Hatch Williams's Story

Seeing her across the room, Camilla made her way over to Hatch. The two interacted much since the revolution, when Cam needed her car looked at, and have become a bit close ever since. As she walked past one of the waiters, she placed her glass down and picked up a glass of red wine and whiskey meant for someone else, but Cam didn’t really care about whoevers drink that it was going to, now it was going to Hatch. “If I knew you would be here, I’d let you look at my car. I need some tuning done.” She said as she bumped her hip into Hatch to draw her attention away from the bar and placed her glass on the counter.

She visibly looked Hatch up and down, to let her know she was checking her out. Camilla already looked her over as she approached, but Hatch was always a good look on the eyes. “Nice suit, pretty sure you missed a button though…” She said with a smirk as she took a sip of her wine. “And I don’t mean one higher up.” Camilla genuinely enjoyed her time with Hatch, not worrying about much else of the revolution and it was always fun to flirt with someone like Hatch.

The feeling of someone bumping against her hip made Hatch turn around, ready to make some sort of sharp comment. But when she heard the familiar voice, she smiled instead, taking the glass that had just been put down on the bar. “You need to get a better car, then,” she remarked, raising an eyebrow and taking a sip of her whiskey. She could feel Camilla’s eyes on her but didn’t react.


“Funny, I know I have... exactly the right amount of buttons done up,” she remarked, turning to face Camilla fully and scanning Cam for a second or two. “That dress is… more subtle than I would have expected from the great Camilla Rhodes. You should ditch the jacket, though. Lots of… spilled drinks tonight it seems,” she said with a raised eyebrow, draining her whiskey and signalling to the bartender for another. “So. Did you enjoy the show? Enjoyed honouring our great heroes?” She asked, leaning back against the bar.

Camilla smiled and let out a small chuckle as Hatch made her own comment about her outfit. “I’m not here to impress, just for good PR. And the council ‘recommended’ it to us.” She said with air quotes, sipping on her wine afterwards. “And if you insist darling.” Cam said as she slowly took off her jacket and hung it around a chair. “Is this better?” She rhetorically asked with a small wink, laughing a bit to herself as she watched the woman down her drink quickly, the mechanic was always one to get drinking done and down to business quickly.

Cam let out an audible laugh as she asked about the show honoring the great heroes. “Sure, heroes. The famous medic was smaller than I expected from all I heard. Others weren’t that memorable.” She paused for a second. “Except for Blake …” she trailed off and just took another sip of her drink. She saw Blake in the crowd, staring for a moment. Camilla hadn’t seen Blake since they last talked before going their own separate ways, Cam into the spotlight and Blake into the service. But they still looked as good as they did back then. She didn’t share much of her past, besides Sophie’s Valentine. with Hatch; so she probably didn’t know about the history between them.

Hatch’s smile widened slightly as Cam took off her jacket, raising an eyebrow slightly. She was surprised that Cam had been advised to come, seeing as she wasn’t exactly a particularly popular person around these parts. Hatch could feel plenty of dirty looks being sent their way, but a few of them were directed towards her. She really didn’t care.

Hatch was about to make a comment about the award recipients, but then Cam brought up Blake. There was something different in her tone and in her expression, something that made Hatch do a slight double take. She hadn’t seen that in Cam at any point they’d known each other, and she wasn’t quite sure how she felt about it.

“Can’t say I know much about this Blake, I don’t know if we’ve crossed paths at any point. How do you know them?” She asked lightly, keeping her tone curious and open.

Camilla was brought out of her staring when she heard Hatch’s voice and realized there was silence before them before she talked. “Oh. Just pre-revolution. Pre-stardom for me. We knew each other in high school a bit and Blake would come around to our rehearsals and our first couple gigs.” Cam said as she finished her glass of wine and pointed to it as the bartender saw her, asking for another. What she said was true, but she did purposely leave out them dating, one of the few people that the media didn’t know about and wasn’t on her or the bands wiki.

