Chapter 35 - You Have The Right

Day 28

Morning

When Sydney woke, she cursed at the kink in her neck. Sleeping upright on her couch was not smart, but she was determined not to disturb Erin. The girl had been through enough recently, and she deserved a rest.

Thinking of her guest, Sydney looked down to see that Erin had turned in her sleep, facing Sydney's stomach. Sydney also noticed that she was absentmindedly stroking Erin's cheek. When her guest started to stir, Sydney pulled her hand away, unsure where to place it, until she finally opted to rest it on the back of the couch.

Erin for her part didn't notice at all, as the first thing she saw upon waking was the stomach of Sydney's shirt. Her eyes went wide with realization, and she sat up abruptly.

"God, I'm sorry, I can't believe I did that." Erin was clearly embarrassed, her cheeks turning a light pink.

"No, don't worry about it." Sydney managed her own awkward reply, "You were really tired." Sydney managed an honest and affectionate smile, which seemed to disarm Erin's embarrassment somewhat.

Looking out the balcony window, Erin saw that it was morning. "Dammit, I should message my mom, she's gotta be worried sick."

"Your mom is fine, Erin." Sydney reassured, "I messaged her last night, and Noah was uhh…tracking your progress with bots."

Erin's face fell, "Is my mom okay? Did…did Noah see what I did?"

Sydney patted the air to encourage Erin to calm down, "Your mom is fine. She bumped her funny bone, that's it. As for Noah, I don't know what he saw, but knowing that kid he was worried about you, not what you were doing."

Erin didn't look convinced, but she nodded anyway. "Thank you for letting me stay here."

"You can crash here anytime, Erin. Now, how about we get ready and head back to your place. I'm sure your mom wants to wrap you in a big bear hug right now."

"How…how bad is the damage?"

"Nothing serious. Some busted windows, maybe an overturned car or two." Sydney tried to make her voice as reassuring as possible, but she could see the look of turmoil on the younger woman's face. Without thinking, she grabbed Erin in a hug and said, "It's okay. Everyone's okay. Everything is going to be okay."

Erin accepted the hug without hesitation, melting into Sydney. While neither were ready to admit it, they had similar inward thoughts as they both wished to do this more often.

When they finally broke apart, Sydney said, "Alright, let me get changed, then we can leave. Are you okay to drive?"

Chuckling, Erin replied, "Sure, all aboard the Erin Express."

Sydney's smile was a bit less innocent than she intended, but if Erin noticed she didn't show any reaction. Redirecting her focus, Sydney mentally commanded her armour to change from the shorts and t-shirt look she had going on to her standard deputy uniform. Retrieving her P320 from the inventory system, she holstered it at her right hip.

"Okay, I'm good." Sydney said, smiling.

"Can we exit out the balcony? I don't feel like a bunch of stairs today."

Sydney nodded, then gestured towards the balcony door, following Erin out.

Once outside, Erin wrapped an arm around Sydney's waist and jumped down to the grass. They landed on the lawn outside of the apartment, then Erin let Sydney wrap an arm around her waist before taking off again.

The long, striding leaps that Erin used to travel across town were a unique experience to Sydney. While Erin now knew there was a much better way to move, having spent the previous night flying, she had no way to know when she might learn to do that without sparking so much anger. Smiling at the idea, she looked over at Sydney, catching the other woman's eye. Erin decided when she figured that ability out, she wanted Sydney to be her first passenger.

Sydney tried to say something to Erin, but the wind passing her ears made it impossible to hear. Erin chuckled, and did a one-armed shrug as if to say she had no idea, then gave a subtle squeeze of her passenger's side.

When they finally came down in her neighbourhood, Erin's good mood faltered. Sydney made the damage sound superficial, but this didn't look like minor damage. She started to move towards one of the houses, when Sydney grabbed her arm.

