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Chapter 14

"Lies and truths"

ACT 1

(Gear Up (From "The Raid: Redemption") - Mike Shinoda & Joseph Trapanese)

...

Charlie Winchester was letting his instincts take control of the situation.

Make this one right... Because you know you can.

No more half measuring. Randal and Calvin think they won...

Make it a loss.

You have one man standing approximately two feet behind you, pointing at the back of your head with a pistol. He is still holding mine in his other paw. Not aiming. He won't have a clue.

Elliot is one foot next to him. He will get scared and most likely not do anything, but he has a gun on his belt. Neutralize that to not take the risk.

Rob and Mel are a few feet in front of me. They will freeze. Give a chance to them. Brief and harsh. Or they get the same as others.

Four guards to deal with after them. Sax will be the biggest problem. Probably. Unlikely. Tamir will be too old to fight. He backs out. Eli, Tony, and Richard will panic and fight with hesitation. They don't have a chance.

Focus. Breathe. Close yourself out... And do what you were known for long ago.

"Charlie, you were awfully talk active just a moment ago. Just do right by everyone and my kin, and apologize to Randal. That simple. Then you can go and think about what you just did for the rest of the day in your room under guard. Get on with it." Calvin ordered, getting somewhat nervous and confused by the fact that Charlie looked like his just earlier aggressive self, almost like contemplating something bad.

And two seconds later... He made his move.

Charlie swiftly turned around so fast that the weasel pointing at him was not focused enough to react.

The husky's paw grabbed the pointing gun, guiding it to the side from pointing at him, hitting the Xavier brutally with a quick and calculated jab right in the middle of the weasel's throat.

Ethan, having stood right next to the situation, only now got the jumpscare of his life as Xavier fell on his knees roughly, eyes so wide like they were about to pop from his head, dropping both of his guns on the floor as a result of gasping and wheezing.

The young cat guard could barely let out a vocal from his mouth, when Charlie used his quickly obtained vault handgun from Xavier's grasp, spinning it in his paw into the right position to hit.

The last thing the cat felt was the metal colliding against his forehead so hard due to impact, that it gave him a total blackout, making him fall on his back in an instant.

Everyone dropped their jaw, as this all happened before them in about maybe two seconds.

Calvin, along with Randal, and every other guard standing between them, followed in total horrified and disbelief filled expression, as the old dog steadily started to turn to face against them...

And meeting his kill hungry, adrenaline-filled eyes with Randal's, who felt like his soul just left this room.

Charlie yelled out to everyone around him with a strong and dedicated voice, making everyone's fur spark up.

"Unless you are here today to protect your overseer and his brother in law from what is about to happen... I highly suggest in regard to your health that you move to the closest exit... NOW!"

It took one second of silence for people starting to scream in panic, filling the hall with sounds of pure fear.

The mixed opinions and thoughts about Charlie's behavior had shifted to something else.

For this whole time, they had been doubts, empathy, confusion, anger, anxiety or otherwise interest and attention due to such vivid and rare situations and aggressive debate to witness...

Now, everyone thought the same. Charlie had become mad. He had lost the last of his mind within a blink.

He was about to kill Randal, and he wasn't going to leave the room until the deed was done.

And anyone protecting the priest was likely to share his doomed fate as well.

No one wanted parts of that. No one was ready to throw their life away for Randal or Calvin.

And no one... Wanted to be in the way of the dog that they had known as gentle, wise and harmless for their whole life.

As the chaos-filled the hall, people ran and shoved, stomped and screamed on each other as they were escaping. Calvin felt empty, nervous, and most betrayed he had ever felt, as at this moment. No one was ready to protect him or his kin now that Charlie had just eliminated two guards within two seconds like a damn ninja...

And now, he had access to all the guns needed to shoot more than a few people left in this room.

Randal's last smug was buried somewhere far away, as he was now one hundred percent sure that he was going to die by this dog. And all it needed from him to turn this situation where it was...

Was his egoistic early celebration of winning... And attempt to humiliate the dog that he despised.

"C-Charlie... D-don't fucking kill me, man! I am your friend!" Rob yelled with his hands thrown forward as if they would have a slight chance of blocking anything thrown his way.

"Please, I beg you, Winchester! I have a fucking son!" Mel stuttered, taking distance from the husky with his raccoon friend, slowly and knees weak from fear.

This was understandable despite being confident guards, considering that Charlie was now holding a gun in his paw and looking at them with measuring gaze.

Finally, all the last screams of terror from the fleeing folk were gone. The last sounds of yelling from the hallways behind the closed doors became solid quiet. It was only the overseer, priest, Charlie, and all of the guards remaining in the room.

And those guards were clearly considering the opportunity Charlie had given them. To flee with the rest.

The painfully sounding coughing kept on going by Xavier, but Charlie already knew that the obvious was in play.

"Xavier... Don't even fucking try it. Stay right where you are and focus on breathing or you choke yourself to death." Charlie commanded without even facing the kneeled weasel, knowing that in the middle of his painful coughing, he was trying to pick up his Sig Sauer from the ground to shoot Charlie as soon as he could.

The coughing kept going, along with rough words poured out with pain, resembling "Fuck you" from the weasel behind him.

"Fuck me?" Charlie asked coldly with the agitated tone, still looking at Rob's and Mel's panicked expressions as it told that the weasel was already grabbing the gun.

Charlie just swayed his hand without effort to aim behind him and downwards, pulling the trigger.

"AAA-... AAAAAHHHGAHRHRH!" The croaky, pain-filled scream came almost as chalk on board from the weasel's throat as an answer, everyone jumping from the loud shot.

The weasel dropped Charlie's gun, starting to cry and going into a full-body shock, the bullet having pierced his arm and leaving a clean hole through it.

"CALVIN!" Charlie yelled, getting the older weasel's attention from the other end of the hall.

It was like the call out for his name snapped him back in the moment from the intense tornado of thoughts and regrets.

"You were awfully talk active just a moment ago!" The old husky yelled to the weasel.

Calvin didn't answer. He couldn't find his words. Or any hint of bravery.

"Hmm? Your brother in law still want that apology? Or are we done here? Because I don't feel like we are done here. Not by far fucking sight. You see, I can take a lot. You can publicly humiliate me. You can play your games and try to cover your tracks and protect cowards who want to kill their own sons when they sleep... But you see, Niles is like one of my own. Always has been. And you plotted to take his life just to hurt me over the fact that I chose the overseer for you. I do have to admit... I never expected you to be so rotten inside that you would go as extreme as condemn the murder of your own kin... But I guess you really hated me that much that you were ready to go there. How much do you think I should hate you in return for that? Shouldn't that be reasonable? Despising and feeling sympathy at the same time for a man is one thing but hate... And it feels like you are working really hard to get me there. And when you make a man like me hate you... It has...-"

"SHUT UP You fucking piece of shit ahaaaggah fuck! You fuck! You sick fuck! You shot my fucking hand!-" The weasel cried out in pain behind him, breaking off his speech. And Charlie winced out of total aggression and annoyance, aiming his gun behind him once again and letting off three shots in a row without hesitation.

BLAM!

BLAM!

BLAM!"

Xavier was not making noise anymore.

Two seconds followed as Charlie nodded a bit to the side, referring to Xavier on the floor.

"... Consequences." Charlie finished calmly, giving a small grin.

Randal felt as a warm liquid started to form around his pants, the smell of urine making itself clear as the old lynx was now trembling and pissing on the floor.

Calvin felt like he was about to puke.

The guards watched in horror as Xavier's lifeless body fell face against the floor, his chest full of bullet holes and pool of blood slowly gathering on the floor.

"Calvin. CALVIN!" Charlie yelled, feeling more and more agitated that the weasel wasn't talking to him.

The old dog snapped his fingers loudly in front of Rob and Mel, both gasping and taking a few more feet distance from Charlie, whispering curses in a panic of desperation to not get shot to death.

"Did you follow a single word I said, or did you get distracted?!" Charlie yelled.

"CHARLIE, YOU KILLED HIM!" Calvin let out with terror, feeling like he was going to pass out from witnessing a cold murder without hesitation or any visible regret from the dog.

"You shouldn't have had him pointing guns at Amir and Niles in order to make me look insane. He is dead because of you. YOU. Admit that you did it." Charlie commanded.

"W-Winchester-" Calvin began beggingly.

"ADMIT IT!!!" Charlie yelled, aiming the gun at Calvin now.

"I DIDN'T ORDER HIM TO DO SUCH A THING!"

"YOU STILL GOING TO LIE TO ME?!?" Charlie yelled, eager to press the trigger.

"NO ONE TRIED TO MURDER NILES!-" Calvin yelled desperately, still not ready to accept the shame and give up.

"NILES WOULDN'T LIE ABOUT SUCH A THING! NO CHILD WOULD!-" Charlie yelled like it was not an option.

"HOW WOULD YOU KNOW!? HE HAS NEVER TRULY LOVED HIS OWN FATHER HIS WHOLE LIFE! YOU THINK THAT HE WOULDN'T GO AS EXTREME AS HURTING HIMSELF AND BLAMING HIS FATHER; JUST TO GET AWAY FROM HIM?!!-" Calvin yelled, knowing that could have very well been a possibility, even if it was not what happened.

"Listen to him, Charlie. Whatever you think happened... Whatever you think went down... We solve it... We... Just... Man, just stop this, we are begging you... You killed Xavier... Don't kill anyone else, just hear Calvin out and-" Rob began desperately trying to sway his friend from continuing the violence.

"I can't believe that your trust more on Calvin's words than mine after all these years we have known, Rob. You know me. You don't know Calvin. He is a hateful and twisted man, just like his brother in law-"

"YOU SAYING THAT DOESN'T HOLD YOU IN ANY BETTER LIGHT AFTER JUST SHOOTING SOMEONE TO DEATH!" Mel yelled like it was time for Charlie to snap out of his insanity.

"Xavier was ready to shoot a kid and an only doctor of the vault. He deserved what he got. He was just as guilty as Randal and Calvin was-"

"You are fucking mentally insane-" Sax, the tiger guard spoke with serious and defying tone.

"Yeah, how far are you willing to go just to prove Calvin right? Are you really going to shoot all of us just because you want Randal to admit to something he has not done?" Eli spoke from next to Sax.

"You people have no idea how far he was ready to go to get to me-"

"No... We don't... But we now have the perfect vision on how far you are ready to go to get to Calvin." Mel spoke with a disappointed and sad tone, looking at the gathering pool of blood around Xavier's body now already touch Charlie's feet.

Charlie was now hesitating. He felt like no matter what he said or chose, it was only getting worse for him. So, it didn't matter anymore how far he was indeed willing to go.

"Randal. I give you your final chance. Admit that you tried to murder your son... Or I walk over to you and choke you to death with my bare hands. I am done explaining myself for one day." Charlie said strictly for the shaking old lynx, that was too zoned out to react.

"... Last chance." Charlie warned.

"You fucking lunatic murderer," Calvin said with the fearful tone, walking in front of Randal in order to show that he was ready to protect his brother in law despite the gun aimed at him. Which only seemed to amuse the dog at the other end of the hall.

"... Hard way it is then. My dear Abraham here holds hollow-point bullets, so one is enough to go through both. Let's test out, eh?"

Each one of the guards winced as Charlie was about to press the gun and shoot both the overseer and the priest behind him.

"DON'T DO IT!" Robert yelled, knowing that there was no going back after this.

"OH GOD PLEASE I DON'T WANT TO DIE!" Randal screamed from the top of his lungs in terror, crying his eyes out behind Calvin, the weasel closing his eyes and whispering a quiet prayer.

"Too fucking bad," Charlie whispered, starting to squeeze the trigger after stable aim right on the head.

Suddenly, Charlie's senses were warning him the moment he thought he heard a door close behind him.

Charlie's ear twitched as he heard the familiar voice suddenly yell behind him, making him turn with quick reflexes. But not quick enough.

"NO!" The person yelled, taking an action as he was about to get shot.

Charlie knew the voice... But didn't turn around in time.

Then...

The confused exhale came out as a natural reaction from the husky's muzzle.

"Uhf!-" Charlie let out, feeling something spike a slight, quick pain in his chest. He slowly looked down... And saw that something was pointing out from his chest.

His gun arm started to relax down slowly... And the edges of his vision started to blur.

The guards were talking to him... And the sounds were... metallic.

High pitched... Edgy. Sharp.

Like dark sounds of steel.

Dion's and Ryan's voices were heard, yelling out for their father.

He wasn't sure... But it felt like he saw a glimpse of two boys running towards him... Only to see someone holding them down.

Guards and possibly Calvin yelling...

And then... Everything went dark.

It all felt like just plain cold. Like ice had made it's way to his veins. Woozy feeling sparked up his mind, as he could only let out a confused exhale from his body.

Charlie fell on his knees, his eyelids getting hazy as he met the floor slowly after, falling on his side. The gun freed itself from his now limp paw, falling on to the ground.

The echoing metal was almost painful to be the last thing he heard before falling asleep.

It didn't take long until the guards realized what had happened.

...

