Posted Aug. 7, 2022, 5:02 p.m. by Jerome Davis
Posted by Civilian Molly Holloway (CEO - Holloway Industries) in Attack at City Center - Molly and Calvin’s Residence
<snip>There was no containing it now. Fueled by uncontrolled rage, Molly quickly got up from her position, grabbing the closest heavy item she could find — a glass flower vase that sat on the center of the coffee table.
With a bellow, Holloway threw it at Newton’s figure right as it vanished. The vase shattering into a million pieces against the wall and the water and the flowers it contained spilling onto the large rug that covered the center of the living room.
Alone, Molly collapsed on the floor, wailing as the emotions she had so carefully repressed washed over her. She couldn’t imagine a world without Calvin, and now that she had him back in her life, she couldn’t imagine a world without Lucas.
It was then that Molly felt something in her face. Something wet, clearing away her tears. Opening her eyes, she found herself staring at Boomer, Calvin’s old black Labrador. She had forgotten he was home… in his advanced age, he had likely slept through the whole ordeal. The fallen armchair waking him up.
Yet another victim… probably wondering where his owner had been all day. Closing her eyes, Molly let her arms wrap around the large dog, silently weeping, as he tried his best to comfort her, clueless of what was happening.
Molly Holloway, CEO Holloway Heavy Industries
It was only when Boomer leaned away from Molly, looking at the door, that she would hear the hard knocks on the front door. Molly could hear the doorknob rattle followed by… a woman’s voice?… muttering “Who in the hell still uses key locks?!” The knocking resumed. “Molly?” More knocking. “Molly?! Captain Holloway… its Samantha. Is everything OK?!”
Molly’s heart froze when she heard the knocking on the front door. Rolling over and laying flat against the ground she waited, carefully and slowly reaching towards the phaser that she had previously dropped on the floor. It was only when Sam’s distinct voice came through that Molly breathed in relief. What was she doing there anyway?
Boomer, recognizing the voice nuzzled Molly to get up, the old dog looking rather concerned. There was another series of knocks followed by the voice again. “This is Admiral Halloway… Security Detail to the Residence… Priority One!”
Halloway
“Alright, alright.” Molly told Boomer in a soft tone. And then the Security alert came through. Was Halloway… requesting a security detail?
Sprinting across the house, Holloway reached for the door in what would seem to Sam almost instantly. “What are you doing here? Get inside!” Came Molly’s hushed tone as she grabbed one of the Admiral’s wrists and pulled her inside the house closing the door behind her.
Sam appeared startled as Molly first jerked the door open then jerked her inside the home, slamming the door behind her. The woman quickly tapped her CommBadge. =A= Halloway to Detail en route to the Residence. Stand Down. False Alarm. Vixen Clear =A= Sam then turned concerned eyes to Molly, pausing momentarily to scratch Boomer’s head… which was gently against her thigh. “Hey Buddy…” She said softly down to the dog she’d known since he was a puppy.
From Sam’s perspective, Molly was a wreck. Hair disheveled, damp patches on her shirt, clusters of very small cuts dotted her arms, and was that a bruise forming on her left hand? Her face was red as if Molly had been crying, but that would have been expected.
Molly Holloway, CEO Holloway Heavy Industries
“Molly…” She began gently. “… you scared the frack outta me. What the hell just happened?! I heard a scream…” She paused. Molly could tell now the woman was trying to catch her own breath, likely from running to her door. “… then a crash! I thought they’d got you too!” The taller woman carefully lifted some of Molly’s hair from her face, her expression sad but fire raged behind her eyes. “Dev’ locked down surface to space transit for the time being. Astro Control has diverted all incoming traffic to nearby systems or the Platform for liners. Outbound traffic is being screened for lifesigns and hand checked before they can leave system.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” Molly waved a hand dismissively at Halloway’s words. “I tripped on the coffee table in the back room… broke the flower vase… nothing to it.” She shot Sam a quick smile, but the smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. Honestly, she just wanted the woman out of the house so that she could leave but she knew that that was not going to be a possibility.
“This is bad Molly…” Sam continued. “… and the CCDA High Command is completely focused on hunting whoever these bastards are down.”
Halloway, ACS
Molly gave Halloway a mindless nod. If only they knew.
“Any news from the hospital?” Molly asked as she started walking across the house in an determined gait. She fully expected Sam to follow her wherever she went.
