A City at War

[CJWrites]

The castle was bustling with activity. Many high-level government officials and their families lived in the same government owned buildings surrounding parliament. It was convenient, safe and affordable, not to mention a good way to ensure employees worked all hours. Alexander Wu stretched as he pushed his chair away from the table and closed his laptop. He needed a break. As he made his way outside, he saw a familiar figure round the corner. 


"Ruban! How's it been?"


Ruban Kumar had been Alex's best friend since college and was Morgan's secret weapon. He was in charge of all intelligence gathering and the unofficial Minister of War. Usually they'd greet each other with smiles and laughs but this time, Ruban looked grim. 


"Al. Listen, something troubling came up. There's a leak in your Ministry."


Alex's face paled but Ruban continued. "And not a low-level leak either. Someone high up. Hell, every Ministry has low-level leaks. But this one came from your office."


"What? No. Nobody who works for me would do that." He thought about the half dozen people who he worked closely with. Then looked at Ruban. "Wait... you don't think it's me do you?"


Ruban sighed. Years of working this job has made him jaded and suspicious of everyone. "This rebel problem is a lot worse than you think. We both know the administration's not all its cracked up to be and that you're driven by ideology rather than power." 


"That's why we're working to make it better, crack down on corruption, stop the money flow." Alex retorted. "Violence is not the answer, and neither is getting a new government. Not when we struggled so hard to make this city a better place. I'm not plunging the city back into unrest."


Ruban looked exasperated "Of course I don't think it's you. You're too damn loyal. But you know I have to tell the Chancellor and I know she'll demand you fire all your staff. Just... be prepared"


Alex's face turned grim. He thought of Miya and Tino, his top aide and policy maker respectively. He'd hope one day Tino would take his place. Morgan had gotten increasingly paranoid over the last couple months, sure that someone would overthrow her from within. The Chancellor might do much more than just demand he replace his staff. 


He bid Ruban farewell and headed towards the entrance before a hand touched his shoulder. 


"Going out at this time, Alexander?"


Alex turned around. "Your Excellency. An afternoon stroll does wonders for your mind." 


"I don't know why you insist on calling me that." Chancellor Morgan Bates withdrew her hand. She looked worn and tired, ready for a good night's rest. Lately, the Chancellor had been getting wearier and wearier, the weight of her decisions pressing upon her shoulders. No longer was she the passionate young woman who enraptured him with talk of changing the world. 


"Just a habit." He smiled. He admired Morgan. Even now, she was a uniting force to rally behind and a thoughtful ruler. 


"Be careful." Morgan looked concerned. "Are you sure you don't need guards?" Alex shook his head. Everyone on the council except himself and Ruban either took with them a vanguard of men or refused to leave the compound altogether. And Ruban wasn't a public figure


 Morgan nodded at him, as if to say 'carry on' and walked away, her heels clicking on the tiled floor, no doubt to receive the bad news from Ruban. Alex had no doubt that she was trying to make the city a better place. Still... whenever he heard Morgan talk, Alex couldn't tell whether she wanted to better the city or the bragging rights to it. 


-- 


Alex greeted the guards who tipped their hats at him as he walked through the gate of the compound. 


He walked around a bit, first to the market, buying and chatting with the locals, everyone was smiling and happy. 


But Alex looked around cautiously, not knowing that someone was following him. He turned into an alley, hopping over the wall. Why would go into that part of town? 


"Hey, Lex."


"Candy" A woman dressed in a short cocktail dress, caked in makeup and sporting high heels emerged from the shadows.  


Prostitution was illegal in Columbia but nevertheless, Alex made a point to keep in touch with the darker side of the city. Most of these girls were trafficked in from outside the city or turned to prostitution to survive. 


Alex moved back. Another person would've stood, waiting for the moment when he moved in lecherously or shy away from the nightwalker. But he didn't look uncomfortable at the attention offered . He spoke to her the exact same way he spoke to the farmers at the market. After a bit of small talk he pulled out a few bills and handed it to her. 


Then he leaned in as the taller woman whispered in his ear. 


