Things were a little, well, shaky for them after everything that happened. Not that he hadn't had shaky before, but with Laine, it was totally different. The first few days were nothing but eggshells before him, every step or sentence he made had a chance of shattering everything. But after time, he found her immersing herself in his world. Well, more so due to Heather and the bond they had developed.
"So I do have one question for you." she quietly asked, perching herself up on her elbows as they laid in his bed, surrounded by books, "I know you are the oldest of the two of you but how old in truth? I never fully asked that when we started talking about all this."
Gillen smiled, "A little over four hundred, but that's giving and taking a few years as being labeled as Prussia. Beforehand I had the title of the Teutonic Knight and with that power of being seen as an empire, it adds around another four hundred years or so."
"Old as the grandfather clock, huh?" she smiled at him.
"Could say that."
"Do you regret anything from those days?"
She would ask that one. There were so many things he wished he could change, see differently with nations and people but if it hadn't happened the way it did, how would things be that very moment if they weren't? "There are times I wished I could've saved more, fought more for right than wrong, do for good and not just ordered. But I take what I have learned and put it into today. Everything you see me do is from what I have learned."
Laine cocked her head at him, "So the sword and shield on the wall, they were truly yours at one point?"
Gillen nodded, leaving his spot and approached the wall. The sword glistened in the late afternoon sun, bringing memories to him as he took it from its home, wielding the heavy metal once more, "That they were."
"Wow."
He looked over at her, watching her face fill with awe as he twirled it around and moved it within the air. She reminded him of Lutz when he was just a tyke, marveled with who he was and what he could do. Placing it back, he gave a small shrug. There was no more of that man, not much of him at least.
"Is that how you lost your arm?" she asked him.
"Ja, war is a brutal thing. Lost it in the Austro-Prussian War." he gave a small chuckle, "What makes that war ironic is the man I went to war with and who I lost it to is the very one we are in search for."
"Roland?"
"That very one. He thought I was just one of the regular soldiers and brought it down on me and kept moving. Wasn't until the war ceased that he realized it was me."
"Would that not see to be an odd friendship to have then?"
"Sometimes the strongest of enemies become the greatest of allies. That's one thing you can learn in any war. Many of us had banded together after wars to help the other. Not all, but a good sum."
Laine nodded at him, taking in more of the knowledge that he was. He was hoping he wasn't overloading her with it all, breaking all that he could but even then it worried him. He knew there was a lot within her mind, so much that she needed to learn and some she wished to never have from what he learned from Heather. But it never stopped her.
Laine gave a small sigh, "Well, onto a different subject then. What is tonight's plan with you all?"
He chuckled at her, "Starting to add little notions of our talk in your sentences."
"Well, I've been out here for a few moons, might as well develop something new to fit within."
Gillen shook his head, "And for that, tonight is the heist. We figured out how to get into Chrystia and found the high-security ends where he is being held at, with it, we should have Roland out by tonight and this nightmare will be over with AlphaCom and them having a hold of him."
"You're getting your friend back then?" she beamed.
"Hope so, we're excited for it."
"Where will Heather and I be?"
"She's with Zaira and Reid for the evening, and you are staying here, but you can see what's happening in the main office. All the computers are connected with the main ones at the hub. No reason for you not to see it."
"I'd rather not see you get shot again."
He nodded to her, tracing her face with his metal fingers, "Hey, that won't happen again. I promise."
Aqua eyes glanced up at him, "You truly promise?"
Gillen couldn't stop himself as he pressed a needed kiss to her cherub lips, hearing the small gasp and moan leave her throat. Her own hands pressed to his shoulders, sliding around his neck while her left hand tangled into his hair. Oh how he could get lost with her, everything she did breathed a new life within him. And he was just as eager to show her more of the world than she knew, but that was not the time.
Parting away, he grinned at her, "Of course. I will do all it takes to protect you, so that means I have to stay alive."
"You better." she gave a false pout to him.
The chill in the air gave him no comfort as he crouched on the roof, awaiting the signal from Viktor and Taito to take action. He was on edge, they were finally at Chrysantia, only steps away from getting Roland and ending the nightmare of missing one of their own. He prayed. God did he pray it was the end so he could go back to normality. Well, as normal as it could be with Laine in their world along with Heather. He just hoped that nothing else would pop out at them.
