Chapter 16

“Andrew, wake up.”

I opened my eyes, as I came to myself. I threw the blanket off quickly and sat up. I didn’t recall dreaming, and I didn’t feel any pain. However, my mind was entirely focused. I had a strong feeling, that I needed to focus.

AI was on the tablet smiling at me. I waved at her, and she waved back.

Her face became serious, “We need to go to HQ now, Andrew.”

I stared at her, “We do? What’s happening?”

She just stared at me… Oh, right, Aisling warned me the night before, she made me promise. I just had to do what they said, and not think. They had a plan, and I needed to help their plan succeed… not that I had any idea what the plan even was.

I scratched the back of my head, “Sorry, I forgot. Time for a shower?”

She shook her head, “Please get dressed as soon as you can.”

I instantly started putting on my jeans and shirt. It took me less than a minute to get everything except the hoodie on. I stood up and walked out of the room quickly with my hoodie in hand.

I entered the lounge and immediately jolted back with surprise. Michael was there with Ashley, however… they were almost unrecognisable. Both of them were wearing ballistic padding across their body, making them seem twice their size. Guns were on every point of their body… I actually felt fear towards them, at first.

Michael nodded, “I know, it scares you. Just trust us… we’re leaving now, so headphones on.”

I walked to the front door and put them on immediately, as Michael opened the front door. There were at least seven agents similarly equipped in the passageway. They were holding their weapons at the ready, same as the Black Roses were the night before.

Michael walked out and gestured for me to follow, but his hand waved quickly. Ok, it seemed like I would be walking quickly, or at least as quickly as I could. As I walked, the agents stood around me, in a sort of formation.

We got to the basement parking lot, when I saw even more agents, they were waiting in two separate vehicles. Ashley jumped into our car's driving seat; Michael climbed into the front passenger seat. I climbed into the back seat, as quickly as I could manage. It was a blessing that I felt no pain.

One of the vehicles went ahead and our car followed it. I looked behind us, to see that the second vehicle was following us from behind… they were escorting us. I felt my sense of worry grow. They wouldn’t have done that, unless there was a damn good reason. My mind started racing about what they could be protecting me from, when I smacked myself on the head, to stop it. They said not to think about it… and I wouldn’t.

I could see the flashing beacon lights on all three of the vehicles. I guessed that they were making the unique Roses siren sound, but I couldn’t be sure, as I couldn’t hear anything. The rest of the cars on the road, hurried to pull aside for us, the same as they would have for an ambulance or police car.

We drove at a steady, but fast speed. The turns were sharp and controlled. Michael constantly spoke to his monitor, as he looked around the car constantly. I could see that he was in military soldier mode. No doubt he’d been in this escort pattern before, on his multiple tours.

We passed through the security gate and headed to the HQ’s front entrance. There were turrets on the gate house and drones with guns hovering all around it. I found myself talking to myself, “Don’t panic… don’t panic… it’s part of the plan.”

We arrived at the drop off point… but there were no members to be seen. My door opened immediately. Bella was there, armed to the teeth, naturally, but at least she didn’t look out of place for once. She gestured me to get out of the car quickly.

I climbed out as quickly as I could and followed her. She stopped and turned to face me. She spoke to me, but I couldn’t hear her.

I spoke to her, pointing at me headphones, “I can’t hear you, these are soundproof, ask AI to repeat it in my hearing aids.”

She nodded and then stopped talking. I looked at her slightly confused, as she glanced around a little. Then her eyes focused on her black monitor, and she nodded as she quickly gestured for me to follow her.

She walked quickly, surprisingly quickly, for someone carrying that much weight. We entered the foyer… and I just had to stop. The foyer was almost unrecognisable! There were plastic looking circular shield things, facing the windows on the right. There were turret guns all over the walls and floors. There must have been at least twenty turrets across the foyer.

Bella slapped my shoulder in irritation, I looked at her and she was clearly shouting. Her gestures were slightly panicked, as she pointed to my headphones, so I took them off.

There was yelling all around me, as agents and Black Roses were shouting bits of information at each other. ‘All systems active’, ‘Get the final BPs to the Inner Hall ASAP’, ‘They’ve begun their approach, ETA: thirty seconds’. They were all shouting these kinds of things, one after the other. It was terrifying.

Bella was furious, “Stop fucking around, Andrew, get to the Inner Roses Hall, now, now, now!”

I quickly walked towards the sliding door entrance to the Inner Roses Hall. The door slid open, and there were even more turrets and plastic looking shields. The turrets were behind the shields, with a little hole for the turret guns to stick out of.

I walked between them as quickly as I could, as I approached the centre of the hall. Aisling and Nadia were there, wearing bulletproof vests. They looked at me with deeply worried faces.

Aisling spoke quickly, “Good, we need to wait here for a moment, then we-”

She was interrupted by an explosion of noise. A voice yelled out from the foyer, ‘Contacts, they’re here, cover, cover, cover!’ Which was immediately followed by the sounds of gunfire. The gun shots were so loud, that the noises echoed even into the Inner Roses hall. What was initially a few shots, quickly became hundreds.

Then I heard the turrets start firing. They fired so rapidly, that they made an almost constant sound, like ‘brreeeeeeee’. One turret started firing, then a second, and soon there was almost nothing but the constant squeal of the turrets and gunfire.

Aisling looked panicked, “Ok, let’s go, we need to go up the stairs, to the left, to Nadia’s room, I know it’s hard because of the stairs, but let’s go now.”

They jogged to the stairs and up them, as I quickly started walking up them. I was managing the stairs rather quickly, when I heard Bella shout.

“HELICOPTER! THEY HAVE A HELICOPTER!”

