It had taken some convincing, but my dad had finally allowed me to be on the front lines with Miles and Garrett. I wasn't fighting, but I there for tactical support. I was also helping Miles with some secret recon on the sides. I met his spies across the Republic borders and brought the messages back.
I handed Miles a new letter. He looked it over, then looked up at me. "This one is unopened, I'm surprised."
"There was never anything interesting," I told him. He shrugged and sat it down on the table. "That one came from a Militia soldier," I told him. I tapped my foot impatiently.
"You can go," he told me.
"Miles, come on. Open it."
"Should've done it yourself."
"You just want me to be annoying, don't you?" I groaned. "It could be important, come on!" He laughed, but picked up the letter. As he read it, his face fell. "What?"
"He's gone back to our hometown."
"You're from Jasper, aren't you? You grew up with my mom."
"Your mom's quite a bit older than me, but yeah. We all lived in the same town. Mostly, I spent time with Emma."
"Oh, Aunt Emma, I haven't seen her since I was a kid." I remembered my aunt. She and my mom had almost looked like twins, despite the age difference. "Were you two close?"
"We were engaged."
"Engaged," I repeated. "How did I not know that?"
"Bass wants me to lure her out," he continued. "He's going to kill her if I don't go to Jasper."
I waited a beat, but he didn't say anything else. "I know it's playing into his hands, but we have to go. I'm going with you, so don't even bother."
"I wasn't going to argue," he said. "We can't tell anyone, they'll insist on coming. The letter says to come alone, but I'm sure Bass won't object to you."
OoOoO
We left as quickly as possible, without telling anyone where we were going. It was going to take a few days, which meant Miles and I had a lot of quality time together.
"So," he said glancing over. "You and Bass were friends."
"I'm not sure Bass has friends."
"You kept me from killing him," Miles reminded me.
"Yeah, I don't know why."
"So, you want him dead?"
"I didn't say that," I said. Miles just nodded like he understood it all perfectly. "I just think, maybe you were wrong about him. At least a in part."
He raised an eyebrow. "Really, now?"
"You said he was too far gone, but I don't know if that's true. I've seen him act, I don't know, like he has a heart."
"Care to elaborate?"
I thought about it for a moment and then shook my head. "You're just going to have to take my word for it."
"You aren't making a strong case."
I shrugged. "Fine, don't believe me. Hell, I'm not even sure if I believe me."
OoOoO
Miles and I ducked into an alley, out of view. I had never been to Jasper before. I wondered what it had been like when my mom was growing up here. "What now?" I asked Miles.
"We find Bass."
I glanced around the corner. "Looks like they're herding people into the church, maybe check there?"
He nodded. "Okay, let's make a plan. You go around-" I jumped up and headed into the square. I fell in with the others going inside. I did a lap around the ground floor, but Bass and Emma were no where to be seen. I hoped that I would still recognize Emma after all these years.
Finally I found a soldier I recognized. "Carlson, where's Monroe?" I asked quietly. He looked at me surprised. Carlson used to give me rides to Rachel's workspace back in Philly.
"Ciara, what are you doing here?"
I shook my head. "I don't have time for this," I told him. "Where's Bass?" I thought he was going to tell me to scram, but finally pointed upstairs. "Perfect. And, if you could, keep this a secret for now, okay?"
I headed up the stairs into the loft. I could hear voices coming through the door. I leaned on the wall outside to listen in. "Bass, I know you. This isn't who you are." I didn't recognize the woman's voice, but I assumed it much be Emma. There was a long pause. I looked through the cracked open door, and gasped as Emma kissed Bass. I slammed my hand over my mouth, hoping the noise hadn't been loud enough for them to hear. I backed into the hallway.
"I want to be the man you knew, but he's dead," Bass told her. I could hear his footsteps coming toward me, and panicked. I searched for an escape route that didn't exist. Fortunately, he didn't even look in my direction as he made his way down the stairs. As soon as his back was to me, I slipped into the room.
"Aunt Emma?" When she turned, I knew for sure it was my aunt. She still looked just like my mother.
"Ciara, is that really you?" I nodded and she opened her arms to hug me. "You've grown up so much." She held me at arms length to look at me. "You look so much like your mom did when she was your age."
"Thanks," I said quietly
"Is she here too?" She asked, glancing around.
I shook my head. "She was killed about seven years ago."
"Oh god, I'm so sorry, I didn't know. I haven't seen any of you in such a long time. What happened?"
"I wasn't there, I don't know exactly." I ran my fingers through my hair. "I came looking for you. Miles said you were in trouble."
"Miles is here?"
