Los Angeles, UEG 11 June 2005

Lisa Hayes had passed her French exams brilliantly though her mind wasn't focused during the first few hours all. She couldnt wait to end up and take a look at the news. She knew Karl would fly over Sacramento for the entire duration of deputy Seymour's rally.
What lisa didn't know was that he was on board one of the Black Parade's Hughes aircraft, the crew was armed to intervene from the air if necessary.
Lisa had thought about talking to her father over that situation for a few moments, but some sort of feeling discouraged her. She walked down the deserted school hallway trying to loose the heavy braids hanging over her back. As she dragged her shoes she untied her jacket and undone her tie. Coloured posters on the walls reminded the students the graduation ceremony in a couple of Hayes felt uneasy... She sat on a bench and picked up the phone.
- Karl...

Sacramento, UEG 11 June 2005

Sergeant Karl Riber Fruhling was deeply absorbed in calculations, while his aircraft was now already flying over the immense human expanse on the edge of Capitol Park.
-Damn it, how many people are there Skipper!? First pilot's stunned voice called him back from his thoughtful state. A tide of people squared away made a two-mile shield against the access to the old town from Capitol Mall. Karl arranged himself to calculate how many armoured vehicles on the ground were needed to disperse all those people.

Well, they were just theories, because he'd never even entered a ground charge even on the simulator. But he had learned that in some cases the fight could end up hand-to-hand fighting.

-that's not the case - he thought as if to calm himself down.
The racket of the plane's blades kept the young soldiers from hearing the shouts of the demonstratorsonly a few meters below. Buckets of deaf bass drumbeats that echoed the slogans of the dissidents in a sinister, almost funereal way.
-Hughes 1, this is Hughes 3, do you copy? Hughes 1, you copy?
the pilot opened the communications...
-Hughes 3, this is Huges 1, Garcia? Yeah.
-Riber... -said the sergeant on the line ... -Are you seeing it?
Karl wrinkled his forehead.
- See what? Hughes 1 over
- 45 north. in front of you, over!
Karl Riber turned his head slightly and soon his crew followed. it was true, right in front of them in the exact center of the Capital Mall parade a huge long banner was slowly rising on the arms of the crowd. A huge flag at least a mile long, scarlet red and glistening in the sun.
A shiver run across Karl's back
-Oh shit! -he sighed -Shit! He shouted louder.
It was a banner bearing the insignia of the Anti-Unification forces.

Rick Hunter couldn't see much in front of him, stuck as he was between several rows of people. The heat became more and more unbearable. The scarf around his face was suffocating, and he didn't even know the slogans of the Jessie Mark and the other guys were screaming with their left fist in the air, he decided to take a look from above with his flyaway app that he used to search for training routes with his mockinbird. Rick set the Capitol Mall coordinates so he could watch all the parade from above.
In a few seconds the smartphone spotted the park's area from about 300 meters high: the view from the drones was constantly disrupted by the military flying over the park, but despite this, one thingt could be seen loud and clear... above the heads of the marching dissenters, well that sign stood out as clear as day.

-Oh shit!Rick couldn't believe his eyes, he shook his phone screen two times to zoom in on. Just to see how the banner with the anti-government force colors was floating back there, just a few feet away from them.

-Oh shit! Jessie! -Rick grabbed the girl's arm by his side and got her attention.

-Rick, what's wrong?- Jessie looked at his face and frowned...

Rick said nothing and handed her the phone where the banner was clearly visible.

-Oh...shit...she sighed and instinctively turned around as if looking for an escape route.

-You knew about this? -Rick murmured.

-No I... Jessie took off her sunglasses and Rick saw that her eyes wag getting darker.

-Mark! Mark Jensen!

Jessica hardly went forward a few inches taking him by the neck of the shirt and forcing him to look at her. They chatted a few frantic words, but Rick couldn't hear them . Then he saw Jensen releasing a forced smile and Jessie soon get back at him.

She took Rick by the hand and squeezed his thin fingers tightly on his

-Rick, it's just a banner, we had nothing to do with it... but... she shook his hand harder - no way we're splitting up... stay close to me.

Rick scratched the back of his head with an annoyed expression...

