[ED/N - FrauWolf]
Once again, I am here to remind everyone that this story is now rated M, due to being filled with blood, violence, gratuitous gore, angst, general misery, etc. Not even I know what's going to happen in the future, but I doubt it will be anything other than more of the same from the last chapter, so just take that as the standard from now on. Seriously, this is not a happy little story. Please understand - FrauWolf
[ED/N] - lmaolevi
So, it's chapter seven… a-lot of stuff has been happening, and a-lot of research has been put into this. (This chapter, that is.) This chapter has lots of mature content, as you can probably guess, so warnings on that. I haven't commented in a while-mostly because I've forgotten to-but I guess if you have any questions about the story, just send a PM to either FrauWolf, the author, or myself. Anyway, this isn't a story for squeamish people, so, brace yourselves I guess.
Author's Note: This has to be the hardest chapter that I've ever written! Thanks to my editors, I am not going to write a bunch of crap on paper. Currently, I am forced to research a bunch military tactics, which I find pretty interesting, and I have to research more stuff about how the government works, because apparently -I am doing it wrong. Also I thank FrauWolf for giving me the awesome operation name for the mission that you'll witness later on. Thanks for supporting this story~! I really do enjoy writing this, and hopefully when I get the time, I will update this story more often! Please critique this story I am very open when it comes down to improving my writing. Please check out the story that lmaolevi and FrauWolf are currently writing: Requiem; it is found on lmaolevi's account.~(=w=)
PLEASE READ THE WARNING IF YOU HAVEN'T YET.
Enjoy~
Now let's get serious. The Hit List
Lovino's Story
Part 3 out of 3
The diversities of Spanish foods that flooded the dancing streets of Madrid, the capital city of Spain, created an even bigger distraction for Feliciano. The women were dressed in their colorful traditional Spanish dresses, and their hair danced delicately to the beat of their twirling skirts. Feliciano pulled his hat further down on his head, blocking out anything that would become an obstacle to his reunion with his fratello, Lovino. His feet had begun to feel a little sore from all the walking that he had been subjected to for the past hour or so, but he was motivated to carry on in spite of the uneasy pain because of the excitement of seeing his brother, which brought a smile to his face once more. The undercover guards of Democracy surrounded Laura, his caretaker and teacher, and him to hide and subtract any contact with civilians. From the corner of Feliciano's eye, he could see a few of his government's guards hiding amongst the shadows of the the roof tops, nodding to Laura and then contacting the neighboring guard through their ear piece that they had safely reached a step closer to their destination. Feliciano looked down to his feet and clenched his fists together with nervousness, and then he looked up to Laura. Her dark brown contact lenses covered her green eyes; her hair had been temporarily dyed black and was tied in a tight high bun. Feliciano was forced to do the same routine; minus the bun, obviously. She watched the 16 year old and nudged his right shoulder, "Feliciano, remember that you were the one who wanted to do this. There is no turning back, okay? Think of all of your training, and match that with your experiences in real life." Feliciano nodded, feeling relieved when Laura gave him the words of advice; it was something that he really did need: confidence and motivation. The city noises began to fade into the distance, replaced by the sounds of nature. Feliciano was reminded of his home in Italy.
Just behind the large apartment building that they were passing, a dark van was hidden in the alley with their men in it - preparing their weapons, computer devices, and their communication systems for the upcoming battle. Not so soon, Laura patted Feliciano towards the van before putting something in his pocket and zipping it up, "Use this if you are in trouble." Laura turned around with the other troops to take her leave to prepare for the start of the mission. Feliciano glanced back at her and grabbed her gloved hand, stopping her from leaving him with the opposite group. Feliciano held his breath and smiled softly to Laura, nervously, "Do you think we'll be able to save Lovino?"
Laura leveled her eyes with Feliciano's, showing slight sincerity as she answered back, "I can't promise you that Lovino will make it out alive. Our primary goal is to disrupt Spain's fascist government. But, Lovino just so happened to be here," Laura's hand rose from her side to rest on Feliciano's shoulder, "That's the only reason why the troops are making the effort to save your brother." She stopped her explanation to pat Feliciano on the head, "But you already knew that… I'll do my best to save Lovino", she smiled, parting ways with Feliciano.
Nobody spoke during the ride to the station, and the sounds of rapid keystrokes were heard from each of the portable laptops that the soldiers had to bring. The devices were safely stored away within a heavy metallic briefcase for protection, containing a thumb scanner on the side of the case for security purposes. Feliciano had a watchful eye -studying the motions of their hands. It appeared that they were setting up the first few cameras on the east side of Madrid, the part of town that he and Laura were once located at. Just last year, had Laura discovered his ability of analyzing data on computers. While instructing him on his coordinates,to practice firing missiles, everything was fairly simple for him; he was always the first one to complete his computer work - except when he had physical training in the morning with the other kids. Doing extreme workout routines had always tormented his lower abdomen ever since he got to Belgium, when he was twelve. Thus he was the easiest kid to get picked on: he has the brains but not the brawn. That's what he likes to say on the majority, but in reality he had neither; he just has pep and motivation to learn something new.
