Devon Alone IV: The Legacy of Tears by Nicole Mayer

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DEVON, ALONE. PART IV
The Legacy of Tears (4/9)
by Nicole Mayer

There was a new addendum to Devon Adair's file. "Suicide" it read. Yale's heart sank. The date was only four days ago. No suspicious circumstances. They had found her body floating in space, which had purely by chance drifted past a construction zone. It was a hell of a coincidence.

Yale called up further information, and was this time rewarded.

"The deceased was known to be mentally unstable following a difficult experience in Virtual Reality, to which she had agreed. It is the belief of this coroner that she was unable to deal with her new life despite the best intents of the Council to help her.

***Note: Devon Adair herself refused ongoing psychiatric counselling provided by the Council. The Council cannot be held responsible for this apparent oversight into her condition. ***"

Yale let out an angry exclamation at the extra notation. It seemed the Council was anxious to remain blameless of the whole event, but this only served to fuel Yale's suspicion. He read on.

"Video surveillance puts the deceased heading towards a docking bay only minutes before death. It is the opinion of this coroner that the deceased intentionally positioned herself by an automated airlock, thus allowing herself to be 'blown' into space."

Sitting back, Yale was disgusted with the report. It babbled on for several more sentences, which revealed nothing more. Who had written such an appalling article? It didn't conform to any standards he knew of for writing such a report, and Yale suspected that it had been quickly written by some Council member to keep Yale's investigation at bay.

He considered contacting the Adair family. That would help matters somewhat. Even though Devon was regarded as the estranged daughter, obvious by the fact that there was no contact between Devon and her father, the Adairs would not let her death go unnoticed. Family troubles were put aside when the great Adair name was threatened.

How would the Adairs react to the news of suicide? If Devon had died in any suspicious circumstances at all, a full scale investigation would be underway and even the Council would have a hard time keeping itself clean. Yet a clear-cut suicide...by the crazy daughter...that would be swept away under the rug.

But it wasn't clear-cut. Heaviness growing in his heart, Yale knew what he had to do next. He had to go and, and - see Devon's body for himself. The thought pained him, yet he knew that he was one of the few people could determine if her stated cause of death was the truth. Then, perhaps, both Yale and Devon could have a little more peace, wherever their souls may be.

***

"Kass, you're not going to believe this!" shouted Danziger the instant she walked through the door. "We've almost got it, we've almost got the Council!"

Kassidy, too, was in a great mood after her lunch (and afternoon) with the Council bureaucrat. "John, you should meet Morgan. He's great!" she announced with just as much enthusiasm. Once they'd overcome the initial awkwardness, Kassidy and Morgan had been able to talk for hours. And when she mentioned Devon's name, it was obvious that Morgan was aware of her connections to a Council conspiracy.

But Danziger was more interested in his own news. "Come read this. It'll blow your mind."

"Oh, okay," Kassidy sighed, annoyed with Danziger for ignoring her, but crossing the room to him anyway. She pursed her lips as he went on.

"We've finally got it, Kass, the information to blow the lid off the Council. I can't believe it!"

Danziger's unnatural excitement piqued Kassidy's curiosity. "Where did you get it?" she asked.

"Devon Adair," replied Danziger.
"Oh, so she hasn't cut herself off after all?" "No, well, maybe..." Danziger realised. Hell, he had a lot to think about. But Devon could wait.

In his excitement, Danziger mis-entered the commands to bring up the information file. Instead, a very different message came to light.

"Dear Clients, the second and final payment for your marriage contract is due..."

"What the hell is this?" Danziger snapped, whirling to face Kassidy. Her face fell as she realised what he was looking at. "Oh, that..." she said weakly. "I guess I forgot to tell you..."

"You forgot to tell me that our contract's gonna expire?" Danziger shouted incredulously. He checked the dates in the letter. "We've got ten days to renew!"

"I know," said Kassidy softly. "I'm sorry, I just didn't think to mention it with everything else that's going on."

"So what, you were just gonna let it slide?" Danziger fumed. "Without even consulting me?"

Kassidy had the decency to blush. "I didn't think about it," she admitted. "I didn't really want to think about it. Our lives have changed so much since we got married. I mean, the Resistance and all that, and then my mining trip...John, how much did you miss me? Honestly?"

Danziger looked into her clear, blue eyes, and felt the calming effect she always had on him. "Not as much as I thought I would," he admitted. Slowly, he realised that he liked having Kassidy *around* almost as much as he liked the woman herself. It was a frightening thought.

