Authors Note: I wanted to say that it's been awesome making this, it's been a fun hobby and I'm gonna keep doing it. But the updates are going to be much slower now, cause if ya'll know me then you should know I'm not done wearing the uniform yet. I must now prepare for the ultimate test, and that's all I can say.
It's good timing that this has happened though, cause this concludes Act 1.
Chapter 23: The Connection
August 6th 2010 1331 Hours
Sali, Ethiopia
The day was rather hot for Karen Low, she was unable to finish her nap. Even with the simple hotel room she was staying in, the air conditioning wasn't helping much. She wanted to relieve some stress after getting fired from her position as her General's personal guard. Even in the disgrace of her failing her mission she still wanted to prove herself to her mentor. HCLI had humiliated them on multiple occasions, she wouldn't let there be another one. Knowing that sleeping didn't relieve the stress she sat up and wiped the sweat off her face with her shirt. As she looked outside the window the streets below looked busier than usual. A few years ago this town was merely a village with only the basic necessities. Now because of the steel mill her homeland had built for the natural resources and minerals they were digging up, it had turned it into a moderately sized town with paved roads, street lamps, sturdier buildings, and even a park where the mill workers families would congregate. Just then her cell phone began to ring, she answered not really caring.
"Shi de, shi shenme?"
(Yes, what is it?)
…
"SHENME!? Zhe shi shenme shihou fasheng de!?"
(What!? When did this happen!?)
…
"Ni huale hen chang shijian rang wo zhidao ma? Ta ma de wo zai wo de lushang!"
(And it took you this long to tell me? Fuck it I'm on my way!)
The mill where her General was at was under attack close to half an hour ago and she was furious. After quickly getting dressed she grabbed her pistol and keys and bolted downstairs to her car. As she then speeded towards the mill, she then noticed several fire trucks heading in the same direction. Even worrying still that there were also several of her fellow PLA members dressed in body armor patrolling the streets and telling the town's citizens to stay indoors.
Upon reaching the plant her eyes widened in awe and disbelief, portions of it were on fire. As she then exited her car she was halted by two PLA members.
"Low Zhongwei. Wo hen baoqian ni buneng jinqu zhidao women queding mo fang shi anquan de."
(Lieutenant Low. I'm sorry you can't go in until we're sure the mill is secure.)
"Zhe shi yi jian junshi shijian wo shi ni de shangsi. Zouchu wo de lu."
(This is a military matter and I am your superior. Get out of my way.)
She shoved past the guards and ran further into the mill. Shell casings, bullet holes, and corpses with multiple stab and slash wounds were the ones she passed by first. Eventually she got to the smelting area, fire trucks were already on scene putting out the fire. She got the attention of one of the fire fighters.
"Zheli fashengle shenme?"
(What happened here?)
"Youren cong luzi li mifeng pai qi yali bingqie chui chulai. Zhengge matou yeshi huo de."
(Someone sealed off the exhaust pressure from the furnace and it blew. The whole dock is on fire too.)
She then realized that that was near her General's office. As she then ran toward the area she came across more bodies but these ones didn't have any wounds that indicated that they were cut. She then noticed one of the shell casings on the ground. They looked like smaller rifle rounds at first but upon closer inspection she realized that they came from a personal defense weapon and no one on the security team had one of those. There were also 12 gauge shotgun shells too, they didn't have those either. Who had raided their mill?
She then finally arrived at her General's office building, the guard out front let her pass but she then notice he had a look that she didn't want to see what was inside. She passed more bodies with stab and slash wounds, the sickeningly sweet smell of blood and gore filled the entire building. She then started running, gaining even more speed as she ran to his office shoving aside men trying to clean up the carnage. She then arrived at his office, and her worst fears came to life. His throat was completely ripped open and was completely pale as most of his blood was all over the carpet and his desk. Unable to handle the shock she threw up in the hallway. As one of the guards came to see if she was alright she swatted him away. On his desk, was a familiar looking blade stabbed into in, covered in crimson. She then knew immediately who was responsible, she would kill them. She turned to the guard who tried to help her.
"Tamen buneng zou de tai yuan. Wo yao hui dao zhen shang. Kaishi sousou."
(They couldn't have gone far. I'm heading back to town. Start a search.)