“Haven’t seen or interacted with Blake since I left high school with Sophie’s Valentine.” The bartender set the freshly refilled wine glass on the counter and Cam swiped her card on the slider on the edge of the counter, leaving a tip. She picked up the glass and swirled it a bit, she wouldn’t admit it, but was feeling the alcohol a bit and assumed that was what was causing her to spill a bit more to Hatch. “Surprised I haven’t heard of her-” Hatch started. Cam looked up as Hatch spoke, but quickly interrupted her. “Them.” She said sharply. “Their pronouns are they/them.” Camilla didn’t mean to come off sharply, and had a little hope Hatch wouldn’t take offense. “You know I had that Alphabet People album come out.” She said quickly to try to cover for herself.

The sharpness with which Cam corrected Hatch took her back for a moment, but she shook her head. “Sorry. I… shouldn’t have presumed,” Hatch said. “But, in my defence, I had nothing to work off of.” It was a side to Cam Hatch hadn’t seen before, and one that may have impressed her at any other time. But Hatch hadn’t seen Cam act like that towards anyone else before. Not that they tended to do much… conversing or gossiping on Cam’s visits to her workshop. Hatch took a long drink of the whiskey she’d been handed. “And I would have thought that you’d know I’m not enough of an asshole to do it deliberately,” she said dryly, not looking at Cam as she spoke.

Camilla rolled her eyes a bit, playfully. “I know that Hatch. My apologies.” Cam wasn’t one to say sorry to someone, rarely actually feeling sorry, but her harsh correction of Hatch was more impulsive than deliberate. “Anyways, enough of that. Neither of us want to be arguing about pronouns when both of us rather be drinking and enjoying ourselves.” She lightly tapped her wine against Hatch’s whiskey and gave a light smile before taking a sip. “Now, what’s your opinion on, as you said, the great heroes of the revolution?” Camilla asked, quickly changing the subject back to what it was before. “And how have you been lately?” She added at the end.

Cam enjoyed her time with Hatch, while rather being at her shop, it was nice to get something a little bit different than what they usually would be doing together. Not many people dealt with Camilla outside of Sophie’s Valentine, let alone treated her like an actual person rather than a piece of media. While she loved the spotlight and the flashing of cameras, it was nice to get away from it for a bit.

Cam’s apology was met with a half smile and a slight nod from Hatch, who just took another mouthful of her drink. Cam remarking that neither of them wanted to be arguing about pronouns seemed almost like Cam putting back on a mask, but Hatch let it slide. Their relationship wasn’t one where they really ever discussed their feelings or had conversations that were anything more than small talk, and Hatch was perfectly happy to keep it like that.

“Some of them are pretty decent people,” she said with a shrug as Cam asked what she thought of the heroes. “But also I’m mostly here for the free booze,” she said, indicating her glass. “I’ve been fine. Business has been booming, even if people aren’t convinced I wasn’t secretly spying for the government the whole time. As if I cared about the government that much,” she said with a wry smile. “How’s Sophie’s Valentine faring? Haven’t had to take down all those government promoting songs yet?” She asked.

“Hey, free booze is always good, though this is much better than that whiskey you keep under your tool box.” Camilla said jokingly. “You did what you had to do, who cares what these no names think.” Cam certainly didn’t, especially with most people wanting her jailed just as much as Clare Wrenley. “Hades and Persephone are fine, though she’s been taking more to Father Damien’s pamphlet lately.” She rolled her eyes. “And yeah, slowly but surely having to run our songs by the council to make sure they are what they want… Seems familiar to me…” She trailed off.

Cam wasn’t happy about being told what to do with her band and how to do it. When the revolution ended, she thought for a moment her band would be able to go back to how things use to be, but they just had new masters telling her orders now. Camilla scanned the crowd as the two of them continued to talk before another person caught her attention, and scowl came across her face. The effects of her drink weren’t helping her temper much, but she knew she had to say something to him. “Hey Hatch… Why don’t we go mingle with some others? I see the good doctor over there that accepted the award.”[./color] She asked, already starting her strut. She wasn’t entirely interested in the famous (or to her, infamous) Noah Lawson, but rather the man he was talking to. Ryan Joshi.