He guess this was what he got himself into, wanting to take part in the government in the hopes of finding Lovino. Italy had then been divided into a vast amount of city-states, thanks to the collapse of the Italian government. Thankfully before the fascist governments moved in on the city-states, one of Italy's allies, The United Kingdom, uplifted and unified the government by loaning a fund to South Italy: the last unified part of the country with substantial exponential growth. In conclusion, North Italy is in the hands of the Germans. They soon had to move minor parts of the Italian government to Belgium, their closest ally, to replenish what was lost: their resources, their history and culture, and their secrets.
One of the soldiers got up from his strapped seat to give Feliciano his assigned portable laptop. With his hands stretched and his insides jumbled up, Feliciano grabbed the cool black case, and instantly felt the weight carry him down. He heaved the case onto his lap, much to the soldiers' amusement, and stared at the cover. Feliciano gulped and looked to his right and than his left; they were all working hard, and he needs to too. Placing his thumb on the scanner on the side of the case, he watched the green strain of light go up and down his thumb before hearing the case unlock. In the back of Feliciano's mind, he knew that everyone in this van was downright nervous. This was the first invasion that the democratic states had committed since the mid 2000s. This is Operation Inquisition.
The lights suddenly went off as everyone glanced at the back window to the beams of a following truck. Captain Augustine Chapler - a transferred British recruit, slowly lift his foot from the gas pedal, and made a complete stop before turning his head around to face everyone, "Everyone, remember what we've rehearsed," he whispered. Everyone gave him a thoughtful nod as they began to plant the now closed devices under the adjustable floor. The Brit glanced at Feliciano, "And you, Vargas. Don't fuck this up," he signaled Feliciano to come closer to him to replace seats with him. Feliciano, with the most convincing Spanish accent, was assigned to communicate whenever they encountered any Spanish.
Feliciano sat down in the driver's seat and gripped the wheel as he looked into the rearview mirror. The closer the officer became in the mirror, the more he felt the bile well up his throat. His dark brown contact lenses finally flickered to his side as the masked guard stood before him, "Identification." Feliciano smiled at him and nodded, reaching down to the sleeve of his pocket to pretend that he was grabbing his card, "Yes, please wait for moment, it's been awhile since I've went to the countryside to visit my grandmother. I almost forgot." Feliciano turned around in fear: he doesn't have an identification device. The other six and Augustine silently cursed when they realized what the guard would do next. Feliciano looked up to the guard and crossed his brows, "It appears that I've left it at home… If you like, you can follow me to my destination and I will show proof that I was going to my grandmother's household for the independence day celebration."
In the rearview mirror Augustine was mouthing out, "What the fuck are you doing?!"
The guard studied Feliciano's actions, pulled out a journal and pen, and began scribbling something down, "Here, this is an identification pass for three days-enough time for you to go there and go back home." He placed the paper on his government touch screen to scan the paper passport, and momentarily a thin card came out of the side of the touch screen, "I need to scan your finger on the card, and you'll be fine." Feliciano smiled and nodded nervously as he pressed his forefinger on the surface of the card.
The guard looked down at the card and gave to back to Feliciano, "You are good to go. Have a great independence day."
"Ve, eh?" He stumbled over his words in shock and surprise, " Ah- you too sir", Feliciano stepped on the pedal and drove down the road. When the Spanish guard passed them, Feliciano stopped the vehicle to let Augustine take the wheel. The 27 year old Brit switched seats with Feliciano, and started driving.
…
"I am going to review the plan once more if case anyone forgot it. If anyone is confused I will personally have a tete-a-tete with you", Augustine stood before everyone, in the front of all of the aligned desks that sat adjacent to one another within the abandon meeting room that was on the third floor of the old hotel. This place was perfect for their mission. It was far enough from Madrid, yet close enough to record and make sure everything is following accorded to plan. "This mission is divided into three groups and two wings. Group A will distract the Estate on the North Gate while Group B will bomb the West Gate. Group C will cave in after the bombing to attack the West Gate. The West Wing, which will be us, will hack into most of the codes and coordinates provided by Lar Van Dike. This will shut down all of their communication at the Estate. The East Wing is in charge of communicating with the soldiers." Augustine's computer was on the carpeted floor, in the dark room, as he connected a few wires into the old SMART board to make it more visible for others that were sitting down. "This screen will be the camera of the front gate of the Estate, and your screens will show you different parts of the Estate as well. Don't leave your eyes off of that screen unless I tell you to. Record everything, and report the material to East Wing so that they can alert our soldiers."
