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Post by demikara on Oct 23, 2019 10:23:29 GMT -6
"Understandable. It's probably just misplaced. Please, wait here." She headed up the stairs and to the gaming room. "Ahmad? We have a guest. Malcolm Frazier. He says he's a friend of Arianne's." And that had certainly peaked her interest. A friend of Arianne was rare these days, or at least, someone openly being her friend was. Message delivered, she headed downstairs again to join their guest. "Can I get you something to drink? Maybe a hot tea since it's still a little chilly out?" And it was too. There was a reason he had worn his coat after all.
Niceties took time, and were important, she knew, but right now she was still fairly curious.
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Post by Ylanne on Oct 23, 2019 10:28:27 GMT -6
"A - what?" Ahmad paused his game, swinging his head over to Aerilyn, but by the time he'd thought to ask, she was gone, already back downstairs. Frazier. He'd missed the first name but that name was familiar. Drulović had mentioned him many times. "The Director's law school friend?" Ahmad called after Aerilyn, incredulity creeping into his voice, only realizing too late that Frazier had definitely been able to overhead him. Ahmad tossed the controller onto the couch, and headed down the stairs after her, incredibly curious as to who exactly this guest was and why he was here.
Downstairs, Frazier was nodding to Aerilyn, saying, "Yes, please, that would be absolutely lovely, thank you." He appreciated the kindness that they were willing to offer him. It was a rarer quality with each passing day. "That's what Arianne always serves, too. Her mint tea." He chortled at that. "We got that recipe around the same time as each other, but she's better at preparing it, by far. I always let her take over when it comes to the kitchen."
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Post by demikara on Oct 23, 2019 10:34:49 GMT -6
"Tea is one of the few things I can reliably make." Aerilyn admitted and set the hot water pot to boiling. "I believe we do have some mint tea, if you want to compare." It was store bought, but a lot of tea was in the preparation and that was something Aerilyn could do. The fact that is basically just involved boiling water was probably why. They may even have some tea swiped from Arianne available. So this was her law school friend, and her friend in the Justice ministry who Arianne had been so certain would be able to help her.
If he had been able to, Aerilyn hadn't noticed a real difference, other than her friend was mostly healed by now. But that would have held regardless. She was at least doing better in that way. It was still terrible, but at least she wasn't still injured. Maimed still, but there would be no replacing the lost ear or lost fingers. If the terrorist wasn't already dead, Aerilyn would kill him herself for what happened.
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Post by Ylanne on Oct 23, 2019 10:57:10 GMT -6
"Oh no, whatever you have is completely fine with me," said Frazier, waving. "Anything to warm my bones." They ached now in the cold, even if the mercury only dipped a few lines below sixty. "I'm glad to meet you both," he said, standing briefly again when Ahmad entered the room and inclining his head, "though of course I wish it were under better circumstances. How have you been?"
Ahmad slid uneasily onto the couch facing Frazier and glanced at Aerilyn. "I... I'm fine. Things are going. What about you? You work for the Justice Ministry, right?" His face contained more questions than either thought it would be prudent to ask. He had met Frazier before, on a few occasions, but they'd never really spoken much. He was the old woman's friend. Ahmad had seen him in the news on occasion though. "You... You worked on the Mihailović case awhile back. The child trafficking ring in Van Leugen."
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Post by demikara on Oct 23, 2019 11:08:09 GMT -6
"That made the news. Thanks for your hard work there." Child trafficking was disgusting. She didn't want to think about what would have happened to the children being moved around without any control over themselves, to who knew what ends. Of course, that still left the question of why he was there. The water was hot enough now and she poured a cup, placing a teabag in it and bringing it over. Tea. Even she couldn't mess it up, given the two steps involved. She handed him the mug and took a seat. "So what brings you here?"
Not that he wasn't welcome, but the circumstances were strange and she wanted to know why he was here at all. Probably bad news. It was always bad news lately.
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Post by Ylanne on Oct 23, 2019 11:30:42 GMT -6
Frazier looked sidelong through the window, then turned back to his hosts, accepting the teacup with both hands. "Thank you," he said, inclining his head again, leaving it unsaid whether he was grateful for the tea, the compliment, or both. Ahmad noted how eerily similar Frazier and the Director's mannerisms were. An old world, genteel courtesy. "The office in charge of Arianne's case, they're filing a motion to amend the indictment and withdraw some of the charges against her. She's agreed to plead guilty to some of the remaining charges, but the others... They will still go to trial over the rest. Unfortunately, that includes what I believe is your testimony, Mr. Fazari," said Frazier. Ahmad's face fell.