Alex nodded, his face turning more grim as he concentrated. It as more of the same information. Rebels were attempting to recruit the disenfranchised and organized crime ran amock. It was probably what kept the invisible lower class from rising up entirely. A revolt would not only hurt profit margins for legitimate, but illegal business as well.


He thanked her, kissing her on the cheek before starting to head back, the roads empty in this sketchy part of town. 


Then, suddenly a rough hand moved over his mouth. He tried to scream, to shake the assailant off, but he was woefully outmatched. It had been years since his military service. He felt a fist connect with his stomach and he crumpled. Groaning, he tried to get up but a boot connected with his chest. It knocked the wind out of him and after a few more blows, he started drifting in and out of consciousness before finally blacking out. 

 

[Gaitsulore]

The rebels tried everything to get Alex to tell them everything they wanted to know. They started off with simple threats, however they didn't know enough about those he knew to really make any impact. They tried to beat what they wanted out of him, but he refused to sway.


It was at this time that excessive force was decided the best choice. They started with simple torture methods, nothing to dangerous, as he still had information they felt they needed. If they could find where the Government's funds were going, they could plan raids that could deal real blows to the Government, however, nothing worth while was gained. Eventually, they moved on to more dangerous torture methods, deciding that the risk of him dying was worth the information. Besides, he was better off dead rather than given back to the Government.


So they started waterboarding him. They started without asking him for anything, just came in, shoved him on his back, threw a wet cloth over his face, and started pouring water over his face, then would remove the cloth, and leave, only to come back hours later and do it again. This went on for quite some time before they asked him once more. When this still failed, they lost hope.


It was at this time that Cliff was called. "You realize I'm not into torture." He said to the messenger. "If you are having so much trouble, then why don't you just put a bullet in his head?"


The boy, barely 16, shook his head, "They want you to try and talk some sense into him, or do what you do to your victims on the battlefield, and if that doesn't work, you can kill him."


Cliff sighed. He could understand the importance of knowing where the Government money was going. For the greater good he would put aside his adversity to torture. He followed the boy to the secret facility. What he was greeted by wasn't something he cared to deal with, even more so than torture.


"Hello Cliff. I hear your friends haven't had any luck unwrapping the poor Minister." A woman, who looked younger than Cliff, but was actually a few years his senior, who wore a black suit and had an annoyingly coy smile on her face, stood there. "I thought I'd come to see how things were doing, and decided to extend my stay when they said you were coming."


Cliff scoffed at her and avoided one of her venom filled kisses to the cheek. "Chie, I have no need for your help. If you really wanted to help, you would just tell us the information we want to know, instead of playing this game you are. The only reason I haven't killed you already is because the boss feels you are important."


She laughed as she sailed past him, "Oh Cliff, this game you play with me is more than fun. Eventually, you'll see that I just want the best for everyone..."


"In your life. That's what you mean, right. You don't give a damn about anyone but your company, and whatever family you have. Now get out of my way. I have work to do." He walked past her, and into the facility.


The three walked up to the room that Alex was waiting in, no-one bothering him, except for a meal each day, since the final waterboarding failed. As the three made it to the door, Cliff grabbed the boy, "You stay here. You are to young to see what goes on in here." He then pulled out his gun and rushed into the room, followed closely by Chie. He immediately started shouting at everyone, "YOU CAN'T EVEN DEAL WITH ONE PERSON! THIS IS YOUR JOB, BUT I WAS CALLED IN!" He walked over to a covered Alex and placed the gun on his temple through the bag. "TELL ME WHAT WE WANT TO KNOW OR I'LL BLOW YOUR FUCKING BRAINS OUT!"


Alex, however, remained silent. It almost seemed as if he was looking through the bag on his head at Cliff. Cliff pulled the gun back, unsettled by the silence. Angrily, he yanked the bag off Alex's head, and placed the gun back to his temple.


A long silence followed, so silent that even Chie was startled when Cliff suddenly pulled the gun away from Alex's head. He turned away from Alex, and walked out of the room, pulling a two way radio from his pocket. Chie followed him, but he stopped her at the door. "Stay here. I'm contacting the boss." Everyone in the room, who was a rebel, turned and looked at him in surprise. Cliff looked at them. "It's time for me to cash in a favor."


