The Indomitable Titans: Resurgent Enemy

Severed Connections Part I

The Elder and Zinagata have just pulled Ryannus into the Elder's office to reprimand him for what transpired at the White House. Because of his actions, Katie was in the hospital. Ryannus sits in the chair in front of the Elder's desk. Zinagata stands over by the bookshelf with his arms folded trying to hold back his emotions. The Elder sits in his office chair with a high-back and headrest letting a few second go by while he gathered his thoughts. Zinagata didn't quite have the patience his father did and sternly turns to Ryannus.

Zinagata- "Why did you leave her alone? That was your responsibility."

Ryannus- "I heard the fighting and thought they needed my help. I thought you would appreciate that I had a fellow Riuken's back out there."

Zinagata- "Your actions are why Katie is laying in a hospital bed right now. We're lucky she survived."

Ryannus- "I didn't want anything bad to happen to Katie, but I heard Jessie in trouble."

Zinagata- "Jessie can take care of herself better than Katie can in that situation."

Ryannus- "But Jessie is more important."

Zinagata- "So, we're saving people now based on who you think is more important? We're making that distinction now?"

Emotions were beginning to run hot. The Elder notices that Zinagata is getting more agitated with every response from Ryannus. He raises his hand to try and bring the temperature down in simmering in that room. Zinagata backs off.

Zinagata- "You can talk to him then. I'm done, dad."

Zinagata marches out of the room, closing the door hard behind him. The Elder does not want to be antagonistic. He smiles slightly and stands up to walk around to Ryannus.

The Elder- "I understand that you have a soft spot for Jessie, and she is a very special individual. But Katie is also a special individual. We all are special individuals and it's important that we extend that same protective disposition that you have for Jessie to all living things."

Ryannus- "I understand what you're saying. But I fail to see what's special about the Zollerans and most humans too. I still can't believe they have these Agents out there working with the Zollerans, helping them get humanity back under their thumb. They're so weak they don't give a damn what happens to their people. I can't respect that."

The Elder- "I'm not asking you to respect their actions, but I am asking you to respect their lives. The Oath of Engagement, what's the first point?

Ryannus- (Rolls his eyes) "All Titans and humans have a right to life under the Lemental.

The Elder- "Yes."

Ryannus- "And I was protecting Jessie's life."

The Elder- "If it was just this incident, that would be the case. But Zinagata has told me there have been other issues that have been going on with you out there."

Ryannus goes through a list in his mind of things he's done The Elder would find questionable. The most recent was Raman in that subway station and the Agent during the attack in downtown Boston.

Ryannus- "I was just doing it to beat these guys. It was one less Zolleran warrior to worry about and one less traitor to humanity."

The Elder- "And what about points four and five of the War Conduct? Human combatants are to be captured and handed over and slaying only to save a life is justified. Why do you think we have this code?"

The Elder pauses waiting for Ryannus to answer. Ryannus flippantly smiles through tight lips. He always viewed the Code as a hinderance but knew enough about how serious this was to not say anything. When he doesn't, the Elder continues.

The Elder- "Because when a line in the sand between what is right and wrong isn't drawn, atrocities get committed. Some of the worst acts in history are done when people convince themselves they're doing it for the right reasons. That the ends justify the means."

Ryannus- "I'm just saying...sometimes we need to do somethings to make sure we beat these guys. Right?"

The Elder- "We're not just here to keep humanity safe from the Zollerans, we're here to build a better world. But you can't build a better world on the bodies of lives you've taken indiscriminately."

Ryannus- "I see."

Ryannus listens to the words of the Elder and does internalize them. Ryannus does feel guilty about Katie, even worse so to him, Jessie has been cold to him since Katie was hurt. He knows she's at the hospital and wants this all to blow over quickly. The Elder has Katie guarded by one of the Riukens in case the Neo-Vandals came back for her. Volunteering to do that should help.

Ryannus- "When do you want me to go to the hospital for my shift looking after Katie? I know Westin is there now, then Jessie, then Zinagata..."

The Elder- "That won't be necessary. The other three will handle it. Just get some rest and really think about what I said."

Ryannus is a little surprised to hear this, but he nods and leaves the Elder's office. Ryannus feels a little uneasy. The Elder is not one to usually exclude team members of duties, even when they make a mistake. Ryannus tries not to dwell on this too much and takes out his cell phone while in the hallway. He pulls up Jessie's number to text her. He struggles with what to say but just settles on 'Hey'. After the text is sent, he makes his way back to his loft hoping to get an answer.

***

Later that night, Ryannus sits in the living room of his loft, leaning back in his chair, his feet kicked up on his ottoman. He has a beer and tries to relax, but the day made him uneasy and that feeling persisted. He faces the window leading out to his deck, occasionally looking down at his cell phone, hoping to get a text from Jessie soon. It's been hours since he sent her 'Hey'. With each passing moment, Ryannus feels more and more unsure of how she feels about him. He tries not to think about it, but his mind dwells on it, like a constant gnawing. Every time he looks away, he asks the Lemental for a small favor, to see an incoming text message from Jessie come up one the screen. When that doesn't happen, he takes one more sigh before tossing his phone on the couch behind him, out of sight.

Almost immediately after the phone hits the couch, he hears the chime of a received text. He quickly gets up out of the chair and rushes to the couch to grab his phone. He picks it up but doesn't see a text from Jessie, or anybody else for that matter. He hears that chime again, it's coming from the closet near his front door, where he keeps his suit. He opens the door and follows the noise to his vest pocket. There was another phone in there, the one he kept from one of the Neo-Vandals that attacked the White House and forgot about.

Two text messages have just been received on that phone. Ryannus pulls the messages up from a blocked number. The first text message reads 'Meet your contact at the DC Metro subway station at 8:45am. Tomorrow". Ryannus scrolls down to the next message that reads 'The Monroe platform. Your contact will be wearing a red sweatshirt. He's an Agent that answers to Jack."

A clear Agent plot involving the Neo-Vandals. Whoever sent the text message must not know the Zolleran it was meant for dropped it. Ryannus knows what to do.

Ryannus- "The Elder is going to want to see this."

Ryannus then quickly grabs his keys and heads back for the front door to alert the Elder and the others but stops. He thinks briefly to himself. They blamed him for what happened to Katie, and he knows his actions did leave her open to being harmed. He convinces himself he needs to make it up to the team and single-handily. Ryannus slips the NV's phone back into his suit pocket and picks his phone from back off the couch. This time he doesn't worry about a text message, he goes right to his alarm clock app and sets it for 8:00am.

Ryannus- "He'll be looking for a Zolleran, but he'll get a Riuken instead."

***

Is Ryannus making the right decision handling this himself?