Amir stood on the doorway where Charlie had arrived from, having closed it behind him and shaking. He had obviously seen Xavier's body, the visible shock all over his expression. The only reason he had closed the door after him, was because he saw Ryan and Dion enter the hall. They didn't need to see dead bodies. The blood was still gathering on the floor, coming from behind the closed door.

"A-Amir?" Rob asked with a tone of disbelief.

He was pointing some sort of syringe injector gun in his paw, his hand trembling from the mixture of feelings of clearly wondering if he had done the right thing or the wrong thing. Charlie might have possibly been the responsible one for killing Xavier and possibly Elliot too. But he couldn't be sure. Yet, no one else was carrying a gun but Charlie, so it left him very little options.

"DETAIN HIM, NOW! TIE HIM UP WITH SOMETHING! GET THE CUFFS!" Calvin woke up, seeing this as his chance.

Ryan and Dion tried to push through Sax, the tiger holding the boys down.

"WHAT IS GOING ON?! DON'T TOUCH MY DAD!" Ryan yelled in anger, trying to overpower the tiger but didn't stand a chance.

"AMIR WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!" Dion yelled, panicked and confused as he and his brother had only arrived in the hall just the moment.

Wide and alerted eyes looked at the bunny in question, Amir stumbling with his words a bit as he laid his paw down, small syringe needle having stuck into Charlie's chest.

The dog was now in deep sleep, breathing steadily and slowly as Rob and Mel started slowly approach him and take the gun from the floor just to be safe.

"He... He will be okay... He will be... Passed out for few hours..." Amir assured, dropping the injector down and looking at the situation in panic.

Calvin began talking right after hearing that, nodding and smiling at Amir.

"You did the right thing, Waldi. Thank you for your loyalty. I'll see that you-"

"Calvin. You do not want to be saying that to me right now. Not about loyalty." Amir suddenly said with aggression.

Calvin's expression changed into confusion... But he slowly realized that Amir already knew what really was going on. He gave the bunny a warning look, turning to talk to his guards who were confused as ever by seeing Amir angry.

"Take Winchester and go."

"Do not hurt him! What did he do?!" Dion begged, Ryan suddenly stomping Sax's foot and making the tiger curse, Eli running to catch Ryan for his own safety.

"RYAN!" Dion yelled.

"TAKE THOSE KIDS OUT OF HERE, NOW! We need to keep this situation under control! Someone find Niles! Guards, fetch Niles from the med bay. Mel! Robert!" Calvin yelled, getting right into fixing things in order.

"NO! LET ME GO! WHAT IS GOING ON?!" Ryan yelled, Amir, watching with an angry expression as the guards grabbed Dion and Ryan, forcefully escorting them out of the senior hall as Eli picked Charlie up from the floor.

"I'll take Rob and Mel to the clinic. Niles is still a bit shaky from his HEALTH INSPECTION." The bunny said defiantly, sending a verbal dart at Calvin.

The weasel looked like he was about to pull Amir to the side to have him explain why he had just saved Randal but had no time for it. He would soon need to give a formal situation update from his office to the vault citizens. It was up to him to deal with Amir and the possible suspicions of his involvement later. But just the look the bunny gave told that he was more than sure. There was no need to pretend.

It was all about damage control now. And he couldn't deny the feeling of satisfaction as Charlie was being carried away and tied up with handcuffs.

"Calvin... W-we did It-" Randal began to whisper behind Calvin's shoulder with a voice of disbelief.

"Shut it. We speak later. You. Make peace with your son-" Calvin began to whisper aggressively, turning around.

"W-what do you m-" Randal stuttered in confusion.

Calvin slapped Randal in the back of the head, hissing at him.

"He will be escorted to your room. Go by the armory and take a gun. The code number to the armory is six-five-one. Keep that thing sealed from sight after you grab it and just have it in arms reach once you get to your room. Since the boy knows how to fight, even the odds. If Niles sees the gun, he won't do anything stupid. The last thing we need is another escape from him. Showing a gun in paw should be enough to keep the situation under control. Talk to your son. Make him see reason. Do what the fuck ever you have to do... but this time... Control your fucking emotions... And follow the instructions. GOT IT?"

Randal nodded rapidly, taking his leave quickly from the scene and repeating the code number to the door. He had never held a gun, and as scary as the command was, he had to follow it.

No one could see that Amir was paying close attention to the shady interaction between the two, even though he didn't hear what was being said.

Suddenly, Mel and Rob took him by the shoulders and spoke.

"Let's go get Niles from your clinic. The boy must be terrified to hear what just happened... Jesus Christ, I thought Charlie was really going to shoot Randal as well..." The raccoon said, Mel also trying to gather himself from the whole scary situation.

But Amir didn't look scared. He looked angry. And he was going to make sure that he would get to Calvin as soon as possible.

ACT 2

(The Ink Spots - Always)

The silence of the office felt like a blessing after all the noise and the most disturbing and fear-driven experience Calvin had gone through. The smile slightly remained still, the weasel knowing that he had just made Charlie reveal his true colors, and had lost.

He had just finished announcing all over the vault about Charlie being captured and accused of murder and attempt on his life as well as his brother-in-laws. It was like the vault was still in the grasp of chaos. Children arguing their parents in disbelief and not believing the rumor to be true. There was no way that any of the young souls could believe what the elders said.

It wasn't the Charlie they knew.

The weasel was sitting behind his desk, rubbing his forehead with closed eyes, trying to feel his adrenaline and anxiety go down quicker by listening to his favorite band once again.

It helped and felt more necessary addition now more than ever before.

There had been stress... But not stress like this.

The whole plan to kill Niles had turned into a mess.

Yes, Calvin knew that he most likely had now gotten the goal he tried to reach for... But it had come with a cost he had not prepared to pay or take on his heart.

Xavier was dead. He was a literal bloodied corpse on Amir's clinic.

Elliot had suffered a concussion and had not woken up from it yet. There was no saying if he was going to be brain-damaged to some extent.

And all of this had happened due to his actions. Charlie had done unrepairable damage today.

There was going to be a ton of questions on how Calvin let all this happen under his rule as the overseer. There was going to be a lot of noise about Charlie having possibly a mental health issue.

And possibly set back of some people thinking that Charlie might have been onto something. Unlikely... But possible. Niles and Amir were one of those liabilities.

But Amir had just saved both his and Randal's life. Which made Calvin just as confused as it did grateful. So, it was safe to assume that the bunny doctor was on his side after all.

The main thing to do now was to get everything in order and keep the situation under control. People were practically making a chattery mess right under Calvin's window, the muffled sound of the worried crowd annoying him.

There were also the younglings of the parents among them, which only added to the chaos. Because the parents were explaining what Charlie had done just hours ago. Not many of the younglings believed it to be true. They didn't want to believe that their loved teacher was capable of hurting anyone, let alone kill someone.

Just like said... A total mess of a situation.

The intercom woke Calvin out of his deep thought, snapping him back to reality as the muffled sound of the crowds was about to drive him insane over the fact that it all muffled his favorite music.

"CALVIN. It's... Evergreen and Banks. We have a situation update."

"... Come in, please." Calvin answered on the line hesitantly, trying to get his mind back into the game.

The metal door opened, Rob and Mel both walking inside the room quickly. The sounds of the crowds momentarily became louder as they echoed from the stairway, making Calvin close his eyes.

"Close the door, right away." The weasel commanded.

Mel closed the door shortly after, Calvin taking a deep sigh and looked at Rob.

"Go on."

"May we close down the music?" Mel asked suddenly with an awkward tone.

"... Why?" Calvin asked quietly.

"... Listening to music at this moment seems a bit... Unorthodox, Calvin." Mel added, feeling like it was rather creepy to listen to ink spots alone in the room after witnessing a murder.

"... It calms me down." The weasel said tiredly.

"Calvin. Turn it off, please." Rob requested.

The weasel bit his lip in slight annoyance but could barely hear the record anyway due to the muffled sounds of the crowd.

"..." Calvin slowly stood up, walking over to his vinyl player and slowly pressing the button, closing it down.

Rob began talking after taking a deep breath, Calvin walking back behind his desk and sat down.

"... Winchester has been detained. He is still asleep. We carried him to the floor three as you wanted. The abandoned classroom that served as Goat tests were properly cleaned and set... By your wishes. We carried the chair you wanted and made the leather straps. There is no way for him to get free from them without help. He won't be harm to himself or anyone as long as he in that chair." Rob explained calmly, but still worried for Charlie. It was clear on him and Mel.

"Good... But I get a sense that you both have something to say about this decision." Calvin pointed out bluntly.

"We..." Mel began, not sure what to say.

Rob now stepped up slightly and cleared his throat awkwardly under Calvin's studying eyes, knowing that the situation was about to get tenser once they would bring this up.

(Resident Evil Soundtrack 24. Raccoon City Hospital - Marco Beltrami)

"... Calvin... You should have let us carry him into his own quarters and keep him under guard. I understand what he did was a horrible thing and it shocked us all, it did... But not letting his children see him? Ryan and Dion are both in total panic. They practically were begging for me to talk to you about knowing at least where he is. They want to talk with him. They have that right." Rob explained with sympathy in his tone for the younglings.

"... HE KILLED A MAN." Calvin said like there was no sense of having any sympathy for Charlie in this situation.

"Yes... He did. And I will never look at him the same... And I don't know if I can be his friend either after what happened... But his kids are innocent. Let them see him. Please." Rob pleaded.

"... Why should I let them see him? He is a murderer and possibly a psychopath for all we can tell." Calvin answered.

"... Because we know what you will do to him. We all know. Punishment for murder is... You know that either of those two options is final in their own way. He deserves to spend his last days with his kin." Mel said with the honorable tone, Rob nodding in agreement.

"... You think I will either have him executed or banished."

"... We don't see how you would come up with a third solution." Rob said quietly.

"... That's because there is no third option. Vault laws are a strict foundation on which we rest on. He is a danger. Who knows if he is going to hurt his kids as well? You saw him. He was batshit insane."

"... He would never hurt Ryan or Dion." Mel said like it was obvious.

Calvin spread his arms and looked at both of his guards like they were naïve.

"... I thought he would never hurt anyone. But here we are. An overseer with a broken nose, with one guard having a concussion and other one-shot to death. And my brother in law so traumatized that he will pray himself to sleep. And Niles... I don't even want to know what he is going through once he hears about all this. The answer is no. I won't let Ryan or Dion see their father." The weasel said.

"... Calvin-" Rob began, but Calvin cut him off.

"Enough of the subject. Is Niles accommodated back to his room as I asked?"

Both guards were quiet for a while until Mel answered.

"Yes."

"He was escorted there with Randal?"

"Yes."

"Good... Now the last thing... Xavier's funeral arrangements. He has no living kin in the vault, so... I assume that the guards are all invited to the ceremony before burning as a token of honor. He was a fine guard. My most dear one. I considered him a friend. So I will give a speech for him. I assume you both will be there?"

Both of the guards looked at each other with somewhat awkward and uncomfortable looks, rubbing the back of their heads.

"What?" Calvin asked in frustration.

Rob looked at Mel in hesitation, the otter nodding for the raccoon to proceed with what they had been holding in this whole time.

"Why did Xavier have a gun?"

...

Calvin didn't answer.

Mel spoke after.

"Calvin... Why was Xavier and Elliot in possession of their firearms?"

"... And where were they stationed before arriving in the hall?... We want to know." Rob pressed.

Calvin leaned against his chair and knew where this discussion was going, and he didn't like it one bit.

"... How is this relevant to anything? Guards are allowed to carry firearms-"

"If a situation like this was at hand, yes... But how did they know? How were they prepared that Charlie was going to threaten people with a gun? They had not seen Charlie the whole morning... So they just had a hunch that something serious was going down?" Mel asked with a doubting tone.

The weasel now stayed quiet once more, not knowing what lie to make up.

Rob stood one foot forward and spoke after clearing his throat.

"... We can't keep silent about this anymore. Calvin... Charlie is not mentally insane. We would have recognized the signs by now. We have known him for ten years. What he just did... It was horrible. But he would NEVER do these things out of paranoia or without a reason-"

"HE DIDN'T EVEN FLINCH AFTER KILLING XAVIER, HE SHOT HIM LIKE IT WAS NOTHING!" Calvin yelled in anger, standing up and feeling like the last thing he needed right now was more questions about the alleged crimes he might have been involved in.

"Calvin... With all due respect, we need to look into this more. IF there was a possibility that Randal had done something so terrib-"

"Are you fucking retarded? Did you not just witness Niles looking completely healthy and fine when he arrived in the hall? He had not been stabbed anywhere! -"

"That is now what evidence tells," Rob said bluntly.

The office went silent, and the aggression visibly faded from the weasel's face.

"I-I... Excuse me?"

"Amir. Standing in the lobby and waiting for his turn to speak with you. We brought him here just like you asked. And Calvin... He looks to be pretty pissed at you." Mel said with a serious tone, Rob continuing.

