Before long, Rory collapsed. She fell to her knees but held herself up in a kneeling position. Her pain was too much for her to hide.

"Rory!" Decha crouched next to her and reached for her arm again.

"I'm fine." Rory puffed. The stinging was back. It only subsided earlier because she was sitting down. But the pain in her stomach was hammering in her rib cage. "No, I'm not." She wheezed.

"What's wrong?" Decha moved her by the shoulder, and Rory whimpered.

"My stomach!" Rory groaned. "It hurts! A lot!"

"Can you walk–"

"No!" Rory cried.

Without another word, Decha scooped Rory up and brought her inside the house and to the infirmary.

~~~

"How is she?" Decha walked back into the infirmary to check on Rory. He left briefly to report to Theodore to go over plans for their investigation.

Jessica was wiping Rory's arms with a cold rag. She fell asleep after she was given medication. Her body was placed on a cushioned platform. There was a scanning device placed above her.

"You've been pacing outside this whole time. I can tell how worried you are." Jessica smiled at him, but it was faint. Decha didn't deny Jessica. He walked over to the platform and observed Rory cautiously.

"Are her vitals... normal?"

"Her vitals are fine. I let the machine inspect her. Although her breathing is back to normal, her condition is getting worse."

"It's something to do with the pain in her abdomen, I assume."

"Her kidneys are failing. She probably started feeling this pain a while ago. But she didn't tell you."

This angered him. Why didn't Rory trust him enough to tell him? They made a deal. She should've voiced concern the moment she felt whatever pain she was going through.

He hated that he missed all the signs. It was so clear. The coughing. Her avoiding him. The constant but subtle pauses she did. It made him feel stupid to not realize the obvious.

"How soon can you operate on her?"

"Ideally, I'd like to start as soon as possible."

"What do you mean, ideally? Can't you?"

"The scans are clear. She needs a transplant. But to do that, we'll have to find a donor."

"Then I'll search for one. It won't be a problem. I'll cover any costs. The sooner she gets this operation the sooner she'll get better."

"No, son," Jessica frowned at him. "This isn't an issue that can be solved with Tekels. She needs to find a compatible donor who's willing to donate. That won't be easy. Astellians would never give freely to a Bracketer even if it meant saving someone."

"So... that's it?" Decha clenched the edge of the platform tight. Infuriation brewed in his chest. He was holding onto the platform to prevent himself from destroying something in the room.

"It's not the end of the world. We just have to pray that someone is willing to donate."

"How can you tell if someone is compatible or not?"

"We run tests on them and the results will tell us."

Decha thought long and hard. He wanted to do everything in his power to save her. Even if it meant making greater sacrifices. "I want to see if I'm compatible."

"Decha," Jessica gasped. "You can't—"

"Why not?" Decha shifted his gaze at her.

"A kidney transplant is not something to gloss over. It will stunt your performance as a general. You will have to be extra careful. Injury can be fatal, and I know how often you get hurt on the job."

"That's the least of my concern. Her life is just as important as my work."

"I'm not letting you test. You're being irrational. It's an important decision that you have to think through. You can't donate without going over the cons."

"You're not letting me test because you want me to focus on my job. Does my reputation as a General give this family privileges?"

"That's not true. And you know it." Jessica snarled at him. "I want to save her as much as you do. But we can still hope for someone else to donate. The chances are small but not nonexistent."

Decha ran his hands through his hair and groaned. He was beyond frustrated.

"You need to get some rest. I'll watch over Rory tonight. She'll be back to normal in the morning."

Decha grazed his hand over Rory's arm one more time. The long breath he had been holding in came out He squeezed her wrist gently.

"She's going to be fine." Jessica rubbed his shoulder. "I haven't seen you so worried since the catastrophe at the program. If I didn't know better, I'd say you have feelings for her."

"Quit it." Decha let his hands drop to his sides.

"Your face is turning red, my boy."

"I never appreciated your constant teasing."

"You never laugh at my jokes. You've been like that since you were a boy." Jessica pulled Decha in for a hug. "It'll be alright, okay Decha? Don't let this stunt you from the case. I can tell you have a lot of things on your mind." The comforting words pooled into his ears and soothed him.