Everyone, including Feliciano, stood up from their seats and saluted, "Yes Captain!" Augustine pointed at each person and called out their assigned gate until he reached Feliciano, "Vargas, you are assigned to the West Gate."
"Um- ,y-yes sir!" Feliciano agreed patriotically. Everyone took their seats and waited on Augustine's cue. The time watch was in his hand, dangling by a shoelace thread. The amount of time was visible to see: five minutes. "Now, any questions?" Augustine arched his brow and looked around the room. Most of the hackers in there were in their mid to late twenties, so they were all professionals. Feliciano already knew that the reason Augustine was humble enough to re explain the mission to them was because Feliciano was there. He was only sixteen, but he had a motive. He was too close to fail now; he was too close to his Fratello. The seconds felt like minutes as Augustine began to count down: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1… Let Operation Inquisition begin.
The screen was black, and the text was green: completely normal. Feliciano typed out the first set of codes to disable the private Spanish radio waves that circulated around the city -cutting off all communication for the guards. Unlike Madrid's technology, their advances work differently from theirs, allowing the Democracy to communicate more efficiently. Augustine looked at the SMART board, and based off of what he saw, the guards throughout the Spanish Estate were alert and panicking, "Everyone good job! Now connect your screens to the Estate cameras."
"Yes sir!"
Feliciano's screen flickered on and off until it was clear as he putted a headphone bud in one of his ears like the others. He pressed the left arrow key to move the camera to the left to view the West Gate. The area flooded with armed guards; he pressed the right arrow key, looking around the area and found civilians and civilian buildings located at the front of the gate. Feliciano furrowed his brows as he zoomed in closer to find unarmed children, women, and families celebrating their independence day, "Sir, we have to call it off! There are unarmed civilians located at the West Gate." Feliciano stopped and looked up, standing from his seat to alert everyone while waiting for an answer. His eyes followed everyone's action, feeling his voice tremble, repeating the question slower again, "Didn't you hear me?"
"Vargas, shut up and record everything you see," Augustine retorted without looking up from his screen, "This operation will save millions. So don't think too much about it... because weren't you the one that signed up for this mission?"
He was right. Feliciano did sign up for this mission when no one volunteered… A feeling of worry hit Feliciano like an unexpecting tidal wave. He signed up for this… His legs gave out and his buttocks landed on the seat cushion, "Yes sir…" Everyone soon so happy; they don't even know what was about to happen. If he was to try to warn the people, this mission would be a complete failure. All he could do was sit there, mourn for the mothers that would never see their baby boy or girl smile again, and mourn for the parentless children after tonight.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
As expected, seven RPGs were shot in the air, heading towards the gate and near a little girl who was with her friends eating traditional foods. He quickly closed his eyes, afraid to look. Screams of agony were heard in his headphone and hopeless shouts and yells for help were constantly being chanted in his ear. Feliciano opened his eyes once more to see the camera shake due to the impact. Grey smoke fogged the screen until a faint orange was visible in the background. It was a fire. Feliciano's eyes widen as he witnessed the mishappenings unfold one by one. He couldn't help but stare; he couldn't do anything in the first place… but stare. A gust of wind carried the smoke away from the screen; seemingly, it was reasonable to predict that the fire started because of open fire cooking for the independence day. He gripped the mouse from the computer and shakingly breathed. That same young lady that Feliciano saw earlier was dismembered from the waist down; her body flung near the camera, giving Feliciano a solid view of her organs and intestines slowly leaking off of the roof, onto the ground where her other half laid. Her eyes had almost popped out of her skull. Feliciano breathed faster, turning the camera view to the next location. In the background it appeared that some were heading to an unfortunate death. A child was running, towards the blasted gate yelling and hollering as his body was being melted and eventually burned to a dark coal-like crisp. Hundreds of other survivors were either running away, leaving the wounded or dead, or they were the wounded and left for dead. Feliciano wanted to gag. He shut his mouth with his hand and held his stomach in tears before feeling something build up in his throat. Hard breathing, gasps and harsh gags escaped his lips before finally relieving himself by throwing up behind his seat. His breathing was ragged and his body was weak. If it weren't for the other desk that was right beside him, he would've fell in his vomit. Everyone, were once again, ignoring him, and was trying to block out the reeking smell from behind them. Fireworks were audible in his ear bud, making Feliciano flich with discomfort, reminding him of the recent RPGs that destroyed the gate.
Feliciano turned back around and looked at the dreadful scene before a bag of ginger chews were placed in front of him. Feliciano looked up to see Augustine. "These should help calm your stomach. I figured something like this might happen," he walked back to his chair to continue working, leaving Feliciano behind. The Italian nodded and opened up another window to communicate to the East Wing that the bombing was successful. He hovered his mouse over the send button and clicked on it. Message Completed.