1340 Hours
We were lucky so far. This was one of the reasons why I wanted to do this a little bit more quietly cause we then could have gotten away quicker. We kept to the alley's and Sophia mentioned that we were getting closer to the truck, but the patrols were starting to get a little heavier. As we hunkered down near a dumpster, Sophia was keeping an eye on the patrol that was running past us. She then peeked out into the street.
"Ok clear, let's go."
I followed her across the street quickly. We were almost at the outskirts of town, we were almost in the clear. I then noticed that while she was moving normally she looked like she was hurting when she stepped with her right leg. There was blood on her torn pants.
"That cut deep?"
"Nah I'm ok. Just around this block, not much further I promise."
Promises. Like the way she promised not to do anymore fights to the death? Granted this situation was a little different she still made that promise after we were done with Dr. Miami in South Africa. I'm not gonna let her go off and try to get killed again, she was too important to Koko, the crew, and me. But then again she was superior to me in every way possible. I think that's what I like about her the most, no matter what gets thrown in her way, physical or emotional, she plows right through it. She still maintained her sense of self even though she's technically a criminal. But even though she can push herself farther and faster than I ever could, I don't think she kept this thought in her head like I often did.
I am only human.
We finally reached the truck, parked next to a storage shed in an alley with enough room for a car to maneuver through and park. But before we could start it we heard vehicles coming in our direction and we hid behind the engine block. She was keeping an eye on them to see if we were clear. I was looking her over, she was as bashed up as I was, covered in blood in which was both hers and others, and sweating profusely.
"If you ever do something like this again I will spank your well-toned ass six ways to Sunday missy."
She then turned around slowly and looked at me rather angry. "Excuse me?"
"There ain't no excuse for me caring about you. You can stare at me with that scowl all day but it won't change the fact that your more than my friend, you're family. And it would break the hearts of everyone on the team."
She knew I was right, and acknowledged a smile asking for forgiveness.
"Are we clear?"
"Yeah, you'll be the first one I ask when I want to go on another rouge adventure."
I chuckled. "I meant are the streets clear?"
"Oops." She poked head up again. "Clear."
"Ok you start the truck and I'll keep a look out just to be sure. Moment you turn over the engine we bolt it south, we'll then plan what to do next. Sound good sweetheart?"
"Fine. And don't call me sweetheart."
I got up and moved towards the building corner. "Really? I recall someone drugging me and then calling me "handsome" followed up by a rather lengthy kiss on the cheek. You've got a hell of a way of telling a guy you like him."
Her expression then became frozen with fear and embarrassment, she must have not realized that I was fully unconscious. She was blushing so hard it was comical and her mouth was open in such a way that she could make out the words to express what she really wanted to say.
"Relax I'm just fucking with you." I chuckled. "Now start the truck. Let's go back to Koko and get our asses whooped."
She then got in the truck giving me her annoyed look, but with a smile this time.
Bang!
It hit like an out of body experience. Like you didn't know what in the actual hell just happened. As time then began to slow it was becoming uncomfortable to breathe and I felt a warm liquid running down my stomach. I then took my hand and placed it where it happened, right at the bottom of the sternum just under the rib cage center mass, blood. I then looked up and saw on the opposite side of the street was a woman, a woman I had not seen for some time now, Karen Low. I wondered how she found us, but that didn't matter, all that did was making sure Sophia got away. It looked like I managed to only let one person not become me, and I was fine with that.
As I fell to my knees another shot rang out but I didn't feel an impact the second time, I turned to her.
"Sophia, run." I said calmly as if everything was alright.
She looked like she was absolutely terrified. She then sprinted to me, slid in front of me and kneeled in front of me as if she was about to pray and pulled me close to her chest and her arms wrapped around me tightly.
Bang! Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
The shots were being fired in slow moderation, Sophia's reaction was only to some of them but she was feeling the pain with each hit. Despite all that she kept her grip on me and didn't let go. As I then looked up to her, she was crying. It was a hauntingly familiar image, and once again the memories of that horrible night came back.
No. No! NO! NO! NO NOT AGAIN!
She didn't let go, not once, instead her weight fell on top of me. I myself too weak and frightened to hold onto her. As Low fired off her last two shots, missing us entirely, she started screaming which what appeared to be no one in particular.
"WO TAOYAN ZHEGE SHIJIE! TA MA DE NI!"
(I HATE THIS WORLD! FUCK YOU!)
