Burning Phoenix - Saga 1

(Quintiles 22, 59 / 4:09PM)

(Luke) Oh man, I’m tired… but it’s for the best.

(Jack) It was just an omelet… couldn’t they just blame Loraine? I mean, it was her idea, not ours.

Both Luke and Jack had their arms motionless as they sludged and walked through the hallway. With their legs shaking, they continued with heavy breaths as their hands were coated with blisters and cuts.

Behind Luke and Jack were Miles and Stan, who had steadier breaths yet sweat drenched their chests and backs, causing their t-shirts to create sweat stains.

(Miles) Boris has a weird sense of punishment. When someone does something wrong, he punishes everyone except the one who did it.

(Stan) But you know Loraine. She doesn’t give a damn if she’s hated, so it doesn’t make sense.

The dark angels, combined with Stan’s group, noticed the room that they were directed to.

(Luke) I guess this is the adult lounge.

Opening the handle door, the dark angels and the others walked into the adult lounge where all the adults were. Seeing the lounge room, everyone was astonished by the couches and rugs that were in the middle of the room.

With four couches in the middle of a coffee table, there were two small couches on the north side of the table and two large couches on the east and west sides of the table. On the north side, there were David, Boris, and Jerry, all sitting as they waited for everyone to sit on their couch of choice.

(Stan) So I guess we sit wherever we like?

(Boris) Yes, please. There’s enough room for you guys to sit on.

Stan, Gary, Diego, and Fred sat on the east couch, having enough room for them to sit.

Jack, Miles, Gwen, and Benn sat on the west couch, with barely enough room for them to comfortably sit.

Then there’s the south couch, where Luke was in the middle of Hope and Luna.

(Jack’s thoughts) Lucky bastard…

Luna’s fists already clenched as she stared at Hope. Meanwhile, Hope huffed as she folded her arms together, ignoring Luna by focusing her attention on Luke.

(Boris) Alright, let’s commence the meeting, shall we?

Everyone's ears perked up as their bodies leaned towards Boris’s direction. Noticing that everyone was awaiting his words, Boris stood up slowly, his limped leg noticeable as he picked up a stack of papers from the coffee table.

(Boris) Alright, these papers contained some highly classified info among many things that I want to show you all. Gary, Diego, do you recall those questions you asked me two years ago?

(Gary) Sort of. Does it lead to anything that the government is doing or hiding?

(Boris) Let’s take a look, shall we?

Placing the set of papers back on the table, he had one single white paper in his right hand. Boris then handed it to Gary and Diego, extending his right hand as much as possible.

(Boris) Here.

Both men stood up, with Gary gently taking the paper out of Boris’s hands. With both men looking through the paper, it only took several seconds for both men to put the paper back on the table. With their mouths being covered by their hands, both of them turned towards Gwen, their eyes widening as the ends of their feet were touching the couch.

Boris also turned his attention to Gwen, his eyes droopy as he leaned back on the couch. Putting his fedora onto his lap, he cusped both his hands on top of his hat.

(Boris) Gwen, would you mind explaining?

(Gwen) sighs … Why me?

(Boris) When you raided the Blood Eagles, I ordered you to use a bit more roughness, yet you didn’t. If you don’t want to get an extra punishment under your belt, I suggest you explain it to everyone.

Gwen, crouching down with her elbows on her knees, looked down toward the fancy rug. Seeing the circles upon circles on the furry rug, she remembered an old time that she wasn’t too pleasant with.

(Gwen’s thoughts) I guess everyone has memories they want to keep in the dark.

Slowly, Gwen stood up, her hands and arms straight as she straightened her back. With everyone’s eyes seeing Gwen, she inhaled deeply in before she slowly exhaled out.

(Gwen) Alright, I have a confession to make. You guys know Maverick right? Well, do you guys know any similarities between me and him?

All the members of the dark angels and even Stan and Fred put their hands on their chins. Luna looked up towards Gwen, clearing up her throat as she slouched back onto the couch, with her left arm around Luke.

(Luna) Well, you guys both have freckles, and both of you are infuriating.

(Luke) Wait, Gwen? Don’t tell me-

(Gwen) sighs Yeah… he’s my younger brother.

The room was then filled with gasps, murmurs, and gossip spreading across each member as they all looked at Gwen with wide eyes. Luke slumped back to the couch.

Stan stood up instantly, his fists shaking as his hands remained down.

(Stan) Is that why you’ve gone easy on him? Does this mean that we could’ve—wait, you could've had the choice to turn him in, yet you didn’t?

(Gwen) It’s…complicated.

(Stan) No, it’s not! Because of you, his group’s out there murdering innocents!

Fred then stood up, facing Stan as he held up his hands.

