“Argh, I´m fed up with this shit!!”

“Jess, let´s do it just one more time from the top, I´m sure we´ll-“

“Forget about it, I´m taking a break!”

“Jess, wait up!”

She left the room just as things were getting interesting. They had been practicing for a while and the rest of the group had managed to fit in with the song, which Czesch aptly named “Rising Crows” due to St Vincent´s mascot (Not to be confused with the football team´s mascot, the wolf… things were complicated in that department.). The only problem had been Jess´s inability to fit in the song´s structure, always going off course before the part that she was best at came: The improv. Czesch had tried to visualize the issue as best as he could, but to no avail. He was running out of ideas and the festival day was a week away.

“Maybe we could have her sit it out until the improv part comes?”

“Nice thought there, Simon, but no. We can´t just have her stand still and not play, that would be cruel.”

“Yeah…besides, if there´s one person in here that needs to play to prove herself, it´s her.”

Laurie´s statement came of as an interesting revelation, forcing the Kid to dig in further.

“Really? Is it that important for her?”

“The sax is basically her life at this point… truth be told, she was a bit of a freak already beforehand, but ever since her-“

“Laurie! No need to talk about that!”

“If he´s part of the group, he should know that much!”

“Did something happen to Jessica?”

“Her… mother died about 2 years ago... Car accident…”

There was a tense silence. It was clear it was one of the least discussed issues inside the band, due to obvious reasons. Czesch would push on, though. He had a fight to win, and he needed more information… such was the way of the battlefield.

“I get the feeling her mother played the sax, didn´t she?”

“Yes, she would always invite us to watch her mother play, and most of the time we would end up showing up whether we liked it or not… Simon here once drooled just from watching her.”

The bassist took offence to that, his cheeks brightening up.

“I did not!”

“You sure did, Simon… same as my lil sis here with that majestic trumpeteer.”

Laura tried remembering, her face contorting upon remembering that moment.

“He wasn´t that handsome… and I´m the big one!”

“So she was a really good player, huh?”

“The best, according to her. It´s her sax that she uses when playing, even during sessions like this… ever since she started practicing, she wanted to play as well as her, but now… well, you´ve seen what has happened. She can´t play along, and we´ve tried just about everything to change things up.”

“Still, you got her to go down a notch! That´s A-OK in my book!”

“Of course you´d like that, Simon…”

Czesch began to understand better. A girl trying to lift herself up from the shadow of her mother, only to find that shadow bleak and stagnant, stopping her from growing into her own self. Still, she would persevere above all else, forgetting that the only thing that can forge us a path to whatever goal we wish to accomplish is the faith put by the people around us.

The Kid smirked, the irony too big to not notice. That had been his line of thought, until the members of the Pack showed him that he´d die alone unless he trusted in them. And so he did… and so they died. But that was a life-or-death ordeal, and now Czesch had another issue to solve… because such was life, just another bundle of problems for a Czech person to solve.

“If there was a magic spell that could turn her stubbornness off, maybe we could-“

Czesch clapped twice, stopping their ranting.

“Guys, you can take 10 if you want, I have to make a call.”

“You sure? We have a week until the festival comes up.”

“We´ve made good progress. Trust me, this´ll work.”

They all left the room, leaving Czesch to his thoughts and his phone. It started ringing, and Czesch hoped to all gods (Excluding the Crone, for she´d probably fuck things up) that he could pick up the phone. And his contact actually did, a yawning voice showing on the speaker.

“Czesch, you don´t usually call this one up! In what can I help you that Vivi can´t?”

“Hey Rob… yeah, sorry for calling you out of the blue, don´t know if you are busy or-“

“No, no, it´s alright! I just finished up my siesta.”

The Kid felt the need to groan, as Rob´s particular quirk reared its ugly head. His inability to sleep in airplanes had the unfortunate effect of making him quite sleepy after lunch, getting him to perform a Spanish tradition that most foreigners had heard almost once.  

“… Really? Another afternoon nap? Didn´t Vivi tell you to stop doing it for your sake?”

“Hey, the moment I stopped doing it, I caught a fever. I´m sticking to my roots.”

“Well, the reason I called is… it may seem menial at first, but hear me out, OK? It´s important and I really need the advice.”

“A problem you can´t solve? I´m all ears.”

Czesch took a deep breath, preparing the information so that he wouldn’t ask any more questions than necessary.

“There´s this girl, plays the sax and is quite good at it. However, she just can´t play with a band. Her mother was her source for inspiration, and she died some time ago, so she´s trying to build the road herself without help. That being said, she wants to play with the band, only she can´t get the idea into her head and I have a week to fix that…”

Silence on the other end… then, two fairly audible coughs and the sound of air going through Rob´s teeth.

“… That was an exposition dump if I ever heard one.”

“Yeah, what do I do?”

“Hmmm… Remember what we first did on that 2nd practice session we had?”

“The 2nd one? I remember the 1st one well, but the 2nd one? What did we-“

“When Buri kicked you into the piano and you got in a brawl, that one.”

“…You are going to have to be a bit more-“

The memory flashed in his head, a lightbulb shone its light to the stars and Czesch almost gasped at the sudden rush of realization. The solution was so simple, so incredibly obvious he hadn’t seen it.

“I think I got it now. Thanks, Rob, that was amazing help!”

“Don´t mention it… now, I should probably fill up some papers…”

“… You were going back to sleep, weren´t you?”

“Don´t go telling anyone… talk to you later, Kid!”

“Same, you lazy oaf!”

Czesch hung up and sighed in relief. It felt good, knowing what he had to do. It was all just a matter of handling it well enough and a bit of personal sacrifice. He kept thinking about it as the group entered again, with the exception of Jessica, who would have to come back for her sax. The group played together until the Kid told them to go home for the day, and everyone left apart from him.

Jessica showed up after a while, having gone to see Annie and talk with her. When she arrived, she just saw her instrument, laying on top of her seat like a trophy. Jessica got up to it, now noticing that Czesch was still in the room.

“That one means a lot to you, doesn’t it?”

She shot a glance at him, huffing air with a cynical smirk.

“… So, the others told you about it… what, are you going to go with “You have my condolences?” or “I´m sorry for your loss”? Which one do you prefer?”

“There´s nothing worse than empty pity… trust me, I´m all too familiar with that one… No, I´m here to test a solution.”

“A solution to what? I´m not the one with the problem here.”

“Keep telling lies enough times and they´ll become the truth…”

She flipped the bird his way… honestly, he had expected something far worse.

“Blow me!”

Verbal abuse, that was it. The Kid turned around to his instrument and cracked his fingers.

“Let´s do a bit of improv, you and me. I´ll let you take the lead.”

“Huh? What sort of joke is this?”

“I´ll let you figure it out once we begin… don´t look at me like that, you haven’t played your quota today, have you?”

“…I´m going to leave you in the dirt, asshole.”

Czesch fidgeted in his seat and prepared to play. Jessica got her sax ready, hoping that the joke would be over soon and that she could mock him about it later on.

But the joke was not of the laughing variety.

Jess started playing a quick series of notes, which Czesch followed swiftly after. She was trying to play faster than he could follow, but he was catching up nonetheless. The guy in front of her was tireless as he was stubborn. He wouldn’t give up on his attempts, no matter what they did to change the band. She was tired of him and would defeat him in this duel for supremacy, to prove which one was right.

But the more and more she played, the more she noticed that something was off. She wasn´t doing it like her mother did, she was just hammering angrily at the notes to… prove a point? Was that really the whole reason why she played? The fact that Czesch was mimicking it made it more apparent, and it had been something she had never thought about. She kept on going, part of her hoping that the Kid would give up at some point… while the rest wished for the melody to reach its intended destination

She stopped playing, the thought finally hitting her like a truck. Her lungs were on fire and her hands were a bit tired, but they had hardly moved that much. Czesch´s, however, had hammered out at the keyboard for quite longer and they were probably hurting like hell. He turned around to her, a ridiculous grin forming to hide the pain.

“Did you finally figure it out?”

“… How… How could I be so blind? Why didn’t anyone tell me I was doing this?”

“No one can give you that answer, you have to find it yourself. I did the same thing when I started, and the lesson I got was mine alone… just like yours.”

She sat down, cold sweat running through the back of her neck. She was afraid of having to put those thoughts into words, but she had to do it… otherwise…

“… All of this time, I´ve… I´ve just played like an angry kid, hoping that someone would notice my skill. But because I was making so much noise, I just made people more reluctant to notice me… I´m a fool.”

“What do you know, it takes a fool to recognize another fool.”

His non-chalant demeanor helped her calm down, even if just by a little bit.

“But what can I do? If I´m not good enough to play in the band… should I just quit? Now that I know… I-I don’t want to screw the others over…”

“That´s not the solution and you know it, it never is.”

“Then what? There´s not enough time, I can´t change that quickly…”

She was truly at a loss for words. Having finally figured out the truth and returning to the first step again, she didn’t know in what direction to go. She still knew how to play, but she had to find a new way, a new system… anything to win.

“For the time being, let´s keep on with that improv, shall we? But try to be more gentle  this time around.”

