6.11- Chapter 6 FinaleAlyssa looked between Marshal and Pierre before focusing on Pierre. “He seems really certain that this isn’t her and he does have a point that if I do look over the body, I can find out if it is or not. Do you agree with that?”
Pierre stayed silent for a moment before delivering his verdict. “We’ll move the body to the infirmary to provide some sort of privacy.”
Alyssa noticed the look she got from Marshal before he turned and went back in the gates, leaving her, Pierre, and Monty to move the body.
The three of them put the body in the infirmary, then left to wait outside the door for Marshal since he was the only one who could confirm or deny anything with absolute certainty.
There wasn’t much to say until Monty broke their silence, asking what they all wanted to know. “Do you guys think Marshal’s mad?”
“No doubt about it.” Alyssa sighed, watching the door to Marshal’s room. “Mad, shocked, hurt. He’s a lot of things right now, but conflicted is the biggest one. I’m almost certain he heard me mention that Chelsea wasn’t in range and he always gets a little shaken up when Elizabeth dies, just because that’s not supposed to be a normal part of your life.”
“The fear of the unknown is one that can break the strongest person alive.” Pierre was also watching the door but didn’t seem too keen on the conversation. “I only agreed to allow you to look over the body to offer him closure so he and the boy can move on. Milo and Leah will understand, but Marshal is almost incapable of accepting death as soon as it happens, even if it’s right in front of his face. My concerns at this moment are for his son.”
“Even when trying to express emotion, you still sound like a robot.” Monty gave a nervous chuckle when he caught the glare Pierre sent his way. “I mean, we were all thinking it.”
Pierre looked away from Monty, shaking his head.
Marshal’s door opened again and he left the room, carrying a sleeping and bundled Whitlock in his arms. He joined the three and sighed, trying to put on a fake smile. “I just didn’t want to leave him alone for too long.”
The four of them went into the room, Alyssa having to search the body.
At every single turn, Marshal continued to deny that it was Elizabeth until Alyssa went to take note of the woman’s eye color.
She noticed he stayed oddly silent when she did, so she chose to question it. “Is there something on your mind?”
He adjusted Whitlock, which woke the boy up. “It’s still not Elizabeth, but now I can tell you who it is. Elizabeth and I used to have identities that allows us the go undercover in Onyx; they were real people who had gotten tired of being field agents for Onyx. Sara Jacobson was the first person we met up with and she looked so close to Elizabeth that we were confident we could pull it off. One problem we had was their eye colors. Sara had green eyes, but they were a darker green than Elizabeth’s and I can tell you that if you compare that woman’s eyes to Whitlock’s eyes, you’ll find that they’re darker than his but they’re still green.”
Alyssa went over to Marshal and motioned for Monty to come over and open the boy’s eyes. “I don’t really want to touch the baby’s face after I’ve had my hands on a dead body.”
Monty joined her, Pierre lingering at a distance to where he could see but stay far enough.
Most people at the motel knew that Whitlock was oddly sensitive about his back and often wouldn’t let anyone touch his back without throwing a tantrum. Monty had hoped that because Marshal was there, the baby would just forget about it and go along with his day, but he quickly realized that wasn’t going to happen.
As soon as Monty laid a hand on the baby’s back, his eyes flew open and he stared daggers at Monty, waiting for him to back away.
Pierre and Alyssa took note of the exact color of his eyes and compared it to the woman, finding what Marshal said to be true. “Was there anything else about Sara that you can remember?”
He frowned before shaking his head. “There wasn’t much to remember about her. Her hair was more of a dirty blonde than it was light brown, her eyes were green, and her voice was pretty high pitched.”
“So we can be sure that this isn’t Elizabeth, but we still can’t positively identify her?” Pierre crossed his arms. “That also brings up the questions, where is Elizabeth and what is the timeline of events?”
Alyssa thought back to what she knew and went back to look over the body one more time before standing to address the group. “This isn’t Elizabeth, but it’s very likely Sara Jacobson. The timeline of events is pretty hard to decipher with no key witnesses, though I think it’s possible to create one.” She directed most of her attention to Pierre, knowing it was him that she’d have to convince. “Nobody knows what happens to field agents after a Voyager takes their identity, as I’ve been told that they don’t keep contact with the Voyagers and the Voyagers don’t attempt to keep contact with them. That being said, whoever killed Sara knew that she would pass for Elizabeth, even if it was temporarily. Sara being left in front of the gates was a distraction and wherever Elizabeth is, she didn’t go on her own free will. That can be proved by the shoe print that was left on the headlight of the truck that she took into the city.”
Pierre nodded along, eventually cutting in. “That explains why you were having trouble finding how the death was recent.”
