Angels with Newfound Hope
Act 2 Chapter 3: Contemplation
TRIGGER WARNING: This chapter contains depictions of attempted suicide. If you're suicidal or have had suicidal thoughts, please click off or scroll down to the paragraph marked with an asterisk(*). Thank you for enjoying Angels with Newfound Hope.
Alex's Apartment - Day 1, 9:40PM
Alex Thompson sat in the pitch darkness of his apartment, his mind a constant whirlwind. Sebastian had gone home for the night, leaving him to himself. He had already deciphered Reza's letter again before burning it. Maverick was already clearly not on his side with no possibility of it changing anytime soon. He didn't want any sort of evidence trail.
And yet, there was somehow still a tiny shred of hope that he would. The dragon clearly acted out of his own mourning for his fallen friend. And if he was being honest, he'd do the same if it were Chris or Macy.
They both felt a need to protect those they loved and cared about. The biggest difference was that Alex's loved ones were on the other side of a portal that apparently no longer worked. He was completely stranded here if that was the case.
The human pulled out his pistol. Mongoose never loaded the clips to their maximum capacity. Something about the springs inside. She clearly didn't pay attention to how much it was used. He needed the full twenty rounds for his line of work. But this time, he may only need one.
Nothing would matter anymore. His augments wouldn't be able to save him, and nobody would even notice until it was too late. He closed his eyes and placed the weapon to his temple. The cool metal of his silencer's shell felt bitter on the tender skin. Funny how it turned out... hundreds over the years have been at the end of that barrel. Now it was the executioner's turn. With increasing pressure, the trigger went down, bringing him closer...
Yet something kept him from finishing the job. A nagging at the back of his mind that wouldn't go away no matter what. The burning plasma of his bullet was right there, so why couldn't he finish this?
'What would happen if you did this?'
The man's mind became a whirlwind of unbridled thoughts once more. A growing ache threatened to split his head open as the trigger was let go.
'Think about your daughter. What would she do?' The pained grimace intensified as Macy's visage appeared in the blackness of his mind.
'And your friends? If you never came back, they'd surely be looking endlessly for you.' Alex gripped his head, his beloved Five Seven falling to the floor. Every friend he had ever made swirled around him with their own chastising voices.
'But most importantly... Bryce. What would he do if he found out you did this? If he found your body?' That was it. That was the straw that broke the camel's back. The human fell back on the sofa, tears flooding his vision once more. He couldn't dare abandon someone like his dragon. Images of a horrified and mourning Bryce cast out everything else.
* Three knocks threatening to bring the front door down violently tore him from his thoughts. Rushing to grab his pistol, the brunette carefully progressed toward whomever was there. The knocks erupted again with a chilling voice.
"I know you're there. Come out." Maverick's gravelly tones barely made it through. His target shuffled back a little, remaining silent for a moment.
"Why should I? The last time I trusted you, you nearly ripped my throat out." Alex spat through the door. He didn't give a damn how much he emotionally hurt the officer. He earned every last word of it.
"Just listen. I'm sure you're just as confused as I am about all this. Hell, you're probably pissed about what happened last night. But you're the only lead I have at this moment." The silver dragon tried to reason through the wooden demon.
"And why do you think I'd dare trust you? You tried to directly kill me not once, but twice in the span of a few minutes. Now you're at my doorstep begging me to help you? Fuck that. I'd sooner put a bullet in my head." The brunette argued with emphasis on the 'killing him' part.
"Fine. Maybe you won't mind if I talk to Reza about what you did to him last night." The officer threatened, walking off. Was he insane?! Did he not remember what happened to him just two weeks ago? Or did he just not care at this point? Either way, Alex wasn't about to let that asshole potentially get killed, hated or not. He barged out of the door with his weapon in full view.
"Are you fucking crazy?! He'll shoot you on sight." He blurted, garnering the attention of his adversary.
"Why do you care? You just now told me you'd rather kill yourself than help me." The blood-eyed officer snarled. He wasn't the only one angry about this whole thing, either.
"And now I'm trying to stop your loony ass from marching straight to your own demise. If you think there's any remote chance of reasoning with him, you're dead wrong. Look where my trying got us." The smaller male pointed between the two with his armament. It certainly wasn't a good idea to even have it out with Maverick around, but he didn't care.
"Yeah: my best friend's dead, and it's all your fault!" Said dragon jabbed a claw in his direction. "You never cared-"
"Shut the hell up!" Alex cut him off with a brutal roar that rivaled the officer's own from the first night. Fresh tears glistened in the serene moonlight as they streaked his skin. "Nobody cared about him more than me. I tried multiple times to save him, but he shoved me out of that lab. Don't you dare pin actions on me like that." Crippling depression turned to a determined venom in mere seconds. The words came out in a vicious snarl that made even Maverick take a step back. Never before had the ambassador been angrier than now.
"What the hell..." Was all the silver dragon said. It was an interesting feeling, using one of the humans' profanities like that.
