The Broadcast

Chicago

Carrie and the high ranked soldiers of the Rebellion watched the recording of the Waterfords' television broadcast demanding the Canadian Government to return baby Nicole to Gilead. She felt an array of disgust, hate, anger, and bloodlust among her soldiers as they eyed the couple responsible for creating Gilead. When the video ended, outrage rippled across the war council:

"I thought Serena let that baby get out of Gilead for her safety."

"That bitch will never change."

"The Canadian Government cannot possibly be thinking of handing the baby back to those monsters, she doesn't even belong to either of them."

"We should have them killed right now, rid the Earth one less disease."

"No, even if we kill them, another will take their place."

"Maybe the child can be hidden somewhere else in Canada, somewhere not even their government knows about."

"That would only give the Waterfords more cause to bring her back to Gilead."

"We can not let those political bastards serve Nicole up to them."

"There's nothing we can do at the moment. Gilead has already sent more Guardians from Fort Stevens, we need every rebel available to keep them back."

"So you're going to ignore an innocent baby's life?"

"I didn't say that."

"You're willing to fight Gilead head on, but won't take the time protect a child from them."

"We do not have power in Canada. I want that child to be free as much as anyone here. But there's only so much we can do right now with those persistent bastards knocking on our front door!"

Carrie listened to the council argue over the well being of little Nicole, while her heart warmed at the idea of one baby having so many protectors, she could not deny how the Battle of Chicago intensified in recent months. Their soldiers were stretched thin, even with the new recruits and Gilead defectors. So to fight on both fronts now seems unlikely.

The table shook with her power when she felt how heated the arguments became. Their voices silenced instantly as they turned to the head of the table at the Saint who was dressed in her ensemble. "Enough. I understand your grievances. Believe me, I want every baby we freed from Gilead to live free. And Nicole is no exception to that promise." she sighed, "I know most of you want to take justice into your own hands and kill the Waterfords. But we can't, they were the key players that created Gilead, it's better to have them alive in order to destroy Gilead."

One of the council members named Ryan nodded, "She's right." everyone turned to him, though nineteen years old, he gained enough experience from the battle field. "It is better to keep the head that has all the information than chop it off and let it go to waste. And if recent news serves us correctly, Mark Tuello gave her a little something when he sent her back to Gilead."

"Hmph, so that bitch is being manipulated by one of our own?" Lisa smirked, but the joy didn't reach her eyes, "Let me guess, he's gonna attempt to play on her so-call maternal desire to be with Nicole in order to fracture Gilead?" she shook her head, "Uh uh, that would only mean giving an innocent babe to that disgusting bitch. I'm still all for killing Serena in her sleep."

Carrie turned to Lisa, "Ms. Lisa," the young blonde turned to her holy leader, "I understand your reservations. I'm not at all fond of the idea of a corrupted woman like Serena raising Nicole. But I talked to Mr. Tuello many times, he hasn't given me or Alex the details, but he does have a plan, and this plan takes time for it to bear fruit."

"How much time?" Lisa asked, doubtful of this kind of strategy.

Carrie shook her head, "I don't know. From what's I've been told in regards to Serena's patience, she does not like to wait for very long."

"But you don't really want to leave it up to chance, do you?" Lisa questioned as she leaned forward.

Carrie sighed, "No, I don't. What do we know about the negotiations?" she asked her council as a man in his late fifties stood up from his seat. "They are to take place in Washington D.C. with the Swiss diplomats being the third party to mediate said negotiations." the man looked uncomfortable when he mentioned Washington D.C.

Alex leaned forward, "There's something else, isn't there Reggie?"

Reggie took a shuddering breath to calm his nerves with the news fresh in his mind. "Not much is heard from Washington, but whispers our spies do hear, are what's been done to the Handmaids there." he gulped in a vain attempt to settle his stomach, "The Vow of Silence."

