Post by Aubrey on Sept 20, 2009 22:32:48 GMT -5
Sedra
((This happens before/during "Crossing the Border" and the Mexico threads. Also, happens right after "You're in Charge....Good Luck"--I'm pretty sure.))
The sound of crickets thrummed in the warm darkness outside Sedra's house. It was late, and she had returned from work after getting a call from Tenaj. She'd been promoted to Sub-Visser 42 and given control over the John Hancock Building, a place she'd always had her eye on. The prospect of running it was exciting, but at the same time she felt weary. There were responsibilities besides her facilities to worry over now--mostly the two human children that were fast asleep in the rooms upstairs. Eva and Andrew.
Sedra tapped a finger against the phone, shifting on the cushioned chair she was sitting on. Luce was nowhere to be found, and there was no way to contact her and ask. Of course, there was no way to bring the children along with to Chicago. It was dangerous as it was to have them staying at her house. And so, there weren't many more options left. Sedra sighed.
Lifting the receiver, she dialed the number for the John Hancock Building. The phone rang a couple times before someone picked up--an assistant. "This is Sub-Visser 42, Sedra149. I need to speak with my assistant Kiejen435. Quickly." The assistant put her on hold, and she leaned back in her chair. That's when she felt a small hand tugging at the cotton sleeve of her blouse. Sedra glanced down, the dim lamplight casting a yellow glaze over Eva's face. She felt her host stir, and felt the urge to pull the girl up onto her lap. The edge of her lip twitched.
"Mommy."
"Eva, go back to bed." Covering the mouth-piece of the phone, Sedra glanced towards the dark hallway past the kitchen.
"Mommy, I can't sleep."
"Eva, I can't right now. Go back to bed. I'm busy."
The phone clicked on the other end, and Sedra realized Kiejen had picked up. Her hand was still firmly pressed against the phone, not wanting any of the conversation to seep through the other end. At the same time, Eva held out her arms like she wanted to be picked up, a quiet murmur bubbling on her lips. Sedra let out a short sigh, looking down at the girl.
<<Sedra. The least you could do is comfort her.>>
"Shut up," She mumbled under her breath. Releasing her hold on the receiver, Sedra spoke into the phone. "Hold one moment Kiejen, this is Sedra." Trapping the receiver against her shoulder and ear, she leaned forward and pulled Eva up. Eva sat, leaning into Sedra and burying her face against her shoulder. "Be quiet for me." Wrapping one arm around the girl, she slipped her free hand around the phone. "Kiejen?"
Kiejen
Kiejen put down the report he was reading and picked up the phone. The person on the other end of the line informed him that Sedra was trying to reach him. He couldn't very well deny a call from one of his superiors so he pushed the button that would allow him to talk to Sedra. "Yes sub-visser?" Kiejen questioned. "What is it that you would like me to do for you?"
Kiejen had no idea what was in store for him after this call. Was there something wrong that he needed to fix? Was it him that had done something wrong that he was going to get punished for? Or did he do something that pleased her? Would he be getting a promotion? Now he was all confused about how he should feel. He resolved to just wait for her reply on the other end of the phone.
Sedra
Kiejen's familiar voice filtered through the phone, and Sedra felt herself relax slightly. The Yeerk scientist had been sent over to the Chicago facility after the whole fiasco at Area 51, when the Animorphs had managed to burn down the medical wing of her facility. By now it had been rebuilt, but a couple projects had been set back because of it. One was the birth mothers project, which had been moved to Chicago. The controllers responsible for the failure had been executed for incompetency, while Kiejen had been sent away. The official 'reason' was she had needed somebody knowledgeable enough to take up the birth mothers project over in Chicago. The real reason was only between the two of them.
Sedra's fingers tightened around the phone's receiver. "Kiejen435. I need you to arrange to come to Las Vegas immediately. Tell your higher-ups that it's a direct order from me." Her voice had taken on the tone of a superior talking to their inferior. Distant, hard. "As you know I've been given charge of the John Hancock Building, and I will be making a visit out there." Although Area 51 was her priority, she wanted to establish her ownership over the experimental plant. Tenaj had been in charge of it before, and Sedra was curious to see what the facility could do.