"We went by the clinic to get Niles as you ordered. He was too scared to talk to us about what went down in there, staid just as silent as Amir... But we saw. Blood. Tons of blood everywhere. And used stimpak on his table. It is clear that someone with a heavy injury was treated there. And Amir knows something about it that we don't. Even if he told that he won't say a word before he has spoken to you personally." Mel proceeded, both walking closer to Calvin and now making him feel anxiety on a whole another level as they were reading him all over while talking.

"Where did all that blood come from, Calvin? Amir said in the intercom that Niles was in there over normal health inspection. We know what stimpaks do, Calvin. They leave no trace... But they do leave a rather small scar or a mark. Guess what we saw when we requested to see Niles's leg right on the spot before escorting him to his room?" Rob asked.

Mel then pointed at Calvin.

"Because if we do... Randal has some explaining to do. We took Niles to Randal's room, where he was waiting. He was sitting on his chair, looking rather nervous. But it was nothing to compared to how Niles looked when they looked at each other. Randal kept telling us to leave them both alone so they could talk."

"... Something is going on between them, no question of that. Niles did not look happy at all to be left there alone with his father. Far from it. I was too scared to say a word to us, even at that moment. Why? Calvin... Randal obviously has done something bad to the boy. Or, just like you said... Maybe Niles hurt himself to pin it on his father. And the only reason a kid would go that extreme is if his issues with his father are more than a small deal. Are you aware of something we are not?" Rob asked with a serious tone.

"... No." Calvin squeezed out until Rob spoke again.

"YOU... Claimed at Charlie's face that there was a possibility of Niles hurting himself over hating his father. HATING him... It's a strong word to use. Is there a truth to it?"

Calvin was almost sweating now. He tried to answer but knew that one wrong word would cause only worse results. He was being read right now like a book by this otter and raccoon.

And they both got clearly uneasy and frustrated as Calvin did nothing but stare them. Mel took a step forward and spoke.

"You can say that Charlie went insane, but Amir... That bunny is as mentally stable and calm as one can be. Why is he outside your door, looking so aggressive? Amir himself said, that he had indeed used the stimpak on the kid when we demanded to know-"

"You two are out of line, AMIR IS LYING-" Calvin began, but Rob raised his voice.

"WE SAW THE SCAR ON HIS LEG, Mister Marston! We are going to talk clearly now. You are our overseer. You run this vault, and more or less you have done a good job. We respect you. But we know that you love your brother in law. And you would do anything to protect him. Even possibly put your position on the line... Is that what's happening here? Because there is enough evidence against Randal-"

"WHAT EVIDENCE?! BESIDE WORDS OF LIARS?! OR some-some... Scars on leg?!" Calvin yelled in a desperate tone, not backing down under pressure.

"We went to Amir's clinic... And there was so much blood on his nursing bed that there had definitely been a near-death situation there. We can't just ignore that. We know that you know something about this. Don't deny it. That blood didn't come in there for no reason." Mel said.

Calvin felt cornered. He had fucked up. He completely forgot this small detail.

"There are no traces of surgery equipment used... So, the only way someone had been saved on that bed, was by stimpak. Stimpaks are used only for people who are deadly injured." Rob explained.

"Calvin... We NEED to talk to Randal. Charlie deserves a fair trial, and as his good friends, we will get to the bottom of this in his defense." Mel pushed, trying to sound reasonable.

".... Out." Calvin said, shutting his eyes.

"... Calvin." Rob said, trying to make the weasel see reason. But it was clear that he was hurt and felt like he was now clinging on to denial of his brother in law being possible of murder attempt after all.

"Out. Both of you, out. Get. The fuck out. Of my office. NOW! AND LEAVE MY BROTHER IN LAW ALONE! HE NEEDS TO BE WITH HIS SON!" Calvin yelled, slamming the table.

Rob and Mel both flinched, giving forgiving nods and looking disappointed but somewhat understanding, knowing that Randal was all Calvin really had left.

The weasel trembled, both guards respectfully taking their leave without saying another word to him.

Within a few seconds, the metal door closed after them, the sounds of the crowd making Calvin flinch from annoyance once more... Before the quiet mood in the room took it places again.

"... Randal... I can't protect you anymore." Calvin whispered quietly with a sad tone, knowing that if this evidence would become public to everyone else, it would give Charlie a chance.

And very bad cards for him.

The metal door opened without warning or callout from the intercom, Calvin jumping a bit from his desperate mindstate.

"HOLY SHIT-WHO?!-" Calvin began in anger, only to stop the moment he saw the bunny.

Amir was looking at the weasel with a serious gaze, closing the door after him.

Calvin felt the tension enter the room, but didn't say a word, taking a deep exhale and waiting for the rabbit to speak.

Amir placed his hands behind his back and walked a few steps towards Calvin slowly, measuring him the whole time with a look that Calvin had never witnessed on him.

It was threatening.

The rabbit looked like he was waiting for Calvin to say something as well, but the weasel looked so tired and stressed that his mind didn't seem remotely ready for this conversation, even if he had requested the bunny just an hour ago to be delivered here by guards.

But he knew that this was not going to be a pleasant conversation.

"... Explain yourself." Amir said bluntly.

Calvin was quiet, his gaze wandering off to his family picture as he rubbed his forehead tiredly and tapping the desk with his fingers nervously.

"... Where do you want me to start?" Calvin asked with a given up tone.

The yellow furred bunny leaned his head slightly to right and spoke.

"...Where is Charlie?" Amir questioned slowly.

"... In custody. Somewhere where he can't harm others. Eli is guarding him." Calvin said quietly.

"... That is rather odd coming from someone that was ready to have his guards murder the only doctor in the vault as well as his brother in law's son today." Amir said without hesitation, being sure it had been the case.

"... I did." Calvin admitted, knowing there was no point to lie anymore. Things had changed.

"... At least you had it in yourself to admit it, Calvin. Thank you for that. Now. 'Ahtaj limaerifat alsabab... Give me the answer. I have served you and people here more than well during my whole life since my father passed away." Amir explained humbly, sounding somewhat wounded.

"... You have." Calvin said quietly with an honest tone.

"... Then answer the question I want just as an honest answer to, Calvin... Were you ready to kill me to protect your brother in law from being banished or executed, in most likely case... Or did you do it purely out of wanting to hurt Charlie?" The bunny asked, this thought really having bothered him.

Calvin took a pen on his table and started to fiddle with it in thought, looking at the round window and feeling like the crowd's muffled but very lively voice disturb him more and more.

"Their orders were just to intimidate Niles. I would never gamble with his life. With yours, I did. And I'm sorry about that." The weasel apologized, somewhat regretting.

"... I see." Amir said quietly, somewhat expecting that had been the case. But he then pressed again.

"Answer the question now, please."

Calvin fiddled with the pen once again, taking his time to think and spoke quietly.

"... Both."

"... Both." Amir said quietly with a disappointed nod.

"... Both." Calvin repeated again and sighed.

"... You have to make this right." Amir said right away, taking few more steps towards Calvin's table.

"... Making this right can have a very different meaning in my mind than yours, Doctor Waldi." Calvin said with a tired tone, looking at his vinyl player, as it stopped playing music.

"... Does it have to be?" Amir asked quietly.

"I imagine it does," Calvin said like it was clear.

"Calvin... Your brother in law is a sick man... he is the one that needs to be held responsible. Not Winchester." Amir said straightforwardly.

"Then I present you the question you gave me... Are you saying as your professional opinion as a psychiatrist and a doctor...? Or as your personal opinion out of despising for Randal?" Calvin asked, staring at his table and not able to look at Amir.

"... He tried to kill his own son with a freaking glass shard, Calvin. You didn't see the boy when he was brought to me. He was broken. He will never be the same. He will be traumatized for the rest of his life here. I may have to act as his psychiatric weekly for many years because of this." Amir explained, clearly wanting Randal to face the bad end.

"..." Calvin didn't answer this time, the guilt hitting him. He never wanted things to go this way. Everything had fallen apart. There were too many people asking questions and seeking the truth.

"Calvin, you brought me here to talk like a man to man. Randal is dangerous. You know it. What kind of a man tries to murder his own son?-"

"Who's side are you on?" Calvin suddenly asked in agitation, almost confused by Amir's way of speaking this way.

"... What do you mean?" Amir asked carefully.

"I had Xavier and Elliot pointing guns at you, and instead of letting Charlie shoot me and Randal, you shot him down with a stim dart to stop him. Why? Why did you do that? Why did you not let him take revenge on me when my orders could have cost you your life?" Calvin asked like it made no sense.

"Because it was the right thing to do," Amir said like it was a clear reason as one could be.

"... How was it the right thing to do? I thought you and Charlie were friends-" Calvin began like Amir's logic was fickle.

"I am Winchester's friend. And I did what I did as someone who cares about him. If he had shot anyone from that room, it would have made his possibility to get through the trial way harder. I didn't want anyone else to die. It was already unfortunate enough I didn't get there in time to save Xavier. I tried to do right by everyone. That is what my father would have wanted." Amir admitted, sounding humble as he could.

"... You think I didn't deserve to die?" Calvin asked genuinely, not understanding Amir's mercy.

"... Only monsters do. I believe in justice in other ways. The right ways. Randal is a monster, but he deserves a trial, so does Charlie... And so do you."

"... Me?" Calvin asked quietly.

Amir now took a step closer, Calvin seeing the intense eye contact press him down as the rabbit spoke quietly.

"... Did you know what Randal was about to do to his son? Did you have anything to do with it?"

Calvin stopped fiddling with his pen, leaning on his table and gathering himself to force out the lie with as convincing tone as he could.

"... No."

"... And you swear this to me as the overs-" Amir began with a doubting tone.

"Amir. I. Had. Nothing. To do. With Niles." Calvin stated like he was already taking a stand.

"... You didn't know it before he was going to do it... But you knew afterward. He came to you for help. And you accepted. That is the only way this could have played out." Amir said quietly, walking in front of Calvin's table now and laying his paws on it.

The weasel slowly raised his gaze to meet with the bunny's and spoke quietly with honesty.

"... Yes."

"... What happened?" Amir asked carefully.

The weasel leaned back on his chair, taking a deep breath and rubbing his face a bit as he just felt like he wanted to throw Amir out to get rest.

"... Randal came here around midnight. Covered in blood. Panicked. Crying. He told what he had tried to do, and he regretted it from the bottom of his soul. I have never seen him like that. He wanted to take his own life... And after he told that Niles had managed to go to Charlie in his wounded state... I knew what I had to do as his brother in law. I had to protect him. I went to extreme measures to do so. And I would without shame do it all over again. He is everything I have left."

"... So you knew how Charlie would react."

"... I had a hunch."

"Well, it played rather well in your favor. Everyone right now thinks he is mad."

"... I thought I knew who he was." Calvin said quietly.

"What?"

"For all this time... I knew he was hiding something. That he was different. Dangerous. But today... For the first time in my life, he scared me. He took life like it was nothing. He... I should have never let him come in this vault. Never."

"But yet you did. He had every right to be part of our community."

"The show he gave in the hall would contradict that statement."

"... What exactly went down in there?"

"... He didn't... he didn't feel fear even once. It was like witnessing someone else take over him. We had the situation under control. He had a gun aimed at the back of his head. He was about to be escorted out, peacefully. Then... Randal asked Charlie to apologize to him in front of everyone. Which was more than fair-"

"Except it was not," Amir said in between judgingly.

Calvin was annoyed by the interruption but kept explaining after Amir gave arm suggestion for him to continue.

"... Charlie suddenly turned into some... Some... I don't know, a fucking ninja and disarmed Xavier and knocked Elliot out with Xavier's gun so fast no one could even blink." Calvin said with the still somewhat shaken tone, having replayed that situation in his head over and over. He had never seen a man move that fast.

"... Charlie did that?" Amir asked in disbelief.

"... You saw them both on the floor when you arrived with Niles, so there is no reason for me to make this up. He had the situation turn into his way so quickly that we couldn't comprehend it. Xavier was shot by Charlie the moment he was trying to reach for Charlie's personal firearm on the floor in order to save the situation. All while my guards did nothing and just watched. Bunch of cowards." Amir said with a disappointed tone.

"... You expected them to act differently?" Amir questioned in wonder.

"They did try to talk some sense into Charlie and call him down. With poor success. He had made his mind up... That is when you arrived to save us." Calvin finished.

"... I see." Amir said quietly with a nod.

"... I just... It all could have been avoided if..."

"If what? If you didn't know what Randal was about to do, no one could have. You are not to blame for his actions... Only your own."

"Niles should have come to me... During all these years... He should have told me how Randal was towards him. I knew my brother in law was aggressive from time to time and had his issues, but I would have never believed that he..." Calvin drifted off, playing Amir like he was indeed innocent.

Amir studied Calvin for a while, wishing that the weasel was being genuine... But he didn't know for sure after all this if the weasel had been fully honest about anything the moment he came to his office.

"... Niles shouldn't be anywhere near his father. Where is Randal?" Amir asked in sudden concern.

"... Randal is with Niles, in their room-"

"CALVIN! -"

"AMIR! I am quite sure that Randal isn't capable let alone willing to try what he did AGAIN-"

"You don't want me to take any comfort in that considering what your last orders to your guards were," Amir said back angrily.

