Chapter 21: Retaliation

Jacob Seed watched from the balcony as fires danced to the sky. The sight was something not unfamiliar to him. He had seen it many times in the war. Sometimes it was caused by friendly airstrikes, sometimes by enemy suicide bombers. The flames brought back memories of the war he had left behind but also carried in his heart. It was a reminder that he was still fighting, even if it wasn't in a far-off country overseas. The struggle would continue until the collapse would end it all. At least that what Joseph believed.

Even though he was fixated on the distant destruction on the other side of his region, Jacob's sharp senses told him that his top officer had just come up behind him, saluting and about to deliver his report.

"Our forces have begun their transfer across the Henbene, sir. They should finish the relocation by tomorrow morning."

Jacob did not turn around. "Does Joanna know what the purpose of these troops are?"

"We relayed the information you told us to sir. She is to use those forces and everything she has at her disposal to conquer the jail."

"Good. So, with the transfer of those forces, we're at 50% strength, right?" Jacob turned his head to the side so he could look back at his officer.

The man seemed nervous. "Yes sir, that is correct." He was silent for a few moments then spoke again. "Permission to speak freely sir?"

"Granted."

The man relaxed a bit now. "Sir, I'm not sure I understand this strategy. Why are we moving into the Henbene. The whitetails are obviously a bigger threat than the resistance at the jail. They were even bold enough to destroy the radar station."

Jacob chuckled to himself then turned around to face his subordinate. "Joanna needs to prove herself. After what happened recently, The Father has determined that Joanna must prove herself if she wants to carry the mantle of Faith. He personally requested that I send aid to assist her but ultimately it is her job to carry out her assigned task."

He turned back around. "As for our own situation, 50% is enough for what we're doing. We've whittling down the Whitetails by capturing or killing their forces. Its gotten to the point where they live in fear, hide like rats. We only have to find their main base and we can finish them for good."

The man tilted his head in confusion. "I don't understand sir. If they are so weakened, how were they able to pull off something like this? The station was well guarded. It would have taken a sizable force to accomplish such a thing."

"It wasn't them. No, the cause of those flames is our greatest of enemies, the most dangerous."

"You mean the mercenary sir?"

"That's correct."

The man was still confused. Yes, John Seed had been defeated by the mercenary just recently. But he had done it by trickery, by collapsing a bridge with the help of his sinner friends. He had gotten lucky. He didn't know why Jacob thought so highly of this mercenary. Perhaps it was because he had harmed his brother. Regardless, he shouldn't be concerned with such matters, only following orders.

"I have just one more thing sir. I sent a few of our people to the radar station. Hopefully they can catch them as they decent back down the mountain. They have orders to search the entire western half of the region."

Jacob was silent for a few moments then turned his head to look behind him. "Then you've sent them to their deaths."

As much as Kyle wanted to admire his handiwork, he knew they had to get going. The flames could probably be seen by the whole region and he figured Jacob wouldn't take this lying down. So he and Faith began their descent back down to the truck. Kyle wondered what was wrong with Faith. When he started driving back, he looked over and saw her staring out the side window. She had this look of guilt, like she had done something wrong. He considered that it may because she followed him into combat, something she was not prepared for.

"Hey" He said to get her attention. "What's wrong?"

She didn't answer right away. Instead, she just glanced at him before turning back towards the window. "I killed someone." She said finally.

Kyle was surprised, mostly at himself for not considering that something like this could have happened. When he met Jess, they bonded quickly. She was a fighter like him and they both were used to the kind of situations they would be in. But Faith was different. Before Kyle, she had never shot anyone, never even held a gun before. Her specialty was persuasion, diplomacy. In her time with the cult, Faith had people to do the fighting for her. But she had decided to accompany Kyle whose life seemed to revolve around fighting. Faith had tried to put on a brave face. She wanted to be supportive. But she was not ready, not yet at least. Now Kyle felt guilty.

"You did what you had to do alright?" It was the reassurance he could think of. "What's done is done. I'm sorry I put you in this situation."