"I need some business tended to back here in Vegas. I'm sure you're willing to do it." There was no hesitation or question in the last bit; He would do it. Sedra shifted Eva on her lap, and the girl made a small sound of protest. Kiejen hadn't known about the children, and Sedra had no clue how he'd react to it. When it came to Yeerks, trust was shaky. He was about as near to trust as she could find. However, Sedra didn't think it was safe to speak about it over the phone. He'd find out when he got here. "Understood?"
Kiejen
Kiejen wondered what she would need him for in Vegas if she was coming to Chicago. He was probably going to be looking after one of her projects or something. However, he still wasn't sure why she didn't have someone who was already there do it. Although he wasn't about to argue with his superior. "Understood," he said into the phone. "I will make the necessary preparations and be there as soon as I can."
Kiejen spent the next couple hours making the preparations needed for a trip to Las Vegas. He located some transport, informed his supervisors, and made arrangements to have his dutes taken care of by others. He had spent the morning at the pool so he would not need to worry about nutrition for the next few days. By the time sunset rolled around, Kiejen was standing in the twilight streets of Las Vegas. The site of one of the biggest catastrophes to hit the yeerks since the had won the planet. Or so the rumors went.
It was not a hard task locating Sedra's house, but even so, it was dark by the time he was standing on her doorstep. After taking a deep breath to relax himself, Kiejen knocked.
Sedra
A couple seconds after Kiejen knocked, the door swung open. Sedra was dressed in a navy blue uniform, dark hair tied back and posture stiff. She was supposed to have left for Chicago earlier in the day--well, she had wanted to--but had been forced to postpone it until Kiejen arrived in Vegas. The delay had caused a bit of irritation in Sedra, and his appearance was met with a tight-lipped frown. There was a business-like expression pasted on her host's face. "Good, you've arrived."
Just barely out of view of the doorway, three-year old Eva stood near Sedra. Her small hand was interlocked with Sedra's, round face peering shyly out at the man in the doorway. Sedra hadn't allowed either of the children to pack anything--they didn't have many possessions to pack anyways. She didn't own any children's toys, and anything else they had had been left at the farms. It had been a pain to just find clothing that wasn't the uniforms given to them in Indonesia.
After Kiejen stepped inside, Sedra closed the door shut. Her gaze lifted up, intense eyes meeting his own. She was searching for some sort of expression, some sort of thing that would give him away. The affair between them had been short-lived, uneven, infrequent. But it had been there--a tiny shred of trust between two Yeerks. Hopefully, that bit of unspoken loyalty still lingered in Kiejen from before. Enough so that he wouldn't go running to the nearest high-ranking controller and spill that she was harboring human children. She had confidence in her own judgment. But just in case, there was a dracon beam strapped to her hip.
Sedra's chest lifted with a slow breath, her expression hard. "As you see, I have a couple human children with me. I'm leaving for Chicago tonight, and I can't bring them with me. They are both too young to care for themselves." Her gaze shifted down to Eva, then over to Andrew who was sitting on the front room couch. The boy had a sour look on his face, and he was bumping his legs against the couch in irritation as he waited. She looked back to the controller. "I need your trust. Do I have your trust, Kiejen 435?"
Kiejen
When the door opened, Kiejen tried to meet Sedra's face with a look of professionalism. It was hard to do, however, when he noticed a child behind her. No wait, it was two children. He furrowed his brow slightly, then slid into the entranceway. Of all the things he thought might be at Sedra's house, children were at the bottom of the list. Hopefully she would explain.
Kiejen was not so lucky. All she told him was that she could not bring the children with her and that he was supposed to watch them. And she wanted to know if she could trust him. "Of course you can trust me Sed- Sub-visser 42. Haven't I always been dependable?" Even as he spoke the words, he realized that something wasn't adding up. Why did she have him come all the way from Chicago to baby sit two kids? And why were they here in the first place? Were they test subjects? Or were they... oh. No, that couldn't be. He mentally shook the thought from his head and said, "You can leave it to me."
Sedra
Sedra silently took note of Kiejen's reactions, hiding the relief that had come with his words behind her composed expression. He looked like he was searching for some explanation, but Sedra was not about to give one. Let him come up with his own conclusions.
"Yes, right. As you must also realize, this is not something you speak about to others. I assume you have no trouble with that." The expression on her face had softened and her shoulders relaxed somewhat. Her earlier anxieties were dissolving slowly the more he talked. He was still the same Kiejen as before; the same one she had sent off to Chicago, and the same one she had worked with for so long. A small smile formed on her lips.