"Amir. Enough of that. I know what I did was wrong. I went to the extreme to protect a lie. No one... Will hurt Niles anymore. If Randal even tries to talk to him in an aggressive manner, I will make sure he regrets it. He will not hurt that boy any longer. And I promise after this is over... Niles will get his own room, far away from Randal's." Calvin stated.

"... I have your word on that?" Amir asked in a very serious manner.

"Yes. Niles is safe. Not that it would be anyone's concern after they saw him completely fine and healthy." Calvin reminded.

"That doesn't mean Randal should have the privilege of being around him at all after this," Amir stated.

"In the eyes of everyone else except you him, and most likely his children, everyone thinks so far that Charlie is a crazy murderer, and Randal is innocent," Calvin said with a defensive tone.

"... You didn't count Rob and Mel. Their word carries heavy. After I showed them my clinic. They know something is up." Amir reminded.

"Suspect-" Calvin began.

"It's enough. They are Charlie's best friends. They will get to the bottom of it. I heard enough of what went between all of you in this room through that door of yours."

"..."

There was a brief silence between the two, as the muffled sound of the crowd kept visibly bothering Calvin. He sighed, letting go of his pen and clearly taking his time to work on some sort of a solution. Amir didn't have any idea what was going on in the weasel's mind right now. But he was patient and waited for whatever he had to say next.

"Amir... May I offer you an alternative suggestion?" Calvin asked after a while. Amir didn't for some reason like the tone.

"... You may, but I don't get what you mean by that, Calvin."

"... I know I'm fucked. I know that Randal is fucked. This whole situation is just... A nightmare. It's a blessing that Niles is alive... And it has to count for something, Amir. But when I say that Charlie is equally dangerous as my brother in law, I mean it. And I want to give you unethical order, as your overseer. No matter how it may feel for you. But I am desperate."

"... Calvin, I don't like at all where you are driving this conversation-"

"YOU are the biggest possible witness of my brother in laws crime. Rob and Mel... They don't have anything solid. Randal and Niles's... The whole thing between them, I will see that Randal dedicate the rest of his life, fixing it. I promise that. I MAKE SURE... Of that. But Winchester... He cannot be allowed to be in here. I want him to go back where he came from OR... Well. Gone. Not due to my personal hate for him. But for the safety of this vault. Every adult that was in that hall, will agree with that-"

"Because they don't know that Charlie was right all along-"

"AND THEY DON'T NEED TO KNOW!... I can fix it all... IF... If you won't take the stand and testify to defend him." Calvin finished with low tone, leaning against his chair and looking at Amir with a begging gaze.

Amir was speechless, his jaw-dropping slightly.

"I can't believe what I am hearing. "The bunny whispered with a wounded tone.

"Amir-"

"Are you- A... Calvin, are you threatening me now?" The bunny asked, sounding disturbed.

"... Only if you take it that way. I am presenting you with a solution of my own." Calvin said quietly, wincing as the bunny started to yell as a reaction, pointing at him accusingly.

"Call it what it is, Calvin! You are threatening me just so no one out there would know the truth!" Amir yelled.

"Amir, I am going to need for you to calm down," Calvin said quietly, getting anxious.

"What are you going to do, hmm? Have your guards beat me up? Lock me out of sight? Torture me? You-" The rabbit asked with a disgusted and scared tone, not understanding why Calvin was ready to even go this route after somewhat civil and understanding conversation.

"I am going to bribe you," Calvin stated quietly.

"... Excuse me?"

"There must be something you want. Every man wants something. Always. You pack me up with this and act like Niles's presence at your clinic was normal health inspection. Just like Randal explained to everyone in the hall. And in return... I give you anything you want. If it is in my power." Calvin presented with open arms.

"... You are serious." The bunny said in disbelief, the weasel not able to read the specific feeling the bunny might have had about the opportunity.

"... If it is in my power, I'll get it for you. Anything that comes to your mind. You want the best rations daily that we store in the lower levels? Do you want cigars and alcohol? What drives you?"

"... I am disappointed in you, Calvin. More than I can say with words." Amir stated like he was about to spit on him.

"... I don't care about your disappointment. Just tell me what drives you and I get it for you." Calvin said with an intimidating tone.

"... What drives me?... Helping people. Saving lives." Amir said with an honorable tone.

"... Amir, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way."

"And what is the hard way, Calvin? If I say no to your bribes."

"... I am going down fighting, Amir... I will not Charlie win."

"THIS IS NOT A GAME! CALVIN, YOU CAN'T-" Amir began, trying to make the weasel see the reason desperately. He didn't want Calvin to do anything to make the situation worse than it already was.

But something stopped the bunny just before he was about to unleash the voice of reality on Calvin. The tired and stressed looking weasel slowly pulled something from under his desk. He calmly laid it down to be in full sight.

It was Charlie's handgun.

The weasel was seriously looking now, trying not to sweat under the horrified expression. He needed to make his point through.

"... Calvin... You are not a killer."

"... Yes. I am not a killer. But I am being driven into the corner from all fronts-"

"And that gives you the right to create one body more?" The bunny asked quietly with scared eyes, feeling like he had seen enough guns for one day already.

"... Don't take the stand tomorrow. Lie. For me. I am not asking, Amir... I am begging you."

"I can't do that to Charlie... I can't."

"You are scared that he will try to kill you during trial if you lie, don't you? I assure you, you will be safe-"

"I am scared that if I lie, he will not only kill me. He will kill you. He will kill Randal. You told me yourself, you saw someone totally else today in that man. You really want to bring that man out again to see what he will be capable of after the second betrayal?"

"... My guards are sworn to protect me. They will aim their guns at him the whole time. There is nothing he can do when handcuffed and tied all around."

"... Calvin, do you listen to yourself for one second as you talk?... It... Calvin, I say this because I care for your life. I am not going to lie to them about what you told me right now. I will tell nothing but the truth of the events. You know that there is still a solid chance for you to defend yourself on the stand. People will understand that you did emotional choice when it came to protecting Randal and you were desperate to save him from the consequences of his actions. You might not even lose your position as the overseer if you act genuinely about all this. Just tell the truth, and they will have empathy."

The bunny told with an emotional tone.

"You can't say that for sure-"

"No, I can't. But it's your best possible defense now. Randal... You know how it ends for him. But his actions do not need to stain your life. You claim you had no idea about Randal's murderous thoughts. I want to believe that is true. That helps you in the trial. The bunny convinced, leaning on the table and feeling like Calvin was finally backing down and taking his nervous paw from top of the gun. The bunny finally relaxed some.

The weasel was quiet, looking at the gun and speaking with a low and hateful tone.

"... And what about Charlie, huh? Let me guess, you want him to walk free? HE KILLED A MAN IN COLD BLOOD. He broke my nose. He injured Elliot badly. He caused fear and panic. He aimed a gun at people. He tried to kill me and Randal. He... "

"You gave him plenty enough reason to be a vengeful soul. He loves Niles like his own. You know that. I have seen it. How he talks to him and how he is ready to always protect him. He wanted justice. And he acted wrong. Violence is never the answer. But he was right about Randal. And people deserve to know." Amir said back carefully.

"... Right or wrong. He killed Xavier. You said murder is never the right thing to do. Are you saying that he is going to get away with it? Just... Just like nothing happened?" Calvin asked skeptically.

"... No. He shouldn't get away with it. But you are partly responsible for his fate. You know that, Calvin."

"... Even if it may be so, what will Charlie's punishment be for what he did? There are only two options here regarding the murder. And you know what they are. I am going to demand his execution. If Randal is taken from me... I will take Charlie from them." Calvin said quietly and coldly.

The bunny took a long breath, knowing that Calvin was emotionally in turmoil. He was blinded by sorrow over the idea of losing his kin and hate over the fact that Charlie had a chance to win people on his side despite having murdered Xavier.

Amir walked slowly around the table, standing next to sitting weasel now. Calvin didn't look at him, feeling the bunny's stare.

The doctor spoke with an honest tone and laid his paw on Calvin's shoulder slowly.

"... People will never look at Charlie the same. They will be afraid of him. Avoiding him. Whispering behind his back. Worrying... But there is no way that people want him executed. Nor banished. The younglings won't let that happen, and their voice counts. He might most likely lose his right to teach them. And he deserves to be jailed and kept under guard. I will run psychological evaluation tests on him, and we make sure that he will never do such a thing again. That is so far, my future insight on how people want this to go. And how Charlie still has a chance to be part of this community. I'm sorry Calvin. I know you clearly hate him... But he will not die, no matter what you want."

"... Amir... Once you tell them that I ordered Xavier and Elliot point guns at you in order to make a perfect lie... I can't see myself being optimistic as you say about people's reaction. I will lose this position. They will replace me with Tio."

"... That is for them to decide, Calvin. You still have the chance, just like Charlie. You still have a life here. You have a chance of becoming someone else. To try and move past what happened. I know you have it in you."

"This job is all I have. I wanted it my whole life." Calvin stated bluntly like there was nothing else to his life.

"... I don't believe you. Life is bigger than a profession. You have still time to do a lot of things. To help this community in other ways. Maybe... Maybe even start focusing on things you didn't have time for a while-"

Amir slowly stopped his optimistic future speech in order to comfort Calvin, when he saw something he had not seen before.

Calvin was crying. One small and genuine tear was falling down his cheek as he spoke with a shaky tone.

"... They will want Randal dead."

"... Calvin. I know you love him... But it... You have to let go. Niles needs you... And he might be able to still forgive you. Be the role model for him that Randal wasn't... That lynx boy is still your kin. You are not losing everyone." Amir whispered back.

"He wasn't interested even for the slightest idea of me being his role model... He will most likely just hate me more after this. "Calvin said like this wasn't helping him at all.

"... The boy is more good-hearted than you think." Amir said quietly with a slight smile.

"... I don't want him to die... He... It's not fair." Calvin kept whispering, another tear falling down and dropping on the desk.

"... I'm sorry, Calvin... I really am." Amir said quietly, tapping his arm with genuine intent on Calvin's shoulder.

"... Could he plead for mental illness? You are a doctor... You could tell them..." Calvin whispered desperately, looking at the rabbit now with hopeful

"... Calvin." The bunny said back with a slow nod from side to side like that was fickle plan to pull.

"... COULD HE PLEAD FOR MENTAL ILLNESS?" Calvin raised his voice, wanting there to be anything at all that could help Randal's case.

"... Yes, it is a possibility-" The bunny said quietly and sighed with a sad tone.

"It would have a chance to spare his life. I would be able to visit him." Calvin whispered.

"Calvin... You don't want him to be kept in solitary for the rest of his life. It wouldn't really change his position for any better. Living under guard and one room almost whole life is... It's..."

"It's better than dying." The weasel sniffed, not bothering to wipe his tears.

The bunny now let go of Calvin's shoulder and started to walk around the table again to run his paw along his face, taking time to collect his words of advice once again.

"But is it truly better than dying? You love your brother in law. You want him to survive. But Calvin... You sometimes just need to face the truth of things. Niles has frequently walked in and out of my clinic due to bruises and marks. For a long time, he kept saying it was due to training with Ryan. But it all made sense when Niles told his father had been abusing him for a long time. I was a terrible, naïve excuse of a doctor for not seeing the signs earlier of what really was going on. Once people hear that... They want him gone. NILES... Will want him gone. Not locked up. I'm sorry, Calvin... But Charlie will win this trial. Even if he doesn't know it yet."

"..." Calvin sniffed loudly, knowing that his brother in law was done. People wouldn't rest until this evil man among them was dealt with. Amir was hitting him with harsh realities over and over like jabs, no matter how much he wanted to deny them.

Slowly the bunny turned around, the face telling Calvin that something had suddenly come to his mind. The bunny spoke carefully and gently.

"... Calvin... If you didn't know that he was about to murder his own child... Did you know that he was abusing him for years? You were closest to him... Did you not notice the sings from him?"

"... Amir... He... You just don't understand." The weasel said, trying to justify it.

"No, I don't. You didn't answer my question."

"... You have asked enough questions."

"... Calvin. Answer me. Did you know he was abusing his son for all these years?" The bunny asked now, the sympathy turning into worry and doubt.

"... I didn't... I didn't notice it." Calvin denied quietly, looking at the gun again on his desk.

"CALVIN."

"... I had no idea how he treated him, Amir. To me, he always told that he took good care of his son." The weasel assured, now wiping his face a bit and trying not to look suspicious.

The bunny spoke quietly.

"I hope you mean that," Amir said with a nod, looking at the window and hearing the crowd. He could see it was making Calvin's situation worse.

"... Amir... I would like to... Have a moment for myself. Excuse yourself out, please... You have made clear what you are going to do."

"... Calvin... Before I leave... Be honest with me again. Do I need to watch over my shoulder and sleep with lights on till the day of trial?" The bunny questioned, still knowing that the threat was very real. Calvin was being overly emotional, understandably. But he knew that it would still have an effect on his decision making. In bad and good.