~~~

"What are you doing?" Jax approached Decha from behind. Decha was at the director's desk, typing in information on the computer. The large holographic screen began loading paragraphs of information. Jax hovered over Decha's shoulder, hesitantly curious.

"Jamison Clarke?" Jax squinted his eyes briefly. After reading what was on the screen, he frowned at Decha. "You're still researching about that guy? I thought you were going to look more into Kilos."

"Jamison and Kilos have a connection with each other." Decha pressed his fingers onto the hologram. With his other hand, he held his phone next to it. The hand placed on the hologram he slid toward his phone, sending the information on it directly to the smaller screen.

"Wouldn't eat be easier to request a warrant from the Director to search the building?"

"We can't. It's Public owned but partnered with multiple privately owned companies. We'd have to request warrants for every single partner, and who knows how long that'll take."

"Then we can send in a spy. One of the Agents from the Astellian Security division."

"Then I'd have to select someone and train them. Which again, I don't have time for. I barely get any work done with you around."

"You know you love me, N96. You just haven't come to acknowledge it yet." Jax teased. "I'm a great addition. I do everything within your orders. The other guys at the Agency aren't so patient."

"It's true that you're more potty trained than the others. But you've still got a lot to learn. We can't afford to play around."

"How are you so laid back when it comes to direct orders from the Council, but strict when it comes to working? You need to learn to relax. Smile more."

Decha froze. Those were the same words Rory expressed to him. "Relaxation can cost a life on the Outside."

"Yeah, but we're not on the Outside."

"Which is a greater issue, because this case has Outside level threats." Decha put his phone in his pocket and exited the Director's office. Jax followed behind him, walking down the stairs leading to the elevator.

"When this case is solved, are you going to go back on the Outside?"

"Most likely," At the elevator, a group of agents stepped out of one that had just arrived. They avoided Decha's gaze to avoid any confrontation. He entered when it was empty with Jax close behind.

"Have you ever thought of taking a vacation before you go?"

"No."

"Why not?" Jax pouted. "Come on. How about we go to the beach East of midtown? Coral Glide is a very popular tourist attraction. Although it's on Astellian land, they still have ancient traditions that link back to the Coralidean tribes of the past."

"No thanks." Decha scoffed.

"Have you really never thought of enjoying the fresh air, hot sun, and tons of good food?."

"Nope."

"You're no fun. Why not?"

"Because what you're describing sounds like a chore. A tourist attraction means a lot of noisy people. Which means the air will be full of fish breaths, the sun will expose body parts of people I don't wish to see, and the food will be handed out in large unhealthy portions."

"Gee, you sure know how to party," Jax mumbled under his breath. The elevator door opened on the first floor. The two men walked out. Decha walked through the busy lobby and out of the building.

He stopped when he saw the construction of the building that was bombed weeks ago happening across from them.

Jax noticed the questioning gaze Decha had.

"They're building an Intelligence Station. The Agency bought the land some time ago. The expansion is supposed to help us keep a closer eye on Bracketers, or what's happening at the border."

"Why wasn't I informed about it?" Decha spat.

"I assume the Director didn't want you to know."

"Did you know about it?"

"I just found out earlier today." Jax shrugged. "What are you thinking?"

"The Agency is supposed to collaborate with the Council on building the cross-section at the border. Building an Intelligence station is a waste of resources. The Bracketers aren't the targets. Kilos should be watched, very closely."

"I suggest you tell that to the Director. Apparently, the Council voted on it. It's been planned out for a few weeks."

Decha sighed and massaged his forehead. He was on thin ice with his father. The two had been avoiding each other after the other night.