"It should be only a few days. Of course after I return, there will be a promotion waiting for you." Sedra's hand tightened around Eva's. There was a small hesitation before she spoke again, as she weighed whether or not to reveal any more. "Keep them safe. If they are harmed before I get back, I will find you and kill you." The words were stiff, direct, but it was something another Yeerk would understand. Especially coming from someone who was their superior.
Sedra glanced over to where her host's son was sitting. When it came down to it Sedra hadn't particularly cared for getting the boy back. He was the child of her host and her host's husband. When she had been pretending to be Catherine, she had spent a couple years taking care of him. It had been for show at the time. According to the Yeerk that had controlled Ember, Eva had whined that he come with and the Yeerk had been too dumb to realize he wasn't needed. And so, here he was. "Andrew, come over here. It's time to go."
"No."
Sedra narrowed her eyes, staring at the boy. Her jaw tightened, but she didn't move. The kid had been trouble since she had gotten him, but this was the wrong time to be testing her, especially in front of Kiejen. Her patience was already threadbare, and the boy was straining it. "Andrew. Right now. Come here."
Andrew shook his head indignantly, not budging from his spot on the couch. "No, I don't have to." The young boy leaned back on the couch, folding his arms. He straightened his shoulders, legs still bouncing against the soft cushions of the couch. "I don't have to listen to you."
Sedra's expression darkened considerably, and she pulled her hand from Eva's grasp. <<Sedra... Please..>> Her host began. Eva immediately attached herself back to Sedra, clutching at her legs. "Get up off the couch." Sedra said, pulling Eva away again. Andrew stared at Sedra for a long time, unsure, before his mouth dropped open to say something again. Sedra glared angrily at him. "Now!"
His mouth snapped shut, and he shoved himself off the couch finally. "Fine!" Grudgingly, he dragged his feet across the carpeted floor. Once he was near enough, Sedra grabbed his shoulder roughly and shoved him towards Kiejen. The boy's eyes were smoldering as he stared up at the other controller, arms crossed stiffly across his chest. The look on his face was plain and obvious; he would be causing trouble for Kiejen every chance he got.
Taking a breath, Sedra looked to Kiejen. "Here, take her." She eased Eva away from her side, trying to guide her forward. "You have to go with him now Eva." The little girl walked a couple involuntary steps before trying to turn around and resist.
"Mommy, I don't want to go," Eva whined, her face wrinkling up like she was going to cry. An exasperated sigh rose in Sedra's throat. After struggling a moment, she gave in and lifted the girl up into her arms. At the same time, Andrew turned his head to look at them.
"She's not our mother. Look at her. She's one of them," Andrew said, spitting out the last word. His lip was curled, arms still folded. Sedra's jaw twitched, and she ready to smack sense into the boy. The only thing stopping her was the small, pleading voice in the back of her head--her host. <<Sedra, he's just a little boy. He doesn't know what he's saying.>>
After a long moment, Sedra brought her gaze away from Andrew. She didn't have time to deal with this. Besides, this whole exchange was happening in front of Kiejen. He didn't need to see this. She looked to other controller. "Take the boy. I'll carry Eva out to your car."
Kiejen
Kiejen was still trying to sort things out in his brain when Sedra started talking again. He nodded reassuringly when she mentioned not speaking of this. That had been implied fairly well already. And he didn't even flinch when she threatened his life if he failed. It was likely a serious threat, but hardly unexpected. The comment about a promotion almost glanced right over him since his brain was trying to work overtime at the moment.
However, what did surprise him was when the little boy refused Sedra's orders. People just didn't do that to a sub-visser. Unless, of course, they were a higher rank. Obviously this kid wasn't a host yet, but the disobedience still caught him off guard. Kiejen had never looked after children before, so this may be more difficult than expected. Especially if they remained so disobedient. He would definitely have to rely on his host's past knowledge for what to do.
The girl's label of 'mommy' for Sedra also all but confirmed his earlier suspicions. These were Sedra's children. And she was hiding them. Kiejen did not know how it would be possible for someone of Sedra's rank to keep children hidden for so long, but he didn't think he wanted to know either.
Kiejen snatched up the boys wrist when prompted by Sedra to bring him to the car. The kid was reluctant to follow, but didn't have much of a choice since he was not big or strong enough to break Kiejen's host's firm grip. As they headed for Kiejen's temporary mode of Vegas transportation, he asked, "So where are we going, my I ask?" He didn't much care about the answer, but he didn't like being uninformed. For that reason, his current situation with these children was borderline torture for him. There were too many unknown variables, but he was not about to start playing twenty questions.
