March 2020- Seven and a Half Years After the Blackout

Independence Hall was nearly empty when Nora walked in the next morning. She balled her hands into fists to stop them from shaking. All she had wanted to do was run home and change her clothes. Instead, on the way back, she was forced to witness Bass's madness when a group of Militia paraded through the city with a family of five in chains. She swallowed back the bile that formed in her throat. She couldn't think about that now.

The only people who seemed to be inside the building were secretaries and housekeepers. They were polite as she passed by, greeted her quietly, and smiled. She forced herself to look as cheerful as possible but her mind kept going back to the scene outside.

She stopped on the landing outside of the guest room and paced along the hallway. A window at the end of the hall overlooked the street outside. It was too quiet. The usual hustle and bustle had stopped the minute Bass had stood on that platform and made his speech about loyalty and love of country. It had been a clear warning to anyone who may have been working with the bomber- cross me again and this is what will happen.

Nora inhaled a deep breath and leaned her head against the glass of the pane. She could still hear that woman screaming a multitude of things-her husband's name, pleading for mercy for her children, who had been sobbing hysterically. They didn't understand and were terrified. Her husband had stood stoically, a cold glare in his eyes as he stared down Bass without fear. Nora had stayed off to the side, praying Bass wouldn't see her. He would have dragged her up there, made her a part of all that. If she tried to argue, he would have argued right back. These are the people who almost killed Miles. Don't you want them dead?

No. No, because numerous people had tried to kill Miles over the years. They had tried to kill people over the years too. How did you justify one over the other? But she had never done this. She had never ripped innocent people from their homes- never children- and made a mockery of them in front of their neighbors before putting a bullet in their head. She had never been so… so detached from an event like Bass had been. The gaze in his eyes had been cold but he might as well have been watching a football game. Jeremy had been at his side but Nora had seen the tension in his jaw even though he tried to remain unaffected. She hadn't recognized the squadron that had done the execution- new recruits? Some sort of initiation?

A loud bang made her jump but she realized it was the door shutting downstairs. Bass was speaking with a group of soldiers and advisers as he made his way towards his office. Another door shut and there was silence once again.

She ran a hand over her eyes and turned to enter the guest room. Miles was still asleep, or unconscious, she wasn't sure which. She sunk onto the mattress with a sigh and wrapped an arm around her propped knee. What would he have done? Not that, for sure. Maybe to the rebel but he wouldn't have taken his entire family.

She wasn't sure how much time had passed but finally, she saw him start to stir. A relieved smile made its way onto her face and she edged closer, ran her fingers along the top of his hand. For the time being, she pushed away any thoughts of the rebel family and focused on Miles. He met her eye with a dazed smile- somewhat confused but happy to see her.

"Morning sunshine. Thought you'd never wake up."

"How long have you been here?"

"Where else would I be?" she squeezed his hand lightly, smiled softly. His smile widened a little as he stared at her. Then their moment was over and she saw the General slip into place.

"What happened?"

"Rebel bombing." Nora jumped slightly, startled by Bass's sudden appearance. Her fingers tightened around Miles's momentarily before she released his hand. Bass walked slowly into the room before stopping at the foot of the bed. Nora kept her gaze on Miles, refusing to make any sort of contact with the other man. "How you feeling pal?"

"What do you mean rebels?" Miles pushed himself into a sitting position and she reached for him, as though she could stop him. She wanted to. She knew exactly how he was. He was still injured and he wouldn't take that into consideration before jumping right back into the action.

"US rebels. We found an American flag on the ungrateful bastard. They want to bring back the United States, if you can believe that." Bass smirked a little, as though he was enjoying the current events. Miles gave an eye roll at the information. Nora knew it wasn't in disbelief but rather irritation. Just one more thing to add to the never ending list of shit we have to deal with. "Come here, take a look."

Nora moved to grab Miles as Bass did and hoisted him out of the bed. Her face furrowed with concern as Miles groaned in pain.

"I got it, I got it."

"You all right?" Bass asked as Miles waved him away and limped towards the window on his own. Nora slowly followed, anxious of what they were going to see. Her heart sank as she saw the officers loading the coffins onto a cart.

