I never thought this story would ever receive very many reviews let alone 100 reviews! I am speechless and grateful and truly touched. Thank you SO much! You have no idea how much I look forward to reading your thoughts every time I post :)
Songs I listened to while writing this chapter:
O Children by Nick Cave
Designed to Save the World by Audiomachine
Winter Contingency by Martin O'Donnell & Michael Salvatori
Battle Cry by Imagine Dragons
In the End by 2WEI
Free by Switchfoot
In My Blood by Shawn Mendes
2020
Heathrow Airport Base/Ministry of Defense
Reset 292
Rita watched her team training from the sidelines. She was still a bit sweaty from her training session with Mei that morning, so she refrained from joining in. Pete was quiet, but Kamden was making him smile here and there. She knew Pete was taking things the hardest, just like she was. She worried about him.
Her brain couldn't stop thinking about things, things she long thought she'd buried. Tomorrow's battle was making them surface again, and she knew it was because she was very certain none of them were going to make it out alive. They'd been extremely lucky to make it this far.
Harvey took down the machine version of the Mimic and unleashed his rage at it, whaling on it as hard as he could over and over again. She knew he had some pent up rage over Travis dying too. They did their best to hide it and joked around and managed to keep light hearted most of the time, but then there were moments like this where the darkness and anguish came pouring out.
But wasn't that just the way it was with grief? Rita would know. She'd certainly experienced enough of it in her lifetime.
She thought about Mei. The young woman reminded her of Keira so much at times it almost hurt. There was a similar attitude and outlook on life. If Keira had gotten to grow up, Rita was fairly certain she'd be there alongside Rita fighting this war. It was probably why Rita had been so drawn to Mei the first time they'd met. It was certainly why she spent time with her now.
"Sarge, you're just gonna stand there and watch?" Kamden asked, making a face at her.
"That's right," she answered. "I did my heavy workout this morning."
"I think you have more in ya," Harvey insisted.
"Do you just want everyone to kick your ass?" Kamden asked, smirking.
"Oh, so you think you can kick my ass?" Harvey challenged.
"Here we go," Pete said, chuckling. Rita rolled her eyes. Then she spied someone watching her, and she acted like she hadn't noticed them and crept off to come back around the other entrance. She stopped right behind him when she approached him.
"Hey, Rita," Luke said without turning around to see her. She wondered how he'd known. He always knew when she tried to sneak up on him. It was annoying.
"What are you doing here, Luke?" she asked. The sounds of shouting from Harvey and laughing from Kamden echoed in the air around them while Pete threw in his commentary here and there.
"I just wanted to see you," he answered, finally turning to face her.
"Liar," she said. Her heart fluttered regardless of fighting to not feel those damn feelings for him. They were always there.
"Fine," he caved. "I've been resetting the day for a long time now, and we have work to do."
"What?!"
He laughed, and she felt a bit annoyed. This was obviously her response to this news most, if not all, the time.
"Come on," he said, gesturing his head towards the exit. "I'll fill you in."
She took one last look at Harvey on the floor banging his fist to tap out while Kamden fish hooked his mouth with a finger. Pete was cackling in laughter. It had been a while since they'd laughed this much. It seemed foreign somehow.
She turned away and hurried after Luke, anxious to find out what was going on and how to win this war.
Reset 293
Luke tried going alone to see Brigham, but that had almost ended in disaster when he almost didn't get to pull his gun out in time. He needed Rita there to ensure he died. There was no doubt about that.
Reset 294
Rita was doing her push up right after Mei left, and she felt aggravated when footsteps came her way.
"What?" she asked, her tone making it clear she was pissed at being disturbed.
"It's me," Luke answered, and she lost her concentration and balance at the sound of his voice. She scrambled to her feet, feeling her heart race and her mind struggle to string words together. How long had she wanted to hear his voice? See his face?
"What the bloody hell are you doing here?" she demanded, not knowing what else to say. What could she say? I love you? I'm sorry? How did you know I needed you? How are you here right now? Do you hate me? She knew he'd see through her brusqueness and tough exterior. She knew he'd see her core and how vulnerable she really was right now. He always could.