Sedra
With Eva cradled in the crook of her arm, Sedra stepped in front of Kiejen and led the way down the concrete pathway. The air outside was cooling from the thick heat earlier in the day, and crickets hummed in the grass. Turning around a corner, the four of them came upon the driveway. Parked next to Kiejen's transportation was Sedra's own car, waiting. It was already packed and ready for her trip over to Area 51, where she'd take a bug fighter to Chicago.
At his question, Sedra gave him a sharp look over her shoulder. "I'm not going anywhere with you. You're taking them to your place." The irritation from Andrew's disobedience was still present in Sedra's tone and posture. The stupid boy's words were bothering her, even though she knew they shouldn't. He was five--or was he six now?--and her host was right. He had no clue what he was talking about. He was just a child. Looking down, her gaze rested on Andrew. The boy was glaring down at the ground, his wrist trapped in Kiejen's grip. His other hand was clenched into a tiny fist at his side.
Sedra felt her host's concern rise up, along with the urge to comfort him. She ignored it. <<What did they do to him there...>> Catherine murmured inside their shared mind. And then, for the first time in long while, Sedra acknowledged her words--but only in defense of herself. As it was, talking to a host was almost like talking to yourself. Useless. <<They do nothing harmful. Training. Teaching. His... attitude is nothing of our doing.>>
Shifting Eva's weight, Sedra scanned the empty streets before focusing back on Kiejen. Even if she was feeling angry, some other part of her knew she shouldn't be taking it out on him. Especially if she wanted this whole thing to go smoothly. Yet small doubts were already needling their way into her confidence. The flicker she had seen in Kiejen's eyes before was not there as far as she could tell. Was this even a good idea? Had she misjudged this? Sedra would have rather not involved anyone else. At all. But there was no choice.
"Assuming you have your own house. I'm sure that is alright with you," Sedra said. Her tone had softened, but she still looked tense. She was depending on someone else--giving trust when she rarely gave it. Leaning forward, she detached Eva's arms from around her neck and set the girl down on the driveway. The girl looked up at Kiejen, one hand clenched at Sedra's leg again. "Is it not?"
Kiejen
They were going to his house? Well, his host's house. His host's old house that he didn't use anymore. If Kiejen had known that, he would have called in a favor or two and had his house cleaned. It had been a long time since he had been back to Las Vegas. But it made sense that she didn't give him time to clean, since that may have attracted additional attention. And apparently this favor he was doing for her was supposed to be low-key.
"Yeah, I still have my house here in the city. I haven't been there in a while, but it should still be there. Of course it is fine with me." As if he were going to tell Sedra it wasn't okay. Although, even if she weren't his superior, he probably still would have done it. After all, they did have... history. "I'll se you when you get back then?" he asked as he managed to get the kid buckled into the back seat of his vehicle.
Sedra
As Kiejen talked, Sedra opened the door to the car and began helping Eva climb inside. The little girl was dragging her feet, trying to resist getting inside. After a small struggle Sedra was finally able to get her in the seat and buckled completely in. The seat belt itself was too big for her--barely reaching under her chin--but there weren't exactly child seats lying around the house. If Kiejen hadn't been around, Sedra would have given the girl a small kiss on the forehead in farewell. Instead she leaned forward and whispered something in her ear, before pulling back and shutting the door. Eva seemed to settle down a little bit after that, looking to her half-brother sitting next to her.
Turning back to Kiejen, Sedra straightened her uniform. "Good. I didn't know whether they had given it to someone else or not." Technically, his position at the John Hancock Building had been 'temporary'. If Sedra had needed him, she had wanted to be able to call him back to Las Vegas without problems. At his last few words a fleeting smile flashed across her face before disappearing. "Yes. I'll be back within three days or so to get them back. I'm sure you can handle that."
Sedra smoothed her hands through her tied back hair, eyes scanning down the empty road of the neighborhood. The air was sleepy and dark around them, and most of the houses had their lights switched off. After a moment Sedra's gaze settled back on Kiejen, her expression guarded. Her host wanted her to show some sort of affection--something that might cement his desire to keep this entire thing secret. Sedra tapped a hand against the car. "Thank you. For doing this."