-Hey.. don't talk to me like I'm your little brother or whatever... I can handle it.

-oh, I can see that - she said with a smile. She let go of Rick's hand and put her arm behind his back, laying her head on his chest. She smiled brightly but he couldn't see her because he was still wearing that stupid scarf.

Rick wrapped her with his arms and pulled her sharply towards him. She almost stumbled out of surprise. Rick felt incredibly confident and in the midst of those tens of thousands of people he could only see this girl: he couldn't barely imagine holding her in his arms like this. Jessie felt his hands stroking her back up to the top of her neck. She could feel her legs getting soft. It wasn't like her to do that in front of people, but now it was as if she didn't a quick wave of her hand she got rid of the scarves covering their faces and let Rick kiss her lips with her eyes closed. she opened them wide shut in a hurry. when an blurred, inarticulate roar of screams, close and dense explosions like firecrackers, the rumble of cingulate tracks and the whistles of gunshots made the crowd sway like an enormous drunken puppet. Jessie felt her eyes burning and she couldn't see anything because of the thick, white smoke, everyone was shouting something louder and louder but she couldn't discern one word. She grabbed on to Rick's back desperately clinging to his tshirt as she felt his body move further and further away from his grip, caught by the human mass around them.

-Rick! -she screamed, swallowing smoke. -Rickkk! In a few seconds Jessica had been dragged forward several meters. She was barely balancing and would have ended up on the floor if one hand had not grabbed her by the waist and carried her on some shoulders. She didn't know were she was, she only heard the voice of a man she didn't know telling her to hold on as hard as she could. Jessica Fisher felt a strong pain in her eyes and chest, the smoke had flooded her lungs, she saw almost nothing but could only think of Rick.

What I 've done...- she started to cry.

Rick Hunter had literally been dragged back by her legs staggered backwards as he lost his balance and felt he was falling backwards on his back.

Only his high sense of balance allowed him to stay on his feet. He flipped over to his right, spinning his body completely and colliding with other moving bodies. He saw nothing but dense, thick, white smoke and the shapes of people in motion. He had completely lost contact with Jessie but didn't realize that he was several meters behind. He stood on his toes trying to focus: -Jessie! he tried to scream, but soon his mouth and nose were clogged with smoke. He lifted her scarf back up to his eyes, all the muscles of her body were stretched out on alert.

-Hughes 1, 2, 3 -This is Stockwell do you copy!?

Karl Riber had been completely taken aback in the few seconds that followed the bombs dropped from the Stockwells. His aircraft, as ordered, had risen a few miles to allow the planes at dropping tear gas bombs. He couldn't see below, but he read the coordinates on the plane's monitor.

-This is Hughes 1, Riber Fruhling- he said in a cracked voice, trying to keep a cool head - Over.

-Commanders perform descent maneuver at 300 feet. Then prepare for descent.

The four guys crew turned together to look at Karl with an expression of astonishment. -They trust in me- Karl thought vaguely.

- intervention is required on the ground, gentlemen.-He said as neutrally as possible. - put on your helmets and masks.

-skipper... -said one of the young men.

Karl ran the back of his hand over his forehead.

-Wear the masks! Now!- he said harshly, then he opened up communication with his superior

-Hughes 1. ready for descent, over

Los Angeles, UEG

Lisa Hayes, sitting on a bench, quickly swiped her fingers on her smartphone in search of a direct of Sacramento parade. Her heart almost stopped when she saw on her screen that Seymour's colorful, peaceful parade had become a clash involving civilians and military forces. The journalist's voice came muffled to Lisa's ears and she still could not believe at what she was seeing on the screen. A huge dense cloud of white smoke wrapped the shapes of the people caught in the huge barricade on Capitol Mall. From the aerial images recorded by drones cameras she could see the great boulevard split in two sections. On theTo the left the area of the dissidents where tears and smokers were constantly pounding gas, to the left the parade with the governor's armored car besieged by soldiers dressed in the blue and black colors of the RDF in anti riot gears, the so-called Black Parade. All around a few thousand people who had followed the parade, including many families with children, disabled people and representatives of religious associations. From above, the vision was clear, and Lisa was able to see how the two sides were mixing dangerously and innersorably into a huge barricade on Capitol Mall. The journalist's voice arrived at times, processed by her mind, in the unreal silence of the school corridor.
"The pacifist demonstration called by some city associations was apparently just a pretext for yet another public claim of the Anti-Unification forces, now and rottenly rooted throughout California ... the RDF anti riot soldiers are quickly trying to locate and block any violent acts by disrupting the parade and dispersing the crowd with white gas ...