"That truly never gets old," he retorted, smirking.
"What?"
"I've been resetting, Rita," he told her. "For a long time now."
"You have?" Her heart lifted. They were saved. They could win this war...
"Yes, and I'm exhausted," he said. "I'm stuck. I can't get us ahead any further, and I don't know what else to do."
"What are we doing?" she asked. He took a breath and explained it all to her, and she was left feeling just as stuck as he was. What else could they do to get that device?
"I even went there at night a few times thinking I could break into the safe," he said. "Turns out that's useless when you can't get the code for said safe."
"I think," Rita said slowly. "I think maybe we just have to keep doing it and hope that eventually luck is on our side."
"I was hoping you wouldn't say that," he sighed.
"I'm sorry."
"It's fine. It is what it is. I just have to deal with it."
"What time do we usually go?"
"In about eight hours. I tried all hours of the day, and afternoon was the best."
"Okay," she said, thinking. "Come with me."
"Where?" he asked, puzzled.
"Just come on," she said, turning to go. She had no idea what she was even doing, but she could see in Luke's eyes that he was weary and ready to break. Travis had forced her to take a few resets off, recognizing she'd needed them to avoid burnout, so she was doing the same for him. She justified that it was for the purpose of war still. She needed to get him back on track so they could keep fighting.
...
This was a first. Luke wondered what made Rita decide to steal a car and take them to Bournemouth beach. It was a long time since he'd been there. It had been one of those rare occasions his mother and Johnny would go on a trip for fun.
"This is very unusual for you," Luke commented when she parked. She reached behind to grab her rifle, just in case. The beach was abandoned (no surprises there), and Luke headed towards the water, breathing in the air.
"I thought maybe a change of scenery would help you refocus...get some new ideas," Rita replied, sitting down on the sand and resting her rifle down next to her. It looked very out of place there. So much so that it slightly unnerved Luke.
"Well then," he said, bending to undo his boots. She watched him kick them off and ducked and growled when he slingshot his socks at her. Laughing, he rolled up his cargo pants and headed for the shoreline. He could almost see his six year old self running back and forth with the waves while his mother laughed and Johnny finally dragged her out to get wet after her protests, and his heart ached slightly for a time where things hadn't been so focused on some type of war. He flinched at the cold water, but it also made him feel suddenly very alive.
"Aaaarrrggghhhh!" he exclaimed when something jumped on his back. He didn't even have time to react or see what was happening.
"Yes!" Rita exclaimed triumphantly, locking her arms around his neck and her feet around his waist. "I finally got you!"
Once he recovered from the shock, he started to laugh hard. It was true. She never could sneak up on him, and it wasn't for a lack of trying. He felt her giggling against him, and his heart skipped with happiness. She was warm on his back, and he liked having her there.
"You definitely got me," he agreed once he calmed down. She rested her chin on his shoulder, humming happily to herself. Luke reached to loop his arms under her legs to hold her up.
"You feel better?" she asked after a moment.
"Yea," he answered, turning his head to see her as best as he could. "But you know what would make me feel even better?"
"What?"
He ran out farther into the water, ignoring her shrieks of protest and throwing them both into the water once it was deep enough but not too deep. It was only up to his waist when he stood up. He knew she was afraid of drowning, but he also knew she tolerated water to a point so long as she could touch bottom. Rita emerged spluttering and swearing, and he laughed at her murderous expression towards him.
"It's cold, you arsehole!" she shouted at him. He splashed her, and she chased him. She caught up to him closer to the shore, and he blocked her tackle by catching her and throwing her up over his shoulder. Then she shrieked when he spun around as fast as he could until he had to set her down before he dropped her.
Listening to Rita laugh was the best thing she could have given him today. She was still trying to wrestle with him until he managed to catch the end of her sleeves and wrap them behind her at her waist to cross her arms in the front.
"Cheater," she said, her teeth chattering a little.
