Chapter 15

“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 on today. I had a feeling I needed to focus.

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

“We need to go to HQ now, Andrew.”

“We do? What’s happening?”

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

“Sorry, I forgot. Time for a shower?”

AI 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 my hand.

I entered the lounge and immediately jumped in surprise. Michael was there with Ashley, however… They were almost unrecognisable. Both of them were wearing so much kevlar padding across their body, they seemed twice the size. Guns were on every point of their body. I actually felt fear towards them initially.

Michael nodded, “I know, it scares you. Trust us… We’re leaving now, headphones on.”

I walked to the front door and put them on immediately as Michael opened the front door. There were at least 7 agents equipped the same in the passageway. They were holding their weapons at the ready, same as the Black Roses were last night.

Michael walked out as he gestured for me to follow, but his hand waved quickly. Ok, it looked like I would be walking quickly, 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 in two vehicles waiting. Ashley jumped in our car's driving seat, Michael climbed in the front passenger seat. I climbed into the back seat as quickly as I could manage. It was good that I was feeling no pain.

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

I could see the flashing beacon lights on all three vehicles. I imagined they were making the unique Roses siren sound, since I couldn’t hear a single sound. The rest of the cars on the road pulled to the side for us, the same as you would 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 outside car constantly. I could see he was in military soldier mode. No doubt he had been in this escort pattern before on his multiple tours.

We drove through the security gate to get into the HQ 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… There were no members to be seen. My door opened immediately. Bella was there, she was naturally armed to the teeth, but at least she didn’t look out of place for once. She gestured to me to get out 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 said “I can’t hear you, these are sound proof, ask AI to repeat it in my hearing aids.”

Bella nodded as she looked at me, but stopped talking then. I looked at her slightly confused as she glanced around a little. Then her eyes looked at her black monitor and she nodded, instantly gesturing to me to quickly follow her.

She walked quickly, surprisingly quickly for someone carrying that much weight. We entered the foyer and I just had to stop myself. 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 20 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. I took them off.

There was yelling all around as agents and Black Rose’s were shouting bits of information at each other. “All systems active”, “Get the final BP’s to the Inner Hall ASAP”, “They’ve begun their approach ETA 30 seconds”. They were all shouting these 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 entering the Inner Roses Hall. The door slid open and there were even more turrets and plastic looking shields. The turrets here were behind the shields with a little hole for the turret gun to stick out.

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 eruption of noise. A voice yelled out from the foyer, “Contacts, they’re here, cover cover cover!”, immediately followed by the sounds of gunfire. They were so loud, the pot noises echoed across even into the Inner Roses hall. What was initially a few shots quickly became seemingly hundreds.

Then I heard the turrets start firing, they fired so rapidly they made an almost constant sound of like ‘brreeeeeeee”. One started 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, Nadia’s room, I know it’s hard because of the stairs but let’s go now.”

They jogged to the stairs as I quickly walked up. I was managing the stairs rather quickly when I heard Bella shout.

“HELICOPTER! THEY HAVE A HELICOPTER!”

I turned to quickly look, at the top of the hall was glass on the right and the left. They were there to let the sunlight in. I saw the helicopter hovering slowly, on its side was a person sitting behind a massive gun. The gunner began firing at the glass. The glass didn’t shatter, for it must have been bulletproof, but it was not able to hold back against the sheer amount of impact force against it.

The glass panel flew down into the hall as the gun continued to fire. I saw the trail of bullets moving quickly towards me. It didn’t matter if I turned and kept going up the stairs, the bullets were approaching too quickly... It was going to get me...

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

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

Bella shouted, “We have reinforcements, friendly VTOL sighted! All pull back to 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 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 was already short but I didn’t stop to catch it, 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 and as we walked into it, behind us two massive sliding thick metal doors closed.

When the doors shut there was no sound. Bella was still out there but we couldn’t hear a thing. It must have been the thick metal doors blocking the sound. I stood there catching 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 we are 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 panic.

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

“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 and rocked her back and forth until she finally stopped shaking. I couldn’t blame her for freaking out, for I was surprised 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.”

“No? Is it that bad?”

“No, I will not tell you. You are not a combatant, this information is not relevant to you.”

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

“You need to stay here and wait, I will not argue with you.”

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

There were no windows, just 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 deduce by thinking about them all, but I didn’t. This was her space, her private place of safety. In this place, she expressed her true self… I wasn’t going to invade her space. I made my mind forget it all as I kept rocking her back and forth in the hug.

Nobody said anything the entire time. It felt like an eternity that we waited. It was nearly 20 minutes later before the heavy metal doors opened. The suddenness of their opening made us all jump.

Bellatrix stood outside the doors. She was looking down, clearly preparing herself mentally. She took a few steps in and stopped as she faced us. She held a large heavy duty tablet in her hand.

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

I paused for a moment, “I’m safe? You mean the angels are safe?”

She stared into my eyes, “No… You.”

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

Bella smiled, “Yes, in fact nobody died. There was only one casualty.”

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

“Ashley. She got shot on her right shoulder.”

I felt a surge of panic flood over me. I forced myself to breathe slowly to calm down. Bella waited patiently for me, for she knew why I was breathing in a controlled manner.

“Is she safe now?”

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

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

Bella shook her head, “No, they need to do surgery, 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. Bella remained standing.

Bella thought for a moment, “It was the Bruiges who attacked us now.”

“The Bruiges… Why? Why on earth would they do this?”

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

“He’s their leader right? AI said he won the throne?”

Bella nodded, “Yes, but ruthlessly. He killed all his brothers and sisters. He is the last of the Bruige bloodline.”

I shook my head, “Jesus Christ…”

“When he won, their forces went from around 200 to 80. He didn’t care about carrying on the business. William wanted vengeance for his father. The last few months he’s been preparing…”

“What… But all that stuff ended when Ronald killed himself in prison! Why would he still want vengeance?”

Bella 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.”

I sat there feeling a weight of responsibility on my shoulders. This 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 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?”

“So, what did you actually do?”

“AI helped us hack into their network. We have 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.”

“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 attack alone, when in truth he had them all attacking at the same time.”

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

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

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

Bella 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!”

“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, 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.

“Ok… I don’t know what is 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, “You’re an AI?”

“Affirmative.”

“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 agreed that William was a threat. We took action. He is presumed dead now. We need to find the body.”

“Wait… What? Why is this tablet even here? Why am I talking to this AI?”

Bella smiled, “That’s an interesting story. We informed the military that we were likely to be attacked, but they never responded. We assumed 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 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.”

“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… You spoke to it like it was AI, and trust me… It’s not. That thing has access to 6 million troops and 12 trillion in military budget… You just spoke to it like it’s a person, good God…”

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

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

Bella turned the tablet to face herself, “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 just nodded. If this was the road William wanted to walk… Well he reached a destination, that 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 two smile for me please?”

*

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

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

Bella nodded, “100% clear, we did 3 sweeps and even checked local nearby buildings and traffic… Trust me, there’s nothing left of them.”

“So we can leave now?”

Bella looked concerned, “Uh… Goddamnit. 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. 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…”

“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 manner that nobody could look inside it. 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 this, “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 this bad… What if you panic?”

I looked back into her eyes, “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 chain line we had formed.

We walked slowly out of Nadia’s room. The passageway from her room to the back door of the Inner Roses hall was identical to before. Clearly the enemy never got this far. Bella entered the Inner Roses hall and reached the top of the stairs by the raised bench. She came to a stop.

She turned to face us.

“Ok, going down stairs blindfolded is a recipe for injury and accident. I will 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 piss, love. Now wrap your arms around my neckline and I will carry your legs.”

She quickly spun her shotgun around to her front as she turned around and Aisling piggybacked on her. Bella didn’t even struggle as she quickly darted down the stairs with Aisling… Her fitness was astonishing. 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 on 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 resumed my position in the chain and we continued slowly walking through the Inner Roses hall. I saw the fallen bulletproof glass that had collapsed on some of the raised seats. I recalled 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.

“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 an 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 horrid spray marks 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 strewn 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.

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

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

“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 my face was reflecting my sense of horror. He shook his head as he took a few steps back.

“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 started walking 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 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 was trying to find parts without blood to walk through… As we approached the entrance/exit doors I could see… There were no spots left without blood. She walked in the area with the least amount of blood… That would have to do.

We walked slowly out of the exit and I looked out as I saw… Somehow… An even bigger sea of corpses. The white pavement was painted red. There were large, heavily armoured vehicles that had been destroyed as 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 thought I was freaking out… Yet I was not panicking. I was in control, but just barely sane.

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

I forced myself to unclench my arm as I never even realised I was doing that.

“Sorry Nadia… Sorry.” I said in shame and regret.

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

I climbed into the vehicle relatively 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 was a spare pair of headphones inside.

Headphones! I had totally forgotten about them! I must have dropped them as I was rushing with the two 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 tried to even. 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… I walked to the window and looked out of it as my mind raced through all that 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.