She shot him a look of disbelief, his grin becoming dumber and dumber the more she looked at it.

“How is that going to help?”

“Just try to follow me. If you listen closely, you´ll figure it out.”

“… Alright, whatever.”

She got ready to play again, only this time she tried to take into consideration the fact that Czesch´s hands were raw. She could see, behind his unchanging face, that he was in great pain.

“Shouldn’t you get something for your hands first?”

“I´ll be alright, just start playing.”

“That doesn´t look alright to me at all, just-“

His grin suddenly vanished, exchanged by a serious look of determination.

“Jess… I came in here to help out, not to be helped. I know when to stop and I´ll do it once I´ve done my part. So go ahead and play, I´ll make sure to not break your pace.”

That definitely caught her off-guard. When Annie had said that Czesch was filled up of motivational speeches and one-liners that borderlined cringe, she found that one incredibly cool. She now noticed him a bit differently. He wasn’t some sort of invader, he was one of his companions, someone she could trust with keeping up. And so, she went full out.

This time she tried to listen for Czesch´s feedback, and, surprisingly, she started to hear something. It wasn’t a mellow piano tune, it was more of a… voice, talking. It was the voice of a weary man, one who had been through much and had seen much more. It was something surreal, as if their instruments were talking to each other. Indeed, that was it. Their instruments were speaking their own separate language and, through it, they started talking.

Jess´s instrument would say: “I hate the world that took my mother away.”, while Czesch´s would reply, in a calmer and sadder tone, : “I saw the monsters in that world and they were like us.”. With every one of her cries, Czesch came up with a reply in the same vein, putting those dark thoughts to rest. She kept on playing and playing, and Czesch kept on delivering.

They spent 30 minutes playing non-stop, until Jess´s lungs and fingers gave way. She fell to her knees, gasping and grasping her mother´s sax. Her eyes were tearing from all the raw emotion put behind the performance. She felt like a weigh that had been with her all this time had just disappeared through music.

“Amazing, isn’t it? That instruments can do that…”

Czesch had got up and was now lending his hand to her. It was scraped and bloody, but he still held it out nonetheless. Jess took it, a grin forming in her face.

“Just like when Mum played… haha, I guess I had forgotten that music is supposed to make us feel that way…and that it was so much fun!”

“A man told me that an instrument reflects the user in a way… the sax being for the free-spirited, for those that aren´t tied down by the weight of the world.”

“That summarizes her really well!”

“And you as well. You´ve given me a hard time, but you were in your right to.”

She punched him in the shoulder, much to his disbelief since she had done so with a smile.

“I was being selfish and you know it! You should have pulled this off earlier!”

“If only I had known this would work, I would have done it, trust me.”

He cleaned up and grabbed his things, not before blowing air on his hands to relieve some of the burning pain. Czesch started making it for the door, Jess now noticing his broad shoulders and aggressive posture. She had a question in her mind, one that could only be answered after such an intense session.

“Hey, Chess!”

He turned around, a furrowed brow showing.

“Will you ever pronounce my name right?”

“Who is the piano for?”

“Huh?”

“The sax is for free people… who is the piano for?”

He thought long and hard. Finally, he found an appropriate answer, delivered with a sheepish smile that wished to hide something large.

“For those that never sleep for fear of dreaming.”

Czesch closed the door on his back and thought long and hard about their exchange back there. It´s true that, at some point when playing in a duo, the instruments start delivering what you would call a “heart-to-heart talk”. Czesch had heard a girl angry at a world that would not recognize her, who wouldn’t give her what she wanted. All that Czesch had to do was reassure her that it happened to everyone around her, including him. He sighed, seeing too much of him inside Jessica… although now he had the feeling that calling her Jess would be easier.

“Took you long enough.”

It was Annie. She had waited for Czesch to finish after watching the dou perform. She had a small teasing grin in her face, which was quite uncommon.

“What is with that smile? Did Pete propose to you or something?”

“I doubt he would do that and I doubt I´d smile if he did… I´m just impressed, that´s all.”

“Impressed? About what exactly?”

“Jess told me she didn’t see this working out, that you were just talking shit for the sake of it…”

“That she must have done.”

“But I think you managed to change her mind. That´s something I´ve tried for months and you did it by playing along in less than an hour!”

He scratched the back of his neck, not being prepared for her praise.

“Called a friend of mine and he gave me the idea. You cannot play in a full band if you can´t go with someone else first, right?”

“I guess so, I´m not much of a music person.”

“Well,  I think the group is on the right track, just one more week of adjustments and we´ll be set.”

“Good to know! I´ve been avoiding coming here to get a surprise at the festival!”

“Oh, trust me, it´s going to blow everyone´s minds out of the park! This is one of my best yet… I think…”

That last remark got Annie to stop on her tracks and shoot an inquisitive glance his way.

“That doesn’t sound reassuring.”

“It´s a… work in progress… I´ll get it finished soon.”

He was lying, of course. All of his songs were “work in progress”, since he was always changing parts to better suit others and rearranging the mixup of trumpet and sax, or bass and drums… it was a mess and he tried to keep it as coherent as possible every day.

Jess came out of the room, with another smile on her face. She seemed chipper, which was quite a weird thing to say considering that the Kid had always seen her being angsty.

“Hey, Chess, wanna go get something to- Oh, Annie!”

“Hey, Jess!”

Seeing them both in such a spirited mood, the Kid thought it best to play along and not ruin their fun.

“So, what did you want to ask?”

“If you wanted to get something to eat? I know a place near here, Vietnamese, really good snacks.”

“Errrr, I´m not sure Vietnam is recognized by its delicious snacks.”

“A Japanese then? It´s practically in front of the Vietnamese one, just as good.”

He checked his watch… it was already quite late and the idea of eating something different didn’t bother him as much as it should have.

“Sounds good.”

“Wanna come over, Annie?”

“Oh, no thanks, I´ve… stuff to do before it gets too dark.”

“Suit yourself, I´m going to grab your boyfriend here for a second!”

Jess said so while grabbing Czesch by the arm, hoping that would trigger the proper response. Unfortunately for her, instead of reacting as she hoped, Annie merely sighed.

“He´s not my boyfriend!”

“Yeah, right… come on, Chess, off to the best in the fast food emporium!”

“… One of these days, I´ll teach you how to say my bloody name right…”

Czesch and Jess left the building, leaving Annie behind, who seemed to be hiding something else behind her chores.. something dark. The Kid would have liked to know more about her plans, but Jess´s insistence on picking up her pace stopped him from turning around. He realized that she´d be alright, understanding that if her best friend didn’t have a reason to worry, then neither should he.

After all, it wasn’t like she was some sort of damsel in distress or anything along those lines.

The Japanese spot looked quite good, with the revolving tray of small dishes coming and going. The clientele was comprised mostly of Japanese immigrants, but some other people had decided to come over for an afternoon snack to avoid having to make dinner. Czesch and Jess sat next to each other and started picking off plates and eating their contents, mostly marinated raw fish that wasn’t half bad. One of them had wasabi, a super-heavy green sauce that burnt Jess´s tongue when she tried to swallow it. Czesch gave it a whirl and he didn’t find it that bad, since the aftershock of the curses made his throat burn a lot more. Jess raised an eyebrow, surprised at his resilience.

“Are you even human? Because it´s impossible that you are not shitting your pants right now.”

“It´s spicy, yeah, but nothing out of the ordinary. It could use some chips, though.”

“You are the group´s weirdo now. This officially beats Simon´s chicken milkshake.”

He almost choked at a word association he´d never have forseen even in his wildest dreams.

“A chicken milkshake? Seriously?”

“It was a bet… didn´t taste horrible, but Simon has never gone for a milkshake again.”

She noticed his hands. They were still bloody from the improv session, and it looked like they would still be for a while. Czesch noticed her noticing and immediately put up a smile.

“I´ve put them through worse, pay them no mind!”

“Yeah… you must have trained like a madman to get so good with the piano.”

“Ah, so now I´m good with it?”

“I never said you weren´t! Only that you looked like a bit of a prick.”

“I think that hasn´t changed.”

“Maybe... only a little. So, how was your training?”

He took a sip out of his drink, as he remembered his past experiences with his favored instrument.

“… Sometimes I´d spend nights on end trying to get a particular mix to sound right… others I´d test my endurance, see how long I could keep on playing non-stop while keeping it reasonable…  when I was happy with how I wanted to play, I took it easy.”

“Well, it shows on you not giving up on us. Last guy, Jerry, left because of that. Went off to do his own thing.”

“I´m sure that Jerry was a laggard.”

“He wasn´t half bad, only quite picky… a bit like you during practice, but he got mad at everyone.”

“I just get annoyed… which can turn into the same as being mad with enough effort.”

“At least we understand what you want from us… well, now I do, anyway…”

They went back to the eating for a while. Jess stopped chewing her salmon-rice ball and turned to Czesch again.

“So, how was your first time?”

Czesch almost spat the whole load in his mouth and immediately blushed at the question.

“W-What´s that supposed to do with music!?”

“What? You told me you did the same before, realizing your fuckups.”

He froze for a moment, then immediately recalled their previous conversation.

