Byron stumbled into their main headquarters, where only the leaders were allowed, blood had been dripping all the way to his base. He undressed himself and looked at a massive wound across his chest that leaked blood. He also had numerous bruises and other small cuts.

Jackie walked in, she had been following the blood trail. “Byron, Oh my fucking god,” she ran over to him, “What happened this time?”

She started patching him up, “No seriously, what happened to you?”

He grunted, “I ran into a new friend.”

“What are you babbling about?”

“I found the super soldier, he annihilated all our forces on the border. I am the only one left alive. He is, strong, Jackie, and immune to my chants.”

She gulped, “Oh my god, are you telling me, he killed all our forces, alone?”

Byron slowly nodded, “I tried to fight him, I used all the mystical power I could muster. I even harnessed the power of the passing dead. I barely escaped with my life. He is coming after us.”

Jackie looked at his wounds, “These are quite severe, please tell me the other guy is looking much worse.”

Byron flashed a grin, “I cut him, which means he can die, if it bleeds, you can kill it. We have to get the MCG, there is no other way. It all starts with getting it back from Mark without alerting the police.”

Jackie let her hand glide over a scar on Byron’s shoulder, “Is this where you got shot when I was knocked out?”

Byron nodded slowly as he thought back to the horrible riots, “Yeah.”

Fay walked in, “Who is bleeding like a runt out there,” she looked at Byron, “Holy shit, what did you do this time?” She pulled open a hidden drawer and grabbed some flowers. “How is he, Jackie?”

“He is not fatally injured, but he did lose a lot of blood, he will be fine with some rest. He found our new friend, the super soldier, who apparently wiped out our entire force without breaking a sweat.”

Fay grunted, “That is really bad, I am just glad that Byron made it out safely, you need to be careful son, one day your luck will run out.”

He grinned, “He can spit fire with his arm. He throws heavy items. Bullets don’t hurt him. I have no idea who it is.”

Fay sighed, “Jackie?”

“Yes?”

“I fear we need to get Constance involved. We all know she is a thief, she can take it without alerting the police.”

Jackie groaned, “Please Fay, we have been trying to keep her out of this, we already involved her friend Katy to even get the files, and the MCG.”

Byron hissed in pain, “I know, Mark is keeping it safe, but if Constance can get it without alerting anyone, then we are safe. It now sits in a district, away from the militaries prying eyes. If we go there, we know they will storm the district with all they have. Including that monster who took me out. I used all my years of training, but even then, I was no match for him.”

Jackie shed a tear, “She finally has a boyfriend, I don’t want Thomas to end up like, my Dorothy, she did not even recognize me, the love of her life.”

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Charlotte ran in, “Who is dying this time?”

Byron had to chuckle, “No one is dying, I am just hurt.”

Charlotte slid to his side and held his hand, “Oh my god, don’t tell me you tried taking on fifty soldiers on your own again, I am getting anxious, and sick of you fighting this hard. You need to lead us, you know that.”

He smiled at her, “Hey, I am fine, I just did not expect to run into an iron monster. Our border defense has been wiped out, our mystical powers we collect from the dead with our voodoo powers are no match against him. He is coming for us, I thought, since he had just awakened, I stood a chance.”

Jackie leaned against the wall and sighed, “Do you have any idea who it is?”

“No, but, he has a metal arm, this strange glowing crimson eye. Whatever the military cooked up, it is far more advanced than anything we have seen ever before. It does not run on steam, magical electricity, or even oil. I think, it is something new, they leaped ahead in technology to win.”

Fay sat down, “Your wounds will heal, the MCG, we expect that it is from the future, Katy found it in that strange place we cannot even visit.”

Charlotte nodded, “If they are using advanced technology, then we need to fight fire with fire. I really think Constance has the best chance to get it for us, or we will draw too much attention, Jackie, please.”

She looked down, “Fine, I will ask her tonight to steal the MCG for us, she is going to ask her boyfriend for help, is that bad?”

Byron shook his head, “Not at all, as long as she gets the job done, Thomas is a rebel, right? I fought by his side once, even if he did not see me properly. We will then bring Constance to see our statue, the one of Priscilla. We will show her what you can do, Jackie.”

Fay grunted, “Which means we might have to show her a very daring ritual. She can take the helmets of one of the Blood Red Dogs, it will not destroy itself, then we need to capture their facility on Crier’s Boulevard.”

Jackie looked at the crystal ball, “Getting that broadcast station to link it with a helmet, it is an insane mission, many rebels will die, not even any of us might make it out alive.”

Byron smirked, “I have a plan tough, but first we need to undertake some other steps. Fay, can you please ask Mark to host a soirée in his mansion? Tomorrow night will be fine, Charlotte, I want you to hold an entry pass and let it get stolen by Constance. After that, go into the mansion and keep an eye on her.”

Jackie looked at him, “What is my part in this plan?”

“You will need to get Constance on board, once she has the MCG, she will flee the soirée, you have to pick her up and lead her to our secret base. We will show her the ritual and get ready to attack Crier’s boulevard.”

Jackie grumbled, “I don’t agree with this, it was really difficult to raise such a troubled teenager, especially after her father just, vanished. I wonder what happened to John, but I fear he is dead. He never got over losing Vivian, that first day, before the civil war.” She walked to the exit, she glanced over her shoulder, “Good luck, all three of you.”

Fay smiled, “I am an old woman, people always underestimate me.”

Charlotte laughed, “Remember that battle where one of the soldiers came for you, he was looking all confused as you acted cripple, and then, bam, you used the ritual energy to blast a hole through his heart.”

Byron grimaced, “Man, he never saw that blast coming. Voodoo rules.”

Jackie shed a tear, “I don’t like that we need to use our voodoo to fight, I just wanted to show it to people, that they can be free.” She left the room.

Fay sighed, “She has a point, I am going to let Mark in on the plan and make sure there is an opening for Constance to steal the MCG.”

Charlotte smiled at her, “I am coming with you,” she gave Byron a kiss. “I love you, I will be back before you know it, don’t get another hole shot in you, I am getting tired of you finding new scars.”

He smiled at her as she left with Fay, he got up and looked at the crystal ball, “I really hope this plan works.” After resting for a while, he went to the meeting area where people looked at him limping, he walked over to the statue they prayed at, and he fell to his knees. The statue is a perfect resemblance of his daughter.

He shed tears as he looked at the wooden statue, it also had Jasper standing next to her, “Your dad is still fighting, I am doing my best to save New Albion, there is a lot of war and death. But if all goes according to plan, this civil war is not going to take much longer.”

He gulped, he felt a lump in his throat, “I wish, you were here with us, you would have liked Constance, she is a sweet, but a hurt woman. Ever since her mom died, she was closed off, we kept her out of this for as long as we could. Her dad left soon after that, I know a secret, the others don’t.” He looked around him, no one was listening. “I think, John is dead. He is now just a tool. If there is even a chance, I’ll wake him up, I kept the secret from Jackie for a long time, that he is fighting against us.”