The loud bang gave him his cue to move. Kicking in the window, he let the sword loose in one swipe. Soldiers and officers ran towards him as doctors and more fled the floor, yet nothing stopped him. He knew he promised her that he wouldn't get hurt, but to get Roland, he had to get a little banged up. One. Two. Three. He dropped them one by one as he made it to the holding area Luciano and Oliver were yelling over the ear piece.
Four more explosions erupted from below, Lutz and Bartel doing their part as Taito's ravage pet went nuts on all those before him. No doubt that Bartel held Egil's leash in control. Steering down another corridor, he repeated his onslaught, mowing all down that tried to stop him. He could almost see Roland's smug smile, telling him he took long enough and that he owed him a stiff drink afterwards as payment. And god did he need it as well.
Alarms blared as codes called over the speakers, he had to move faster. Just a little more before he was in the holding cells. The sudden pain in his shoulder stilled him for a moment as somebody drove the knife farther down. With a flick of his wrist, the sword caught the person, dropping them to the ground and letting him have full view of the doctor in the ground.
"Well, not what I'm used to." he said pulling the knife out.
"You're like him?" the doctor gawked up at him.
Now he was curious, placing the blade to the man's throat, he pushed him to the wall and glared at him, "Like who?"
"The man that we took over. He's the perfect human being. He heals and has the perfect amount of muscle and mass and doesn't seem to age in any sort. His DNA and biomes are astronomical and astounding. He really is the perfect person."
Gillen sneered at him, "Perfect huh, what do you people know of perfection?"
The man smiled, "Can't you see? A perfect human never suffering illnesses or diseases, can survive the greatest of ailments of war and suffering, just to wake the next day like it was nothing. A possibility of immortality."
Now he was getting pissed, "So it's not just Perfection you're after, but Immortality."
"Why can't you see it? To never die or worry of death-"
"And what about loved ones that don't make that line? Would you be willing to watch everyone and things that you love so dearly die as you live on? What about the world, once it becomes too populated to feed, source, and care for those that are immortal like you claim?"
The doctor gave a blank stare, only to shock him with his answer, "Only those worthy of perfection will get it, everything else is just a failed mentionable."
"You mean who's banks can deal it out."
"What's the difference?"
He had enough, quickly dragging the blade, he left the man to bleed out on the floor, knowing he had to give that tidbit back to them.
"Luciano, Oliver-"
"We heard it and got it." Luciano cut him off, "Seems our thoughts are farther from Perfection."
"And if that's the case," Oliver chimed in, "We have bigger issues to deal with."
"We'll have to sit this out afterwards." Gillen stated as he turned the corner, finally at the cells, "We're getting Roland back first."
"Should be the last one. It's the highest in security." Luciano replied as Gillen moved towards it.
Bullets rang past him as he darted into an empty room, soldiers filling the hall in wait for him.
"Not fair to bring a gun to a sword fight." he said as he readied himself to go, "But since when do we all play fair."
Darting out, he took out the legs of the first row and then spun to get the middles of the back. Each one dropping down as he moved as fast as he could, his body count rising by the second. After one last ring of a gun, Gillen dropped the last man and finally was alone in the hall. Marching to the door, he tried to budge it, yet nothing happened.
"Hold on a second." Taito's voice rang over the intercoms, "I'll open it for you."
With a click and his, the door popped open and finally Gillen pushed it open.
"Danke Taito." he waved to the camera above him, "And yes, I know I took way too long Roland. Kill me later but a lot has...happened?"
The room was bare. Nothing. Not a soul was within it. It couldn't be. He checked every inch of the room yet found nothing of the man. The chains on the floor had dried blood on them as spatter of it were evidence of his being there but Roland wasn't in there.
"Are you in?" Taito asked through the ear piece, "I see him not you."
"Are you all positive it was this room?
"Completely chap, what's the matter?" Oliver replied.
He looked over the room again, only to see something over in the corner. Jumping up, he grabbed the small device and yanked it down, revealing the camera and the truth within the room. Gillen looked at the small, square device, as it replayed a scene of Roland sitting in the chair within, looking abused and worn down. Dear god, they were played.
"He's not here."
"What?!" Luciano screamed over the radio, "What the hell do you mean by that?!"
"As in the man isn't here. He was at one point, but not now."
"He's right Luciano, I can see Gillen now." Taito backed him up, "Does the camera have a date within the recording?"
Fishing around on the device, he found the stamp card, only to be floored at it, "It's two days old. Someone knew we were coming."
"How in the hell is that possible?!"
"Do you really thinking I have a clue?"
"What ever the reason may have to wait guys," Lutz warned, "We gotta get out of here before the bigger guns get here."