"... The trial will take place in two days." Calvin sniffed loudly, wanting to just be alone again in the room.

"Two days is all you need to have someone else of your guards finish what you-" Amir began knowingly, Calvin cutting him off by raising his paw slightly.

"Amir... I won't have you killed. I am hurt... And I'm not... I'm trying to think clearly... But I'm not going to have my guards do anything right now, but keep this situation in control and people calm... Like a real overseer should."

"... Thank you... Mr. Marston." Amir said with somewhat relieved but still doubting expression, the weasel continuing to avoid eye gaze and crying slightly.

"... I... I will wish you good luck on the trial." The rabbit said, not really knowing if his comforting was doing more harm at this point.

"Get out." The weasel said almost beggingly.

The bunny gave a slow respectful nod forward, turning around and taking his leave. He was walking slowly towards the door, about to press the button. Until he stopped where he stood, hesitating. Calvin spoke from behind his table.

"... Amir... No more words, please. I've explained myself-"

"I forgive you," Amir said firmly with an honest tone.

"..." The weasel now raised his sulking gaze up to meet with Amir's, the weasel not understanding what the bunny had meant. Amir felt the empathy for the weasel overtake him, as he spoke.

"I forgive you for what you tried to do to me. I believe that you are not a bad person. And you did what you did to protect your family. But you got to let your hate towards Charlie go away. Hate eats you alive. And I care for you, and respect you, despite your actions... And when I take a stand against you and Randal... I will tell them the same. I hope you find some comfort in knowing that. I never had anything personal against you, mister Marston."

The weasel could not even look at Amir after hearing that, pressing his face down at the table and crossing his arms.

"... Alright." The weasel said quietly, crying slightly again.

The bunny thought if there was anything else to say... But Calvin needed his peace. It was time to give him that.

The bunny opened the door with a press of a button, taking his leave and the door closing behind Calvin.

The weasel kept sniveling after the bunny was gone for a while.

But when he knew that Amir wouldn't be on a hearing distance anymore... He lost it.

Calvin rose up from his chair, throwing it in the air and against the cabinet, breaking the wood and glass slightly from it, pieces flying around the area.

He then swept every object from his table on to the floor, breaking stuff down as he yelled loudly and emotionally with pain in his voice.

"FUCK! FUCK! FUCKING SHIT!"

ACT 3

(Resident Evil 4 Soundtrack - A Ruined Village)

"I want to talk to my father. And I am not leaving until I do." Ryan said sternly with defying voice.

Dion and Ryan were both standing in front of a metal door, separating them from their parent. The door was guarded by Eli. The black-furred wolf was standing right in front of them with his hands behind his back, feeling anxious about the whole situation. He was scared of Charlie, scared of Calvin's extreme orders of not letting anyone in, and anxious because Ryan was acting as hostile as he could.

Eli knew that Ryan was different from other younglings. He knew how to fight, and despite the age and size difference, there would be damage on his side as well. And the last thing he needed right now was a brawl with an eighteen-year-old boy in the hallway.

"Ryan... I am sorry. But I have my orders. This whole situation is out of control and I can't escalate it, you have to understand that. Please, calm down with the yelling." Eli said, trying to act civilly as he could, hoping the fox would come to his senses on the situation.

"Brother... Let's just wait here until they let us see him. They can't keep him there forever. Right?" Dion asked worriedly from the wolf.

"THAT ANNOUNCEMENT CALVIN MADE IS NOT TRUE! AND IF DAD HAD TRIED TO KILL SOMEONE, HE MUST HAVE HAD A GOOD FUCKING REASON FOR IT! MAYBE XAVIER TRIED TO KILL HIM BY... BY ORDERS OR SOMETHING! YOU KNOW THAT CALVIN HATES MY DAD, ALWAYS HAS-"

"What?" Dion asked in between, wondering why Ryan would say such a thing. Why would Calvin hate Charlie?

The confusing question was ignored as Eli spoke to Ryan.

"Ryan, you saw your father with a gun in his hand, pointing it at Calvin-"

"He must have had his reason for that! And it's clear that you know what it was! My dad would not point guns at people for the fun of it!" Ryan yelled.

"R-Ryan, we know that our dad would never do such. This is all j-just a big misunderstanding. It has to be." Dion said with a hesitant tone, not trusting on Calvin's word at all either. His father was the kindest man he knew.

The fox huffed, getting more and more agitated.

"... They won't let us talk to Niles. They didn't let us talk with Amir. Now they won't let us talk with dad. I am sick of this. Whatever he did... I want to know what is going on. You were there, mister Cliff. Tell us what happened." Ryan demanded aggressively.

"... Once you are allowed to meet your father, it is up to him to... I am just now comfortable really talking about it. I... I'm sure you both will know by the end of the day that Calvin wasn't talking such out of his personal issues against your father. This is bigger than that." Eli said, feeling still rather disturbed about witnessing a murder for the first time of his life. The shock of it all had not fully left his mind yet, and keeping steeled nerves right now was a challenge, especially under the pressure of the murderers' clueless kin. Eli had always considered himself a good friend of Charlie's, along with Mel and Rob who were closest to him. But no one saw this coming. And it clearly took a toll on this black-furred wolf to repeat the terrifying scenario over again in his head.

Ryan was not even flinching his expression, still looking frustrated and aggressive as he spoke.

"I and my brother saw as people practically ran over us just an hour ago, screaming like they were running for their lives. Then Mr. Tampico takes Tio and our friends along, telling he will protect them in case something really bad happens. We heard gunshots. And we ran to the hall, only to have Calvin yell for all of you to detain us and not help our father, who is lying face down on the floor. I am sick and tired of your guards not telling me what happened at all. Either you tell what went down, or I go through you to ask dad myself. I am not waiting any longer."

Dion looked now nervous as Eli did, taking his fox brother by the shoulder, only to have it shoved away.

"Ryan, we need to- You need to calm down. -" Dion began quietly, not wanting the situation go where it was going. He knew he couldn't stop Ryan once he would begin attacking Eli.

"The hell I do. If you really are going to accept whatever this bullshit is, you can go to Santino's room to join the others in the hiding game." Ryan hissed at Dion annoyedly, disappointed in his attitude to be so cautious about this.

"Brother-" Dion began desperately.

"Mr. Cliff. Step aside from the door." Ryan said, ignoring Dion and pointing a finger at Eli threateningly.

"You know I can't do that, Ryan. I advise you to calm down, please. Listen to your wiser brother." Eli said nervously, starting to rub the handle of his security baton and knowing this could in the worst case end up with Ryan taking the weapon and beating him up with it. Or even worse, him beating Ryan up with it and Charlie finding out. That would be the end of that friendship, no matter the excuses.

"Or you what?" Ryan asked, taking a step closer and making Eli force the confident attitude up as his honor of being the guard of the vault, taking one step forward as well, standing toe to toe with the noticeably shorter opponent.

"Ryan, this isn't helping!" Dion now said, trying to squeeze in between, Eli biting his tongue a bit as he spoke to Ryan.

"Dion is right. I do not want to tangle with a boy that is over ten years younger than me, but you are pressing me here. I know you love your father and you are worried, but fighting me isn't going to take away the fact that-"

"I do not fucking care, I will talk to my dad right now-!" Ryan defied, having enough. He started to position his stance, ready to spin kick the wolf right at his head. Eli took the baton off his belt due to raised voice nervously and spoke.

"Goddamnit, Ryan... Dion step away from your brother... Fuck, just when I thought this day couldn't get any more horrible." Eli muttered, Dion, looking panicked as he indeed backed off a bit, knowing the situation had come to its final point.

"BOYS!" Someone yelled with a voice of authority.

All of the three turned to look at the direction of the yell, seeing the familiar yellow furred bunny approach.

"Mister Waldi... What are you doing here?" Eli asked, slowly letting his guard down but still keeping the side-eye focused at Ryan in case he tried something.

"... You are holding Winchester behind these doors, correct?" The bunny asked right away after arriving at the scene.

"... Correct. How did you know?"

"Because Calvin himself told me just now. And it would only make sense to see Dion and Ryan here. Is everything okay? What is going on?" Amir said, noticing Ryan's stance and a focus still on Eli.

"The kid right here was about to tangle with me just to get to his father."

"... Ryan, you know that violence is not the answer. I am disappointed in you."

"I don't give a fuck who is disappointed in me, I am going to see my father right now. I won't let any of you stop me."

"... Ryan, Dion... As much as I understand that... I think it would be best for me to talk with him first."

"B-but why, mister Waldi?" Dion asked in confusion, his expression begging to know what had happened.

The bunny looked at the husky awkwardly and rubbed the back of his head, Ryan adding to the opinion.

"You better answer already, you are all making me mad."

"Because it would be better for me to run a mental evaluation on your father to see what his state is. If he wakes up utterly confused and most likely angry, you two don't want to be in the room. In the worst case, he might snap at me for letting you two in the first place to see him like that. I doubt he wants to talk about what happened while you two are present. It would bring shame to him." Amir explained professionally.

"Like what? Wakes up? W-what do you mean?" Dion asked.

"... WHAT. DID. HE. DO?! I know he didn't really kill Xavier or anyone else, that is not who he is! And even if he was, he would only act so if his life was in danger!" Ryan yelled, having enough of this and making all of the three flinched form the aggressive voice, as he was about to get violent.

Eli looked at Amir carefully, rubbing the handle of his security baton and giving the questioning look.

It was up to him to tell.

Amir didn't want to be the one to tell. He wanted to see if Charlie was alright on the head level, so he could tell the boys himself about what went down and explain himself. It was his right as a father.

But Ryan was about to attack anyone on his way. He was done with excuses. So... it left Amir to do the unfortunate.

"... Ryan, Dion... I am so sorry to tell you this... But Xavier is dead. The announcement was not a lie..." Amir said with a somber tone.

The fox and the husky froze and looked at Amir with a stunned expression, Ryan slowly getting off from his prepared fighting stance.

"... W-what?" Ryan asked carefully.

"It is true, boys. I was there. Charlie shot Xavier down right in front of us." Eli said with a disturbed tone.

Ryan looked at Eli now, the black wolf speaking quietly.

"Now you both know why I have to take extreme measures to guard him. Your dad is a murderer." Eli said like It almost hurt to say it.

Dion was in shock. He was shaking, not believing what he just heard. But it was clear the two didn't lie about a thing like this. It was scary to even think their father was capable of such.

"Y-you mean that... A-are you saying that... Our dad, he?..." The husky spoke, trying not to cry and stay brave.

Amir gave a slow nod with a sad expression, talking quietly.

"Your father apparently rushed into the senior hall in pursuit of Randal Hovan. He... He had his own reasons to believe that Randal had made an attempt to take... His owns son's life." Amir admitted.

"That's when I knew that this could be a mental illness we just haven't noticed." Eli began with a sad tone.

"It is not a mental illness," Amir said strictly. All of the three looked a bit surprised that Amir said the opinion so strictly, Eli mostly.

"HE POINTED GUN AT PEOPLE. He hit Calvin and knocked out Elliot like he was nothing." Eli repeated, confused.

"It was an overreaction-" The bunny began.

"AN OVERREACTION?" Eli repeated this time with a tone like Amir was hit in the head.

Amir didn't answer.

Dion spoke quietly with disbelief still there.

"... So, it's true... Mr. Tampico said that... That something like that had happened... W-we thought he was talking nonsense just to make us go with him..."

Ryan now stepped closer to the bunny doctor, his whole expression shifting from aggression to scared.

"MR WALDI.... Where is Niles?" Ryan asked with the sudden shaky and emotional tone, the fear grasping him as he feared by Amir's expression that something had indeed happened and he knew something they didn't.

"... Ryan, Niles is alive and well. He was at my clinic this morning." Amir assured, avoiding to tell that he was right now with Randal, in order to not make Ryan freak out.

"..." The fox felt like he was about to pass out for a moment, feeling the lump in his throat go down from the relief.

Dion then spoke, swallowing loudly and trying to make the sense of it.

"But... Why would our dad... Think Randal would do such a thing? He is a priest... I-I can't believe that my father... That he shot someone. And was ready to shoot... R-Randal as well..." Dion said, about to cry from even thinking about it. It was hard to accept. That his father was so dangerous. None of it made sense.

Amir gave a careful look at Eli who was looking at him now just as interested as the two. So, it seemed that Robert and Mel had not shared their information with other guards yet about the evidence they had witnessed. Amir knew it was the right thing to tell what happened. Calvin wouldn't like the fact that he was spreading the truth before the trial around people. But he felt like this time it was the right thing to do.

"... Because it happened. Randal tried to... Charlie was right." Amir said.

Ryan and Dion looked shocked within a second, wondering if they had just heard right or not.

Eli now shook his head, wondering why would Amir even dare to say lie like that in front of the youth.

"Bullshit, Mr. Waldi. We all heard on the line that Niles was fine. We heard his voice on the line when Charlie pointed his gun at Randal and told him to call at the clinic. We all heard it."

Amir rubbed his tired eyelids a bit, taking a deep breath and thinking quietly.

"... Amir... What are you not telling here?" Eli asked.