Sacramento UEG

Sgt. Riber Fruhling's team was descending from the ladder directly onto the ground adjacent to the park. The other Hughes were right behind them ready to climb down. In short, the park was lined with the anti riot military, while the helicopters remained at a very low altitude above them. In a 5-man formation, with the leader advancing like a battleship, they began running until they gained the other side of the park that flanked Capital than deciphering the orders coming from his superior's Stockwell, he could hear his heart beating loud and clear in his ears. Beneath the gas mask he clutched his jaw until it almost creaked. His eyes tightened and his muscles pulsed beneath the skin. There's no way, no way he'd put his hand on a gun. He held an iron truncheon tightly in his right hand while his left hand was pushing his men as they formed.
-Get in the barricade, disperse the protesters!
The order was just one, loud and clear
Disperse the protesters!? Riber quickly outlined the mode of action.

He could also communicate with his comrades via headset as orders were given directly by Lieutenant Sullivan, who was standing by the Stockwell main Karl Riber could not know is that once he had climbed the fence in the park, he found himself in the middle of a hell of smoke where an unformed mob of people were stirring and shaking in all directions. Through his oxygen mask he could focus better than the civilians around him, but his vision was still limited.

The cries of terror and anger overcame the calls for help. He didn't even have time to process this information that soon found himself surrounded by his men.

Riber watched closely the troops surrounding the entrance to the avenue, where the group of opponents had formed a rudimentary barricade with some town cars dragged away from the parking lots. He didn't believe his eyes. He quickly wondered how the Anti-Unification forces' movement had once again managed to evade the army's massive control network. Unless all this... was deliberate... he was surprised to think like that. He shook his head, it wasn't time to think, it was time to follow orders.

Riber lifted his truncheon over his shoulder. His direct subordinates followed him blindly, screaming. All the other units moved at the same time. The crowd of soldiers that had come from the sky mingled with the men on the ground, until the parade was stopped on three sides. Deputy Seymour and his entourage had been loaded onto a helicopter that was already flying safely to Kern base in Los Angeles. The group of civilians and protesters soon became a mess and there was no telling where a parade ended and what had been a cheering audience began. People shouted out trying to escape the police charged in terror.

Los Angeles, UEG

Lisa Hayes couldn't believe it. She was watching the news in a special edition, bent over her smartphone resting on her knees. A drop of sweat slid down her cheek and ended up on her bare leg. The commentator's voice came as muffled as thousands of miles away.

"Thanks to the action of the RDF military, the crowd was contained. For the time being, only a small fraction of the demonstrators continue to resist the Defence Forces. As you can see, the army has decided to deploy the war task force, the Black Parade...

The sound of small laughter made Lisa's ears vibrate.

-it's my nanny's fault, she's from the Quebèc. I mean, I've always talked to her in French, even now...

That was Serena Seymour, coming out of class with the French teacher.

Lisa lifted her head and stood up.

-Serena... she whispered in a broken voice.

The two of them turned back...

-Lisa Hayes! -Serena said, with her usual contagious smile...

Lisa advanced towards them by dragging her feet and handing the phone to her friend. Serena looked at her with a puzzled look.

-There was a riot in Sacramento... -She just said...

Serena stifled a scream by shutting her mouth with her hands...

-Father!

Sacramento, UEG

Mitchell Hunter and Alice Fisher stood in front of the TV in the living room holding hands. Alice tried every two seconds to dial the call for her daughter Jessica but it went straight to voicemail. At the same time Mitch looked confusedly at his cell phone where his son Rick's number was out of range. Alice's face was lined with tears.

-Maybe they're on class... said Mitch in a very uncomfortable tone...

-oh I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry... said again Alice in a moody tone.

-I just hope they're okay.