“Oh, right… I thought you… errrr… yeah…”

Jessica realized the hidden meaning behind her question, then began giggling like an idiot.

“Hehe, I wanted to try it out that way and see your reaction… worth it.”

“That first time… well, in that sense I was a bit like you, to be honest.”

“Like me? How come?”

“Things… happened, and I stopped believing in others to get to my goals. I practiced really hard to prove to myself that I could still go forward, but when it came down to it, I… I kept on failing. I was angry and frustrated with everyone, and then I got my ass beat by a drummer… and I saw that I had been making a fool of myself the whole time.”

“History repeating itself, then?... Except the whole “drummer beating you up” business… I don’t think André has the gall to pull that off.”

“Yeah, but my issue wasn´t exactly like yours. When it came down to it, I followed up with others reluctantly, so I managed to get in with the flow… come to think of it, you still haven´t really done that. You just followed me up out of inertia.”

“I just don´t get what you mean by “the flow”. Is it a musical term of sorts?”

He scratched the back of his neck, unsure as to how to explain something he wasn’t quite sure of it himself.

“In a sense, it… it´s difficult to explain. As a good Estonian friend of mine puts it: “Music can be visualized like a river, a flow of water that has its ups and downs and finally reaches the sea.” Just simply playing along to a tune doesn’t mean you are in the water, it could be that you are on it or next to it. I can´t really tell you how to do it, it´s just something to realize while you are playing.”

She mulled over it, then raised her eyes to meet his.

“Like you made me realize my fuckups?”

“That is part one, yeah. Now the next step is understanding the flow and going in deep.”

“And I have a week to pull it off… great, I can hardly feel the pressure.”

“Hey, we are here to help each other out, if you have a hard time you ask us, simple as that.”

She looked at him and saw the honesty in his eyes. She couldn’t help but look down again and ask the obvious question.

“And what are you getting from all of this? You aren’t doing it for free, I can see that much.”

“Apart from trying to do some good?  I hardly got any practice done with all this school business, so I needed to avoid getting rusty and stop slacking off.”

“Hmmmm, makes sense.”

“Then again, I didn’t expect to have as much fun as I am. Really, your group is one of the best dysfunctional crowds I´ve ever been a part of.”

Jess chuckled at that, something resembling pride pouring out of her mouth as she talked about her friends.

“The Laura´s are definitely always at each other´s throats, Simon is a bit of a wimp and André gets bored quite easily and barely talks of himself… then again, it´s not just my group. It´s yours as well. And that´s definite from now on.”

“Yeah… I guess you are right.”

They kept on eating. Jess wasn’t as much of a bad person as Czesch had thought, just proof that first impressions were worth nothing in that town. No wonder Annie and her were friends, they had started off with him in the same way. He did see that Jess was more active and prone to react, while Annie only took action when needed.

“Are you and Annie going out?”

“Huh!?”

The question caught him a bit off-guard, making him remember the disco night over again. It had a moment of tension that his mind hadn’t been prepared for, and that was a concerning thought. Looking back upon it, he didn’t have a definite course of action in case it happened again… an even scarier prospect.

“I mean, you go in and out of school together, go to the same class, you even hang up with her gang as well! Are you dating her or not?”

“S-She… has a boyfriend, you know.”

A shallow answer, one she seemingly knew about already.

“I´m sure she does. What I´m really asking is if she has tried anything on you.”

“What do you mean by-“

She got extremely close to him, her inquisitive eyes scanning for any and all of his face motions. She immediately pulled back, her question answered.

“You know what I mean, I´m seeing the look on your face. Just want to know if you went in deep or you chickened out.”

“Oh… I pulled out before…y-yeah… I hope that´s not a-”

“Not at all… that is just Annie´s trademark when she gets drunk, you know. Don´t feel discouraged, that just means you were interesting enough for her.”

That thought was certainly bothersome… moreso considering what he knew about her.

“… Do you know why she acts that way?”

“I figured that asking would be worse than spitting at her. We all have problems, and I´m sure she´s not comfortable discussing them.”

He knew that all too well. After all, the amount of secrecy concerning him was big enough to consider taking naming rights from Pandora and getting Czesch to name the Box. He sighed, knowing that what he was about to say was quite hypocritical… and he hated it.

“No one is… but, it often helps to talk about them. At least have a bunch of people know what you are going through to know you are not alone… you are lucky in that regard…”

His sour tone definitely confirmed something in Jess´s mind. Maybe Annie had told her about his time in the Czech Republic? She munched down another ball of rice, forcefully pushing thoughts of pity away.

“… The group was always helpful with that, and they were kind enough to not mention it… I still miss her, but that´s why I play with her sax!”

“To remember her?”

“That… and that a sax ain´t cheap. You should see the prices.”

They spent some more time talking about other random nonsense and then left the food joint. They had spent a long while in there and the temperature had gotten quite low, to the point where one could remember that Winter was just around the corner. Jess was shivering as they moved away.

“G-God, is a new Ice Age starting all of a sudden!? Fuck me, this is cold as balls!”

“Cold? It isn´t that bad. Just a little breeze.”

“Well, of course it would be alright for you!! You are wearing that big ass coat with you!”

It was true. Czesch had seen the weather was changing and he had taken precautions, even though he really didn’t need much in the way of protection. He had been through worse in the Czech Republic and with less on him. He took it off and put it on Jess´s shoulders, completely catching her off-guard.

“Huh?”

“You are shivering a lot and this cold isn´t a problem for me. You can have it for now.”

“W-Well… thanks, but… we live in opposite directions now.”

“Right… well, give it back in the next practice. Simple as that.”

“… I hope you don’t expect any favors from-“

“Urrghh… just go before I change my mind!”

“That´s more like it! Catch you later, Chess!”

“And there she goes again… it´s Czesch, for crying out loud!!”

Just as Jess started leaving, Czesch wondered whether she would keep the coat or not. He had more coats like that, so he didn’t mind her having one for the time being. He had realized that Jess, much like Annie, was an amazing person behind that initial wall of rudeness, someone with enough charisma and willpower to spice his life enough for him to not give in to boredom.

His phone rang, a bad sign at such a late hour. It was Vivi´s business number, one that kept filling him with grief every time he answered. He sighed as he picked it up.

More work. And this time, it was one of the awful ones.

Common sense dictates that if there´s a war between two countries, it is the norm that citizens from the country opposite to yours living alongside you become the enemy. After all, when you hear the news and you see that 500 people have lost their lives in a battle, the ensuing anger must be released on the ones responsible and, since those people are miles away, the people closest home become victims of the collateral.

As it turned out, war with Iran had been a terrible idea for NATO. The loss of life for both sides had been great for the scale of the conflict. Tens of thousands dead in the span of weeks, both military and civilian in both sides. The new Iranian government was still getting economic help trying to rebuild from China and Russia, while the US and the other members of the Coalition were having issues of their own sending troops to keep the peace against insurgents and zealots from the previous government. The fact that people were being sent again to Iran was just preaching to the choir for another disaster to happen.

Czesch read about those initial conflicts with Iran. They had been the main reason why the war in the Czech Republic had been eclipsed, forgotten by the members of NATO as just an internal conflict of interests (Even though Russia had openly supported the revolutionary side). They were already losing men in the desert, so sending even more to the woodlands would be stretching logistics too thin. The critique came later from Czech refugees, but the member states of NATO dared not enter the conflict at any given point, even though they were supporters of the Czech government and it was actually a part of the organization before the state collapsed.

Going back to the Iran issue, it turned out London went into full riot mode due to it, causing deaths in the streets, pillaging and loads of other typical riot activities that put Harville´s usual state to shame. The violence was so great that the city turned to martial law to keep people in check, which only the fools deemed as an attack to democracy. What is the bloody point of being equal or not when children are being beaten with cricket bats in the middle of the street just because of their blood?

It seemed that climate was returning, but this time for all the wrong reasons. An Iranian diplomat, named Farhad Ghorbani, was appealing for peace and reason, denouncing the actions of his own people as well as displaying the violence commited to his in a maneuver to spark an anti-war sentiment unlike any other… a 21st century Ghandi of sorts, only Ghandi probably had better circumstances to work around. He began receiving hatred from both sides of the spectrum, the Iranian government firing him to publicly shame him and the British public irate about his denouncing of war atrocities when they had been the ones getting the worse deal (at least, according to the national news outlets). Now only the sensible minded in a mad world saw him as a beacon of hope against the rekindling of an old war still recent in memory.

The story would have ended there for Czesch, but it turned  out those sensible people were also quite rich and, instead of being paid to kill him by a maddened Brit, the SOT, as well as 3 other Blue Sparrow teams, were being sent to make sure the man was safe during his appeal to the Parliament, through streets filled with angry mothers, daughters and sons who had lost their husbands and parents because of the conflict. A bloody escort mission, the worse type at that. At least in Aryakstan they could engage when engaged upon, but things in London were different. Civilians are always pesky like that: They can harm you as much as they want, even go as far as to shoot you if they have a firearm, but you can´t do anything apart from pushing them, and that is hardly satisfaction when a man has lodged a hatchet in your shoulder.