Hatch laughed as Cam brought up the bottle of whiskey she kept in the workshop. Cam had a point, but it was hard to beat a nice glass of booze in the workshop at the end of a long day, especially if the company was any way decent.

[color=#400026]“It’s just an occupational when you proved yourself to be such an effective propaganda machine for the other side. And hey, better than jail, right?” Hatch said, raising an eyebrow and smiling wryly at Cam. As they talked, Hatch could see Cam watching the crowd, presumably in search of trouble. So Hatch couldn’t have said she was surprised when Cam suggested they went and worked the crowd. When she mentioned the doctor, Hatch just shook her head. “I’ll leave you to it, Camilla darling. I have other people I want to see and talk to,” she said. “Do try not to make that poor doctor’s evening any worse, won’t you?” She added with a smile. As she straightened up, she leaned in to Cam. “And if that car gives you any trouble on your way home… you know where I am.” She whispered in Cam’s ear, before walking away.

Camilla shrugged when Hatch spoke about it being better than jail, she wasn’t wrong, but still wasn’t something she enjoyed. Camilla would be lying if she said she wasn’t a bit disappointed when Hatch said she wouldn’t join her, but understood. A small shiver went down her spine and made her feel a bit flushed when Hatch spoke into her ear, not replying before the two went their own ways, for now.

It didn’t take Cam long to get over to where Noah and Ryan was, not caring about who she bumped into. “Mr. Lawson, or is it Doctor Lawson? Pleasure to meet you. Camilla Rhodes, of Sophie’s Valentine. I heard much of your efforts over the months.” She said, holding out her hand. “Though I was imagining someone a little bit… bigger…” She continued, as she crossed her arms. When she crossed her arms she ‘accidentally’ spilled the rest of her red wine onto the man next to her, and the real reason she came over here.

“Oh my apologies,” Camilla said and acting as if she didn’t know he was, pretending to try to assist him in lessening the stain, but just bumping into the table and making his award fall to the ground. “Oh my, I’m so sorry to be so clumsy.” She quickly sarcastically apologized, taking a step back and staring at Ryan. She was a little proud of herself with the small amount of chaos she just caused. “It's a shame that happened to a fancy award like that… though, was a bit surprised to see you getting some sort of award…” She trailed off, setting her now empty glass down on the table.

Noah had met his fair share of unpleasant people in his time. When you worked in emergency medicine, it wasn't uncommon to get screamed at because you told them that their precious darling daughter had a hangover instead of meningitis, or because you dared to leave them waiting for a few hours. It was easy to brush that kind of nastiness off. Emergency departments brought out the worst in people. People were in pain, or scared for their loved ones, or just scared in general.

But there was absolutely nothing that could excuse the unpleasant and downright nasty attitude of Camilla Rhodes. Her response to him just made him raise an eyebrow in disdain. Truth be told, there was plenty he could have said to her in that moment, but he wasn't confident he could get it out without stammering, and he would be damned if he gave her that ammunition. He glanced away awkwardly, taking a mouthful out of his drink as she leaned in to Ryan, whispering something before kissing him on the cheek; a gesture that seemed so contradictory to what she'd been saying beforehand. Noah might have commented on it to Ryan, might have tried to turn it into a joke or something. He'd only gotten as far as shooting Ryan a sympathetic look before Magnolia appeared, and things began to take a turn for the worst.

Everybody was staring at Magnolia and Camilla. Which meant, by extension, everyone was also staring at Noah and Ryan. If the tension of being that close to the argument wasn't troubling enough, the tension of having everyone staring at them was only worsening things. He was about to try and make a run for it and drag Ryan with him for fear they would be dragged into the argument as well when Camilla threw the first slap. That should have been the perfect opportunity to get away, but something made him stay. Somebody's going to end up getting hurt before tonight is out.