((This happens before/during "Crossing the Border" and the Mexico threads. Also, happens right after "You're in Charge....Good Luck"--I'm pretty sure.))
The sound of crickets thrummed in the warm darkness outside Sedra's house. It was late, and she had returned from work after getting a call from Tenaj. She'd been promoted to Sub-Visser 42 and given control over the John Hancock Building, a place she'd always had her eye on. The prospect of running it was exciting, but at the same time she felt weary. There were responsibilities besides her facilities to worry over now--mostly the two human children that were fast asleep in the rooms upstairs. Eva and Andrew.
Sedra tapped a finger against the phone, shifting on the cushioned chair she was sitting on. Luce was nowhere to be found, and there was no way to contact her and ask. Of course, there was no way to bring the children along with to Chicago. It was dangerous as it was to have them staying at her house. And so, there weren't many more options left. Sedra sighed.
Lifting the receiver, she dialed the number for the John Hancock Building. The phone rang a couple times before someone picked up--an assistant. "This is Sub-Visser 42, Sedra149. I need to speak with my assistant Kiejen435. Quickly." The assistant put her on hold, and she leaned back in her chair. That's when she felt a small hand tugging at the cotton sleeve of her blouse. Sedra glanced down, the dim lamplight casting a yellow glaze over Eva's face. She felt her host stir, and felt the urge to pull the girl up onto her lap. The edge of her lip twitched.
"Mommy."
"Eva, go back to bed." Covering the mouth-piece of the phone, Sedra glanced towards the dark hallway past the kitchen.
"Mommy, I can't sleep."
"Eva, I can't right now. Go back to bed. I'm busy."
The phone clicked on the other end, and Sedra realized Kiejen had picked up. Her hand was still firmly pressed against the phone, not wanting any of the conversation to seep through the other end. At the same time, Eva held out her arms like she wanted to be picked up, a quiet murmur bubbling on her lips. Sedra let out a short sigh, looking down at the girl.
<<Sedra. The least you could do is comfort her.>>
"Shut up," She mumbled under her breath. Releasing her hold on the receiver, Sedra spoke into the phone. "Hold one moment Kiejen, this is Sedra." Trapping the receiver against her shoulder and ear, she leaned forward and pulled Eva up. Eva sat, leaning into Sedra and burying her face against her shoulder. "Be quiet for me." Wrapping one arm around the girl, she slipped her free hand around the phone. "Kiejen?"
Kiejen
Kiejen put down the report he was reading and picked up the phone. The person on the other end of the line informed him that Sedra was trying to reach him. He couldn't very well deny a call from one of his superiors so he pushed the button that would allow him to talk to Sedra. "Yes sub-visser?" Kiejen questioned. "What is it that you would like me to do for you?"
Kiejen had no idea what was in store for him after this call. Was there something wrong that he needed to fix? Was it him that had done something wrong that he was going to get punished for? Or did he do something that pleased her? Would he be getting a promotion? Now he was all confused about how he should feel. He resolved to just wait for her reply on the other end of the phone.
Sedra
Kiejen's familiar voice filtered through the phone, and Sedra felt herself relax slightly. The Yeerk scientist had been sent over to the Chicago facility after the whole fiasco at Area 51, when the Animorphs had managed to burn down the medical wing of her facility. By now it had been rebuilt, but a couple projects had been set back because of it. One was the birth mothers project, which had been moved to Chicago. The controllers responsible for the failure had been executed for incompetency, while Kiejen had been sent away. The official 'reason' was she had needed somebody knowledgeable enough to take up the birth mothers project over in Chicago. The real reason was only between the two of them.
Sedra's fingers tightened around the phone's receiver. "Kiejen435. I need you to arrange to come to Las Vegas immediately. Tell your higher-ups that it's a direct order from me." Her voice had taken on the tone of a superior talking to their inferior. Distant, hard. "As you know I've been given charge of the John Hancock Building, and I will be making a visit out there." Although Area 51 was her priority, she wanted to establish her ownership over the experimental plant. Tenaj had been in charge of it before, and Sedra was curious to see what the facility could do.
"I need some business tended to back here in Vegas. I'm sure you're willing to do it." There was no hesitation or question in the last bit; He would do it. Sedra shifted Eva on her lap, and the girl made a small sound of protest. Kiejen hadn't known about the children, and Sedra had no clue how he'd react to it. When it came to Yeerks, trust was shaky. He was about as near to trust as she could find. However, Sedra didn't think it was safe to speak about it over the phone. He'd find out when he got here. "Understood?"