Czesch sighed inside the briefing room with the other teams and Vivi´s. With limited time, he had been given the outline of the contract and a map of London to organize the convoy. Mary did that sometimes, give him a plan to think about to keep his mind sharp. He had to take a lot of factors into account: Traffic density, possible bottlenecks, ambush points, IED locations… there was enough hatred for the man to convince a bunch of young fools to do something drastic.

He called over to everyone to listen up and stop their chatter. They all knew him, so they kindly turned in his direction and opened up their ears to Czesch´s plan. Most of them had a grin prepared, expecting him to mess up at some point to have a laugh on his tab. He´d have to ruin their fun in that case.

“Alright, first off, the ROE´s are already clear enough for everyone, right? We aren´t cleared to engage anyone unless given permission from Oracle and we are limited to sidearms apart from Jason´s team, which I´ll elaborate on momentarily. The request for engagement must go through team coordinators before the fact,  are we clear on that?”

Briggs raised his hand, trying to get something out of his chest.

“Who is Oracle in this mission? We weren´t briefed on that.”

“It´s a 5-man crew from the Intel team, Gaz is leading them. They are going to be our eyes in the sky and through the CCTV system, so any cameras we have are in our advantage.”

“That´s good to know… go on, Kid.”

“Thank you… our task at hand is to deliver our HVT, Farhad, callsign Darius, over to the British Parliament and ensure his safety. The squads hired to perform are Vivi´s SOT, Briggs´s “Archangel”, Jason´s “Widowmakers” and Alexis´s “Zephiros”… and before anyone talks out of turn, Alexis has already proven that his team is more than capable to company HQ, so this will be their first official operation alongside us as a Quick Response Unit.”

A round of applause was directed at the Zephiros squad, who were honored at the fact that such veteran members of the company were complimenting them. Czesch knew they deserved it. They had been on the backlog for more than a year performing small tasks with other external groups, and now they had the chance to prove their worth.

Company structure was divided between security and paramilitary activities, the latter divided yet again into smaller groups. From bottom to top, those were the Support groups, Escort teams, Freelance squads, Quick Response Units, Regional Extreme Quick Response Units and then the SOT. Operators usually fluctuated upwards towards the Freelancers and the QRUs, while the most qualified ended up in the regional teams in the UK, Austria, Egypt, Cameroon, South Africa, India, Singapore, Argentina and French Guiana, and in turn these exceptional operatives served as reserves for the SOT in case of casualties. “Zephiros” and the “Widowmakers” belonged to the QRUs, while “Archangel” was the designated regional EQRU for the UK and the rest of Western Europe.

“Now, to the op in itself… We can´t risk a helicopter insertion, politicians saying it´s too “cowardly” or something along those lines. Therefore, a convoy is in order with a reception filled with civilians… I know, shit can´t get worse than that. However, due to the number of people involved, only 2 teams will take part in the convoy to avoid arising more suspicion than needed.”

He stopped for a moment to get his thoughts in order. He then pulled up the map and talked them through the route.

“We are currently in Brentford, so our best bet is to take the A4 until we reach Knightsbridge. The route is through a densely populated area, but Oracle will have clear view and will report anything suspicious… that being said… from Knightsbridge onward we leave the A4 and go through these streets towards the German Embassy to reach Parliament, but Oracle won´t be able to provide clear satellite data to us, so he´ll be turning to CCTV only from Knightsbridge onward.”

The bodyguards began to understand the route, but there were clearly doubts in their minds, since it was a straight arrow that anyone would expect. The Kid figured he´d  have to drop the plan´s secret.

“The moment we reach the German embassy, the convoy will split. One team, carrying the HVT, will proceed through the least likely route in case we are being followed, through the Victoria Theater, while the other will take the long way around through Buckingham Palace through the scenic route. That way, we ´ll discover if anyone is dumb enough to follow us, since they´ll most likely tried to get us through an area packed with civvies.”

He stopped again, letting everyone sit through with the idea. Upon realizing they already liked it, he went on.

“So, now to designating roles… Widowmakers, you are our expert marksmen and spotters, so I´m leaving overwatch to you. I´m letting the building of choice up to you, but try not to use Westminster Abbey. We have been told time and time again to not enter unless indispensable, something about it being the house of God and all that jazz… you will move there before us and set up with a clear line of sight on the reception area.”

“You got it, Kid.”

“Zephiros, your task is to provide security at the spot before we arrive, work through the crowd along with Jason´s team. Spot any visible threat and report it before we get there…oh, and try to blend in with the police. If any asshole gets eyes on private security, they´ll try to avoid you like the plague.”

“Will do.”

“The SOT and Archangel will mount in 2 armored SUV´s and head on through the designated routes. Briggs will take the “New Queen´s” route while we take the “Old Queen´s” route.”

Everyone got a chuckle at the historical quip apart from Alexis, who hadn´t studied or even heard of Queen Victoria.

“The 2 teams on the spot will be briefed 5 minutes prior to our arrival to make final preparations. You will have vehicles on supply near Parliament Square in case we get ambushed halfway, although that is highly unlikely. Once Darius is tucked inside, Parliament security and Zephiros will be left in charge of the man´s protection the moment his appeal is over. Only for this move alone we are required to work together… any questions?”

No one had to ask a single damn thing, and Czesch knew it well. They all knew their part and had performed like this for longer than him. Just  a simple briefing was enough to give them all the information required. He took a deep breath, knowing that the gears had to get moving.

“Okay, everyone get your equipment ready, Widowmakers and Zephiros are leaving in 20, the rest of us in 2 hours… Dismissed!”

Everyone in Jason´s and Alexis´s teams left the room immediately, along with the rest of Briggs´s men, cracking jokes and teasing each other. Only Briggs and the SOT remained in the room, smiling deviously at a tired out Czesch. Vivi was the first one to come over to him.

“Not bad, not bad at all! Impressive, considering you´ve had less than a day to go through it.”

He couldn’t help but shoot a murderous glance her way, then immediately looked back at the map.

“I still don´t get why so many of us got called. This isn´t as bad as Afghanistan or Laos, is it?”

“Tensions are high, Kid. And with such a heated ambiance, someone is sure to throw all that boiling tar at his face.”

“True enough… but one team should be enough for the job, it´s company policy.”

“Client paid a lot of cash… besides, things are quiet in the Western Front for the time being, and with the whole re-entry in Iran taking place Mary had no issue in sending all of us.”

“Of course it ended up being that… uuurgh, and it couldn’t come at a worse time for me.”

Vivi looked at him as if he had confessed to having killed the Prime Minister with a fork and bad jokes.

“It´s not like your schedule is full or anything.”

“Besides, you probably spend your school days wanking off in the restroom.”

“Nate!”

“What? All men do that, V.”

“He´s got a point.”

“We´ve all done it.”

Her gaze kept jumping between the two members of the team who she considered “mildly serious”. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“Not you two as well… Briggs, give them some common sense!”

“It´s a man thing, Vivi. Can´t say jack.”

They all laughed at that final remark, with Vivi about to smack some heads out of orbit, and went off to grab some beers to kill some time, leaving Vivi with an overthinking Czesch, still going through with the plan… or seemingly so.

“What´s on your mind, Kid?”

“Oh, err… the operation, of course! Need to make sure the HVT reaches the spot safely.”

“Riiiiiight… that´s why you are playing a ghost piano all of a sudden?”

“Huh?”

It was true. Whenever he was thinking about as song, he always played along with a piano, whether it was there or not. It helped him go along with it, configuring parts on the fly. He looked back at her, scratching the back of his neck.

“I… yeah, I´m working on another song.”

“And you have to practice during an op? We talked about this already.”

“It´s not for the group, it´s… something for school.”

That immediately got her intrigued, as she exchanged her scolding look for a curious smile.

“Oh, is it that group your friend Annie mentioned? How are they?”

“A weird bunch with weird problems. Just like everyone else.”

“Rob told me you called him for help with them. That´s not something you usually do.”

“People change a bit when out of their comfort zone, you know that… besides, without his advice I wouldn’t even bother making the song better… it has to be a masterpiece… it has to.”

“Why? You don’t get this pumped unless there is a timed limit of sorts or it´s life or death… what, didi someone bet their lives on it?”

“I´ve until next Friday to tune it properly… It´s going to be played for the school festival and everyone is expecting a messy improv session… from chaos, I shall breed a tune that will uproot their minds into oblivion… y-yeah…”

Vivi muffled a laugh under her breath. Czesch looked back, annoyed at her honesty.

“… That sounded bad, didn’t it?”

“I´m sorry, C… It really did.”

“… I´m off to talk to Fahrad, he should probably know about the plan… oh, choke on it!”

Czesch left Vivi giggling at his horrible catchphrase and thinking about the festival. This operation was nothing more than another mad rush to give an innocent man a chance to talk against a world guilty of a lot of crimes. He wasn´t expecting much of the man himself, so he concentrated on the more difficult task of making the song sound original.

He knocked twice on the door and entered. His HVT, Fahrad, was standing next to the window, looking at the streets below through a small curtain. His face was filled with the grimness of a man who knew that he was already dead, a bushy beard probably hiding scars from an even more violent time. Czesch knew the sight all too well.