He'd expected the girls to start fighting, perhaps, or for the alcohol to get the better of one of them, resulting in a twisted ankle. He had not expected Samar to physically shove Camilla away from Magnolia, causing Camilla to stumble over a chair and hit the ground, her elbow colliding with something on the way down. Noah was already assessing the situation. She didn't hit her head, at least, which took urgency away from the situation. He flagged down a waiter. "First aid kit, now. And some ice," he instructed. He knew better than to try and get involved in that situation when Samar and the other man- Miles, wasn't it?- were yelling at each other. Cam was stable and could wait. If a brawl broke out between the two men, Noah knew it probably wouldn't end as cleanly. The minute Samar and Nola left, Noah knelt beside Camilla, examining her elbow as best he could without touching it.

The waiter had left the first aid kit and a bucket of ice beside him, with the forethought to leave a towel with the ice. Noah wrapped a handful of ice up in the towel and pressed it to her elbow. "Hold that there," he instructed. "I don't think you've broken anything, but I can't say for sure without an x-ray. It's probably worth checking it out, but I'm not going to force you to come to the hospital if you don't want to," he said. He glanced at Miles in the hope he might have some sway in encouraging her, but not feeling particularly optimistic.

Hatch had discovered that almost everyone else at the party was incredibly boring. She had, at least, convinced two council members to bring their cars in to her, but she wasn't even sure their business was worth the effort of playing nice. She was getting ready to leave when shouting from across the room caught her attention. Well, it was better than idle conversation, she told herself as she wandered over. And then she spotted who was involved. A wry smile settled on her face as she leaned against a table a short distance away, watching as things unfolded.

Camilla seemed to have met her match in Magnolia, it seemed. The two of them were equally angry and equally intoxicated, and it was amusing to watch. She knew Cam would win, of course. Cam would refuse to let anything go until she felt like she'd won, even if the other person never actually admitted defeat. But watching Magnolia put up a fight was at least worth it. At least, until Samar stepped in. Two against one seemed unfair, especially when the extra person was Samar. She wished she could have said she was disappointed when he decided to brutally shove her to the ground, but she wasn't.

She began to make her way over to Camilla, but Miles got there first. Hatch had never seen him quite so protective over anyone, and she raised an eyebrow. Something about that didn't sit quite right with her. The doctor was checking her out now, and said something about bringing Camilla to the hospital. "I can drive you, if you want. This party is boring anyway," she offered, keeping her tone light.

Ryan wasn’t stupid, of course all of this was about the articles he’d written on Camilla’s band. None of it was personal, he just didn’t think it was right to let them get away with such blatant propaganda. Maybe that was a mistake, but he wouldn’t do it any different. But when she insinuated that he would lie in his stories, he felt much more defensive. It didn’t take a genius to analyze the lyrics Sophie’s Valentine put out, and claiming he was lying about any of it was just her wounded pride trying to take him down with her.

“Wouldn’t want some false information to spread and someone end up being hurt by it.”

And after saying that, Camilla had the nerve to kiss his cheek. A mixture of the unwanted contact and her words sent a shiver down Ryan’s spine, and for the briefest of moments, a disgusted crossed his face. ”Is that a threat, Camilla, or a cry for help?” He asked flatly, softly, trying not to draw any more attention to them.

Then Magnolia Wrenly came, presumably, to his rescue, and Ryan immediately wished she hadn’t. He did, however, step back as the two women started arguing, trying to stay as far out of it as he could. Nola was kind, but Ryan only got the feeling that things weren’t going to end well from there. He glanced at Noah, almost as if to ask if they should be getting out of there when two things happened in quick succession: Nola splashed her drink on Cam, and Ryan pulled up the camera function on his PCU, which he got to start filming right as Camilla slapped Magnolia.

Ryan hadn’t really noticed Samar before he came barreling in towards Camilla, but he did know this wasn’t good for his image.

Miles Caal got involved. Ryan didn’t know him, but he knew enough about him to know that this was an interesting development. Ryan had stayed up to date with all the news that had come out about people who’d worked for the government during the revolution, and Miles had insisted the entire time that he didn’t have a choice in what he did (though much of what he’d done didn’t hit the news, just the results), and he seemed genuinely repentant. Ryan wasn’t sure if Miles looked like the kind of man who was sorry to have done the wrong thing, or the kind of man who was only sorry because he wound up on the wrong side.

