Silent Artemis

by Hokusai3211

7) Lingering Doubts

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“I see.” Checkers said trying to slow down the pace of the mare, even just long enough to catch his own breath let alone let her catch her own.

He gently ignited his horn to write down on another scroll, he had been writing feverishly since Rainbow had all but stormed in, nearly throwing the hinges off the door. She always seemed to be high energy, as if the world moved ten times slower than she did, perhaps it did. But today especially she was a veritable concoction of a tornado and a lightning bolt, as she all but spat out the events from her latest meeting with the creature.

But right now it was almost infectious, in fact even as she spoke Checkers mind was alright with the realisation that this was exactly what he had been waiting for.

Rainbow continued to pace around the room, she seemed to be a mare easily wound up, he knew the feeling. He may have been at least seven or eight year her senior, but that didn’t mean he had forgotten what it was like to be her age, coming off the hormonal nightmare of later teens all that energy all that passion wound up like a spring and he supposed being one of the fastest pegasus he had ever seen, had something to do with it as well.

On any other day, he would have enjoyed this level of passion from her, nostalgic as it was, but right now he needed her clam, especially after what she was telling him.

“It follows, is that exactly what she said?”

He watched as Rainbow took another step, turned and began pacing the other direction before looking up for a moment, then she nodded, “yeah pretty much, I mean,” she paused, “well like that’s what she wrote anyway.” she said, pointing at the scroll on his desk.

Checkers glanced at the scroll, ‘what she wrote’ was the nice way of saying what she drew in foal-like scribbles, which was doing a disservice to foals from the ages of six and up. If it hadn’t been clear the creature was uncivilised before it was blatantly obvious that her interactions with basic writing tools were minimal at best.

Still, it’s a blessing that she knew how to use them at all, and that she somehow knows our language. Checkers thought as he re-read the creature's words.

Checkers leaned back, brushed the pencil shavings from his scroll for a moment then carefully and methodically put it back into the pot with the other seven…

Six?

Frowning, he looked back at the pot. He was sure there were seven. He had counted them this morning, it was his lucky number after all, but right now there were only six. Why wa-

“-She was kidding right?” Rainbow said, snapping him from his thoughts.

“Huh?” he said, caught off guard slightly for a moment. Damn it all, now is not the time to be lapsing back into old habits. He thought, chiding himself, thinking himself cured from that compulsion.

Damn it all if this hadn’t come at the worst moment, when had he last caught some real sleep, he still had no notion of where his room in the hospital was, which was probably an indication of just how little he had been getting. Too busy trying to find anything to give him a lead in the case, and now that it was brought to him wrapped in a ribbon, he was too sleep deprived to even focus on it.

“She was totally tryin’ to mess with me, right?” she asked again and before Checkers could open his mouth it seemed Rainbow had made up her own mind, “yeah, course she was, I know she was, ponyfeathers!" she said cursing to herself. "I’m sorry Checkers, I totally should have seen that coming.”

Checkers frowned, had the creature tried to mess with her? Well the obvious answer was certainly yes, in a way. But by Rainbow's own admission, something about it didn’t seem like the creature's usual Modus operandi.

It was too blunt, too straight forward, like a poker player who went all in just after the first bet was placed.

“I just, I wasn’t thinking,” Rainbow continued, “But, I’ll be better tomorrow I swear, I’ll get her to answer the questions, just please give me another chance.”

Checkers wanted to laugh, he could give two clumps of mud for any of the questions answered. In fact he had only drawn them up to Rainbow something to talk to the creature about, she didn’t actually think he wanted them all answered did she?

if any of this was true, any of it even slightly, then this was all he needed for investigation to go to the next step. This beautiful clueless multi-coloured mare had no idea what she had just given him. It might have all been fake, every word, but the reaction of the creature was all he cared about, that was not something that could be falsified.

To show fear now, meant something was up.

She had not shown fear of anything, not of him or Night Light or the guard or of being questioned on the events that had led her to being in this hospital, nothing, she showed absolutely no fear at all. So to show fear of something like this, of a gust of wind and a creaky old window, that didn’t seem like something somepony would simply fake.

It did mean that his assumption of her being the Ripper was becoming more unlikely, though not completely ruled out. After all, there hadn't been any murders since her capture, at least none they’d found yet. But at least this seemed to prove if nothing else there was a connection between the creature and the monster, even if it was just tangential.

Checkers blinked after a moment, the gentle clopping of Rainbows hooves had completely stopped and when he looked at her again, he notice that now she was standing completely still, a worried look on her face, it seemed she was waiting for his answer, his final verdict as to weather or not he she was going to stay on this case.