…
Cheers and applauses filled the night sky as the dictator of Spain finished her opening speech to release the nine o'clock fireworks, "And I would like to thank all of you for being here. You are the ones that makes up Spain. Without you, we would've never made it through!" More cheers and praises followed afterwards, as the dictator waved her hand and gave everyone a stern, yet powerful look, "So today, let us celebrate our independence day!" Music began to play as the fireworks shot up in the pitch black sky, creating blooms of golden and colorful flowers in the air. Children who were on their parent's shoulders, clapped their hands with excitement as they viewed the small designs of art flourish in the sky. The dictator looked on at the sight before her, taking in all of the smiling and joyful faces that she had deceived, and turned her back away from the crowd. She took her seat and tapped her foot to the fast paced beat of the celebration music when suddenly one of the officials leaned down, "Ma'am, we have a problem," he said in a low voice.
...
Pink and Red: the devotion that Lovino has for Antonio; the colors of love and passion; the color of Lovino's throbbing and aching fists that were banging on the wall out of pure anger and frustration. He was tired of this; he was tired of it all, and in his heart he knew that he was on the edge of giving up. Unknowing the factor that triggered his hopeful thoughts that he would be saved from this wretched place, Lovino sat back down beside Lars, legs crossed. "Hey Lars..." Lovino looked down at his ring and twisted it clockwise, witnessing the reflexion of the dim light hitting his pupils. He brought his hand to the black body bag and patted it. "Thanks for everything," he bit his lip and rubbed his temple, shook his head, and sighed, "It would've been cool if we could come back home." The ring was gently pulled off of Lovino's slender finger before clenching it in his fists. He was no longer burdened with sadness and grief, but as the night passed he developed feelings of infuriation with not only himself, but towards the government. Even if this is the last day of his short life, he wasn't going to crack; even if they kick, spit, and beat him he wouldn't show any signs of weakness.
Showing emotion to Antonio would only make it harder for the both of them, and the government would grow suspicious of their 'close' relationship, if they weren't already. He didn't want Antonio to experience a living hell after he was gone. Lovino looked up to the dark ceiling. Was he truly ready to die? He couldn't imagine himself doing anything to aid Feliciano in any way if they ever meet again - but should he take the step to end it all to stop the pain and misfortune in his life? Should he, or should he not give up. The bittersweet thought of going into an eternal sleep... was scary. The idea of leaving a corrupted world for another gave him a feeling of incompletion.
The footsteps around the corner grew louder and louder until it stopped entirely. A couple of pairs of hands grabbed Lovino's arms to pull him up and away from the cell room. A sharp needle was planted in his neck as his sight began to become hazy.
...
Lovino couldn't see anything but the blur of his hands and body. A gale of warmth hit him as he smiled, "This is the same dream as before." His feet were bare and the ground was cool as he inched closer to the single standing door that was surrounded by the midst of nothingness. He grabbed the knob and pressed his ear to the door: a damaged Italian song was being played over and over again behind the door. The once fantastic Italian meal aroma that attracted Lovino to the door like a magnet, from his previous dream, was replaced by something different. When Lovino twisted and pushed the knob, a pair of hands cover his eyes, leaving him in slight shock. "Relax, Fratello. We are almost there." This must be Feliciano... Lovino relaxed his muscles and opened his mouth so that he could speak, but no words could come out his mouth. His body obediently allowed Feliciano to guide him into the room, when suddenly he disappeared. The hands that once blinded him were no longer there; however his eyelids wouldn't budge. It's not like he couldn't do it, but it was more like, he was afraid to see the the reality that he had personally avoided for the past four years. Naturally, he knew that he couldn't stand there forever and let his burning curiosity ignite into a mental hell. Shallow yet steady breaths escaped his lips when he slowly began to feel faint. He opened his eyes to see doors that faced each other down a long and dark hall. Down the rear of the narrow walkway it was visible to see a dark and limp figure, standing beside the doors.
Lovino finally took the chance to look around the room: the kitchen wasn't there anymore - but a single object was beside him in the dark room, a broken recorder that played the same scratched Italian disk. Hands, arms, and legs seems fine. The balance was a little off and his bare body began to feel cold due to the exposure, but other than that he was pretty okay. His feet began to move, against his will, coming closer to the end of the hallway. Consciousness was overshadowed by his nightmare. He knew this wasn't real, but he felt a sudden need to know who and what was at the end of the seemly everlasting pathway to reality. The floor was wooden, old, and filthy; a cloud of dust would form with every step he took, yet he kept moving towards the end of what was waiting for him. The walls were tattered and held a few dark stains of a dark dried crimson. Lovino lifted his palm to press against the wall, tracing the outermost layer of the wall. "The walls were burned..." he quietly said to himself while feeling the minor crisps of what was leftover, on the wall, that soon form into a coal-like powder in the grip of his fist.
This place... seems so familiar, but he can't recall this area. The shadowed figure stood there with its head hung down low, hiding its face from him. Or that's what it appeared.