"I had a great time when I was away," confessed Kassidy. "It was then that I realised that, maybe, you and I have lost touch."

"Kass," Danziger said tenderly, "I'm sorry. We should have worked this out a long time ago."

"When?" she suddenly burst out. "The instant I got back, Devon Adair was invading our lives! And the Resistance, and our jobs, visiting True... we never have any time to ourselves anymore." Kassidy's eyes filled with tears.

"Hey," soothed Danziger, lifting a finger to Kassidy's cheek. "We can get through this. I promise. I'll make time for you, I swear. We just have to finish this new stuff with the Resistance first."

Kassidy sadly nodded. She knew how important the Resistance was to everyone, and if it meant sacrificing her personal life temporarily, then so be it.

"So what about the contract?" she asked dully. Sighing, Danziger countered, "What do you want to do?" He was giving her the chance to back away now, if she wanted. Kassidy lifted her eyes to his, and admitted, "I don't know."

Her mind suddenly drifted to Morgan Martin, and she was shocked by the sudden change of thoughts. What did *he* have to do with anything? Another image flitted into her head - one of her husband and Devon, and Kassidy's eyes narrowed.

"You love Devon Adair," she suddenly said. "What?!"
Kassidy gasped. She hadn't meant to voice her thoughts aloud! And did she really believe that about him? Could she live with that?

"Nothing, John, I'm just so confused, there's too much going on. You understand, don't you?" she begged.

Danziger abruptly strode across the room, away from her. "Maybe we should discuss this later," he said, visibly upset with Kassidy. "I need you to know where you stand."

He left the room, and Kassidy's eyes filled with tears. She didn't want to drive her husband away. They were everything to each other, and she loved him! Didn't she?

***

"Devon, that stuff you sent me - it was incredible! I'm going to search out the proof we need, and then, well, who
knows. We just might have a chance!" enthused Danziger, smiling into the message recorder.

Then his voice took on a serious tone. "I'm worried about you, Devon. Please call, just to let me know that you're okay. Then I'll leave you alone if that's what you want, I just hope you're alright. Well, bye, I guess."

"John?" Kassidy's face appeared at the beginning of his first recorded message. "I'm, um, I'm going on a trip. I suppose I should have told you face to face, but with everything that's been going on, I couldn't.

"We need some time apart," she bravely continued. "I need to think a lot of things through, about us, and me, and how I really feel about stuff that's going on right now.

"I'll try asking Morgan Martin about that...information...you know, from Devon Adair?" Kassidy didn't dare say anything about it in something as easily intercepted as a message. "And speaking of Devon, John - it's obvious she means a lot to you. Whether that's friendship, or something more, that's up to you to decide. And you have to decide soon, because I can't live like this, and neither can you."

Kassidy paused, her eyes drifting to a spot somewhere to the left. "I also have a confession to make. Remember when you asked me to dig up information on Devon, and see what we could find out about her background? Well, I was, um, jealous of your interest. So I didn't tell you everything.

"Devon had every right to be emotionally unstable. She went through so much pain just before you met her. You know all about the VR program, but not about what happened afterwards."

Taking a deep breath, Kassidy went on. "She was almost raped and killed by Dison Blalock. Except it ended up that *Devon* was the one on trial because of the nature of the crimescene. She was kept in solitary confinement for months before and after, and," Kassidy's eyes flashed angrily, "that is the most terrible, inhumane form of punishment there is. Imagine, being so alone..."

The woman paused to collect her thoughts. "You can read the trial reports in the computer, I've unlocked them now," she admitted. "I believe Devon's statement, not only because I don't trust Blalock, but because you can hear the truth in her words. She was hurting a lot."

Suddenly, tears of remorse appeared in Kassidy's eyes. "It could be my fault that she got even worse! If I'd told you this in the first place, you would have been a lot more understanding and, well, this whole mess might never have happened."

"It's not your fault, Kass," Danziger whispered softly to the recording. "The stuff with Devon didn't *cause* our personal problems, she just helped bring them to a head."

The recorded Kassidy sniffed, and ducked her head. "I loved you, John. But I don't know if I can still say that. Everything changed when I got back from the mining trip and my life's been too confused. I need a break to do some thinking.

"But I still care for you a great deal," Kassidy reminded him through her tears. "I'll see you, well, when I see you." Kassidy smiled sadly, and the message ended.

End 4/9

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