This follows chapter 37 (Little Tin God), as several people wanted to know what happened next. The AU began with chapter 19, so you may want to read both 19 and 37 to understand what's going on in this one.
The rescued children had been escorted back to the bunker, where Ruby would look after them for the next few days, and since Christopher was feeling much better he decided to join the others for the attempt to save the imprisoned women.
The first step in their plan was to eliminate the searchlights around the top of the wall surrounding the compound. Matthew and Christopher were the ones with rifle training, so they were designated for the job. With a limited amount of ammunition for the two rifles, each shot needed to be on target, and it was. From their vantage point at a distance from their camp, the two men quickly and efficiently took out each of the lights. Then they all withdrew and waited.
As they expected, three armed men from the compound stealthily approached the site from which the shooting had been done, hoping to catch the shooters. But instead, the Ballarat contingent came up behind those from the compound and quickly disarmed them without a fight.
"Please don't shoot us," begged one of the men, holding his hands up in surrender.
"We don't want any part of this," said another, as the third nodded in agreement.
"Just let us go," said the first. "We've been looking for a way out of there. Cooper is crazy."
Lucien exchanged glances with Matthew. This changed everything. "Are there others in there that feel the same way?" he asked the men.
"Most of them. Only Cooper's security force are still loyal to him."
"Is that right? And is there any way we would be able to tell who's who?" Lucien asked.
The man gave an ironic smile. "They make it easy for you - the guards wear red armbands."
"And the others? Would they be willing to help us?" asked Matthew.
"I don't know, they're all afraid of Cooper. But they won't oppose you anyway."
After conferring, they decided to hold the three men until daylight so they could be sure they were actually leaving the area and not doubling back to warn the compound.
The daylight hours were spent drawing up new plans based on the additional information. Rather than limiting the raid to a rescue of the women being held, they would attempt to remove Cooper and his inner circle from their hold over all the people in that place. It was decided that the previously rescued Lana would lead them all inside, then she, Jean and Alice would get the imprisoned women out of the compound to safety, while Lucien, Matthew, and the Beazley brothers would go after Cooper and his men.
"I should go with the women," Jack insisted, glancing at Lana.
Lucien knew exactly how he felt. He would much prefer to be with Jean, to keep her from harm's way. Maybe they should be content with rescuing the women for now.
But Lana shook her head. "It's better if it's just the three of us," she insisted. "A lot of those women have suffered at the hands of Cooper and his men. I'm not sure they'd be willing to put their lives in the hands of more men, ones they don't know and have no reason to trust."
"We'll be fine," said Jean, looking over at Lucien to reassure him. "We'll have weapons and we know how to use them if anything goes wrong."
"And don't the rest of the people in there deserve a chance?" asked Alice. "We can hardly leave them at Cooper's mercy, can we?"
Lucien and the other men knew the ladies were right. Somewhat reluctantly, Jack conceded his agreement to the plan.
They distributed weapons and ammunition. All three of the women had lightweight pistols. Before they had ventured away from their bunker, Lucien and Matthew had made sure Jean and Alice could handle the firearms safely and effectively, not knowing what dangers they might encounter on the road ahead of them. Lucien was certain Jean had the skill to hit her target; he just had to believe that she would have the will to shoot someone should it become necessary.
As darkness fell, they moved out toward the compound. The exit they had used before was now heavily fortified, but Lana knew of another entrance that would get them inside and somewhat close to where the women were being held.
When the darkness became total, Lana and Jack led the way in silence. They all made their way inside without incident.
At the point where they would separate into two forces, Lucien took a moment to pull Jean close and kiss her. "Please be careful," he whispered. "I love you."
"You, too," she returned, resting a hand beside his jaw and rubbing her thumb through his beard.
He reached up to squeeze her hand and reluctantly moved away from her. Matthew and Jack were similarly hesitant to leave their partners, and Christopher paused to kiss his mother's cheek, but all three men followed Lucien as they went in pursuit of Cooper.
Still moving as silently as they could, the men proceeded to the large open area in the middle of the compound where Cooper had held court previously. It was currently deserted. There were a few lights around the interior walls, but following the plans they had made in advance Matthew and Christopher found spots in the shadows where they could use their rifles to cover the entire area.
When they were in place with the long guns, Lucien and Jack began working their way around the outside, throwing open doors and ordering the residents outside. There was no resistance, but also no sign of Cooper and his guards.