I quickly looked up to the top of the hall. Through the skylight, I saw a helicopter slowly hovering, and on its side was a person, sitting behind a massive gun. The gunner started firing at the glass… but the glass didn’t shatter, it must have been bullet-proofed, but even then, it wasn’t able to hold back against the sheer amount of impact force slamming against it.

The glass panels broke off and flew down into the hall, as the enemy gunner kept firing. I saw the trail of bullets, coming quickly towards me. It wouldn’t have mattered if I turned and kept going up the stairs, for the bullets were approaching too quickly... I knew it was going to get me...

I froze in fear, as suddenly a small metal thing hit the helicopter on its back, slightly making it spin in the opposite direction. The small metal thing on the back of it then exploded, and the helicopter spun rapidly out of control, and it slammed against the side of the hall. Its blades slapped against the building’s walls, as it fell off the side of the building.

I was starting to unfreeze, to keep on climbing, when I saw another flying vehicle. It was a steel looking thing, with slick edges and two jet engines pointed down at the floor, holding it up in the air.

Bella shouted, “We have reinforcements, friendly VTOL sighted! Everyone pull back to the Inner Roses, I repeat, all pull back to Inner Roses!”

She turned to me, “Get up those stairs, NOW!”

I turned and forced myself to try to climb up the stairs as quickly as I could. Aisling and Nadia were at the door on the left, waiting for me.

Bella kept shouting things behind me as I climbed, “First line of turrets are out of ammo; second line is nearly depleted. Use the hall's turrets for bulk firepower! Friendlies are fighting at the front, focus on protecting the Angels and our saviour!”

I reached the top of the stairs, my breath already short, but I didn’t stop to catch it, instead I walked through the door with Aisling and Nadia instantly. The passageway was once again full of turrets and shields. At the end of the passageway, we entered a room. As we entered it, two massive sliding thick metal doors closed behind us.

When the doors shut, there were no more sounds. Bella was still out there, but we couldn’t hear a thing. It must have been the thick metal doors that was blocking the sound. I stood there, trying to catch my breath.

Aisling came up to me and hugged me, “Andrew, we’re safe here. This entire room is double plated, even armour piercing won’t work. The only thing that will open that door, is AI, and only if she knows that we’re safe.”

Nadia nodded, “We’re safe, we did it, we protected you! Thank God! That helicopter nearly killed you! OH MY GOD, YOU NEARLY DIED!” She almost screamed in a panic.

Nadia fell to her knees, as her hands began shaking uncontrollably. I pushed myself away from Aisling and went to her. I held her hands and tried to calm her down.

I tried speaking calmly, “It’s ok, I'm fine. It was close… but as always, I managed to cheat death. Don’t panic, shh, calm down, it's alright.”

I hugged her and rocked her back and forth, until she finally stopped shaking. I couldn’t blame her for freaking out, as I was surprised that I hadn't panicked myself. It was all so intense, so loud and terrifying… how did I not panic?

I spoke out loudly, “AI, what’s the situation out there?”

AI’s voice loudly responded, “No.”

I looked around the room, “No? Is it that bad?”

Her voice was firm, “No, I will not tell you. You are not a combatant; this information is not relevant to you.”

I shouted, “My friends are out there! I need to know if they’re safe!”

She shut me down, “You need to stay here and wait; I will not argue with you.”

Aisling walked over to the bed and sat down, as she stared at the floor, with her eyes wide open in shock. I took a moment to look around the room. It was Nadia’s room, which was where she slept every night… her own little space. There were two beds, which I imagined was as a backup, in case this exact situation happened.

There were no windows, just computer screens all around. Each screen had something different on it. One was a picture of her family, in India, in a group photograph with her. Another screen had a picture of a topless firefighter, flexing his absurd muscles. Another screen had a moving picture, of a field of flowers, swaying in the wind.

There were a million interesting things I could have deduced by just thinking about them, but I didn’t. That was her space, her private place of personal safety. In that place, she expressed her true self… and I wasn’t going to invade her space. I made my mind forget it all, as I kept rocking her back and forth in our hug.

Nobody said anything the entire time. It felt like an eternity, as we waited. It was nearly twenty minutes later, before the heavy metal doors opened. The suddenness of their opening made us all jump in surprise.

Bellatrix stood outside the doors. She was looking down, clearly preparing herself mentally. She took a few steps into the room and stopped to faced us. She was holding a large heavy-duty tablet in her hand.

Bella spoke firmly, “The battle is over, and Andrew, you’re safe.”

I paused for a moment, “I’m safe? You mean the Angels are safe, no?”

She stared into my eyes, “No… you.”

After a long moment I spoke, “Please… please tell me that my friends and family are safe…”

She smiled, “Yes, in fact, nobody died. There was only one injury.”

I breathed out in relief, “Ok, it’s good to hear that everyone’s alive… wait, who got hurt?”

She looked away, “Ashley. She was shot through her right shoulder.”

I felt a surge of panic flood over me. I forced myself to breathe slowly, to try calm down. Bella waited patiently for me… she knew why I was breathing like that.

I looked at Bella in panic, “Is she safe now?”

She nodded, “Yes, medics are treating her, and the wound will heal fully. It’ll just take time.”

I felt relief, as my muscles unclenched, “Ok… I want to visit her please.”

She shook her head, “No, they need to do surgery, and she’s been put under anaesthetic. Sit down on the bed, Andrew, it’s time we told you what happened.”

I walked over to the bed and sat down. Aisling sat on my right and Nadia on my left, as Bella remained standing.

Bella looked at me thoughtfully for a moment, “It was the Bruiges who attacked us now.”

I looked at her in anger, “The Bruiges… why? Why on earth did they do this?”

She shook her head, “Because of that worthless prick, William Bruige.” She looked away in disgust.

I remembered that name, “He’s their leader, right? AI said that he won the throne?”