"Hey," Sydney spoke softly, "Don't put this on your shoulders, it wasn't intentional. The circumstances were…unique, and beyond your control." Pulling her gently towards the place she now called home, Sydney added, "Come on, everyone is going to want to see you."

Erin let Sydney lead her into the house, but before she was two strides through the door, Erin was being assaulted with love from her mother, who pulled her in for a tight hug. Erin reciprocated, saying, "Eomma! I'm so sorry!"

"Hush, Ttarai," Eun-ha said, "You did nothing wrong."

Erin, despite her immense power, managed to sound like a little girl talking to her mother as she said, "I hurt all of you. I'm so sorry everyone."

"Nonsense, minor cuts and bruises." Eun-ha reassured, "We're all a lot sturdier since this System nonsense anyway."

Eun-ha's declaration was reinforced by the others, who gave gestures and sounds of agreement. Sydney, still behind Erin, rested a hand on her back and said, "I told you everyone was okay, and that they were worried about you."

Erin just nodded, not quite trusting her voice.

When Eun-ha finally let Erin break the embrace, the others came in to give hugs, or words of encouragement. Each one reassuring her that they were unharmed, and that she did nothing wrong.

"I wish Brown and I could have been there with you, though." Johnson said, "Those bastards got what they deserved, but I really wanted to give them a piece."

Erin smiled at that. She knew the soldiers all developed their own special hatred for DN members. Every one of them had a protector mentality, and adults beating up kids ticked a box in their Shit That Earns You A Bullet list. Their words, not hers.

When they finally got to sit down, Eun-ha took a spot on her left, a mother doting over her daughter. Surprisingly, everyone left the spot on her right open, and as the only place left for Sydney to sit. Erin thought she caught a couple smirks around the room when Sydney finally sat down, seeming uncomfortable with the expectation.

"Some of your students came by to check on you this morning," Eun-ha broke the silence, "They wanted to tell you…" She choked a bit on the words, "They wanted to tell you that Zack's parents expect you at the burial in two days, and that they were very insistent you go."

Erin felt a small tinge of terror grip her heart. How can I face Zack's parents when I'm the whole reason he's dead?

"Don't you dare." The words were firm, caming from Mrs. McGibbons of all people. It caught everyone off guard in the room, unsure what she meant at first, "I know that look. Don't you dare blame yourself for his death. Those bastards hold the sole rights to that responsibility."

Erin felt a tear break free and roll down her cheek. As she mulled that thought over in her mind, she latched on to the feeling of truth in the statement like a life raft. Then she gave Mrs. McGibbons an agreeable nod, with a subtext of thank you.

Eun-ha gave Erin a squeeze around her shoulders, and without realizing Erin had rested her hand on Sydney's, which was resting on Erin's knee as a show of support. She realized in that moment that while she would always miss her father, sixteen years after his death Erin and her mother had grown their family, filling some of the void he had left.

It was a quiet moment, everyone appearing to be content not to ruin it, but the same couldn't be said for the knock at the door.

Sydney was the first to glance out the front window, seeing all she needed to know. "It's Logan." Her voice sounded irritated, and Erin suspected there was some additional context she would need to ask about later.

Mrs. McGibbons got up to answer the door, but once she passed behind part of the wall divider, Erin could only hear part of what was said.

"Yeah, she's here." Mrs. McGibbons said, then paused to listen to Logan, before she added, "Fine, you can come in."

Mrs. McGibbons returned to her recliner, and Logan came around the corner. He nodded at everyone present, but was snubbed by Sydney, who quite literally turned her nose up at him. Then he addressed Erin directly, "Erin, could you come here please."

Erin started to rise, but Sydney jumped to her feet with a start, "Don't you fucking dare!"

Resting a hand on Sydney's arm, Erin spoke with a confidence she didn't feel, as she said, "It's okay, Sydney."

There was a battle behind Sydney's eyes, and while Erin suspected it tied into the missing context, she didn't want to instigate anything right now. The fact that Sydney would stand up for Erin, even against her own partner, was enough to make her feel important and wanted.