Kiejen
Kiejen wondered what she would need him for in Vegas if she was coming to Chicago. He was probably going to be looking after one of her projects or something. However, he still wasn't sure why she didn't have someone who was already there do it. Although he wasn't about to argue with his superior. "Understood," he said into the phone. "I will make the necessary preparations and be there as soon as I can."
Kiejen spent the next couple hours making the preparations needed for a trip to Las Vegas. He located some transport, informed his supervisors, and made arrangements to have his dutes taken care of by others. He had spent the morning at the pool so he would not need to worry about nutrition for the next few days. By the time sunset rolled around, Kiejen was standing in the twilight streets of Las Vegas. The site of one of the biggest catastrophes to hit the yeerks since the had won the planet. Or so the rumors went.
It was not a hard task locating Sedra's house, but even so, it was dark by the time he was standing on her doorstep. After taking a deep breath to relax himself, Kiejen knocked.
Sedra
A couple seconds after Kiejen knocked, the door swung open. Sedra was dressed in a navy blue uniform, dark hair tied back and posture stiff. She was supposed to have left for Chicago earlier in the day--well, she had wanted to--but had been forced to postpone it until Kiejen arrived in Vegas. The delay had caused a bit of irritation in Sedra, and his appearance was met with a tight-lipped frown. There was a business-like expression pasted on her host's face. "Good, you've arrived."
Just barely out of view of the doorway, three-year old Eva stood near Sedra. Her small hand was interlocked with Sedra's, round face peering shyly out at the man in the doorway. Sedra hadn't allowed either of the children to pack anything--they didn't have many possessions to pack anyways. She didn't own any children's toys, and anything else they had had been left at the farms. It had been a pain to just find clothing that wasn't the uniforms given to them in Indonesia.
After Kiejen stepped inside, Sedra closed the door shut. Her gaze lifted up, intense eyes meeting his own. She was searching for some sort of expression, some sort of thing that would give him away. The affair between them had been short-lived, uneven, infrequent. But it had been there--a tiny shred of trust between two Yeerks. Hopefully, that bit of unspoken loyalty still lingered in Kiejen from before. Enough so that he wouldn't go running to the nearest high-ranking controller and spill that she was harboring human children. She had confidence in her own judgment. But just in case, there was a dracon beam strapped to her hip.
Sedra's chest lifted with a slow breath, her expression hard. "As you see, I have a couple human children with me. I'm leaving for Chicago tonight, and I can't bring them with me. They are both too young to care for themselves." Her gaze shifted down to Eva, then over to Andrew who was sitting on the front room couch. The boy had a sour look on his face, and he was bumping his legs against the couch in irritation as he waited. She looked back to the controller. "I need your trust. Do I have your trust, Kiejen 435?"
Kiejen
When the door opened, Kiejen tried to meet Sedra's face with a look of professionalism. It was hard to do, however, when he noticed a child behind her. No wait, it was two children. He furrowed his brow slightly, then slid into the entranceway. Of all the things he thought might be at Sedra's house, children were at the bottom of the list. Hopefully she would explain.
Kiejen was not so lucky. All she told him was that she could not bring the children with her and that he was supposed to watch them. And she wanted to know if she could trust him. "Of course you can trust me Sed- Sub-visser 42. Haven't I always been dependable?" Even as he spoke the words, he realized that something wasn't adding up. Why did she have him come all the way from Chicago to baby sit two kids? And why were they here in the first place? Were they test subjects? Or were they... oh. No, that couldn't be. He mentally shook the thought from his head and said, "You can leave it to me."
Sedra
Sedra silently took note of Kiejen's reactions, hiding the relief that had come with his words behind her composed expression. He looked like he was searching for some explanation, but Sedra was not about to give one. Let him come up with his own conclusions.
"Yes, right. As you must also realize, this is not something you speak about to others. I assume you have no trouble with that." The expression on her face had softened and her shoulders relaxed somewhat. Her earlier anxieties were dissolving slowly the more he talked. He was still the same Kiejen as before; the same one she had sent off to Chicago, and the same one she had worked with for so long. A small smile formed on her lips.