Mitch decided to contact Roy, but what could he do? He was in an aircraft carrier in the middle of the Pacific.

His attention was suddenly drawn to the reporter speaking from Sacramento.

-Alice! -He shouted out pointing to the screen

...The bomb was installed in the dressing room of one of City Hall's cellars and blew up two entire floors. The congress hall where deputy Seyomour's reception would take place is badly damaged... for the moment it's impossible to estimate if there are any deceased..."

A deaf and frightening explosion released a tremor under the entire street floor. Sergeant Riber Fruhilng felt that he lost his edge for a moment. Then a pyre of dark, sooty smoke appeared on the horizon, on the other side of the park near the dome of the Town Hall. He blinked his eyes in an attempt to focus but only saw that long streak of smoke, while the screams of civilians all around him perforated his brain.

-Stockwell 1, this is Riber Fruhling, do you copy? Stockwell 1 do you copy?

The transmission was extremely jammed.

-Sergeant, this is Stockwell 1- over

-Major we can't keep the crowd down, there was an explosion! - More than a question it was a statement and it didn't take Sullivan too long to give the order he wouldn't have wanted to hear.

-Riber! What's not to understand? If you can't contain the crowd, you have to shoot! Soldiers, allow your men to use weapons! Over and out!

The weapons... Riber's face lost all tone. He could feel the blood slowly draining from his body. He would have never fired. He couldn't. He felt his hand slowly grabbing the holster of his gun on his right side. He let it go and went back yelling at the crazy people who were still trying to get away: some were climbing the long-gates of the park and were beaten down, some were trying to reach the light poles by setting up a human ladder. It was just a matter of holding on until the trucks one could get outside the perimeter. Riber took the truncheon but merely issued verbal threats. The screams of terror were mixed with insults as well. Many people were openly challenging the military shouting, PIGS! and Get the RDF out from California!

The soldiers, faces covered starred at them impassive but everyone of them was fighting against the anguish that the situation could at any moment took the truncheon but merely issued verbal threats. The screams of terror were mixed with insults as well. Many people were openly challenging them to the cry of Pigs! and outside the RDF from California!

The soldiers with their faces covered faced them impassively but everyone of them was fighting against the fear that the situation could drop from one moment to the next. Karl's attention was drawn to one of his subordinates who bent over the floor vibrating kicks and truncheon blows without ceasing. A shiver ran through Karl's back when he saw an arm lifting itself from the ground as if to ask for mercy: the soldier responded by vibrating the stick with all the strength he had, Karl felt the sound of bones breaking.

-Nooooooo!

Sergeant Riber Fruhling caught the soldier and pulled him: with all the strength he got pushed him away.

-Soldier enough! -He growled with an anger he didn't know he had. Down below him, on the floor, a boy's body was writhing in pain, hugging his arm and ribs. His face was covered with a red handkerchief, but Karl could clearly see his eyes disfigured the pain and fear. He bent over him stealthily and ripped the handkerchief from his face...

He was just a kid.

Karl looked around and behind him quietly and quickly lifted the boy to his feet.

-Are you all right, boy?! -

-Leave me alone... -he said in a mixed voice. He had blood in his teeth and lips.

-Can you walk? Riber looked him straight in the eye.

- Can you run?

The boy nodded scared. Karl wondered quickly what he should do in this case. His direct subordinate had almost killed this he could have been a member of the Anti-Unification forces, or just a simple school boy who had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Within seconds Riber made his decision. He grabbed the boy by the shoulder and literally threw him into the huge hedge that parted the park's sturdy gate from the street.

-Stay inside the hedges, Don't come out for any reason until it's over...

The boy looked at him distraught

-Did you hear me? -Don't go out there. Don't try to be a brave or whaterver. They'll shoot you from above! With a wave of his chin, he pointed to Stockwell helicopters grazing over Capital Mall.

-You understand? D' you understand me? Now go!

Karl quickly returned to his men, trying to bring to mind the words of a prayer.

-Lisa...

