"L-looks l-like y-y ... b-bit of tr-trouble, Alpassi."
Helmi laced her hands behind her head and stared at the ceiling of the brig.
"On y-y feet when I speak t-to y-y!" Fisk snapped.
The tone grabbed hold of ingrained reflexes and yanked. Helmi found herself on her feet, back straight, without thinking about it.
Sir! was on her lips, but she managed to bite it back, made herself slouch. "Not my boss anymore, Sarge. Need to stop acting like it."
He gave her a cold, level stare through the grill. "Y-y not y-y b-boss either, Alpassi. St-stop acting like y-y are."
"Yeah, well." She met his gaze unflinchingly. "If I was I wouldn't be in here, would I?"
Fisk sighed. "Y-y ... really. Went t-too far. This t-time."
"I did? Fuck that. And fuck the XO, and fuck you while I'm at it. She's standing outside that door with a medic and the ship locked down so no-one can get on to help and she left Pilot in there for fuck knows how long because she didn't have the guts to open the door." Helmi hit the grill with the flat of her hand, hard enough to bounce it. "Pilot could've died, Sarge, would have, if there weren't some people with sense in her corporation."
"Y-y always ... d-did have. A fl-flair for the ... dr-dramatic."
"I saw her." Helmi hit the grill again.
Fisk shook his head. "So the ex-ex-XO wouldn't open a d-door, so y-y p-p-p ... held a g-g-gun on her?"
"No. I was going to melt out the locking circuits."
"Bullshit." Fisk took a step closer to the grill and hooked his fingers through it. Helmi knew that he was more than capable of ripping it clear out of its housing. "Lockdown means t-tapes, Alpassi."
"So, tapes. Then you know I didn't point it at the XO."
He flexed his fingers, made the grill groan in protest. "Y-y m-m .... could just fool P-p with th-that. She d-doesn't know pr-pr ... training. N-n m-m, though. Y-y had your r-right foot p-p ... straight at her. Ready."
Helmi glared at him. "Well. She opened the fucking door for Atamahara and Invelen. Didn't she."
"Y-y are in a d-deep p-p ... d-ditch. Of shit, Alpassi."
"So talk to the XO." Helmi hooked her fingers through the grill by his, almost close enough to touch. "Talk to Pilot, make it right. They'll listen to you."
"Don't know that I should," Fisk said. "This t-time."
"Fuck you! Fuck you, Sarge, I did exactly what I was supposed to! Exactly what you knew I'd do when you wanted me in this job!"
"I n-n ... d-didn't. Want y-y to g-g-go waving your ... sidearm. At the - "
Helmi pulled herself right up to the grill. "You fucking picked me to try out for this job because you knew I'd do it if it came down to it, and don't you fucking lie to me, Sarge. Who else wiped those mails out of my box, huh, while I was nothing more than patterns in the buffer waiting to be woken up? Yeah, that's right. You cleaned out my files but you couldn't get at my mother's. I know, Sarge. I read what I wrote."
He looked at her. "Alpassi. Hel. N-n ... d-didn't want y-y to know."
"Well, I do." She let go of the grill and stepped back.
"Kn-know it wasn't y-y. Was the ... chip. N-n ... y-y ... fault. P-p ... chose. Y-y anyway, d-didn't I?"
"You didn't pick me anyway, Sarge. You picked me because. I killed you to keep her safe, and that's what you wanted, wasn't it? The TCMCs can make you believe things but they can't make you act against your nature. You wanted me in this job because you know what I'll do."
"And wh-what's that?"
"Anything." She gave him a level stare. "So get me the fuck out of here so I can do it."
"Alpassi. Hel. I n-n ... wanted ..."
"Well, neither did fucking I. But we've got it, don't we? So fuck off out of my face and sort this shit the fuck out!"
Fisk looked at her a moment longer while she held her breath before he nodded, and turned for the door.
It wasn't until his footsteps had faded down the hall that Helmi realized.
First order I ever gave him.
She closed her eyes.
Well, shit, Alpassi.
It's not like you didn't know.
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