The bunny took a breath, laying it all out.

"... Eli... The reason for that... Is because me and Niles were forced to say those things... Under gunpoint. Xavier and Elliot were aiming their guns at us the whole time. They were given orders by Calvin to kill us both if we didn't lie on the line. I and Niles had to betray Charlie... Because we knew that Charlie would understand the situation we were under. He would understand that we had to choose our lives over people believing in his story. And people will believe the story. Because when it comes to the trial... I will tell everyone the truth and nothing but the truth... Eli... I know it is hard to believe... But Calvin was behind orchestrating the whole thing. He... You know that he loves Randal. And he was ready to hide his crime in order to... To protect him."

The black-furred wolf felt his mouth drop a bit, unable to process all of what he had heard on one sitting.

"... AMIR... ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS? STOP BULLSHITING." Eli repeated slowly, looking at the bunny with a warning look like he had to be sure about this or he was going to punch him.

"... I am sorry, Eli. I would not lie about this. Randal had stabbed Niles-"

"HE WHAT?!?" Ryan yelled in between in a rage in between.

Amir flinched and his expression begging the fox to calm down.

"He... Niles had managed to escape to the Winchester quarters by crawling, smearing blood all over the floors. Charlie had saved him. He ran to wake me up at night. Niles was dying. And we both got to my clinic and used a stimpak to save him just in time and heal the wound fully. When Niles woke up and told what happened... Charlie reacted the most drastic and emotional way he could. To confront Randal face to face about the crime. Which I told repeatedly was a bad idea... But Charlie didn't listen... And here we are." Amir said, feeling sick for telling this right now.

Eli shook his head, looking shook as he felt betrayed.

"... This is insanity! Are you... ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!?!" Eli asked, now looking just as hateful and winded up as Ryan was, listening to all this. The black-furred wolf took a step closer at Amir and spoke as he poked his security baton at Amir's chest threateningly.

"Mr. Waldi... If this is a lie that you are making up here just to pay off some debt to Charlie... Or-or-"

"Eli... Mel and Robert came to my clinic and saw the blood all over the bed. They just questioned Calvin before I went to see him. They suspect all of this. They suspect Randal is guilty. And soon, they will now the truth as well. Calvin is a mess right now... Especially when I just told to his face that I will tell everyone what happened." Amir admitted with a serious tone.

"..." Dion and Ryan were not able to speak a word. It was too much to take in all this chaos at once. The lies and the deceit.

"Eli, you know Charlie. You are his friend. You know I am not lying." Amir said quietly.

"... I swore an oath to protect Calvin with my life when I took this job and he- You- WHY WOULD ELLIOT OR XAVIER AGREE TO DO SUCH A THING-"

"That I do not know... We can only know for sure once Elliot wakes up at my clinic... But there aren't many options to guess from." The bunny admitted.

"... S-So, Mr. Waldi... M-my father is innocent? Of all this? A-and Randal is... Randal really tried to..." Dion stumbled on his words, feeling fearful of this kind of danger going on around him and people he cared about.

"... Charlie did kill Xavier. It was a wrong thing to do and I feel horrible for knowing that it happened. But... What he accuses Randal is true. Once the truth comes to the light... Charlie will be allowed to stay in the vault... I... I don't know if the same will be for Randal." Amir admitted, knowing it was going to be messy.

"... I have known Xavier and Elliot since I was born..." Eli said, feeling hateful at this moment.

"..." Amir didn't know how to answer.

"... And... And Calvin thought he was going to get away with this?" Ryan asked, his fist trembling from aggression.

"... Not anymore. He knows I will testify for Charlie. Niles most likely will too... And after that... I am not sure what comes after that."

"... I know what comes now." Eli said, his voice emotional, full of anger.

All of the three saw as the black-furred wolf pressed the green button on the door next to him, pressing a few smaller buttons after that. The loud click was heard from the door. It was now unlocked. The green light blinked up.

"I am done guarding this door. I am going to find Robert and Mel and I am going to make sure that when I visit Calvin's office, he will get more than a broken nose for this shit." Eli said strictly.

"No. You will do no such thing." Amir said right away with a serious tone.

"... Amir, you will not tell me to control myself after telling me all of that. Calvin will pay for this. I defended him over my friend and I was part of a fucked up lie without knowing it. The man does not deserve to be an overseer after all this." Eli said with a hateful tone.

"And I will go and kill Randal myself," Ryan said, the hate forcing his thought out loud.

Dion looked truly scared of his brother at this moment, his only thought now is the need to rush into the room already to hug his dad, relieved that he had not murdered someone without reason. But if his brother was going to commit something equally horrible, he had to stop it.

"ENOUGH," Amir said bluntly.

"Amir, we have every right-" Eli began furiously.

"No, you don't. This trial will take place in two days. It is the right way to go. We do NOT want to make things any worse to ruin Charlie's defense. Ryan, If you now go to Randal, you attacking him will not accomplish anything. In the worst case, he might try to stab you as well-"

"OH, HE CAN FUCKING TRY-" Ryan began like he wanted the old lynx to fight back.

"Ryan-" Dion began worriedly.

"Get off me! What is wrong with you?!" Ryan yelled disappointedly at his brother, shameful that Dion was just his old scared self and not ready to bring the justice of his own to guilty ones. The husky winched and back off, just wanting everything to stop.

"Ryan. Stop. Dion knows that violence only brings more violence. Right now, we have to think about what is best for Charlie. Attacking people will only give strength to Calvin's defense."

"So, we should just do nothing?!" Ryan asked in frustration.

"That is not happening, Amir. As much as crazy as it sounds, I am with Ryan on this. I will not accept this bullshit." Eli said sternly.

"Eli... Calvin has a gun in his office."

"... He what?"

"He is... A bit unstable at the moment. He knows that once I testify, it will not end badly for Randal. He is already coming in terms of his kin being executed or banished. He is a mess right now... And he knows what he did was wrong. It was genuine. He feels like shit over what he did. You would do anything to protect your kin. As well as these two boys in front of me. Try to put yourself on Calvin's place and understand-

"If my dad tried to kill my brother, you think I would try to defend him and forgive him?!-" Ryan asked, having zero sympathies to offer for Calvin right now. It was the last thing he would do.

"... No, you wouldn't. But love for the family makes you do things people wouldn't normally do. Eli. I beg you, do not go to Calvin. He already has gotten enough yelling and questioning for one day. Do it tomorrow. Right now, what you can do is to keep an eye on Randal."

"... Where is Randal? I need to know." Eli asked after a while, knowing that if Calvin indeed had a gun, it was not a good idea to rush into his office.

Now Amir looked beyond uncomfortable over having to say the worst news.

The rabbit closed his eyes, exhaling.

"He... He is with Niles-"

"COME AGAIN?!-" Ryan began, his eyes widening and the fox about to burst.

"Why would they let Mr. Hovan near Niles?!-" Dion even began in shock, Amir waving his paws to contain the panic.

"Calvin assured me that Randal had no intention to do anything irrational. Niles survived fighting Randal in a dark room, taken by surprise. Ryan, you taught him more than well to fight. Even if Randal would try something, it would most likely end up with Randal being the one beaten up. -

"THAT IS JUST A GUESS! YES, HE CAN FIGHT BECAUSE OF ME BUT RANDAL MIGHT HAVE A KNIFE! I DON'T WANT THAT SICK FUCK NEAR NILES-" Ryan began angrily.

"RYAN. LISTEN. I give you my word. Randal will not try anything. He can't afford to. For all I know... Mel and Rob are guarding the place."

"What on earth makes you think that?" Eli asked in confusion.

"Because I overheard them talking to Calvin. They know that Randal had something to do with his sons' incident. More than as a hunch. The two on their way out of Calvin's office muttered something about going through the armory. The only reason they would do that for was in order to protect Niles. I wouldn't be surprised if the two were guarding Niles's door right now." Amir said, truly hoping that was the case. He had indeed heard the two talk about getting themselves pistols. Amir didn't see any other reason for that but in order to protect someone.

Ryan looked slightly more calmed down after hearing that, but Eli spoke without hesitation after in the light of this news.

"... Look, in that case, I will take my leave. I will go and make sure that a sick piece of shit isn't going to lay finger on Niles. No matter if Rob or Mel is there. I want to protect the door at least and listen in case Randal tries something. I want to be there."

Ryan nodded at that gratefully, knowing that Niles would be more than safe with Eli outside in case Mel and Rob were not there.

The rabbit then spoke as Eli was about to take his swift leave.

"Eli... If Mel and Rob are there. Do not tell them what I just told you." Amir said with a serious tone.

"And why is that? They deserve to know that we are guarding a maniac against hurting his son." Eli said, frustrated at the bunny's constant need to lay low on everything.

"Amir, fuck the secrecy. Randal is dangerous and Mel and Rob need to know that my dad was right about everything. They will believe Eli." Ryan said, not seeing the point of silence either.

Amir then sighed and spoke to the wolf.

"Because if you tell them... I fear that the worst will happen. That you all... Do something final to Randal." Amir said quietly.

"... So what?" Eli asked without remorse.

"Please do shoot him for me," Ryan said angrily.

"Ryan, stop saying such things! No one else needs to get shot!" Dion said, tired of everyone's solution being violence. He felt like his mind couldn't take all this anymore.

Before Ryan was about to snap back at his brother for the merciful attitude, Amir spoke again.

Eli... This is not the way. I am with Dion; his heart is in the right place. As should yours be. Randal will answer for his monstrous crime, but not by murder. He will either lose his life by the result of the trial... Or sent to the great unknown. Don't. Make. This. Worse. You don't need to. Niles is already in a fragile state enough as well to have people pointing guns at his dad after going through such a trauma." Amir pressed beggingly.

Eli was clearly not satisfied with the reasoning and spoke.

"You think that being in the same room with a man who tried to kill you is good for your fragile state? I am done listening to this bullshit. I will go and make sure that Mel and Rob know what is going on. And if Randal even so much as raises his voice at the kid, I will break every bone in his body."

"Thank you-" Ryan began, more than okay with Eli's attitude right now, feeling grateful for the wolf after all.

"Eli..." Amir began beggingly again.

"Enough. I will make sure that I will be there between them. It will be enjoyable to see if the old fuck has the guts to talk to his son while I'm present." Eli said, turning around and nodding for the three as he took his leave.

"Eli, please-" Amir began, but Eli had made up his mind.

"Thank you for the truth, Amir. I will see you in a trial... Or the morgue, watching over Randal's body as we burn him. Sorry for the earlier, boys." Eli said at Ryan's and Dion's way.

"I will come with you, I need to see Niles-" Ryan began with an emotional tone, wanting to have his hands around his boyfriend and see him, but Eli cut him off, turning around.

"You will see him soon. For now, stay here with Amir. Your father should be awake at any moment now. You can all free him from the chair for all I care and take him to his room to rest, if you can find tools from somewhere. I don't have the key to his cuffs, but there should be a toolbox with cutters there somewhere." The black-furred wolf commanded.

Ryan stopped walking, seeing as the black-furred wolf really meant it.

"We are not here to free him. We are here to talk to him. Letting Charlie go is not an option. We have to wait for the trial. All of us. It is the right way." Amir said.

"Speak for yourself," Ryan muttered, turning to look at Amir judgingly.

Eli said nothing anymore, just giving a disappointed side nod at the bunny and took his leave.

The three watched as the black-furred wolf disappeared behind the corner shortly after.

...

The fox turned around to look at Dion and Amir.

The bunny looked nervous and had anxiety over the situation, wondering if telling about the whole thing had been a good idea after all. It felt like he might have overstepped.

Dion looked at the two for a moment, and then suddenly moved to the door. It opened up in front of him, dust and heavy air welcoming itself against his face as the dirty and unused room revealed itself in front of him.

After a moment of hesitation, the brown-furred husky walked into the darkness, Ryan starting to follow right after his brother, passing Amir.

The bunny looked after the fox, gazing around the hallway and sighing quietly.

He followed after the two boys through the door, closing it behind him.

But what they didn't know... Was the fact that someone had been looking at the situation the whole time from the distance.

Behind the corner, far away from the scene... There was a female raccoon, observing... And then making her move.

She quickly ran towards the door, begging that no one would be on these hallways to bear witness on what she was about to do.

"F-forgive me, Charlie." She said with an emotional tone.

She arrived at the open door that led to the place where the people she had just seen, went in seconds ago. Closed the door, wincing and begging no one in the dark room heard it. Most likely did. But now... She took out a hammer.

She raised the hammer in the air, aiming it right at the control panel of the door.

And she slammed as hard as she could.

WAPAM!!

The whole lock system broke totally, blinking red warning light on the information screen. The door was now locked shut tight, making a hell of a racket as the sparks flew from the machinery.

There was no going in... Or out.

She had trapped the people inside... And she could hear the voices wake up on the other side right away after the door kept making a small alert sound.

"W-what happened?"

"Did you all hear that?"

Were the only sentences she could hear before making a run for it, heading to where she was needed right now by orders. She didn't want to do this...

