The River (Clemerva)

Chapter Ninteen: Punishment

"You falsified official documents, forged the signature of a superior officer, tried to make an unauthorized arrest and you shot someone. Can you explain to me what in the hell possessed you to take these actions?"

There were very few people who scared Minnie, Reagan was one of them.
He had the power to make her disappear if he so desired it, he had done it to 'traitors' in the past.
If there was one man in the Delta who's bad side you didn't want to end up on, it was him.
Reagan took a leather bound book and opened it on the desk. He picked up a pen and rested his hand over the page, waiting for her to speak.

"I only shot Todd in self defense... sir. I never intended to even take the gun out of its holster, there wasn't even a round in the chamber. But Todd attacked me, I didn't have a choice." Minnie replied calmly.

"Regardless, you went to their apartment armed. Why?"

"They assaulted my... someone close to me. Nobody knew who was responsible, but I figured out it was them."

"Do you have any proof of their so-called involvement in this?"

"I do, sir. The girl who was attacked, she wore a hat, never took it off. The hat went missing after the assault, but I found it in Todd and Nat's apartment. Nat confessed to me as well."

"At gunpoint?" Reagan asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, sir. I didn't take the gun out until after I was attacked."

Reagan scribbled down a few words into his book.

"Right, so you found out that they attacked your friend. Why not report them? Why did you take it upon yourself to arrest them?"

"Sir, I might be able to explain." Lilly interjected.

"Let's hear it then." Reagan said with a flippant wave of his hand.

"I was the one who ordered Minerva to investigate the assault. I'd been thinking of promoting her and, in my mind, I saw the investigation as a way to test her abilities. But I ordered her to come to me when she had sufficient evidence, not to arrest those responsible."

Reagan didn't look up from his book, just continued writing.

"It was a mistake, I know that. I wasn't thinking. Someone I care about got hurt and I wanted to be personally responsible for taking down the ones who did it." Minnie explained sincerely.

Reagan put his pen down and gave Minnie a hard stare.

"You let your emotions get in the way of your judgment. That is not the quality of an officer. Not only that, you abused the privileges afforded to you by your role in order to get your own way. Considering the severity of your actions, I'll see that you're stripped of your rank. You are no longer Lilly's personal assistant, your extra privileges are revoked and you're to be evicted from your apartment and moved to the barracks with the other rank and file."

Minnie felt her legs go cold. She sat wide eyed, still not fully processing what he had just said.
There was next to deliberation on his part, no taking into account her reasoning, but his word was law. She couldn't do anything now.

"Sir, Minerva was acting under my orders and I believe that-" Lilly began.

"And you, Lilly." Reagan cut her off, "Minerva was able to check out that firearm using documentation with your forged signature. A forgery so similar, I almost couldn't tell the difference. That's a very specific skill, one that she must have developed from having to sign it many times. I think you know where I'm going with this."

Lilly's face fell, looking just as shocked as Minnie did.

"You had your protégé fill out paperwork that you were too lazy to do yourself. This, to me, is proof that you aren't fit for leadership. If the workload is too much for you, then you aren't cut out for the job. You are hereby removed from your position as platoon commander, and I'm transferring command of your unit to Abel. You'll also be demoted to specialist."

"Sir, please reconsider this... I've sacrificed so much for the Delta to get to where I am." Lilly begged.

Minnie shot her a worried glance.
Lilly sounded like she was on the verge of tears. She has never seen Lilly show any emotion besides annoyance or anger, this was something entirely new for her.

"Reconsider?" He scoffed, "There is nothing either of you could say that would make me change my mind. Your actions speak for you."

Reagan jabbed a finger at Minnie.

"You don't respect the system. You circumvent it for your own gain. Going back to being a grunt should help give you some perspective on things."

He then pointed at Lilly.

"And you. You're ambitious to a fault. You take on responsibility you clearly aren't ready for and as a result, you're indirectly responsible for putting that boy in hospital."

Minnie and Lilly were both quiet.
Reagan's word was law.
There wasn't a thing either of them could do to save themselves now.

"Your punishments will take affect tomorrow after I've filled out the necessary paperwork. Enjoy your last night of luxury. Dismissed."

Without another word, Reagan scribbled away into his book, pretending they weren't there.
Lilly slowly stood up and Minnie followed her.
The older woman opened the door and stepped outside into the hall.
The guard from before was nowhere to be seen.
Minnie rationalised that he was strictly on prisoner detail just in case they ran earlier.
Lilly took a few steps forward and stared ahead.
She didn't say a word, but Minnie could hear her shaking breath and see her shoulders trembling.
Minnie approached Lilly cautiously and reached out a hand.

"I am so-" She began.

Lilly suddenly whirled around and grabbed her by the collar with both hands. She almost tripped over from the force of it.
Her mentor pulled her in so that their faces were inches apart. Her eyes burned furiously and her mouth was turned up in a sneer.

"What, sorry? Sorry isn't going to un-fuck this situation. I gave you an order and you ignored it. I thought I could trust you, but I guess I was wrong. You just ruined both our lives." Lilly hissed.

She shoved Minnie back, letting go of her and storming off down the hall, leaving the redhead standing alone.
Minnie's took a long, shuddering breath in.
She was about to cry, she could feel it, but there was no way in hell she could do it here.
So she dragged her feet all the way back to her apartment, the apartment that wouldn't be hers anymore in the morning.
Everything she had worked for in the last two years was about to be taken away from her.
Not only that, but the woman she looked up to hated her now.
With nothing else left for her to do, Minnie curled up in her bed under the warm blankets, and began to cry.