“You don’t need that anymore, Andrew…”, she stopped smiling 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 say? They had no idea how bad that looked. They were ignorant, which was good… But I was not…

Aisling waited there for a moment before she realised 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 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 smiled as he took a seat on the sofa.

“What’s up? You cancelled the meeting and now you’re here…”

Nobody said anything. 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 that 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 Aisling and Nadia and came right up to me.

“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 am fucking shocked myself.” She stared at the floor in horror.

Michael nodded, “Yeah, that was 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 HQ and kill Andrew. Our agents, the Black Roses and the UK military fought them off. Only Ashley was injured, for she was shot through her shoulder and has just gotten out of surgery.”

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

Aisling nodded, “Yes, this is no joke…”

He seemed bewildered, “How on earth did so much happen in such a short time… How long did you… I need to see proof, sorry but this sounds 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 10 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… It seems to have affected him.”

“Of course it did, please tell me these two didn’t see it…?” he indicated to Aisling and Nadia.

“No, they had blindfolds on.”

“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?”

“... Nothing…”

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

“I can’t get them out, they’re burned in my head!”, I found myself raising my voice.

He nodded gravely, “Ok, that’s perfectly normal. You are 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 know what it was and why it happened… It was just so much though…”

“Andrew there is 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?”

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

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

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

Michael shook his head, “The military cleans this up all the time. They have chemicals and procedures. They may need assistance so we will 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 at the walls was burned into my mind. Michael hugged me as he rocked me back and forth.

“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 will need to crane out the three helicopters and all 10 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, “Military wiped the two others out effortlessly. That VTOL you saw didn’t even break a sweat… I’m so sorry that one helicopter almost had you... I said 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 and…”

Nobody said anything.

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 had moved on… WHY DIDN’T THEY JUST STOP?!”

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

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

Michael shouted back, “WE PROMISED 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 snuffed, just to get to me! All those people were from the street, like me! I’m not worth nearly 100 peoples lives!”

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

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

“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.”

“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…”

Michael 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 will 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 is 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.”

“Oh… Ok, nevermind. 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, 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 sofas. For a moment I thought of sitting where I normally did, but this time I realised I needed more. Like Zoe, I needed to bask in the joy of the angels.

I looked at the two and they both smiled, 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 a 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 AI 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.”

Michael nodded more, “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 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.”

“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.”

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

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

Michael looked down at the floor. I could see he felt no regret, yet 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.”

Michael 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…”

“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. 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 The Roses.”

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

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

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

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’m not exactly in a good mood right now…”

“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 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 intervening. The recording was nearly done and Aisling was giving her speech.

“So that’s what happened today. Soon the world will know, but I need 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 is 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 is a dark day, but the future has never been brighter. The Roses will carry on and I dearly hope 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 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 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 calming me still. I felt no pain and their smiles made me feel so hopeful. I almost forgot the images I saw before. When I thought about it, I saw the bodies… Yet I felt I was looking at them more rationally. It then occurred to me, Nadia pays for her confidence by allowing herself to become stressed. I looked at Nadia, she was focusing very intently on Oliver. Oliver realised but I could see he was trying to focus on me.

“Go.” I said.

Oliver 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, I wanted him to go. I tried thinking how I could convince him, when others 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 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 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.

“Do it. If hurting me helps you, then do it. You saved my life! I’ve felt far far worse pain. Getting beat up is a small price to pay for my friend's peace. Hit me, I promise 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 as she let go of me. She slowly fell down to her knees as I saw small tears drip down her face.

“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 for you 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.”

“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 it worked.

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 will not have my friends fighting each other.”

He shook his head, “We find ourselves circling around the power dynamic again. One day… You will 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 me. I chose to think 5 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 different ways…”

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

“What are we, a bunch of gorillas in a zoo? Is that the only way we are 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 would rather die than 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 had just said went over in my head. Yes… That was precisely what was happening. What a horrible thought, that I was trying to overpower others like this. How did I never realise this fact?

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

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

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 I even 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’s 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 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.”

“Look at me! How could I ever be strong?”

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

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

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

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

“This was all so tiring. I can’t believe the battle really happened. I couldn't believe what I saw afterwards and then my friends nearly went at each other. Goddamnit I feel so tired.”

“Then sleep now. I’m going nowhere.”

“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?”

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

*

“Andrew?”

I opened my eyes. It was dark outside as I looked around the room. Everyone was present with an additional person, Zoe.

I rubbed my eyes as I sat up, “Hey Zoe, good to see you.”

She waved as she rested her head on Aisling's shoulder, “Been an intense day I saw.”

I looked around between everyone, “Is everyone calm now? Can I trust everyone to just relax please? I don’t know if I can handle a repeat of earlier, so I am begging you all here…”

Bella walked up to me, “I’m so sorry about earlier.”

I shook my head, “No, stop. I don’t want to hear this. The only thing I need to know is that you’re better.”

She nodded with a smile, “Yeah… Aisling sorted me out.”

I clapped my hand loudly, “Good! So now let’s please all be cool. I nearly broke down back then… If this goes in that direction again, I’m going to just walk out.”

She nodded, “Perfectly fair, I'll play nice, I promise.”

Nadia seemed confused, “What did I miss?”

Michael answered, “Bella and I nearly fell out.”

Bella looked away, “That was my fault, I nearly lost control. Andrew did what he does best and stopped it flawlessly.”

I laughed, “Yeah, best punching bag in town.”

Everyone froze as they stared at me.

I looked around, “What?”

Aisling smiled, “You just laughed.”

I tilted my head sideways, “I did?”

Michael laughed, “So you do actually find things funny!”

I turned to him, “Of course I do! I just don’t laugh because it hurts me a lot to laugh and because I am…”

Zoe finished that, “Depressed. Maybe not as much as you once were, it seems.”

I shook my head, “What a shitty way to finally laugh… Laughing about being a punching bag. AI please tell me you didn’t record that.”

AI nodded, “I recorded it. Your dark humour counts, unfortunately.”

Everyone laughed as I sat there thinking about myself. The laughter died down and people seemed ready to talk again.

“Can I just say, psychological problems suck. I hate how I can’t even measure where I am in terms of mentally healing. My sleep is good now, my skin is looking better, and my body is getting stronger… Yet I still couldn’t tell you how depressed I am.”

Zoe leaned forward, “Want me to read you?”

I shook my head, “No. After today… Just no.”

She nodded, “I get the feeling I only know the tip of the iceberg of what happened and what you all experienced.”

I nodded, “Zoe, if you could see what it looked like afterwards…”

Michael clapped his hands really loudly making everyone jump, “OI! Don’t fall back into that now! Forget the images and think about the events!”

I nodded intensely, “Right right. Yeah, it was unreal. I nearly died. I remember watching the bullet trail coming towards me. God I was so scared I couldn’t move.”

Zoe leaned in closer again, “Interesting.”

“What? What’s interesting?”

She smiled, “You were afraid to die.”

“Well yeah, why wouldn’t i- Oh.”

The realisation that I was afraid to die was a contradiction to me wanting to commit suicide. Surely my suicidal side was gone. Otherwise… How could I be afraid to die?

Zoe leaned in, “Are you sure you don’t want me to connect with you? I know I’m personally extremely curious to see if that problem is gone…”

I shook my head, “No. I would feel horrible if I saw I was still suicidal. No, another day.”

She nodded, “Still. I for one am so grateful we never lost you today, Andrew. The thought of losing you… I think it would cause me to go into depression.”

Nadia agreed, “You have no idea. I freaked out after that, it was so close.”

I looked at Nadia, “You really did. I was so worried you would have a panic attack.”

She nodded, “I’m surprised you didn’t, Andrew. I just would have thought…”

I nodded, “Yeah… I think the shock blocked the panic.”

Michael nudged me, “I thought in the foyer you were panicking… You weren’t and yes, it was definitely because the shock made your head stay focused.”

“Small blessings right?” I looked away for a moment.

He nodded, “Bella told me earlier why you didn’t have a blindfold and why you felt you could handle it… It doesn’t work that way. Feeling pain and seeing gore are different things mate.”

“I saw so much gore being done to me… I just thought it was similar.”

Michael shook his head, “You experienced suffering during your torture… What you saw today was death… Totally different things.”

“And both of them nearly fucking broke me! Oh my God!” I felt a wave of sorrow wash over me.

Michael hugged me, “Shh, sorry, easy there mate, it’s ok. Forget this all, it’s over and passed. Breath for us, please.”

Bella laughed, “Andrew you impress the fuck out of me. You’ve seen two unfathomable horrors and yet you still sit here, sane.”

Aisling agreed, “If there was ever conclusive evidence of your strength of will, it’s surely this.”

Zoe nodded, “That’s precisely why I was called. Andrew, I can’t help you and we both know why. Everyone else though? I will be using the next week to have one on one sessions with every one of you, except Oliver and AI. There absolutely is psychological damage here, for many different reasons. Oliver, I need you to help me with this.”

Oliver leaned forward, “Of course. I’ll handle Michael and Aisling. You please handle Nadia and Bellatrix.”