Halloway followed Molly upstairs, Boomer on her heel. The old dog clearly knew something was wrong and didn’t want either woman out of his sight. “Nothing really…” Sam sighed. “… last I heard, both had been taken back to ICU. Sacred Heart is locked down tight, so we’re good there. The Medical team…” She paused before adding. “… were pretty worried about your uncle but I haven’t got any news since they went back.”
Molly felt the knot in her stomach return. This time larger than before. She knew that the doctors at Sacred Heart would do anything in their power to return Lucas to health, but when they were ‘pretty worried’ it meant that they were not sure that would be within the realm of their possibilities. Once again, Holloway tried not to think about it.
Climbing up the stairs to the bedroom she and Cal shared, Molly walked to her nightstand and pulled open the drawer revealing her modernly modified, old Earth style Hackathorn Special. Taking it, Holloway slid the magazine in and chambered the first round in the swift movements of someone very familiar with the weapon.
Sam’s eyes grew wide for just a moment and then a soft, happy sounding escaped the woman’s nose. “You two really were meant for each other.” She said, the soft smile the first Molly had seen since the woman had arrived at the scene.
It didn’t take long for Molly to go back downstairs. Taking a moment by the coat rack, she slid on her black peacoat before reaching for Boomer’s leash that was sitting on one of the hangers. Quickly snapping it in place on the old dog’s collar, Holloway held it out to Sam. “Here. Hold it for a second.”
It had dawned on Sam as they came back downstairs that Molly intended to leave, soon. She had no intention of trying to stop the woman, especially after she pulled out the damn Howitzer from the nightstand. Taking the leash, Sam asked in a half joke. “I guess trying to remind you Devri told you to keep your ass at home is pointless?” She smirked, scratching Boomer’s head once more.
Rummaging through one of the storage boxes, she pulled up a few small packages of dog treats and stuffed them in one of her coat’s pockets. Finally, Molly unlocked a closet by the front door producing a small satchel that she quickly flung over her shoulder. Sam would recognize it as a ‘go-bag’.
Sam would see Molly carefully place the pistol inside the bag before closing it again.
“I’ll take that as a no.” Halloway said out loud to herself as she watched the other woman move.
Grabbing the house keys and Boomer’s leash from Sam’s hand, Holloway turned to the Admiral. “I’m going to the hospital. You can come with or I can call you another car. Your choice.” And with that she walked out of the house.
Molly Holloway, CEO Holloway Heavy Industries
Sam actually laughed. “You can take the car, but if you think I’m letting you outta my sight… you’re nuts. Come on…” Sam motioned to the waiting driver, a pistol in front of him as he stood waiting by the door.
Halloway, ACS
Closing the door and securing the house behind her, Molly made sure to double check that no lights were left on before walking down the driveway and into the waiting hovercar. Once Sam joined her they were off.
OED was now completely submerged in the darkness of night and Molly spent most of the ride to the hospital staring out of the window, watching the streetlights go by.
The truth was, she didn’t feel like talking. She never did feel like talking anyway, but now more than usual.
Newton’s words had been replaying over and over in her head, and Molly found herself holding the strap of her bag so tightly that her knuckles were turning white. She just hoped that she could get to him before they did. Holloway was sure that the CCDA had made sure the hospital had been made a fortress, but she was already going through security measures that needed to be implemented. Molly couldn’t tell anyone about The Syndicate and their threats. She didn’t want to put more people at risk. But she had to make sure that she cut them out of as many areas as possible, starting with the holoemitters in the area.
After a while of watching the streetlights go by, Holloway undid her hair and took a moment to comb it with her fingers, before expertly remaking her ballerina bun.
Suddenly, a sharp pain hit her left wrist making Molly audibly draw in her breath and wrap her right hand around it. She looked at it spotting a bruise forming on the inside of her wrist, right above her palm, spreading out from under her chronometer’s wristband. She must have hurt herself when she fell over the armchair where she thought Newton had been sitting. Likely sprained it, Molly assumed by what she was seeing. However, there was nothing she could do about it at present with the exception of acting normally as she was sure Sam had noticed it.
Molly Holloway, CEO Holloway Heavy Industries
Sam watched Molly closely as they rode silently to Sacred Heart, occasionally leaning down to gently scratch Boomer’s back… his head resting on Molly’s feet. For the first time in many years, Samantha Halloway found herself once again watching hands… the hands of every person on the street. Empty hands meant she & Molly were safe. She’d noticed the wince, but she & Molly had never been super close… much to her own disappointment. Months ago, after figuring out Holloway had been the First Year that broke her nose at the Academy over some stupid girl she was dating at the time, Sam had made the conscious decision to try and befriend the woman that she was certain would one day marry one of her oldest friends. She & Dev’ had even taken her out for coffee more than a few times but, alas, no real bond had formed.