She turned he head back towards him. "Its not your fault Kyle. I'm the one who told you that I wanted to follow you. I guess I just didn't expect it would come so soon."

Kyle didn't know what else to say. This was something he was inexperienced with. He had his own coping mechanism when he first took a life. The people he killed were evil and deserved it. For the most part, it had worked. Of course there had been times when he knew that wasn't the case. But after a few years, he got so used to it that he no longer needed the reasoning. That was just him though. Everyone was different. How long would it take Faith, if ever?

Surprisingly to him, she broke the silence. "I don't have any regrets about what I did." She said softly. "Like you said, I did what I had to do but also what I wanted to do. He was aiming right for you when your back was turned. He didn't see me. All I could think of was that I didn't want anything to happen to you. So I pulled the trigger, again and again, until I saw him fall, no longer a threat to you."

Kyle's heart warmed. For most of the time, he protected her from danger. Now she had protected him and it looked like it was for the same reasons that he protected her. He offered a small smile. "I'm proud of you for keeping cool under pressure. I was worried that the incident in the forest wouldn't be a one-time thing."

Faith looked away in embarrassment. "That was my fault for trying to be a hero. I was trying to impress you. This time, I just went with what my gut told me to do." She turned smiled back at him. "If I had the choice, I'd do it again, every time."

They were almost back at the trailer. By now, the sun had gone completely down but luckily Kyle knew where he was going. He found a way to navigate around the woods and eventually back to Jess and Sarah. The wildlife scientist let them in after Kyle had knocked on the door and announced that they were back. Apparently, Sarah had been suspicious upon seeing a project truck pull up to the trailer. Jess was still sleeping. That antidote had more effect than he thought it would. Kyle shook her gently to rouse her.

"Huh? Wha?" She said groggily.

"Jess we kinda need to move. The peggies are probably on their way now."

Hearing the word 'peggies', Jess was more motivated to wake up. She stretched herself out and made her way on to her feet.

"What do you mean they're coming?" Sarah asked, arms crossed. "What did you do?"

"We blew up their base at the radar station. I'm pretty sure you can see it burning on the mountain for miles." Kyle turned to her. "I would suggest that you move too. It's not safe around here."

Sarah threw up her hands in frustration. "Great, just great. Can never find a place where I can just do my research in peace." She sighed.

Upon Jess reaching her feet, she looked around like she was missing something. "Where's my bow?"

Kyle cursed to himself quietly. Jess was going to be pissed. "Its still in the woods. We can't go back for it now; we need to move."

Jess glared at him. "Seriously Kyle? You couldn't think to bring that with you?"

Before he could argue, there was a knock at the trailer door. "Hey, who's in there?" A voice demanded.

Sarah was about to respond but Kyle quickly motioned her to stay quiet. "Who's asking?"

"Captain Mason ordered us to check out the destroyed radar station and try to find the sinner who did it. We found nothing at the station except a bunch of our own dead. We doubled back to comb the area and we saw your truck outside. We were not aware of the trailer in this area. Are these the people responsible for the destruction of the station?"

Kyle had to think quickly. For now, the cultist thought that at least one of theirs were in the trailer. But he did not know how many of them were outside. There could be as few as two or as many as several squads. Eventually, the occupants of the trailer would have to reveal themselves. Kyle figured it could at least be on his terms.

"How many people do you have out there? We have a few prisoners in here but we're going to need help moving them. They are particularly troublesome."

There was silence for a few moments as the cultist considered an answer. "I have six outside including myself….but are you sure you need assistance?"

Kyle breathed a small sigh of relief that his plan had worked. "Yeah, we managed to get ahold of that troublesome mercenary. We have him at gunpoint right now, but he might try something. Give us a few moments and we'll send him out to you."

"Roger that. Standing by."

Kyle turned to Faith. "Get ready to open the door." He whispered. "As soon as you open it, take cover in the trailer with Sarah. Keep an eye on the door. If we survive, we'll let you know."

Faith had worry all over her face, but she nodded and moved to the door, ready to open when Kyle gave the go ahead. "Jess, stay in front and crouch. As soon as that door opens, lunge for one of them and pry their gun off them. I'll do what I can with the rest."