"It's called being resourceful," he corrected, pulling her in close. She rolled her eyes, but she was still smiling. They both grew serious as they stood there looking at each other. Luke let go of her sleeves to hold her waist, and the next thing he knew, her hands were holding his face and he was kissing her. When they broke apart thirty seconds later, he was going to suggest they head back when she kissed him again. It felt like 1998 all over again when they'd first started dating; kissing her was one of his favorite things to do. He could feel her shivering and was starting to get cold himself, but he didn't want to stop. He held her close and continued to kiss her as the waves knocked into their shins and the wind tussled their clothes.
She surprised him once again by taking his hands to push and pull them alternatively, twisting him from side to side. He smiled as she continued to dance with him, falling into rhythm with her. It made him think of the first time he'd danced with her in their English teacher's classroom. After a bit, he pulled her into him, and she slid her arms around his neck. He rested a hand on her lower back, lifting her a little before spinning them slowly. She left her arms around his neck after he set her down and encircled his around her waist. He closed his eyes as she pressed her face against his, swaying slowly.
"You're still my person," she whispered, looking at him after a moment.
"As are you," he replied. She looked like she might cry, but she didn't. He kissed her softly again, wishing that this moment could go on forever.
"I can't feel my legs," she said after a moment, shaking a bit harder from the cold.
"Me either," he agreed. "Come on." He lifted her up into his arms without warning, making her slightly yelp in surprise, and carried her back to the beach. He sat down, making her sit straddled on his lap while he pulled his knees up slightly. She slid her arms around his neck, her chest pressed against his.
"I don't think we can go see Brigham looking like this," she reasoned, looking down at their now soaked and sand covered clothes.
"I think you're right," he agreed.
"I can just reset you," she offered.
"In a minute," he said.
"Okay." She nodded. He couldn't help himself. He kissed her again, and she let him. The sun was warm at least. Having her in his arms was something he could die happy about, among other things. Her hair had come undone at some point and was wet and pressed against her neck. Her mouth was warm against his and tasted like the water. He could kiss her forever; he knew that. A long time later, they stopped to breathe, and he ran the back of his fingers across her left cheek gently.
"That was not my intention today," she told him.
"I know."
"I have no regrets, though," she added. He just smiled as she rested her face against his. He could just pretend there was no war, no Mimics, no resetting.
A noise made them both stiffen and turn to look.
"Mimic," Rita said, moving into action. "That's a Mimic." Luke felt anxious. Was it there to take the blood out of him? He didn't want to find out. He was on his feet after her as she ran for her rifle that was six feet away. The Mimic was faster, and Luke didn't even think as he grabbed her and twisted her around, taking the death blow from the Mimic for her.
Reset 295
Luke opened his eyes and felt both angry and sad. Why did everything good have to get taken away from him? He listened to Kimmel and Griff carrying on with each other for a moment before getting up. He went to the mess hall and ate. Then he went to find Rita. It was time to get back to work.
Reset 299
"When did you know that you loved me?" Rita asked, taking Luke completely off guard. It was one of those moments again where he was holding her in his arms and her face was tucked under his chin and resting against his bare chest. He'd taken another break from talking to Brigham for the sake of trying to figure out a different game plan. The man was incredibly stubborn. Luke wasn't sure how else to convince him to comply. There weren't really any other options than to keep selling how much he knew about things that would happen before they happened. He was doing what Rita had suggested. He was going to just keeping doing this until luck was on their side.
And, if he was honest, he'd really just wanted another moment like this with Rita, so that made taking a break that much more appealing. He couldn't help but feel like the end was drawing near, and he wanted to be with her as much as possible.
"Well," he said, running his fingers up and down her back lightly as he thought, "I would say it was during our first sparring session when you punched me in the face and then immediately hid your face behind your hands, apologized a million times, and asked if I was okay."
"Seriously?" she asked, lifting her head to look at him.
"No," he answered, a playful smile on his lips. She gave him a small shove out of annoyance.
"Luke," she said. "Come on."
"Alright," he said. "It was when you came home doing your victory dance after finally beating your father in your almost daily race back to the house."
"You remember that?"
"Of course. I still think you pushed him, though."
