LSRO: Chapter 150 - Keep People Safe (Patreon)

Tadaaaa Chapter 150! That feels like a bit of a milestone to me. This one doesn't quite end on a cliffy. I hope you enjoy it as much as I loved writing it!

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Chapter 150

Keep People Safe

Quinn didn't need anyone to tell her that Finn was telling the truth. It was something she could feel from the way the Ilgonomur trembled right through to the core of the Library. The vibrations, while tiny, were full of fear. 

Now, whether that fear was a truth that Finn believed because they had been brainwashed into it, or a truth that was actually a hundred percent true in everybody's eyes, Quinn didn't know. She also didn't care. In front of her was someone who had come to the Library, won a little bit of her heart, helped them in a couple of instances when they really needed it, and stepped up when they heard about the traitors, when Jim and Bob fled. 

Could they be very good at their job and weaseling in under their target's defenses? For sure! But there was something about Finn and their passion for Library books. Something that stood out from the first moment she'd interviewed them. It led Quinn to be quite certain that Finn, while perhaps encouraged by their elders in order to spy, hadn't actually been aware of it in the first place.

"Finn, what's wrong?" she asked.

Finn's gaze darted all around, their already large eyes impossibly bigger. They were still trembling even as they looked around trying to find something. "I just had my day off... I usually just spend it in one of the species specific rooms, but I was called home this time."

"Did they give a reason?" Quinn asked, as gently as she could, trying to put reassurance in the tone.

Finally something clicked for Finn, and a visible wave of relief shot through them. The tension in their shoulders dissipated. "They said there were important family matters to attend to and that I had to come home as soon as possible. But when I got there..." 

The tension ramped up again, so high that it was palpable and made Quinn's skin crawl. It was panic. Finn was this close to a complete and utter panic attack. She walked over to the couch, beckoning Finn to follow. After a second's hesitation, the Library assistant followed. Even doing such a small thing, seemed to calm them ever so slightly.

Quinn sat on the couch first, patting the seat next to her gently. "Come, sit with me. My legs kind of hurt."

Finn eyed her curiously, and then shrugged and sat down, still focusing only on Quinn. 

"So, can you carry on? What happened when you got there?" Quinn asked gently.

Finn paused, and took a deep breath, as if they were centering themself. "They asked a lot of questions. All at once. My parents, my uncles and aunts, cousins I've never even seen before in my life..."

Quinn noticed that Finn wasn't the best at staying on track. Probably why they occasionally lost themselves in the Library and research. She had to suppress a smile, because this situation required that she be serious. Instead, she gave her best look of understanding before speaking. "That had to be confusing. Do you remember anything they said?"

"They asked strange questions like how many assistants we had, if there was a restricted section and if I had access to it. They wanted to know if there'd ever been any case of people entering the Library without the Library knowing." Finn scrunched up their face. "They were all inane questions like that. I got very annoyed by it. I told them that I couldn't talk about all that, it was work information."

Quinn cringed ever so slightly, quite certain how badly that would have gone down. "Did they say why they wanted to know all this information?"

"No!" Finn spoke vehemently. "That's what's so confusing. They gave me no reasons for their need to know. But they wouldn't stop asking. And when I wouldn't answer... They asked me to bring them back that information. As if I didn't know and needed to find it out. They even promised me all sorts of things if I told them and horrible things if they didn't." Finn muttered the last few words, their gaze darting all around again as if to check that their relatives weren't hiding in the shadows.

Quinn watched the way Finn wrung their hands, the way their eyes darted back and forth. They were legitimately scared and Quinn was quite certain that they weren't scared of her.

What do you think? she asked the Library.

Genuinely scared, you're right. 

Do you think they put them up to this? Quinn asked

No. I mean, yes, The Library corrected itself, but I don't think Finn reacted in a way that their superiors thought they would.

Yeah, I get that same feeling, Quinn said. "Finn, it's okay, we get it. You can relax. Everything is going to be okay."

Finn relaxed into the couch a bit more, their eyes darted to everybody in the room, with Misha and Farrow there, Malakai and Dottie, Eric, who was like a thundercloud at that point in time, Aradie and Lynx. The room was full of the main people of the Library. It seemed to calm the Ilgonomur somewhat. Maybe it made them feel safe. Quinn could only hope so.

Finn cleared their throat and gave everybody a very nervous, wan smile before leaning right back into the couch down and taking a glass of water from Lynx who'd briefly disappeared and reappeared.

"Is it okay if I ask you a few questions?" Quinn asked as gently as possible. When Finn nodded, she continued. "Who told you to apply for the Library?"

Finn's eyes lit up at the question. "Oh, I've always wanted to work at the Library, but for years, centuries that is, for so long, that was something I didn't even have a chance of dreaming about. I just worked at the Ilgonomur main branch Library. So boring, barely a magical text anywhere to be found. It's very hard for normal libraries to contain them without contaminating other aspects of the Library, you know that."