CLICK
Lovino's breathing hitched as he recognized the sound of something that he had always wished to forget. Shivers ran down his spine, his body froze, watching the quivering body before him. "This is just a dream, wake up!" he mentally shouted in his mind, "It's time for me to wake up!" In panic, he quickly shut his eyes and squeezed his fists before realizing that nothing was happening. The feeling of hopelessness in a nightmare, the feeling of knowing whatever he does won't work, frightens him. For a moment in time, he was quite infamously known to have nightmares in his early childhood. But the intensity has heightened to the point of insanity. The fear of the unknowledgeable truth that he was hidden for the past few years; the fear of not knowing your fate, furthermore the fear of not knowing what was behind him: the future enemies he will have to confront sooner or later. Turning around, would be the first step of showing confidence and standing against his fears. He took one step forward and braced himself for what was to come.
Is this the shadow... of death?
...
Organized groups of trained militants dashed past the rubble of the West Gate, quickly aiming and shooting down the oncoming Spanish guards. The instructions were made loud and clear to Laura, and it was her job to lead her unit and follow through the mission. A buzzing sound escaped her earpiece which alerted her that East Wing was on the line. She quickly pressed the side button to answer, balanced the oversized weapon in her hands, shot down an armed Spanish guard to clear the pathway for her men, and ran to a secure place to catch her breath, "Laura speaking!"
A voice began speaking in her ear as she carefully listened, signing her men the cue that there are updated instructions, "There is an opening in the building next to you. Alert your men."
Laura looked to her right and glared over at the rubble, dust clouds and fires sprinkled across the area. It would look obvious if all of her men were to follow her in the building, so she just might have to go in there in a smaller group. She watched the battle: everything was going fairly well. They had several other units that fought along with her's. At this rate, it could be possible for her to look for Lovino. With a smile, she reloaded her gun and wiped her moist, dirt-covered face,"Group A come with me! Groups B, C, and D distract them until I give you the recognition to go inside the building," she spoke in her communication device to her unit and awaited for a united chant in her earpiece of a promising, "Yes ma'am!"
Satisfaction triggered her to start towards the building with her soldiers, replying back to them, "Alright!"
...
Experience and time had made him older, but the sickening feelings of affection for someone had made him stupid. His back was aching pretty badly whereas his head was throbbing. The darkness of the room and the chirping crickets that sung to the night sky felt heavy in Antonio's heart. Lovino: the illuminating gleam of morning sunshine which unexpectedly softened him, was lying beside him on the cold ground, looking up to the pale moon. The painful strain that was placed on his right eye was easier to bear than the sight of the eerie stillness, that was almost sinister, to behold on Lovino's face. Antonio himself couldn't get up from the forceful impact of the explosion. Someone had bombed the West Gate: the closest gate to their location. Rubble and fragments of the ceiling that was blown off earlier was sprinkled all over their bodies. His memory was shattered in the wrong places as he tried to recall what happened.
There was a gun, a bullet, and Lovino in Office 1.
He froze. Antonio could hear the blood pounding in his ears as he felt every joint, muscle and bone in his body lock; for no matter how much he mentally screamed at himself , "Do something. Do something!" He remained frozen. There's a limitation in his movement and his mind, so there was little that he could do for himself - let alone Lovino. He couldn't feel, breathe, or process his thoughts right as he witness the oozing warm blood escape Lovino's head in a slow and steady fashion, that eventually formed into a thick pool that surrounded both their heads.
Was this the beginning stages of insanity, not being able to really pinpoint emotions, but rather blank out after tragic happenings?
Lovino had a peaceful expression when the trigger was pulled, just like now. Antonio knew that he should be crying, but his body was utterly numb. With all of his strength, he was able to sit himself up, leaning on the cracked wall that was behind him. He brought Lovino's top half to rest on his shoulder, and placed his quivering palm on Lovino's injury with pressure. That aching sensation of lost had dug a hole in his heart; it was excruciating. His breathing quickened and hitched in an unsteady tempo as he lowered his head with defeat, and began to cry. Whimpers escaped his lips, tears stained his cheeks and a dark blush covered his face. The wrapped bandages that covered his left eye, the slash marks that covered his face due to a self mutilation tradition that traitors like him was forced to do -was all in vain. Lars was gone, he was still forced to perform his duty of a Hit Man, and Lovino was fading away from existence. Even if he hadn't gouged his eye out, they would've suffered the same fate.
Calling for help would ensure Lovino's disappearance, so all he could do was try to stop the bleeding himself...
...
His gaze was unrelentingly focused on the bright screen, never noticing the shuffled steps that were coming nearer to Feliciano and the others. Fingers became a clutching white on the mouse as if his silent personal berations began to finally consume him. The loud and urgent message flitted their attention to Augustine as he said, " Enemy troops had tracked down our wiring. Pack everything up, do not leave a trace."