At the last door, the one they'd seen Cooper head toward on their prior visit, Lucien and Jack stood on each side of it, holding their pistols at the ready and exchanging a look of concern. Unlike the people they'd encountered so far, Cooper's cadre would be armed and would not hesitate to use their weapons.
Lucien took a deep breath then kicked the door open. He and Jack entered quickly. They found three men inside, all half-asleep. Before they could reach for their weapons, however, Lucien had his gun trained on them. Quickly Jack gathered all the firearms and moved them out of reach.
"Where's Cooper?" Lucien demanded.
The men glanced at each other nervously but remained silent.
Lucien moved closer and brandished his gun menacingly. "I said, where's Cooper?"
When still no one spoke, he fired a shot that whistled just past the ear of one of the men. "Cooper?" he repeated.
The men were startled by the shot, but they still refused to speak.
The sound of the shot brought Christopher to the doorway to make sure they were all right. At the same moment Lucien realized where Cooper and the other guards were.
"Take them outside with the others and watch them closely," he told Christopher. "Jack, you're with me."
Not waiting for a reply, he raced outside and back in the direction where the imprisoned women were being held. Where Jean was. His heart was pounding as he ran, and when he heard a shot from up ahead, he was terrified at what he would find.
He rounded the doorway to see Jean holding a gun out in front of her and staring in horror at Cooper who lay on the ground motionless. Lucien and Jack moved quickly to disarm the two guards who had accompanied Cooper. When Lucien was certain that the danger was past, he went to the prone leader and checked his condition. As he feared, the man was dead. Sadly he shook his head. Jean's shoulders slumped in defeat.
When he was sure Jack had everything under control, Lucien went to his wife and took her into his arms. He could feel her shaking, not quite sure if she was crying or feeling overwhelmed at what had happened. He just let her lean against him for as long as she needed.
Cooper's guards were placed in the cell where the women and children had previously been held, with an armed sentry to keep an eye on them. The rest of the small community assembled in the courtyard to decide what happened next.
As the seeming leader of their liberators, they looked to Lucien for guidance, but he threw up his hands. "This is your community, it should be your decision," he insisted. And he linked his hand with Jean's as he led her outside the compound and away from prying eyes.
Outside he put an arm around her, and Jean leaned against him, still visibly shaking. "I know, my dear," he said gently. His reaction had been similar the first time he had killed a man.
"Lucien, I never meant to… he grabbed Lana and I could see she was terrified of him. I couldn't just let him…"
"No, you couldn't," he assured her.
Lucien led them a distance from the compound to an area of tall grass where they could sit and be completely hidden from the world. When they were on the ground, he pulled her to him and she began to cry with her face buried against his shoulder.
He held Jean tightly, feeling that he'd do almost anything to take away her pain. But he realized that with the fall of civilisation as they knew it, she might well have to kill again in the future, to protect herself and those she loved.
When Jean's sobs finally subsided, he handed her his handkerchief, and she wiped away her tears. "He was an evil man, wasn't he?" she asked, needing reassurance.
"Yes, he was. Lana and all of those other women can tell you just how evil he was."
Jean nodded firmly. "I know it isn't really a defense, but at least…"
He put a finger to her lips. "You had no choice, my darling," he told her. "And to be honest, these people are all better off without him."
He watched her lie back against the ground and stare up at him, slowly accepting what he had told her. From his own experience he knew what came next. She needed to reaffirm her own life, confirm to herself she was still alive.
She reached for him. "I need you, Lucien. I need you right now."
Without a word he leaned down to kiss her, and they made frantic love in the tall grass of this post apocalyptic world. Afterwards, they lay curled around each other as their breathing gradually returned to normal.
"Thank you," she whispered.
"My pleasure, always."
"I suppose we should make ourselves presentable before anyone comes looking for us," she said, reaching for her clothes.
"And see what they have decided in there," he said, nodding toward the compound.
She paused in buttoning her blouse. "I know we came here looking for a new place to call home, but I don't think I can live here. Not after this."
"I know, and I agree. Despite what the boys and Matthew and Alice may decide about staying, I think we should keep looking. Somewhere out here is a better place for us. We'll look until we find it."
You can lay your head back on the ground
And let your hair fall all around me
Offer up your best defense
But this is the end, this is the end of the innocence.