In that brief moment, time then returned to normal. I then remembered there was one thing that I cared not to use often because of the consequences that followed, that it got me out of any situation, my rage. I made a promise to her to support her once we were done and Low had ruined it. She also made her cry. All I needed to do was to focus on one thing, to kill. As she was staring up into the sky screaming I pulled out my .45 and emptied the clip into her. I didn't know if my shot's truly made their mark but she fell backward and started bleeding out on the sidewalk. I then notice that Sophia's breathing was shallow, she was still alive.
"Oh God! Oh God NO! Sophia! Come on talk to me! SHIT!"
Taking advantage of the adrenaline I carried her and placed her gently in the back of the Land Rover. I didn't have time to preform first aid since those shots were going to draw attention, I needed to get away from the town first. I then got in the front seat and tore through my bag to get my sat-phone and a bandage. The keys were still in the ignition so I punched it and speeded out of the alley and shot off into the plains not caring if I was on the road or not. I was wincing from the pain in my sternum each time I breathed. There was only one number I needed to call, she had a talent for making the impossible happen. I just hoped she could make it work a little faster.
"Urgh! FUCK! Come on, come on pick up!"
"Yes it's Koko what do you-"
"Koko! It's Damien! Listen I need you to-"
"Where the hell-!"
She interrupted before I could finish but I then snapped back with a little more aggression, my friends life was at stake. I didn't care about my own.
"JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP AND LISTEN! SOPHIA'S BEEN SHOT! Work your magic and send a medevac chopper to my location, they can lock on to my coordinates on my sat-phone!"
"What happened!?"
"I'll explain everything later! She's dying Koko! Can you get me a bird out of here or not!?"
There was a slight pause. "Where are you at so I can make some calls?"
"I'm currently about two miles heading south away from a town called Sali in Ethiopia. Wounds are multiple gunshots, I don't think we're being followed."
"I think I can get a search and rescue your way. We're still in Egypt right now. Keep me posted."
"Just make sure the rescue guys aren't Chinese. I'll call you later."
I hung up and then gripped my wound. The pain was getting worse but I had to get far enough away to treat Sophia.
1419 Hours
The Ethiopian Wilderness
We managed to get far enough away that I managed to perform first aid on Sophia without looking over my shoulder. After making quick work on myself wrapping a gauze and bandage around myself, I then tended to her wounds. Her breathing was getting more shallow and her pulse was weak. Taking my knife I cut off her blood soaked shirt to see where the bullets had hit. Low must have not cared if she was aiming properly or not since she appeared to be hit only four times out of the eleven shot's she fired. Two on the right side of her back, one on the left just above the pelvis, and the last one that had shot through the right wing on her tattoo. That meant she had to have had a lung punctured. After carefully searching to see if there were any exit wounds I gently brought her up and laid her body on the back truck seat so I could bandage and seal the bullet wounds easier. She then started to wheeze, her lung was collapsing. I then grabbed the breathing needle and gently laid her on her back and pulled her shirt down to feel for the ribs. I drove the needle home and the tube was in place, her breathing then started to return to normal but I also that there was blood in her mouth, she had to have internal injuries too. As did I, as the injury to my chest started causing me to cough up blood.
Shit! Come on just a little bit longer.
I then placed her on her side to prevent her from choking on her blood and got back in the front seat. Going through the rest of the medical supplies I pulled out a morphine dose. It was best to slow the bleeding as much as possible. So I took off my shirt and wrapped another bandage and gauze around my chest. The morphine kicked in almost immediately, I didn't really realize at the time I was also going to be driving under the influence. As I kept heading south I got a ring on my sat-phone.
"Koko?"
"No this White Dove 002 is this Damien?" Said the African sounding voice on the other side.
"Yes it's me! Where the hell are you guys!?" The morphine was canceling out the pain but not my stamina.
"We have a lock on your GPS. Continue on your course and you will see us. What's the status of the patient?"
"Status is…URGH! Unconscious, four gunshot wounds to the back, internal injuries, and a lung collapsed. COUGH!"
I then spat up more blood and my vision was starting to fade. I then had problems trying to control the truck.
"Is everything ok!?"
I didn't answer as I dropped the phone and planted my face on the steering wheel causing the horn to blare. The truck then turned to the right and stopped in a small ditch. The pilot on the phone was still trying to get a hold of me.
