I think this may be the quickest I've ever updated. But I felt a move of God so I went with it. Well here is the next chapter and where all the emotions flare and the plot drops and all that good stuff so enjoy
"ES.W.A.T soldier now, huh?" Keoni asked. The smile on his face hadn't changed. It was still as bright as it always was. "This is what you left us for?"
"No, it wasn't." I replied. "I was actually fighting in the war before this. But I got hurt and they found me."
"So, what, you think you owe them something?" he said, his smile was disappearing by the second.
"No, they wanted me here." I said firmly. "I'm here to protect this city."
"Protect the city, huh?" he chuckled. He dropped his arms and took a few slow steps toward me. "Y'know for a sniper you have a really hard time seeing."
"What are you talking about?" I asked. I noticed the 'utility belts' he used to wear across his chest swinging in his hand. Those things used to be littered with magazines and his little tech stuff, and they didn't look too much different now, just with less wires hanging out.
"I'm talking about how these self-righteous fools tricked you into fighting for them." He stopped directly in front of me and folded his arms. He used to do that to me all the time when he would explain things to me. His figure still towered over mine and he got much more muscular. "All they care about is protecting their own while the rest of the world is tearing itself apart."
"So why were you shooting at me Keoni?" I asked. I meant to ask earlier but since I really didn't want to answer his last statement, I went ahead.
"Why are you changing the subject?" Keoni said with an irritable smile.
"Well, you're supposed to me my 'big brother'. I didn't have my biological brother for very long but I'm sure he wouldn't shoot anti-aircraft missiles at me." I said, looking him squarely in the eyes.
"I can't hit you with missiles and you know that." He said. "You're the most agile and instinctively evasive person I know. I probably couldn't shoot you right now."
"So were you playing with me?" I asked. I was aware that some much more serious questions had to be asked, I was just trying to find a way to slip them in.
"Don't you even want to know how I got a WASP," he sighed.
"That was my next question." I replied. "You have anything to do with this bioroid puppet master thing?"
"Actually I do." He said. "Our initial plan was, since bioroids are becoming much more influential in this 'utopia' we figure that the only way to bring this place down is to get to them first."
"Who is 'we?'" I asked.
"General Uranus and his team. After we helped break him out of prison –"
"You let Uranus out of prison?" I interrupted, about to take a step towards my bike, if it was still functional.
"Yeah, your ES.W.A.T. buddies should be hearing about that right about now." He said with a cocky smile. I turned quickly back around to get to my bike but I felt his arm grab my shoulder. I froze.
"Let me go, Keoni." I growled.
"I can't do that again." He said. "You left me once and look at where you turned up."
"I'm here because I was brought here. I'm here because this is a structured special weapons force that I'm comfortable being in. I'm here because this place needs people like me to protect them from the war out there; from people like you who want to destroy the last piece of hope this world has for survival." I said. My voice shook a little bit. I guess I'm still somewhat hypnotized by his touch.
"And that's why I can't let you go again. You're exactly what we need. Your type of commitment is what we need to pull this off. When I learned that you were here, I thought that if I could talk to you I could convince you to come with me. And that's part of the reason why I'm here." Keoni said.
"I'm not going to join whatever little gang of ragtag mercenaries you're with, Keoni." I replied snatching away from him and heading for my motorcycle. "I've got everything I need right here."
He quickly grabbed for my hand. "That's the other part of why I'm here." He said softly. "I don't have everything I need. You're still missing."
"Keoni . . . ," I started. "I'll still consider you as my brother in honor of all the time we spent together at camp a few years back but I'm not going to join up with you because you miss having me tag along with you."
"That's not what I mean." He said almost desperately. "I mean, I know all I treated you like was my baby sister and as time passed and we got closer I noticed that you started to favor me more than anyone else. I know you had feelings for me then Tenari."
"Yeah, I did." I said slowly. "And I'm not gonna lie and tell you that they're gone because they're not."
"I didn't think so." He replied. "But what I'm saying is, before you left, when you sat in my room that night for about ten minutes just staring at me while you thought I was sleeping. . . ."
I quickly turned and faced him. ". . . So you were awake." I sighed. My heart began to jump in my chest. This was something I was not ready for. There was no type of training that could prepare you for this.
"Yeah, I was." he said with that soothing calm voice of his. "It was really bold of you to kiss me. Then I guess it wasn't because you thought I was asleep. But, right at that moment, I guess I started to develop feelings for you too. So a week after, I left to go find you. But I kept convincing myself that it was because I was worried about my little sister."
"You shouldn't have left then." I said quietly. "If you left and became this, I wasn't worth leaving for." I felt his grip loosen on my hand and I softly pulled free. I looked him sternly in the eye before I started for my bike again.
". . . So I guess this means we're enemies now." He said uneasily.
"I guess." I replied, never breaking stride.
"Well, as the old saying goes. . . ." he started. I heard his footsteps on the gravel. I quickly turned. He grabbed both my arms and before I could even react, he kissed me. I wanted to fight it; I had to fight it. But something inside me felt complete. It wanted me to just stay there with him forever. I could feel the anger building up in me from letting him kiss me like this. I'm a soldier. I don't have feelings on the battlefield. So why can't I push him off? Why can't I get away? Why do I feel this way? He finally broke the kiss. I wasn't sure what my face looked like, but I'm pretty sure I looked somewhere between satisfied, confused and angry.
"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer."
If my expression wasn't angry before it was now. "Why would you do something like this?"
"Because, I guess I'm in love with you." He said nonchalantly. "Couldn't help myself." He shrugged.
I was livid and speechless. I almost wanted to kill him and I didn't know why. I don't know where this aggression I'm feeling was coming from. But I completely understand why it's rising all of a sudden. First Deunan, and now this. It's almost as if I'm set up to fail here.
"Freeze." My original partner appeared from almost nowhere with a handgun gun pointed at my "aggressors" head. I looked at him with no intention of telling Tereus to back off. I was hoping he'd retreat peacefully and end this insane encounter before things got too out of hand at the prison.
"Well, I guess I'm caught." He sighed. "Then here, Tenari, take this." He held out his doubled belt. Tereus of course was leery of it.
"It's okay, he wouldn't harm me." I said, aggravation was clear in my voice. I took the belts and let them hang at my side.
"This is everything you'll need to find me," He said, taking a few steps back. Tereus followed with the handgun. "Whether you decide to join me or not." With that, he suddenly disappeared and just as suddenly reappeared in the WASP above. He looked down on me with a smile and a two-fingered salute before he rode off and then disappeared again.
"What was that about?" Tereus said quickly. "What is going on Tenari?"
I was already headed back for my bike. "I'll explain on the way but right now, there are some issues at the high security prison."
Whoo!!! That was great right? Well I won't know unless you review. So get to it. I don't know when the next chapter is coming; this one was fairly unexpected but be on the lookout. All my story alert people have no choice but to be though.