(Fred) Hey! Let’s just calm down. Out of all of us, I think she’s the one that’s the most troubled here. She kept this secret from us for so long, so …

Gwen looked down, putting her right hand on her left forearm, her hands shaking even more. Seeing that everyone was staring at her, Gwen gulped as she looked towards the door to the hallway.

(Luna) So it all makes sense huh.

Luna stood up, her hands forming into fists as she sharpened her gaze towards Gwen. Walking her way towards Gwen, Luna remained in front of her, her eyes twitching as her eyes began to redden.

(Luna) Is your family full of weirdos?! Why do both you and your brother always touch people without their consent?!

Luna put her hands onto Gwen’s collar, her hands shaking as her face was inches away from hers. Seeing Gwen reasonably angry, Gwen only looked down as her hands didn’t have any motion in them.

(Gwen) It’s a long story…

(Luna) Just because he’s your brother, I’m not going to let you off scott free! You had one job and you blew it!

(Miles) Sorry to say this Gwen, but Luna’s right. You’re a commander, and you should start acting like one. What Stan said earlier, Maverick isn’t innocent, nor is he a good person to be around.

(Jack) I think you guys are being too harsh on Gwen.

Jack then received angry stares from Miles and Luna, causing Jack to put his hand on his collar. Shaking the collar loose from his neck, he turned his attention towards Gwen.

(Jack) She can’t control Maverick, and also I heard his wanted status is dead or alive. If she did turn him in, he’s not going to have a light sentence.

(Luna) Does it look like I care?

(Gwen) Luna…

Gwen’s hands started to shake as her head remained glued to the floor. Luna, already angry to begin with, noticed the slight tension of

(Luna) Because of you, I have to deal with your perverted psycho brother and his shit! So you better not—

(Hope) Don’t fight Luna. Just sit down.

Hope got to the right of both Gwen and Luna, her eyes slightly tearing up as Luna still had a grip on Gwen’s collar. Luna, noticing Hope staring at her, sharpened her eyes.

(Luna) Sit down. Now.

(David) No Luna, sit down and calm down.

(Luna) What did you say old man?!

(David) Sit down. Now.

(Luna) huff Fine!

Sitting back, Luna continued to heave her chest irregularly, drool started to come down her mouth as she clenched her hands together.

(Gwen) mumbling You’re right. You’re all right to blame me. I…I should have stopped him.

Luke looked at Gwen as she covered her face with her hands. He remembered how he met Gwen for the first time, how little she valued herself. He then stood up from his seat, his eyes gentle as he calmly looked at Gwen.

(Luke) You shouldn’t feel guilty.

Gwen looked up at Luke, eyes widening.

(Luke) No matter what he did, you still loved him as an older sister would. You knew you didn’t want to turn him in.

Luke walked slowly towards Gwen as he looked towards her freckled face.

(Luke) You know he did unpleasant things, yet you continued to love him still. Don’t blame yourself for protecting your family…

Gwen immediately hugged Luke, her arms tightly wrapped around Luke’s waist as she nestled her head onto his shoulder. Silent tears that rolled down her cheeks.

Luna glared at the two of them, but did not move while Hope folded her arms and looked away, making a slight pout.

Gwen continued to nuzzle her face onto Luke’s shoulder, continuing to sniff and rub her face onto Luke’s jacket.

(Luke) Are you feeling better?

Gwen nodded unhurriedly, her tears already drying up as they left red little marks beneath her eyes.

For a few seconds, Gwen then unwrapped her arms around Luke, sniffling softly as her nose was bright red. Wiping her nose with her jacket, she inhaled in and exhaled, her breathing back to normal as she straightened her back again.

(Gwen) Sorry guys. I guess I should’ve been more revealing about what you all were getting into.

Her eyes were still red from her silent crying, followed by tear marks etched onto her cheeks, Gwen still had her eyes remaining on her soldiers.

(Benn) I always knew that Maverick was your brother.

Benn, who was next to Miles, crouched down so that his forearms were on his thighs. Looking up at Gwen, she tilted her head to the left, putting her hands on her hips.

(Gwen) Wait, what? How?

(Benn) It was when we first met.

(Gwen) Oh …

(Boris) Hate to break it to you guys, but there’s another major info that I shared with Diego and Gary. Either two, say out loud what happened to Maverick.

Boris, now the main lead again, continued to slouch on his couch as he extended his hand towards the two men. Gary looked down, his eyes not wanting to make contact with Boris, staring at the coffee table.

Diego started as his hands. A droplet of sweat dripped from his forehead. With both men not wanting to speak, Boris sighed as he shook his head.

He then slowly stood up with the help of both Jerry and David, his legs barely keeping him straight.

(Boris) Maverick Keegan, the leader of the Blood Eagles, has gone missing. The last sight of him missing was on the outskirts east of the city.

Everyone either slouched into their seats or crouched down on their knees.

Luke and a few other smart members put their hands on their chins.

(Luke’s thoughts) That’s weird… doesn’t Maverick typically get heat or attraction after a couple of days after our raids?