Alex's eyes widened along with half the council, "That's impossible, you mean the High Commanders actually went through with it?" he asked, fearing the worst as mental pictures of that so-called vow rattled in his mind.

Carrie looked between Reggie and Alex, "What is he talking about? What Vow of Silence?"

Reggie glanced at Alex, "You never told her?"

Alex opened his mouth to speak but words failed to come out.

"Alex," Carrie urged her right hand man, "What haven't you told me?"

Alex looked pained as he locked eyes with Carrie before he sighed. "It was only a rumor at first, these were just one of the many ideas that were being tossed around when Gilead was still in the process of creation." he shook his head, "The High Commanders in Gilead took things to an extreme, they didn't care for the fertile women's well-being as long as they have functioning wombs." He gulped, "The Vow of Silence...is where the Handmaid's lips are sealed shut so that they stay forever quiet."

Carrie's eyes widened at what she just heard. "No..." she shook her head as shock filled her to the core, "...There's no way...They cannot have gone this far..."

Alex shook his head, "I'm afraid it's gonna go much farther than that."

If it was possible, Carrie's eyes widened even more as realization dawned on her. "If the rest of Gilead follows this requirement..." she could not find it in herself to finish that sentence.

"This is beyond evil." Carrie stated in horror as fear rippled across the members. She looked at each of her council members, "This is all the more reason why we cannot let them take Nicole back. We can't let them win!"

"But how?" one of the members asked, "We can't stop the negotiations from where we're standing."

"That's right." Reggie nodded, "None of us can stop the negotiations, but that doesn't mean we can't slow them down." he said with fire in his eyes.

Carrie turned to Reggie, "What are you saying?"

"That little broadcast we just saw was only the opening act for their drama." His words caught their interest, "The main event is a televised mass prayer featuring the Waterfords and over a thousand Handmaids in front of the former Washington Monument and what's left of the Lincoln Memorial. All to ask Canada to return baby Nicole."

"Talk about taking things to extremes, that twat-bearded bastard really is desperate for attention." Alex commented which made some of them chuckle.

Carrie leaned forward, "What do you have in mind that can stall them long enough for Serena to cave in?"

"They want to put on a show and act like a bunch holy mother fuckers," Reggie smiled, "why don't we steal their spotlight and pull back the curtains."

"We show the entire world the truth." Alex's face broke out into a smile, "Gilead wants to pressure the Canadians to hand over a baby, well we'll have the whole world pressure them."

The council nodded in approval over the idea that can more than like cripple Gilead's standing as a nation. Carrie thought it over and nodded, "The idea is sound, but the question is, who wants to come with me to Washington?"

Ryan stood up, "I volunteer as tribute. There are also some in my unit that are more than happy to put on a show."

Alex smirked, "I always wanted to visit Washington. Plus, I happen to have a flare for theatrics."

Ryan turned to Alex, "You just want to call Waterford a Twat-Beard to his face."

Alex shrugged his shoulders, "Just one of the many things to cross off my bucket list."

Carrie shook her head at them with a small smile on her face. "Then we have no time to lose. Dismissed."

Washington D.C.

The day for the televised mass prayer came. Carrie hid on the roof of the desecrated Lincoln Memorial overlooking the sea of red and the Monument that is now a giant cross. Seeing that sacred symbol built on corruption and evil broke her heart a thousand times over. Her eyes slid over to the Aunts, Guardians, and camera men stationed at the foot of the Memorial. Waves of anguish, pain, but most of all, loss of hope came from the red sea and washed over her. She felt as though she was drowning in their pain, and it was suffocating.

Anger boiled deep within her as she listened to Waterford talk. How such a creature dare call himself a man of God when everything he and his wife have done goes far beyond the meaning of God. Her teeth clenched and her nails dug into her skin the longer she stared at the giant cross, a great insult to God. The Earth shook as her anger got stronger, which made the Waterfords, Aunts and Guardians stumble and send some of them to the ground. The Handmaids were startled, but they didn't fall since they were already kneeling.