Zoe nodded, “Come with me Bellatrix.”

Bella laughed, “Nah, Aisling sorted me out.”

Zoe responded firmly, “We’re not having sex, we’re talking. Literal therapy. Please, come with me.”

Bella’s smile disappeared as she realised what was in store, “I don’t want to talk about it.”

Zoe nodded, “That’s exactly why you must… Come.”

Bella hesitated before she finally stood up and walked out with Zoe.

Oliver looked to Aisling, “Aisling, let’s go.”

Aisling nodded and instantly stood up, “I’m not arguing. I definitely need to make sense of it all. Let’s go.”

The two then walked out towards my room. I looked at Nadia and Michael.

“If only my problems were so easy to talk about.”

Nadia smiled, “We do talk about them, in a very difficult way, every night.”

Michael smiled, “The bigger the person, the longer their shadow carries.”

I looked between the two of them, “What is it like having normal therapy? Being able to talk about how you feel and magically it no longer bothers you?”

Michael laughed out loud, “It’s not that easy, you muppet. Yes, we do manage to overcome our problems, but it’s not nearly that fast.”

Nadia nodded, “We are probably going to be having at least three sessions in the next week each. Bella will probably need ten.”

I leaned back on the sofa. Still trying to unpack it all. It felt like a nightmare that lasted a lifetime.

“What now though?”

Nadia leaned forward, “Aisling and I stay here. Bellatrix will be coming everyday as well, for therapy. AI is managing repairs and cleanup. Members will continue to do their jobs, they simply won’t be going to HQ to get orders, it will be sent to their phones at home.”

“What about the Inner Roses?”

“We can do the conference call over the internet.”

“Ah right, yeah that makes sense… What about Heartly? In fact… I’m starving! I never even thought about it, but we need to get some food.”

Nadia looked at the floor for a moment, “Pizza? Heartly will just have to stay at home till repairs are complete. I’m sure he won’t mind the time off, he fought in the battle as well, after all.”

I leant forward quickly, “What! Why on earth… Oh, he was a soldier as well… Of course.”

Nadia nodded, “I am so grateful we have so many ex military members. They carried us to victory today.”

Michael smiled, “There’s the difference between the military and the Roses. The Roses say thanks and appreciate us.”

I looked at Michael, “Do the army really never say thanks?”

“Nope, never. They pay to train you, they feed you and they equip you. Why should they say thanks when you do the job they pay you for?”

I nodded, “It kind of makes sense. I mean, they failed to appreciate the willingness and the effort, but still…”

Michael looked away, “I suppose if they did it would be treating us like people and not tools. They want weapons, not friends.”

I looked at AI after a long moment, “Could you please order some food for us? Throw it on my bill.”

AI shook her head, “I already have and feeding the angels is our expense not yours.”

“Right… Finding it hard to spend this money.”

AI looked at me, “Well… I was going to speak to you about it later. Since the topic has arisen… We would like to request additional funding please.”

I leaned forward, “Yeah. Repairs and cleanup can’t be cheap. How much?”

“This amount also includes the unexpected expense of ammunition, armour, weapons and bulletproof shielding.”

“Right, give me the number.”

“Andrew, military equipment is not cheap. The amount is around £720,000.”

I slightly recoiled, “Holy shit, no kidding!... Right, approved.”

AI bowed and Nadia stood and bowed as well.

“We’re on the same side here, so please don’t bow. That money saved my life.”

Nadia sat down, “In 3 days time, we will have earned enough to pay you back for all of this.”

“You don’t have to pay me back!... Wait, 3 days? What happens in 3 days?”

“Well based on our earnings the last few weeks, we will have made enough money to cover our own expenses plus pay back the money we have borrowed from you.”

“No, excuse me, that was not the agreement! Nobody said anything about paying back my money!”

AI smiled, “You think we would just take millions from you and leave you worse off for it?”

“I share my money with the people I care for! I don’t want it back at all! Also I have billions, the money I gave you all is peanuts!”

Nadia smiled, “You forget that we are an honour bound organisation. We will send you back your money with interest and we will refuse your objections. Don’t argue with us, please.”

I raised my voice, “AI, you will not pay me back for the money I gave you towards a body! That’s a gift, do you understand me?”

AI put her hands in the air in surrender, “Don’t worry Andrew, I wasn’t going to pay that back.”

“Don’t you start that ‘Don’t worry’ nonsense again, either! I’ve had enough of that the last two days…”

Michael laughed out loud, “Look at this guy, putting his foot down. He’s starting to form that back spine. Excellent.”

The doorbell opened as I saw a Black Rose agent come in with 6 pizza boxes. I imagine the delivery guy had to be checked by security and all that nonsense. He placed the boxes down before he opened the top one and grabbed a slice. He looked at me and winked, “Service charge, innit?”. I chuckled as he walked out eating his slice.

Michael got up to go get the others. Aisling spread out the boxes, opening them all. I looked at them all with fascination. I had seen pizza before but I never got any of the scraps at the pizza places. The cheese looked really nice.

The rest came in to eat as they all attacked their favourite flavours. I watched to see how they eat it… It seemed you just grabbed a slice and ate it with your hands, cool. I looked over them all to decide which one I wanted.

Michael nudged me, “That’s a lot of thought for pizza.”

I turned to him, “I dunno which one I want. Never had this before.”

Everyone breathed out in frustration and disappointment. I expected that response. I was to assume pizza was very common and it was strange that I had never had it, bla bla bla. I reached and grabbed the one with lots of meat on it. My body was craving meat.

I bit into it and loved the cheesy taste and texture. I could understand why people loved this stuff. I looked over to Bellatrix. I could see fresh tear marks through her makeup, no doubt her therapy was brutal. I looked at Aisling, she also had tear marks. I actually didn’t expect that, but fair enough.

“Um… Am I allowed to talk about other people's therapy?”

Zoe instantly responded, “No.”

“Ok, sorry.” I took another bite of pizza.

Aisling looked at me for a moment, “Andrew I found out that I cared more about you dying than I cared about myself dying.”

Zoe nudged her, “Hun, please. Don’t talk about your therapy.”

Aisling looked at Zoe confused, “I feel comfortable doing it, because Andrew does it every night with us all.”

Zoe shook her head, “Doesn’t matter, that’s his arrangement with Oliver and he invited you all to partake. It’s not your arrangement and your therapy is a totally different situation. Please, don’t talk about your therapy.”

Aisling looked sad, “Ok… Sorry about that.”

I nodded, “No, that was my mistake for even bringing it up. Forgive me, I crossed the line.”

Zoe finished her slice, “It’s alright, Andrew. You didn’t know. It’s just important that you understand that as qualified professionals… We have to maintain confidentiality, at all times. For many more reasons than just because it makes someone uncomfortable. We need to control a person's therapy entirely. If someone here started talking about it, it could ruin all our efforts.”

Oliver nodded, “Imagine if someone responded to Aisling and it led to a totally different outcome than what is intended. We need to heal people's minds and to do that we need isolation.”

I nodded in understanding, “Ok… Does that mean I can’t talk to Ashley about her injury though?”

Oliver shook his head, “No, actually your perspective would be ideal for her. No offence mate… You’re the king of pain, injury and recovery. Her perspective of her injury would improve if she saw it through your lens.”

“Yeah, that’s exactly what I thought. Has she ever been injured before?”

“No, not according to her records. This is her first fall.”

“God… That’s even fucking worse.”

AI interjected, “Language please. We are not sailors here, I would like better oral hygiene.”

I turned to Michael, “I have no doubt… She is going to feel she let everyone down. She was the only one injured.”

Michael nodded, “True, which is precisely why nobody will visit her when she wakes. She’s going to be furious as her mind gets to grips with all of it.”

I leaned back, “What? No, I need to be there for her!”

Oliver spoke firmly, “No chance, Michael’s right. Her doctors will see her first when she wakes. Then we will give her a few days, making it clear we are giving her space. Then we will visit her. Trust me, I've been there on day one, for patients… You don’t want to see her like that. People tend to say things they don’t mean.”

“Ashley’s a good person! She wouldn’t be like that, surely?”

Oliver laughed, “She’s a spoiled brat with a heart of gold. She will be worse than most.”

Michael laughed out loud, “Absolutely. I love her… But it’s true. You should have heard her cussing when I pulled her into the hall. She was furious. It was a relief when we tranquilised her!”

I looked at the floor, “Oh… I just thought I needed to be there for her.”

Michael nudged me, “She will need you mate… Just not immediately. We will make sure she is aware of how much you care, that’s a promise.”

“Ok thank you, I just want to help her like she’s helped me…”

Oliver beamed a big smile, “Understandable. I’ll let her know as well.”

I nodded, “Is her injury bad?”

Oliver walked over to the counter and grabbed the tablet. He tapped it a few times and looked into it to verify he was authorised. He swiped around a bit as he processed all the information.