Rick Hunter coughed a blood clot silently into his hand. He was lying crouching in a hedge as the pain in his arm began to show up. Only five minutes earlier, he had almost died... or rather, he actually thought he was dying. That bastard son of a bitch had beaten him with some kind of iron stick and beat him up real bad

he got gagged as he remembered the dull sound of the iron on his arm breaking. Then that officer helped him, he saved him...he tried to remember the name that was written on his coat. Rainer? River? Saved his life, temporarily, of course. Now it was just a matter of being found by some other bastard in the Army. Rick couldn't believe how this could happen. One minute he was walking on clouds in Jessie's arms. The next minute, he was in the middle of hell. A mint made his stomach jump. Rick bent over the tender grass in the garden and closed his eyes. The pain in his arm grew stronger and stronger. He thought of Jessie. possible she knew everything? he wondered if she was safe. His heart was beating like crazy. He thought about Roy... when they swore they'd both die in the air, flying. And now... he was about to die like a rat in a trap.

-I'm sorry Roy... Rick lifted his eyelids for a moment, then he lost consciousness.

Los Angeles, UEG

Lisa Hayes and Serena Seymour had left school with their hearts beaten to pieces, each with their very own fears. Throughout the afternoon, the two girls followed with anxiety the live news broadcast from the city of Sacramento. The fight between the dissidents and the military lasted until 3:00 p.m., until, the news said, due to the riot of the crowd and the need to save innocent civilians, it was decided to send a fleet of RDF jet fighters who had launched sleep gas from 400 feet this way, the crowd could have been sedated quickly. The black parade's military have been watching people for the next few hours. They were all in potential state of arrest, the authentication would take hours, probably all night until the next dawn.

Sacramento, UEG

Karl Riber stood still with adrenaline pumping through his veins. The sight presented to his eyes was simply indescribable. An apocalyptic scene where the soldiers dressed in gas masks wandered like ghosts in the midst of a mass of men, women and children piled up and asleep, dropped like empty sacks, on the sidewalks, leaning against the barriers, embracing the poles of light.

So this is war? - he asked himself dismayed. His thoughts went to the girl he had fallen in love, and a beat of pure happiness flooded his heart, because he was alive. He was alive. He promised himself to tell her as soon as possible how much he was in love with her.

-Lisa...

Los Angeles, UEG

Lisa Hayes couldn't sleep all night. Though she would have liked to stay in Serena's quarters, the Admiral didn't admit to any disrespect to her regulations, and before curfew Lisa had returned home, that never seemed so empty and hostile to her. Lisa hugged her pillow without ever losing sight of her smartphone, constantly shaking the news sites. She didn't hope to see Karl. The videos broadcasted by the drones showed still a huge smoke,it could be only seen the shapes of the Black Parade soldiers wandering in that Capitol Mall graveyard. Lisa still wearing her school uniform, layed on the bed trying to remember a prayer and praying that Karl was all right. She swore to herself that if he went back safe to her ...she would no longer allow anyone to tear him apart, she would ask and obtain her father's consent, and they would be together... She loved him so much. She fell asleep in tears.

-Karl...

Sacramento, UEG

Alice Fisher was lying on the sofa exhausted, her face covered in tears, as if she kept crying while sleeping. Her partner Mitchell Hunter gently lifted a blanket over her shoulders as he nervously smoked a cigarette. Despite twenty thousand calls to the police station and the Sheriff, there was no way to trace their children. Alice had collapsed when Jessica's school had confirmed her darkest fears. The girl didn't go to class that day, nor did Rick. At that point it was clear the two kids had been downtown, perhaps curious about the protest. Mitch guessed that Rick had wanted to see the RDF aircraft up close, but why did he say anything? He hoped with all his heart that Rick wasn't one of those bodies being held hostage by the military for identification. He prayed nothing had happened. Her oldest son, Second Lieutenant Roy Fokker, had his phone off the hook. Mitch would have wanted to talk to him, ask him for a word of relief. He would never forgive himself if his little boy... didn't want to think about it. Rick couldn't be dead.