Stepping between Sydney and the coffee table, Erin approached Logan. "What can I do for you, Logan?"

"Moon Ye-rin, you are under arrest for vigilantism and 176 confirmed counts of homicide, plus one count of manslaughter." Gesturing at the wall, Logan said, "Please place your hands against the wall.

The whole room gasped, and Erin was pretty sure she heard Sydney growl, but this was not what she expected from Logan. Her mind went into autopilot as she complied, thoughts racing.

"Manslaughter?" Erin asked.

"When you took off yesterday, the pressure wave from breaking the sound barrier damaged houses, and a 67 year old woman in one of those houses down the street had a heart attack."

"What the fuck, Logan!" Sydney yelled, "That's not Erin's fault!"

Ignoring the other deputy, Logan said, "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you can't afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you. Do you understand these rights as they've been read to you."

Erin nodded, her head spinning.

"Please verbalize your understanding, Ms. Moon."

"I understand." Her voice sounded far away and weak, but the voices of everyone else in the room exploded. She made out accusations of traitor, some choice epithets, and some even more choice threats. If the seriousness of the situation was not so evident, she might have laughed at some of the things being yelled at Logan.

"You need to be patted down for dangerous objects. As there is a female deputy present, you can request she do so."

"Go fuck yourself, Logan." Sydney's words broke through the din.

"As the only female deputy on site is unwilling to handle the patdown, do I have your permission to do so?"

"Yeah." There wasn't much conviction in her voice, but Erin didn't know how to handle this situation. For Logan's part, he was gentle and respectful with the patdown, avoiding sensitive areas.

Anderson's voice broke through, "This is obscene and uncalled for, deputy. She's done nothing wrong."

Ignoring the General, he finished the patdown, then said, "Please put your left hand behind your back."

Erin complied, and felt a handcuff click into place around her wrist.

"And your right hand."

Again Erin complied.

As Logan turned Erin towards the door, Brown and Johnson stepped in and blocked the path.

"It's…" Erin tried, but her throat was dry. She swallowed some saliva then tried again, "It's okay, guys." Nodding her head to the side in a gesture asking them to move.

The two soldiers looked at each other, then reluctantly moved aside, Johnson saying, "This is some bullshit."

Logan started to gently push Erin forward when her hands slipped free, falling to her sides. She raised them up trying to understand what was happening, turning with a confused look. Logan had started to step back, confusing the situation for Erin decided to stop complying.

When she finished spinning around, Logan's face went slack, and the room gasped and murmured, but Sydney just started laughing.

"What was that modifier, Logan? Why don't you read it to everyone while the handcuffs finish dissolving." Sydney's voice was antagonistic, "Don't be shy. You had the balls to arrest her in front of friends and family, so you can tell them why the System just told you to get fucked."

The defeat was evident on Logan's face, but equally evident was embarrassment, guilt, and maybe some existential crisis. "Scales of Fairness." Logan said, "This modifier ensures that the item is only being used in a fair manner. If you use this item on someone who does not deserve it, the item will dissolve…permanently destroying it."

By this point, Eun-ha and Sydney had stepped up to pull Erin behind them, interposing their bodies defensively.

Eun-ha surprised everyone present when she spoke, "Deputy Alvarez, please get the hell out of this house, and stay the hell away from my daughter."

Logan, head hung low, walked past them to the front door, where Anderson had moved to hold it open. While Anderson would undoubtedly describe the look he gave Logan as stern, his soldiers would more accurately refer to it as mean mugging. Loyalty, integral to his personal ethos, was not something to be casually trampled, and that was precisely what he believed Logan had done.

Once the door was closed, Erin extricated herself from behind her mom and Sydney, heading for the stairs. "I'm…going to go lay down."

Behind Erin, Sydney gave a questioning glance at Eun-ha, and when the woman nodded, Sydney followed Erin upstairs to sit vigil, and help hold together some of the pieces of Erin's shattering world.