Avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord
The Bible
The day was pretty much overcast and it threatened to rain quiet early on in the procession, but it managed to hold itself off. Nobody said a word as the coffin was carried along Chetle Park towards the final resting place of the member inside. At the forefront, the leader of the group was like a lone man, his head bowed in silence as his former companion was carried off.
Looking up at the sky, a stray drop landed near John's eye, making it seem like he had a tear, but it wouldn't be far from the truth of how he was feeling. Milley was one of his closest friends, and now, she was lying in an oak cuboid, to be laid to rest in a park that was designated the STARS resting grounds for any members that fell in the line of duty.
A hand fell on John's shoulder as he turned around to look at Dan. His best friend looked just as sad John was feeling, but they were both holding it together to show solid leadership in the face of one of STARS's biggest crisis since STARS Infamy Day when a commander threw a mutiny. But this wasn't the time to look that long back in STARS's Past, for now, they were to look backwards only a slight bit, then look towards the future.
Finally, they reached the park where Milley had stated she wished to be buried, underneath an ailing cherry blossom tree that apparently, she'd tried to climb as a child and failed. It had brought a tear of laughter to John's eyes at the time of hearing, and he was actually the only guy she hadn't tried to surgically castrate for laughing.
When everyone was ready and in place, John gave a few words about how a great friend she'd been to him, and how she'd always managed to make everyone laugh one way or another, usually by threatening Meinstorm with castration … via her hands. However, he then turned sombre and added about how she had been a valuable team-mate and commander on the Board.
Eventually, they lowered the coffin into the ground, and all the Board of Commanders shovelled a ceremonial heap of earth into the hole each, before letting someone do it as a team. As they turned around to walk back to HQ, John remembered the conversation that had set off the chain of events that lead to this tragic day … -
The drink went down her throat in one go, never ceasing to amaze John how fast Linda could down a shot of vodka, and not even pull a face as it burnt the back of her throat ... hell, maybe it didn't anymore ... it wouldn't surprise him, Scotch did the same for John. "My own brand of Valium, my drug of choice" he called it.
"God that's better" Linda sighed, still not even half cut, "Right, well here goes Johnny Boy ... I've been speaking to Charlie Squad, and they've been reporting ... really bad sightings ... not as in gory. I fear that someone we faced a long time ago is back, and they want to cause a stir"
That got John thinking ... Problem is, STARS has had quite a few enemies who loved to cause a stir, and several of them would love to come back and carry on doing so. "Who are you on about Linda? You know how many problems we've had in the past with people, and they weren't as bad as you make this enemy sound" John lifted the glass to his lips and was taking a drink when Linda's reply came back.
"It's pH" John almost spat the drink straight out ... but instead started choking as it went the other way. Getting his coughing under control and waving off a few punters who were coming to help, he looked Linda straight in the eye and gasped "Don't tell me you're fucking joking, please" But the eyes reflected the truth. "SHIT!" John yelled, upending a nearby table.
A year or so ago, someone would have told him to pick it back up, but STARS had made their mark on the bar and it was part of STARS's HQ now, so nobody really complained, especially when the group where keeping it stocked. Pulling his anger and fear back in he looked at Linda again, "How long ago?" Looking into her empty glass she answered him, "About a week or so ... I didn't say sooner because I wanted to be sure that I was correct"