The Policy of Truth Who: Lita Singh and Demi Rafferty Where: Demi and Isaac's apartment, the Capitol What: Just two friends delivering messages, discovering loyalties, and finding out they share more than a sense of humor. When: 12/5/18, later afternoon.
Hide what you have to hide And tell what you have to tell You'll see your problems multiplied If you continually decide To faithfully pursue The policy of truth
Never again Is what you swore The time before
The strange, ominous clouds Lita spied on the horizon on her drive over to the Capitol only served to fuel the creeping sense of unease slowly unfurling inside of her. The feeling increased exponentially as she traversed the familiar, stark hallways of the government hub. She was still trying to wrap her mind not only around the concept of Adelaide knowing she was on friendly terms with Demi but also that her patient-turned-pal was somehow also in cahoots with the Hellhounds. She was as prepared for the conversation as she could be; what Lita wasn't prepared for was the sight of two patrolmen standing guard outside Demi and Isaac's apartment.
There was no turning around; they'd already seen her approach and so Lita's didn't slow her gait or let the surprise show in her face. She advanced on the guards, who stopped their idle chitchat to address her.
"Keep it moving, girly," the patrolman to her right warned, gesturing down the hallway with a jerk of his head. "Nothing to see here."
Lita crossed her arms in front of her chest; partly out of annoyance at being addressed in such a dismissive and dickish way and partly out of an instinctive reaction to protect herself. Lita knew exactly what these sort of men were capable of and while she was determined to see her friend, she was appropriately wary of the situation. She had no idea why these men were posted outside Demi's door but they had no reason to believe she was here for any other reason than a checkup which, at any other time, would be completely correct.
"Yeah, I don't think so," Lita replied, her tone equally snide as the guard's. Her gut was an ice cold block of fear but she continued. "I'm Doctor Singh, Ms. Rafferty's primary care physician. I'm here for a standing physical therapy appointment. Are you gonna let me through or do I have to call my supervisor, have you explain to him why you're holding me up, let him call up your supervisor, have your boss take the inconvenience out on your asses, and then go see my patient? No offense, but my time is a lot more valuable than yours and I'd rather do it the easy way, all things being the same."
It was a bluff but it gave every appearance of being sound. It wasn't unheard of for doctors to visit patients on their off time but Lita's supervisor knew nothing about her visits to the Capitol. She watched the two patrolmen gives each other a look of annoyance and then converge into a huddle of quiet conversation. One peered over his shoulder at her, sniffed haughtily, and turned back to his partner. After a half minute's deliberation, the guard that addressed her stood back, allowing her access to the door.
"After you, Doc," the patrolman replied, rolling his eyes. Lita hesitated only for a moment before she approached the door, rapping her knuckles against the wood.
"Demi? It's Doctor Singh. I'm here for our appointment?"
Both Lita and Demi knew they didn't have any such appointment scheduled. Even though it was now painfully obvious that Lita didn't know Demi quite as well and she thought she did she prayed her friend would play along...for both their sakes.