Oh right, she was waiting for an answer, well you can at least tell her she did a good job, don’t need to let it go to her head though.

“Relax, you did well Rainbow.” he said finally.

“I know Checkers but I swear I can- wait, I did?”

“It might have been accidental, but we can really use this information,” he said, nodding at her.

“But it’s a lie, like she pranked me straight afterwards!” Rainbow said,

Checkers bit his lip as he considered that, “was it all a lie thought, perhaps part of it was, but the best lies always have an element of truth to them, in fact I once had a pony confess his arson crimes to me in vivid detail using a monicour of Freckle, not his real name, but sometimes ponies have to divorce themselves from what they’ve done, or what’s happened to them.”

That and the guilt got to him, Checkers thought darkly, as his weary mind drifted to that moment. That had been a very bad day. Especially after they realised that the abandoned building he set fire to wasn’t as abandoned as he thought it was. Checkers grimaced as the memories of that first investigation came unwillingly flooding back to the forefront of his mind.

Apparently fillies and colts in the cities dared one another to go inside on nights like that very one, it was supposedly haunted they had thought.

The only thing haunted about it now was ‘Freckles’ and also Checkers.

Far far too young.

“Honestly,” he continued pushing the thoughts aside with some difficulty, “ this might be the first time she has actually opened up about her attack even vaguely, she’s clearly afraid of whatever this is and though it’s an assumption, It can't be too out of the realm of possibility that whatever this is, might have been the reason she ended up in our care.”

He smiled, more genuinely than he had in a long time as he brought his hooves together, “Honestly Rainbow, it’s only been a few seconds since I’ve skimmed this report, but already the possibilities are endless and it's all thanks to you.”

“Me, really?” She said blushing harder than she perhaps wanted, “I didn’t do nothing.”

“However you feel comfortable describing your involvement is up to you, but from my position you’ve proven yourself integral to this case Rainbow, I don’t just say this to any pony, thank you.” He said, holding out his hoof.

“I can’t.” she protested, but he had already pressed forward and clutched his hoof around hers before she could pull back.

“You’ve done well Rainbow, but keep that humility, that’s the best part about you and it’ll keep you grounded in the years to come in the Wonderbolts.” he said squeezing it tightly, before letting go.

Yes yes, keep that humility, so you don’t end up like the other blowhards, that’s what you had though Checkers, then you had let it all go to your head, thought yourself invincible.

Now look where you are.

Checkers pressed the thoughts away with a barely imperceptible wince. At least he hoped it had been, as he watched her for a moment, not sure what he would see, perhaps a subtle look of admiration or a self congratulatory smile, maybe even a blush, all of those things usually happened when somepony was thanked for their hard work.

But Rainbow simply frowned, looked away for a moment then looked back, “Is she allowed to leave?”

Checkers slowly drew his hoof back for a moment. “Sorry?”

She looked away again, bringing her hoof over to stroke her other leg and it looked for a moment like she was about to say something like ‘forget about it,’ or ‘never mind’ but instead she looked him straight in the eyes and said. “You’re not going to let her go, are you?”

Checkers drew himself up from the slouched position on his chair, liking his lips as he thought about what to say next, perhaps a lie, no she’s free to go whenever she wants, or she’s only restrained until she gets better it’s for her own good.

Oh that look she’s giving you, just the same look all those other ponies gave you, all your pears, she doesn’t trust you Checkers, what a surprise.

The lie teetered on the tip of Checkers tongue, it would be so easy to brush that aside, tell her of course and, don’t be silly, she can leave whenever she want’s like he had said before. But something stopped him.

Maybe it was the look in her eye. Maybe, just maybe it was what shred of conscience he had left in soul.

But he couldn’t tell her the whole truth, he couldn’t risk her walking away after all.

“We believe that,” he paused for a moment, then sighed through his nostrils, “I want to rule out every possibility before I let her go Rainbow, I don’t want any more ponies to get hurt, so until I do so, no I’m not going to let her go,” he paused for a moment trying to gauge what her reaction to it might have been, but she simply continued to stare at him.

Perhaps I was too honest there. Checkers thought as Rainbow continued to stay silent but then slowly she looked back up at him with a smirk on her face and something he didn’t quite recognise twinkling in her eyes.

“Then I guess it’s up to me to find out the truth then, huh?” she said, puffing out her chest at him, “that’s what a Wonderbolt would do right?”

Checkers couldn’t help it, he let out a snort of laughter for a moment before shaking his head. What in the world was up with this mare?

Simple, touched in the head perhaps, or just a hopeless optimist?

She’s only twenty, barely out of her teens, oh, she’ll learn eventually. Another darker part of his mind answered.