Carrie's glare intensified the longer she stared at the cross, with a furrow of her brow, she destroyed the horizontal structure and left the original Monument in tact. The sudden explosion of the giant cross sent everyone into a panic, but not June, she smiled which soon turned into fits of hysterical laughter when she saw that desecrated Monument restored to it's former glory. Fred and Serena turned to their former Handmaid in shock when they recovered from that earthquake. June was glad she was already kneeling since her hysterical laughter would've put her on the ground.

June pulled down the muzzle of her uniform and grinned at their glares. "You're so fucking screwed." The moment she said that, a flash of white came down from above. The Waterfords failed to notice in time until the ground shook again with a loud echoing boom. They stumbled and turned around to see a small crater at the bottom of the steps with a familiar white clad woman in the middle. She stood up from her crouched position when she landed, her head bowed, her hood concealed her frown until she raised her head up to glare angrily at the Waterfords.

"What do you know? God does listen to my prayers." June snidely commented with a grin when she caught the Saint glaring at Fred and Serena.

The moment Guardians dared raise their guns to shoot, Carrie tossed them along with the Aunts and camera workers behind her like trash. The army of Handmaids watched in stark fascination and glee as one of the Guardians released a 'wilhelm scream' when they flew through the air and landed in the water in front of the restored Monument.

"I didn't pray for that, but okay." June stated as she got comfortable on the ground and watched the latest chaos unfold.

Rebellion soldiers came out of hiding and aimed their guns at the people in the water while Ryan and Alex's team took over the cameras and kept them on the Saint and the Waterfords. Carrie continued to glare at the Waterfords before she shot her hand out at Fred. The Commander was slammed into the pillar behind him with such force that it left him winded. He barely had time to recover before he was jerked forward and was rolling down the stairs. When he made it to the second level, he was violently dragged across the concrete floor until he was jerked upward to face the angry eyes of the Saint. Blood streamed down from his nose and scrapes from being tossed and dragged around, but he couldn't pay attention when he was at the mercy of this holy being.

Carrie held him a foot off the ground as she brought him closer. "You wanted the Lord above to hear your prayer?" she asked in a low voice that barely concealed her rage. "Luckily for you he did listen, and he sent me to deliver his answer." She held her hand higher with Fred rising further away from the ground. "This." she flung her hand towards the sky and sent a screaming Waterford up towards the clouds.

June took off her wings to get a better look until he disappeared into the clouds. "Where'd he go?" she asked as she searched the sky for Waterford. Serena was also looking up trying to find where Fred was tossed until she saw a body coming back down to Earth. She covered her mouth to stop herself from screaming the closer he got to the ground.

Fred was screaming non-stop when he saw the ground getting closer. He shut his eyes in a vain attempt to make the impact more bearable, but that didn't stop his fear of an imminent blood splattering death. He was jerked to a halt. After a moment or two, he cracked his eyes open to see the ground literally an inch away from his face. Then he was lifted up off the ground and held upright by the Saint's power.

The Saint raised an eyebrow, "Well?" Without meaning to, the front of his trousers were stained with urine. "Oh God." his face twisted up in shame and humiliation when he felt the dampness in his pants.

Alex and Ryan came to stand beside Carrie as the latter filmed Waterford on the video camera they commandeered. The moment Alex saw the dark stain on the Commander's pants, he busted out laughing, "Did you-Did you just piss yourself?" At Fred's reddened angered face he laughed louder and pointed at him mockingly. "Oh, Christ on toast! Commander Twat-Beard how I pity you! This is an embarrassment for Gilead! But as much as I want to shame you even more, I got better things to do."

The Saint brought Waterford closer to whisper in his ear, "Just so you know, this is just to wash the urine off." She flung her hand backward and sent the Commander to join the others in the water.