"Hello? Hello Damien!? I say again this is White Dove 002 come in Damien!"
I was too weak to respond and I laid down on the passenger seat unable to move. As my vision slowly faded to black my last glimpse was of the bright African sun. I had failed to save her.
"So…phia."
Date Unknown 0013 Hours
Location Unknown
That was all I knew judging from the clock on the wall in the room that clearly signified that I was in a hospital. My vision was extremely blurry but I could tell the room was empty and filled with only the sounds were the air conditioning and beeps from the heart monitor that I was hooked up to. As I sat up I grabbed my sternum reacting to the pain, I then noticed under my medical scrubs I was wearing a rather large gauze pad. I then immediately realized I was alone, where was she? I then removed the IV drip from my right arm and tore off the heart monitor pads and stumbled out of bed to the door that led to a dim hallway. I stumbled around, pain killers still in full effect, trying to figure out where the hell I was going. I then saw two figures running toward me, as they got closer to where my sight was better I saw that it was a doctor and a nurse. I did just rip off my heart monitor.
"Where is she?" I asked not caring if he spoke English or not.
"Please sir you must-AAHHH!" I grabbed him by his collar and lifted him up against a wall planting his head in the ceiling.
"WHERE IS SHE!?" I demanded in a growling shout.
"T-t-two rooms down! That way 507!" He answered absolutely terrified and I dropped him to the floor.
I then made a stumbling run to the room and then I saw what I needed to see. I was never more relieved. I grabbed one of the chairs and sat down next to her and took her hand gently.
"Sophia? Come on Sophia wake up. I'm right here talk to me."
I then heard multiple footsteps at the door, the doctor was back but this time with guards in tow.
"Sir please, let her rest. We don't know if she'll regain consciousness or not but your still gravely injured."
I was unable to keep my bearings straight as I stood up and got into my "don't fuck with me" pose.
"I'm not going anywhere, leave." My vision was getting cloudy but still held firm.
"I'm sorry sir but if you don't leave then we will-"
"Let him stay." A familiar voice of a young woman spoke as he looked around him.
"Miss Hekmatyar I understand but-"
"Just move his bed here and I'll make sure he doesn't cause any more trouble."
Unable to keep my stance anymore, my vision faded to black and the last thing I remembered was the floor.
…
Daylight. As I gently opened by eyes I heard the sounds of a radio with an African language on it, it must have been the news. I then heard the beeps of a heart monitor, but I was not hooked up to one except my re-administered IV. But I felt a little better this time, there wasn't as many drugs in my system but it didn't change how I felt as I sat back up from my bed.
"Urgh…Christ! I feel like hammered shit."
"And the both of you look it too."
Koko. Very plainly dressed as compared to her usual garb of business dress. She must have flown out to wherever we were at rather quickly. Looking at me as if I didn't just ditched the team to go after Sophia for over a week. Speaking of her she was in her bed right next to me, knowing what was coming next I merely acknowledged the fact that Koko was there and got out of bed. I grabbed my IV and then sat next to Sophia, Koko brought her chair around too and sat next to me.
"Are you even going to say anything?"
I didn't really have an excuse or right to after just plain ditching her and the crew. It was best I just answered honestly.
"I wouldn't have done something this reckless if I didn't have a good reason. Yell at me all you want and if you wanna fire me do it, as long as she's alright."
I just remembered that that was one of the last things I ever said to my father, déjà vu. But even with all this drama she still held on to her innocence and care for me. As I heard her let out a soft laugh.
"You two must have gotten quite close in the last week. I hope it was worth it considering the aftermath the two of you left in your wake. But I'll explain that after she wakes up."
She then leaned over to me and gave me another one of her hugs, very subtly squeezing on where I was shot.
"And I'm so glad that the both of you are safe."
She was definitely angry. But she did say that last part with meaning.
"What day is it anyway Koko?" I said breathing sharply.
August 10th 2010 1800 Hours
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
It had been another day since I woke up and when not in bed or walking around to stay active I sat by Sophia. I told Koko that she could do her yelling at both of us once she was awake. I was gonna catch some extra flak for that later but I didn't care. It felt strange, but it the first time in a while I managed to catch a full nap and not feel horrible when I woke up. I felt a shaking on my head, the first thing I saw was that the sun was starting to go down, but then I looked over and saw her awake. I popped my head up but before I could speak she was looking in the direction behind me as if she was just caught stealing money from her dad's wallet. Koko was staring at us both smiling in her carefree look, normally it was when people were at their most calm was that they were at their most angry. Knowing that there was nothing I do to get us out of this I just let my mouth do the talking.