He stepped out of the room, and motioned the boy to leave, and once he knew the boy was far enough away, he turned on his radio. "Big Boy, this is Rad Man. Code, 1 2 Red Rum, 3 4 Tequila, 4 Yager, 1 Sake, 1 Tepache."


A few moments of silence, and a small voice came over the radio, "Rad? Is the channel safe?" Only after Cliff ensured the line was safe did the other person say anything more. "What can I do for you?"


----


Cliff walked back into the room. "Boss says everyone out. The entire facility is to be abandoned, to allow myself the time necessary to get the information we need."


The rebels all moved, as an order was an order. Chie smiled as everyone left, but was upset when Cliff motioned her to leave too. "You can't tell me to leave. I don't serve your cause, remember."


Cliff didn't even turn to talk to her, "I've got permission to terminate anyone who doesn't listen, even you." He only relaxed when he heard her heals clicking as she walked down the hall, after slamming the metal door.


---


Chie pulled her phone out and fast dialed one of her acquaintances. " Hey, are you and Alex still in good standings? You are? Good. I have some information for you....no, this time its free."


---


Cliff waited for many hours, making sure that everyone had plenty of time to leave before he finally looked at Alex again. He was still silent, but slowly moved over to the man, dragging a chair with him. He sat across from Alex, the gun still in his hand. After all this, he was still silent, not sure if what he was seeing in front of him was real or not. "Alex Wu...Do you recognize me?"

 

[CJWrites]

Alex was too tired to respond to the man. Days of being interrogated had taken its toll and resting was the best way to regain his energy to attempt an escape. It was futile to raise a fuss if he could save his strength for later. But it seemed his respite was over. He braced himself for what came next but it never came.



He cracked open his eyes and a familiar figure sat across the room. 


Alex frowned. Nobody's called him that since his University days. 


He squinted "Could it be?" He muttered. Then let out a laugh. Was this the sole reason he survived? "I thought you were dead. Or maybe I'm dead too." 


He was too tired to do much else but tried to get up, struggling since his hands were still tied behind his back. Failing, he slumped back into his seat. A flicker of hope. Perhaps he'd escape after all. But then... then what? He looked towards his captor, who may or may not be his long-lost lover, clutching a gun while he was tied down. Cliff had always been stronger, and while he served in the military, it was a bureaucratic position.



-- 



Meanwhile, all hell had broken loose at the Imperium. It had been days since Alex disappeared and tensions were running high. Already whispers and rumours were circulating among the lower level workers and there is no way a leak isn't going to happen if we keep expanding the search parties.


 
"People are getting suspicious." The Chancellor paced around the council room, where the most important members assembled. Except for one chair remained empty.  



"Can't we release this information?" Morgan questioned. She knew the answer. Ruban shook his head slowly. It was no secret Alexander's self-righteousness and inability to make unethical choices 



"We must be doing something wrong if the most beloved member of the government is the bloody Tax Man" Ruban muttered. 


"Or we could consider another possibility. Our esteemed Minister of Finance, man of the people, disappears immediately after being tipped off that we are closing in on a leak in his Ministry. Furthermore, there isn't an uncompromised party with the necessary experience to succeed him." They, after all, were all under suspicion of espionage. 



"At any rate, people are restless" Aaron Alston's smooth modulated voice commented. "The military is out looking but we aren't getting anywhere. In either case, it is of the utmost importance to find him as soon as possible." 



Morgan frowned. The thought had crossed all of their minds but none of them wanted to admit it. Aurelianus. I want a full impartial review of the Ministry of Finance. Ruban, conduct a separate investigation. After all. Minister Wu is innocent until proven guilty. Isn't that right Minister?"



She stared Arthur in the face whose emerald eyes glinted. "Of course Chancellor. The scales of Justice are blind."


-- 


Aaron tapped the microphone in front of him, cameras and journalists hanging onto his every word. 



"Minister of Finance Alexander Wu has been missing for three days. He was last seen leaving the Imperium for his nightly walk. Search parties have been looking for him but have turned up with no leads and foul play is suspected. We are appealing to the public for information. Please contact the lead investigator on the case."