“Mr. Ghorbani, I´m Czesch, coming in.”

“Oh, Mr Travaly, how may I help you?”

Czesch moved one of the piled up chairs in the room and sat on it, wondering why the higher ups had chosen such an abandoned place for a hiding spot. Probably the fact that it was a warehouse helped, but it wasn´t too helpful that it was inside such a densely populated area.

“I´m here to discuss our plan of approach to Parliament. I thought you may want to-“

“Have you ever been driven by hatred, Mr Travaly?”

The question caught him off guard. He was still mulling over it as his client took another chair and sat next to him, with tired, familiar eyes focusing on him.

“I… I have, yes.”

“Hatred to someone or something?”

“…Both.”

“And what was your reaction to that hatred?”

“Eliminating the source usually helped.”

“Then tell me if you think it´s righteous to act that way. Just give me the rundown from the perspective of someone who knows.”

Czesch sighed as he looked up to the ceiling. He had been sent to just protect the client, not to humor his philosophical views. Then again, he lost nothing by doing so, and it´d definitely make the rest of his explanation sink in better.

“You are talking about all the Iranians lynched here because of the war… look, I´m no expert in psychology, but I can tell you for a fact that an angry crowd is always bound to break the extreme out of proportion. Crowd mentality works that way and, while individuals might be swayed, the blob remains the same. Whether it´s righteous or not… that depends on every single one of us.”

Fahrad nodded, adding to the Kid´s on idea with his own.

“History is written by the victor.”

“Indeed… and I´m afraid that you are on the losing side, Mr Ghorbani.”

He got up, walking around the room, trying to get his ideas into motion. It´s something many people do, Czesch realized.

“They scream and shout that they are tired of the fighting… yet when I deliver the same speech as them, they all turn like wolves and forget their desire for the end of conflict.”

“This may sound offensive, but maybe it´s due to you wanting to share the blame for all the deaths. Nobody is happy taking the blame for something they aren´t directly responsible for, so it´s no wonder they are pissed off at you.”

“No matter how angry they may be, it doesn’t take the truth away from my words… there are no innocent men fighting wars…”

“… If only there were a bigger truth than that…”

They spent a few moments in silence, while Czesch lay over the papers explaining the route and his movements inside Westminster Palace. It was pretty simple, but he wanted no fuckups during the route itself. Unfortunately, just as he was finishing his explanation, Fahrad decided to return to his own introspective discussions.

“Tell me, Mr Travaly, how old are you?”

That ticked off the Kid, since he always held a grudge against those who judged him on age alone. Taking a deep breath to stop himself from punching the client, he relayed his answer.

“Old enough.”

“Old enough to have seen war and understand it´s futility?”

“Yes, old enough to see that.”

“Then why do you keep fighting?”

“… Mr Ghorbani, I have the feeling you don’t want me protecting you at all with these questions.”

“I wanted no protection, but my associates insisted that I wouldn´t last much out there without professionals watching over me.”

“You should listen to those associates more often, they have good ideas in their heads.”

“Tell me, what drives you to fight? What is there that stops you from wanting peace? I fear that only by knowing that will I understand the drive of both our people´s to continuously murder one another.”

Czesch looked directly at his client. He wasn’t expecting an answer, but he wanted to at least come to terms with a reality that was unfamiliar to him. Czesch got new respect for him, for a man ready to understand that which he cannot is truly someone with the will to change the world.

“Well… The best answer I have is that it´s in our nature… but, then again, I do it for different reasons.”

“Oh? And which ones are those?”

He grasped his hands together, his eyes dying down as the thought resurfaced from its slumber.

“The void… the void in me.”

“A void inside you?”

“It´s… Imagine a black hole, OK? It devours all light around it and doesn’t let anything escape, and I´m a tiny light pushing my way away from it. Well, killing feels like trying to escape from it. The act in itself is devoid of all care or anger, it´s just… It just happens and then I´m off to the next… and the reason I keep doing it is because if I don´t that void will draw me closer and drown me… and I´ve drowned enough…”

“I don’t think I completely follow.”

“It´s a bit like medication for a terminal disease. It may not cure me, but it´ll help me live a little longer. It might be a futile act, but it is the one thing that keeps me on my feet everyday… and I´m not planning on giving up anytime soon.”

His client, who had been looking around for most of their conversation, finally stared directly at the Kid, who now noticed his frigid eyes on top of him.

“… I see… You are a very interesting person, Mr Travaly.”

“There are way more interesting people around me, trust me on that one. If anyone ever writes a book entirely about me, I´m sure it´ll be a chore to read through.”

Time passed and Czesch finished explaning the operation to the HVT. He got up and sighed in relief. 30 minutes left for the convoy to make its way out to the objective area, and it seemed preparations were already finished and with no hiccups whatsoever… that was definitely bound to change, he just knew it. No one hired 4 teams of ex-military bodyguards on a hunch.

“Valory, this is Cyprus”

“Go for Valory.”

“I´ve finished up here, how is everything going down there?, over.”

“We have already got everything set, waiting on your go, over.”

“Copy that. Once we have-“

The radio crackled as a priority user shut his comms with Vivi and forced him onto it. Something was up.

“Oracle to Cyprus, priority message, over.”

“Cyprus copies, what is it, Oracle?”

“Footage reports a large group of civilians congregating in the streets next to yours, break… there aren´t events planned for the day, so it´s quite suspicious, over”

“… Oracle, do you believe our cover is blown?”

“We believe so, the amount people is too damn high, over.”

“Copy that, Oracle, let me think… aargh, fuck… damned moles… Okay, Oracle, send a dispatch to any police units that may assist us. We are going to need some proper law enforcement to get out of here, over.”

“Oracle already ahead of you, will update when I have them on hold, over and out.”

The party was starting and they hadn’t even reached the dance floor. The Kid thought it best to check in with the bouncers.

“Argonaut, this is Cyprus, SITREP, over.”

“I´ve got my team already set up on one of the buildings, good line of sight to objective, break… nothing up here to report, over.”

“Sparta, Cyprus, update.”

“We´ve already made contact with Parliament security and are scanning the people congregating, break… some troublemakers, but no visible weaponry still, over.”

“Copy, both units, there has been a change of plans. We are moving out now, so prepare early for our arrival, over.”

“Argonaut copies.”

“Sparta copies.”

“Archangel, this is Cyprus, get your people by the front door and stand at the ready, over.”

“Already ahead of you, C. Set and waiting on your go.”

“Valory, I´m coming down with Darius, over and out… Mr Ghorbani, there has been a complication, it is time for us to move.”

“I imagined so… don´t waste your lives trying to keep me alive if it comes to it… I don’t want any more people dying on my name.”

“… Just shut up and keep your head down.”

Czesch accompanied Farhad down to the bottom floor, getting into contact with the other members of the SOT. Everyone was armed and set to deal with angry civilians. Someone must have tipped them off and now they were probably going to have to deal with an annoyance that could turn into a major threat if not handled correctly.

“Oracle to Cyprus, come in.”

“Cyprus here.”

“I´ve sent a couple of squad cars to your area, they are going to keep the crowd in check, but you are going to have to be quick.”

“Appreciated, Oracle, keep us updated with any changes, over.”

“Oracle copies, over and out.”

With that communication done, it was time for the Kid to step down and let the team leader back in the spotlight.

“Vivi, you are up!”

“Alright, we are doing a diamond for this one until we reach the car… Buri takes the front, Nate goes back, Czesch and Rob take the sides. I´ll keep the HVT close.”

“Wilco!”

Czesch and the rest of the SOT reached Archangel, who were setting up by the door. The police had already set themselves to the sides of the entrance, making a walkway from where to reach the SUVs. Walking at a marching pace, they´d get to them in approximately 30 seconds. 30 seconds filled with insults and, in the worst of situations, an explosive of sorts. He breathed heavily through his mouth, hoping that it wouldn’t come to that. Briggs came over to him and shook his shoulder.

“Don´t look so beat, Kid! Shit could get worse than this…”

“You know, some people would think that you just jinxed the whole op.”

“Still beats having to shoot the lot of them… if shit hits the fan, I´ll invite you to a drink.”

”I´ll take you up on that if I survive… Alright, Archangel, take point!! We are leaving!”

Archangel opened the gates and the hell that was forming outside finally decided to unleash itself. People were screaming, pushing and insulting, calling the officers and contractors traitors, whoresons  and other such insults. Archangel took point making sure that no idiot would be dumb enough to put themselves up front, while the SOT circled around Vivi and Fahrad, following Archangel´s lead.

Czesch was covering his sectors as best as possible, but the screams and shouts of people around him were quite distracting. There must have been more than 300 souls right there, pushing and shoving, all tiny, unimportant dots in his field of view.

Then something appeared out of nowhere up front. A man who had been trying to make his way to the front of the police barrier finally made it through. He was filled with the anger of loss, and such anger would be dispensed by the handgun held in his hands, aiming at who he believed was the cause of all his problems. And so, he pulled the trigger, just as Czesch moved in to intercept.

The round went past him and another went out just as Czesch pulled the gun upward, the round grazing  his shoulder as he wrestled the weapon out of his control. The screams of terror and gasps mattered not, Czesch only cared where that first bullet had landed.