She nodded, “Yes, but ruthlessly. He killed all his brothers and sisters to do so. He’s the last of the Bruiges bloodline.”

I shook my head, “Jesus Christ…”

She looked at the floor, “When he won control, their forces went from around 200 to 80. He never cared about carrying on the business, William wanted vengeance for his father. The last few months, he’s been preparing…”

I shook my head, “What… but all that stuff ended when Ronald killed himself in prison! Why would he still want vengeance?”

She shook her head, “It didn’t end… because you were still alive. The media painted you as the hero and Ronald as a villain… which was a fair assessment, let’s be honest...”

I sat there, feeling a weight of responsibility on my shoulders. It all happened… because of me.

I looked at the floor, “So I brought this to you all. I’m so sorry…”

Aisling put her hand on my lap, “We knew the danger, and we all agreed to stand at your side. You asked us to never abandon you, and we promised you that we wouldn’t.”

Nadia rested her head on my shoulder, “If you die, we die with you. If you live, we all live with you. That was the promise that Aisling and I made the Black Roses swear to.”

Bella nodded, “Which is why you’re going to get a shocking bill tonight, Andrew… but I don’t think you’ll object.”

I thought for a minute, “How did you know he was preparing to attack us?”

Bella chuckled, “What do you think the Black Roses have been doing, since we were made aware of you? Sitting on our hands?”

I felt impatient, “So, what did you actually do?”

She explained, “AI helped us hack into their network. We had been intercepting all their communications for months. We had stealth drones watch their properties and monitor their troop movement. Two days ago, William announced their attack time and plan.”

I looked at her impressed, “Wow… good job… but how did he manage to convince all of them to support the attack?”

Bella crossed her arms, “He didn’t. He misled the separate teams. He told each of them individually, that they would be attacking alone, when in truth, he had them all attacking at the same time.”

I thought for a moment, “Wait… all of them?”

She looked away for a moment, “Yeah… they all came… and they all failed…”

I looked at the floor, “Did William come too?”

She made a tsk sound, “No, the coward didn’t. We have plans to find him and end the threat, once and for all.”

I looked at Bella, “Don’t! He failed, they’re over and done with, let it go!”

She took a step forward, “Until he dies, there will always be the threat of a second attempt, Andrew! He despises you, more than you realise! The Black Roses need to do this, or else you’ll always be afraid of the next attack!”

The tablet in her hand started talking. It was a male voice, robotic and unemotional.

“Threat assessment… there is consent. Target, William Bruiges. Target located, AC130 assigned. Kill order confirmed… structure confirmed demolished. Locating secondary assets. Located… kill order confirmed, structures confirmed demolished. Standby for kill confirmation.”

I was confused, as I didn’t understand any of what I had just heard. All I knew, was that Bella looked terrified.

I spoke, “AI, that’s a creepy voice, please don’t do it again. Also, I have no idea what you just said…”

AI spoke from the speakers in the room, “That was not me, Andrew.”

I looked at the tablet in Bella’s hand. It had the red British Army flag with the writing above it saying B.R.A.V.E.

I scratched my head, “Ok… I don’t know what’s going on…”

The voice spoke from the tablet again, “Subject: Aaron Campbell. I am BRAVE: British Robotic Artificial Virtual Entity.”

I processed what that all meant for a moment, “So… you’re an AI?”

It immediately responded, “Affirmative.”

I turned to Bella, “Wait, our military has an AI? How did I not know that?”

Bella shook her head, “You don’t know a lot, apparently.”

I looked at the tablet for a moment, “Could you explain what you were saying before? I don’t know a lot of those words.”

A moment passed before it spoke again, “Summary: We agree that William was a future threat. We took action. He is presumed dead now. We must find the body.”

I was shocked, “Wait… what? Why is this tablet even here? Why am I talking to this AI?”

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Bella stared at me, “That’s an interesting story. We informed the military, that we were likely going to be attacked, but they never responded. We assumed that we were fighting alone… we assumed wrong, the military arrived and thrashed them all… we owe them our lives.”

I looked at the tablet, “Is that true… did you really come to save us?”

The male robotic voice responded, “The intel indicated that the Bruiges were a terrorist force. Therefore, troops were legally deployed on home territory, to eliminate the terrorist threat.”

I nodded, “Yeah… I would say they were definitely acting like terrorists. Thank you for helping us.”

It started speaking quickly, “William Bruiges body identified and confirmed KIA. Bruiges cell… confirmed as terminated. Safety of UK citizens and Roses confirmed. Communications are now terminated.”

The tablet screen went black. Bella breathed a deeply heavy breath, as she relaxed.

She looked at me, “You have no idea how terrifying this thing is, Andrew… and you spoke to it like it was AI and trust me… it’s not. That thing has access to six million troops and twelve trillion in military budget… you just spoke to it like it’s a person, good God…”

I ignored Bella’s worry. If I’d crossed the line, we would have been dead. It seemed perfectly willing to talk with me on my level, so why should I have feared it? It was on our side, and that was that.

It occurred to me, “Wait… they’re all dead now? The Bruiges are wiped out?”

Bella turned the tablet to face hers, “May I see kill confirmation of William Bruige?”

Her eyes widened and she looked away in shock. After a moment, she nodded, “Right. No doubt about it, that was him and now he’s dead… all over the room…”

Aisling and Nadia both breathed out in discomfort, and I nodded. If that was the road that William wanted to walk… well, he reached a destination, that much was for sure. More importantly… we were safe.

I put my arms around the Angels, “Hey… we’re safe now… I’m safe. Would you all smile for me please?”

*

Aisling, Nadia and Bella chuckled as a quiet moment passed.

Aisling looked up to Bella, “Is the area clear?”

Bella nodded, “100% clear, we did three sweeps and even checked local nearby buildings and traffic… trust me, there’s nothing left of them.”