Jess nodded and silently got in position. Kyle readied his rifle and took a deep breath. He then motioned Faith to open the door. The cultists were not expecting hostility when the door opened. Kyle could see the surprise and fear in their eyes as they realized too late what was happening. Jess lunged and pinned the closest peggie to the ground, trying to stab him with her knife. Meanwhile, Kyle started dispatching the others who were trying to decide whether to help their comrade or fire at the enemy with the rifle. Their hesitation would cost them their lives as Kyle shot them with quick controlled bursts. The only one left alive was the one that Jess had pinned and he was quickly losing the struggle. As Kyle went to check the other bodies to see if any were still alive and claim ammo, he heard a gurgling sound. He glanced over to see that Jess had finally gotten her knife in the cultist's throat. Her face was full of scorn as she plunged the knife deeper. The man stopped making noises as he became limp.

Jess pulled her knife out and stood as Kyle came back around to greet her. "That went well." He concluded.

Jess spit at the body that she had plunged her knife into. "They never had a fucking chance." She put the knife back in her holster. "So, what now?"

Kyle looked around. The cultists had all arrived in one truck so now they had two. He quickly thought of an idea. "I need you to search the bodies and find the key to their truck. We'll use one to tow the trailer and the other will be escort. We'll head for the whitetails' bunker and ask to stay there for the night. Then we'll decide what to do in the morning." He looked her over, noticing the blood on her face. "Would you be able to drive the truck to tow the trailer?"

Jess waved her hand dismissively. "Yeah, just give me a minute."

As Jess left to go do her thing, Kyle went back to the trailer to check in on Faith and Sarah. "Everything is clear. I'm coming in." He announced so he wouldn't get shot. Kyle saw the two girls huddled together. Sarah was cowering behind Faith who had her pistol pointed where Kyle was. He saw that Faith was shaking a bit, but her eyes were full of determination. Kyle quickly closed the distance and crouched down on one knee in front of her.

"Hey, everything is fine. We're about to head out now. Jess is going to get to get the other truck. We're going to tow the trailer and take shelter with the whitetails tonight until this all blows over. Do you want to ride with me or stay with Sarah?"

"I'll ride with you." She said softly lowering her gun.

Kyle turned his attention to Sarah. "And what about you?"

The scientist took a moment to compose herself. "I'll stay in the trailer as you guys tow it. I want to make sure nothing breaks."

"Alright." He turned back to Faith. "I'll be outside when you're ready."

She nodded which he took as a cue that he could head back out. Upon leaving the trailer, he found that Jess had gotten in the truck and was positioning it towards the trailer. Kyle went over to guide her. Once she was in position, she got out of the truck and helped him with the latch. When they were just about done, Faith appeared from the trailer. Kyle noticed she still looked a bit shaken.

"Jess, I'm going to have you go first down the road. We'll cover the back. If you encounter any resistance, just honk the horn and we'll drive up to take care of it."

She nodded. "So we're headed for Eli's bunker right?"

"Yes."

Jess went back to her truck and Kyle and Faith headed back to theirs. While they were waiting for Jess to pull away a bit, Kyle figured this was a good time to talk to Faith. "You still shaken up a bit?" He knew what the answer was, but he wanted to make sure.

"A little." She looked out the side window. "Everything happened so fast. I didn't know what to expect. I just did what you told me and aimed my pistol at the door."

They started following Jess to the road. "I was…..scared. Now just for myself but for you. I didn't know what was going to happen to you and that frightened me."

She turned to look at him and Kyle thought she was on the verge of tears. "I don't know how you do it Kyle. I don't know how you can keep doing these things, going against the odds and making it out each time. I'm trying my best to be brave like you but I don't know how you do it. It scares me. I fear that one of these times, your luck will run out on you."

Kyle did his best to continue following Jess and the trailer while giving reassuring glances to Faith. " You need to remember that I've been doing this for years. Putting my life on the line was my job. There was always a small part of me that had a fear of dying but I gradually got used to it."