Fahrad was still standing… but Vivi was on her knees, clutching her chest, gasping heavily.

Anger surged from depths Czesch didn’t even know he had. He twisted the man´s arm, breaking it in the process. His squeals of pain mattered not to him, he just wanted to see the man suffer. Some people started shouting at him, but he didn’t care. He finished breaking the man´s arm, leaving him crying on the ground as people looked as if they were about to riot against him. He shouted just what he had to in a situation like that:

“Anyone else feels like trying, you can join him!! He´s having the time of his life right now!!”

Czesch went back to Vivi. Kevlar had saved her from a killing wound, but… it had been a close call. She was still drawing her breath, the pain in her ribs stopping her from moving momentarily.

“You need a shoulder, V?”

“Let´s just get to the car… I´m good.”

She got up, the pain subsiding. The way to the vehicles was cleared by Czesch´s show of cruelty, since no one else wanted to lose an arm that day. Vivi, even with her abdominal pain, was fit enough to drive. Archangel was already in their vehicle and Czesch had set up the front seat terminal for usage, hooking it up to his radio.

“Cyprus to Archangel, all set?”

“Ready to move on your word, C!, over”

“Cyprus to Oracle, we are moving out, I say again, moving out.”

“Oracle copies, no big concentrations en route, you are clear to move. Oracle out”

“Thank fuck there´s light traffic… Archangel, take point!”

“Copy that, moving out!”

The convoy started making its way to the heart of London. Even though it was a weekday, the streets weren´t as densely packed as London´s streets usually are. However, there were still bottlenecks in the way. They could have taken a safer route through back streets, but it just ended up being a route too prone to “no-return” situations. They would go through the main way, and they would do so without a hitch.

“One of these days we´ll get a mission that doesn’t fuck up itself when we arrive… how are you doing, V?”

He tried putting his hand on her shoulder, but she brushed it off to a side, her teeth gritted.

“I said I´m fine, concentrate on your part.”

“I´ve checked her out, C. Body armor absorbed most of the bullet, though I´ll have to make a thorough check in case there´s internal damage.”

“It sure hurts, but I´m fine, nothing actually feels broken.”

“Just take it easy, V… drive like usual… Oracle, this is Cyprus, do we know how those people found out about our location?”

“I´m having a team checking that out as we speak…  even if that information has been leaked, whoever wants to fuck us over doesn’t know the routes we are using.”

“… If they plan on a strike, it´ll be…”

“Yeah, right at the gates of Parliament.”

“Thanks for clarifying, Oracle… keep up the good work.”

“Likewise. Oracle out.”

“Sparta to Cyprus, message, over.”

“Send it, Sparta”

“There´s quite a crowd gathering over here and they look like the angry sort, break… still no sign of weaponry, but I can´t check for concealed ones with this packed group, over.”

“Argonaut here, seeing the same as Sparta. If you plan on getting him inside, make it quick, because we are about to have the perfect recipe for disaster, over.”

“Good copy on both of you, double your efforts as best you can. Cyprus out… sometimes I wish we could just pop a gun and fire into the air.”

Nate, seeing his opportunity to lecture the Kid in his own particular way, coughed as loudly as he could to get his attention.

“And miss all the fun of an angry crowd? In your dreams, C! Besides, you know that is “anti-democratic” and stuff.”

“… Yeah, right… hypocrites breeding more hypocrites. Preaching peace while wanting to kill those they don’t like.”

“Yeah, at least we don´t pretend that we are angels… fools playing god, that´s what they all are…”

Everyone in the car but Vivi turned around towards the Estonian, who looked surprised at his sudden burst in popularity. Nate was the first to point it out.

“Buri, that was some cold shit right there… I like that!”

“Thanks! I thought that it would piss off Archangel a little bit!”

Laughs in the back of the SUV put Czesch´s fears to a side. They had been surprised for a moment, but they had pulled through without much of a hitch. Vivi was still breathing and the teams on the ground were doing their best. All that Czesch could do was manage things around as best he could from his position and hope for the best.

They reached the Knightsbridge crossing without incident. The plan was beginning to get into motion and he couldn’t help but feel like Murphy´s Law was about to pop up at any moment.

“Archangel, proceed through designated route. With any luck, you´ll get there first.”

“Wilco, don´t slack off, Cyprus. Archangel out.”

The tricky part was starting now. And Czesch knew for a fact things were about to get nasty.

“Is the angle any good?”

“Looks good on my end… we are live in 30!”

The cameraman had set up in one of the best spots for the reception. There were about 15 different outlets with their journalists set around the area to get the best images out of such an event. An Iranian asking to speak in Parliament and being given green light? That was news if there ever was.

“5…4…3…2… roll out, girl!”

“This is Kate Hemwich for BBC News, right here in the center of London, where we are about to witness an event that has many people in shock and many others angrily demanding the prime minister to, and I quote, “jump off London Bridge”. Ex-Iranian diplomat and envoy to their embassy here in the UK, Fahrad Ghorbani, a promoter of peaceful resolutions to the waves of violence displayed on the Iranian populace here in the UK, has been given a chance to explain to the actual government and the rest of the MPs his stance on the matter and possible solutions in an extraordinary session of the House of Commons. Public opinion is, for the most part, resolute on not giving him an opportunity to speak what many consider an “insult to those who died for Queen and Country in a far off land” and “an overreaction to crimes only he claims were commited”. His arrival hasn´t been scheduled to a specific hour this windy afternoon , but many people await anxiously for his arrival, many of them with resentment in their hearts. When we get confirmation that he-“

“Kate, SUV is coming up the road!”

“Shit, get a good shot at him!! Err… Breaking news! An SUV possibly carrying the diplomat has parked in front of the police blockade and… is being given access to stop in front of the gates! People are shouting and booing, it looks like Mr Ghorbani is not going to be getting a proper greeting… a bunch of escorts are coming out of the car, no sign of the diplomat yet… it seems they are talking with members of security, probably making sure that the way for the Iranian diplomat is clear of incident… And it appears another car has arrived from the opposite direction! It is parking right next to the other, people are still shouting and shoving the police barrier, who are having a hard time containing such a violent crowd… there he is, surrounded by more armed security surrounding him from all sides! People are now shoving even harder, pushing the police units to the brink. But it looks like Fahrad Ghorbani is going to make his way into Parliament and-

“Holy shit, a guy just jumped the barrier!”

“A man has broken through the police barrier and is running towards the diplomat!! A member of security has intercepted him, but we are unsure of the situation with him right now… oh my god, security has pulled a gun on him!!”

All cameras suddenly moved away from the diplomat and towards the developing threat.

Czesch had some rotten luck on him. He knew that much already.

When describing his luck to people, he often defined it as receiving the light of a dying star. It is a star that is shining a small light, warm enough for only one person, but not warm enough to be a proper one. A cold light, which devours all around it just to get a glimpse of the warmth it had given when properly alive.

He thought of that as he struggled with the assailant in front of him, a blood-crazed man who probably had gone to take revenge on the man Czesch had to protect. It was a sad spectacle, as the Kid didn’t even have to reduce him to stop his attempt. He had been smart and had taken the back this time around, knowing deep inside him that something like this was bound to happen.

“Sir, I´m going to have to ask you to-“

Czesch stopped his train of thought when he got a good look at the man. He wasn’t a furious, wretched person wanting to murder on the basis of pain, he was… crying? Was the man in front of him sobbing? What the hell was going on?

“Sir, what is wrong?”

“…I´m sorry… Oh, I´m so sorry…”

Why was the man sorry? Why had he jumped the police barricade? Why had he tried to get close to Fahrad? Why cry for not reaching his target? All questions that the Kid hadn’t the time to ask.

For he noticed a problem only someone in his line of work would make out: A bulge under the man´s overcoat… and a ticking noise. A very familiar ticking noise.

“… Oh shit!!! IED!! I repeat, IED on this man!!!”

An improvised explosive on a suicide bomber, classic terrorist strategy to remove the evidence quickly and get a preemptive strike without anyone taking the blame at first. The man had probably been forced by someone and was there against his will. Still he took steps to his objective, maybe hoping that things would change that way. Czesch took out his sidearm and pointed it at him, crushing that hope.

“Sir, don´t move a step closer!!! Get those fucking people out of there, officers!!”

“I need help… please, my family… I need-“

“Sir, don´t move or I´ll shoot!!!”

“Why!? Why wont you help me!?”

There was a myriad of reasons why Czesch couldn’t help, mainly that, even though it was on a timer, there was probably someone else with a trigger among the crowd. Widowmaker and Oracle were most likely scanning for places where the triggerman could be the moment Czesch shouted the alert for a suicide bomber. He had to buy them some time and, to that end, he had to make sure he kept him away. Trying to disarm or getting closer would mean activating the explosive and hurting a lot of innocent bystanders in the blast… not that it would unnerve Czesch in the least, given the background of most of them.

“Sir, I´ll have to shoot you in the leg if you get closer, stop right there!”

“They promised they would help with the pain!! And this is what happened!!”

“Who did!? Who asked you to do this!?”