"We can't just leave now, there has to be something that we're missing?"
A commotion caught him as the ear pieces seemed to be on the fritz, faint shouts and words caught him as it seemed Luciano and Oliver were fighting with someone only to go silent.
"Anybody know what that was?" Viktor finally chimed in.
"Abort the mission, get back here now." was all that roared through the piece.
"For what?" Bartel questioned.
"We have a serious issue over here, get your asses out of there, NOW!"
Without hesitation, Gillen left the wing, seeing the others jump into the vehicles and grabbing the rest that got out. Jumping out the window, he traveled along the siding, jumping ledge to ledge until the large truck came to sight below him. Launching himself off the building, he landed with precision atop of the heavy armored truck as they all drove out of the compound.
As the building grew out of sight, he made his way inside the vehicle, "What the hell is going on over there?"
"Not a damn clue." he heard Viktor reply, "Whatever the reason, has everybody at the hub in a fit."
"Last radio call we got in was Flavio stating for us to meet at the hub, that was all." Lutz filled him in.
"Whatever it was," Allen added, "Can't be good for all of us then."
The city cane to view, it's light glow in the late evening a dull reminder of what lived within. Yet the closer they got, the more his gut twisted in worry. Something was wrong but he couldn't figure it out.
"Boys." he heard Francois over the radio, "How close are you to Emmington Ave?"
Now his worry skyrocketed as he heard his home street, "About a mile or less out, why?"
Silence was the reply until the man let out a long sigh, "Get here."
No. It couldn't be. Looking out the small window, he was met with the bright flashes of lights on the main drag as it drove to his street, and that set him off. Ignoring the protests and shouts, Gillen leaped from the truck. He prayed it wasn't what he thought, that the house was ok and Laine was just waiting for him within, sick with worry over them. Jumping from ledge to ledge, fire escapes to awnings, he moved like a mad man, doing all it took to make it to his target. With a couple more jumps, he finally made it to the row homes across from their home, only to be frozen in place.
Lights of red, white, and blue filled the area as the homes two down from his own were doused in water, calming the flames that licked the window frames, and to his own, the door busted down and windows broken. He watched as a few of their own pretended to be law and secure the area, waiting for the call from Luciano. He couldn't move, no matter how hard he tried. What happened? Where was everyone, and where was his Laine?
Finally he moved, racing down the escape to the house only to be stopped as arms wrapped around him, "Calm yourself, it's me."
He heard Sakir whisper harshly in his ear, yet he gave no heed to the Turk, pushing him away to get to the house, "Get off me!"
"Gillen, stop, it's too late!" Sakir told him, "The moment we caught wind we ran for her but we ere too late, someone already has her."
He didn't want to hear that, didn't even want to believe it, but as he saw Luciano marching over to him, he knew the man spoke the truth.
"She's gone, Gillen." Sakir spoke quietly.
"Lies!" Gillen spat out as the Italian stood before him, "What did you do with her?!"
Luciano made no act to speak, yet before Gillen could speak again, the man's hand wrapped around his throat and pushed him into the alley, throwing him against the wall. Gillen pushed to fight him but the cool metal blade to his neck made him pause.
"Before you get your dick in a twist, listen." Luciano hissed at him, "We did do what we could and by the time we saw the issue at hand we were already too late. You should be damn lucky we know who did it."
Now he was on edge, "Tell me Luciano or I swear-"
"Keep talking and she may end up dead." Gillen shook with rage as Luciano finally let him go, his eyes digging into him, "The last video of surveillance we gained before everything went to shit was someone close to her and seeking revenge on you as well."
No, it couldn't be, "He was in the hospital, awaiting the surgeries and whatnot. I kept tabs on that."
"Yes, well, you also forgot he's tied with AlphaCom! So guess who helped him?"
Gillen couldn't speak, he knew if he did he'd just lose his stomach that twisted in rage and worry over her, "So what now?"
Luciano scoffed, "What do you think? You're like Oliver, tied to that woman in such a way none of us can think about it correctly. So we are getting her back."
"And how are we doing that?"
"Easy, I know where he's at. They have him in the same spot as before, waiting for slip ups since some of us use the hospitals. So, a little one on one would be great for him. And I know exactly who I'm sending in."
He could almost feel the heavy piece in his hand, hear the metallic sound as he tapped it to the walls, he itched to use it on the bastard once more. And he would stop at nothing to get Laine back in his arms.
"Say when."