"Was it because of the money? Did you get paid that well?" Faith sounded like she was accusing of something, taking lives for money, or being simply greedy. Kyle understood that she was just asking because she wanted to understand his motivations more.

"The money was definitely a factor. But I think early on it was more about the adventure, the thrill. It was something that I was good at and so I pursued it. After a while, it was just a way of life for me." He glanced over and saw her look at him in pity. "That was the past. Its not about money or fame. Right now, its about protecting the people I care about like you and Jess." He offered a small smile.

Faith mirrored it. "I know. I've seen what you've done, and I will always appreciate it, more than you know. But please Kyle, take care of yourself too."

He nodded. "I'll try."

Jess eventually arrived near the whitetails' bunker and pulled off the road slowly. The bunker was hidden by mountains so they would be hidden in the darkness. Jess parked nearby the bunker entrance. She waited until Kyle parked alongside her then turned off her truck and made her way to Kyle's window.

"Just wait here, I'm going to make sure its ok." She then made were way towards the bunker entrance. Kyle had Faith got check on Sarah while he stood watch. He gazed towards the sky and saw a half-moon. He hoped that Jacob didn't have any helicopters on patrol.

Jess was tired. It had been a long day. Eli had sent her to scout the radar station early that day. She had gotten herself ambushed and only survived because of Sarah finding her and Kyle's timely arrival. Then there was Faith. She had offered to help Jess on her own free will. The huntress knew the former Seed most likely had feelings for Kyle, that much was obvious. But she didn't expect her to create an antidote to save her. Jess figured that Faith might have still borne a grudge from when Jess wanted to kill her. Even when they had that little talk in the car, and their adventures to go after people from Faith's past, Jess was still weary of her. She could have been playing the long game, waiting to gain Kyle's trust before manipulating him. But she didn't seem to have that desire. In fact, Jess thought it was almost a dream when Kyle told her that it was Faith's idea to check up on her and go find her. Yet a few days ago, Jess wanted to murder her.

She reached the doors and gave them a loud knock. After a few moments the latch slid open and a familiar face peered though. "Well, look who finally came back? Took you all day to scout that radar station huh Black?"

Jess was not in the mood to deal with the sarcasm. "There were some complications, Parker. Now could you fucking let me in so I can ask Eli something?"

"I'm afraid not Black. I'm under strict orders not to let you in."

Jess' anger started to boil. "What? Why the fuck not?"

"Eli's heard some things. You and your friends are not the only ones out there Black. Our scouts are out there two and they have been bringing us disturbing reports."

"Like what Parker!?"

"I can't discuss it with you. Now if you would be so kind as to leave….."

Jess' anger reached its peak. "I'm not fucking leaving until I talk to Eli! If you won't let me in to see him then bring him here! I'll set him straight!"

"Fine Black, I'll go get him. Just a word of warning. Things have changed around here. You can't throw you weight around like in the past."

She heard him walk away and tried her best to calm herself down. It was difficult. Since when the fuck couldn't she get into the bunker? Parker was such an ass. He had a complex since he was stuck as a door guard. Once she could talk to Eli, she would be able to explain things. That's why it was so important that she get calm for Eli. He would not back down no matter how much anger she threw at him and he appreciated Jess when she was civil. As the huntress started to calm herself down, she heard multiple pairs of footsteps making their way towards the bunker door.

"She insisted on seeing you sir! She wouldn't take no for an answer."

"I figured as much Parker. I expected this to happen."

What the hell did he mean by that? Jess finally saw through the slit of the figures of Eli and Parker making an appearance. Eli was still dressed in military gear so he probably hadn't been roused from bed.

"Black." He greeted her.

"Eli." She replied back.

"So, what business do you have here?"

Straight to the point thankfully. "We were wondering if we could take up shelter here for the night."

"We?"

"Yeah, Kyle and I."

"Oh, I see." He didn't sound convinced. After a few seconds of silence, he continued. "Black, may I ask what happened with the radar station? I wouldn't have figured it would take you all day to go scout out even with your friend joining you."