(Fred’s thoughts) There’s more than what’s here … Maverick always wants to be in some sort of spotlight, so why would he go silent?

(Jack’s thoughts) If Maverick somehow ended up dying, then they would’ve found him already. So what if there’s a possibility that he might have turned zompire?

(Stan) But it doesn’t make sense though.

Stan, the only one that spoke his questioning thoughts out loud, managed to get all the looks from everybody. Having the floor, Stan kept his back straight as he had his hands wide open.

(Stan) Is there a possibility that Maverick has a blessing? If so, then it might explain how we managed to lose sight of him most of the time in our raids. But in a way, holding up and building a little army secretly isn’t Maverick’s style.

Stan then turned his attention towards Gwen, his eyes squinting at the freckled woman as her head was looking down at him.

Gwen's hands were heavily shaking, her body unrestful as her right foot tapped rapidly on the ground. Nervous, Stan then slightly arched his back forward so that he clasped his hands together with ease.

(Stan) But, for all we know, Maverick is most likely alive. Maybe it was because of what you said to him during the raid. Or maybe he had a thought come to him. Either way, he’s most definitely alive, but probably taking things a much more different approach than usual.

Hearing Stan’s conclusion, Gwen then started to relax her body more upon hearing Stan’s conclusion, her body calm and content as her breathing returned to a more normal state.

(Gwen) Thanks, Stan … I needed that.

The sounds of a phone can be heard…

(Boris) Why out of all times?

Boris then walked towards his special hotline, dragging gently his right leg causing him to limp. David and Jerry, who watched Boris limp to the phone, stood up rapidly, having their entire focus on Boris, in case Boris collapsed.

Reaching the phone, Boris placed it firmly against his ears, buckling them as he heard a familiar voice.

(???) Are you still in Lagefor?

(Boris) Yes. Why are you asking me now?

(???) Has President Reed said anything to you yet?

(Boris) No. The last time I spoke with him was before The Array. What does he want from you now?

(???) Are you alone?

Boris raised the phone down. Glancing towards his soldiers, his eyes scanned every face as he pushed his cheeks in. For a second, he shook the phone with his right hand but stopped as he raised it to his ear again.

(Boris) Yes. Speak away.

(???) President Reed wants all politicians, political figures, and billionaires to move to El Niabea for the next couple of days. He says that he has an important meeting being held there and has also invited me.

(Boris) Why are you telling me this? Is this classified information?

(???) Highly.

Boris then glanced at the windows, looking around the world for any opened closets or other suspicious things in the room. Looking towards David, he signaled him to look around the room for anything off.

Boris even checked the closed up drawer in the back of the room.

Boris then started to sweat gently, his fat palms being drenched as the grip on the phone started to get loose.

(Boris) You shouldn’t be telling me this. Do you know what happens to politicians who reveal highly classified material?

(???) I’m aware of the risks, yet I haven’t been caught. Inform your dark angels to be prepared. I don’t think President Reed is just leaving for a meeting.

Boris then crouched down to better prepare to hear the words coming from the telephone. As his legs started to shake from the amount of force and pressure that he had on his legs, Boris slightly clenched his teeth, a vein sprouting on his neck.

(Boris) What do you think he’s doing then?

(???) To be honest, I’m not sure. But you must make sure your men and women are prepared.

(Boris) Men and women prepared? I have never told you about the little mercenary group that I oversee.

(???) Someone else told me that, someone recently… just tell them just in case.

(Boris) I’ll let them know…

With the phone call ending, Boris looked towards the three couches, the young adults to the old all having their eyes on Boris. Most of everyone had their hands clasped together, their feet slightly tapping down.

Except Jack.

(Boris’s thoughts) I know you, Jack. Please try to keep the information within ourselves.

Boris looked towards Jack, his eyes starting to have a gray lining beneath them. As his body seemed to start slowing down, Boris then slowly walked towards the couch with David and Jerry, having his eyes on Jack most of the time.

Jack in exchange gave a slight nod, his body slumped to the couch as he extended his arm. With his thumb, he pointed it upwards to showcase a thumbs up.

(Jack’s thoughts) Hey man no problem.

Boris gave off a small smile before putting his hat flat across his face.

Both Jerry and David stood up to give Boris a small chance for rest, both their hands in their pockets as they saw Boris slowly drifting to sleep. Turning their heads, they nudged their heads to the right, in the direction of where the door was.

Gwen gave a slight nod before she motioned the others with her right hand to follow her. As the group of young men and women left the room, Gwen then had a sinister smirk on her face.

(Gwen’s thoughts) Come to think of it, this whole Blood Eagle and Maverick thing was starting to stress me out a lot…

(Gwen) Hey, do you guys wanna hit a bar? It's a bar Boris told me about a while back. I mean, a small drink wouldn’t hurt?