"It should be only a few days. Of course after I return, there will be a promotion waiting for you." Sedra's hand tightened around Eva's. There was a small hesitation before she spoke again, as she weighed whether or not to reveal any more. "Keep them safe. If they are harmed before I get back, I will find you and kill you." The words were stiff, direct, but it was something another Yeerk would understand. Especially coming from someone who was their superior.
Sedra glanced over to where her host's son was sitting. When it came down to it Sedra hadn't particularly cared for getting the boy back. He was the child of her host and her host's husband. When she had been pretending to be Catherine, she had spent a couple years taking care of him. It had been for show at the time. According to the Yeerk that had controlled Ember, Eva had whined that he come with and the Yeerk had been too dumb to realize he wasn't needed. And so, here he was. "Andrew, come over here. It's time to go."
"No."
Sedra narrowed her eyes, staring at the boy. Her jaw tightened, but she didn't move. The kid had been trouble since she had gotten him, but this was the wrong time to be testing her, especially in front of Kiejen. Her patience was already threadbare, and the boy was straining it. "Andrew. Right now. Come here."
Andrew shook his head indignantly, not budging from his spot on the couch. "No, I don't have to." The young boy leaned back on the couch, folding his arms. He straightened his shoulders, legs still bouncing against the soft cushions of the couch. "I don't have to listen to you."
Sedra's expression darkened considerably, and she pulled her hand from Eva's grasp. <<Sedra... Please..>> Her host began. Eva immediately attached herself back to Sedra, clutching at her legs. "Get up off the couch." Sedra said, pulling Eva away again. Andrew stared at Sedra for a long time, unsure, before his mouth dropped open to say something again. Sedra glared angrily at him. "Now!"
His mouth snapped shut, and he shoved himself off the couch finally. "Fine!" Grudgingly, he dragged his feet across the carpeted floor. Once he was near enough, Sedra grabbed his shoulder roughly and shoved him towards Kiejen. The boy's eyes were smoldering as he stared up at the other controller, arms crossed stiffly across his chest. The look on his face was plain and obvious; he would be causing trouble for Kiejen every chance he got.
Taking a breath, Sedra looked to Kiejen. "Here, take her." She eased Eva away from her side, trying to guide her forward. "You have to go with him now Eva." The little girl walked a couple involuntary steps before trying to turn around and resist.
"Mommy, I don't want to go," Eva whined, her face wrinkling up like she was going to cry. An exasperated sigh rose in Sedra's throat. After struggling a moment, she gave in and lifted the girl up into her arms. At the same time, Andrew turned his head to look at them.
"She's not our mother. Look at her. She's one of them," Andrew said, spitting out the last word. His lip was curled, arms still folded. Sedra's jaw twitched, and she ready to smack sense into the boy. The only thing stopping her was the small, pleading voice in the back of her head--her host. <<Sedra, he's just a little boy. He doesn't know what he's saying.>>
After a long moment, Sedra brought her gaze away from Andrew. She didn't have time to deal with this. Besides, this whole exchange was happening in front of Kiejen. He didn't need to see this. She looked to other controller. "Take the boy. I'll carry Eva out to your car."
Kiejen
Kiejen was still trying to sort things out in his brain when Sedra started talking again. He nodded reassuringly when she mentioned not speaking of this. That had been implied fairly well already. And he didn't even flinch when she threatened his life if he failed. It was likely a serious threat, but hardly unexpected. The comment about a promotion almost glanced right over him since his brain was trying to work overtime at the moment.
However, what did surprise him was when the little boy refused Sedra's orders. People just didn't do that to a sub-visser. Unless, of course, they were a higher rank. Obviously this kid wasn't a host yet, but the disobedience still caught him off guard. Kiejen had never looked after children before, so this may be more difficult than expected. Especially if they remained so disobedient. He would definitely have to rely on his host's past knowledge for what to do.
The girl's label of 'mommy' for Sedra also all but confirmed his earlier suspicions. These were Sedra's children. And she was hiding them. Kiejen did not know how it would be possible for someone of Sedra's rank to keep children hidden for so long, but he didn't think he wanted to know either.
Kiejen snatched up the boys wrist when prompted by Sedra to bring him to the car. The kid was reluctant to follow, but didn't have much of a choice since he was not big or strong enough to break Kiejen's host's firm grip. As they headed for Kiejen's temporary mode of Vegas transportation, he asked, "So where are we going, my I ask?" He didn't much care about the answer, but he didn't like being uninformed. For that reason, his current situation with these children was borderline torture for him. There were too many unknown variables, but he was not about to start playing twenty questions.