Reporters rushed forward.



"Minister Alston, why didn't Minister Wu have a security detail?"



"Who runs the country's treasury while Minister Wu is missing?"


--


Alfred Jones tapped his chin with his pen as he watched the broadcast. He frowned. This wasn't good. Alexander Wu was notoriously difficult to bribe and never lost sight of what was important. His heart, at the very least, was in the right place. Now he was gone. Alfred bet that he was rotting away in some deep, dank prison and this announcement was only to placate the public. Maybe even silence those who knew about his 'disappearance'. But it didn't quite add up. The reigns of powers have been hanging lax. If the Imperium had silenced him, then they would have moved on as soon as possible. 


He pondered the question, then began typing.

 

[Gaitsulore]

Zeronus glared at the tv, the whole time sorting out his weapons. With Lex missing, his superiors were likely to think the worst of him in the current situations. He wasn't about to let his good friend's image fall into doubt. Flipping on his coat, grabbing his guns, and as many clips as he could, he grabbed a piece of paper which he had hastily written on, slipping it into his pant pocket before leaving.


-


Cliff was quiet for quite a few minutes before he said, "No, you're not dead. I too thought you had died that day." He stood up, pulling a knife, which he used to cut Alex's bindings. "Don't take this as me letting you go. I just can't talk while you're tied up like a dog." The whole time, the gun stayed fixated on Alex. Returning to his seat, he sat again, the knife once again hidden away.


"I'm going to address the elephant in the room. You are an Imperium Official, and I am an enforcer for the rebels. We are enemies." He accented the last words by motioning to the gun in his hand. "Now that that's said." He pulled the gun back, holstering it. "Tell me everything that happened. How did you end up here, from when we were separated. Give me the benefit of knowing how we became enemies, for old times sake."

 

[CJWrites]

Alex slowly got up and rubbed his wrists. They were red from rope burns he sustained during the interrogation. 


He frowned, his senses heightening. His eyes darted around the room. Cliff stood between him and the door. There was no way he would make it. Not with how Cliff had always been stronger. 


-- Flashback -- 


"Hey, I'm going to the library," Alex told Cliff. It was a normal day and he spent most of his time there.


He pulled into the private room and shut the door behind him. Ruban was already hard at work on his computer. He was one of few who had such luxuries as they were no longer in production. Ruban had come from a rich family involved in the tech industry.


"How's your project coming along?" Alex inquired. 


Ruban frowned, not taking his eyes off his screen. "Alright. Basic Intranet is working, even if it still goes down every couple of hours. But. It still doesn't do much good if nobody has a device. You know the UN once considered high-speed internet a human right? Freedom of information is key to an informed populace, fosters debate and provides accountability for ." His eyes glistened as he looked up and grinned.  


But just then an explosion rang throughout the room. 


"Was that?"


"The Wall"


Both looked panicked at each other before quickly snatching up their belongings. 


"Its not safe here. We need to find a place to hide." Ruban muttered, clutching his bag tightly. 


Just then a woman, covered in rags and dirt. She waved a knife. It looked blunt and scraped together but Alex still flinche away. "Gimme everything you have." 


"Ok Ok." Alex said slowly. "Here. Just.... " He handed over his bag, with his textbooks, notes, wallet, everything. But Ruban seemed reluctant and only clutched the bag tighter. That laptop contained his life's work. 


"Fine have it your way." The woman lunged and Ruban yelled before a gunshot rang through the airs


When Alex opened his eyes and whiped away the blood splattered over his face, he saw another woman. This one better dressed. Almost a buisiness suit but one which had deffinitely seen better days. 


She held out her hand. "Are you alright? My name is Morgan Bates and I'm the leader of the People's Civic Front."


--


"Multiple explosions happened throughout campus. The bomb killed many people but raiders killed even more." Morgan looked solomnly at the bodies lined up row on row. It was easy to tell which were students and which weren't. But in death, they were equal. Morgan saw to that. "I want to put a stop to this." She looked at the two young men. "We could use people like you. Economics? IT? Not many have the skills we need to run a country. The PCF could use people like you"


Alex stayed mute. A bomb had gone off at his residence and that section was disjonted from the academic buildings. Nobody would be crossing for a while. All he could think of was how the love of his life was probably dead. 


