A/N According to the timeline of the show, Charlie would be fourteen when a rebel bombs the restaurant where Miles and Bass are in an assassination attempt. Bass later kills the bomber's wife and kids, one of the reasons Miles decides to kill him. (You probably remember this ep XD) That's what this chapter is about, only in the Willingly Taken 'verse. Enjoy, more updates will follow soon(er than this one...)
Charlie has no idea what she is supposed to be doing. She stops sneaking out, which is hardly a feat to be proud of, but after that she draws a blank. Jeremy didn't ask her to stop the rebels, he asked her to keep President Sebastian Monroe. She'd preferred the former.
Rebels are easy to deal with; you find them and you either talk them around or arrest them. That's it. Now that Miles is dealing with the problem as well, groups of them are brought in. Her uncle assigns the punishments, and Bass has been tasked with increasing the quality of life in the Republic now that Georgia has retreated temporarily. A diversion to get him to worry a little bit less and sleep some more.
Monroe on the other hand is a nightmare. She's free during the day, still no school and helping out sporadically here and there. Nobody expects her to come, though they're glad to see her when she does. She sees Bass almost every night, resuming their family dinners and attending the late night strategy meetings between the generals and the captain
The first day after she spoke with Jeremy and learned more about Bass and consequently Miles was a flop. She had planned to follow him around the city during her free time, only to find that he didn't leave his guarded office all day. She couldn't see what he was doing because she wasn't allowed past the soldiers. The only time he left was for lunch, and when she tried to follow him to the kitchens he spotted her before he turned the first corner.
No matter what Jeremy thinks, she can't do anything. Charlie might see the darkness, but she can't chase it away, doesn't know how. The most she can hope for is that Miles can keep Bass tamed if she informs him that it's getting worse.
So when Jeremy comes to find her, panic in his eyes, she knows that something is wrong. "Hurry, Charlie," he shouts from the doorway, and she doesn't hesitate; she shoots up from her chair, throws her precious 'Art of War' edition in the general direction of the table, and runs after her best friend.
"They're in the infirmary?" she yells as they sprint in the direction of Philly's hospital. It's the first thing that comes to mind, and the captain nods, his breathing getting laboured after running to get her while she is still going strong.
They burst through the doors, the guards aware that they should always let these two pass. Miles is on the nearest bed, a doctor and two nurses working on his wounds while Bass stands at the head, his hand resting on Miles uninjured shoulder. His bloody fingers are wrapped around the metal headboard, knuckles white with pressure.
His face is marred by small bleeding cuts from the shattered window that rained down on them when the explosion hit. His weight is resting on his left side, his right leg unable to take the pressure, but he seems in no hurry to get medical attention until he knows for sure Miles will be okay.
"What happened?" she demands, approaching the bed to see Miles conscious and grimacing as the doctor stiches him up. He looks like he suffered similar injuries to Monroe's, barring the gash in his side and a bump on his head that the nurse is poking at.
"Would you stop that?" Miles snarls at the woman impatiently, shaking her hand of and regretting moving his head as soon as he does. She looks unapologetic and presses a post-blackout cool pack against it for the swelling. Her uncle hisses and glares, looking like he'd rather be anywhere but the place he currently is.
"Miles!" Charlie snaps, garnering his attention and silencing him from further protesting. "Rebels tried to blow us up," he answers, his eyes glazy with a concussion, "they missed."
Charlie, happy to find her uncle still as unmoving, grumpy and generally Miles-ish as ever subtly turns her attention to Monroe, who doesn't notice her staring, his eyes locked on the gash that's almost closed.
What she sees makes a chill race along her spine. Sure, she'd noticed that the president was angry, so is she. Monroe though, he's not just angry, he looks murderously unhinged. His hands are stained with blood from where he tried to keep pressure on Miles' wound. Whatever is going to happen, it's not good.
Jeremy, who stands next to the president, a silent support and extra guard, only has concern for Miles. He has barely glanced at the other general, and won't see what is going on in time.
"I need some air," she lies, and her best friends perks up and gets to her side immediately, knowing that she is a huge target and cannot be left alone under any circumstances. He has to keep an eye on her, make sure she doesn't stray too far, and she uses it to her advantage.
She leads him away from the guards, makes sure they are alone and takes a breath. "Did you see that?" By the look on his face, he has absolutely no idea what she means.
"That gaping wound in Miles' side, you mean?" he asks with a biting tone, his patience frail now he has seen his friends wounded, now that the reality of their death is all that much closer, brought to the forefront of his mind.
"Monroe," she bites back, her fear for the man's actions overwhelming any concern she has for Miles, her uncle practically immortal in the safety of her own mind.
"What about him?" Jeremy asks, their recent conversation not really a priority at this point in time.
"Did you see the guy?" Charlie asks exasperated, "Someone tried to kill Miles in front of him," she says, but sees she is not getting through, "He's going to wipe everybody responsible off the chart, Jeremy!" she raises her voice, glancing to the side to check if there's anybody who noticed her little outburst.
"So?" the captain retaliates, seemingly not having that much of a problem with that, and it answers at least one question. Her uncle, Jeremy, Monroe, they all think that making an example of the attackers will make a difference and lessen the assassination attempts, while Charlie knows that it will only make the rebels more determined because they'll be proven right. The Republic will prove that they are relentless and cruel and people will long for a democracy for all the wrong reasons.
Of course she wants to see the rebels who bombed the restaurant dead. You don't live with two of the best killers in the world so easily if you are object against death with everything in your heart. What Jeremy doesn't seem to understand is that Monroe isn't going to stop with the bombers if the look on his face was any indication. He'll wipe out their friends, their families, their whole platoon if he feels there might be a single rebel among them. That's what she saw in Monroe just now.
"So?" the fourteen-year-old repeats, her fists clenching, "So?" she pushes Jeremy, hard, and he falls back, not having expected her to ever do that to him. "How can you be so blind!" and it's not even a question anymore at the end of her sentence.
She turns on her heel and leaves him stumped and gaping on the ground. Charlie doesn't think, doesn't let her own insecurities stop her as she makes her way to the bomb site, where everybody is heading.
She's too young and untrained and not at all respected, but that doesn't stop her. She approaches the scene to see the first bodies of innocent bystanders getting dragged from the rubble, families gathering to search for their loved once, children crying and men shouting.
Charlie finds what she is looking for without any trouble. A soldier surrounded, his gun pointed at the Major while his eyes dart around in search of a way out. The perpetrator is quiet, ignoring the negotiations and looking for something. Charlie suspects he is waiting for fellow rebels to get him out, but nobody lifts a hand.
The man is disarmed and grabbed, dragged to a cart and bound like a present for Monroe. They post two guard with him and the rest goes to contain the chaos and resume clean-up.
This is her chance, and she takes it. "General Monroe requests the presence of this man. He is to be taken to the cells," she says, her voice steady and her stance proud and confident. The guards recognize her and nod, having expected this order like she knew they would.
The elder soldier puts his gun at the bomber's back and gets him to his feet. "Walk," he orders, and the man does as he's told. They make their way through the crowd and he leads them to the cells, which are located in a remote area of the city.
With everybody investigating the bombing, the roads are clear. There is nobody around, the sound fading away with every step they take. Charlie tenses in anticipation.
The guards never see it coming.
She takes them out with two blows and has the gun in her hand and pointed at the bomber's neck before he can even think of running.