Alex bent to whisper in Carrie's ear, "For the record, I ordered our men to put purple dye in the water."

At the Saint's questioning stare, he stated, "You said purple was your favorite color."

She shrugged as though to say 'Fair enough' as they made their way down the stairs towards the front row of mouth covered Handmaids. They tensed up, weary about this strange being who literally sent a Commander flying. With kind compassionate eyes, she took the Handmaid's fingers in her own and gently clasped them. "I feel your pain." she said with unshed tears as she locked eyes with the Handmaid before her. "They believe you've been silenced, but I can hear you loud and clear." She reached up and removed the wings from the latter's head and stroked her cheekbone with her thumb, "They cannot hide the truth."

After a long moment of silence, the Handmaid bowed her head and reached behind her neck to undo the clasps of her muzzle that covered the Vow of Silence. When that article of clothing fell from her body, she raised her head to look up at them. Carrie's eyes widened at the sight of the rings sewn into her mouth. Tears streamed down the Handmaid's face as she sobbed behind those blasted rings. The other Handmaids around them removed their wings and unclasped their muzzles, showing the Saint, the camera, the whole world what Gilead did to them.

Tears fell down Carrie eyes and into her mask as she experienced their pain altogether. "I am sorry this happened to you, for not coming to all of you in time." she whispered before she turned to the camera with pain and anger in her eyes. "This is just one of the many acts of cruelty Gilead has committed over the years. By God's grace and for the sake of that baby Gilead wants Canada to return, I ask that you do not bring that innocent child back to this horrific place. If you do, this will by the fate she will fear everyday for the rest of her life if she doesn't follow Gileadean rule. Don't force her to come back here. Please." she begged to the camera before her attention was stolen to Guardian vehicles arriving by the dozen.

"I believe that's the end of this reality segment." Ryan said as he turned the camera onto the Guardians that started to file out of their cars. Carrie's anger didn't leave her body, so she let out by stomping her foot hard on the ground and created a fissure that snaked rapidly towards the Guardians and caused them, vehicles and all, to fall into the large crevices and thus rendered them immobile and useless.

Alex smirked and turned to Ryan, "Did you get that?"

"Yep the whole nine yards." Ryan nodded as he continued filming the latest destruction courtesy of the Saint.

Carrie panted in exhaustion for that move. "I think we should leave now." she whispered to Alex in alarm when she felt herself about to collapse from overuse of her emotions and her power.

Alex's eyes widened in panic before he radioed in the team, "Alright, time to get the fuck outta Dodge." He grabbed Carrie as Ryan shut off the camera and held it under his arm as they made a mad dash towards their getaway cars. Rebel soldiers grabbed at least two dozen Handmaids as they made their quick escape from the Capital. Gileadean cars chased them, but Carrie, with the last of her strength, created another fissure that made the terrain behind the Rebel vehicles collapse into a giant pit and trap the Gileadean soldiers inside.

Carrie sighed as she laid her head on the window of the 'Mad Max Bus' as Alex like to call it. "That wasn't what I pictured would happen when I decided to visit the Capital."

Alex laughed tiredly as he patted her shoulder, "Yeah, you made one hell of a show. Plus, I believe we have over twenty new recruits." he glanced back at the liberated Handmaids they managed to snag in that little tussle.

Carrie felt her eyes close. "Before we think about that, find Ms. Lisa and the other doctors and remove those fucking rings." she said as se fell asleep in the moving bus.

Alex smiled at the now slumbering Saint. "As you wish, Your Holiness." He glanced over at Ryan who was cradling the stolen camera in his lap. A million different ways to take Gilead down sprang forth as they were driven back to base.

Okay I'm burnt out. That is all the chapters I created since the middle of 2019. You can guess what that purple dye in the lake was for. Plus, I wanted to humiliate Gilead just a little bit and create some destruction for that regime. It will be months before the mood hits me again. So until then, thanks for reading.