“Exactly.” Alyssa went on. “That was because the time of death was early afternoon at the latest. Sara was killed whenever someone found out about Elizabeth’s plans to leave for the city and then dropped at the gates to try and convince us that she was Elizabeth.” She then looked to Marshal. “Who else knew about Elizabeth going into the city?”
“She told me that she was going to tell Monty and Filip just so they were aware she’d be getting back later and didn’t alarm them when she did come back.”
Pierre looked at the floor, tapping his foot. “I hate to say it but there’s not much we can do about her being missing. We have no idea where to start a search or if we’d just be getting led into a trap.”
Monty seemed to agree until Marshal spoke up. “You’re wrong about multiple things there, but I’m going to suggest a course of action that’s going to sound a little out there.” The three of them looked at him, waiting for his idea. “Isaac wants Elizabeth and Whitlock back in the city because he wants to test the gene they carry, they can’t do that because they only have Chelsea. I’m going back to the city and taking Whitlock with me and I’m going to give Isaac the opportunity to lead a search.”
“You can’t do that.” Alyssa immediately interjected. “Isaac will kill you, that secures absolutely nothing for the group.”
“It does.” He shot a look towards her. “If I give myself up and confess for every Voyager related crime that I can, it offers some people here a clean slate and gives me a better chance at talking Isaac into letting me live. Isaac will be able to use Whitlock and Chelsea to track Elizabeth down faster than we can on our own and that gives the group a better chance at finding her alive and no offense intended towards Pierre, but that’s the only thing that matters to me right now.”
“Isaac’s going to know that you’re using him.” Monty chimed in, trying to talk him out of it.
Marshal nodded. “Of course he is. Isaac Hampton is a brilliant man, but he’s not one to turn down two high priority targets and their child when it benefits him in every way possible.”
“It sounds like you’ve already made up your mind, but what about the group?” Pierre leaned against the wall, studying Marshal.
“My plan is pretty simple and Milo knows all of it, he was already going to take leadership and Elizabeth and Whitlock being in the city gives him more of a reason to act. Samantha has the same useful skills that I do and worst comes to it, Cecilia and Horatio both count for a decent medic.”
“It sounds like a smart move, in my opinion.” Pierre crossed his arms. “It’s not going to be the popular opinion but sometimes the unpopular option is the best one.”
Chelsea HamptonChelsea spent most of the afternoon with Carmella, who had taken a quick liking to her and mentioned to Zachary that she wanted to get to know her more, which he then passed on to her.
Halfway through the afternoon, her father showed up with Anthony Richardson in tow, a slight look of frustration on his face.
He had Chelsea and Zachary meet with him and Anthony in the living room after he had gotten a few select papers in just the position he wanted. “When I told you two to make your relationship look more natural, I didn’t mean for you two to put on a show in the lounge. Certain media outlets have already broken the story and because we haven’t made a public statement announcing the engagement or why it’s happening, they’re conspiring over the nature of your relationship.”
“I feel that’s a natural reaction since I’m technically her boss.”
Isaac nodded, looking through his papers. “That’s why one of you needs to resign. The last thing Onyx needs is claims of misconduct.”
Anthony looked surprised by the claim. “That’s not what we discussed on the way here and it’s something that can be handled at a later date.”
“Thank you for the reminder.” Isaac started putting his papers away, only confusing Chelsea and Zachary more as he had just taken them out. “Marshal Kennedy is currently in the fourth floor conference room. He’s making some outlandish claims and refuses to give anyone all the details until Chelsea’s present but he claims he’s willing to surrender on specific conditions.”
Chelsea and Zachary shared a look of concern before Anthony and Isaac focused solely on Chelsea. “I mean, I don’t know him that well but I can try to talk to him.”
“That would be appreciated.” Isaac then stood, Anthony slowly getting up. “I expect to see the both of you at headquarters in an hour, the gives you thirty minutes to get ready.”
After that, the two excused themselves to allow Chelsea and Zachary some time to get ready.
They hurried and got ready, going straight to headquarters whenever they were ready, making a beeline for the elevator once they got there.
As soon as Chelsea and Zachary took a seat across from Marshal, Isaac and Anthony joined them, Lyla Richardson following behind them soon after.
“These are all the people you’ve requested, now will you talk?”
Marshal nodded, putting his hands on the table. “I’m ready to surrender and I’m not speaking for my whole group, I’m speaking for myself. I understand why you’re all likely confused as to why I’m doing this, but I want to make an offer. I’m willing to reform and take blame for any crimes you want me to, but I just need two things from Onyx.” He looked at Isaac, seeing that he seemed interested in what he had to say. “After your visit with Elizabeth, she went missing. We sent Leona to question you and she said you had no idea what happened to her. We waited a few days to see if she would turn up but she hasn’t and at this point, it’s unbearable for me. Our son is nearby and I’ll gladly allow you to use the gene to locate her on the condition that I help in the search and you don’t separate my son and I.”
