Madam President

Chapter Sixteen

Such was the train of Rebecca's thoughts that morning as she got ready to do...absolutely nothing.

To go have breakfast on the balcony of her cabin. A cabin where she hadn't invited anyone, save a scant security team.

And Freen.

Freen, who had been the one to help her into her bedroom the night before when she'd been almost too tired to take the necessary steps, herself.

Freen, to whom she would have nearly unlimited access for the duration of the weekend.

The thought of that made her stomach ache in a way that was strangely not entirely unpleasant, and it was a thought that also had her making sure her high ponytail was in place and that her sweater hung nicely against her body before she finally made her way out of her bedroom towards the stairs and, inevitably, the kitchen.

There would be a chef here for lunch and every meal after that, but she'd specifically requested to make this one, herself.

She didn't want to forget how to cook. There were a few little strands of regular humanity she was clinging to and that was one that felt like it was slipping terribly.

And besides, she was fairly certain she would rather enjoy having breakfast overlooking the mountains while the sun rose.

Rebecca was smiling as she rounded the corner.

She was smiling as she headed, first, for the well-stocked fridge. Until she wasn't.

Until--

"I didn't allow you to fund your campaign with our family's money so that you could bankrupt me you know, sis."

Her jaw clenched immediately.

She spun on her heels and saw Richard sitting in the breakfast nook in the pre-dawn shadows looking more than a little irritated with her.

And a chill ran up her spine and caused the hairs to rise along her arms as she crossed them in front of her chest.

"How did you get past...You're not supposed to..."

"Get in the way?" Richard asked with a lift of his brow.

"Please just say it, Rebecca. Please tell me you don't need me anymore so that I can tell the world that you're trying to pass a bill that would cause me to scrap a billion-dollar project that you consulted on."

Rebecca went visibly pale in a way that she hated. In a way that gave everything away all at once despite the steel in her eyes and the strong set of her jaw.

"I had no idea what you were working on, Richard. And I have no intention of allowing you to control an untold number of people."

"It has nothing to do with control," Richard responded, trying and failing to hide his agitation.

"It's simply an inhibitor. Listen, sis, your platform is really...inspirational and all. Really. Or else you wouldn't be where you are. But we need to be realistic, here. You can change that wording so easily. I know you can. It's not as if it's a registry or some totalitarian ideal. It's an inhibitor for dangerous aliens. And you are about to put an end to my biggest government contract."

"It isn't right, Richard. It doesn't matter what the logic behind it is, anymore." Rebecca responded adamantly, a slight flush of emotion rising in her cheeks.

"It's not going to happen. I don't care about your threats. I'm not scared of you. Not scared enough to pretend the rights and freedoms of this country only apply to certain people."

Rebecca drew in a sharp breath to steady herself and continued on while Richard sat in stony silence.

"And I know you won't go public. I know you wouldn't do that. You're nothing but empty threats, and you have more than a steady enough stream of revenue outside of that contract to come out on top."

"You have no idea what I would do, sis," Richard responded in a low, almost inaudible tone as he began to stand and adjust his jacket.

Neither of them saw Freen approaching. In fact, Rebecca's eyes only just fleshed up to her as she stepped behind Richard.

"No, she doesn't," Freen said quietly. "But we do."

"Agent Sarocha, I presume?" Richard said the name like it tasted rancid in his mouth.

"Lift your hands," Freen responded simply, and Richard complied. Slowly. All while Rebecca watched what was happening like a train wreck that she couldn't tear her eyes from.

"You know, you've given me a lot of trouble over the past year, Sarocha," Richard said as his piercing gaze stayed glued to Rebecca's. "I have to say you run an annoyingly tight ship."

"Freen..." Rebecca began as she reached out as though there was anything she could do to stop this as she heard the tell-tale clinking of cuffs being pulled from the belt of the jeans Freen was wearing this morning.

"Freen, wait."

Freen was already clicking the first cuff around Richard's wrist.

Richard was smirking as the wheels began turning.

Freen cast a questioning gaze in Rebecca's direction. "Freen, he's my brother."

"I know."

"Don't do this. Please."

Rebecca stopped just before the first latch of the second cuff caught. "What do you mean, Rebecca?"

"Please let him go. He's my brother." Rebecca responded with a barely audible tremor in her voice.

"You heard me say we know who he is, Rebecca. I can't do that. He's been trying to poke holes for months and there's a reason he's not on your list. There is a plethora of reasons."

"I'll add him retroactively," Rebecca responded, clearly quite panicked. "On the condition he never attempts a breach, again."

There was silence for a while.

Richard correctly surmised that it was in his best interest to stay quiet for a while. Besides, he was busy mapping every nuance of Rebecca's pleading expression as she looked at Freen beseechingly.

Rebecca was just about to say something else when she heard the click of a lock release. She was surprised by the sight of Richard calmly rubbing at his own wrists and adjusting his jacket again.

"Out the way you came without alerting anyone," Freen said as she slipped her cuffs back into the back pocket they'd been tucked in. "Don't try it again."

Freen stayed in that room for a beat longer than Rebecca expected with a level of pain and conflict in her eyes that tore Rebecca apart.

As soon as Richard was out of sight, so was Freen.

Breakfast was all but forgotten, then. Rebecca was alone in the kitchen with the sun rising slowly against her back through the windows. Richard was gone. Freen was...somewhere.

No doubt incredibly angry with her...or worse.

-

Disclaimer: Story is not mine, I only adapted it to FreenBecky Fanfic because I love this piece and I love FB. I want to see them portray the characters in this story.