"Yeah, and someone acquiring rare chemicals," Eleanor said. She thought she had said something wrong when Cass disappeared, but she took Kira's lighthearted laugh as a sign that it was fine.
"Thank you, Kira," Katelyn said politely.
She nodded to Xyne when he appeared, and smiled at his warning. "What a morning," she said. "Eleanor, hate to drag you back in there, but I need to drag you back in there. That was your case, right?"
She could feel the colour draining from her skin, but Katelyn patted her on the shoulder again and headed for the door, and she could feel herself standing up. It was almost embarrassing - feeling as if she were being ordered around, even though Katelyn had no right. But she couldn't just sit down after standing, and reluctantly, followed Katelyn inside.
"I suppose you're wanting a-"
"Where the hell were you."
"Out of town."
"What's she doing here."
"I thought it would benefit her to hear my report."
"You're giving me a lot of fucking sass right now, Katelyn. You're not even gifted."
"You had such a nicer attitude towards my lack of ability when you were interviewing me for-"
"Don't backtalk your superiors!"
Katelyn didn't say anything after that. Eleanor had been looking at the ground, but the silence provoked her to cautiously look up, and her breath caught in her throat with terror. Katelyn looked confident - confident as all hell. She was almost smirking at the Commander, who was boiling over in anger.
"So, would you like my recounting of last night?" she said. "Or would you prefer kicking me out of your office. One of these would be more productive than the other." She even cracked a smile. Katelyn had cracked a smile.
"After this report," the Commander said, standing and walking around her desk to stand face-to-face with her, "You are no longer working for the SPPA. Just a witness."
"Then I wish you the best of luck without me," Katelyn said, the sides of her mouth rising into a sneer.
Eleanor looked at Katelyn in disbelief. Discreetly, she touched the other woman on the arm, in an effort to tell her to tone it down, but Katelyn brushed her off and continued. "Between half of your officers in the hospital, and another third still in various locations abroad, I'm sure just one more gone won't make a differen-"
She was interrupted by a fist at her face.
Eleanor darted a step back as Katelyn was thrown onto the ground. She landed on her hands and knees, but shakily hoisted herself back to her feet using the desk. There was a trickle of blood oozing out from her temple. Eleanor attributed this to the decorative ring on the Commander's forefinger.
She seemed dizzy, but Katelyn managed to stand upright, taking Eleanor's hand when she offered it. Instead of leaving, though, she looked the furious commander in the face,smiled, and softly said, "Hit me again." I dare you.
And this time, the commander grabbed her by the front of her shirt and threw her against the wall. There was a loud clattering as she fell against a side-table and knocked it to the ground, taking a ceramic vase and a lamp down with her.
When she got to her feet again, the injury on her temple seemed worse, and she also had a bit of a split lip. It occured to Eleanor that despite being thrown around, Katelyn had known how to avoid worse injuries. As Eleanor helped her to her feet again, she noticed her still sneering at the Commander, as if she'd won something. Instead of standing straight up again, she took Eleanor's arm. Terrified of what either of them might decide to do, she turned tail and raced Katelyn out the door.
"You guys have got a serious problem. She's throwing out unprovoked attacks now," Katelyn muttered to the group. Eleanor glanced at her. Suddenly, she wasn't sneering anymore, but wincing. "And also she just fired me, so I guess I'll be going. Good luck with your investigation."
"Unprovoked my ass," the commander snarled, storming after them. "You practically asked for it, you goddamn bitch."
Eleanor felt Katelyn squeeze her arm gently. She looked at Katelyn's eyes, round and expectant - suddenly like puppy eyes, then at the furious Commander's. Her voice barely rose above a whisper when she said, "No, Katelyn's right. It was completely unprovoked."