"Welp, we're boned."
"That's putting it mildly. OW!"
She then hunched over from the pain. She did get shot more than I did as Koko explained.
"You both got hit with Damien's favorite bullet. Forty five caliber slugs can do a hell of a lot of damage but he managed to patch you up pretty well."
"I did do good didn't I." I said looking back to Sophia, but then Koko killed my moment of dominance.
"While you just decided to act like a cocky idiot and tried to power though blood loss causing you to crash your truck."
Damn, forgot about that.
She then was looking at Sophia's hair on how much shorter it was.
"Interesting hair cut you got. To be honest you should have gone the whole way and kept it short like the old days."
The both of us knew she was beyond furious. It was best to just get it over with and then get back to the Fruition as fast as possible. Sophia went first.
"Koko listen to me I'm sorry, but aren't you mad?" She said hesitantly.
"Of course I am, can't you tell?"
Sophia answered with a nervous laugh and I began to cringe. It was insane that I had literally stared death in the face multiple times and didn't blink. But a mere five foot five, thin, and ghost like woman was making the hair on my neck stand up.
"FOR STARTERS LOOK AT THIS!"
She held up her smart phone indicating a news article. Claiming that an unknown terrorist group commenced a raid at a steel mill in Ethiopia with also over 40 confirmed members of the PLA dead. I immediately realized how badly the two of us just screwed up.
"That mill was Chinese state property! The Tashinhai Trading Company was an official company on the books but Chan was still a General of the Chinese army. You both are lucky that no one got a good look at you two. Do you have any idea what you two just did!?"
Oh fucking terrific. Now I'm wanted by BOTH the world's top militaries!
Knowing that Sophia was a little confused I answered for her.
"We both…just…made ourselves wanted terrorists for the Chinese." I said looking at Sophia highly embarrassed.
The realization kicked in and she shut her eye hard and Koko continued her rant while grabbing her hair and pulling it.
"AAAAHHH! This is gonna cost us so much! Hush money for the doctors! Even more hush money to hide the fact that Damien was here! Rerouting search and rescue choppers with false orders! And if that's bad enough I had to personally pay for both your surgeries too."
Her freak outs had some comical moments but this wasn't one of them. I had a feeling it was going to be tight next couple of months. But she then calmed down.
"But mostly I'm just mad about the money. This little incident has caused us to reach a whole other level of evil. You two performing a terrorist action and me aiding and abetting them."
Sophia then looked to me, this no doubt in my mind was very familiar too.
"Is this any different from when you ran from Anvil?"
"Well the lyrics are different but the sound is still the same. Yes."
Koko then looked at us both surprised. "So you know now as well?"
"Anvil, Team Iron, Khandan, everything." She answered.
Knowing that that was that she simply acknowledged that Sophia knew those facts and then smiled.
"Well then Major Velmer and Captain Andrushko, I'm of one mind on this. You Major, made sure that those men are now resting peacefully and that you didn't fail any of them. And you Captain, you told me that you wanted a chance at redemption, you just took a big step in doing that. You risked everything to make sure that my sister came back alive. You both have my admiration and I hope that you both don't mind hearing that from someone like me."
There were a lot of nasty things in war, but not all of it was blood and fire. One was the fact that you waded through it with death's hand ready to grab you at the moment's notice and snatch you up, but he didn't. He let you pass because you were doing something far more noble than combat, you went to save the lives of others. Another was that when you delivered your vengeance against those who truly deserve it, death would always allow the better warrior to win.
"Meh. We don't mind." I then put my arm over Sophia's shoulder. "Sophia and I like kicking ass. We just complement each other on how much ass needs to be kicked."
She then looked over at me and smiled. "He's right, we do."
Koko then raised her eyebrow. "Sophia? Valmet why is Damien calling you by your first name? And why are you letting him get that close?"
She then realized that both of our faces were touching and she shoved me off, but it didn't come without reaction from the injuries on her back.
"It's…it's not like that! He said that I'm not just a weapon! We work very well together! And he stuck with me even after I kept telling him to go home! He's just—"
"Someone you like?"
