After all of the
fights and the lies
Yes you wanted to harm me but that won't work anymore
Uh, no more, oh no, it's over
'cause if it wasn't for all of your torture
I wouldn't know how to be this way now, and never back down
So I wanna say thank you
'cause it makes me that much stronger
Makes me work a little bit harder
Makes me that much wiser
So thanks for making me a fighter
Made me learn a little bit faster
Made my skin a little bit thicker
It makes me that much smarter
So thanks for making me a fighter
How could this man I thought I knew
Turn out to be unjust so cruel
Could only see the good in you
Pretended not to see the truth
You tried to hide your lies, disguise yourself
Through living in denial
But in the end you'll see
You-won't-stop-me
I am a fighter and I
I ain't goin' stop
There is no turning back
I've had enough
Portion of Christina Aguilera "Fighter"
Cammy silently cursed herself as she dug through her purse looking for her money. She had bought the bigger purse with all the organizational pockets to avoid this problem, but it ends up, the bigger the purse, the more stuff she accumulated. After finally finding her cash, she paid the sales person and sat at a table in the large food court, waiting for Wagner. He was late, but this wasn't an unusual thing. So she started eating, perfectly content with being by herself. A few moments later she saw Wagner come in from the main entrance. He was in his Air Force fatigues, which weren't out of place; actually here she was the minority in civilian clothes. His hair, being recently cut, was left free of gel or product of any sorts, so his true blonde showed through. His dark blue eyes scanned the food court looking for her, which again, wasn't made hard due to her clothing. Upon spotting her he smiled, revealing a five o'clock shadow appearing at noon, which meant he hadn't bothered to shave at all. He grabbed some fries from her plate as he sat down.
"Hey there. Sorry I was late. Guile left me a message to speak to him and I had to wait forever till I could get in there."
"Well his job is never done. You're lucky you got in."
"It was only because he wanted to talk to me. Heh, otherwise I'd still be waiting."
"What did he want?"
"He wants us to come to dinner tonight."
"Why'd he go to all that trouble just to ask us to dinner?"
"Well he said it would be just us. Maybe for nostalgia's sake or something? You know how Guile gets weird sometimes."
"Yeah. So how has you're day been."
"Long."
"I can tell, you wake up late?"
"What makes you say that?"
"The stubble?"
"No. I think it looks good. Makes me look older."
"It makes you look like you're wearing Daddy's clothes."
Wagner gave her a hard look.
"Okay, I'll shave tonight. Can't blame a guy for trying."
"No, but you…"
"Hey now!"
Cammy laughed and Wagner joined her. It would be nice for her to have dinner with Guile. They usually did once a week anyway. But she loved spending time with her family. Melissa, at 12 had become an outstanding young girl and Cammy loved being around her. She was sure Wagner felt the same way about spending time with the family. They had been tested so much and now it was time to savor their rebuilt lives.
--
Out of frustration, Guile finally banged his fist on the button to call his secretary and yelled for her to hold all his calls. The momentary silence did nothing to relieve his stress however. His desk was filled with files, old and new. Though he knew he would have to deal with this eventually he just didn't understand how they could do it. Shadowlaw had managed to slip under watchful eyes and rebuild their organization, and in only five years! It wasn't just the stress this put on him at work. His family, Cammy, Wagner, with Shadowlaw back in the picture he had to worry about them. Cammy and Wagner both had moved leaps and bounds in recovering from what Shadowlaw did to them. The past five years had been a time of growing together and building a life free of Shadowlaw's evil. But now, now he was going to have to tell them that the organization was at large again. It hurt his heart already. He could imagine Cammy's green eyes, so like her father's, growing wide in terror. All her old wounds coming back to haunt her. And he could already see Wagner's uncontrollable rage that he used to cover his fear, bursting out. He put his head in his hands and sighed.
"I know I can't hide it from them."
He was trying to convince himself that this was the best way to handle it. He was just afraid that if he told them Cammy would go on another crusade, endangering her life. He couldn't take seeing her harmed ever again. She had dealt with her demons and deserved to be happy and free. Wagner was still having some trouble. Guile recalled a few weekends ago, waking Wagner up from a nightmare of sorts. Wagner wouldn't tell Guile what the dream had been, but for the next few days he was shaken. Guile un-gripped his hands and felt the blood flowing back into them. He hadn't even realized that he was holing them in tight fists. He knew he was doing the right thing. Lies only lead to more trouble. He had learned that first hand. Guile was a man that learned from his mistakes, and then never made the same one again.