Jess figured she'd tell the truth even if it did sting her pride a bit. "Well here the thing. I got ambushed on the way up there. Didn't pay enough attention, too tired. Anyway, Kyle came at a great moment and got me out of that bind. But I was kind of out of action for the time being so he went in my place. He told me that he wrecked the place."

Eli nodded, confirming her story. "I see, that makes sense. That explains why our scouts said the entire place was in flames."

"You already knew?'

"Of course we knew Black. We have eyes on the ground everywhere. If I remember correctly, I thought I asked you to scout out the radar station, not destroy it."

Jess could hear the slight annoyance in his voice. "Kyle didn't know that. But he made sure that place wouldn't be a threat to you guys again. You owe him….us."

"If we had captured that place, we would have had a major advantage over Jacob, but now that opportunity is gone." He countered calmly. "But honestly the radar station isn't the real reason why you're being kept outside."

A slight chill crept up Jess' spine. "What's the reason then?

"We've had disturbing reports that someone of particular interest was spotted in this area. Do you know anything about Faith Seed?"

Jess' bad feelings came true. "What do you mean Eli? Isn't she in charge of the Henbene region?"

A grin appeared on the whitetails leader's face. "You seem to constantly underestimate our network don't you Black? Did you think we wouldn't find out?"

"Find out what?" Jess didn't like where this was going.

"That Faith Seed had been tagging along with your buddy Kyle. Our scouts reported seeing them in a peggie vehicle presumably when they went to find you. We didn't believe it at first so we sent them back out to confirm it. Sure enough, they saw them again when they were on their way back from destroying the radar station." He closed his eyes. "So could you explain why your buddy Kyle is traveling around with a peggie, a Seed of all people?"

Jess' rage was starting to return. "He has his reasons."

Eli chuckled. "Oh I'm sure he has his reasons. I'm sure she has her reasons too. We all know what she does. She manipulates people, gets them wrapped around her little finger. She is going to turn Kyle against us if she hasn't already."

"She hasn't done anything of the sort Eli. She's just been helping us." Jess couldn't believe she was defending Faith.

"Hmph, its only a matter of time. Jacob wants to dangle Faith Seed in front of us, make us think she's changed sides. As soon we reach out, she'll turn your friend on us. He and Jacob will kill us all.

"Is that what you think Eli?! After all that Kyle has done for you?! What if he really got Faith on our side? Made her turn away from the peggies and help us out? I didn't understand it at first too but I've seen it with my own eyes! She genuinely wants to help him and us!"

Eli narrowed his eyes at her. "You know what I've learned all these years Black? People don't change. Politicians will lie and manipulate you no matter what they promise. People who you though were you friends will show their true colors and turn on you without a second thought. You can't trust anyone except those you've fought with, those who you've suffered with. The Seeds are outsiders. I should have seen that with Jacob. I shouldn't have trusted him. But he was so convincing. He was so sure of himself like you are. But he stabbed us in the back when he didn't need us anymore. That day I learned a very valuable lesson. No Seed can be trusted. Not John, not Jacob, not Joseph, and not Faith. They are all liars, killers, intruders! We are going to keep fighting until they are removed from our home!"

He took a moment to compose himself. "Now Black. I suggest you make yourself scarce. I know your friend is outside waiting for you, with 'her'. If I was smart, I would take you captive right now, lure him here and kill both of them. But I'm sentimental. You and Kyle did help us in the past. So, I'll let you walk away in peace. But if my men see him with her again, there will be no mercy." With that, Eli walked away having made his point.

Jess walked away too. Eli was right, he could have captured Jess, especially since she didn't have her bow. She couldn't bear to think of what would of happened. That Kyle would be killed by people he thought were his allies. It was all because of Fa…Jess stopped herself. No, it wasn't Faith's fault. She really did approve that she intended to support Kyle. Holland Valley had come around to her eventually, but the whitetails were a mistrusting bunch. Jess should have seen this coming. She saw Kyle standing guard by his truck, gazing out over the cliffs. He noticed her sulking towards him and immediately grew worried.

"What happened?" He asked, gripping her shoulders

"Eli turned his fucking back on us."