The Fall of the Keepers

Chapter 15 Clues from the Past

Jasper swirled the vial, adding a dropper of some other substance to the pink liquid. It changed from pink to lime green and peculiar wisps of vapor rose off of it. Very carefully he took a twenty cc syringe and drew up the contents of the vial, capping it with an enclosed needle. He set the syringe down on the metal table and placed the empty vial in a nearby bucket that was overfilling with dirty glasses, vials, and beakers.

He then removed the goggles from his head and hung them off the rack in the corner, followed by his yellow-stained lab coat. All the while I held my breath waiting for his reaction.

"Why did you spare Legato from further pain?"
His voice was quiet.

I closed my eyes and sighed heavily. So we were jumping right into then.

"You saw what he did to Vienna, how it's haunted her. He deserved pain."
There was a deep-seeded bitterness in his voice.

"If we all got what we deserved, it would be a terrible world indeed."
I muttered.

"We haven't gone around raping anyone."
Jasper pointed out, crossing his arms.

"No, but we've gone around killing people. You think mass murder is somehow better than rape?"

"We don't murder people because it brings us pleasure. He raped Vienna on a dare, because not only could he do it, he knew he could get away with it."

"Legato Eddington was a despicable human being, I'm not defending him in any way. But why were you torturing him, Jasper? Not only could you do it, but you could also get away with it?"
I repeated his last words.

"I had a deal with Quetta. I kill her enemies, Vienna and I get to go free, and I get Legato Eddington to do with as I please."

"Then I'm sorry to have cut your deal short. But I won't stand for torture, we have to have some standards, Jasper."

"So you just get to make the decisions now. You decide what's moral or not?"
He asked with narrowed eyes.

"No, of course not!"

I slammed the milkshakes down on the table in frustration.

"What do you want me to say, Jasper?"
I ran a hand through my hair, feeling like we were going round in circles and getting nowhere.

"Nothing, Astrid. I don't want you to say anything. I just wish you could have respected me enough not to interfere."

"I respect you too much not to have interfered."

Jasper seemed to stare off into space for a moment before crossing the room and peering at the milkshakes.

"So, what did you get?"

It was an abrupt change of subject that left the whole situation unresolved. I was relieved to quit arguing with him, but thought of leaving the problem just hanging out there physically tightened my chest with anxiety. I wanted to "fix" it so the issue could truly be left behind us, but maybe that wasn't possible. Maybe this was something we would just have to agree to disagree on if we wanted to stay friends. I hated the idea, but if it was the only way to keep from losing Jasper then I supposed I'd have to bury my feelings on the subject and move on.

"Blueberry and strawberry banana."

He gave me a smile, which seemed odd in contrast to his anger of moments before.

"Not a half-bad memory for someone with your IQ."

"Hey! Isn't that we ordered?"

"Technically yours was Blueberry Blast and mine was Strawberry Banana Cookie Crumble."