“That might be a little bit further in the future Rainbow, for now, let’s not count the eggs before they can crack, is that how you country folk say it?”

Rainbow leaned back into a normal standing position before shrugging, “Err, I guess, I was born in Cloudsdale.”

“Really?” Checkers said, taking on a more amused tone now, “Well, either way, count this as a good day Rainbow, I’ll make sure to write up another line of questions ready for you tomorrow afternoon.”

Checkers thought he might get back a yes sir or a heck yeah! From the mare, but instead her smirk turned into something more of a bashful even blushingly sheepish grin.

“You don’t agree?” he said evenly, and she blinked in shock and shook her head.

“Nah, no that all makes sense, sounds great dude, but, well um,” Rainbow said, looking down at the floor for a moment before continuing, “I know we said we’d do this in the evenings and it’s cool if you can’t but um, it’s been like, almost a week since I’ve had a night to myself, is it cool if we could maybe do one of these in the mornings, like tomorrow instead, I kinda have plans.”

Checkers raised his brow, a tiny part of him wanted to dismiss the idea outright. But then again, she wasn’t exactly an enlisted mare, at least not yet it seemed, and besides he liked variables and perhaps a morning session might catch the creature with its guard down.

He nodded, “Oh course Rainbow, I’m sorry if I’m pushing you too far, sometimes I forget you’re not a guard.” he said with a chuckle and she chuckled back, looking visibly relieved.

“Don’t sweat it, I’m as into this as you are, just well, a mares gotta have her personal time you know?”

He didn’t, but he pretended he did all the same, “Of course, I’ll have some of my guards pick you up tomorrow morning then.”

“Cool, sounds good, uhh, well, laters Checkers.” Rainbow said, seeming both pleased and perhaps a little disbelieving at how well this meeting had gone for her, it seemed to Checkers that she was preparing herself to be let go.

For a mare with that level of cockiness, she seems to doubt herself a lot. Perhaps she just pretends, sounds like someone we know?

Checkers lifted himself off his chair, watching her flap her wings and sail out the window of the hospital. Before, after a minute or so, he threw his hooves up into the air and let out a cheer of his own. Though he had tried to keep it down, they were still in a hospital after all.

Finally, after weeks of work, finally I have something to work with. He thought, as his mind raced on.

Now we need to get a plan together, set up establishing questions about what she meant by it following, of course I’ll need it to sound like Rainbows saying it, have to take that into account. even if she doesn’t talk, I can have look out sentries around in case what she might have glanced in the woodland perimeter comes back, that way even if she tries to stonewall us we can-

“Enjoying yourself Lieutenant?” An older voice asked by the door, and Checkers froze in place. A white stallion pushed open the door fully without so much as a knock and then stepped to the corner to allow another almost identical pony to do the same on the left, and then for a moment there was silence until.

Until an older unicorn stallion pressed forward, grey just about everywhere except for his moustache which was stained yellow from the pipe in his mouth, and the blue and immaculate military coat around his chest and waist. Adorned with more badges than a pony even at his age could realistically earn, or even place on that amount of fabric without looking more like a magnet dipped in a pot of pins.

The pony stopped, bit down on his pipe and pushed it to the side of his mouth, giving Checkers a dispassionate once over, dressing him down with his eyes before pulling the pipe out from his mouth and frowning.

Checkers kept his salute straight, but gazing into the eyes of the old stallion he knew that this time, he wasn’t just coming in to rip him a new one, this was something else. The old Captain never left his office when he could help it, laziness and an old limp, saw to it that everypony worth calling for came to him.

To have him in somepony else's office, meant somepony somewhere screwed up badly, somepony like Checkers for instance.

“Sir, is there anything I can assist you with?” Checkers said, playing ignorant. He had about a thousand things in his mind of what the captain was going to call him out on, but without knowing exactly which one, staying calm and playing the fool would give him the best chance to backpedal at the very least.

“I was just wondering, where is this little mare I’ve been hearing about Lieutenant? You know, the one that’s been secretly meeting with my prime witness? I was told you were the pony to talk to about that.”

Checkers managed to sneak a glance at the open window of his room quickly before placing them back towards his superior officer, thankful for once that Rainbow never seemed to use doors when she could help it, “I have no idea what you’re talking about sir.” he said with a smile, but already he could feel a bead of sweat drip down his forehead.

The Captain's eyes slid away from him and towards the very window Rainbow had left before he sat down on his hunches and sucked in his still smouldering pipe. “Come Lieutenant, it’s been a while, why don’t you catch me up on things.”

Checkers gulped, this was not going to end well.