“What makes you believe we’d have any interest in searching and potentially saving a Voyager?” Isaac crosses his arms, studying Marshal from his seat.
“Elizabeth’s another high priority target and she’s the only one you’d need to start studying the gene’s effect of her and how it evolved in our son. Once she’s found, I’ll find a way to keep her in the city and we won’t associate with the Voyagers from then on.”
Lyla looked to the table, tapping her finger. “The gene does need to be checked on and it wouldn’t hurt to see how it’s changed since Elizabeth joined the Voyagers and Chelsea went to Jade.” She then cupped her hands. “What I'm most interested in is seeing how well it’s doing in a second generation.”
“The only way to do that is to locate Elizabeth and the gene can probably be used to locate her, right?” Chelsea questioned Lyla, already knowing her answer to Marshal’s requests.
“That can be done, but it’ll take time.” Lyla didn’t seem too confident in her answer. “Marshal, would you say your son is typically more attached to Elizabeth?” He nodded. “I’m assuming he’s already noticed her disappearance, so he’s dealing with some major anxiety because he doesn’t know what’s going on. The chances of being able to locate her with the gene are relatively small if all three of you aren’t focused on finding Elizabeth or in her case, being found.”
“But what’s most important is that it can be done.” Anthony spoke up, surprising most of the people at the table by speaking out of turn. “He’s willing to turn in himself, his wife, and his son if we can just find her. They’ve run way too many times and I’m certain that he knows he’s not going to be able to leave the city again, especially not with his son. That, and I’ve heard that Elizabeth went to Isaac a few days ago and gave him information against her group, so she clearly doesn’t want to be with the group either. We need to find her and research the gene, its been sitting idle in all of them for way too long.”
Marshal’s sudden silence told Chelsea that there was something in what Anthony had said that he hadn’t previously known.
The others seemed to agree with what Anthony said and turned to Isaac for what he had to say. “Because of the circumstances, you and your son will be staying with Zachary until Elizabeth is found. You won’t be separated unless you act up, then I won’t hesitate to chip you and put you right back on the fourth floor. Am I understood?”
Marshal nodded slightly, looking at the table. “Sounds like a deal.”
“Isaac, if it’s alright with you, I’d like to do some testing on him and the boy today.” Lyla spoke as everyone was preparing to leave the meeting. “I want to see what exactly I’m dealing with on both sides and Elizabeth is already in the system, but he’s not.”
Chelsea could tell Isaac was likely going to say no, which encouraged her to jump into the conversation. “He can tell me where the baby is and I’ll go get him. That gives Lyla time to take his blood and he’ll be ready to help with the baby by the time I get back.”
Isaac pushed himself out of his chair, brushing down his white suit jacket. He then looked at Marshal. “Tell her where the boy is and then go with Lyla.”
The room cleared out, only Chelsea and Marshal remaining once everyone had gone.
He stayed silent and seated for a moment before getting up. “He’s in the diner’s alley with Milo. He’s got two bags with him, most of it is Whitlock’s stuff but some of it is stuff that I need, so please don’t forget the bags.”
He then left the room, immediately being confronted by Lyla when he walked out.
Chelsea left once she knew they had made it back to the lab and met up with Zachary in the lobby, telling him where they needed to go for the baby.
The ride to the diner was quiet, mainly because Chelsea didn’t want to break the silence. Zachary looked a bit upset about something, but she wanted to wait until he brought it up.
As they got closer to their destination, he sighed. “Why do you think your dad put them with us?”
“I think he would rather have just left the baby with us but he knows he can’t talk Marshal into splitting up. I’ve got a strong feeling he wants the baby to stay around me in case Elizabeth turns up when we’re not searching for her because we’d be able to feel it if she were in range.” She looked over to see a puzzled look on his face. “Why do you ask?”
“Marshal’s not going to be happy about having to stay with someone who lied about his identity for years and then abandoned the group when the first opportunity presented itself.” He seemed to tense up. “Loyalty is something Marshal values more than anything else in the world because loyalty is all that the Voyagers have. They don’t have money, but they also have no use for money, they live on borrowed time, so what they have is a bond that was formed through loyalty to each other.”
“Marshal left the group too, though, so I wouldn’t say loyalty is that big of a deal to him.”
Zachary shook his head. “Marshal left the group because Elizabeth is in danger and coming to us is his best bet at saving her. It’s something he took into consideration, given that it has been a few days since she went missing, but he was comfortable enough to leave the group in someone else’s control. Regardless, he chose to come to us because he’s married to Elizabeth, he’s loyal to her just as she is to him.”
Chelsea could tell there was more he wanted to say. “Is there more?”
He nodded. “There’s some stuff I want to ask Milo. I’m not entirely sure I one hundred percent buy what Marshal said about her disappearance.”
“So you’ve gone from being nervous about him to being suspicious of him?”