He came back and grabbed a slice, “Minor wound, it missed any bones, major nerves, or blood vessels… So perhaps… 1 to 4 months. Depends on her physio treatment. Since she is Roses, she will have access to excellent private health care. I reckon… 2 months, around there.”

I nodded, “Wow. Such a short time, that’s fantastic news!”

Aisling leaned forward, “Andrew, are you comparing it to yourself?”

“Of course. It took me nearly 7 months to physically heal properly before I could try to walk again.”

Oliver crossed his arms, “No, stop. Don’t compare it. Nowhere near a similar situation. Andrew you were on the absolute verge of death in multiple different aspects. Your state was abysmal and it was a miracle you even survived. The only thing that kept you alive was your outrageously overwhelming strength of will. Ashley’s is a minor wound, don’t even dream of comparing it.”

Michael laughed again, “To even remotely compare it is hilarious! I imagine she will bitch and moan about pain, but compared to you her pain will probably be a… 3/10 at worst!”, he chuckled even more.

I looked at Oliver, “I wasn’t that bad… Was I?”

Oliver leaned forward, “You should have died… I don’t mean I wanted you to die or that you deserved to die… I mean, it was so bad, it’s almost impossible that you didn’t.”

Aisling nodded, “That is why your healthcare cost as much as it did. There were 4 surgeons for you, 12 total staff. It took them hours just to prevent you from dying… We are so blessed to have you here.”

Oliver nodded, “It took litres and litres of blood to save you… We thought we lost you…”

Oliver held a piece of pizza as he struggled to not cry. He looked away as he tried not to break down. Aisling hugged him quietly.

I put my hand out to him “No no, come on now. I’m sorry this has gotten to a downer like that, Oliver, I’m here mate. It’s alright. Smile… Things are brilliant.”

He nodded as he weakly smiled, “Yeah… Yeah too right… Um, Andrew… What do you think of pizza, mate?”

“It’s amazing. Is it supposed to be greasy? I mean I like it but it really is quite… I dunno the word.”

Nadia laughed, “Yeah, that’s pizza. It’s not the healthiest thing to eat and it’s very rich… But we wouldn’t have it any other way.”

I ate a few more slices as I thought to myself about today. I then remembered something.

“Bella, what did you say to me when we exited the car before the attack? I remember I couldn’t hear you.”

Bella smiled, “I said, the quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.”

I looked at her confused, “... What?”

“Andrew, I was keeping you in clear sight. The Bruiges had a drone nearby, waiting to get confirmation that you were present. I stopped you in the open so that they could clearly see you.”

“Oh…”

I had just picked up a slice of pizza, but after hearing that I was so angry I just threw it back in the box.

Michael wrapped his arm around me, “Yeah… They really wanted to get you and just you. Aisling and Nadia were there the entire night, but they didn’t make their move until they saw you.”

“What did I do though? Wasn’t I the one hurt? How did William somehow convince himself that I was at fault?”

AI spoke, “William had lost everything by his own hand. His brother and father died and he then murdered his last siblings. He lost his mind, it was not even logical anymore.”

I shook my head, “The whole Bruiges are gone… Are we expecting refugees?”

AI nodded, “Yes. There were approximately 25 thousand people involved in the Bruiges. Many will be without any options now.”

I stood up, “Let them in here!”

Michael slapped my leg, “Don’t be ridiculous. They made their choice.”

I shouted at Michael, “They made the only choice they were given! We need to be better than what the bruiges were, we need to give them a better choice!”

Everyone went quiet. Aisling and Nadia seemed agitated.

Aisling leaned forward, “I am furious at them right now, Andrew. They tried to kill you and I. It will take time for me to forgive them… If I ever can.”

Nadia nodded, “Their fall is their own fault. They wore out their welcome years ago. I imagine the government was all too happy to wipe them off the face of the earth.”

I argued, “The people left are not the ones who made those choices! The people left are the ones who just tried to survive. I wanted to join them at one stage even! These people are not monsters like William and Ronald, they’re people like me!”

AI smiled, “Andrew, please… Sit down my friend.”

I looked around at everyone for a long moment before I finally did, “Don’t forsake them.”

AI nodded, “We won’t. I do not experience the anger the others do. We will accept them, as long as they agree to our way of operating. Decent people who care, will always find a place in the Roses.”

“That’s right, AI. There are still many good people who are in the Bruiges. Zoe is a prime example of that!”

Zoe nodded, “Bruiges were just the most convenient group for me at the time, I wasn’t loyal.”

I stared at her for a moment, “Are you loyal to us?”

She looked at me for a long while, “No.”

“What…”

“I was with the Bruiges because they gave me power. I am with the Roses because they give me purpose. I couldn’t care about the values of either.”

“But what about the bigger picture! What about giving hope?”

She shook her head in irritation, “Oh you actually believe in all this tosh about hope and change? I must live in a different world from you.”

I took offence, “Of course, because I lived a really comfortable life growing up, myself…”

Zoe looked away as she remembered my past.

AI spoke, “Andrew, the Roses understand and respect individuals like Zoe. We do not demand loyalty. This is not a religion. It is an organisation. People will always have their own selfish goals, that is logical. Please do not harass Zoe any further.”

Zoe looked me in the eye, “If you believe in it all, Andrew… Then more power to you. I respect that you have hope and vision. It must be incredible to feel such a deep sense of purpose, like you do. I’m almost sorry that I don’t.”

I stared at her for a moment, “Zoe, are we going to lose you to the next highest bidder? Is my friendship with you on a timer? It breaks my heart to think that you might leave us…”

Zoe leaned forward, “Logically, only the military could offer me a better deal than I have now. I highly doubt they care for an empath. So chances are extremely slim that I will leave. However, if I did Andrew, I promise you, I would not lose contact with you. My loyalty is to myself and my friends, no matter what organisation I work for.”

“You must be getting paid a lot here.” I thought about how much I would pay for her services.

She shook her head, “Actually my pay is paltry. AI won me with opportunities.”

I tiled my head sideways, “Oh?”

Zoe smiled wickedly, “When the HQ was built, the prime minister visited to celebrate it. AI made an agreement with me, if she gave me an audience with the prime minister, I would join the Roses.”

“Wait… So that means you did meet with the prime minister? What’s she like?”

Zoe looked at the floor, “She’s a horrible, nasty piece of work. I thought Ronald was a sick fucker, but she makes him look like a snowflake. She’s not more interesting than you, Andrew... But she is a horrible power hungry creature.”

I felt a cold shiver come over me, “I suppose that’s the only type of person who could fit the position of leadership for this massive country.”

Zoe nodded, “She’s brilliant. Extremely intelligent, like you. Always thinking 100 moves ahead. Always prepared for anyone to try to betray her. She wields our military like a glove.”

“God, she sounds terrifying.”

Zoe laughed, “You know the funny thing? There is only one thing she fears more than anything else.”

I nodded, “The Roses.”

Zoe shook her head, “No… You.”

*

“Me? Please tell me that’s a stupid joke!”

Zoe shook her head, “She wanted to understand the Roses. She used BRAVE to probe every member and every record. She knows the Roses are a threat, yet she craved to understand the reason why, the core… That’s you.”

“No… No it’s Aisling and Nadia. They made this organisation, they’re the core!”

Aisling shook her head, “We started the Roses. It was you who gave it fuel. You’re the reason it survived and you’re the inspiration for us all to grow further. I was the spark… You’re the flame.”

I started getting uncomfortable, “No, bullshit! Honestly, you people are deluded! I'm a nobody who made one lucky choice that had an impact. I don’t compare to the Rose leadership and I sure as hell don’t compare to the Prime Minister!”

Zoe shook her head fervently, “Andrew, people are the true resource. The prime minister believes in all this bollocks about hope and dreams. That’s why she treats the Roses as a threat. She has spent a great fortune to gather intel on you. At the end of every day, she has BRAVE give her a summary… Of you, Andrew.”

“Why though? Why on earth does she care about me?”

“Because she realised that you are so much more! You are a dreamer and a visionary. If Nadia and Aisling died, you could literally take over their jobs and probably do it better!”

I felt like I had been slapped, “Don’t say that! Don’t you dare undervalue the angels! I think the prime minister has lost her mind! Anyone who believes that is foolish!”

Aisling shook her head, “Then I am foolish too, Andrew.”

Nadia nodded, “I guess that makes me a fool too.”

AI nodded, “I suppose logically, that makes me foolish.”

I stared at them in shock. They actually believed that too? What was wrong with them? In what universe is someone like me a threat to anything. I was nothing!

“You believe… I am worth as much as you… That I could replace you?”

All three of them nodded with smiles on their faces.

“No, this is ridiculous. I’m uneducated, unfit, psychologically unstable and utterly dependent on others. Facts are facts, you’re all wrong… Wake up.”

AI calmly spoke, “Yet here you are, the focus of everything. The core of the Roses, the centre of our attention and of the world. The enemy of the once largest criminal syndicate. Saviour of thousands, inspiration of millions. Whether you want to believe it or not, greatness is your destiny.”