As Koko cut her off the heartbeat monitor then started to increase. Sophia must have been embarrassed that she was starting to admit something without thinking it through. Koko then walked over to my right and grabbed my arm.
"Believe me I can understand but I already told him that he belongs to me. You can't have him Valmet."
Oh God this seriously can't be happening.
So much for thinking before speaking, so I figure I'd just let my mouth do the running from here on out. I gently took my arm back from Koko.
"Sorry Koko but she made the first move, she kissed me first." I then looked toward her slowly and realized I remembered something. "After you decided to drug me! The fuck did you use anyway!?"
She then stared at me in anger. "Urgh. I didn't want you following me."
"Piss poor excuse and you're not answering my question."
"Does it matter!?"
"Yes it fucking matters! You could have caused me to OD!"
"Now I'm wishing it did."
"Then I wouldn't have saved your ass when those snipers had a bead on you."
"I was doing fine without you."
"I know you were."
Without hesitation I took the biggest life threatening risk I had probably ever taken with in my life. All that mattered was what happened at the end of it. I held her face close to mine, shut my eyes, and our lips connected. It was simple and direct and there was no resistance on the other side. A few seconds later I let her go, her face was totally blank. I finished our little argument, and hoped she came out of her blown mind.
"Because like I said, you're better than me. That's what I like about you."
I then heard Koko chuckle behind me. I turned around to see her cheeks puffed out and was about to burst but she then took a deep breath.
"It looks like I might have my work cut out for me, but you know I'm not the type to give up so easily Damien. Now if you'll excuse me I'll have to go pay the doctor's fee's, I'll come back later. And hope I won't have to pay more."
"What do you-" I then felt an extremely tight grip on my left hand. Sophia, or I should say Valmet at this point, was looking down with her eye shut as if she was in deep concentration. But her arm was flexed in a way in which she had no intention of letting go.
Oh shit.
"Just don't kill him Valmet."
She walked off and shut the door to our room. I just realized how badly I was screwed. I tried to get Valmet to let go but it felt like I was trying to remove stone fused to my arm. She then started to bring my arm up slowly. I tried to resist but I didn't know where the hell she was pulling off this strength. With ease in fact as the heart monitor she was hooked up to was beating normally. She then looked at me as if I was another target, I sort of figured this was gonna happen but I wouldn't hesitate to defend myself. Then almost as if instinct took in, we got into our arm lock position again.
"Ok Valmet I get it I'm-"
"That's Sophia to you. And if you want to apologize, then don't ever do that to me in front of Koko again."
I sighed painfully, I was kinda pushing all I had with my injured chest.
"Ok deal. But we are anything but even right now and I'll tell you why."
"Why?" She said calmly.
"You saved me. I owe you my life. Thank you." I said with all the sincere gratitude I could muster.
She then gently smiled, leaned closer towards me, and we kissed again. Our hands let go of our grip and slid down our arms and we wrapped around each other's shoulders. In the last few years my life had taken its fair share of extreme ups and downs. But in this one moment two hearts connected and I finally felt normal. The road to repair my damaged soul had begun with the warm embrace of, ironically, a deadly woman.
August 11th 2010 1300 Hours
Dembel City Center, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
After checking out of the hospital we had until evening till our flight's left for our different vacation spots. So we decided to do a little shopping, I kind of needed some fresh clothes, sneakers, and of course a new cell phone since once again I had left all my stuff on board the Fruition, and had only taken what I needed in my bug out bag. Koko wanted to give us some time off and not just for me and Sophia's little escapade. Turned out someone hired a bunch of, from what Koko said, circus performers that tried to kill her. Their method of attack was trying to take out members of the team one at a time and they almost did. Not surprising that they failed, but definitely surprising on what Ugo did to the guy who tried to kill him with a pair of bolt cutters.
"You ran through a wall?" I said completely unbelieving.
"Beat him senseless too. And blasted the shit out of the car of the guy that tried to chase me and the boss to the emergency safe house."
"And as usual your ass is a magnet for bullets."
"I only got cut not shot Damien."
The three of us were sitting in one of the nicer restaurants having a beer while the rest of the crew were walking around. Mike had actually bought a new Xbox 360, turns out he got real tuned in to Elder Scrolls and Battlefield. Karl was sporting off his new pair of Oakley sunglasses trying to look cool while chugging his beer. Consuming alcohol was not really a recommended thing to do after you had to have your stomach cut open to get a bullet out of you but I needed something to relieve the stress of the ridiculous week I had. Granted though, I felt glad that the outcome wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Regardless of the fact that Sophia and I were now probably wanted by the Chinese government.
