She'd gripped his hand and sworn to avenge him, though he was not yet dead. She promised his body that the traitors and humans that stood against her would die, and imagined that somewhere deep inside, he was listening, and smiling his small, secret smile.
She quickly dismissed such foolish thoughts. Of course he could not hear her, he would be lucky if he ever woke again. She hoped he would wake- not, of course, out of any fondness or care for him, but purely out of cold logic. Marcus had been her most trusted and accomplished advisor, he was, by far, one of the most competent of her people. As they reached endgame, Marcus' aid would be crucial. She told herself that was the only reason.
She left the medical bay, but, somehow couldn't get him out of her head. He had taken the bullet intended for her, taken her place and by doing so sacrificed himself for her. Anna considered him to be one of her most devoted servants, and this was only further proof. He'd saved her life, perhaps in exchange for his own, and Anna had remembered with vivid clarity the explosion of blood that had scattered into the air as the bullet made impact with his chest. She vowed that his suffering would not go unappreciated.
The Fifth Column would pay with their blood, which she would spill with relish. She would kill them, one by one. They had tested her patience time and time again, but this would not be ignored.
They had incurred her wrath, and she doubted many would survive it.