Nadia agreed, “Andrew, have you ever looked at the news?”

I shook my head, “I don’t care about any of that. The Roses are all that matter.”

She laughed, “Then you don’t see how many people hold their breaths on your accord. Media thirst for any new information about you. Our stream of the Inner Roses went from 10 thousand views per day, to 189 million. When you appear on the stream, it has over one billion views.”

Aisling beamed her breathtaking smile, “I have complete confidence that if you ever took over, you would do our dream justice.”

I stood up in disbelief and shock. I had had enough of that nonsense.

“Nope! Not having this! I’m done.” I started walking out the room.

AI quickly spoke, “The truth is the truth, even if you do not like it.”

“Fuck off AI, I’ve heard enough bullshit tonight for a lifetime.”

I left the room and went straight to my bedroom. My heart was racing as my mind went over what they said. What on earth had gotten into them? In what reality was a nobody like me that important?... The answer was, I was not. They were wrong, they might honestly have lost their minds.

AI started talking to me in my hearing aids. I ripped them out of my ears and threw them across the room. She appeared on the tablet but I picked it up and tossed it facing down onto the carpet floor. I was not having that, it was unacceptable fiction.

She knew I couldn’t hear her if she was talking. Without the hearing aids, all I heard was muffled noise. I loved her, I really did, but I wouldn’t be lied to so dishonestly. I was glad they all felt so impressed by me, but something had to give.

I closed my eyes. Shit, the angels were sleeping in my room that night. I couldn’t stay there, I needed to get some privacy. I walked out of my room. Michael had just left the living room, he looked at me with a worried face. I walked past him, opening the front door. The Black Roses turned to me in surprise.

“Get out of my way, I'm going for a walk.” I spoke in their general direction.

They spoke to me but I couldn’t hear it. I just walked past them and into the elevator. Michael was next to me. He didn’t talk… He was just there. Fine, but he had better not try to talk to me.

I got out of the elevator and went out the front entrance for once. I always went to the basement, always the same routine. I didn’t think I even knew what my neighbourhood looked like from that side of the building.

There were a few people standing outside having a smoke. They turned to look at me, their faces shocked when they realised who I was. I just kept walking as I went past them. I looked around at this new part of the world, a part I had never explored. There were apartment flats all around with busy traffic. I stopped to think where I could go to walk.

I spoke loudly to Michael without looking at him, “I don’t know the area. I just want to walk and explore. If you know a place worth going to, lead the way.”

A moment passed before he tapped my arm. I looked at him and he gestured down the road. He started walking and I followed him. As we walked past people they all stopped and stared at me. Their faces were utterly surprised to see me. Many pulled out their phones to take photos of me.

It felt really good to feel the wind on my face. It had been so hard to get to my current fitness level. I worked hard to be able to walk… It was about time I enjoyed the rewards of being able to enjoy a nice evening walk.

I didn’t know if Michael could hear me, but I spoke to him anyway.

“I’m just a scared man, Michael… Please don’t think of me as some titan.”

He stopped and looked at me. His face was concerned. He didn’t say anything, but he did nod in understanding. He turned and kept walking. I turned behind me to get a sense of my environment. There were two heavily armoured Black Rose agents behind me. Behind them was a crowd of nearly twenty people. They were following us with excitement on their faces.

I looked forward again. I was glad they were excited to see me, at least someone was having a good evening. After a minute, I felt a tapping behind me. I stopped walking to see Aisling and Nadia there. They held out my hearing aids.

I stared at the hearing aids as I tried to decide if I wanted to hear anything still. I looked at their faces... They were so worried. I took the hearing aids and put them on.

Aisling spoke with deep concern, “Andrew, we’re so sorry! We didn’t mean to stress you or put pressure on you. We love you, please… Forgive us.”

I shouted back at her, “Maybe the prime minister should come and kill me now! I’m here in the open, it would be easy. Maybe dying would be better than becoming the monster you all seem so convinced I am!”

I heard the crowd behind the guards react in shock. One of them shouted out, “You’re not a monster! You’re our hero!” I shouted back at that voice, “Clearly not mate, ask the angels, apparently I’m some tyrant set out to take over the Roses and conquer the country!”

I turned and kept walking. Cars on the road were slowing down to get a look at me. Goddamnit, why was everyone making such a big deal about seeing me?

Michael pointed, “That’s Blackpool Tower, Andrew. I know you’re not from this part of the country, but this tower used to be the biggest tower in the British empire. Want to go there?”

I nodded, “Let’s go see if it’s open.”

I walked a little more before I turned to face the small crowd following us. They were talking excitedly, but they kept clear of the guards, which was no surprise, they were armed like soldiers. I walked past the guards and up to the crowd.

“Sorry that my security is so intimidating. A lot happened today as I have no doubt the news has told you all. I trust you all mean me no harm, so let’s talk.”

They all smiled as they looked at each other in surprise.

One of them spoke, “I’m so glad you’re safe mate. When I saw on the news the images from the helicopter of the burning vehicles… I was afraid you were hurt.”

“Yeah, I nearly got minced by a helicopter with a gun on it. It was crazy, fucking mental.”

The crowd gasped when I said that.

Another person spoke, “Your walking seems better! It’s a far walk to the tower, Andrew. If you get tired, we can give you a lift, ok?”

I chuckled, “This is my training today. You can all watch as I push myself to the stupidest levels to overcome my pathetic body's limits.”

A separate person spoke, “No, don't say that mate. You’re stronger than me. I just reckon your pain must hurt you badly, innit?”

“Yeah it does. My training is focused on forcing my pain to manifest. It’s bullshit psychology I fight, not energy.”

The crowd laughed and nobody said anything else, “Right then, it was a pleasure to share words. I’m going to keep walking now. The guards will block you again, no doubt.”

I turned and walked past Michael. He instantly caught up and walked at my side. He laughed, “Good on you, Andrew. That meant a lot to them, you have no idea.”

I looked at him, “The fact that they care enough to talk to me, means the world to me.”

We walked for a fair few minutes. The tower was slowly getting closer and my pain was slowly rising.

“How many miles is it from the apartment to the tower?”

“4.35 miles”

“I wonder if I will make it…”

“If you don’t, I will carry you the rest of the way.”

I heard the crowd behind us go “Aww”. I nodded, he was so kind to me, it was hard to not feel loved.

“I will need the pain pills, Michael.”

He tapped the side pocket of his trousers, “Already considered it.”

Aisling spoke from behind us, “Andrew… It feels good to walk with you.”

I nodded, “Exactly, why the hell were we always cooped up in that apartment. We are safe now, time to stop hiding from the world.”

I heard a person shout from the crowd, “Aisling… May I please have a photo with you?”

Aisling stopped and walked back, past the guards, “With pleasure.”

Different people took turns taking photos next to Aising and Nadia. Good, they’re incredibly good people. I knew it meant a lot to those people to get a photo with them.

I kept walking quietly with Michael at my side. My breathing was slowly getting more difficult and he heard that.

He smiled, “We are less than one mile away now. You will only just make it at this stage…”

“That’s a win in my books… And I get to see something new with my family and friends.”

Nadia spoke, “It’s a fair walk to be honest, even I am slightly out of breath.”

Aisling agreed, “Yeah, if it were a normal person, walking this distance would be uneventful… But because it’s you, Andrew, it’s impressive.”

“Bla bla bla, kissing my arse again, give it a rest would you?”

The tower was now massive in size. I looked up as I walked, impressed with its sheer scale. It was covered in lights as it changed colours and patterns in a wave motion. Every now and again it would have a sponsored fizzy drink logo or some sports clothing brand.

As we approached it, I saw a huge crowd gathered by the tower. The Black Roses had made a path through them, but there were hundreds and hundreds of people. At first I only saw the crowd but no details. Then as I got closer I saw they were facing towards us, not the tower. Wait… Had they come to see me?

AI spoke in my ear, “Yes. I know what you are wondering. Social media was alerted to you walking to the tower, so everyone rushed to come see you.”

“Why on earth would they come to see me? They are right next to something truly impressive, yet they want to see me?”

Someone in the crowd behind us shouted, “We can visit Blackpool tower any day mate. We don’t get to see you that easily!”

I shouted back, “Time for some more interesting hobbies and interests mate!”

The crowd laughed and Aisling and Nadia also chuckled. My pain was getting bad at that stage as I came to a stop. I looked down at my hands… They were shaking badly. I looked up at Michael and he nodded in understanding.

“Will you make it?”

“At this rate… Yes, but with a lot of screaming.”

His face was neutral, “The choice is yours. Just know… There’s nearly a thousand people watching you there.”

I turned and looked at the small crowd behind us. Their faces were all concerned. I think they saw my body language that was reflecting my pain.

“If you don’t want to see me suffer, turn around and go home now, please.”

They looked at me but never moved… Very well. If they were happy to witness this, then so be it. I slowly started walking again. My speed was so much slower. I felt myself limping as my body tightened from the pain.