Rick Hunter woke up in the same position. He'd fallen asleep on the cool, fresh carpet of grass that was starting to get damp. All his senses were alerted when he heard the screams of the soldiers a few yards away from him as they loudly and imperiously identified the people locked up in the Capital Mall perimeter. He could hear the helicopter blades above his head in the twilight. He sat down, the pain in his arm became increasingly sharp: he tightened his jaw as not to scream. Looking at the sun, he mentally counted the time until sunset, maybe an hour. He decided he would return to the farm, crawling through the hedge till the entrance to the riverside. Maybe with a little luck he'd be able to walk to the highway and then cut through the fields from there. His sixth sense told him it would be better to avoid public transportation. He was dazed, as if in the middle of a dream. Yet he felt extremely alive and awake, as if he had escaped an ambush or something: his whole body hurt, yet Rick felt strangely strong, ready to run, perhaps even to fight if the need had come.

- What you mean!? Roy Fokker's voice, on the other side of the line, was quite a growl of anger. His face on the screen didn't look any better. He was looking into the monitor with his blue eyes as if he wanted to perforate it.

I can't believe you let Rick go straight into that mess! He's only 15 years old for God's sake!

Mitchell Hunter dumped in a living room chair had no longer the strength to answer his oldest son's charges. The truth was, he was right, Rick had been neglected, left free to go and kill himself, to use Roy's words.

-I'll make a couple calls to some friends I have downtown- propose the Lieutenant calming down a little - I try to see where they going with the arrests and identifications.

-What? They might get arrested?

I don't want to alarm you Pops, but you and Alice should get ready to post bail for Rick and Jessica...

-You mean they might already be in jail?

Roy raised his eyes to the heavens, looking for a solution so he wouldn't yell at him again. Sometimes he wondered if his family had got a screw loose.

Los Angeles, UEG June, 12 2005

Lisa's phone rang early that morning. She pulled herself into bed, dazed, in a flash the memory of the riots in Sacramento back on her mind. It was like a knife pricking her heart.

-Serena...

-Lisa, how are are you?

Serena's face on the screen was a bit tired, but the girl was wearing her distinctive smile again...

-My father's home!, its great! -And listen, you should know he'll be at Kern's base soon with some of the officers who attended in his defense in Sacramento! There's gonna be an official press conference...

Lisa immediately thought of Karl. She hadn't heard from him yet.

-Lisa Hayes, are you there?

-I... yeah...

-How about you put on some boring fancy dress and come to the Base with me?

Lisa looked astonished at the screen

-But... I- I should ask my father's permission...

-I'm sure he'll say yes, of course. And you not dying to see Karl, then?

Lisa's heart was racing

-I haven't heard from him since yesterday and... and I'm afraid something's happened

Serena's face darkened for a moment.

-I see... but sure, he's fine I can feel it, I'm sure he's at the base as we speak. cmon Lisa!

Kern Base Los Angeles, UEG June, 12 2005

Clouds that filled the sky below had captured all the dawn's glow. The skies above, purple blue was lightened by the first rays of the sun... The soldiers aboard the plane, their faces ravaged by tiredness and sleep, watched without seeing, the wonderful sights before their eyes. All but one. Kern's base stood out clearly on the monitor.

-Kern 3, here Hughes 1- do you copy?

Sergeant Karl Riber Fruhling wore an earpiece and cleared his throat.

-Hughes 1 requesting permission to land - do you copy?

The voice of the air traffic controller exploded crystal clear and excited on the line

-Hughes 1, this is Kern 3, cleared for landing... and ...Sergeant Riber Fruhling. Good work. Congratulations on the mission!

In the background the soldiers could hear the laughter and thrill of the female on the bridge.

-See you there! over!

Karl opened his eyes wide for the surprise.

-Thank you, Kern 3... Over and out!

As landed the troops of the air mission were sent to the showers and instructed to wear the uniform with the ranks. They would also wear the formal cap with the insignia of the Black Parade. At Kern Base, preparations for the press conference were already in full swing. Major Sullivan made an official announcement that Karl and his men heard in the cafeteria while they rested. Deputy Seyomour had expressed his interest in making an official statement to the press at the California Air Force headquarters. That is why all the soldiers who were on mission in Sacramento would be parading in high uniform for the media.

-It is not inappropriate to remind you - added the Major smilingly- that this mission was an important success for our Defense Forces. Furthermore, it was decided this very morning, from the High Command at Alaska Base, to present to the press some new aircraf jet fighters, currently in production in our RDF cargo carriers in the Pacific Ocean. To all soldiers, our sincere thanks for your attending!