“Did Raven ever tell you how much he loved flying air breathers?” The ASC Admiral asked, trying to make a little small talk.
Molly kept staring out of the window, but her shoulders slumped just slightly. No, he hadn’t. For a moment she felt a pang of sadness and jealousy overcome her. She had always had a love hate relationship with some of Calvin’s closest friends. Not because he shared a past with some, like Devri, but because all of the women he was close friends with bonded with him over their love for flying. They shared stories, adventures, things that Molly would never have. First and foremost, Calvin was a pilot, and Molly hated to fly. Not to fly in an spacecraft, but rather fly a spacecraft. No matter how big or how small. Molly Holloway was not made to pilot. Calvin had tried once, early in their relationship, to teach her, to show her, thinking that she would have just as much fun piloting a fighter like he did. She didn’t, even though she tried her hardest. Molly simply didn’t share the same connection with the vessels that Calvin seem to have. And they had never talked about it again. Deep down she was jealous, because she wanted to share that same bond with her partner and she would never be able to do it. And for Calvin, being involved with her meant to part with one of his biggest passions when they were together, and Molly hated it.
Somehow she felt that they had bonded over their misfortunes and not over who they were. Her mind went back to the ring box she had found in the remnants of the shuttle. Was Calvin settling for her when he could be with someone else that shared the same passions with him?
“When all this is over with…” The woman spoke in a hopeful tone. “… have him take you up in a two-seater. Cal’s always been a gifted pilot… but what that man can do with regular aircraft is remarkable.” She smiled, clearly remembering something from long ago. “All he ever wanted to do was fly… I…” Her voice cracked and she looked out the window, took a steadying breath and pushed on. “… always looked up to him… like a big brother. He was just… just always there.” There was a soft sniff before Sam added. “We’re… we’re… we’re all scared Molly. Cal is a great…” Her breathing caught again. “… a really great guy that… that we all love very much.” She sniffed harder, turning to face Molly… her hazel eyes now bloodshot. “I’m really sorry about Dev’ running you off earlier. You two are way closer to Cal than I am… and… I just hate seeing two people I respect so much hurting so deeply.” She looked back out the window and sighed. “I’m so sorry… for all of this.”
Halloway, ASC
As Sam spoke Molly remained silently staring out the window, and when she fell silent, Holloway let the silence hang for a while. She sympathized with both women’s feelings and she was grateful for their help. However, their words were also deeply hurtful in ways that she didn’t think they could begin to understand. Earlier that evening, when ordering her out of the scene, Devri had reminded Molly that she was worried about Calvin too, like Sam had just done. And yet, none of them seemed to remember that Molly didn’t stand to lose just her partner, but rather, the lives of two of her closest people hung in the balance – that there was a real possibility that she would lose the man she loved and the man she considered the closest she ever had to a father.
Everyone told her how much they sympathized with what she was going through, yet no one seemed to realize that their words mentioned half of her fears.
Outside of the window the streetlights blurred. Molly sniffed softly, and discreetly dried the tears threatening to fall with her index finger.
“I talked to him at the scene.” It was the first time Holloway said it out loud. She didn’t turn to face Sam. Instead, she kept staring out of the window, but she was sure that the woman was listening.
Samantha looked at Molly absolutely thunderstruck. “He…” She gasped. “… Raven was conscious after… after that!?!” Her normally bright face went ashen white. “How?!?”
Molly shook her head after a few seconds and continued. “He managed to drag himself out of the shuttle… part of him, anyway. He was the one that told me it had been a missile strike.” She swallowed trying to keep her voice from shaking. “I was the one that got the manual override of the door, and the first one to look inside…” Her voice faltered and Molly cleared her throat before continuing. Her eyes still trained on the lights outside. “From what I could gather he seemed to have broken both his legs and his left arm. I don’t know if there was anything else, but all I know is that I have seen him in far worse condition.”
“Jesus Christ!” Halloway’s color went to a slight shade of green. “I hate that you had to… to see him like that!” The former pilot looked in shock of the description of event before she and Devri had arrived.