Aisling stood up, “So, we can leave now?”

Bella looked concerned, “Uh… Goddamn it. Um… yes, but it’s… Jesus…”

I knew there was something wrong, “... It’s a mess out there?”

Bella looked at me with horror in her eyes, “Even I struggled to look at the aftermath…”

I thought for a minute, “Maybe we can… not look at it, somehow?”

Bella focused as she listened to her monitor. AI must have had a plan, and Bella nodded.

Bella finally looked at Nadia, “Nadia, love… I’m not judging you; nobody here is… but you have… blindfolds, in your drawer there…”

Nadia looked down in shame, “... Yes…”

Bella softly explained, “Could you get them out and put them on yourselves? Then you need only walk blindly behind me to get out.”

She looked up in understanding, “Oh right! Sure… sure.”

She got up and opened the drawer in a way that nobody could look inside. She moved several things around, to get to what she wanted. I saw her pull out two blindfolds. She looked in the drawer for a moment, longer before shutting it.

Nadia turned to us, “Problem is… I only have two.”

I immediately accepted that, “Fine, I’ll have to not be blindfolded. Put them on, let’s go.”

Aisling looked at me for a long moment, “Are you sure? If it’s really that bad… what if you panic?”

I looked back at her, “I was tortured for three and a half weeks, Aisling. I’ve seen and felt violence, beyond your fathoming. Trust me, I’ll be fine.”

Bella nodded, “I never thought about that… ok, then it’s decided, Aisling, Nadia… put on the blindfolds please.”

Aisling put Nadia’s blindfold on for her and I put Aisling’s one on. I stood behind Nadia, who stood behind Aisling, who stood behind Bellatrix. Each person kept their hand on the front person's shoulder. It was a chained line that we had formed.

We slowly walked out of Nadia’s room, and I noticed that the passageway from her room to the back door of the Inner Roses hall, was exactly the same as before. Clearly, the enemy never got that far. Bella entered the Inner Roses hall and reached the top of the stairs, by the raised bench, as she came to a stop.

She turned to face us, “Ok, going downstairs blindfolded, is a recipe for injury and accident. I’ll carry you two down, one after the other.”

Aisling objected, “Surely you can’t carry us and those guns as well! It’s too much weight!”

Bella laughed, “Piece of cake, love. Now wrap your arms around my neckline and I’ll carry your legs.”

She quickly spun her shotgun around to her front as she turned around, and Aisling climbed onto on her. Bella didn’t even struggle as she quickly darted down the stairs with Aisling… her fitness was ridiculous. She left Aisling standing still as she jogged up the stairs and repeated it for Nadia. I climbed down the stairs on my own behind Bella and Nadia.

As I did so, I looked at the Inner Roses passageway. It was riddled with bullet holes and broken glass. Some of the turrets had fallen over onto their side, with bullet marks on the plastic looking shields. The Bruiges definitely made an attempt to get into the hall, but there were no signs of them succeeding though.

I returned to my position in the chain, and we continued slowly walking through the Inner Roses hall. I saw the fallen bulletproof glass; it had collapsed on some of the raised seats. I remembered the fear I felt, when that helicopter nearly killed me. My heart began racing, but I forced myself to breathe slowly and deliberately. I was safe… it was over.

We reached the sliding doors that led into the foyer. Bella stopped and stared in front of her.

Her tone was cold, “Andrew… I know you’ve seen shit. I know you’re no stranger to blood. However, I still want you to steel yourself, alright, mate? Steel yourself…”

I nodded, “Got it, steeling myself.”

She nodded and slowly began walking again. At first all I noticed as we entered the foyer, was the army soldiers taking photographs, next to some of our heavily armoured agents. I saw Michael talking with a military officer by the entrance.

The officer spoke into his microphone, “Civilian VIP’s present, clear way.”

Then I looked down.

*

Michael came jogging over to me with his hand out, “Andrew, don’t look, look away mate!”

I had stopped walking as Nadia went ahead... Bella was taking the route with the most space… between the bodies. There were bodies… everywhere. Blood was pooled across the foyer floor, as I saw… a sea of corpses. There were horrible bloody spray marks on the walls, from where the turrets had gotten a clear shot on certain enemy soldiers. There must have been a few explosives used, as I saw separated limbs and organs stretched amongst the bodies.

At first, I couldn’t even process it all, it all seemed so insane. I looked down… and saw my reflection clearly, in the pool of blood. I felt a horrible fear, as my legs felt weak.

Michael reached me and hugged me, covering my eyes, but it was too late, the image had already been burned into my eyes, into my mind.

I found myself shouting in shock, “Oh my God! OH MY GOD!”

He spoke quickly, “You shouldn’t have seen this, why did you not blindfold yourself as well?”

I spoke into his chest, struggling to find the words, “We only had two blindfolds… I thought I would be fine…”

He let go of me, as he looked at my face. He could see that my face was reflecting my sense of horror. He shook his head, as he took a few steps back.

His face was tragically sad, “It’s too late now, I can’t hide you from this… Andrew, I'm sorry…”

I looked at him for a moment before I forced myself to walk past him, to catch up with the other three. I put my hand back on Nadia’s back.

Nadia spoke as we slowly walked, “Andrew… is this something that maybe we should see? Maybe, as leaders of the Roses, we should witness the consequences?”

Everyone in the foyer, including myself… all barked out “NO!” at the same time. Aisling and Nadia jumped in surprise.

I squeezed her shoulder, “Don’t you dare even think about it. Just… don’t…”

We kept walking slowly, as Bella tried to find parts without blood, any blood, to walk through… but as we approached the entrance and exit doors, I could see… there were no spots left without blood. She walked us through the area, with the least amount of blood… that would have to do.

