[OLD] The Scorpion Mission (#2)

Twenty-Three

Victoria knelt down so that she was eye-level with the counter. The medicine lined up with the 25 millimeter line, so she grabbed the cup and walked over to Summer.

"Here you go." She handed the cup to Summer.

Summer groaned. "This stuff's disgusting."

"Sorry." Victoria nodded at the medicine.

Summer rolled her eyes and chugged the medicine. She made a face as she handed the cup back to Summer.

"You gonna go train?" Summer asked as Victoria took the cup over to the sink.

Victoria shrugged and turned on the faucet. "Yeah, in a minute. Dr. Williams wanted me to organize the medicine cabinet."

"What, you'd rather do busywork than train?"

Victoria rinsed out the cup. "Apparently."

"You don't like fighting, do you?"

"And you do?"

Summer shrugged. "I mean, the whole situation kinda sucks. But yeah, I like fighting. It feels good to be doing something. I get it though, most kids don't. They still do it, though."

Victoria didn't say anything. After a moment, Summer added, "Sorry. What I mean is, you don't have to fight at all, if you don't really want to. I mean, I'm sure the doctors would be glad to have a full time assistant."

"I have to fight," Victoria said.

"For Claire?" Summer guessed. "She can handle herself."

"Everyone keeps telling me that," Victoria muttered. She glanced at Summer, who stared back with a quizzical look in her eyes.

Summer looked down. "Have I mentioned my cousin?" she asked.

Victoria frowned. "Shane?"

"Yes. You sort of remind me of him. I mean, the way you worry about Claire. He was the same way with me."

"Oh yeah?"

"He wouldn't leave my side during battles." A sad smile tugged at Summer's lips. "We've lost a few kids over the years. We were good fighters, sometimes we just got unlucky."

Victoria hesitated. "Ash killed him, right?"

"Well, sort of," Summer said. Her expression darkened. "It was a supply run. Our suppliers have to move around a lot to stay safe... Anyway, this time they were temporarily renting the top floor of a building in LA. Scorpion showed up and we ended up in a fight on the roof.

"Ash turned to attack me, and Shane jumped in to get him away from me. They fought, they were too close to edge, and all Ash had to do was give him a push..."

"I'm sorry," Victoria said. "That's... that's awful."

"Yeah, well..." Summer's eyes met Victoria's. "It was a long time ago. Anyway, what I want you to get is that you need to live your own life. If Claire wants to fight, she can fight. If you don't want to, you don't have to."

"I—" Victoria searched for an argument, but she wasn't sure what else there was to say. Except...

"I hate to sound like a broken record," Summer said. "I'm sure you've been asked this a thousand times, but I think you have an answer you aren't giving us. Why are you so worried about Claire?"

Victoria's fingers drummed against the counter. "I think she's pushing herself too hard," she finally said.

"Why?"

Victoria bit her lip. Only she and Dad knew what happened. She'd promised she wouldn't tell. But deep down, she desperately wanted to trust Summer with the story. She wanted someone to know she wasn't crazy for being so protective of Claire.