-- End Flashback --


Alex sighed. "It's a long story. And you're right. We are enemies. Why should I tell you anything?" He didn't trust himself not to let vital information slip. 

 

[Gaitsulore]

Cliff motioned around the room, "Because right now, neither of us exist. As long as we are in this room, you and I are ghosts. The boss gave me permission to talk to you alone, with no-one else around. Your people don't know where you are." His face still had a rough look to it. "Besides, the longer you can talk, the more likely your guys can track you down." He shrugged, "But if you really think I'm only doing this for information, I'll start."


--Flashback--


Cliff heard the explosion, then felt the ground shaking. He had just turned the corner facing the dorms, when the wall exploded. His entire life slowed down, as the bodies of many guards came flying in, most of them already dead, some who wouldn't leave long. He ran towards them to see if there was anything he could do. Just as he made it, people in rags started running in swinging around crude weapons. Many looked like they had just looted a kitchen ware store, as they mainly held knives. Some had pipes, and a few had guns.


"HAND OVER EVERYTHING YOU HAVE!"


Still kneeling next to a former guard, he shook his head, "I don't have anything. I got in here because of good scores on my tests." Which wasn't a lie, he had come from a poor home.


The man brandished his knife, "I said, give me everything you have." He pointed to a locket around Cliff's neck. "Poor people can't afford fancy things like that. Nice tr"


He never finished his sentence, as Cliff grabbed up the dead guards gun, and shot the man. He turned and started running the other way. As he did, another explosion crumbled in the pathway behind him, sending him flying into a wall.


When he woke up, things were already settled, and he was in a hospital bed. The nurse, who recognized him, came running to him. "Cliff! Where was Alexander? We can't find him or Ruban."


Still dreary, he mumbled out, "Alex....library."


Even past his confused situation, he could hear her cry out. As he looked to her, he saw the tears falling. "Cliff.....the Library got hit. I'm so sorry."


Many days later, he had returned to the rubble of the Academy. His heart broke as he saw the hopeless situation, but he refused to believe Alex was gone without finding some kind of proof. He dug through the broken tables, shelves, and the books that littered the ground of the once prominent library. It took him many hours to find anything at all. It was a picture, ripped in half. The piece he held was half of Ruban, and all of Alex.


--Even further flashback--


"Why are we doing this? We just met each other, why do we need a picture together?"


He had only just made it to the dorms, and hadn't even unpacked yet. His two neighbors had come over to see him, two people he had never seen before. Ruban looked like your typical rich kid, only here because his parents came here, so he was probably fully paid for. Alex....Cliff wasn't sure what to think of him. While he seemed like he came from a rich family, he seemed to have seen what it was like to be poor before....maybe he just was nice.


"Look, we re the only three in this wing right now. We are going to see each other every morning anyway, we may as well get a picture to reminisce the first day of the rest of our lives." Ruban quickly grabbed up both Alex and Cliff, pulling them in for the picture. Once it was taken, he laughed, making him seem a lot less of a rich asshole than Cliff thought. He didn't even shake his hand off to get the "Poor germs" off.


The three of them became friends, having some classes together, and Alex and Ruban helping each other out on some projects. Cliff always felt he was the out of place friend, but he continued to focus on his studies, not letting it bother him.


--End long flashback--


Cliff pulled the gun he found earlier and placed it against his head. His fingers trembled as he started to pull the trigger. A pile of books falling over made him move the gun to the source of the noise. There was nothing there. He slumped down, and then saw the white boots next to him.


"You lose someone too?" Cliff didn't even bother looking up to the man who spoke. "You can either kill yourself, or you can try and make a difference for others, so they don't have to go through the pain you have."


--End flashback--


"The man who found me later joined the Imperium army, and I joined with him." He looked at Alex, "So if you are worried you're going to slip something to me, you should realize that I probably know more about some things than you do. We were a pretty big deal."