“It doesn’t matter anymore!! I won´t be able to see them again… I won´t!!!”

“Stop moving forward!!”

Czesch fired a warning shot next to him. Some of the crowd had dispersed, but most were too curious to understand their safety was at risk. Now there were people shouting at Czesch for firing his weapon at the man. He paid no heed, he only cared about the status of his colleagues, who began relaying information through their radios.

“Valory to Cyprus, target is inside, we got him safely with Parliament security.”

“Oracle to Cyprus, we´ve found 2 possible locations for the triggerman. Already sending Sparta and Archangel to investigate.”

“Argonaut to Cyprus, permission to engage the bomber, over.”

“Negative on that one, Argonaut, don´t waste the bullet!”

“Please… help…”

Czesch´s shot connected with the man´s leg, stopping his movement short. Realizing all was lost, the man removed his overcoat, revealing the bombs strapped to him and the countdown… a countdown that marked just 10 seconds left.

Czesch´s luck was rotten… but that was just absurd.

“Motherfuck-!”

He never finished his remark, as he ran towards the opened doors of Parliament with the screams of thousands leading the final moments of the reluctant bomber, damning his luck to the world. The explosion sent Czesch flying several feet, crashing into several glass panes put there for an air of “modernity” and into a column, breaking part of the masonry on it.

The world turned black, as smoke and the pain forced him to lose consciousness.

He returned to the land of the living shortly after, the smoke still having not risen away fully. He felt groggy, his body feeling limp and lifeless and only slowly recovering any semblance of control. He did feel something warm running through his right thigh. Turning his view there, he noticed a large piece of shrapnel having lodged itself in it.

“You´ve got… to be kidding me… why always that same fucking spot!?”

He tried moving it out, but it was firmly stuck there. He´d have to get help to remove it or he´d have to wait till he regained his strength properly, which would be hard with the ever increasing puddle of red beneath him. He had scratches elsewhere, but the only damaging wound was that on his leg. He pulled his leg upward, tying his belt around it to lower the amount of blood flowing into it.

Why did this shit always happen, he wondered. Not only was the wound always in the same spot, his right thigh, but it always happened when he hoped that an operation wouldn’t be as big of a clusterfuck. Maybe he had to stop pretending  that there would be something as an “easy operation”. The last one he took that lightly… well, he wished it had all ended right there to avoid the trouble. But he was still pushing through, knowing fully well that it was his job to do so.

Vivi got to him, rushing through the smoke and fire to get to her wounded companion. He couldn’t help but chuckle upon a sight he had seen quite a few times already… one that never got old.

“C! C, talk to me, are you alive!?”

“Of course not… I´m just, cough, a ghost taking over his body, that´s all!”

She hit him in the head, of course. A nice way to test for possession.

“Thank god… Rob, check that wound over. Overwatch, Barrock, is the HVT still secure?”

“Confirmed, Valory, target is still safe with us, over.”

Rob knelt beside him, indifferently placing his tools of trade to a side while the smoke dissipated.

“Alright, C… wow, same spot as always, huh? Bite hard, this is going to sting.”

“At least give me an insult to work with when it hits… what should I say? You are Spanish, after all, you know a bunch of curses.”

“Errrr… Hijo de puta works like a charm.”

“That being?”

“Son of a bitch.”

“Ooooh, OK… glad to be learning something new out of this!”

“We all do… alright, one…two… and-“

The metal fin started exiting Czesch´s leg, taking chunks of muscle and skin along. Czesch was biting as hard as he could the wooden stick Rob had forced into his mouth, and the words “Hijo de puta” were resonating in his mind like bells on a church. He thought back to all the times he had been wounded there. If you added them all up, Czesch would have lost about 5 right legs… and that was him being generous with the estimate.

The shrapnel finally came out and Rob started working on checking the wound proper, making sure he could fix blood vessels and such. Czesch teared up from the pain, to which Rob replied:

“Quit your whining, you´ve gone through worse.”

And Czesch knew he did get off lucky in the end. It was always a painful wound, but it was always inches away from becoming mortal. That was the great paradox: A dead man walking that never got the final killing blow, only shots aimed to further his misery.

Rob finished patching him up, a satisfied grin forming in his face.

“Seriously, C, you have some rotten luck on you.”

Czesch couldn’t help but grin himself.

They never did find the triggerman and no party took responsibility on the terrorist attack. Luckily, Czesch´s warning had not fallen on deaf ears, and the only one to take damage apart from him was the Parliament entrance, the civilians having taken the memo when they heard the gunshot.

Czesch was sitting on the front of the SUV, now feeling the stiffness of his leg. As Rob had put it, a normal person would spend a quarter of a year healing that, while Czesch would only have to wait a couple of days to start running again. He was a lucky guy in that regard alone, for the phantom pain of the wound would remain for longer. Such was the way of things.

Zephiros took protective roles from that point forth, leaving the rest of the teams to their own affairs. Archangel decided to work with Oracle to find the triggerman for the remainder of the day, when the leaks were hotter, but Gaz knew that it would take longer for them to pinpoint him. The Widomakers and the SOT made their way back to Hereford, but Czesch told them to drop him off at Harville first. Vivi found that equal times encouraging and concerning.

“Are you sure you don´t want a proper check when we get there? You´ll want to also file in the report.”

“I´ll let you do that one if you don´t mind, V… I´m not feeling like filing a report, you- Ouch! What was that for!?”

An uncalled for elbow to the shins. As if the pain in the leg wasn’t bad enough…

“You are not escaping work! We talked about this already!!”

“I wasn´t!! I just get a little tired of getting thrown without any word into shit like this and then having to report about it as if I´d planned it weeks in advance!”

“Well, I get fucking tired of having to come pick you up at Harville! Gas ain´t cheap, and Mary is always reprimanding my ass for the bills!”

“Like it was my idea to be there in the first place! Besides, it´s Alexis´s problem now, they took custody!”

“But we were the leading group for the operation, you dimwit! It falls to us to submit the report, you know that much!”

Both Vivi and Czesch looked in opposite directions. Nate muffled a laugh, while Rob and Buri just found it incredibly adorable. He shot a murderous glance their way, along with Vivi.

“… What are you three looking at, huh!?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing at all”

“Hey, I have that same car! Only mine isn’t driven by a chav with a crashing complex.”

“Uuuurghh… alright, alright, I´ll… I´ll pop over and write the report, get my leg properly checked too… happy now, V?”

She threw a glance his way, still somewhat annoyed at his reluctance.

“I´m never entirely happy with you… I would be if you finally admitted it.”

“Admitted what?”

“That going to Harville did some good. The rest thinks that way as well… don´t you, boys?”

“Completely!”

“You are a bit more bearable than before…”

“The emo period is gone!! Praised be the Lord!”

“Hey, I was never emo to begin with!”

Nate had been expecting that kind of reaction, and so he began snapping and mumbling one of Czesch´s songs. He hated when they did that… and he hated it more when they sang them themselves.

“And so you say…”

“Oh, fuck off!”

“So, C, what do you have to say?”

“I…”

Had he really changed that much? It was true that he had been more introvertive in the past, and that opening up like he had with people like Annie or Jenny had really opened his view of others around him. It had brought back old pains, but he was used to that and it had nothing to do with the actions of others. It was at that point that Czesch came to a realization he had known all along,  but one which he hadn´t considered: He was still 16.

True, a 16 year old who had just directed a security operation right in the political center of the UK, but a teenager nonetheless. The youngest around him were in their mid-twenties, Vivi herself being a short way from 40. All this time he had just accepted that he was part of that group of people, that his life was all about battling in torn-up countries for cash and playing the piano to smooth out the bloodshed and angst, but he realized he wasn´t really part of that group. He was an outlier, an exception to the rule. There was no one like him, and he dearly wished there wouldn’t be any more. Part of him wanted to cheer due to it. The other part wanted to tear out his throat from desperation.

He sighed before giving his answer. His leg was still stiff, which made matters even the more embarrassing. As much as it pained him to say it, he had to concede to the truth.

“You were right.”

“I´m sorry,  what was that?”

He knew she had that cocky smile of hers. He sighed yet again, getting more annoyed by the minute.

“I said… that you were right.”

“Can´t hear you, C, your voice is getting lower for some reason!”

“Need some booze to get the tongue flapping?”

“No alcohol for him, Nate, I told you already!”

“Buri, lock Rob by the arms, I´m fetching the bottle!”

“Wait, what!? Buri, knock it off!”

“Come on, let the Kid drink a bit!! You let him drink during our sessions… and I started drinking at 12, shouldn’t be a problem!”

“I only let him drink shots of the stuff because he´s going to end up turning like you two!”

“Ooohhh, you hurt my feelings… want a shot of vodka to calm down?”

He was getting tired of the ruckus behind him and Vivi´s nudging. It reached a point where he called them out to stop.

“I said you were fucking right, OK!? You were right, it did do me some good! Now, can you please keep it down back there!?”

They all went back to their usual, laughter muffled by stretched-out grins. Czesch sighed again.