I nodded. "He told me you used to be engaged? I never knew about that." I glanced back at the door. "But I guess you and Bass had history too?"
She sighed. "Bass and I were complicated. Before they joined the military, we had a brief fling."
My eyes grew wide. "Connor, he's- He's Monroe's son, isn't he?" She bit her lip and nodded. "Oh my god."
"How do you know Bass?"
I sighed. "My dad is President of Georgia, and I ended up in the Republic for this arranged marriage. But my fiancé was killed. After that..." I trailed off, bouncing on my heels uncomfortably. "I agreed to marry Bass."
Now it was her turn to be surprised. "You're a president's daughter, and you're engaged to Bass."
"The same Bass who happens to be your ex, and the father of the cousin I haven't seen in sixteen years."
"Small world," she said, with a weak laugh.
I shook my head. "I can't believe he knew I was your niece the entire time, and never said anything. I was stupid to think he might actually care about me, but he really just wanted you."
"Ciara, if something happens to me, I need you to find-"
I cut her off. "Emma, nothing is going to happen to you. Miles and I came here to rescue you, and that's exactly what we're going to do. Okay?" She nodded, but didn't look convinced. "Alright, we need to get out of here."
As we descended the stairs, it was clear everything had gone into chaos. People were shrieking and running down the hall, toward the door. "They're going to burn us alive!" Someone shouted.
I looked out the window. "Oh god, they're torching the building."
Emma stood next to me, looking out into the square. "They've blocked the front entrance. We can go out the back, there's another exit through the kitchen." I followed her through the sanctuary. Smoke had already filled the building, and it was getting hard to see. We pushed through the masses clambering for the main doors. I heard a creak, and looked to see a flaming ceiling beam falling. I pulled Emma back just in time. The pews in front of us burst into flames.
"We can't go this way!" I yelled over the chaos.
"Then we have to go back!" She shouted. "Go upstairs, there's a door at the end of the hall, it opens to the bell tower. You can't get down from there, but maybe you can get Bass's attention. He knew I was in here, and he still set the place on fire. You, he didn't know about. I think you're wrong, he doesn't love me anymore. If he did, he would've come home a long time ago."
I shook my head. "I'm not going to leave you, Emma." She opened her mouth to protest, but I grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward the door. We ran right into Miles, who grabbed us both.
"This is the second time you have run away before we could make a plan," Miles said gruffly. "That's not how this works."
"I had a plan, run inside and find Emma." I motioned toward her. "I found her."
He shot me a look as we turned down another hall. "One day, you're going to get yourself killed."
"Is that day going to be today?" I asked.
He shook his head. "Not if I can help it."
The entryway was crowded, but I could tell people were getting out. When I looked closer, I realized why. Carlson and the other soldier were dead. "I think Charlie and Nora must have followed us here."
Gunfire sounded from outside. Miles pushed Emma and me toward the doors. I could see the Georgian army, interspersed with rebels. With their distraction, people were escaping the burning church. I lost Emma and Miles in the rush.
"Miles, turn yourself over, or I'll kill her!" I heard Bass yell. The square went silent. The crowd had dispersed when they realized there was a battle going on. I snuck along the backside of the square, toward the Militia. If I could just get close to Monroe, I could talk him down. At the very least, I could get Emma out of there. He continued yelling for Miles, to my surprise Miles didn't reveal himself.
"I want to see my son," Emma said quietly. I was close enough now to hear, also close enough to shoot. I grabbed my gun.
"Your son?"
Emma nodded. "You're his father." Before she could say anything else, there was a gunshot from the Georgian side. Emma and Bass both hit the ground. I screamed and ran toward them, unsure at first who'd been hit. Then Bass sat up, covered in blood. Emma didn't move. I grabbed Emma's hand, I could tell she wasn't going to make it. "Find him, Ciara. He'll trust you."
"Wait, Emma, I don't know where to look." Her eyes drifted close. I gave her a gentle shake. "Emma, where is he?" She was silent. "Please, please, don't die." I felt someone's hands under my arms. I was being lifted up and away from my aunt. I kicked and screamed and tried to get away.
"She's dead," the soldier told me. He lifted me into the helicopter as I continued to fight him off. Despite my flailing, I was somehow still strapped into a seat next to Bass. The doors closed and like a switch, my energy depleted. I fell limp into my seat. Slowly the tears ran down my face, until they turned into full blown sobs. I pressed my face into Monroe's shoulder. For a moment it didn't matter he might have me killed tomorrow. Nothing mattered anymore. No matter what side I was on, someone I loved was always going to get hurt.