At any rate, he didn’t really seem to help in the current situation, but it defused itself, nonetheless.

Nola and Samar left, probably for the better, then Noah was looking over Camilla, and Miles had (halfheartedly) turned to check back in with Cam. Ryan wasn’t about to interject on Camilla’s possibly-necessary medical care, but he did offer a sideways glance at Miles, interested in seeing how the man who’d so quickly run to her aid would react.

”You should probably go, Cam.” Ryan didn’t think Miles looked all there, ”Hatch ‘n the doctors’ll take good care of you.”

Miles seemed to notice that Ryan was staring at him, then, and turned to look at him. ”Cam do that?” He asked, referring to the wine staining Ryan’s shirt. Ryan nodded. ”Hm.” Miles nodded, himself, and without ceremony looked at Hatch, said, ”You know how to reach me if anyone needs me.” And then turned to leave.

Weird guy.

Ryan scratched his head, ”Do you have any stuff you need someone to get for you, Camilla? A coat or something?” He wasn’t particularly fond of the idea of helping her, but he wasn’t heartless either, and he didn’t want to leave the woman high and dry while she was drunk and hurting.

Hatch drove Cam home. Cam had insisted that she didn’t want to go to the hospital, that she didn’t need to go, and Hatch got the impression that it was probably best not to argue. Hatch left Cam be, but not before telling her to call her if she needed anything. She wasn’t sure if she was disappointed or relieved when her phone didn’t ring all night.

The following two weeks had been quiet. Boring, almost. Work was picking back up, but plenty still regarded her with suspicion, so it wasn’t what it once was. But it got her through. Cam brought her car in for a “service”, as she’d promised, but Hatch hadn’t seen as much of her as she usually did. She told herself she didn’t care, and she almost believed it.

Usually, she never would have bothered with these carnival type events. But she had nothing better to do with her evening, and besides, it seemed like everyone she knew was going. So she found herself wandering between obnoxiously coloured stalls and the smells of popcorn and cotton candy. It was more enjoyable than she expected, if she was being honest to herself. She heard chattering from a nearby square, and headed in that direction, cotton candy in hand. A screen had been set up, with a countdown ticking down. It was down to single digits as Hatch hovered by the edge of the square.

3.

2.

1.

The screen flickered, and then a video feed came up. The audio was crackly and uneven, but you could make out what they were saying just fine. One of the council members was talking about ambushing unarmed citizens during the revolution. Then the feed cut out, and cut to another. And another. A woman shooting a man. “Heroes” of the new state working with those who had been declared criminals in the aftermath. The clips kept coming, getting worse and worse as they went on. The crowd got more and more restless.

Eventually, the screen went black, with white text appearing in a simple, but bold font. “THESE ARE YOUR HEROES. THESE IS YOUR GOVERNMENT. THEY WILL BETRAY YOU. MORE EVIDENCE TO FOLLOW.”

The screen went black. And then, everyone’s phone beeped in sync. Hatch pulled up her PCU, opening her email. Somebody had sent a folder, containing a video file, presumably the video evidence that they had just shown, and a document. Curiosity got the better of Hatch, and she opened the file. Around her, everyone was doing the same, and there was gasps of horror and disgust as they read the contents. Everything from government officials accepting bribes, details of experiments they had allowed, to reports about those they had honoured at the awards ceremony. Hatch shut her PCU down and decided that she needed to get out of town before things turned nasty. She wasn’t the only one with that idea, and she was jostled as she headed back into the city to head back home. People were already beginning to shout at each other, the party atmosphere of the carnival gone.

Hatch wasn’t sure what happened first; if she heard the explosion or if it flung her from her feet to land a few feet away. Her ears were ringing as she turned to look behind her. Everything seemed muffled, as if through water, but she could still make out the screaming. She staggered to her feet, picking glass from her hands, as she just stared at the blaze a few yards away from her.