And she felt like her soul died a bit by the moment she heard desperate banging against the metal of the broken door.

Yet... She kept on running.

ACT 4

A FEW HOURS LATER

"I-it's me... I-I did what you asked." A scared female voice stuttered behind the steel.

"Come in."

The clock was around nine in the evening.

The dark office was like an ancient slumber, holding a quiet and still person within.

The door opened, the entrance lights shining around the invited guest. It was quiet.

The person walked into the dark room, closing the door after her. Calvin sat alone quietly behind his desk, feet on the table and fiddling with a pen. He had drunk down a glass of whiskey while been waiting for this person to walk in an hour now.

"You are late," Calvin said quietly.

"... Sorry."

"... Walk over here so I can see you."

The weasel stopped playing around with his pen, laying it on his desk slowly as the person approached with nervous steps.

The light revealed the shining grey fur, feminine perfume scent of a unique nature accompanying the figure.

Sandy Marston was standing in front of the desk now, looking tired and somewhat anxious, like it was a common feeling for her to have around this male in front of her.

"Look at me." The weasel said coldly without empathy.

"... I did what you asked." The girl said with a stressed tone.

"... I said look at me."

The female raccoon turned her scared gaze to meet with Calvin's eyes.

The weasel looked at her from head to toe with a somewhat disgusted look but intrigued.

"You would like to meet him right now, wouldn't you?" The weasel asked with jealousy heavy in his tone.

"... N-no." Sandy denied.

"You know what waits for him in two days so you wanted to put on some revealing clothes and smell nice, right?" The weasel muttered, looking at his claws and not able to even look at her anymore.

"... C-Calvin-"

"Answer me, you fucking disgusting slut," Calvin said from the bottom of his heart with hatred.

"... My love-" Sandy began, her knees shaking from fear.

"What did you discover? Spit it out." The weasel ordered.

"... May I sit first? I-I could use a break." Sandy asked quietly, hinting towards the comfy chairs and the table behind her. The more distance from Calvin the better.

The weasel suddenly lifted his legs from the table, turning to look at her.

"YOU... Need a break? You. Not me? Do you have the slightest idea about what I have been through within these last twenty-four hours?" The weasel asked with a hateful tone.

"... No, Calvin." Sandy apologized.

"Or what Randal has gone through?" The weasel pressured.

"... I-I can only imagine-" Sandy began, but clearly, it wasn't genuine. It was a survival mechanic.

"Clearly you cannot. All that dirty canine cum in your fucking system is clearly making you not think about anyone else but yourself." The weasel spat out, standing up behind the desk and staring at her.

Sandy could not look back at him anymore, rubbing her arm and staring at the floor as she felt the feel of captivity. She feared Calvin. Had for a long time. And she had more than good reasons for that. Especially when Calvin was ready to release his anger on her.

"W-why do you always h-have to talk to me this? Calvin, I still love y-"

The weasel now took quick and tempered steps around the table to walk next to the scared and almost crying raccoon, grabbing her by the neck.

She gave a painful wince but didn't fight back as the weasel squeezed, forcing her to turn her eyes to him.

"You... Do not know how to love. You... Are a fucking slut. Two years ago... I find out that you are sleeping with Winchester WHILE WE WERE STILL MARRIED..." The weasel spoke, his body shaking in rage as his claws dug into the raccoon's flesh.

"C-C-Calvin st-"

"You just wanted to get a child because I couldn't give you one. You despised me. Hated me-" The weasel spoke, about to snap.

"You are hurting me! -" Sandy began, begging for Calvin to let go.

The words made the weasel lose control.

"I AM HURTING YOU?!?!? I AM HURTING YOU?!??! WHAT YOU DID, IT HURT ME, KILLED ME TEN TIMES OVER! YOU FUCKING-" the weasel roared, spit flying against her face.

"LET GO!-" She screamed.. Only to have it answered in the worst way possible.

Calvin let go of her throat, balling his paw into a fist and hitting her right in the cheek.

Sandy fell down in shock, landing on her tail and the loud thud sound making Calvin wince for her sake despite the adrenaline.

He was panting rapidly, the helpless and shocked woman's fur shining due to the nightstand light, otherwise surrounded by darkness.

"Y-you... You hit me-"

"... I didn't mean to." Calvin apologized, sounding somewhat genuine.

"You..." She whispered, crying as she was crawling on the floor.

"Get up. Get on your feet. Now. Let me look at it." Calvin said, leaning his paw over in order to help her up, only to have the paw slapped away by her, the female raccoon getting back on her feet on her own.

"Do not... Touch me." She whispered.

The weasel took a step forward, making her tense up again.

The weasel whispered in an emotional tone.

"... I'll touch you if I want to... You are still my wife. No matter how much I hate you."

Sandy slowly turned to look at Calvin with anger and sorrow in her eyes as she whispered.

"... No... Who you hate... Is Charlie."

"... You made it so." Calvin said back quietly.

That made Sandy raise her voice as she cried out.

"How can you say that?!"

"If you had never cheated me and spread your legs to him-"

"AND YOU ARE GOING TO DENY THAT YOU HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THAT DECISION?!" She asked with a purely disgusted tone.

"... You are my wife. You were meant to understand. Stay by my side." Calvin pressured.

Now Sandy looked at Calvin like he was truly insane, Sandy fixing her posture and telling how she really felt.

"Support... SUPPORT? You... You are sick, Calvin... If these people knew... Knew the man you really are. Your tastes for girls that are not of age... You traumatized me... I saw you that night. I saw what you did to that poor girl under the maintenance deck. And you told her if she would tell anyone, you would have her parents cast out of the vault-"

"..." Calvin just looked at her, not answering.

"She was fifteen. She was still a virgin. Calvin... This evil inside you... You were not strong enough to fight it. And I was strong enough to be at your side to be part of it. You have... YOU HAVE NO RIGHT to hate me for that. You live with demons." She finished with a horrified tone out of the worst memory she had about her husband.

"... You were still devoted to me. It was only one time. I slipped. I fixed it. All you had to do was to understand and forgive." Calvin said, looking down at the floor.

"You think that little girl has forgiven you till this day?" She asked like Calvin should care.

Calvin swallowed loudly, feeling pain as he spoke.

"... No. And I do not blame her. But what mattered to me was... That for all those years of your unfaithfulness... When I took my ring off... You didn't even hesitate to take off yours that day. That... is what drove me to rage. You felt like you were finally free of me-"

"I loved you once. Long, long age. Before your sister dying. Before you turned into a completely different person. Before your devils. Before your hate. That man still lives in my memory. What life put you through... Losing her... It was unfair. But you made your choice to be swallowed by the darkness instead of fighting against it for one second." She said, one tear falling on her cheek.

"... You do not know how much I tried to fight it." Calvin said back like he truly believed he did.

"... Yeah... How is that going?" She asked in hate, rubbing the spot where the bruise was about to take form, a small cut in the middle to drop little blood.

"... I have the antiseptic in my drawer." Calvin said quietly, starting to walk behind his desk.

There was a silent moment between the two, Calvin going through his drawers. Sandy slowly walked all the way towards the four seated chairs, Randal's and Calvin's old chess game still untouched on the table.

Sandy sat down on the red velvet chair, looking at the weasel, still searching the meds behind his desk.

Suddenly Calvin spoke.

"... Have you succeeded yet?"

Sandy looked at Calvin frowningly and whispered.

"... I am not carrying his child yet."

Calvin stopped what he was doing, closing his eyes and speaking in a disappointed tone.

"The only reason I didn't have you thrown out of this vault the moment you took the ring out of your finger, was because you fell on your knees and begged me not to do it. I remember Xavier holding you down as you cried and begged for me to spare your life despite the betrayal... And I did. I went soft on you. I made a choice. Because you were willing to make it worth my time."

"..." Sandy didn't answer, starting to take out suddenly a cigarette with anxious paws from her pocket.

"... First... You promised that you would spy on Charlie from now on... Telling me anything he is possibly planning... If he decided to throw a rebellion and take my place."

"..."

"And second... The most important for me, as it was to you. You would become a mother... And me, finally, a father. You said you were getting closer to Winchester every month and that soon you two would have a baby." Calvin said, his voice sounding hopeful as it did broken.

"... I am still trying to make it so." Sandy said, wiping her tear away and sniffing, lighting up her cigarette to calm down from her emotional state.

Calvin slowly walked over to the seats, sitting down on the opposite side of Sandy and looking at her. Some emotional spark was still in there when their gazes met. It was clear. Hidden behind all the hate and disgust, there was still a glimpse of love and hope.

The weasel leaned in a bit and spoke quietly.

"... You are running out of time. You should be pregnant already. So we could finally have a child together. That fuck has kept saying that I would be a bad father for years now... And I would show him that I am capable of raising a kid with love, just like him. And as mockery, it would be his child by blood."

"... He... He just isn't ready yet." Sandy explained with shaky fingers, inhaling her cigarette fast.

"Each time you say that to me and keep letting him fuck you. You are not trying hard enough to persuade him. Even the idea of him touching you makes me want to kill him... But the only reason I have tried to hold my temper with him and not have him killed, was because I needed him. I hate that I need him... And you are making me very disappointed by making me need him longer and longer. I want him dead. And I want to be a father to his child."

"... He... Doesn't... He doesn't think... Th-"

Sandy cut off, taking the cigarette momentarily out of her muzzle and looking at the chessboard.

"Stop stuttering and speak. What doesn't he think?" Calvin asked impatiently.

Sandy took a long puff from her cigarette and spoke.

"He doesn't think that I am worthy of his child." She let out like it was painful as it was reliving to say.

Calvin was quiet for a while, looking rather blank by expression after hearing that. It was not something he expected. He looked genuinely surprised.

Sandy put the cigarette in her mouth again and spoke.

"... Ironic, isn't it? I bet it amuses you to see me suffer like this for trying to divorce you. You use me to your will by death threats and because you want to be a family... And the other man doesn't even want to give me a baby."

"... If he really thinks that low of you after all these years you two have been together, why did you turn to cheat on me for him in the first place?" Calvin asked like it made no sense to him.

Now Sandy looked at Calvin in disgust and pitiful gaze and whispered.

"... Do you really ask that? You, Calvin Marston, overseer of the vault fifty-five... A pedophile?"

Calvin now looked more aggressive. The word had ticked fire inside him as he spoke quietly with a murderous tone.

"Do not... Ever... Call me that again. Or you die."

"... Us getting married was a mistake." Sandy said right away, defying Calvin now and huffing her cigarette, knowing that Calvin could very well make it her last smoke.

After hearing that, Calvin's eyes looked glossy for a moment as he cleared his throat and spoke.

"Well... Since you want to really hurt me with your honest thoughts, I'll play the same. What I shared with that girl, unwilling or not, was by miles better sex that I've ever got from you."

"I hope you burn in hell-"

"The more you speak back to me the lesser I make your chances of staying alive... Answer the question I asked you. Why were you so eager to share a bed with a man who felt like you were not even worthy of his seed?"

"... You don't want to hear it." Sandy said quietly with an honest tone.

"I said answer the question, whore. Or I hit you again for annoying me." Calvin said angrily.

Sandy looked at Calvin for a while, another tear making its way down her cheek as she took out another cigarette and lighted it up, taking a few huffs from it and making Calvin wait before answering.

"Because no matter how he feels about having kids with me... He makes me feel safe. Safe and warm. Alive. That moment when I am with him... Whether we argue or not... Still, being with him makes me feel as good as it did between us before... Before you changed."

Calvin felt hurt but couldn't really blame her. She spoke genuinely and was full of fears, regrets and despise. But it didn't mean that Calvin couldn't still feel bad each time he looked at her. Especially after having hit her just now.

Without words, Calvin just looked at her teary eyes and slowly gave a bottle of something to her, along with a napkin. She understood the gesture, laying the still-burning cigarette on the table and opening the bottle in order to treat her wound on her cheek.

The moment she pressed the wet linen against her cheek, wincing slightly, Calvin spoke quietly with an emotional tone.

"... Then why did you make my suffering so much worse and stuck with me after it all crumbled beneath my feet? You could have divorced me the moment I started to get distant with you... The moment I didn't smile at you anymore. The moment I did nothing but cry because of my sister... The moment you realized I was... Sterile... Or at least the moment my... My dangerous and sinful urges came in the picture. You could have avoided all that. Why? Why did you not just abandon the boat when it was sinking?"

The weasel's eyes begged for the truth.

Sandy was quiet first, swallowing as she laid the linen down, taking the cigarette again in her grasp and spoke quietly, looking at Calvin.

"Because I thought I could save you. I wanted to. I tried to... Until I saw that it was never a possibility. Because you didn't want help. You died with your sister. And it took me too many years to see it."

Calvin tried not to get teary-eyed himself now, rubbing his forehead and whispered quietly as he took one pawn from the chessboard in his fingers.

"... You deserved better than me. I shared my demons with you. It was never meant to happen."

"... I know. But I wanted to feel like that the same, joyful and ambitious man was still inside you... Somewhere deep. The man I fell in love with."