Not too soon after that statement, Feliciano's comrades quickly got up and started packing their gear. However, Feliciano slammed his fist on the desktop and stood up, flabbergasted, and whispered to himself with disbelief, "What?" The room was aligned, yet chaotic as his peers around him quickly packed the wires that were once neatly plugged in the different sockets throughout the room. Taking a stand, Augustine led everyone in the room with a very composed look, contradicting Feliciano's actions. This pulsing feeling that made it harder for him to breathe. The sweat that clung on his shirt and body, including the death grip of the desk that supported his weight was almost dreamlike. But why does it seem that these uncomfortable feelings were something that he had experienced in a distant time in his life? Feliciano placed his hands on his head so that he could control his breathing, and calm down. After doing a quick breathing technique that Laura taught him, Feliciano closed up his computer briefcase, and shakingly packed his materials as he followed Augustine's orders.
The room was cleared out and reconstructed in a way that didn't make it too noticeable that people were in there. Everything seemed like it was going according to plan. After racing down a few flights of steps, carrying heavy computers, and praying to God that they didn't trip over any wires while running was completely tiresome when they got to the van. Augustine, of course, took the wheel and started the engine before looking in the rearview mirror, "Vargas."
Feliciano jolted up,"Eh-, yes sir?"
"Take the data chip out of the dispatcher and give it to me." This threw off people as well as Feliciano. It was prohibited to do anything like this.
One braved up and stopped Feliciano, "Sir, you can't. That woul-".
"I would follow the rules if the Spanish government isn't on our arses," Augustine turned around from his seat and glared at everyone, "We are going to finish this mission, no matter what."
Following the simple instructions, Feliciano did as he was told and gave him the memory chip. If he was determined to complete this mission, than Feliciano has no choice but to trust him. The glowing clear chip was exserted out of the computer as Feliciano gave Augustine both the computer and memory card in hand, "Sir, I promise that I will do my best to complete this mission alongside with the others." And with that, he let go of the device and quickly sat down with the others, ready to take off. Augustine looked at the computer, placed a mysterious object at the bottom and whispered, "This should be good enough." To Feliciano's surprise, as well as the others, Augustine tossed the computer out the window and drove off to the road.
A moment of silence overtook the vehicle. Feliciano looked at the soldiers beside him, then to Augustine, then to the floor with a frustrated sigh, "You… know you threw out my computer. Right?"
Augustine ignored the question, mostly focusing on the road and the others, "Everyone, continue the mission. I will constantly drive to mess with their tracking signal."
Feliciano scratched his head and looked around once more, then to Augustine who was yet again ignoring him, and then back to the floor, "Quick question sir. Why exactly did you throw my computer out the van?" He brought his hands up and shook his head, "It's not like I'm not confident in your judgement..." he stopped to think about what to say next, "But it's more like… we're all screwed if they get the computer."
"We wouldn't be screwed," Augustine's voice was filled with confidence as he smirked to himself, "They would be." He allowed his foot to increasingly press on the gas pedal, turning the opposite direction of East Wing. Explanations doesn't create confusion, but it indeed creates even more questions to clarify their understanding. And that was a risk that Augustine was willingly to take. "If we go to East Wing, the Spanish government could easily follow us and take out not only the us, but also the East Wing. And as for Vargas's computer, I attached a self destruct bomb that is in my control for whenever they get it," he turned the wheel sharply to the left, almost losing control over the dirt road. Suddenly headlights appeared from behind and gun shots skidded on the side of the back of the van. Feliciano grabbed the nearest person to him as the yelled in fear, "What was that?!" He already knew that it was clearly the sound of bullets hitting the rim of the vehicle, but a part of him was still denying it.
"Get the guns, they are behind us," Augustine stated.
Everyone done what they were told. A hidden compartment rested below Feliciano's feet, unbeknownst to him. After being pushed aside, Feliciano watched the dark flooring rise up and separate under his feet. Unlike him, the hackers quickly got a gun to their liking and did a few preparations to get ready for the shoot out. His eyes glazed at the uncountable pistols and machine guns that were coming out of the deposit one by one. While the van was still moving, the others soon began to roll down their windows and point their guns to the government trucks behind them.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
"Eck!" He placed his hand over his heart as he remembered the RPGs. But then, Feliciano felt his heart race when he realized that he was the only one without a gun. Teary eyed, Feliciano got on his knees and began scrambling around the vault like a mad person. All of the weapons were pretty big, but that wasn't going to stop Feliciano. He grabbed a pistol that even he thought looked light. Thus he grabbed it and tried to pick it up, more like dragging it, and concludingly gave up. Stopping, he recalled the words that Laura had told him before she left, "Use this if you are in trouble."