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Post by demikara on Oct 23, 2019 11:59:26 GMT -6
Aerilyn took her husbands hand and squeezed it gently. "At least they're withdrawing some of them." She said quietly. "Every little bit counts right?" The big question was how much would it count? Aerilyn didn't know. She didn't know if she wanted to know. "If Ahmad is still involved...that means there's still the Kendra Shaw charges." It was easier to just call them that. The thought of Arianne making that decision still tore Aerilyn in two. she shouldn't have just made it, but surely it was the right choice. They were already hurting so badly back then.
They were always hurting though. It never seemed to stop.
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Post by Ylanne on Oct 23, 2019 12:22:41 GMT -6
Ahmad lowered his head, returning the gentle pressure from Aerilyn. "So... this isn't an official visit, then," he said, not really willing to meet either Frazier or Aerilyn's eyes at that moment. He did not know if he would like what he would see and he did not want to find out. Frazier seemed kind. But beneath that kindness, Ahmad wondered if the older man pitied him somehow.
"No, it's not," Frazier admitted. His smile had turned pained. He sipped at the tea, as steam rose from the cup, enough to fog his glasses but not enough to create sufficient distance between what he'd brought with him into their house and what little refuge they'd managed to create there. "I spoke to Arianne the other day, and I met with her standby counsel - the lawyer who's been appointed to help in her case. She wanted to apologize, again, for that."
"She needs to apologize to my own goddamned face," Ahmad burst, months of waiting anguish and fury suddenly fused into the one statement, before he realized what he'd just said, and who was in the room, and what sorry implications his own words carried. "...Sorry. I... I didn't mean that to... " He fumbled, first with his words, then his fingers, swallowing the lump in his throat as quick as it rose.
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Post by demikara on Oct 23, 2019 12:29:30 GMT -6
Aerilyn flinched and closed her eyes. "I wish she could. I wish to God she could actually talk to Ahmad. To actually talk to both of us and not the stepping around we have to do now." At least she had standby counsel now. At least some of the charges were getting dropped. It wasn't enough, but she didn't know what would be enough and what would be Just at the same time. "The case isn't too long now. Hopefully they'll be able to speak after that." They better or the warden of the prison was about to get even more familiar with Aerilyn.
She was already to the point of ignoring Aerilyn's calls. Aerilyn would make it worse if possible. "Is the lawyer decent, at least?"
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Post by Ylanne on Oct 23, 2019 12:58:54 GMT -6
"She's among the very best there are," said Frazier, nodding. "She was at one point the number two over at the Office of the Public Defender, and then went into private practice. I've gone up against her in court many times. You can probably reach out to her yourselves, if you'd like. I don't have a copy of her card with me, but Arianne can probably give you that information if you ask." He wasn't entirely sure how frequently Aerilyn and Arianne spoke to one another, and he'd long had the impression of Arianne that she kept even information about and among those close to her highly compartmentalized, a strategy that had probably served her well in an intelligence and espionage career, but perhaps not so well in the company of friends. He sipped at the tea, and then politely looked for a coaster so he could set down the cup without adding potentially damaging humidity to the end table.
Ahmad sat with his shoulders tight, his hand gripping Aerilyn's much more tightly than he normally would have held hers were this just a casual Saturday. He felt his stomach begin to turn. "So then... why did you come over here just to tell us what ... I don't know, presumably someone else in the special prosecutor's office was going to tell me anyway, or we would have heard it straight from the Director herself, or in the news sometime, eventually. We barely even know each other, Mr. Frazier."
"Arianne wanted you to know it from a friend, not from the Ministry or from the news," said Frazier, reaching to adjust the lapels of his suit jacket. "The Ministry is withdrawing the charges of genocide, essentially because they arise out of incidents that took place prior to the existence of the TNG."
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Post by demikara on Oct 23, 2019 13:03:12 GMT -6
Aerilyn's shoulders fell with relief. "They're dropping some of the worst charges." They didn't have much of a case there, given the TNG didn't exist, but it was still good to hear that wasn't being charged at least. There was some hope, however slim. At least she wouldn't be charged for things that happened before the TNG even existed. "Thank you so much for letting us know." She saw him looking and found a coaster for him, before returning to Ahmad's side and squeezing his hand. "That's wonderful news." Not perfect news, but good news all the same. "What charges is she pleading guilty to?"
Aerilyn needed to know and it would be a few days before she found out. It was best to ask now and get any reactions she'd have over with.