"... Fuck..." Calvin sniffed, leaning back on his chair and rubbing his eyes tiredly, feeling his emotions get the better of him.

"... Do you see any of him anymore when you look at me? At all? Even a glimpse?" Calvin asked quietly after the raccoon.

Sandy now laid down her cigarette, her eyes glimmering as she sniffed loudly, wiping her face again. She looked at Calvin, letting out the word like it was a defeat to admit it out loud.

"No. But I still love you... And that love comes out of nothing but pure empathy."

Calvin was quiet for a while. The word struck him because he knew it was coming. Still, the small hope had been there. He spoke with a somewhat shaky tone, trying to get himself together.

"... Thank you for your honesty."

Sandy didn't speak anymore, huffing his cigarette and looking on the floor now.

Calvin took a moment, shoving his emotions away and cleared his throat after the somber silence was shared together in the darkness.

"... Now, the information. What have you learned by tailing Amir?"

"... It's... It's bad." Sandy admitted quietly, finishing her cigarette and dumping it on the ground.

"... Elaborate."

"... Amir already told what really happened... To the kids. Ryan and Dion." Sandy said.

Calvin nodded at that, looking thoughtful for a while, calculating his moves from here.

"Well, it was only a matter of time. Those two can be dealt with. Amir is dedicated on testifying on the trial. It only made sense he would tell the Winchester children what is really going on." Calvin said like it was expected collateral.

Sandy leaned back on her chair and started to look nervous for some reason. Like she was not telling everything.

"... He told you that personally?" Sandy asked, clearly not having believed that Amir had it in him. She thought that what she had witnessed was nothing but gossip. But the bunny was going to turn the direction of the whole upcoming trial around boldly without shame and nothing to hide. Calvin was not going to like what she had to reveal next.

Calvin waved off his paw.

"To my face. And I... I did nothing. I wanted to shoot him. But I couldn't. People would be realizing his absence soon after people seeing him going to my office and being nowhere seen for the trial. I would be the number one suspect and would be right there on my knees to be thrown out of the vault or shot in the head." The weasel grunted, rubbing his nose bridge tiredly.

"Calvin..."

Sandy said quietly, looking at the weasel right now with somewhat panicking and alerted look, Calvin noticing it and finally speaking.

"What? Why are you looking like that?"

"..."

"Sandy, did you see Amir telling anyone else?" Calvin suddenly asked, leaning forward.

"... Yes. I did... You are not going to like what I-"

"... THEN WHY DID YOU NOT SAY IT THE MOMENT YOU WALKED IN-" Calvin began, rising up from his chair and getting agitated and focused again.

"BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T LET ME SIT DOWN YOU JUST BEGAN YELLING AT ME AND ATTACKED-"

"Who did he tell, Sandy! Tell me, right now!" The weasel yelled, making Sandy wince from fear and speaking after swallowing carefully.

"... He told Eli. I-in front of Ryan and Dion." She admitted, fearing what was coming next.

Calvin's eyes for some reason did not even waver from that.

"Only Eli? And you are sure about that?"

"... Yes. After leaving your office... I-I didn't see him talking to anyone else."

"... Good girl. Well, then there are no worries, is there? Everything going according to plan. I knew he would tell Eli, I said that to you earlier. He was the weak link I had doubts, and he took the bait. He will most likely end up in the same bout as Rob and Mel after all this is done." Calvin said sternly and confidently.

"... Yes." Sandy said quietly.

"It only made sense that Eli would buy into Amir's words, being close to Winchester as he is. He left the scene quick I assume? No one was guarding Charlie's door anymore afterward?" Calvin asked knowingly.

"... No. No guarding." She admitted.

"... Did Eli accompany them inside or go somewhere else? He did not come here since Amir most likely told about me having a gun, so where did he-"

"He went to see Randal. That... Is what you should worry about. Now that he knows." Sandy said like it could be a true trouble.

"... I am very well prepared for this one as well. You see, no one is guarding Randal and Niles... They are all together... And Randal has something that Eli won't expect. A gun."

"... You let Randal have a g-gun?" The female raccoon asked with a horrified tone.

"... Randal will not shoot Eli. Would cause chaos. He will have the wolf locked up into the bathroom most likely so I can go and talk some sense to him about this upcoming trial and keep his mouth shut. Bribe him."

"And if he doesn't? -"

"Don't you worry about my plans for Eli, Mel or Rob. You have done already enough. Assuming that you did carry out the most important one. Did... You... Lock them in the room where Charlie is held?" Calving asked.

This part mattered the most... Or his plan would be ruined.

Sandy felt ashamed but she nodded slowly and answered.

"... I did... I-I managed to break the lock system." She admitted.

"... And that is the truth? I won't have Charlie popping out any moment now through that door and shoot me right in the head?" Calvin asked with a curious tone.

"F-fuck I'm losing my mind; I need another cigarette-" Sandy began nervously.

Calvin snapped his fingers loudly right in front of her to force her back into the moment and pay attention.

"Are you sure they are not getting out?" Calvin asked.

Sandy started to dig out her cigarettes with a shaky paw. The moment the pack was out in the open, Calvin slapped the pack away from her grasp. It flew onto the floor, jump scaring Sandy as the weasel pressed for Sandy to focus.

The female raccoon exhaled and spoke with a hateful tone.

"I DID AS YOU ASKED. Why would Amir release Charlie before the trial in the first place? Amir made it very clear to Eli and you, since he is keeping a low profile about your crime, that he wants no bloodshed. He would have not shot Charlie with the sedative dart either. He is a good person... And... He would know that releasing Charlie would cause only more death. So, locking them in like that... As cruel and unethical it was... What was the point, Calvin? Why do such a thing?" She asked like it all made no sense.

Calvin relaxed slightly, picking up the cigarette pack from the floor and holding it in his paw.

"... It was a percussion. You witnessed what Charlie was capable of in that hall. He was crazy. Amir might not intend to release him from his cuffs and straps to free him but his children might have. Especially that temperamental fox son of his. Which would most likely lead to more bullets flying. I am keeping the situation under control by having them all locked up in one place." Calvin pointed out.

Sandy sighed and whispered.

"They can't get out of that room without equipment needed. Not on their own."

"Well, I have the equipment to open it when it's time for it. Right now, is not the time yet." Calvin stated.

"... So, what happens now, then?" Sandy asked nervously.

"... The final chess game. Winner takes all. Like me... You still have a chance to survive this with good cards, Sandy. You might have not given me a child but at least you have given me my long-waited revenge." Calvin said calmly, handing out the cigarette pack towards the raccoon.

Sandy slowly took one out and spoke.

"By the way, Amir talked about you... He made it sound like you had given up already on your brother in law... Accepted his fate..."

Calvin slowly took out the lighter and started to light up the cigarette for Sandy as he spoke.

"That is what Amir needed to see in order for me to play his sympathy. He needed to see me weak. But he does not know the fact that I will do anything to protect my brother in law. I will go to extreme measures as you are very clearly witnessing. He will survive this... And I am afraid some people MAY have to die for it. Unloyal people. But I hope it won't come to that." Calvin muttered.

"... What about Niles? He is just a boy." Sandy asked, it clearly disturbing her the most.

"... What do you mean?" Calvin asked quietly.

Sandy now spoke like Calvin was idiotic and careless about this.

"... Calvin... You place too much trust on the man you are trying to save. You gave Randal a gun... And you put him in the same room with his own son. Right after he already had tried to kill him once. You are a bad person, Calvin... And I am one of the few who can really see it because I know you... But if Randal... tries to finish what he started. -"

Calvin cut her off, speaking with a very serious tone.

"He won't. I gave him one last chance. He will not fuck this up. He will not... Hurt Niles. Trust me."

"... Trust you. Niles did not deserve to have such a father, or you... I hate that he has to go through all of this." She repeated with a despising tone, huffing the cigarette and shaking her head.

"Randal will not do any harm to him. He knows that it would be death for both of us." Calvin pressed.

Sandy now took the cigarette out of her muzzle and spoke like it made no sense.

"... And in his emotional state and all that hate inside him... Did you place your trust in him nevertheless? You are insane. You need to save yourself, not him. You can't save both of you, Calvin. It is too ambitious and risky. PEOPLE ARE TALKING. Everyone knows that Charlie could have not just made all of this up by imagination."

"..."

She then sighed and spoke emotionally.

"A man who is ready to kill another man... Is a bad person... But a man who is ready to kill his child... Calvin... You are gambling with your life to save a monster."

Calvin now leaned in, almost growling.

"That monster... Is my kin. The one that matters. And you will not speak of him like that ever again. Am I understood?"

She did not answer. Calvin did not like that for one bit.

He quickly yanked her from the back of her hair, making her wince in pain as he growled again.

"DID YOU HEAR ME?"

"Y-YES! STOP HURTING ME!"

Calvin let go of the raccoon, observing disgustedly as the stressed-out female kept inhaling and exhaling the smoke in order to calm herself down, not really processing on the effort.

Calvin started to lean back, suddenly smiling slightly as he chuckled.

"... And beside... I have something that you do not know... What you did not find out after all of these years spreading your legs to him. Pathetic really. I have known for a long time now. Because I have eyes and ears everywhere. People loyal to me."

"... And what do you know that I don't know?" Sandy asked, still just concerned for Niles.

Calvin now clapped his paws quickly, taking Sandy's attention as he spoke.

"... My evidence... To prove everyone how dangerous and trouble Charlie has truly been all of this time. All along. Something that makes everyone at the trial believe me, once I challenge Amir to be part of it all. Making Xavier's death and all of this chaos possible."

Sandy now looked at Calvin doubtingly and spoke.

"... And what proof is that?"

Calvin then spoke the words like it was a true pleasure to say them aloud.

"... Charlie Winchester... Is a drug addict."

Sandy looked like she had not heard right.

"... W-what?"

"He has been addicted to Med-X and Mentats for years now," Calvin admitted, having held this down for such a long time it felt reliving to share it with someone for the first time.

"... Bullshit." Sandy said like it could not be true.

Calvin chuckled, shaking his head and speaking with a disappointed and victorious tone.

"... I happen to have an inventory log right here on my holotape. It has a voice recording by Amir Waldi himself. It was recorded a few days ago... And it tells his confession and worries for your dear Charlie Winchester... And his worry of what I would do, once I would find out that Charlie has been raiding the chems from our med bay for years. Sooo soooo worried about poor Charlie's mental health too. Oh, how will the younglings react when the image of their loved teacher shatters. Nothing but a junkie, hiding his true selfish needs. Acting like he is a proper man. But he is nothing but a violent drug fiend. No one will want him in here anymore after that."

"... N-no... Charlie..." Sandy spoke out in disbelief.

Calvin slowly dug out something from his pocket, waving it in front of her with a smile.

"Xavier's sacrifice was not in vain. I ordered him to raid all of Amir's recent audio logs in case there was a record that could tie me or Randal to what happened. If there was Niles crying in any of them. Or Amir recording possible death time accouchement, if Niles would not survive. They did not find such, of course. Guess Amir did not have the time for medical recordings in the middle of saving the boy. But... Instead, they found that one. Elliot had the holotape in his pocket. I got it in my possession after visiting the med bay from the cat myself. Elliot was delirious but still remembers most things that happened. Amir does not know that he just woke up. Busy littering his gossip to guards and kids. I got lucky. Elliot will be rewarded for bringing this to me... And I will make sure Xavier will have a good funeral, may he rest in peace. Loyal man and a good guard. Charlie will pay for it."

Sandy still looked like it was all too much to process. Calvin was literally taking everything into account and moved around to do anything to get anything at all against Charlie. Now he had it.

Calvin smiled at the stunned expression full of disbelief, talking quietly as he waved the holotape in his paw.

"If you do not believe me, I will play the tape myself. You have been blind. No worries, so was I before this tape. But you met him often. And you never noticed the signs or the needle marks? Because you are careless. All you wanted was what sluts always live for... But nevertheless, what I am holding in my paw right now... Is what will save my brother-in-law's life as well as mine... And makes sure that it's all over for Charlie, as well as Amir for concealing it all."

"..."

"I did it, Sandy... I have already won. And all you have to do... Is remain loyal to me as you have so far. Do as I say... Or you will be right there on your knees, sentenced with Charlie and Amir all the same."

"I-I will remain loyal. You can trust me, Calvin..."

"Good," Calvin said with a satisfied tone, leaning back on his chair and observing the nervous female raccoon, looking as she was taking out another cigarette with shaky fingers.

The weasel then suddenly spoke with a commanding tone before Sandy managed to light it up.

"Stop... You have polluted this room with the stench enough for now... It's clear that you and I both are still under a lot of stress. Now, my obedient wife... Let's ease that stress." Calvin said with a firm tone as he started to undo his belt buckle.

"... Calvin... N-not now, please. I beg you. I did all you asked. I don't want to... It's not right. Not with all this."

"...Sandy. Do not anger me, when you have been such a good spy. You are still my wife... And you have your duties to please your husband. Your true husband. Now... Take off your clothes. I don't want to hit my wife a second time in one evening after such an open share of hearts. Only fitting... For you to make love to a man who really owns you."

END