Automatically his hand reached his side, zipping down his coat pocket to grab what was inside. He felt something cold glide on the tips of his finger, quite shock that Laura had given him something like this. The handle fitted nicely in his grip as he slowly pulled it out to see the words Glock written on it, the magazine loaded with 17 9-millimeter rounds. The gun was black and dull compared to the shiny ones that everyone else had, but he didn't care. If this gun could protect him he wouldn't care if it's the last thing on Earth.
BANG!
A government truck was driving next to theirs, and the driver had shot inside their vehicle - almost hitting Feliciano. The driver pulled the trigger again, but founded that it was out of ammo. With this Feliciano quickly pressed the activation button to roll up the window, but apparently it was broken. Looking up, he clamp both hands together, "Please don't kill me! I'm still a virgin, and killing virgins isn't any fun!"
The man before Feliciano began to rise his weapon to the boy.
"Vargas duck down!"
BANG!
The gun sound was later followed by a screech and crash. That was all that Feliciano could accumulate at the time. He looked through the cracks of his fingers ,and brought his head up to see Augustine with a pistol in one hand and the wheel in the other, "What the hell are you doing?! You had a freaking gun in your hand, and what do you do? You give him time to shoot you!" Augustine sighed and continued driving, "Man u-"
BANG!
Augustine's hand gripped the wheel rather tightly, letting out a deep sigh before inhaling in again,"What the hell - Vargas what is wrong with you?!"
Feliciano dropped the gun on the seat and stared outside the window, "I-I didn't mean to shoot it's just-!" His hands were trembling. Was shooting suppose to feel like this? It's not like he did it on purpose, it more of an instinct, "It's just that someone was about to shoot you," his voice gradually became quieter with every spoken word until another sharp turn was made, knocking Feliciano off his feet and into the seat.
"Vargas, take the wheel. I have to get rid of them. There is no way in hell that I am going to put my life in your hands," Augustine placed the gun on his lap and used his free hand to unbuckle his seatbelt, "If I discharge the bomb, and throw some grenades, I should probably be able to slow them down." With this request, it was likely that he had never experienced Feliciano drive before, for he would regret that request. Feliciano slyly sat down on the driver's seat, watching Augustine open the roof door, setting up a machine gun to rest on top of the car. "Ve, so what do I do? Just drive?" Feliciano thought to himself while looking around, finding another road to turn to. And just like the safe driver he was, he looked both ways and turned his signal light on.
Meanwhile, the preparations for the grenade launch was finally ready. Augustine pointed the machine gun towards some of the vehicles' wheels or the driver. The target was set until he noticed something flashing at the back of the van: signal lights. Meaning, they were constantly on their tail, because Feliciano was practically begging them to make their jobs harder. "Vargas! Stop turning on the signal lights!" He yelled with frustration, his face was red with anger. How the heck can a guy be this useless? "Keep straight. Do not turn!" Augustine looked out once more to see that the target didn't move much, which was good. He leaned his elbow on the frame of the roof to get better aim, allowing him to kill the driver instantaneously. His finger almost pulled the trigger until- "Yes sir! Turning right now!"
"Hold u-!"
The grenades rolled off the roof top and Augustine felt the air knocked right out of his lungs when his ribs hit the frame of the roof door. Desperate to hold on to the roof and not fall, he clutched the closest thing to him: the trigger. Explosives and firearms rained down on the enemy troops, blowing up their vehicles and shooting down their men. It was indeed a victorious accident.
It took Augustine about a hour to calm down once things were over. However when East Wing proclaimed, "Operation Inquisition Completed," it was a feeling that Feliciano had never felt before. He had contributed to something amazing, something that would be remembered for days to come. The Spanish Government was at a standstill. The flags that demonstrated their patriotism was fluttering down in defeat, and the music that once crowded the streets was replaced with silence. Joy was no longer there, but fear certainly was. Entering the city of Madrid was undoubtedly uncomfortable to see. The sparkle in Feliciano's eyes was no longer there when he peered his glance from the confetti to the shut doors of homes. His eyes locked on a young boy that was peeking out his bedroom window. That was the case until his mother quickly shooed him away to close the curtain. Where was that feeling now? The excitement that he once felt for winning a battle was no longer there. A mental pain had stabbed him; it made him feel less human. He had watched these people suffer for a reason that even he couldn't explain. He thought about the dictator's upcoming adversaries, yet he knew that he shouldn't pity the enemy. Never, not even once, had he thought a country itself was evil. The people was not the enemy. They were the majority that were deceived to believe that their values must match with their leaders' beliefs on life - much like the Greater German People. "That's apparently how the world works," Feliciano thought. For now, he'd set this aside and focus on getting to Lovino...
...