Clapping applause and shouts of pride rose from all the coffee shop tables to Karl's one: everyone encouraged the young men with a gesture, a wink or a smile. Karl stood up.

- Back in five minutes- said to his comrades - Meet you outside.

He ran as fast as he could in the dressing rooms and although he knew he was infringing an order, he turned on his smartphone, which had been disconnected for almost 24 hours.

The phone rang, once, twice, three times...

-Karl!

Lisa Hayes' face, blushed with surprise and excitement, appeared on the screen.

-God I don't think I'll ever forgive you for scaring me like that!

Karl Riber remained silent for a moment, unable to speak, attracted by Lisa's lively eyes that looked at him so softly.

-I'm so sorry, Lisa. Believe me, I couldn't...

-Don't worry, I... Karl, are you at Kern Base this morning?

-I...I was just calling to tell you there's a media conference and can't get off until this very afternoon, I think.

Lisa smiled satisfied, for the first time feeling like the keeper of a secret.

-I won't have to wait to see you on TV... Well, I'll... I'll be at the Base soon.

-Lisa?What? Is your father here?

-oh, no... I uh, I going with Serena,. she invited me so...

Lisa made a puzzled look

- But do you mind?

Karl wanted to raise some doubts, but he didn't have the time. The voice on the inside intercom invited all the soldiers to show up in five minutes in the Conference Room.

-Lisa... -I have to go...

-So I'll see you later?

-Later... Karl stood thoughtful for a moment. Then he put on his cap and rushed to the elevators.

Sacramento, UEG June, 12 2005

Rick Hunter had followed his plan to the end. Well nearly. When he got off the highway, alone with streetlights he ended up hitchhiking some truck.

-All that's missing is a Texas Chainsaw maniac loading me up! -he thought... But no, that'd have been too bad luck for only one day.

A young trucker in a red hat picked him up.

-what you doing out here, kid?

-Huh thanks, man- Rick said, holding his right arm tight to his chest. -I'm going home. I was... working the night shift.

-walkin?

-Well, yeah, they stole my bike- he lied

-McDonald huh?

Rick as he looked straight ahead...

-Uh..Yeah- he said, trying to look as casual as possible.

-See you'll find something better- said the young driver... -How old are you, 18?

Rick turned his eyes to him and breathed

- Yeah

- Well, McDonald's a rough job, but we've all been there... its right here?

The truck pulled over at the entrance to the side road that led to Alice's farm.

-it looks like a nice place... -he said watching the fields around, but Rick, as his goal approached, felt his strength was leaving him.

-You have no idea ... Well, thanks, man...

The trucker stared at him coming down the stairs of the van.

-And take a look at that arm - said pointing his finger in the air- It looks bad battered.

Rick greeted him with a wave of the head and rushed fast to the farm. He was thinking furiously about what going to say to Mitch and Alice... and Jessica? Maybe she was already home? He tried to arrange a sufficiently credible version to sell his father... he didn't realize he couldn't think clear anymore.

-Oh, my God, Alice! Alice, wake up!

Mitchell Hunter had been lurking the window as soon as the end of curfew alarm had sounded. With his eyes pointed down the path he watched the sunrise rays fill the air. For a moment he thought it was his nerves playing on his imagination. But when the shape of his son, staggering around and clutching his arm at his waist, appeared on the street his heart stopped for a moment Without even wearing his shoes, he ran out into the gravel, squeezing his eyes so as not to cry.

-Rickkk! It's you, boy! you alive!

Rick lifted his healthy arm by dangling his head, his hair unruly , his shirt and jeans torn and dirty. A few feet before he met his father, he let himself fall exhausted on the ground. In a moment Mitch was lying on the ground beside him and held his head in his hands...

-Rick! You okay?

Rick's eyelids went up for a moment, then he left his eyes closed and I seem to fall asleep.

-Something crazy Pops, you not gonna believe it... -he whispered in sleep and wake -you not gonna believe it...

Hi, this is part two. The ending of chapter 5 will come next week. Ty for reading and... please review!

Love, Mao!