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Post by Ylanne on Oct 23, 2019 13:25:21 GMT -6
"I don't have a complete list," said Frazier apologetically, setting the teacup on the porcelain coaster. He noted, with a brief smile, that the coasters featured designs from an obscure sci-fi comic series that he'd only heard about when Drulović had attempted to explain the context of a gift from Ahmad to him years ago. Clearly those decorations at least had been chosen by Ahmad. Frazier likewise suspected that the guns mounted nicely on the wall in the room he had only a partial view into were Aerilyn's. "The indictment, as I'm sure you know, is ... rather long and detailed. I believe that Arianne decided she would enter a guilty plea to some of the charges stemming from the incident with Kendra Shaw, but she's denying other charges. I think she's maintaining her innocence on the charges of obstruction, witness tampering, destruction of evidence, conspiracy, those charges." It made sense to Frazier, too. The old woman had always prized her particular sense of integrity - an ironic trait for her to value in herself given the nature of the worst accusations against her. What kind of war criminal, someone responsible for unspeakable atrocities, regardless of the motivations behind them, could lay any serious claim to integrity, after all?
Ahmad grimaced, and stole a quick glance at Aerilyn. "If Director Drulović is pleading guilty to some of the charges coming from the Shaw incident, then... then why do I have to testify?" But as soon as he spoke the words, he was unsure whether or not he truly wanted the answer. Whatever the old woman had said to him from her hospital bed in the fall, he dreaded having to face her in open court from the witness stand. He stared down at his knees.
Frazier sighed. "I'm sorry you're dealing with all of this," he said. "I know it's an awful weight to carry."
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Post by demikara on Oct 23, 2019 14:10:49 GMT -6
"Is it wrong to say those sound like all things that just...happen." She admitted quietly. "Especially at an organization like the TIB." It was a spy organization, an intelligence agency. It wasn't going to be kind in any sense of the word. "She'd never do some of those things though. Despite it all, she's not...not this evil the press is making her out to be." Aerilyn hated the press, every second of it. It was going to be a clusterfuck and they all knew it. The entire situation was hell in a hand basket. Arianne pleading guilty would only make it worse in some cases.
She hated this situation. At least Arianne had a lawyer now. That pushing had been worth it, even if it had taken awhile and she probably wasn't the only one. "God, I just want this over with." It felt like it would never end.
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Post by Ylanne on Oct 23, 2019 14:25:51 GMT -6
Frazier looked long and hard at Aerilyn, and, though soft, and perhaps kind, the intensity itself was probing, though of what was not clear. "No, it's not wrong to say that about the TIB at all," he said quietly. He'd been there, with Arianne, during some of the worst of it. It was only a matter of time before others knew. He suspected he had only evaded scrutiny thus far because he did not occupy the same type of position, subject to the same type of publicity and political whim, as she had for the past two decades or more. Most of what had happened then had long since been buried, not even through malice in some cases, but through the passage of time, remembered only by the survivors and their descendants, and those who, like him, struggled to do their damndest to attempt to make amends or restitution or some form or another, in quiet and in shadows. "Still, even if the TIB is what it is, that doesn't mean that what it is is right. Arianne understands that. It's an incredibly complicated and difficult thing to juggle what seem like impossibly opposed principles - and then to live with the unspeakable harm and the knowledge that one is responsible for it forever afterward."
Ahmad slipped his hand from Aerilyn's, and folded his arms across his chest, hugging tightly. He closed in on himself, tightening his jaw and narrowing his eyes. "Maybe that's our punishment, for all of us then," he said, finally. "That all of this shit? It's never going to end. Ever. We'll never escape it. And maybe that's because it's... it's what we deserve." At least, perhaps, it was what the old woman deserved. She'd all but admitted nearly everything she'd been accused of, in one form or another. Maybe not publicly, maybe not to the courts, maybe not in as many words. But he knew. And he did not like the tension, the anger, the guilt that welled up in him whenever he thought on it too long.
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Post by demikara on Oct 24, 2019 10:28:51 GMT -6
"It better end eventually. I don't think I could take it never stopping." It was going to be a defining feature of their lives though, and she knew it. A defining feature and moment only it wasn't a moment was it? It was months of being on edge, of knowing they'd have to betray their friend to save their own skins. Of knowing they were willing to do just that. Months of a tension that all they could do was react to it, to try and weather it. It wasn't working well for any of them though. Arianne was just a little bit worse every time, and Ahmad was holding together because of video games and there were times Aerilyn just wanted to remove her hearing aid, toss away the broach and just live in silence because surely that would be better than the tension.
She wanted a return to normalcy. A return to weekly dinners with their friend and time spent together that didn't have the lingering dread over it. "Thank you for coming Mr. Frazier. And thank you for letting us know what's happening. Arianne is important to us." Even through all of this.
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