Underground

71

Pt.2

Xena

The front door to my office flung open with force causing me to jerk away from my patient. My eyes zeroed in on a very furious looking Justine but what scared me the most was the presence she now had. It was more dangerous than Joel and more menacing than Valentine. It was as if someone possessed her. "Lieutenant-"
She looked at my patient, who flinched then back at me before leaning against the wall folding her arms. I never liked anyone watching me work but she didnt give much choice on asking to leave. She was here for something...

"What can I help you with, Lieutenant?"

"We need to talk," she said in a very calm tone that made my blood freeze. I stood up and nodded at my patient, giving him quick instructions before asking him to leave. Justine stood up straight after locking the door, making her way to me. "I want my medical records. Every page. Every note. Dating back to the very beginning," she ordered.

No. "Justine...You have to understand-"

Cracks began to form on the walls around us immediately shutting me up. I warned Katja and Carmen. If Justine ever found out about what they did she would rain down hell with the same powers they insisted I give her. Justine's eyes narrowed, "I know you were not responsible, Xena but if you stand in my way now the Underground will have to find a new doctor."

"You should go speak to them, Justine. Not everything is as clean cut as it seems-"

"Did you know what could have happened to me?! What they were requesting?!" She snapped causing deeper cracks to form. I stood up straight meeting her gaze, nodding.
"I warned them. What you have to understand is at the time you were nothing more than a name on a paper to them," I tried explaining. Justine gave me a small smile running her hands through her hair looking around the room.

"Give me my file, Xena or I will ripe this room apart looking for it."

I sighed.

"You want it even if it could possibly destroy everything? Your family? Your mate-?" I asked. Justine turned back to me with tears in her eyes and I felt a squeeze on my heart. She didnt deserve this. None of the people involved did. I remember asking Thomas about her background, to understand this girl who became the voice for many in this organization. A survivor. I moved over to my file cabinet and started looking for her name. "I dont know what you will do with this information but I ask that whatever you find, you go to Joel," I said quietly. "He is not responsible-"

"Is it not true that the families share everything? That one way or another he would have found out?" She snapped.

I turned to her, file in hand.
"This was something that even the Mason siblings could not be told because it would have cause doubt to spread. Something that-"

"Something that Eric wanted to keep hidden," she finished snatching the file from me. "It is because of your innocence in this matter that I allow you to live."
I bowed deeply, not looking up until I heard the door click shut. I reached for my office phone and quickly dialed Katja's number. It rang twice before she picked up, "Xena—"

"Justine knows. Tell Eric."

Justine

I flipped through the pages scattered on my floor for the tenth time, every time fueling my anger more than the last. The amount of venom injections I received was compared to someone else who died from this experiment. Most of Xena's notes were comments made by Katja and Eric. I flung the file across my room, watching the papers flutter to the ground. I didn't know what I was more angry about. The fact they did this to me or the fact they knew I could have died. Three taps on my door made my head snap up, causing me to glare at whoever was standing behind it.