Family Recollection

It's been over a year since Arwen first came to live with Adagio and me.

A great deal has happened then including a promotion, a son, even a larger home.

Just for I left for Japan, we shot a lovely image for our Christmas card. I admit to keeping a small version of it in my wallet at all times, right beside the ones of Pack members past and present. Not too long after I returned however, there were rumors that meant to tear my family apart yet again.

Commander Parkin otherwise known as Lana has been getting larger and more excessive armor recently but her health's seemed to get poorer right along with it. I can't tell exactly what's wrong due to the amount of plating she chooses to wear but I know it's not helping the situation. She and I have always but heads, even before I became CEO of the branch. Once Dr. Parkin got re-assigned, she just got worse. I had to physically put her in her place for us to continue working together. By right, I should have fired that wolf.

As long as I let her work in that office, she'd been scheming, plotting...gathering employees that were loyal to her and her wife rather than myself. The argument came to peak when Lana began threatening me with notices that her wife was waiting to send to HQ. Temp was nothing more than a consultant from another branch; why would she even have the power to say whether or not my handling of the branch was suitable? It made no sense, but I felt having Lana in the lab was a bother. I ordered her to mandatory health leave, nulling the need for her to report to work at all in that heavy armor that was killing her.

The wolf had other plans. Seconds after she left the building, the communicators were rendered useless and the ASF office was mysteriously sealed shut. Neither E.D.E.N. nor manual override could budge the door. She was trying to cripple us, as though proclaiming that Ashagi could not run without her.

the nerve...

I agree.
After barring Dr. Parkin access to any and all of the Midian City branch servers, I launched an investigation into why that woman had truly come back to the branch. For a while, HQ was cooperative in explaining that she was merely a visiting staff member. It was a common practice within Ashagi to send experts in certain fields to other laboratory branches that could use the insight from time to time. However the cooperation stopped there. They began re-routing my calls and giving me the run around when it came to what she was currently doing. I had no choice but to rely on the team that remained with me for intel, tracing whatever Dr. Parkin had been working on before and after she was transferred from this branch.

Work needed to continue whether or not those two were in the building. Thankfully Lana's wreck did not affect the labs. We had a clone that Arwen commissioned - her later lover Claire. I'm not sure of the full details but I know that Claire for whatever reason fell from the church roof and was rendered more or less into a vegetable. Even though Arwen is a secretary now, she was allowed downstairs to help the new Claire get assimilated into normal life.

Another case I dealt with was the Minister of Finance's nanobot treatment. Marquis is a long standing client of ours and one of the few clients we tend to put time aside for. I don't believe it's due to his position as the man was not always in the seat of power he has now at City Hall.

I'm stressed. It's plain to anyone I come across, like I have a permanent scowl on my face. Even with Arwen's birthday and pending marriage, even with more employees at Ashagi, even though things with my family are going well...I am angry.

you don't know how to react to betrayal.

What?

you simply don't.

maybe when it was that awful doctor,

you accepted betrayal.

not when it's employees you trust.