"If you dare follow me, I promise you it won't end well for us." The smaller male left him with those final words...
Portal Hill - Day 1, 9:59PM
Alex crept up to the bush Maverick once hid in, observing Reza from the near-perfect concealment. He stood impatiently with the generator right by his feet. It was a sight that filled him with disgust. He was interrupted by light shuffling coming from behind.
"Freeze!" He growled at an advancing Maverick. "Don't move a muscle. Reza's looking right at us. If he sees us together, it's curtains. He won't give a damn what we're doing here." He explained, with the dragon begrudgingly obeying until his hand was brought down.
"Why are you even hiding? You're supposed to be his only ally." The blood-eyed officer came up, laying down to observe himself.
"Because you were following me like a complete moron. Were you even thinking? I'm just trying to gather intel from this asshole." The smaller male groused. It wasn't appreciated that his company was acting like a loose cannon.
"That's rich coming from the man who just threatened that same asshole." Maverick shot back, getting angrier with each addition to the verbal tennis rally.
"I don't make threats. Now you listen, and you listen good. I need to gather evidence against him. If you dare make yourself known, it won't be pretty. I meant what I said about Reza." He promised. The officer grabbed him before he could leave their leafy cover.
"You have two minutes." Was all he said before letting the human go.
Reza glared at the bushes Alex exited, wondering why he felt a need to hide. That wasn't like his only ally to do so. Then again, he was acting more aloof than usual. Maybe something had happened before he came through that portal...
"You're here. I was wondering whether or not you scared off that little blue shit instead." He addressed the approaching man with a very annoyed tone.
"Whatever. So why did you call me here." Said male brushed him off without hesitation.
"So we can send the generator back for one. As for the other: I take it that you did some snooping before you came." The hispanic decided it best to drop it. Those threats still hung all too fresh in his mind.
"The higher-ups couldn't hide a thing." The taller male groused confidently. He had really gotten a knack for snooping with his night job.
"I'm not sure if that's good or bad. But regardless, you know what we need to do." The hispanic gained a grim look as he referred to just one of his many crimes.
"Yeah. It's a shame..." Alex trailed off as everyone came to mind. He wouldn't be happy if he had to start playing double agent.
"It took me about a month to find out on my part, you know. But if you're already informed, maybe we could compare notes to confirm all this." Reza rambled to an uncaring man. His gaze was fixated anywhere but. And that was when he saw it. Not only was Maverick creeping toward them, but he was doing so with clear impatience.
"For god's sake." The human muttered angrily. His adversary glanced back at him to figure out what was going on.
"You say some- You! How dare you stalk me even here?!" The hispanic yelled at the approaching dragon. His hand immediately went to his belt, attracting a glare from his companion.
"Don't even think about it. I meant what I said at the cafe." Alex's words fell on deaf ears again as the largest male finished his small hike up.
"Alright, what the hell is going on here? What are you about to do with that generator?" At least the officer didn't accuse them of planning an attack this time.
"Back off, Maverick. We were-"
"Shut up! You two are coming with me pro- Ack!" Maverick reeled back as a bullet struck him in the wing. Alex didn't even have time to react before another hit him straight between the eyes. He fell to the ground, clutching his head as a third and forth buried themselves in the two's thighs.
"Let us die, then!" The criminal screamed as he bolted from the scene. The brunette couldn't even focus enough to draw his weapon due to the searing pain ripping his skull apart.
"Shit..." The remaining human dislodged the rather large bullet from his brow. It thankfully hit the thickest part, leaving no damage his augment couldn't handle. God bless that thing for its fantastic powers. The only downside is the surplus of scarring he received. The heavy footfalls of Maverick indicated he was forced to lie down.
"I didn't think Reza would be that quick to shoot." The larger dragon grunted as he inspected his injuries. His thigh would probably be fine, but his wing was a much different story.
"I tried to tell you." Was all the smaller male said, trying to ignore the blue glow invading his vision.
"Don't start with that. I'm already pissed he got away again." His company hissed. A short sigh was let out before he erupted in a bellowing roar.
"So am I. You think you're the only one who hates this?" Alex questioned whilst rubbing his ear canal. He cursed at how he just recovered from the tinnitus that earth quaking lab explosion caused, only to get it again from that.
"I know I'm not. But your threats certainly didn't help." The officer growled. His bared teeth only added to the vicious visage he built.
"Neither did your disobedience of my orders." The brunette fired back. This dragon was getting to him more and more with each passing comment.
"Those were orders? I thought they were threats." Maverick parried surprisingly calmly for someone who got shot twice.
"I already told you that I don't make those." Alex tried to make it as easy as possible for his company to digest. Hopefully he did so with relative ease.
"Yeah, yeah. You sound worse than I do on a bad day." The silver dragon brushed his company off like it was nothing.
"At least I was actually there for the one I care about." The human adjacent assaulted him with a grim tone.
"If you dare mention that again..." Maverick's gravelly tone turned to a snarl at the reference to the night prior. Before they could say anything else, Sebastian and Bryce approached them. They had come to investigate the distress call just like before. And like that very burning memory: Bryce was the one to check up on Alex.