"I did not! He tripped!"
"So was it really a fair win?" he asked, teasing, and she pinched him in return, which made him just laugh and push her back by her face.
"I think you're still lying," she said suspiciously, getting back on topic. "I don't think that's when you knew."
"Maybe I am," he said. "Maybe I'm not."
"Alright," she said, moving to get up.
"Okay, okay, okay," he said, catching her and stopping her. They were both sitting up now. "It was the first time your dad was out late. We were just cooking dinner together, and you looked at me with this look that I still can't fully describe, but it made me see everything. You know how someone sees their life flash before their eyes when they almost die? Well, it was like I could see my entire future laid out in front of me, and you were in it. I could see it all. I knew then that I loved you, but I made myself try and move on from it because I wasn't supposed to love you, and we all know how that ended. After Lisa, I decided I would wait forever for you."
"Wow," she said. "I honestly did not expect that answer."
"What really sold it was the fact you were also trying to finish reading your book while you were cooking because you couldn't bear to wait to find out how it ended," he added. "It was just a very you thing to do, and I loved that you could be yourself around me." Rita reached to touch his face, and he rested his hand on top after a moment and moved to kiss her palm gently.
"I knew for sure I loved you when I thought you were dead after falling with me off the rock wall," she said. "But I have pretty much always loved you since the day you moved in."
He was looking at her intently, and she didn't say anything else. He moved in to kiss her softly again, and he cupped her face with his right hand.
"I should go," she said when they finally stopped five minutes later.
"Alright."
He watched her get dressed and thought about what things would have been like if they'd been together all this time.
"Don't let Farell catch you," she warned, pulling her coat on and adjusting the collar.
"I won't."
"I guess this is goodbye," she said, standing by the exit. "I'll be honest and say I don't really have a good feeling about tomorrow."
"I think it'll all be okay," Luke reasoned. She lifted a brow.
"Do you know something I don't?" she asked.
"Not at all."
"Luke." Her tone was a warning now.
"Do you trust me, Rita?" he asked. It wasn't the first time he'd asked that question, and she'd typically always said yes.
"Yes," she answered on cue.
"Then trust me," he said. "Okay?"
"Can you reset the day?" she asked. He did his best to keep his face blank, but she knew him too well. She slowly walked back towards him. "Luke?"
"We're so close, Rita," he said quietly.
"How many resets?" she asked.
"Enough."
"Why didn't you tell me?" she questioned, growing slightly agitated.
"I needed time to think and rework my current plan," he answered. He reached to pull out the pistol he'd hidden. "And time's up."
"Wait," Rita said, putting her hand over his as he went to lift the gun to his head. He looked at her as she searched his eyes.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Nothing," she replied, taking her hand back quickly. "Sorry. As you were." He looked at her intently, and he wondered if she was going to talk about The Unmentionable. She still said nothing, so he knew he'd lost this round.
"See you," he said. Then he reset.
Reset 300
Luke opened his eyes, and for some reason, he found himself thinking about his mother. It had been a very long time since he'd seen her last, and he remembered the last words she'd said.
"You getting up sometime today, Sleeping Beauty?" Kuntz asked, bending to look at him.
"Yep," Luke answered, shifting the covers off and sliding his legs out. Kuntz ambled off to the mess hall while the others carried on with each other. Luke walked by himself outside and strolled along past the buildings. He didn't really know what he was doing. He just knew he wanted to be by himself for a bit.
He went to his rock and sat down.
Memories of Brendan played in his mind followed by ones of his mother and Johnny. He absently traced the "R" on his wrist, thinking about the moment they'd finally given in to their longing for one another. Any time Mei had dragged him to a library, he thought about it, and sometimes he'd smile while other times he'd felt a little sad. Then he thought about how Rita had found out who he was and what happened that made her still want to be with him anyway. He wondered now if she should have just stayed away from him.
Luke pressed a hand to his face and closed his eyes. He thought about Annie next. Her life had ended so tragically, and he blamed himself for it every single day. He'd failed her too.