Finn's expressions just lit up their face whenever they spoke about books. It was a demonstration of joy for those books that Quinn was 99% sure she had on her face whenever she spoke about books. It was part of the reason Quinn was certain Finn had never meant the Library any harm.

"So," Quinn said, "it was your idea to apply?"

"Oh yes, but they encouraged me. They knew I loved books. They said that the Library opening now was fortuitous and that if I got in on the ground floor I'd have a fantastic future here for me." Finn said.

"Who told you this?"

"Oh, Geshan. He's the lead Librarian for the Ilgonomur main branch Library." Finn said importantly.

Quinn smiled, hoping to keep her assistant at ease. "Oh, wonderful. So, you filled out the application?"

"Oh no, they filled it out for me, which was wonderful because, you know, there were things in there that I didn't exactly know what I should say." Finn paused, as if unsure what to say next. "So, it was nice to have somebody help me phrase a few of the things."

"Interesting," Quinn said, mulling that over in her mind. The application had little bearing on why she'd accepted Finn, but now she wanted to go back and look at how it was filled out just in case there were any hints.

This time, Lynx spoke up. "Why are you asking us to keep you safe?" Lynx said.

"Oh, oh," and Finn started hyperventilating again, as if, for just a few moments, they'd forgotten how panicked they'd been earlier. 

Quinn could sense the fear rolling off them in waves. "What happened? Can you tell us?"

"Well, I've been here a while now and like I said they wanted to extract information from me. They began crowding around me, and were so insistent. They had hints and tricks for me to get into your good graces so you'd share more with me." Finn looked down at the ground and sighed.

"It's okay. Just keep going. Maybe we'll find something we can use to help." Quinn said soothingly."

Finn nodded and took a deep breath. "I couldn't think, there were so many of them crowded around me. So I said I had to use the bathroom. They scattered enough to let me out, but I used my Library pass on the door when I went to the bathroom. The thing was... I'm quite certain they'd activated the external location locks on all the doors. But I have an assistant's pass, and it overrides those failsafes when it comes to returning to the Library. I got so lucky. They didn't want me to come back. Please don't let them come and get me."

Finn's voice had risen octaves, and they were shaking so much the couch was moving. Quinn leaned forward and patted them on the shoulder. 

"It's okay. You're safe here." Oh, how she wished she could be a hundred and fifty percent sure that they were going to be safe here. So much had happened to put the Library and its assistants in danger, that she was beginning to truly question hers and the Library's ability to keep people safe. "Now, are you able to tell me everything they said to you."

Finn nodded. "They started encouraging me to go to the debriefing chamber. I've never been there before but I know where it is and as I approached I realized they had the serious guards out there. They had the parliamentary guards out there. You can't fight them. Nobody gets away from them. I didn't understand what they wanted at first, but I did know I had to get back here."

Quinn listened and motioned for Narilin and Dottie to come and help. "It's okay. You've been staying here in the quarters most of the time, haven't you?"

"Yes, a lot of the time. It leaves me closer to the books and I like that." Finn smiled, although it wasn't as blinding as usual. "I just wanted to go home and see my parents but they weren't there when I got there which is why I went to the offices because that's where they work."

Quinn heard the tremor in Finn's voice. She understood. They were worried about their parents, their family, and what it meant that they'd run away. Even if some of that same family had been doing some of the coercing, they were still family. And, for a lot of people, that could get very complicated, very fast. 

But at the same time, Finn had been scared and hadn't wanted to be hurt or hurt something they cared about.

"You did the best you could with what you had," Quinn said. "It's okay. We'll make sure you're safe here. Dottie and Narilin are gonna take you upstairs. Maybe we'll get you a soothing soup, something to calm your nerves without help."

Finn nodded and a few tears escaped from their big beautiful eyes. They sighed and held the sobs in, before turning to follow Dottie and Narilin upstairs. Quinn watched as they left the room and then she turned to Lynx and Misha.

"We need to go over the security elements for the Library. If we have to scan every damn person who walks through a door, we will. We're not letting anyone else who works to keep the Library going, go through something like that."

"You know they could be... embellishing, right?" Lynx asked carefully. 

"Of course I know, but sometimes my gut just works well. And right now my gut is telling me that Finn is genuinely scared. I want whatever we can do to make sure I can keep the promise to keep them safe." She said, her tone hard as stone. 

"Very well. I just wanted to make sure you'd considered all avenues." Lynx said.

"I know, and I appreciate it. I'm not about to give them the codes to the filtration chamber or anything. But, I believe Finn. And we're not letting them go back home. That, that was terror. Whatever information they want from Finn, they're not getting and I'll be damned if I let anybody else infiltrate this place."

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You tell em Quinn!

Seriously though. She's being a mama bear!

Much love

KT