--
Grabbing a dish towel, Cammy removed a tray of rolls from the oven. Guile's kitchen was filled with the aroma of food. She felt her tummy rumble with anticipation. It was a treat having two home cooked meals in one week. After dumping the bread into a basket she brought them to the table where Guile and Wagner already sat waiting for the bread. It was her specialty. Not much you can do to screw up rolls. You just needed a timer. Wagner spoke.
"Finally, I thought my stomach was going to start digesting itself, I missed lunch."
"Funny, I do recall you eating most of my lunch."
"It was just a snack."
"Sure, sure."
Cammy sat down and the three passed around the various items of food and proceeded to eat. After a moment Cammy realized Guile hadn't spoken. She stopped eating and looked at him. He was eating mechanically, not for enjoyment, but to survive.
"Guile."
He muttered.
"Huh?"
"What's wrong?"
"Huh? Oh, nothing, nothing."
Wagner spoke then.
"Guile…"
He set down his fork and looked at her then Wagner. His light blue eyes were so worried.
"I asked you here tonight so I could talk to you."
Cammy and Wagner replied simultaneously.
"Yeah?..."
Guile sighed heavily and began speaking.
"It's been happening for a while, but it slipped under out detection, and now it's too late."
Cammy spoke, her voice close to trembling.
"What?"
"Shadowlaw is back in business. They are bigger than ever in fact."
Cammy froze and she hardly heard the sounds of Wagner throwing his fork down and standing up from the table. The entire table shifted as he pushed away at the table. Wagner screamed.
"What the fuck?! I thought that these bastards were finished?"
Guile remained calm as he spoke carefully.
"Wagner, calm down."
"Calm down! You are going to sit there and tell me Shadowlaw's back and they are bigger and badder than ever then proceed to tell me to calm down?!"
Guile yelled his voice tight and firm.
"Sit down!"
"I will not sit down!"
"SIT DOWN DAMMIT!"
Wagner was silent for a few moments. Cammy could hear his quicken breathing before he spoke quietly now.
"Yes, sir."
Wagner took his seat, but left his fists clenched at his sides. Cammy spoke, her shock not gone, but at least under control.
"How did this happen?"
"We knew it would. Or at least that they would try to rebuild. We weren't able to locate M. Bison or Vega. So them being alive increased the chances all along. I thought we had been keeping them under control well. But it's like they diverted us."
Cammy controlled her breathing and spoke calmly.
"I want to help."
"What you do does help."
"No, I want to really help. Taking pictures for military ID's and entering information into a computer doesn't help take down Shadowlaw. If you don't let me help you I'll find another way."
"No. I will not allow it."
Cammy stood angry now.
"So help me God, I am not going to let those bastards do what they did to me to someone else."
"I can't do it Cammy. I'm supposed to protect you."
"Dammit Guile! I am not a child!"
"You're my child!"
"Don't feed me that bull shit. You have us come here for a meal and expect to tell us that Shadowlaw's back and that we'll just nod and continue eating?"
"I was trying not to lie to you."
"Well you might as well have. I can't stand idly by while Vega's out there."
"You knew he was out there all along. Why's it different now?"
Cammy was silent. Her body betrayed her as she felt a single tear roll down her cheek. She gritted her teeth together as she roughly wiped the tear from her face. She pushed away from the table and ran for her car. She was getting out of here. Wagner had followed her out of Guile's home and grabbed her arm, trying to stop her. She turned and pushed him away with all her strength. His body flew to the ground. She knew she shouldn't have done that, he always forgets about her strength, something she really loves about him. But she was so angry. Wagner yelled out.
"Cammy!"
She turned then, her anger very apparent in her face and body movements.
"Thanks a lot for the help in there. I felt like I was on trial or something. It's good to know I have your support."
"Guile's right."
"Like hell he is. You would be right with me if you weren't already in the Air Force and able to fight those bastards."
"It's not like that."
"Then what's it like?"
Wagner wasn't expecting that question. Cammy shook her head and got into her car. She was going home to think about what to do. Five years she had put into getting her life back, and now in five minutes everything was in danger. She wasn't going to let it happen. She personally was going to make sure it didn't happen.