He heard footsteps and turned to see Rita standing behind him. He felt surprised.
"Hey," he said.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice sounding aggravated.
"I just needed a place to think," he answered truthfully. He took in her expression and remembered it was her quiet place too. "Sorry, am I intruding?"
"I want to know why you're here. At this base," she said more strongly. He groaned inwardly. This again. He had to admit that he was growing a bit tired of having the same conversations over and over again.
"I'll answer when you tell me why you're here," he replied. She stared at him, jaw set.
"You shouldn't have come here," she said, turning to leave.
"You shouldn't pretend you've got your shit together," he countered, "but we all like to do things we shouldn't do, right?"
"I do have my shit together," she snapped.
"You really don't," he said, gesturing. "But that's okay. You're only human."
Rita said nothing else as she started to walk away.
"The way he died is something I think about and regret every single day of my life," Luke called after her, and she paused but didn't turn around. "I let him make me believe his way was the right way and only way, and for that, I apologize from the bottom of my heart. I'm sorry, Rita." She still didn't turn around, and after a moment, she started walking away again.
Luke just watched her go. He slid his fingers into his side pocket, ran his thumb across the little diamonds on the ring there, and wondered if there would ever be a right time to give it to her.
...
Rita barely got somewhere private before the tears slipped out. How could he do that to her? Her emotions were already all over the place after finding out he was on the base with her. She'd gone looking for him with the intention of being her past self but wound up being her tough self and demanding why he'd come only to find him apologetic about her father?! After 17 years, that's what was on his mind? That was the first thing he'd bring up? Not the fact she'd abandoned him?
Hold on...
Rita stood up straight, her mind buzzing. Luke hadn't looked surprised to see her. It was almost as if he'd seen her before.
No...
"That bloody bastard," she whispered, spinning on her heel and running back. He'd done this before. That was the only explanation, and if he'd done this before, then that meant he could reset the day. If he could reset the day, then they could win this war...
"Luke Brendan Wright!" she shouted when she saw him walking back to the base. She barely noticed the other soldiers giving them surprised and amused looks. Something about Luke's expression upon seeing her and hearing the way she hollered his full name confirmed her suspicions. That and the fact he turned on his heel and started booking it in the opposite direction. She ran harder.
She followed him, weaving around the vehicles and dodging other people until she caught up to him behind one of the transports. Rita launched herself onto him right as he turned his upper body to see if she was still behind him, and she brought him down with his own momentum and the fact he tripped over his own feet.
"Aaaarrgghh!" he exclaimed as he fell with her on top of him. His arms wrapped around her instinctively as he landed on his back, winded. Rita did her best to ignore the heat she felt inside at his embrace. She wrestled from his grip and propped herself up over him, her hands on either side of his body.
"Shit," he groaned, coughing after finally getting his breath back. Rita pulled out her pistol and pressed it against his temple. His eyes widened in surprise slightly.
"What would happen if I pulled this trigger right now?" she asked him.
"I think you already know the answer to that," he replied. "Hence the football style tackle and takedown you just did."
"Why didn't you tell me?!"
"How was I to know you'd understand what I was experiencing?" he asked. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She felt confused. He hadn't told her? Then she realized, why would he tell her? He didn't know what she'd experienced.
"I...I'm sorry," she said, moving to sit next to him. He sat up slowly, leaning back on his hands. "I just assumed."
"You assumed I'd tell you because we told each other everything," Luke reasoned.
"How many times have you reset?" she asked, needing to know. If he had the vision, then they could work on finding the Omega and kill it.
"Not quite a full year's worth, but we're getting there," Luke answered. She blinked at him in shock. What?!
"Y-You've been resetting all this time and not telling anyone about it?" she asked in disbelief. She stared at him, and then she noticed the corners of his lips twitching. "Oh my God. You asshole!" She reached to hit him in the shoulder, and he took it willingly. He fell onto his back again laughing full out now. She felt annoyed and frustrated. How could he find this funny?
"Luke," she chastised. "This isn't a game."