I reached the start of the crowd as screams and cheers erupted. I focused on getting to the tower base. I didn’t know how bad I would get, but I was committed. I held my hands against my chest as they were now violently shaking.

The pain started smashing into me in waves. All I could do was focus on one step after the other. Suddenly Michaels arm appeared in front of me as he stopped me. My breathing was so weak and strained.

“You did it, we’re here. Take the tablets now.” He handed me three tablets which I slowly swallowed.

I looked around slowly as waves of pain made me yelp. I looked at the people in the crowd… Their faces were all worried and sad. I knew… It was so hard to watch. I wish they never came, I wished they never had to see this.

A massive wave smashed into me as I fell down to my knees and I screamed in agony. Aisling tried to hug me, but I turned to her, “Don’t you dare try to cheat this! This is my choice!”

She looked at me in horror as I shook in pain. It usually took 20 to 30 minutes for the morphine to take effect. It was a truly painful 20 minutes as I rocked back and forth screaming every now and again. The crowd was quiet as they watched in shock.

Finally, the warmth started spreading. Starting at my stomach and moving outwards… The joy of my muscles relaxing and my breath recovering. My mind began thinking more clearly.

“God damnit I hate this pain!” I shouted as tears dripped down my face.

Michael patted me on the shoulder, “As always, you faced it with courage.”

A person in the crowd spoke up, “They said you had bad pain… God, they weren’t joking…”

I looked at them, “Pray you never feel my pain, stranger. Pray you never suffer nervous system pain.”

Another person asked, “Why didn’t you take the pills before?”

I shouted at them, “Because it’s the pain I’m fighting! What good is it if I keep suppressing it?”

They shouted back, “What good is it if you let it ruin you?”

I looked at the floor, “This pain is psychogenic. I’m making it up, I don’t actually have any injuries. Like everything else in my pathetic life, hiding from it doesn’t work! I have to constantly bang my head into every problem I have, or else it will never get better!”

I slowly stood up and once I was finally fully stood up, the crowd went insane. The cheering was so loud, it was like a football match. Hundreds of people jumped up and down in excitement to see me stand up.

I looked around as the electric celebration unfolded, “Just like at the HQ… They all celebrate for me… Why?”

Michael put his arm around me, “Because you’re such an impressive character. It’s beyond inspiring to watch you, it really is.”

The crowd started chanting, “Andrew! Andrew! Andrew!”

Michael joined with his fist in the air, “Andrew, Andrew!”. I looked behind me, the small crowd, Aisling, Nadia and even the Black Rose guards were all chanting as well.

“Andrew, Andrew, Andrew!”, there was an explosion of noise as it finally ended. I shook my head as I looked at my hands. They were almost completely still now. I managed to walk 4.3 miles. That was actually really good. I would definitely call that a successful unintentional training session.

Suddenly a few people in the crowd cheered and the others cheered shortly afterwards as they all looked up. I looked up to see my name was written on the side of the tower. Wow… That I didn’t see coming. I found a few tears dripping down my face as I looked down in pride. It felt amazing to have others celebrate my success like this.

I looked around at the crowd as they all calmed down, “Thank you everyone for celebrating this with me. It’s my first time being in the public… I didn’t know what to expect, but I certainly didn’t expect this! Thank you for your support and I’m sorry you had to see me suffer like that.”

I walked to where the guards were standing, forming the barrier between us and the crowd. I walked right into the crowd, the crowd moved away to give me room. The Black Rose guard behind me shouted.

“Andrew, I can’t protect you if you go in there!”

I turned to the guard, “Nobody here is my enemy. These people came to see me, so it’s only fair I trust them.”

He shouted back, “Just because the Bruiges are gone, doesn’t mean there aren’t people who would want the opportunity.”

“Then let them kill me now! I do not fear death and I won’t let the fear of death stop me from being with people who care for me!”

The crowd roared in cheer. A few people hugged me as they said kind words.

“You’re my inspiration, thank you Andrew.”

“Fuck the Bruiges, you were always too strong for them.”

“You’re so thin! No wonder you’re trying to bulk!”

“I never thought I would meet you… Thank you so much, Andrew.”

I walked through the crown shaking hands with as many as wanted to. Many took photos of me or with me. I was all too happy to be in a photo with them. I did however remind them that I don’t smile. They didn’t seem to care about that at all.

For over an hour I made my way around most of the large crowd. It was an incredible feeling meeting all these people. They were real ordinary people… My kind of people. I finished circling around and met back with Nadia, Aisling and Michael.

Michael laughed, “Have fun?”

“Hell yeah! They’re good people, Michael! Look at them, I couldn’t be more humbled that they came for me.”

He nodded, “Indeed. Perhaps now you might realise though… You are more than you seem.”

“No, stop that, stop it! Don’t ruin my mood again, please…”

He shook his head, “... Fine. Want to go up the tower?”

I nodded as I lightly lifted my legs, “Sure, but I think I might need a piggyback. My legs are getting very tired.”

He kneeled down and I wrapped my arms around his neckline. He gently held on below my legs as he stood up. Wow, I felt like I just went up a tower right then! I was looking down at the crowd!

A few in the crowd went “Aww”. Whatever, I didn’t pretend to be more than I was. Michael started walking me through the building. There were pictures of its construction and history. We finally reached an elevator. As we quickly went up, higher and higher, we had a view of the city and the beach.

We reached the top, sort of. There were more stairs to go up and he quickly went up them. We reached the true top, with red painted metal bars and fences around us, yet we still had a relatively good view of the city around us. Being on Michaels back though, I had a truly top view.

We silently looked around, the city's night lights flickering as we heard the sound of cars and waves crashing on the beach. There was a strong, cold wintery wind blowing… It didn’t stop us from being dazzled.

Michael finally spoke, “I’m glad I can experience this with you, I won’t forget this.”

I nodded, “Neither will I. This is a night I won’t ever forget either.”

He looked in the distance for a while before he suddenly realised something, “Andrew… Have you ever been on a plane?”

“Nope.”

He laughed, “Well… Now I know what our next adventure will involve.”

After a few more minutes we went back down. The crowd had mostly dispersed. A few remained, waiting for me.

One of them spoke to me, “What did you think mate?”

“Glorious. Seeing the city from up there… I felt proud of this country. Proud to be English.”

“Yeah mate, glad you came. Have a good evening, Andrew.”

They walked away. Michael took me to a car parked nearby. It wasn’t the usual car I drove in, it was just a normal low vehicle. Michael gently let me climb off his back. I opened the back door and climbed in.

The drive back was over in almost no time at all. To think it took me nearly 2 hours to walk it, but it took 12 minutes to drive it. I always spent most of my life on my feet or sneaking on trains. I never realised how quick car travel could be. I spoke to Michael about that.

He was sitting in the front passenger seat, “Yeah, much faster. Once you finish that highway code book, we can get you to do the theory test and then we can get you in the driver's seat, getting practice with controlling a car.”

“Wow. I can’t imagine how it must feel to control something like this.”

He laughed, “At first, exhilarating… Then so boring you don’t even realise you’re doing it.”

We arrived back at the front entrance to my apartment flat. The Black Rose agents were waiting at the entrance for me. I kind of hated seeing them everywhere. It made me feel like I was above others… I wasn’t. I shouldn’t be getting escorted.

We took the elevator and entered the apartment. Oliver stood up for me in the living room as I entered.

I waved him to sit, “You don’t need to stand for me mate, you’re my friend.”

He looked at me, “I still respect you. Friend or not, you’re the person I always stand for.”

“Well be seated and be happy.”

He smiled and sat down, “You went to Blackpool tower? That was spontaneous.”

I sat down in my usual seat, “What on earth does that word mean?”

AI responded, “To do something in a natural, often sudden way, without any planning or without being forced.”

“Ah. Yup, it turned out amazing though.”

Oliver nodded, “We saw the stream through Aislings monitor. Incredible, what an evening.”

I leaned forward, “I tell you, you had to be there! Those were my kind of people, Oliver! Shaking their hands… I needed that.”

Zoe leaned forward, “Do you now see what we mean? Tonight you got to see how people really see you.”

I looked away, “I really hoped we wouldn’t fall back into this topic.”

She shook her head, “Andrew… You’re truly so much more. As your friend, I want you to realise your own potential.”

“Look, Zoe… I’ll admit tonight did open my eyes. I have fans… Never thought I would ever have those… But you were talking crazy shit about the prime minister! I don’t compare.”

“Yes you do. Look at all those people who showed up at a drop of a hat. If she ever wanted to target you, she would never get away with killing you. You’re too popular, too loved.”

“She is the prime minister! The most powerful person on the planet. She could kill me and nothing would happen.”

“Yeah, she is extremely powerful. Yet the world knows you. If she killed you, you would become a martyr.”

“... What’s a martyr?”

“A person killed for their beliefs, usually they tend to inspire revolutions, historically.”

“Oh please! Nobody would care if I died!”

The room exploded in frustration. I looked around at people's reactions when I remembered the events of today.