"Still it's good to see that you guys are all alright. Cheers."
I held up my bottle and the three of us toasted.
"Saluti."
"Zum Wohl." His phone then buzzed. "I just got a text from Koko. Mall entrance. Time to go."
Lutz then took out his wallet, paid the bartender and we left with our bags. He then put his arm around me rather hard.
"Ok man I gotta know. How was your honeymoon? You get any? Were they soft or were they firm? Who was more dominant?"
He did have something that was a little higher in alcohol percentage than me and Ugo. There ain't no damn way he would be bold enough to ask questions like that sober. Plus if I told him I had to cut off Sophia's shirt, he would have blabbed and she would have killed me in my sleep.
"Nothing happened blondie so drop it. Anyway what are you guys gonna do once we jump on the planes?"
"I'm probably just gonna go back home to Germany for a while, hang out with all my old buddies from my unit."
"After that incident where I had to drive the boss away from that assassin I need to beef up my driving skills. I'll be at the HCLI drivers training course in England. What about you Damien?"
"No idea honestly. I was kinda hoping to just chill on the Fruition for a while."
We then met up with the rest of the crew and Sophia approached me rather aggressively.
"You said you were gonna buy me a new set of boots! You're not off your punishment yet." She said pointing a finger at the non-injured part of my chest.
"Sorry I missed the text. Lutz made me come and drink with him."
She then looked over to him and grabbed him by the collar, he was completely caught off guard.
"Is that true?" She demanded.
"Hey hey! I just asked him if he wanted a beer and relax after the stressful week he's had!"
"Valmet calm down will you? Don't take your frustration out on him." I said.
She then looked at me neutrally and then let Lutz go.
"Alright, sorry Lutz."
The reaction of disbelief on Lutz's face was ridiculously comical. He couldn't believe I just got her to let him go and apologize to him.
"Alright, alright everyone calm down." Koko got the groups attention. "Once your all done with your vacations were gonna be meeting up in Papa New Guinea. It will take the Fruition about two weeks to get there so until then you are on your own time. Except for you two."
She indicated me and Sophia.
"I'm not letting you two out of my sight for one second, I'm not having you two go rouge again. And you're not off the hook yet either Valmet, I need a mule to carry all the stuff I bought. So while everyone else is on their free time, you'll both be accompanying me on whatever HCLI tasks and work that I've hadn't had the chance to catch up on. Questions?"
Not really caring about my punishment I raised my hand, I needed to do one last thing before we left.
"Yes Damien?"
"Can I get one more picture of all of us together before we leave? I only have two and their not really great shots."
She saw that I subtly leaned my head towards Sophia. Koko knew what I wanted and put on her usual smile.
"Sure, but let's do it facing the street. It look a little weird if we just took one with the mall in the background."
As we exited, Koko went to an old man walking by to get him to take a picture of us with my camera. It was my turn to address the crew.
"I'm not real good at lengthy speeches so I'll just be bottom line up front. Thank you, all of you, for letting me into your lives." Everyone then stared at me slightly surprised that my voice turned soft for a moment. "Even with all the shit I've done in my life, you guys made me feel like I'm a part of something special. I love ya'll."
It was somber at first but then as expected the ribbing started.
"Cheese factor much?" William.
"Didn't peg you for a softie." Akihito.
"Where'd this come from?" Renato.
"Wow talk about lame." Mao.
"Yeah I thought you were the tough guy." Michael.
"I think you might have had too much to drink." Karl.
"Whatever." John.
"Still an idiot." Sophia
"Ok guys he's trying to be open so just let him speak. So you know what, bunch together close so that we make this one for him. Everyone smile big!"
"Kaaay." Our acknowledgement.
As everyone got around me, I felt a squeeze on my right hand. I didn't need to guess who it was, Sophia was smiling gently. I held her hand firm as well. I know that this world as well as life can be very cruel, I know that all too well. But I know it's not supposed to be fair and I'm ok with that. I am me and no one else, I'll carve my own path in my life. As of this moment I didn't care what the future held, I may have been still part of the criminal underworld but I will not forsake the ones that took me in. My new family.