Chain Reaction 2.64: Tap Tap

Ethan

      Plum.

     Plum.

     Oh, plum.

     Chief is gonna kill me.

     MorcuCorp's security guy caught me, cuffed me, and put me in some creepy basement holding cell. As he shuffled me down here, I couldn't help but think how ironically, I'm getting to see behind some doors. This isn't exactly what I had in mind, however.
     When I'd first arrived, I tried calling out, wondering if Jules Parikh was in another one of the cells. I don't know why the science base has these holding cells in the first place. Why would they need them? Do they really have that much trouble that they need to lock people up?
     "Hello?" I call out like earlier, not expecting anything. I lift my head for a moment before planting it back into my hands again.

tap tap tap

     I scowl. This place is so odd that I have no idea what's normal. But one thing, it's been eerily quiet ever since I got here. Other than the sound of the door closing when the security guy left and the sound of my own voice and movement, there's been nothing.

tap tap tap

    Supposing I'm losing it, I ask, "If there's someone doing that, tap only twice this time."

tap tap

     Plumbob! I jump out of my chair. At about that moment, two people walk into the hallway.

     "Here he is, Chief Clayton," the woman in the lab coat says. Her expression looks far too smug for my liking.

     "Taylor, what is the meaning of this?" He looks pissed, but I can tell he's also a little nervous. I think the woman in the lab coat scares him, but a regular person wouldn't see it.

     I don't want to outright say that I'm looking for Jules Parikh. I lean against the door and say in a mock-casual voice. "They wouldn't show me everything on the tour, so I thought I'd have a look around myself." He knows I'm full of crap.

     The woman speaks, "You were caught in a restricted area."

     "Oh, is that what that was? I got lost." Well, it's almost true. That place was like a maze.
     "I don't see how you missed the very frequent signs warning you, but if you insist, you were lost." She doesn't believe a word of it. "You were still trespassing."
     The chief cuts in, "This kind of behavior is unacceptable, Taylor. I'm suspending you for a month."
     The woman won't be one-uped. "Upon leaving the cell, you will hand the chief your badge."
     "What?!"
     "Be happy it's not something worse. And it will be worse if we catch you trying to break into our facility again," she warns.
     I cock my hip. "Why do you have these cells, anyway?"
     "Taylor!" the chief barks.
     She smiles an evil smile. "Why? For people just like you."
     The security dude comes in and unlocks the door. The chief holds out his hand, and I grudgingly give him my badge.

     Later, the chief tells me to go to his office, so I head into the station. He warns me to stay away from MorcuCorp, that I strangely seemed to have gotten off easy, that he'd seen people ruined for crossing them. I was caught trespassing, but they let me off. He has no idea why but he doubts it would happen a second time.
    "I mean it, Taylor. Take this time to take a step back. Let the other boys handle the case. Go spend some time with your wife and family."
     I mumble a response and leave the station.
     As I walk down the steps, only now does it hit me that the station is like a second home...and I'm half-homeless for a month.

     "Ethan!" Claire yells when I walk in the door. "I've been worried sick! They said at the station you had to stay late on a case. They wouldn't tell me anymore than that! Why didn't you call me?" She sounds like she's about to break down and cry, so I hug her.

     "I'm sorry, honey." I rub her back, hoping she'll calm down.
     "I know you can't call all the time, but I had a really bad feeling."
     I sigh. "I got suspended."
     "You what?" she breathes in shock.
     "Don't worry. I'll still get paid. I'm just ordered off the case." I pause. "It's basically forced leave."
     "It's got something to do with Malcolm Landgraab, doesn't it?"
     "What?"
     "You fight with him in your sleep."
     I sigh. It's true. Even in my dreams, the Landgraabs taunt me.
     Without much warning, my emotions snowball out of my control. I'm so frustrated! I was so close to something, and now, I'm ordered to back off. How do they do this to me?

     "I can't prove it, Claire! I can't prove it!" My face falls into my hands as I cry. "I don't know what else to do! I can't let them win!"
     "Ethan..." She sounds lost.
     "Daddy got boo-boo?" the voice of my sweet little Charlotte asks. I'd not realized she's toddled in here.
     Claire answers her, "No, baby. Daddy's sad."
     "I'm okay, Chahwet." Claire and I have taken to calling the twins by the names Mikey gave them, though typically only at home.
     Charlotte starts crying. We've noticed she can sometimes soak in the way people feel around her and mimic it like she feels it herself. Claire has a name for it, but I can never remember. I feel terrible I've made her cry.
     She wobbles over to me, and I pick her up and hug her. After kissing her on the cheek, I tell her quietly, "It's okay, sweetheart. Daddy's just really tired."
     "Daddy go night-night," she tells me, giving sage advice, and I chuckle in spite of everything. She smiles. I put her down and tell her to go play, and she acts like that's a great idea.

     I spill the beans, telling Claire everything about the Parikh case. We're not really supposed to do this, but I'm at a complete loss as to what to do.
     "Ethan, I know this isn't what you want to hear, but you have to hand the case to the other guys. They'll solve it. You've been wearing yourself out. Let's take this 'forced leave' and use it for good. Just think of it as family time."
     I take a deep breath, so eternally grateful to have Claire in my life. "You're right. I'll try," I say, relaxing, but when I look at my wife, I see her super-thoughtful look dominating her features. When she sees me looking, she straightens up and smiles a beauty queen smile at me.

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A/N: The next section of the chapter is a jump ahead. The 'few weeks' happens over the next several chapters of Emily drama.
Carry on...
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    The next few weeks are great, and Claire schedules a kind of 'family reunion' for my family. It's been a while since we've all been together. I must admit it's strange to see my wife playing with my sister, especially when my sister is a toddler. They're not in this pic, so the Maker felt obligated to tell you.
     Emily acts like she's mad at Dad for something. Neither will tell me what's going on.

     Claire uses this time to work on her career goals. I become a stay-at-home dad.

     I don't know how she does it all and stays sane.

     Then, one morning I get a call from Dad that scares me to the very center of my being.

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A/N: The next chapters back up to the morning after Ethan gets freed from the MorcuCorp 'jail.' I wanted to put all the Ethan stuff together as well as leave you with a lovely cliffy.

Cameo appearance by Emma Vane. I needed the white hat, and she provided it as well as any other work outfit unlocked that I could possibly need on my CR backlot set. (which is getting rather interesting: Graham's professor office next to the interrogation room from when Graham met with Brielle's dad next to a living area which is across from the police station lobby from when Graham spoke with Brielle's dad. Then, downstairs is a bunch of MorcuCorp stuff that will show up later along with another "secret room." Upstairs is the part of MorcuCorp that Ethan visited. Oh, and then there's the back alley where Tony broke Mr. Ishikawa's neck. All of that smashed onto one lot. Loving it!)

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