Phoenix

Chapter 20: The Missing Piece

"Do you recognize these things?" he asked, showing them pictures of Em's necklace, bracelet, boots, and psionic metal helmet.

"That's Em's necklace," Lena noticed. "And bracelet."

Kida stayed quiet. The bloody objects were already engraved in her head but having them presented to her seemed heavier, as though the pictures made it official.

"Do you know what this is?" he asked, pointing to the psionic metal helmet.

"No. Kida, do you recognize that?" Lena asked, pulling her into the conversation.

"No," she responded, remembering the way Benito ripped the helmet from Em's head.

"Would you know if Em has any shooting experience?" Captain Weaver asked, keeping his eyes on Kida.

"Of course not. She's too young," Lena replied, looking shocked while Kida avoided eye contact with Captain Weaver.

"How long, Kida?" he asked, noticing her nervously tapping fingers, shifting eyes, and hesitating lips.

"3 years," she revealed, turning away from her mother's gaze.

"What?" Lena exclaimed, shooting dagger eyes at Kida.

"The gun in her house?" Weaver continued to question, overlooking Lena's reaction.

"Her fathers, Nick kept them and taught her how to shoot," she explained, giving out long-kept secrets.

'Sorry love, some things need to come to light in order to keep the big things hidden.'

"Has she ever been suicidal?" Weaver questioned, sinking fear into Kida's eyes.

"What do you mean?" Lena asked as he pulled out his iPad.

'No, no, don't make me watch this again,' she begged as Weaver started playing the recording.

Em stood with the stolen handgun pointed at herself as the other shooters around her jumped to action and kept a trained eye on her.

"Put the gun down," Benito ordered.

"Make me," she threatened, pressing the gun deeper into her neck.

"Listen to Benito, for god damn sake," Mike demanded, seeming flustered.

"Why? So you can rubbage through my thoughts, keep poisoning me with that repellant, and hurt what's left of my family. Not a chance, I'm not going to let that happen," Em explained, keeping her finger on the trigger.

"Emerald, you don't have to do this," Nichole pleaded, stepping in front of Mike.

"What choice do I have?" her voice trembled.

Captain Weaver stopped the video before revealing Nichole as an inhuman. Lena sat frozen with a hand over her gasping mouth, while Kida kept her gaze away from the screen as tears slipped from the corners of her eyes. Max whined from his place beside Kida as he recognized Em's voice.

"Is she?" Lena asked once words managed to find their way to her tongue.

"No. Further review of the footage shows that she never pulled the trigger. But does this seem out of character for her?" Weaver wondered.

"Yes," Lena answered immediately.

"No," Kida breathed, whipping away her watery fear. "She's in a position where it's take your life or let them take it. You heard her over the phone when she called that day. She won't let it come to that."

Lena stared silently at Kida, confused, and upmost horrified with what Kida was suggesting.

"So you're saying that if she gets the opportunity, she'll pull the trigger," Weaver rephrased.