We walked slowly out of the exit, and I looked out to see… somehow… an even bigger sea of corpses. The white pavement was completely painted red. There were large, heavily armoured vehicles, which had been blown up, and smoke poured out of them. There were several army soldiers and agents taking photographs of faces and tags.

My breathing was intense as my heart raced… I felt like I was freaking out… yet I wasn’t panicking. I was in control, but only just.

Nadia yelped, “OW! Andrew, you're squeezing too hard- OW!”

I forced myself to unclench my arm, as I never even realised that I was doing that, “Sorry, Nadia… sorry.” I said with shame and regret.

My SUV arrived, and it drove around the large smoking armoured husks. It stopped at a clearing, waiting for us to get into it and we slowly walked until we reached it. Bella took Aisling to the other side of the car, to help her into the back passenger seat. Then she came back to put Nadia in the near back passenger seat. She indicated to me to get in the front.

I climbed into the vehicle quickly. The agent who was sitting in the driver's seat got out, and Bella climbed in. She reached over to the glove compartment and opened it. She tapped the dash, indicating me to look there. There was a spare pair of headphones inside.

Headphones! I’d totally forgotten about them! I must have dropped them as I was rushing with the Angels, to get to safety. I quickly put the headphones on. All I heard was silence, as we began driving out of the HQ compound.

I didn’t know if anyone talked or even tried to... all I knew, was that I couldn't talk, even if someone wanted me to. Every time I closed my eyes, the image of the bodies was there! I kept my eyes open as long as I could, before blinking. We reached the apartment, and I walked straight into the living room.

I didn’t want to sit down… so I walked to the window and looked out of it, as my mind raced through all that had happened. I was deep in thought, when I felt the headphones being lifted off my head. I turned to see Aisling beaming her amazing smile at me.

Her voice was hopeful, “You don’t need that anymore, Andrew…” She stopped smiling though, when she saw my face.

I just shook my head and looked back out the window. I didn’t want to talk. What could I possibly have said? They had no idea how bad that looked. They were ignorant, which was good… but I wasn’t…

Aisling waited there for a moment, before she realised that I wasn’t going to talk. I heard her walk to the sofa and take a seat.

Nadia quietly said, “I think it’s what he saw… I suppose it’s good that we never saw it.”

Bella responded in a grave tone, “You have no idea…”

I heard footsteps entering the living room. It was Oliver in his casual clothes. He took a seat on the sofa, “What’s up? You cancelled the meeting, and now you’re here…”

Nobody said anything, and Oliver quickly stopped smiling, as he looked between us, reading the room. He looked at me for a split second, before he instantly stood up and jogged to me. He hugged me without saying a word.

I shouldn’t have been surprised. I probably had a look, similar to how I looked, after I woke up in the hospital. The look of terror, of fear and disbelief. I felt so detached… Like my mind and my body were separated, as I felt cold and emotionless.

Oliver didn’t let go of the hug, “Jesus… what happened?”

I waited a long moment, “What didn’t happen…”

The front door opened, and Michael entered. He still had his heavy armour equipped. He walked quickly in, past the Angels and came right up to me.

His voice was desperate, “Oliver, your friend needs therapy, right now.”

Oliver let go from the hug and looked at Michael, “How can I give therapy, I have no idea what happened…”

Bella spoke up, “He nearly got shredded by a machine gun and then walked through a sea of fucked up corpses. He’s experiencing a form of shock… to be honest… I’m fucking shocked myself.” She stared at the floor in horror.

Michael nodded, “Yeah, that was extremely bad, even by my standards.”

Oliver looked quickly at everyone, “What on earth happened?”

AI appeared on the TV, “The Bruiges made a big push, to attack our HQ and kill Andrew. Our agents, the Black Roses and the UK military fought them off. Only Ashley was injured, as she was shot through her shoulder and has just gotten out of surgery.”

He stared at the TV for a long moment, “Are you serious?”

Aisling looked at him, “Yes, this is no joke…”

He seemed extremely sceptical, “How on earth did so much happen in such a short time… how long did you… I need to see proof, I’m sorry, but this sounds absolutely ridiculous.”

AI nodded, “Understandable, Oliver please go to your room. I will send you video footage to watch on your phone.”

Oliver went out, and we didn’t hear anything for around ten minutes. I heard his door open as he walked back in.

His face was shocked, “Right, so… that was fucked up! I wouldn’t have believed it, if I didn’t see it myself…”

AI responded, “I never showed you the aftermath. I will not show you it. Unfortunately, Andrew had to see it… and it seems to have affected him.”

He nodded in total understanding, “Of course it did, but please tell me that these two didn’t see it?” He indicated to Aisling and Nadia.

AI instantly responded, “No, they had blindfolds on.”

He stared at the Angels, “Good. If even Andrew struggled with it, I can’t fathom how these two would have reacted.”

Oliver turned me around and looked me in the eyes, “Andrew, talk to me. What are you feeling?”

My voice cracked, “... Nothing…”

He shook his head, “Do you still see it in your mind? The images?”

I suddenly burst into a shout, “I can’t get them out, they’re burned into my head!”

He nodded gravely, “Ok, that’s perfectly normal. You’re experiencing a form of violence induced trauma. Your mind can’t fathom what you saw, so it’s trying to analyse it, to make sense of it.”

I started shaking, “I know what it was and why it happened… but there was just so much blood though…”

He looked at me sadly, “Andrew, there’s nothing I can tell you, to help. You need to ride this out, and let your mind try to handle it… I’m sorry, but that’s just the nature of this kind of trauma.”

Michael asked, “What if we tranquilised him? Would that help?”

He turned to Michael, “No! The image is imprinted in his head already, he would simply wake up in the exact same state as he is now… the only thing that will help, is distractions… talk to him!”