An unexpected reunion had occurred for Laura. The man that destroyed her family sat before her alongside an injured man that bled from his head - supposedly he was dead. "Antonio?" was the only thing that she could say, feeling her lip twitch downward as she walked towards the two bodies that leaned on the wall. With a second glance on the touch screen tracking device, she realized that the target was closer than she thought. Worry and anger came over her when the device began to rapidly rumble the closer she came to Antonio and the other body. The golden watch correspondingly rumbled from the male's wrist as Antonio soon started to regain consciousness, revealing his tattered and bandaged face to Laura. He was silent. He eyed the few dozens of people that surrounded them before dropping his vision to his right hand that held Lovino's head. Blood was smeared on his palm while crimson was wet and matted onto Lovino's scalp.
Outraged, Laura instructed her men to retrieve the target out of the man's arms,"Get Lovino Vargas and get him medical attention!" A pair of men grabbed Lovino from behind his back and by the legs, taking him out of the room of rubble. When Lovino's leaning body was no longer on Antonio's numb shoulder, he almost felt himself reach out for him. His eye was sore, but he couldn't help but stare awkwardly at the people inside of the room, especially the appearing figure that was walking closer to him from the corner of his eye.
A sharp roundabout kick hit his stomach, knocking him on his side. He looked up to see a blurry womanly figure that towered over him. The figure became clear but blurry on and off as he recognized her face. Another kick met his chest, but this time the heel of her military boot pressed against his ribs. Hurt, distrust, and betrayal were visible on her face as she grabbed his collar to shake him wildly, yanking his head back and forth. She was screaming something. It must've been important since her expression would change into a sad sincerity whenever she mouthed the words "my brother." Senses were at loss, and he felt his body shut down after experiencing countless of punches and deafening shouts. This carried on for awhile until the other troops began to stop her. They pulled her off, and tugged her away to follow the others. Right cheek was swollen pink, bottom lip was busted, and his stomach was bruised. Antonio's body rested on his side, feeling the trickle of blood escape his nostrils and on the surface of his cheek. Three of his fingers touched the oozing blood, his eye stared at the liquid, half lidded, as though he was in a trace. His eyelid felt heavier than usual, and his breathing was slowly coming to a longer and shallow breath. Still, the pain of losing someone was far greater than any physical agony. Pathways that once intertwined with each other had finally parted, going separate ways. But he would never regret meeting Lovino.
...
A year had passed after Operation Inquisition: the standstill of Spain, and his training had been pretty decent. His country had unified with the Greater German People after they had experienced a near financial crisis from the invasion. At the time, he was at the hospital on Independence Day - or at least that was what his mother told him. Supposedly he had suffered from a head injury during one of his missions a few years years ago, which eventually led to memory loss… Antonio knew that she was lying, but he chose not to recall his past. He'd rather focus on the future. Correcting his black tie, Antonio looked in the mirror , rotating his head to make sure he looked presentable. After satisfaction, he sighed nervously and grabbed one of the eye patches that hung on the dresser door and adjusted it to his liking. Smiling to himself in the mirror, he did a few goofy poses before being interrupted by a knock on the door. That indicated it was finally time to go and make history. He followed the guards through a long hallway that led to his mother's office. He passed a Spanish and German flag that hung patriotically on the red painted wall. Decorated portraits of past dictatorial leaders of both Germany and Spain faced each other across the hall. The slicked and shiny dark wooden door was opened as he was automatically greeted with stern faces. He quickly did a salute and walked to his assigned position. He mother was there as well as the dictator of Germany himself, Roderich III. But a new face had caught his attention. The young man's blonde slicked back hair and concentrated blue eyes surprised Antonio. On the profile, it stated that he was eighteen, but it was obvious he was experienced… The teenager was composed and mature for his age. Antonio glanced to his side to the Germans, and then to his mother. The old man begun to speak to the blonde in his native tongue before pointing to Antonio. The blonde nodded his head and turned his body to Antonio to stretched out his hand to formally greet himself. Antonio took his hand and firmly shook it. The blonde finally spoke, "I'm Ludwig, I hope we can be good partners."
Author's Note~
Thanks for waiting! This was actually a very fun chapter to write! With the help of FrauWolf and lmaolevi, I was able to really think hard about the military and government. So you guys better thank these two because if it weren't for them, I don't think this chapter would've been memorable like it was. To clear up the confusion, this chapter was originally posted on Wednesday, but I deleted and posted it on Friday, which is today. Not that many people goes on on a Wednesday, and that was my mistake for not acknowleging that fact. I will mostly post chapters on Friday, Saturday/or Sunday like always.
(=w=)~
Animefreak
FrauWolf - this took awhile. Like, yeah, the author rewrote this a whole lot. There was also at least one scene that didn't make the cut into this chapter, although it will likely be revealed at a later point. Also, the name Operation Inquisition was my idea, because I (and everyone I asked) thought that the original name 'rebirth' sounded underwhelming and less thematically appropriate. Animefreak supposedly researched all kinds of things and she is probably on a government watch list at this point, but at least we finally finished the world's longest prologue. Could've been worse. I honestly don't know what is going to happen, but from what I do know means that the suffering is just starting. How fun :3