“No, I’m not suspicious of him, I just think he’s hiding a few details because he doesn’t want to get in trouble. Milo’s still a free man since we’re there for the baby, he has no reason to hide details from us and I’m sure he’s just as desperate to get answers so that’s why we’re going to ask him for what he knows.”
Chelsea stayed silent, knowing the plan was a pretty solid one.
Once they arrived, Milo revealed himself and that he wasn’t armed, he handed over the bags Marshal had mentioned and then passed the baby’s carrier to Chelsea.
He had been holding the baby before they got there, knowing it’d be the last time in a long time that he’d see his nephew, a thought that visibly upset him.
He went to hand the baby to Zachary but then pulled him back towards him when he noticed Zachary didn’t go to take him. “I’ve got a few things to ask you, you can keep him until we’re done.”
“There’s not much I can tell you guys, I’m sorry.”
“Whatever you can and do tell us brings us closer to finding Elizabeth, so you really just need to answer a few questions.”
For a moment, Zachary seemed to be studying Milo. He was in the worst condition that he’d ever seen. He looked like he hadn’t slept or eaten in weeks. “Fine, but I’m not sticking around much longer.”
“How was Elizabeth prior to her disappearance? Behavior, emotional, whatever you can think of.”
Milo shrugged, looking away from Zachary. “I wasn’t around much until the day she went missing because of an incident.”
Zachary shared a look with Chelsea, knowing Marshal hadn’t mentioned an incident beforehand. “What incident?”
He stayed silent before he sighed. “A few of your officers raided the motel and shot me. I had to go to a different location for treatment and recovery but I was told that Elizabeth took out six of the officers and spared just one.”
“And that one spared was Ada, right?” He nodded. “The day Elizabeth went missing, what can you remember from it?”
“That was the day I went back to the motel and her birthday. She wanted me to help her sneak past the guard on duty so she could leave to do something and I distracted the guard while she went out the gates.”
“Did she tell you where she was going?”
He shook his head. “She didn’t, but Marshal did later that night. He told me she wanted to go talk to Isaac and that he was really worried about her since she had been gone for awhile but he didn’t want to alarm anyone by going after her himself.” He took a deep breath, looking down at the baby. His voice cracked when he spoke again. “The last thing I remember about that night was Marshal coming to my room to tell me that she was missing.”
“Do you know if she would leave at her own will? Maybe for a break?”
“She would never; she wanted to be there for every single thing Whitlock did and she was afraid to leave the gates for some time. It really surprised me when she asked for me to distract the guard and I did it because I thought I would be helping her get over her fears.”
“Is there anyone that you believe would want to hurt her?”
Milo looked up, staying quiet for a moment before nodding. “Yeah, Filip said there’s some pervert in the woods that tried to get his hands on Lecia when she was with Whitlock.” He passed the baby to Zachary before going to leave the alley. He turned back for a brief moment to look over them. “This part might interest you, whoever it was killed the real Sara Jacobson.”
Next time:- "You're putting yourself in a lot of danger and quite honestly, the only thing saving your life right now is a lie. Word won't get out from me, but I'd advise you to choose your words with the utmost caution."
- "What makes a group? Is it the people? The beliefs? The unity?" Pierre stared her down, waiting for an answer. "If you're going to be a leader, you have to decide what's going to keep your group going."
- Something was happening, something disastrous. The Earth had told him to fear the day the Voyagers just gave up and he could feel the day coming. He could feel their faith rapidly declining and he knew he had to do something.
- Marshal looked between Chelsea and his own son, eventually sighing in defeat. "I can help you buy some time but I won't take the fall for it. There's too much on the line for me, but you're really not ready for this, anyone who looks at you can tell that. You have your own things to work out, so do it quickly."
- She had snuck out of the room, walking with her hand on the wall to guide her as she walked through the dark. In a matter of moments, all the lights flew on and a sound that reminded her of fireworks went off. She continued along the wall, reaching for the first door she saw, the lights going off again as soon as she opened it. She threw her hand back to the wall, a sudden surge of pain hitting her as she felt something slice into one of her fingers, the pain causing her to cover her mouth with her free hand and stop in place, getting on the ground.
And with that, we've reached the end of the sixth chapter! I did say the alternate choices would be present and they're going to be in a post either tomorrow or the next day because I haven't got them all ready yet.
What I do have is some optional questions since I realized I didn't do them last chapter, I'm not too certain about the chapter before that.
1) Who is your favorite character?
2) And your least favorite?
3) Who is a character you want to see more of?
4) What is a theme you want to see more of?
5) Where do you believe the main story is going for the Voyagers?
6) Where do you believe the main story for the Onyx Organization is going?
7) Are there any plot points you believe I neglected that you would like to see covered?
8) Is there any speculation you’d like to provide on the next time segment?
9) Lastly, do you have any questions or comments of your own?