Sedra
With Eva cradled in the crook of her arm, Sedra stepped in front of Kiejen and led the way down the concrete pathway. The air outside was cooling from the thick heat earlier in the day, and crickets hummed in the grass. Turning around a corner, the four of them came upon the driveway. Parked next to Kiejen's transportation was Sedra's own car, waiting. It was already packed and ready for her trip over to Area 51, where she'd take a bug fighter to Chicago.
At his question, Sedra gave him a sharp look over her shoulder. "I'm not going anywhere with you. You're taking them to your place." The irritation from Andrew's disobedience was still present in Sedra's tone and posture. The stupid boy's words were bothering her, even though she knew they shouldn't. He was five--or was he six now?--and her host was right. He had no clue what he was talking about. He was just a child. Looking down, her gaze rested on Andrew. The boy was glaring down at the ground, his wrist trapped in Kiejen's grip. His other hand was clenched into a tiny fist at his side.
Sedra felt her host's concern rise up, along with the urge to comfort him. She ignored it. <<What did they do to him there...>> Catherine murmured inside their shared mind. And then, for the first time in long while, Sedra acknowledged her words--but only in defense of herself. As it was, talking to a host was almost like talking to yourself. Useless. <<They do nothing harmful. Training. Teaching. His... attitude is nothing of our doing.>>
Shifting Eva's weight, Sedra scanned the empty streets before focusing back on Kiejen. Even if she was feeling angry, some other part of her knew she shouldn't be taking it out on him. Especially if she wanted this whole thing to go smoothly. Yet small doubts were already needling their way into her confidence. The flicker she had seen in Kiejen's eyes before was not there as far as she could tell. Was this even a good idea? Had she misjudged this? Sedra would have rather not involved anyone else. At all. But there was no choice.
"Assuming you have your own house. I'm sure that is alright with you," Sedra said. Her tone had softened, but she still looked tense. She was depending on someone else--giving trust when she rarely gave it. Leaning forward, she detached Eva's arms from around her neck and set the girl down on the driveway. The girl looked up at Kiejen, one hand clenched at Sedra's leg again. "Is it not?"
Kiejen
They were going to his house? Well, his host's house. His host's old house that he didn't use anymore. If Kiejen had known that, he would have called in a favor or two and had his house cleaned. It had been a long time since he had been back to Las Vegas. But it made sense that she didn't give him time to clean, since that may have attracted additional attention. And apparently this favor he was doing for her was supposed to be low-key.
"Yeah, I still have my house here in the city. I haven't been there in a while, but it should still be there. Of course it is fine with me." As if he were going to tell Sedra it wasn't okay. Although, even if she weren't his superior, he probably still would have done it. After all, they did have... history. "I'll se you when you get back then?" he asked as he managed to get the kid buckled into the back seat of his vehicle.
Sedra
As Kiejen talked, Sedra opened the door to the car and began helping Eva climb inside. The little girl was dragging her feet, trying to resist getting inside. After a small struggle Sedra was finally able to get her in the seat and buckled completely in. The seat belt itself was too big for her--barely reaching under her chin--but there weren't exactly child seats lying around the house. If Kiejen hadn't been around, Sedra would have given the girl a small kiss on the forehead in farewell. Instead she leaned forward and whispered something in her ear, before pulling back and shutting the door. Eva seemed to settle down a little bit after that, looking to her half-brother sitting next to her.
Turning back to Kiejen, Sedra straightened her uniform. "Good. I didn't know whether they had given it to someone else or not." Technically, his position at the John Hancock Building had been 'temporary'. If Sedra had needed him, she had wanted to be able to call him back to Las Vegas without problems. At his last few words a fleeting smile flashed across her face before disappearing. "Yes. I'll be back within three days or so to get them back. I'm sure you can handle that."
Sedra smoothed her hands through her tied back hair, eyes scanning down the empty road of the neighborhood. The air was sleepy and dark around them, and most of the houses had their lights switched off. After a moment Sedra's gaze settled back on Kiejen, her expression guarded. Her host wanted her to show some sort of affection--something that might cement his desire to keep this entire thing secret. Sedra tapped a hand against the car. "Thank you. For doing this."