Michael looked at me, “Ok, Andrew you like to know what’s happening, so I’ll indulge you. All the legal work is covered, there’ll be no need for law enforcement. The HQ took some damage, most of it can be repaired in a few days, after the cleanup.”

I stared at him, “How does one… clean that up?”

He shook his head, “The military cleans this up all the time. They have chemicals and procedures. They may need assistance, so we’ll assign agents to help with the cleaning process.”

I nodded, “Ok… can one really clean that much blood though? It was pooling… by the… near the…”

I started crying as my hands began shaking in terror. The image of the blood pooling by the corners of the walls, was burned into my mind. Michael hugged me as he rocked me back and forth.

He tried to keep me distracted, “I’ll keep talking. Yes, they can clean anything, it’s just a matter of time and chemicals. Don’t worry about that. We’re lucky there aren’t any carpets. Anyway, glass and bullet hole repairs are relatively quick. We’ll need to crane out the three helicopters and all ten of their troop carriers. Driving agents are already assigned to truck them out.”

I looked up at him, “Three? There was more than just that one helicopter?”

He nodded, “The military wiped the two others out effortlessly. That VTOL you saw, didn’t even break a sweat… I’m so sorry that the one helicopter almost had you... I said that we should have had anti-air, but AI reckoned the enemy wouldn’t use aircraft…”

AI responded, “I apologise. I do not know where they acquired them from, but they definitely were not stored at any of their compounds.”

Nadia spoke, her voice laced with fear, “I saw the helicopter nearly kill Andrew… I was so scared…”

Aisling hugged her, “I know, I saw it too. Just a second longer…”

Nobody said anything for a long moment.

I found myself feeling furious, “Why! Why did they do this? I had let it go; it was old news! The Wolf was dead, and we’d moved on… WHY DIDN’T THEY JUST STOP?”

Michael squeezed me, “Shh… this is why we never told you, Andrew. If we’d told you how they were planning to kill you, you’d have done something stupid. You would have worried and acted ridiculously.”

I screamed, “I WOULD HAVE RUN AWAY! YOU ALL NEARLY DIED BECAUSE OF ME, IT’S NOT RIGHT!”

Michael shouted back, “WE PROMISED THAT WE WOULDN’T ABANDON YOU!”

I sobbed, “I’m not worth this much… not even to myself…”

Everyone said something then.

“You’re worth it.”

“Every time.”

“Without a doubt.”

“I would do it all again.”

*

I shook my head in horror, “All those people died because of me! I saw their faces; they’re burned into my eyes… All those people’s lives were ended, just to get to me! All those people were from the street, like me! I’m not worth nearly one hundred people’s lives!”

Michael shook his head, “They made their choice, and we made ours. We’re in the right, and that’s why the military aided us. Andrew, people are free to make the wrong choice… that’s life.”

I shook my head, “Michael, when I was tortured, it was just me! No armies were needed, and no soldiers fired a single shot… This was a slaughter, and it rests on my shoulders!”

His voice was firm, “No, Andrew! It rests on them and William Bruige! They blindly followed their compromised leader to their death. I’ve seen our own military soldiers die the exact same way, because an officer made a poor decision.”

I shouted, “And what about you all? How many did you kill, Michael? How about you Bella? I made you all murderers!”

Bella screamed at me, “I WOULD HAVE FUCKING KILLED THEM ALL IF I COULD HAVE! FUCKING WORTHLESS CUNTS!”

I recoiled in shock, as I spun myself so that Michael was between her and I. Her rage, combined with the images of blood, left me feeling panicked. I breathed rapidly as I tried to calm myself down.

Michael shouted, “Calm down Bella, Jesus Christ…”

Her voice was still loud, “When they targeted you, Andrew, they stopped being people I could care for! I didn’t kill a single decent human being today… only monsters.”

Michael raised his voice, “Bella, you’re compromised, I need you to calm down!”

She shouted back, “I know I am! I’m not handling these images well myself you know. We’re not all cold-blooded veteran soldiers here…”

He didn’t respond. He just kept rocking me, as my breathing slowly calmed down. A long moment passed before I could think again.

I pushed myself out of the hug, “I’ll sleep on the sofa. While the Angels are here, they sleep on comfortable beds… no arguments.”

Aisling looked at me with a concerned face, “We can go somewhere else, there are many other safehouses…”

I shook my head, “It’s better if we all stay together. I’m sure Bella will agree, it’s easier to protect us all, than to protect us separately.”

Bella stared at me, “There’s no threat to protect you from! Trust me, I saw the remains of William, and we both saw the remains of his soldiers… the Bruiges are wiped off the surface of the planet, Andrew.”

I looked at her confused, “Oh… ok, never mind. It’s up to you Bella.”

She shook her head, “No, I still agree, we’re already here. I wouldn’t have selected any other location, either way. I was just reminding you, Andrew, that this is truly done. Nobody will ever come for you again… your enemies… are no more.”

Michael put his hand on my shoulder, “Sit down… please.”

I walked over to the sofa. For a moment, I thought of sitting where I normally did, but that time, I realised that I needed more. Like Zoe, I needed to bask in the joy of the Angels.

I looked at the two and they both smiled, as Aisling moved over so that I could sit between the two of them. When I sat down, they both rested their heads gently on my shoulders, and I immediately felt so much better. It was probably the combination of their hope and their ‘blessing’. It felt so relaxing though.

Michael and Oliver sat down where I normally did. I felt bad that AI was behind me, but I knew she understood.

AI spoke, “Andrew, I want to celebrate now. No matter the events, we succeeded. You are safe, and we took zero fatalities. This is an outstanding result.”

Michael nodded, “It’s a shame about Ashley. We had her doing drills with us last night… and she never even knew why.”

I looked at Michael, “She’s going to blame herself and feel guilty. She was the only one injured… you know how that makes a person feel.”