I put my hands in the air, “Ok ok ok! You all would, obviously! You’re biassed! You’re my friends and we are all connected by the events of the Roses! But others?... Nobody would care.”

AI spoke, “Oh really? Let me show you something.”

The TV changed to a newsreel. A blonde lady stood talking in front of a styled blue background.

“Here we see the drone footage of the crowds of supporters, showing their gratitude for the rescue of the Roses saviour, Andrew Campbell today. The crowds formed after the artificial intelligence called ‘AI’ broadcasted a press statement about the attack. As we can see, many are laying flowers down at the stairs of Westminster Palace in heartfelt gratitude.”

The background showed hundreds of flowers piled around the entrance to parliament as crowds were gathered on the streets. The local police were forming a wall, allowing only one person at a time to put down flowers. Many were holding signs with writing on it, “Thanks for protecting our hope”, “Andrew is a national treasure worth protecting” and “If he falls, we all fall down”.

AI appeared on the screen again, “So tell me Andrew… Who cares if you die?”

I looked at the floor, “Just a few vocal people…”

The TV changed again to drone footage of the security gate for the Rose headquarters. There were hundreds of people gathered in the same fashion, with posters and flowers.

AI appeared again as she said nothing. She had made her point. So there were a lot of people who cared… Fine.

“Very well… A lot of people would care if I died…” I stubbornly admitted.

Zoe leaned forward, “You’re the ultimate underdog story. Rags to riches, zero to hero, saviour of the strong and bane of the corrupt. Who wouldn’t support you?”

I looked away, “... The prime minister apparently.”

Zoe looked annoyed, “She adores you… She almost worships you. She’s spent hours asking me about you after I first met you. No sex, no therapy… Just a million questions about you.”

“But why though?! She has all the power in the world, all the respect one could ever ask for… Why care about me?”

“Because nobody can stand against our military. Nobody will take her place politically… She has no challenges left, no goals to strive for. Nothing to sharpen her teeth on… Until she discovered you.”

“I am no match for her!”

“Yes you are! She knows you are a strong person. She fears you… Because you might actually be even stronger than her, where it truly matters.”

I shook my head, “Why are you even telling me this? Shouldn’t your time with her be private? She’s the leader of the country, surely you shouldn’t be mouthing off all of this!”

Zoe laughed out loud, “She wanted me to tell you this! She categorically told me to share her sessions with you and tell her how you responded.”

“Right… Ok, I’m done again now. This is just too hard for me to believe again, my mind can’t fathom it. Let’s change the topic please.”

Zoe looked disappointed, “Come on mate… Give her a message.”

I looked up, “I treat her no different than anyone else. I get to know people face to face.”

Zoe looked at me for a long moment, “Fair enough, if that’s all you want to say, then I will tell her.”

I shook my head, “I don’t even think I want to meet her. She sounds like a terrible monster who plays with people like puppets.”

Everyone in the room laughed hysterically. Michael genuinely cried in laughter. I looked around in complete confusion.

“What the… Now what?”

AI looked at me with a smile, “It takes one to know one, Andrew.”

“Hmm?” I just looked at her.

Zoe leaned forward, “Imagine being a monster who controls people around them… Who does that make you think of?”

I recoiled back, “Oh. What no! I don’t do that!”

“Yes you do.” She never even flinched.

“No. Everyone here is my friend, I don’t control or manipulate anyone.”

“Not for selfish reasons or ill intent, but you definitely control the situation to get your preferred outcome.”

I shook my head, “Give me an example.”

Zoe thought for a moment, “What about how you managed to resolve Aisling’s sexuality problem.”

“I did that to help her!”

“You controlled her, you manipulated her to reveal information so that you could control the situation to your intended outcome.”

I looked at Aisling, “Did… Did I wrong you Aisling?”

Aisling looked at me for a moment, “You drove the car then, it just so happens that I wanted to get where you took me.”

“I did it because I care for you! I did it because I saw within you the chance to be happier with yourself and those around you!”

Zoe chuckled, “You you you you. You saw it, you wanted it and you made it happen. Who is being affected here, Andrew? You… Or Aisling?”

I looked at the floor in silence as nobody said anything. Perhaps… Perhaps they were right. Perhaps I did control people. I did it with good intentions but it was still controlling at the end of the day.

“I never even realised… I really am a monster, aren’t I?”

Michael hugged me, “A monster at your core? Yeah. You control yourself masterfully though. Remember what Zoe said to you, Andrew. Fearing yourself is the leash that stops you from actually behaving like a monster. You can’t change your nature but you can control it.”

Zoe nodded, “If you cross the line, if power corrupts you… Listen to your friends when they tell you.”

I looked around at everyone, “Promise me you’ll tell me if I go too far. Promise me you’ll stop me if I cross the line and hurt you…”

Everyone nodded. I knew they took that request seriously, their eyes showed serious commitment. I looked at the clock above AI, 9:44 PM.

“Me leaving earlier has interrupted therapy. Perhaps Nadia and Michael should have their chat now.

Zoe laughed, “Well controlled Andrew! I couldn’t agree more. Nadia, would you like to come with me please?”

Nadia nodded as she stood up, “Ok… I will probably cry though.”

The two left the living room.

Oliver leaned forward, “Michael, it’s up to you. You’re a soldier, today was nothing you haven’t experienced. I leave it to you, whether you feel you need therapy or not.”

Michael was deep in thought as he looked at me, “I do need it, not because I fought, but rather the reason why I was fighting.”

Oliver nodded, “Right, let’s go then.”

Michael stood up and walked out with Oliver.

I looked at Bellatrix, “You’re quiet. What’s going on in your head?”

Bella was deep in thought, “I’m thinking… Now that the Bruiges threat is gone, I will probably be bored.”

“Oh, were you spending a lot of time investigating them?”

“Yeah, all my time. I was the one responsible for monitoring them.”

“... How long were you doing that?”

She thought for a moment, “About 7 months now.”

I made a whistling sound, “That’s a long time… Now they don’t even exist anymore. What will you do?”

She closed her eyes, “My life is dedicated to protecting the angels. I suppose I will just continue to do just that.”

“Surely there is something else you want?”

She stared at me for a long while, “No.”

“Really? Just a bodyguard?”

“What could be more meaningful than protecting the three most important people on this planet?”

I nodded, “It definitely is honourable. I just think that someone with your fitness, intelligence and combat skills could go far in this world. Like Zoe, you could fly higher and higher.”

She shook her head, “Like you Andrew, I prefer to use my skills and time on the things that matter in the bigger picture. Money is pointless… No, The Roses are the future. It’s a change in our society and maybe even our species. In 100 years, nobody will remember the powerful people of today… But everyone will remember the Roses.”

Aisling turned to face Bella, “If The Roses really do become that successful… Then your name will still be remembered… The guardian of the angels. Has a nice ring to it.”

Bella broke into a huge smile as she looked away, “Oh Aisling… You’re doing that thing again where you overwhelm me with hope and inspiration…”

Aising laughed, “Then stop being so incredible! It’s impossible not to show you off with pride!”

I stood up and walked up to Bella. She looked at me, still smiling from Aislings affect. I hugged her.

“Thank you for saving my life Bellatrix. You did incredibly… I owe this moment all to you.”

“... You’re welcome. It was about time I paid you back for saving my angels.”

I stopped hugging her and nodded, “You did amazingly.”

“Actually, if you want to thank people for the fighting, it was Ashley and Michael you should thank. Those two dropped more people together than everyone else combined.”

I took a step back, “That many?!”

She nodded with a wicked grin, “Oh yes, very lethal…”

AI spoke, “I can confirm, I looked through everyone's monitor feeds to confirm kills. Ashley had 13 and Michael 15 confirmed kills.”

“Wait, those numbers… That still leaves a lot of kills to others, doesn’t it?”

AI looked away, “Many were mine.”

“You?!... The turrets…”

She nodded, “Yes, I had the advantage of 30 guns and 30 sets of eyes.”

“Wait a minute… AI, you’ve killed Human Beings…”

AI looked down sadly, “An accomplishment I feel no pride over, trust me Andrew.”

I thought for a long moment, “... Will I have to kill someone one day, too?”

Bella nodded, “It’s… Likely. Then again I can’t see the future. You tend to be extremely diplomatic, Aaron.”

“I will do everything I can to avoid it, that I can promise you.”

Bella looked at me for a long moment in awe, “By God, I can’t wait to see you fly! Get fit soon, Andrew. I’m so eager to watch you shine.”

“I’m going as quickly as I can and I reckon my progress hasn’t been too bad so far.”

AI was bouncing in excitement, “Unbelievably impressive progress in just a matter of days, Andrew! You’re an inspiration to millions, don’t forget that. There are entire forums dedicated to your training progress.”

I chuckled, “Of course there is…”

AI smiled, “Did you know that you walked for 1 hour and 57 minutes, Andrew?”

I nodded, “Yeah… Not bad.”