He then changed his pace. "So.....did Ruby make it?"

 

[CJWrites]

Alex narrowed his eyes. "Impossible. If you were a big deal, I'd know about you. And even if I'd missed you, Ruban definitely does. He would've told me." His eyes widened as he realised the information he let slip but tried to recompose himself. As far as the public was aware, Ruban was just in charge of the country's intranet and other network related stuff. 


"Yeah. Ruban and I made it out. We were rescued by Morgan, the Chancellor, just as the movement started gaining steam. I became her chief aide-de-camp and Ruban worked right beside me, using his technical skills to predict and analyse tactics" That wasn't everything Ruban did but they couldn't know about the other stuff. "I definitely would've known if you were in the higher echelons of the army."  He frowned again and paced around the room. 


"When we won the war, Her Excellency needed to move from General and Wartime Commander to Peaceful Ruler. She made that transition remarkably well, considering historical politicians. Ruban finally had the funds to do what he always wanted except on a much larger scale. My background was in Economics and she put me in charge of the Ministry of Finance." Pride swelled in his chest. "We built the fastest developing nation on the continent, built with experts in their respective fields instead of power hungry monarchies, lifted hundreds of thousands out of citizens out of poverty and restored order."


There was a hidden question in this statement, boiling with silent anger.  Why would you support that which uproots all the positive change I created. Alex was almost never angry but he certainly was passionate, about his work, his people and his vision.

 

[Gaitsulore]

Cliff heard what Alex said, and took in the news rather well, "Yeah, I always assumed Ruby would be with the Imperium, doesn't really surprise me. As for Morgan, she knew about our group, but I never had the....pleasure....of meeting her. All orders went through our leader." He didn't hide his relieved tone. "Honestly, I'm glad that you two could stick together through this hectic world. You two were always closer than everyone else around us was."


He listened to what Alex was heatedly saying as he paced the room. Cliff had seen him agitated like this once before, so he knew he just needed to listen, and to expect to explain himself, even if Alex didn't exactly ask him to. "I saw first hand what was being created, and who was suffering for it. Do you know what happened to people who didn't agree with the Imperium? Not even just the rebels, even there I could understand. What about the innocents who's lives were trampled to make 'innovations'?" He held up a clipboard, "You were caught in a bad part of town, a place full of people who were being pushed aside for the 'greater good'. You should understand more than anyone else in the Imperium that innocent lives were being destroyed."


-- Flashback --


"So what's the job this time? Possible supply dump? Straglers who haven't made a clean escape yet?" Cliff was ready for another day of shooting down his enemies. Ever since joining up with his crew, he had plenty of chances to shoot down rebels and thugs, and he was starting to enjoy it.


"Cleaning detail. Got a crowd that isn't clearing out of buildings that need to be demolished for a part of the new Government building they got planned."


Cliff was a little confused, "So what do the rebels need with the area? Oh, it must be a criminal hideout!"


One of the other members laughed, "No such luck. We're cleaning out some civs this time."


The shock hit Cliff like a ton of bricks. "We're taking out civilians! What building is so important that were out killing unarmed innocents?"


"If you don't like it, you can stay here." The leader of their group said, very calmly. "We are out here to do what needs to be done, no matter how questionable. If you can't handle this job, then I guess I'll have to find another man for the team."


"No, I'm fine, I just.......wish I knew why we were doing this."


-- End --


"They made us kill everyone, and we even got a bonus if we could knock down some of the buildings so they didn't have to pay workers for demolition. That's the day my eyes were opened." His hand moved inside one of his pockets, and he pulled out a cloth ragdoll. "I only had one kill that day, and it's haunted me ever since."


He placed the doll on Alex's seat. "That doll belonged to a little girl, Tabitha. Her mother was caught in the same explosion that separated us, and her father was a construction worker. He was later 'silenced' for refusing to demolish his old home. She was literally alone in a Hell like world. Suffering from diseases that her father couldn't make enough money to keep her in a hospital for, having to watch as everyone around her died. 'She's better off dead' they said. My crew, my family, all a bunch of murderous shits. For all their glory, they got what they deserved in the end, but my sin......I've still got three bullets left to make amends to her."


