The Cadet - The Officers 1 #watty2015

Chapter 10 - The court martial approaches

Jace quickly closed the package before tucking it into his locker. There was no way in hell he was going to open it while everyone was in the room. When he turned back and Holcum was smirking at him Jace stuck his tongue at him. When several questions were directed his way he completely ignored them. Instead he changed the subject. "What did you mean by your mother being angry? For the most part she sounded fairly reasonable."

Holcum snorted. "Normally my mother is a reasonably relaxed person and not a great deal gets her worked up. In this case what really points out just how angry she is was the last bit, you know, where she gave the Williamsons her sympathy. That was so relaxed and civil I could tell she was twisting the screws in and with a great deal of evil intent." He stopped talking and waited.

Nacy's eyebrows beetled as she was trying to think about how it could come across that way. "I don't understand Holcum. What she said is something any normal and reasonable person might. What happened to his family was horrible and a criminal is a criminal. How could it be a poke in their direction?" Now she was nibbling on a finger nail.

*Do you want to explain it Mila?* When she sent him a no he lightly nipped one ear. "Think about it Nacy, what do the Williamson's despise beyond all else based on what you know?" He wanted a number of people to think about it. It wasn't to make his mother look mean but this was something he had been taught. Sometimes kindness and civility would reap rewards in spades if applied correctly.

Nacy was seriously thinking about it as was Jace. When he finally had an answer he replied instead of Nacy. "Um, I am going out on a limb here but I would say non-humans would be close to the top of the list if not the top." He was still trying to connect the dots but it just wasn't gelling.

Holcum gave them a tight smile. "Correct and now what could be one of the worst things they could imagine getting from a sub-human as they put it?" He figured that would prod their thoughts.

Larry suddenly sat up and groaned. "Oh god, the worst would be sympathy from a supernatural for the loss of their family. Since the supernatural killed most of their family to have one give them sympathy would be a slap in the face. It would be seen as adding insult to injury."

The other Cadets sitting around and listening twitched. Their expressions were a mixture of horror and appreciation for the skilled work. Holcum gave Larry a slight nod. "Exactly, it wasn't just the sympathy and condolences but the entire interview. Mom and Dad deliberately came across as sympathetic and wishing for a civil resolution. They, the sub-human's," his face tensed at that term, "beat them at their own game. The Williamson's have been playing the whole they destroyed our family not to mention the freedom of speech and thought. My parents slapped them down by being firm but conciliatory towards them. The vast majority of the world is going to be on their side. The final statement was designed to rub their noses in the entire interview."

Holcum had to chuckle. "I just had an image of when I was little and made a mess. Mom would rub my muzzle in it and bop me with a rolled up newspaper. I almost had a vision of her doing that to... Well I am not going to say anything else and time for a shower."

Mila snickered at him when he said that. "I resisted the urge to do that since I just knew I was going to let you chase me when you were of age." Not really since she had disciplined him more than a few times over the years.

Everyone laughed before they started going to get ready for the shower. When they did Holcum stood and stretched. *Mila don't keep things from me. It will cause me more stress than my choosing to ignore what is going on dirt side.* He wasn't going to yell or scream at the moment since it would change anything. He was going to need to think about it before he said anything else. When he did step into the shower with her Holcum didn't let his irritation stop him from helping her get clean. Both of them needed the contact at the moment.