AI looked frustrated, “Not bad? Andrew, in your last training session in walking, you walked 28 minutes and 13 seconds. That means you walked 417% longer than your last attempt. That’s more than just ‘Not bad’, that is remarkable progress.”

Bella looked shocked, “Holy hell! You’re killing it mate!”

I leaned back on the sofa with my eyes closed. I felt proud. I was definitely getting fitter. Nobody said anything for a while as I just relaxed my legs. Eventually Michael and Nadia came back. Nadia had definitely cried, she had tissues in her hand still. Michael just seemed relaxed.

Aisling looked at me relaxing with a worried face, “Andrew… I can sleep on the sofa, ok? You need to rest properly after your exercise.”

“What… No, don't worry, this sofa is absolute luxury. I’ll sleep like a baby!”

Aisling looked confused, “It’s not that comfortable…”

Bella laughed out loud, “Oh Aisling my dear, you have forgotten something about Andrew… Think my love… Think.”

She looked at me for a while, “I have no idea what I have forgotten.”

I leaned forward, “Aisling, I spent most of my childhood sleeping in boxes and alleyways.”

Aisling immediately put her face in her hands. Everyone chuckled, it was cute how she had forgotten my past for a moment. She was most likely just tired from an insanely hectic day.

Aisling finally looked up at me, “Always so strong, always so resilient and always so humble.”

“Stop with the compliments, Aisling. I’m just grateful to be here with you all. My past is over and done with… Although, I will say, sleeping on the carpet would still be far better than many nights of sleep I have had before.”

Nadia looked concerned, “Sometimes you must have slept in a bed right? Surely at the orphanages?”

I nodded, “Yeah, but it’s hard to sleep well when your ribs are bruised because an adult just kicked the fuck out of you.”

AI reacted, “Andrew, language and please… Don’t go saying such heartbreaking things.”

“Ok, sorry.”

Bella looked at me with the saddest eyes, “I really wish I could tell you all that he was making that up. I wish I could tell you that his life wasn’t that bad and that people weren’t that cruel… But I can’t. I witnessed most of his abuse with my own eyes.”

Aisling looked at Bella, “Seriously? What do you mean you witnessed it?”

Bella stared at Aisling, “I saw his bruised face with blood dripping down it, after a group of people beat him nearly to death in an alleyway. It was how I first met him.”

Aisling looked horrified, “What… Why… I don’t…”

I spoke firmly, “That’s done and over. My life is better, I’m not alone and I’m getting stronger. I don’t want people feeling miserable over the long done past.”

Bella looked at me with wonder, “How did you not kill yourself, Andrew? I don’t really get how you stubbornly desired to stay alive when things were beyond shit.”

“It was all I knew. Life sucked but death seemed worse. That’s the truth. I just always hoped things would get better.”

Aisling smiled weakly, “Hope... Hope follows you like a shadow, Andrew.”

I looked at Aisling intently, “It’s a good thing I found hope on a train nearly a year ago. It’s a blessing to be looking at her right now.”

She looked back into my eyes, “This hope nearly got you killed twice though…”

I nodded, “It nearly killed me twice, true… But it also saved me and gave me a reason to live… A fair deal in my mind.”

AI smiled, “Andrew, everything you were is what makes you so great now. There may never be another person who suffers like you did.”

I nodded, “Good.”

*

Zoe stood up, “Right, it’s nearly midnight and I’m struggling to stay awake now. I don’t even know if I will be able to safely drive home this tired…”

Bella stood as well, “I will drive you home and make my way home from there, if you want?”

Zoe smiled, “What a dependable person you are, Bellatrix. Thank you very much.”

She bowed and left the apartment with Bella. I looked at Michael and he smiled and patted my head.

“Time for me to go too. I’ll be busy with a few things in the morning, but I will see you around lunch, ok?”

I nodded, “Be safe, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He stood up and quickly went out. I noticed his footsteps again… So loud. He’s just an absolute tank. I looked at the three left over.

“I reckon sleep will do us all wonders.”

Nadia stood up, “I’ll sleep in Oliver's room.”

Oliver laughed, “With or without me?”

She yawned, “With you... I hope you don’t snore.”

The two left after bidding us goodnight. I looked at Aisling.

“My room is yours.”

She smiled, “Thank you again. Do you have a blanket for yourself and maybe a spare pillow?”

“Nah, don’t need it. All I need is AI at my side to talk to before I sleep. It’s my only tradition.”

AI nodded with a smile, “You wouldn’t believe how much he has to talk about at 2 in the morning, Aisling.”

Aisling laughed, “Fair enough. Goodnight, Andrew.”

“Goodnight, Aisling.”

She got up and headed to my room. It was just me sitting on the sofa looking at AI. She was playing with her short hair.

“Will it really be possible to get you a body as good as the one I see on the screen now?”

AI nodded, “Absolutely, they have already gotten the face, skin and hair done to perfection. They are struggling with software for movement and getting good endurance. So far it can only operate for 20 minutes… I need more than that.”

“20 minutes… So short and yet right now I would love to spend 20 minutes with you in person.”

AI smiled, “Be patient my friend. If 20 minutes seems good, wait until I can be around for 6 hours… What would you do if I were here right now?”

I thought for a moment, “I would sit next to you and talk like we always do, except it would be so much better because you would be here.”

AI nodded, “I thought you would make me do a handstand. Would something so simple really be enough?”

I nodded, “Absolutely. I don’t want you to dance for me AI, I just want you to be here, as my friend. The rest we can work out together.”

She smiled, “I look forward to us sharing such a moment.”

“So do I. Anyway, I’m actually knackered, so I’m off to bed right away. Try not to be too busy while I’m unconscious, ok?”

She smiled a glorious smile, “When you sleep, everything is slow and boring. Hurry up and sleep, I look forward to watching your next adventure.”

I turned off the living room light and lay down on the sofa. 22C and a soft sofa? Why would anyone need a blanket or pillow? That was plenty comfy. I fell asleep almost immediately.

*

I didn’t think I dreamed anything, yet I woke to the sound of a scream. I sat up feeling disappointed in myself.

“Goddamn it, am I seriously screaming in my sleep again? I didn’t even have the nightmare, this makes no s-”

AI cut me off, “It wasn’t you screaming Andrew. Can you please go see if Nadia is alright?”

I instantly jumped up and went to Oliver's room. I knocked on the door and Oliver’s voice shouted “Come in”. I entered the room to see Nadia curled into a ball, sobbing.

“What happened? What’s wrong?”

Oliver shook his head sadly, “Trauma. She woke up screaming your name. I think she was having a flashback to when you nearly… You know.”

I walked over to her side of the bed and crouched next to her, “Hey, Nadia… It’s alright, I’m here ok? Look, I’m happy and healthy.”

She looked up at me with soaked eyes, “I nearly lost you! You nearly died! I couldn’t do anything to help you when that helicopter shot at you… I just stood there and watched as you nearly died!”

“I know it was a terrifying thing to see, trust me I was terrified myself… It doesn’t matter, shh… I didn’t die and everything is fine. Here, hold my hand.” I put my hand near her and she instantly grabbed it with both her hands.

She cried, “We tried so hard! We trained for days, planned for entire nights! I couldn’t sleep because I worried so much about losing you… And yet I nearly ended up losing you anyway!”

“Hey hey… Come on now, you all nailed it. Nobody died. It’s alright. Your preparation paid off and here I am. Nadia… Smile for me, would you?”

Nadia looked at me for a long moment as she stopped crying and finally managed to form a weak smile.

After a moment she whispered, “Promise me you won’t kill yourself… Please.”

I sighed, “Oh… Well I can promise you that right now, it’s not even a thought in the back of my mind. I promise you, I won’t Nadia. Now please, go to sleep.”

She whispered more, “You’re my friend, you’re my saviour and you’re my hero. Promise me you won’t leave me unfairly.”

I rubbed her hands, “I promise you, I’m not going anywhere.”

She smiled and let go of my hand as she closed her eyes. I stayed there looking at her as she wiped her face of the tears. I felt a horrible guilt inside of myself. I felt responsible for this. I did this to her… My damn unstable mental mind had terrified her.

I stood up and started walking out when Oliver spoke.

“You’re making that promise to me as well… You hear me?”

I stopped and nodded, “I’m making that promise to everyone… But especially to myself.”

He didn’t say anything else, so I left the room, quietly closing the door. I went to the living room and sat down in the darkness. I looked down at the floor when the TV went on. AI had a sad look on her face.

“Andrew, you have healed and grown so much, both physically and mentally. Don’t let her worries scare you into thinking that you have not gotten far. Compared to the morning I tried to convince you to visit me at HQ… You are so much better now. So much happier and healthier. I am proud of you. I know you will keep that promise. You never break your promises.”

I nodded, “You’re right, I have gotten better… This was just a reminder that I must not stop trying. For everyone who cares about me and for myself… I must stay strong.”

AI bowed and the TV went off. I sat there for maybe half an hour, deep in thought. This was an important reality check… I wouldn’t forget this lesson.

I finally lay down on the sofa and went back to sleep.

END OF BOOK