It took a while for Molly to continue. It was clear that what she was trying to say next was a hard subject for her to talk about. “We’ve been through so much together…” She tried to repress a sob but didn’t quite managed to. “I had to remove a knife from his chest once… treat his wound with the bare minimum and hope the worst didn’t happen… He had lost some of his teeth… He was barely recognizable…” She finished the sentence in a venomous tone. Just thinking about Tomas made her blood boil, especially now that she realized that encounter had been just the beginning. “I stuffed him in a shuttle and flew us back, only to be attacked as we left.” Molly closed her eyes and shook her head. Months of therapy had helped but she was still afraid of bringing the images of the depressurizing shuttle to the front of her mind.
At this, Sam couldn’t stop herself clapping her hand over her mouth… too stunned to even speak. Just the thought of her old friend and mentor so badly beaten made the woman’s eyes tear up.
Finally Molly turned to face Sam. A pained look on her face. “He didn’t die. I thought we were going to. Both of us. But we didn’t.” She took a deep breath. “He’s going to be fine, Sam. If there’s anything I know about Calvin Harris is that he’s the most stubborn person I have ever met. And I know that if that mission didn’t kill him, it’s not a shuttle crash that will. He’s faced worse. Way worse. He’s too proud to allow himself to go like this.” There was a soft smile in her features that was quickly replaced by the same pained gaze as before.
A few tears fell as Sam nodded, her hand… trembling… still covered her mouth. She was about to add a thought to the conversation when Molly continued.
“When I opened the shuttle it wasn’t just Calvin though…” Molly’s hand balled in a fist and she tapped the inner door of the car as if she was trying to anchor herself to the present. Her eyes fixated on the steady rhythm of the streetlights passing by again. “My uncle–” Her voice faltered and she shook her head unable to continue. Turning to face Sam again, she continued, this time she couldn’t keep the tears from falling anymore, but she was still trying to settle her voice. “His thigh was impaled by a piece of the shuttle… there was so much blood I don’t even know how likely he is to survive. And I can’t…” For the first time, Sam would see the stoic and emotionless ex-Intel officer crumble before her eyes, as she actively tried not to cry.
Sam gasped audibly once more, slightly louder than before. “Oh my God! Molly… I… I…” Closing her eyes, more tears falling free in hurt for a woman she truly admired, Sam patted the other woman’s shoulder for a moment before Molly moved suddenly… reaching for the floorboard.
Molly felt Boomer stir, gently nuzzling her legs. “It’s okay Boomer… it’s okay.” She patted the old dog’s head and cleared her throat. Her tone steadier. “He’s the closest I have to a real father… and I cannot afford to think that he’s not going to make it. I understand that you and Devri are scared about Calvin too. But I am scared for the two most important men in my life. I appreciate the sympathy. I truly do. But I don’t think either of you understands… or at least I hope you don’t. For your own sake.”
Molly Holloway, CEO Holloway Heavy Industries
“We…” Sam began, a bit more resolve in her voice. “… we do. We both love Cal very, very much. But…” She looked to Molly with a very different look than any she had seen before from the woman. “… but what you don’t understand is that we love you just as much. Cause you’re an extension of one of the greatest men either Dev nor I have ever known.” Tears fell freely now but Sam was… smiling. “Of course we’re scared… hell… we’re terrified over all this, over what happened and what could still happen with Calvin. But Molly, we’re also worried about you exactly because you have so much more tied to this… so much…” She sniffed, her smile faltering. “… so much more to lose. Devri is like a sister… has been since we met at C.A. Riley. She, Becca, and I have a very special bond that I’m very thankful for… for the family we choose.” Her tone was very soft, thoughtful. “Becca has never had the chance to get close with Cal… hell, the girl’s an MD that’s likely smarter than the three of us put together. But she knowns that Devri & I look up to him… a lot. And…” Her breath caught and she sniffed once more. “… she knows how happy we both were that Cal found an incredible girl like you. Raven has had some of the worst luck in the world when it comes to partners… because he loves with every bone in his body. Losing Nessi & Belle nearly killed him! He’s a good man with a good heart and when it comes to those he truly loves… he’s an incredibly good judge of character.” She reached across, putting her hand over Molly’s and giving it a squeeze. “No matter what happens in the days ahead… know that you’ve got two more fighting in your corner. No matter what happens, we’re here for you. You’re family Molly and family sticks together… no matter what.” Her warm smile returning, Sam patted Molly’s hand.
Halloway, ACS
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