“… I´m supposed to be the bloody kid here… Jesus, we really are done for…”

His train of thought was interrupted by Vivi´s fist gently rubbing itself against Czesch´s head. She always liked doing so and he understood it as her way of saying that she cared for him and that she had his back. He couldn’t help but smile back at her before trying to get some rest.

“Keep it up, C… Keep it up.”

He managed a quick salute before getting more comfortable.

“Aye, aye, ma´am.”

The car drove off to Hereford, for Czesch had a stupid report to file.

The report was indeed quite a dumb thing to make, since the man wasn´t under Czesch´s jurisdiction anymore (That fell to Alexis) and Vivi had been the one to brief him about the contract, but apparently things worked different than logic in Blue Sparrow´s administration. He didn’t mind it much, though it was tiring.

He spent the rest of the weekend doing the final pre-practice tweaks to the song. Rising Crows was a good mix of free-form jazz, with the rhythm and feel of a Cuban song. It was something he had experimented with in the past, but he had never found a chance to make it work with the SOT, for it never clicked with them. Jess´s group, on the other hand… they were all natural talents, and they had complete control over their instruments. It seems they liked the song as well, so Czesch took the chance for granted.

After making the appropriate changes, firing off some guns and doing some paperwork on both Panama and Peru, he went off for a walk in the afternoon, trying to get his mind to think on something else. The air of the city was as stagnant as even, but it did have a certain charm after more than a month taking it in and complaining about it in his off-time. He was having a hard time believing it, but it was entirely possible that he was getting used to Harville after all.

Part of him wanted to talk with Teo, get to know him better after all these years. Jenny also crossed his mind, maybe a bit of Paintball could help him out, or taking her up on that dinner with her parents, to get to know them all a bit better. Annie… he thought of her and felt awkward. It wasn´t anger, he wasn’t mad at her in the least, much to the contrary.He wanted to be with her, she was really good company, but he also realized that would get weird ideas in her head. It was a difficult proposition, and he didn’t really have an answer for the situation. He´d have to adapt, the only thing he was truly proficient at.

When walking, he noticed someone was calling over to him. At a distance, he wasn’t sure of who was beckoning him at first, his mind still a bit dull after drafting the reports. Then his pointman senses came back to their station and noticed that it was Lucie, sitting on a bench next to a park filled to the brim with children. If Czesch had to admit to not being comfortable around something, the first thing that came to mind was kids. His experiences with them had always been… complicated, to say the least.

He sat next to her, watching the children play around… well, pretending to be watching them anyways.

“So, you´ve decided to be a mother now?”

“I´m just looking over my little sister, that´s all.”

That took him by surprise, with him visually recoiling at that new fact.

“Wow, I… I didn’t know you had a sister.”

“Yeah, like you told me you had one.”

… There was only one way for her to know that. And he knew exactly who had done it.

“Annie?”

“Annie.”

“Uuurgh, I need to stop telling her stuff…”

“Come on, it´s not like you are telling her state secrets… are you?”

“If I did, do you think she would tell them to everyone she met?”

“Not at all. The last thing she wants is pissing you off.”

“Oh, it´s not like she has succeeded before.”

“And that´s why she does it.”

“… I don´t follow.”

“Trial and error, you wouldn’t get it… What, are you tired already!? Come over, I want you to meet a friend!”

A little girl came over to Lucie´s side, and immediately put Lucie between her and Czesch, as if shielding herself from the stranger. Lucie laughed at her reaction, while Czesch remained there, motionless, lost in his thoughts… yes, this girl looked just like her.

He remembered it again, and all he had left in there was regret. Regret and shame. He once had a contract with the Baorica family, a powerful Italian group that wanted protection for their two youngest, Emilio and Adela Baorica. Emilio was in his late teens, a prepotent rich boy that angered Czesch by his constant desire to prove himself through violence and his thought that money could solve all of his problems. Adela… god, Czesch had played with her and tried her best to make her happy, as best as a 6 year old could be. There were no other kids to play with her, so Czesch tried his best to be her friend. He still remembered the times she laughed as he threw her in the air or carried her around, buying her ice cream and eating it with her…

It all ended because of that fuckup, as amidst the 7 burnt bodies of the people in that darned café lay the corpses of both Emilio and Adela. Her bastard brother had pushed her as a human shield, but he ended up burning alive and screaming. The girl… he hoped the girl had gone out quick, that´s the best he could think of. He remembered himself kneeling there amongst the dying flames, still with a concussion and crying over how pitiful his actions had been, of how he had utterly failed and how the Old Crone had won that battle.

He returned to reality. That had happened a long time ago, or at least what felt like it. Lucie´s little sister was still looking at him, wonder instead of fear popping in her still young and innocent face. Czesch had to get over it, he knew that much. The best he could do to start would be speaking with her.

“Come on! Don´t be shy, he´s a friend. Say hi to him!”

“… H-Hi…”

She scurried back behind her sister, getting a chuckle out of the Kid. He thought it best to ease her struggle by introducing himself.

“Hi there! I´m Czesch, and I go to school with your sis, so you could say I´m friends with her… since I told you my name, can I know yours?”

She was still scared of him. It had been the same way with Adela, he wasn’t any good with people younger than him. He scratched the back of his neck, throwing out a nervous laugh.

“I know I look like a bite, but I don´t, trust me. Your sister knows that quite well.”

“He barks quite a lot, you know.”

The little girl looked at her sister with curiousness typical of someone still not aware of the world around her.

“… I-Is he… a doggie?”

“He´s more of a wolfie, I feel!”

“Oooohhh! I like wolfies!!”

She began bouncing in her seat, getting a wide grin out of her sister, who turned to face the Kid.

“Are you a wolfie, Czesch?”

“O-Of course I am. I´ve always been a wolfie!”

“… A bad wolfie?”

“No, no, a good one. I´m always good to little girls and mean to those who don´t get along with them.”

“… You are good,Mr Wolfie. I trust my sis.”

“Call me Czesch… or, Mr Wolfie, that works too!”

She fidgeted in her seat for a moment before bothering to respond.

“… I´m Nikol.”

“That´s a beautiful name you have there, Nikol!”

“…”

“Niki, what do we say to people who compliment?”

“…Thank you…”

Czesch couldn’t help but smile at her. Maybe he still had a soft spot for them. He had been a kid himself, although he had stopped being one a long time ago and for reasons exterior to him. That´s why he felt a little jealous at the fact that a girl like her would never have to see death like him… at least, he hoped she wouldn’t. The less people that went through what he had undergone, the better the world would become.

“You know, Nikol, a long time ago I met a little girl that was just like you, and she was a princess.”

“A princess?”

“Yes, she was just as cute as you are.”

“…t-thank you…”

“We both were really good friends, but that was a long time ago… do you want to be friends with me, Nikol?”

“I… I don´t know…”

He was probably going too fast, but he wasn’t sure on what to do. Then he remembered something Vivi had done in a similar occasion.

“Tell you what… There´s a candy store right around the corner. Let´s go for a moment with your sis and I´ll let you buy all the candy you want, OK?”

“Really!?”

Her face lit up in a way reminding him an awful lot of Karen when she got happy… a bit disturbing in that sense.

“Only a couple, Niki, you know mom gets mad when you eat too many.”

“Hmmmm… Okay…”

“Well then… shall we go?”

“… Alright, Mr Wolfie…”

He stretched out his hand, and Niki took just the thumb, for her hand was tiny like that. Czesch couldn’t help but feel nostalgic, as something like that had gone down between Adela and him. But now Adela was dead, and the girl in front of him was named Nikol. He couldn’t put the faces of the past in those of the present, for the sake of his sanity.

Nikol bought some sort of red-coloured candy the Kid had never seen before and even shared one of the pieces with Czesch. It was a bit too sweet for his taste, but he hadn’t the heart to tell that to the little girl. Lucie then checked her phone and tapped Nikol on the head.

“Alright Niki, time to head on home! Mum is going to be worried if we stay off too long.”

She pouted for a few seconds, then immediately understood the consequences of pissing off their elders.

“Hmmmm… Okay, sis…”

“And thanks for popping up, Czesch. It´s always nice to see a friendly face around.”

“Same here. Hope I get to see you again, Niki!”

“Same, Mr Wolfie!”

Lucie and Nikol left the area, leaving Czesch to sit down at the park, with the gaze of a fool (or a pedophile, depending on how you ask). He couldn’t take away that sad grin off of his face, a grin that was trying its hardest to shield his heart from regret. How he had wished that it had been him and not Adela inside that damned café in Italy. Those were foolish thoughts, of the kind that often get people killed.

A tear streamed across his face. It seemed like he was starting to lose his iron façade slowly but surely, starting to reveal a little more humanity the more he spent in that supposed cesspit of volence and cruelty. For those in the business of killing, doing so can be dangerous for both the contractor and those working with him. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to let his emotions run through.

Then again, he was no automaton. He had been before as a kid, but that time was long past. Vivi and the rest of the SOT taught him that, and he would be forever grateful to them. He was no angel, but even a heartless man can also show kindness from time to time, can he not? Czesch got up from the bench, feeling like he had just fended off one of his personal demons.

And now he had a song to finish before it was too late.

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Next Chapter: Chapter VII: Festivals Are There To Have Fun and Experiment