: : Summary : : Set just after TM, Rick�s past complicates his future.
Evelyn had insisted that Lana check for the possibility of multiple Arlen Holbrooks, but there were none. The news was devastating. Now there was no one left alive to corroborate Rick�s story. Still, she was certain that somehow, this whole bloody thing would work out. It had to.
Jonathan offered to go with her to talk to Rick, but she wanted to go alone. He went, instead to talk to Colonel Matthews.
Rick hadn�t got much sleep that night. He was destroying the life of a friend just to save himself and the Colonel wanted to know if he was worth it? Arlen had been one of the only people who believed that Rick was capable of doing anything good and look how he was repaying him for that. And why?
�Hello,� came a voice. Evelyn. That was why. He hadn�t even heard the guard open the door. She looked amazing.
�Did you sleep well?� she asked.
�Not too bad,� he lied.
�Me either,� she said. �I brought you some sweet rolls.� She offered him a small basket. �They�ve been thoroughly checked for files or guns or anything dangerous, I�m afraid.�
�Thanks anyway,� he said. Rick walked across the cell and took the basket from her. They had to turn it sideways to make it fit. He sat on the cot and began to munch. Something was wrong, he saw it in her face, but he wasn�t going to ask. He knew he was the cause of her unhappiness and to have that confirmed aloud was more than he could bear at the moment.
How was she going to tell him, she wondered. Maybe she wouldn�t have to. Maybe at any moment, Jonathan and Colonel Matthews were going to rush in and say it had all been a mistake.
�These are good, did you make them?� asked Rick.
�Oh, goodness, no!� said Evelyn. �I can�t cook at all. Well. Perhaps I could if I had a chance, but I�ve never really��
�It�s ok,� Rick said. �I can�t cook either.�
�Well, then. It�s a good thing we both have enough money to hire someone else to do it for us,� she said.
�Yes, good thing.�
�Rick, Arlen is dead,� she blurted.
�That�s another good thing,� he said.
�How can you say that?�
�Then he won�t have to go to jail. It�s over for him. It�s over for me too.�
Evelyn stood next to the bars and began to cry. �Rick, please don�t say that��
�Evelyn, it�s alright.� He went to her and held her hands through the bars. �It really is. I knew this might happen when I made the deal with Arlen. It was my choice. He saved my life; I saved his.�
*~*~*~*~*~*
�Well, that complicates things a bit,� said Colonel Matthews.
�Yes,� said Jonathan. �A bit.�
�I sent a telegram to General Larson last night,� the Colonel said. He reached for the decanter on the bookshelf. �Nine in the morning. Too early for a drink?�
�Not at all,� said Jonathan.
Matthews poured two glasses of scotch, handed one to Jonathan and sipped the other. �We used to be friends. I met his son Daniel a couple of times. Didn�t like him.�
�Thank you for your help,� Jonathan said.
�Don�t thank me yet,� the Colonel warned. �I don�t know what good that will do� I spoke to the American Lieutenants Weir and Hanson, but I haven�t told them any of this. I don�t think they would be very receptive. It�s not up to them anyway, they are just following orders to collect Reese and bring him back for trial.�
�Tomorrow,� pointed out Jonathan.
�Not necessarily,� said Matthews. �I have decided to �detain� O�Connell here at the fort for some unspecified charges. I don�t have to tell the Americans why. That will give us a couple of weeks.�
�Then we�d better put them to good use. I have the names of some of the other men from O�Connell�s troop� The ones that survived.�
�Good,� said Matthews. �We should try and get in contact with them right away.�
*~*~*~*~*~*
Jonathan and Colonel Matthews went to the detention area. At the sound of the door opening, Rick and Evelyn released each other. Matthews told Rick of his plans. Rick was somewhat skeptical, but went over the list of survivors, pointing out the men most likely to speak in his favor. Matthews left to send a few more telegrams.
Jonathan pulled out a deck of cards. �Thought this would be a good way to pass the time,� he said. Better than mauling my sister through iron bars, he thought to himself. They had been standing much to close when he and the Colonel had walked in.
�Great,� said Rick. �I can�t think of anything I�d rather do.�
*~*~*~*~*~*
The messenger left and Edward Larson, Rtd. US Army, closed the door; fingering the official telegram he had been given.
�What�s that, dear?� asked his wife.
�Oh, just some old military nonsense,� he replied. Larson limped into his office and sat heavily in his big desk chair. The leather was scarred on the back from Daniel spinning it too close to the desk as a child. Hard to keep the boy out of his office. Hard to keep the boy out of trouble. Even now that he�d been dead eight years.