"Oh, I know it," he said, wiping at his eyes as he calmed down. "But if we can't laugh, then what's the point, right?" He was looking at her, and she didn't want to agree with him. She had to keep her walls up. "I was going to tell you, Rita. I swear. I was just giving you a moment before I did."
"Where is the Omega?" she asked, deciding to just plow ahead and not comment on that.
"Don't know yet," he answered.
"You haven't had the vision?"
"Oh, I did, but it wasn't there when we got there, just a Mimic and an Alpha. It was fake...a lie. It just wanted to remove the Alpha's blood from me."
She noticed he said "we." She wondered how disappointed she'd been to find out it was all a lie. He was watching her, waiting for a response. She swallowed.
"So...what are we doing?" she asked.
"Trying to convince General Brigham to give me the device Dr. Carter made to locate the damn thing," Luke answered.
"How's that going?"
"Not very well. And yes, you've already shot him a few times. It doesn't work."
Rita almost smiled. It sounded like something she'd do to move things along.
"You flat out murdered him twice," Luke added, and she barely suppressed a snort of laughter. Then she grew somber. Like she said, this wasn't a game and it wasn't funny.
"I guess we just keep trying," she said.
"Yup," he agreed, nodding. He didn't say anything else, and Rita wondered what he was thinking. She wondered what she had done or said during all of these resets. Her fingers moved to touch the chain around her neck absently. Did he know?
"I have accepted that you're never going to tell me why you left," he said softly. She felt her breath catch. So she had held firm in that. It both did and didn't surprise her. In her mind, he knew damn well what he'd said that shattered her heart.
"We should get to Brigham's office," she said.
"Yea," he agreed. They got to their feet, and Rita kept her distance from him as they walked. She didn't want to be in close proximity of him. It was making her feel things again, and she had no idea how to deal with it.
...
Luke was feeling a bit hopeless, but as he walked beside Rita into Brigham's office and shut the door behind them, he suddenly had a good feeling.
This was the time that would work.
"What's going on here?" General Brigham demanded. Rita trained a gun on him as Luke stood with his legs apart in front of the general. "Why is my most decorated soldier holding me hostage?"
"Don't pay attention to her," Luke suggested, and Brigham looked at him finally.
"Who are you?"
"My name's Luke Wright, sir. I'm here because the fate of the world is at your mercy."
"Excuse me?"
"I'm going to tell you a story, and at first you're going to think I'm crazy, but the more I talk, the more you're going to believe it's real."
Brigham went to open his mouth when the phone rang.
"Tell him you will call him back," Luke said.
"Who?"
"Major General Beaumont. He's calling from Halifax. He will be delayed due to bad weather." Luke watched Brigham answer the phone while still looking at Luke.
"Yes? Thank you, Beaumont. I'll call you back," Brigham said, hanging up. He waited for Luke to continue.
"The invasion tomorrow is a slaughterhouse," Luke started. "We all die within moments of landing on that beach, and that's because the enemy knows we're coming. I know this because the first time I died, a Mimic called an Alpha died on top of me, and its blood entered my system. I now live the same day over and over again like they do. Sergeant Vrataski gained the same ability in Verdun. That's how she won it, or, should I say, they let us win that battle, but her ability greatly helped. I'll ask you to tell your secretary that everything is fine."
"Sorry?"
A woman entered the office then and looked startled to see Luke and Rita there.
"Oh, I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't know you had company."
"Don't worry about it," Brigham said, waving his hand dismissively.
"She's got those orders typed up for you," Luke said, "so you can authorize them. Unfortunately, she forgot the ones involving the fuel dump at Greenwich." Both the secretary and Brigham were staring now. Luke turned to the woman, who finished handing Brigham the papers. "You are Iris. You were born on September 17th. The general here did you a favor and stationed your son in Australia to be as far away from the war as possible. You can tell him that you just found out his dinner was cancelled." Luke gave Iris a smile, and she blinked.
"Um, your dinner was cancelled," Iris said on cue.
"You forgot the fuel dump," Brigham said back after rifling through the papers she'd handed him. "Thank you, Iris. That's all."
"Luke," Rita said.