He frowned, “She tripped on a body, when we were pulling back. I went to her to help her up, when a stray bullet got her in the shoulder. If you could hear her screams…”

I felt a wave of worry come over me, “I need to see her and talk to her! We all need to be there, to support her, it’s crucial! I don’t care if it's 3 AM in the morning, when she wakes up, I want to be there by her side.”

He shook his head, “Andrew, she’s tougher than you think. She probably took down more people, than everyone else combined. You know her talents, she’s a sharpshooter. Every shot she took, a body fell.”

I leaned forward, “Even more worrying then! She’s fired at target dummies, but not real people! Her mind needs to make peace with the fact that she ended multiple lives…”

Oliver laughed, “There’s Andrew, doing my job for me. You’re right though, she needs counselling. Michael, you should have told her what was in store.”

He looked down at the floor. I could tell from his body language, that he felt no regret, but he was trying to make himself feel guilty. I could imagine that for a veteran soldier, who had learned to separate his mind from his emotions… it was hard to bring it back together afterwards.

I looked at Michael, “You did what you do best. I saw you talking with that officer, I know you had control of the situation. Just trust me when I tell you… she needs us.”

He looked away in frustration, “The worst part, was that I was just chatting with him. I have stared at so many battle aftermaths… I was just catching up with him, he’s an old mate.”

I shook my head as I looked down at the floor, “Jesus, Michael…”

He breathed out, “Yeah, I know. I’ve grown cold… hopefully today, that helped us all, though.”

Bella spoke behind me, “It did. Having you in the front of the foyer, bolstered us all. Your confidence was contagious.”

I leaned back into the sofa, “AI, what does contagious mean?”

AI responded, “It is a term relating to sickness. If someone is contagious, then the sickness is able to spread from them. In the context of what Bellatrix said, his confidence spread to the others.”

I nodded, “Thank you, Michael…”

Several minutes passed before Aisling sat up, and she looked at her phone, “We need to tell the rest what happened. AI, may I trust you to do the official press statement? Nadia and I will address our own.”

AI confirmed, “Certainly. As soon as the military gives us the thumbs up to talk, I will announce it, but not before you speak to our members.”

Aisling nodded, “Michael, we will use your monitor to record the video, if that’s alright with you?”

He nodded, “I’ll keep my head as still as possible.”

I started to stand up, “Right, let me get out of the shot then-”

Aisling pulled me back down, “No. You need to be present. This was centred on you... I want the Roses to see, that you’re safe.”

I stared at her, “I’m not exactly in a good mood right now…”

She nodded, “That’s perfectly fine. Nobody will judge you, after they hear what happened. Please, stay here.”

I nodded as I shifted myself into a more comfortable position, “Very well. Just don’t ask me to give a speech, please.”

Michael looked at AI, and then gave us a thumbs up, to indicate that he was recording. Nadia began the address, as she passed to AI to explain the initial details. They spoke about their discovery of Williams' plans. Nadia spoke so clearly and professionally; I felt like I was watching a press conference. She truly did try to give a strong and confident image.

Then Aisling took over. She spoke of my involvement, and the events that unfolded at the HQ. Aisling was not like Nadia, Aisling was passionate… emotional. She shed tears, as she spoke of the lives that were lost and how I was nearly killed. AI filled in the last details about the military helping. The recording was nearly done, and Aisling was giving her speech.

“So that’s what happened today. Soon the world will know, but I needed all of you to know the truth from us first, before the media tries to spin it against us. It was a horrible event… but now it’s behind us. The Bruiges no longer hide in the shadows, waiting for us to slip, before they steal our dearest friend.”

She paused for a moment, “The HQ will need to be repaired. I promise you; it will be indistinguishable from how it was before. All who step in that building, will forever feel safe. This has been a dark day, but the future has never been brighter. The Roses will carry on, and I dearly hope that you will all return home, when repairs are done… thank you for your time.”

Aisling raised her hand and clicked her finger. She probably did that to indicate that the recording should end. Michael gave a thumbs up, as he leaned back into the sofa. Both Aisling and Nadia breathed out in relief.

I looked at Nadia, “You’re so professional. You really do give such confidence when you speak. It’s incredible.”

Nadia smiled as she leaned on my shoulder, “I try so hard. I know that people want a strong face, especially in this kind of situation.”

Aisling nodded, “My Nadia is stunning. I feel like a baby next to her sometimes. I feel too emotional…”

Michael laughed, “We wouldn’t have you any other way, Aisling.”

Bella agreed, “Aisling, your smile washes away all my worries and fears. Even now, it calms me.”

The Angels were still calming me. I felt no pain, as their smiles made me feel so hopeful. I almost forgot the images I saw before. When I thought about it, I imagined the bodies… but I felt I was looking at them more rationally then. It then occurred to me; Nadia paid for her confidence, by allowing herself to become intensely stressed. I looked at Nadia and saw that she was focusing very intently on Oliver. Oliver realised that, but I could see he was trying to focus on me.

I said firmly, “Go…”

He shook his head, “No, you need to talk about this.”

I stared at him, “I have three other people to talk to. You’re the only one she needs right now. We got days together, plenty of time to talk, mate.”

He stared back, “Plenty of time for other things too. This is important to you.”

I breathed out in frustration. I was fine, and I wanted him to go. I tried thinking how I could convince him, when someone seemed to take over for me.

Bella walked to Oliver and stared into his eyes, “Either you fuck her now, or I will. Don’t test me on this.”

Aisling reached over and patted Nadia on the leg, “Go love, I'll talk with Andrew. You made the recording phenomenal, now go unwind, please.”

Nadia looked at me and I immediately nodded. She then looked at Oliver and nodded to him. Oliver stared at Bella for a moment before he stood up and walked out of the room with Nadia. God, he had made a meal out of that…

I casually said, “You need to chill out a bit, Bella.”