"Hey kid. You okay there?" The chief's soul was racked with worry as he noticed just how badly the ambassador had been injured. Blood dripped from the tip of his nose as a blue glow sluggishly sealed the offending wound shut. Another on his thigh worked through the now stained jeans he wore.
Alex couldn't look him in the eye. Every time he saw the dragon, flashes of his mutilated corpse invaded. Keeping his eyes on the ground was all he could do to keep from losing it.
"Y-yeah..." He said in an already shaky voice.
"Are you sure? That head wound doesn't look all that good to me." Bryce double-checked with great concern. And yet, the object of it still nodded, eyes glued to the grass.
"I'm... I'm sure." The smaller male repeated in that same tone. His hands balled into fists as his willpower drained. Did he even remember at all what happened? What about those two weeks? How could he just pretend none of that was ever there? It broke his heart all over again.
"Hey. Stay with me, kid. I need you to tell me what happened." The chief forced his company to look him in the eye. His glowing bullet wound split his visage in half with a glistening crimson river.
"Reza... Reza happened." He noted sadly the frustration growing on his dragon's features. That was the last thing he wanted to do.
"What did he do? Can you give me something to work with?" Bryce pressed, gently taking a shoulder in his paw.
"I... I'm sorry. My head's a bit fuzzy..." Alex tore his gaze away and back to the ground. It didn't help that he saw that every time he looked at his dragon.
"He shot us both and ran off like the coward he is." Maverick cut in, saving the conversation. "Bastard got me in my leg and wing. Alex over there got hit in the head from what I saw." His boss' brows knit in deep thought as he took in the statement. The silence was far too tense for anyone to want to speak. Anyone except Sebastian.
"What're you thinking, Chief?" The runner asked, if only to break out of it.
"Get some help for Maverick and the Ambassador. I'll stay with them, make sure nothing else happens. We'll go after Reza after they're patched up." The stocky officer ordered without taking his gaze off the human.
"Understood. I won't be more than five minutes." With that, the smallest male left the trio completely alone. Alone with hardly anything but their own thoughts and company.
"Chief, I think I'll walk Alex home once this is over." Maverick finally piped up. The first word he spoke snapped their attention to him like a pair of whips. Bryce gained that playful grin he had on that first date.
"Getting cozy with the new human already?" He taunted flirtatiously.
"Wouldn't you want to know." The wounded officer stonewalled him, only making it worse for himself.
"Hah, I called it. Someone's in love already." The chief teased with even more vigor. Alex and Maverick glanced at each other with abject disgust before firing back.
"I would never date him in a million years!" They both spat at the laughing officer.
"Don't deny it, you're only making it worse! Ha-HAAA!" Bryce rolled onto his back, feet in the air.
"I'd sooner date you than this prick." The human jabbed a thumb toward his only ally in this whole mess.
"Oh? Is that an offer?" The chief rolled back over with a much more predatory grin.
"What?" Alex sat there in shock as his dragon's teasing turned to flirting. And toward him, no less!
"You heard me. Was that an offer you just made?" Bryce reiterated with a wink for emphasis. The brunette was completely stunned! He knew the chief was a flirt, but now? And while he was still mourning over everything?! The only sound that came out when he tried to reply was an embarrassed gurgle.
Meanwhile, Maverick lay back, enjoying the scene unfolding before him. It was nice seeing someone else get a face full of his boss' chronic flirtiness. The pleading in the human's posture was quite amusing as well. All that mutual affection he'd seen was completely forgotten against the tidal wave made by that horndog.
"I- I don't think-" Alex stammered. The memories came flooding in, drowning him in sorrow.
"You just said you'd rather date me." But Bryce cut him off before he could get another word out.
"That wasn't..." The human finally managed out. His soul gasped for some kind of respite, for relief from the torture that was his own mind. But none came...
"Oh, so it's something else you were after. You naughty boy." His dragon beat him back down with his own remark, patting his flank with his tail for emphasis. That was the killing blow for his poor target. Alex couldn't even begin to think. He recluded into the shell built from his own trauma once more. Those wounds were still just too fresh to manage.
"Alright Bryce, that's enough. You're probably going to kill him with anything more." Maverick finally decided to cut in and save this conversation-gone-awry.
"Aww..." The chief complained without uttering a single word. Also wordlessly, the human adjacent forced himself up. All that banter hurt his condition so much. It was just too much of a reminder of what he lost...
"Where are you going?" The silver officer noticed him limping away.
"I'm going home..." The smaller male didn't even look back as he limped on.
"Alex..." Bryce called out, making him look back. "I'm sorry. Did I do something wrong?" The remorse in those divine ambers still sparked so much. A tortured tidal wave flooded his stormy eyes as he gazed into his dragon's own.
"No, you didn't. I didn't mind at all." The man reassured him before returning to his walk. A single glistening droplet fell to the ground as he left the two utterly alone...