"Just, give me a minute," Luke said back to her, holding up his hand. "And put that down." He gestured to her gun. She shot him a look back. Brigham looked alarmed.
"He's not gonna..." Rita started.
"Shush," Luke ordered her. "Just...let me talk." She crossed her arms and locked her jaw.
"I'm listening," Brigham said.
"This isn't the first time we've had this conversation," Luke said. "We've had this conversation many, many times. You are a very stubborn man. You refuse to believe me when I say Dr. Carter was right, that the enemy does have the ability to manipulate time. You won't believe when I say the invasion will fail no matter the size of our army. The only way to win this war once and for all is to find the power source and kill it, and the only way to find that power source is by using the device that's in your safe over there." He pointed, and Brigham looked at it briefly. "It doesn't seem to matter how many times I tell you that London gets invaded tomorrow, that we lose everything. I don't know what else to say other than the entire human race is depending on you believing my story, so please, believe me and help us out." Luke finally stopped, and he held his breath. Brigham fidgeted with his fingers a little before clearing his throat.
"So, if I did believe you," he started as he walked towards the safe, "and it's very compelling. I mean, the predicting the future tricks were very good, but Dr. Carter told me we need a live Mimic to use this device effectively. What use is it to you?" He opened the safe and pulled out the device. Luke's heart was pounding a million miles a minute. It seemed that today, luck was on their side.
"Let me worry about that."
"I disagree. You just said the whole world needs to worry about it," Brigham countered.
"Well, what would you do if you did believe me?" Luke asked.
"I'd find this power source and blast it to oblivion," Brigham answered.
"So," Luke said, "let me do that." He waited, and Brigham reached out to set the device in Luke's hands. Trying to hide his trembling, Luke gave a tight smile and nod.
"Thank you, General," he said. He turned to walk away, and Rita hurried behind him.
"Now what?" she asked him.
"I have no idea," he answered.
"You said he's never given it to you before, right?"
"That's right."
"Okay," she said, trying to breathe normally. "Okay. Let's just walk." They moved carefully together down the hall. Luke felt like it was too good to be true.
He was proven very right when they stepped outside.
"GET DOWN!"
"NOBODY MOVE!"
Rita spun and aimed her gun.
"WEAPON!"
He groaned.
Reset 301
Luke honestly hadn't thought Brigham would give him the device again, but he did. This time, he was going to go to the parking garage to steal a car instead of going out front to theirs.
"FREEZE!"
Luke grabbed Rita's coat at her shoulder and hauled her behind him. They ran for the stairs, managing to dodge the soldiers coming at them. They made it to the parking garage, and they jumped into the first car they could find. Rita hotwired it, and they were off. Luke examined the device in his hand as they flew around a corner.
"What do I do with this?" he asked as bullets hit the car.
"Stick it in your leg," she answered.
"What?" He looked at her, feeling a little bit nauseous. She didn't answer, just took it from him and rammed it into his leg hard and making him shout in pain. He immediately felt strange, and he started to see something.
"Luke? What's happening?" Rita asked, her voice far away sounding. "What do you see?"
Luke was trying to concentrate. He was being shown a lot of things at once in succession.
"Luke? Talk to me!" Rita yelled.
"The Louvre," he said when the images finally slowed down. "It's in the Louvre."
"Where in the Louvre?"
"Parking garage," he replied. "Underneath it." He saw it and knew it was the real deal. Then he yanked the device out of his leg and turned his head to look at Rita. "We did it. We got it." She started to grin and gave him a sideways glance as they skidded around. More bullets struck the car.
"Reset me," he said to her. "Now!"
She reached for her gun blindly, eventually taking her eyes off the road to find it. He saw the soldier too late.
"RITA!"
She gasped and slammed the brakes, but not fast enough. A soldier in a mech suit slammed down on the hood of their car, and they flipped up into the air before landing down hard again. Luke grabbed Rita's arm before his head hit the dash and he got knocked out. His last conscious thought was that they had a chance to win this war, and maybe, just maybe, they'd have a chance to repair their relationship.