She instantly turned her head to me, “Don’t think because I saved your life, that I won’t smack you for talking to me like that. Don’t you ever tell me how I should behave, and I won’t ever tell you how you should behave.”

Michael stood up, walked up to her and squared up with her, “Tread lightly, Bella. I won’t permit anyone speaking to Andrew like that, so watch your mouth bitch.”

I quickly stood up and forced myself between the two of them. Bella grabbed me by my collar, lifting me up with both hands. I honestly thought that she was going to hit me. I looked at her, waiting to see what she would do. Her arms were flexing as she held me up.

I looked her in the eye, “Do it. If hurting me helps you, then do it. You saved my life! I’ve felt far worse pain. Getting beat up, is a small price to pay for my friend's peace. Hit me, and I promise that I won’t let Michael do anything. HIT ME!”

Bella’s face changed from fury to sadness, and then quickly to regret. She gently dropped me to my feet and let go of me. She slowly fell down to her knees, as I saw tears drip down her face.

She shook her head tragically, “I killed them because… I'm the monster… Andrew, I’m just struggling mentally with this right now… I’m so sorry…”

I got down on my knees too, “I know… I’m struggling too. I meant it though. If venting your anger on me works, even just a little, then I would gladly let you hurt me.”

She shook her head, “Bullshit… hurting you would only make me hate myself even more. It wouldn’t even calm me down.”

I looked her in the eye, “Then how… how can we help you?”

Bella kept shaking her head. A moment passed, before Aisling came up to her. She pulled her up and took her hand… as she pulled her out of the room. I immediately knew what that was, and I honestly hoped that it would work.

I stood up and turned to Michael... He was still looking at me with anger.

His voice was firm, “I should have smacked her.”

I shook my head, “That would have been a first and last mistake. I’ll not have my friends fighting each other.”

He shook his head, “We find ourselves circling around the power dynamic again. One day… you’ll need to punch back, Andrew! Otherwise, your entire life will be people beating you down.”

I looked at him for a moment, “I made hard choices, at great cost to myself, for a far greater good than just myself. I chose to think five years down the road, not a day or a week. Look at me, I’m healing. While I was beaten hard, I still grow stronger. Power can be flexed in other ways…”

He took a step forward, “True, but you still need to be willing to strike back! Show a little pride, would you?”

I shook my head, “What are we, a bunch of gorillas in a zoo? Is that the only way we’re destined to behave? Constantly banging our chests as we mark our spot on the dirt?”

AI spoke, “Andrew, you cannot escape your nature. As a machine, logic dictates and controls me. As a Human, pride, sex and power control you. These things do not need to be inherently bad; they can be controlled to yours and others advantage. The point is that you cannot choose whether or not to play this game, though… You have to play it, till the day you die, my friend.”

I looked at her, “I would rather die, then fight my friends. No matter what I am, or why it’s happening… If it gets that far, then I know I’ve made the wrong choice!”

Michael interjected, “But aren’t we fighting now though, if only verbally? Aren’t you flexing power over us, as you try to strongarm your viewpoint over ours? Isn’t your tactic, to eliminate our opinion, until only your opinion remains?”

I took a step back, “What… No, I was…”

I went quiet, as what he said went through my head. Yes… that was exactly what was happening… What a horrible thought, that I was trying to overpower others like that. How did I never realise that fact?

I looked at the floor in shame, “I’m so sorry… I never meant to…”

AI smiled, “Andrew, this is precisely our point. You did absolutely nothing wrong. This is how everyone makes decisions. We use our strength to stand by a point, and the strongest one wins. In your case, it is logic and reason, however strength and power also determine who is right or wrong. This is the game, and even I play it.”

I shook my head, “But look at what nearly happened! The last thing I could stand to see, is Michael and Bellatrix attacking each other! It so nearly got out of control, AI…”

Michael objected, “It wouldn’t have gotten that far…”

I stared at him, “It wasn’t you who would have taken that far! How could you not see how on the edge she was? I wouldn’t have gotten between you two, if I wasn’t absolutely certain that it was going to go south, Michael!”

He shook his head, “No, she was just venting.”

AI shook her head, “Michael, Andrew is correct. Her body language was clearly indicating that she was probably going to go physical. You misread her.”

I looked at him, “This is why I don’t want to play this game! One wrong move, and you lose a friend! I’m so damn grateful that I managed to stop it, and Aisling came in for the rescue.”

AI nodded, “Andrew, I respect your view. I understand your perspective, and I believe it will serve you well in the future, as you uniquely resolve issues. However, you will still need to play this game. When that time comes, as your friend, I want you to promise me, that you will be strong.”

I turned to her in anger, “Look at me! How could I ever be strong?”

She shook her head, “Strength is not muscle. It is confidence. It is standing up for yourself and your ideals. It is sex and control.”

I looked away, “Well clearly, as you two have made it clear, I won’t have a choice, so that decides that, right?”

She nodded, “Remember, you cannot change your nature. You can only control it.”

I walked to my usual seat on the sofa and sat down, and Michael sat next to me. He lightly nudged me with a smile, and I rested my head on his shoulder.

I breathed out deeply, “This was all so tiring. I can’t believe that the battle really happened. I couldn't believe what I saw afterwards… and then my friends nearly went at each other. Goddamn it, I feel so tired.”

He gently rubbed my shoulder, “Then sleep now. I’m going nowhere.”

I turned to him, “Yes you are. You’re going to get out of that insane gear, please. Jesus Christ, you and Bella look like machines with all that kit on.”

He laughed as he got up and patted my head, “Alright, alright… I’ll go change. You just relax and try to sleep alright?”

I turned over and rested my head on the sofa, “Yes sir.”