SEC #3
Roy nodded. "Funny, I don't remember Abby ever asking you to step up for her...but that never stopped you from trying." He stood up, then paused.
"Maybe instead of spending so much time bitching and moaning, you should try looking around and thinking about who's had your back consistently for the last year or two. I mean, they could have let you go on your bender...then you'd have ended up on Stefi's radar again, and I seem to remember her warning of some pretty intense consequences if she ever found out you fell off the wagon."
He picked up the chair. "Booze is like an abusive lover...hates it when you turn to anyone else, does everything it can to alienate you from everyone else who would help and support you, convinces you that it's the only one who gives a damn while it proceeds to completely fuck up your life. We're gonna give you a little time to think about that...to consider whether you want to give your bitch-sister the satisfaction of knowing that she really did manage to destroy at least one Hermes pilot, and not only destroy your faith in your blood-family, but also the family you chose here. If you still think you're better off with a bottle than with the Hermes, at that point, I'll give you all the booze you can drink...and turn you over to Stefi and let everything run its course. Right now, there's only a handful of people who know you stumbled...and it's still off the books. Whether it stays that way depends on whether you manage to get your head out of your ass and back on your shoulders again."
Despite the coarse word choice, his tone was quiet, and concerned...and disappointed, rather than disapproving. He walked back down the hall with the chair.
"Nobody hears she's in there without my approval. Got it?" he said to everyone on duty. He looked at Lippen, and added, "And no one else talks to her without my say-so...ESPECIALLY Will or Stefi." He shook his head, adding, "Last thing Will needs right now is to hear her go off about not trusting anyone. He can talk to her after she manages to un-fuck her head."
He looked around the room, making sure everyone was clear on just how serious he was about this. "On the record, no one is in that cell right now. She sorts herself out, and it stays that way. Don't do anything that forces us to change the record."
And with that, he turned and walked out, trying to use the walking time to screw on some kind of pleasant exterior before he got to the Rec Deck.