Don't Bend — Hive

The Alpha moved towards her table and pulled her chair out, commanding her to sit.

Without blinking, he tried to intimidate her with his glare. "You were the last one to see Interrogator Slythe."

She ignored the chair and remained standing. Walking towards the refrigerator, she pivoted and leaned against the counter. Glancing casually, she noted the distance between her hand and the closest knife. She had the advantage; this was acceptable.

Flipping her hand over, she absent-mindedly regarded the length of her nails. She knew her dismissive behavior was provoking them, but she saw no reason to respond. The Interrogator had made a statement, not a question. She knew the rules, and she was prepared to play their game.

"Were you?" Alpha demanded.

Kella glanced up at him from beneath her lashes, and remained silent. This was a question. She was required to answer, or...

"Clarity is requested." She was tempted to bat her eyes to fuel his fury, but decided against it. Her mind was in a constant state of moves and countermoves, actions and reactions. Though she could disregard his intimidation, and could certainly handle any physical attempt to subdue her, she recognized the difficulty in managing four dead bodies instead of one.

He stalked toward her, shoving the chair aside. The metal legs dug ragged clawmarks into the dull linoleum floor. He stopped short of touching her, but brought his head within inches of her own. Flecks of spittle sprayed across her face as he spat out his rage, but she didn't give him the satisfaction of wiping it off.

"You can play your little games, but if you think rattling out Conduct Requests is gonna save you? Think again."

"Clarity..... is..... requested." She spoke slowly, methodically - seasoning her selective speech with a subtle warning that she wasn't easily intimidated.

He turned to compose himself and regroup, deciding to switch tactics. While his back was turned and the other two imbeciles were distracted, she slid her finger over the smooth, metallic button under the rim of the countertop.

Returning to his agenda, he faced her again - this time, masking his emotion behind a lifeless facade. "We know that you met with Interrogator Slythe today, and we know that you were the last one to see him alive."

She knew this wasn't protocol. All interrogations were held confidential until the Interrogator submitted his report. She had removed the evidence of her dossier, so it would have taken time to track her down. The only reason that they knew of her presence in the building today was because they had to have had prior knowledge, which meant-

"Is this an initiation of a Formal Accusation?" If they had any real evidence on her, they wouldn't be coming to her home to question her. They would have taken her in immediately for a Deep Query, or possibly even a Reset. They had nothing. They knew it, and so did she.

His jaw clenched almost imperceptibly. He waited several long moments before responding. Softening his voice, he attempted to pitifully plead with her to see reason. "No, Kella, of course not. We just -"

Kella interrupted, "Then I invoke the Right of Silence and request your Acknowledgment."

He hunched forward slightly, reaching his hand down his leg to seductively finger the blade strapped to his thigh. "No, I don't acknowledge it," he hissed, softly. He picked at the tip of his blade with his fingernail, smiling with a sinister glare. He looked over his shoulder at his henchmen. "I'm pretty sure she was scheduled for an Act of Loyalty today, wasn't she, boys?"

The two sidekicks cackled like hyenas.

Alpha licked his lips and taunted again, "I'm fairly certain we can resume those proceedings, unless- you have something you'd like to say, Kella?"

In the distance, she could hear the faint siren of the approaching CitAssist vehicles. If the three stooges were still here when the arrived, they would have some serious explaining to do. Kella knew she was safe - for now. Lifting her finger to her lips, she alerted them with a "Shhhhhhhhhhh." and cocked her head in the direction of the oncoming vehicles.

The utter look of confusions on their idiot faces would have normally been comical, but she wouldn't celebrate her upper hand just yet. She lifted her hand from the counter, revealing the alarm button that she had pressed when they were busy posturing. Glances of confusion were quickly replaced by flickers of panic as they realized they would have less than 90 seconds to distance themselves from this apartment.

Though she has already suspected as much, their urgency to flee confirmed their full involvement in Slythe's dirty work. She remained silent as they scrambled their retreat. Before they left, the Alpha gave her one final glance - warning her that this was far from over.

Little did he know, she was counting on that.

I loved writing this story. But as always, I most enjoy wondering what the reader will speculate as it continues. It was originally meant to be a stand-alone piece, but I decided to write more, spin it, flip it, and gently shove the reader down the rabbit hole. Hope you'll enjoy the fall. 😏 More tomorrow.

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