"So don't tell me about how great the Imperium is. I've seen the nightmare they inflicted on innocents with my own eyes, and allowed myself to become the monster of those nightmares for far to long. Do the Rebels have a large crime background? Yeah, but at least they don't hide their intentions." There was no sign of malice in his voice as he looked back at Alex, his attention till now having been on the doll.

 

[CJWrites]

At first, Alex frowned. Well, it had been worth a shot but he should've known that wouldn't work on Cliff. He'd studied law and was a high ranking member of the rebellion. Then, lowered his eyes in shame. 


"Mistakes were made during the war. Mistakes we will never admit to." He said slowly. He remembered sending those missions but writing letters was far removed from the brutal reality of war. Even when he wanted to, Morgan wouldn't let her aides take up the command. He tried to push the unpleasantness to the back of his mind, the sinking feeling in his stomach. 


"The government has a responsibility to do what is best for its people. Those men and women were breaking the law and holding up important projects which helped the war effort, ending in decisive victories and reduced casualties on both sides. The residential areas cleared were either decades old or decaying and unsafe to live in." Alex sat back down "I'm not saying it was right, I'm saying it was justified at the time."


"You and your teammates were given orders. They should not be faulted for following orders. If you intend on righting this wrong in this way, then you'd better have a bullet in that gun for me." Alexander swiftly got up in Cliff's face, as if daring his former lover to shoot him. "Do you?"


"And that is the entire problem. You would have to eradicate half the country, the entire Imperium, with that logic. We aren't perfect but . Their deaths will be meaningless if we don't learn from them and we are."


"But everything we've done is for the good of this nation and to preserve order. Under today's system, Tabitha wouldn't have to suffer in silence. There are support systems. " A hidden, I wouldn't have been abandoned, hung in the air. 

 

[Gaitsulore]

Cliff was silent, the entire time. He let Alex speak his mind, and waited till he had said everything he needed before answering his questions and retorting against what he didn't agree with. "Mistakes? Hell yeah there were mistakes, yeah, both sides are not as clean as they claim to be. The Imperium wiping out their own civilians, not the cleanest, us rebels taking the fighting to the same streets that the civilians walk, thats not the cleanest either, I'll be the first to admit that. I'm not saying that one side is better than the other, I'm not even saying that the rebels way is the better choice. What I'm saying is, someone has to be accountable for the deaths of civilians. We rebels, we can't hide the fact, innocent people die when we go out, but I would rather everyone know exactly what they are getting into. 'Mistakes we will never admit to' is exactly what I am fighting against."


"Do you even know what stands in the remains of that old housing area? Do you even know what Section C is now? When you can justify the death of hundreds of civilians for the building of more office space, then I'll be less angry about it."

He gave a very determined look at Alex, "Three bullets. I can promise you that once those three are gone, my personal fight will be over, and I'll turn myself in. Believe me when I say that I know I'm not on some noble quest. I'm out to get the people who wronged me, and who wronged Tabitha and her family. The only way you get a bullet is if you get in my way."

He was silent before he addressed the last part, "You are right that things are getting better. Slowly, but surely, the Imperium is making changes that are actually helping things. I have no illusions that the Rebels will ever make a decent change. The majority are thieves, killers, rapists, and phedophiles. We don't even have any real orginization. You see a group of Rebels looting a store durring the confusion of an attack, that's not because that shit will help, its because getting what you want through violence is the only thing they see in the Rebelion." He got up from his chair, "I know that the Rebelion is doomed for failure, but the Imperium needs a bad guy. At the end of this, when everything is sorted out, someone has to pay for what has happened, and the Rebelion is that scape goat." He turned back to Alex, "Why do you think you haven't wiped us out already? Because some double agent is out there helping us? Fuck Chie, she doesn't even see the grand scape of what the Imperium is doing. Keeping us alive, this allows them to clean the streets while keeping their hands shiny. They can't get rid of us, because they need us. Morgan needs us."

----

Zero looked up from his fire, "I can hear you walking, just come up and sit with me sir." He looked into the darkness where Ruban was watching him.