"Who's that?"

"That's who almost killed you."

"What, five guys bombed the restaurant?"

"No, no just one. The others are his wife and kids." Bass stated casually. Nora glanced upwards at Miles, watched as his face morphed from confusion into shock. "That son of a bitch wants to mess with my family, I'm gonna mess with his. We're gonna make an example out of him."

Without another word, Bass walked out of the room, using the other door as his exit. Nora stepped forward as Miles leaned heavily on the windowsill.

"What the hell is going on?" he muttered. "What-"

"Not now." She whispered, wrapping her hand around his. "I don't want to talk around him."

She glanced towards the open door with worry, as though he would hear them- as though he would accuse them of going against him.

"For now, I want you back in bed." She put her free hand on his chest, an attempt at steering him from the window. She didn't want to look at the scene anymore. All she could envision were those kids crying.

"I can't."

"Don't start. You got blown up. You're staying in bed until Hannigan clears you. Once that happens, we're going home and you're going to stay in our bed until I clear you."

"I can't! I can't sit here while he's-" he looked towards the door as well. He swallowed thickly, then lowered his voice. "What happened?"

"Baby,"

"I'll sit the fuck down if you tell me what the hell happened."

She glanced around, then moved to close both doors and locked them as well. Once that happened, she sat on the edge of the bed with him and explained everything she knew.

He sat silently once she finished, unsure of what to say. He stared at the door, as though he'd be able to see right through it to Bass. There was so much left to say about the events of the day but neither of them were willing to continue. Nora wanted to forget what she had seen. Miles wanted to pretend Bass wouldn't act like a tyrant.

"How are you feeling?" she moved closer, touched his face gently. He grimaced as she skimmed over the cuts but leaned into her, sighing quietly.

"Like I got blown up. How did you know to come back?"

"Jeremy sent a messenger. I was so scared I was going to get back and you'd-" she paused, her words catching in her throat. She glanced away, trying not to get so emotional. Maybe it was easy to put herself in that woman's place because she knew the fear of losing her husband. "You're a magnet for trouble."

"All I was doing was having a drink. Getting blown up wasn't exactly on my list of priorities." He muttered. She smiled faintly. He lifted his eyes to hers, grasped her wrist gently in his hand. "You came back."

"Of course I came back."

Nothing else needed to be said.

It dawned on her some time during the night that she was alone. Nora had barely slept in the past four hours but was wide awake when she reached for Miles to find him missing. She propped herself up on an elbow to look around their bedroom. After realizing he wasn't in the room, she climbed out of bed, and began to walk downstairs.

She found him standing by the bay window at the front of the house. He leaned against the wall, one arm resting against the molding, and held an empty glass in his hand. She stepped up behind him, slipped her arms around his waist, and laid her head against his back.

"Did I wake you up?"

"Couldn't really sleep." She mumbled. She closed her eyes, allowed her fingers to slip under his shirt. "You know, you complained that you missed me and now I'm back in your bed and you leave."

He snorted quietly but said nothing. No amount of teasing was going to ease the tension in the room. She kissed his shoulder softly, then muttered, "What's bothering you?"

"I think the better question would be what's not bothering me." He retorted. There was a clank as he set the glass on the small base of the window. They were both quiet for a moment but she knew something was coming. She could literally feel his tension and his refusal to say whatever it was that was on his mind.

"You can talk to me." She kissed his shoulder again, then moved so she was in front of him. She sat against the edge of the base and looked up at him. He kept his eyes trained above her head and shook his own a little. "Yes, you can."

"What… what am I supposed to say?"

"Whatever you want. Come here," she tugged on his hand gently, insinuating for him to sit next to her. She moved towards the left to make room for him and he slumped down on the window with his back and head resting against the wall. "Just talk to me."

"Nice weather we're having."

"Miles,"

"What? You said just talk. That's talking."

"You don't always have to be defensive and hide things. I don't think there's anything you could say that would surprise me or terrify me or whatever if you're afraid I'm going to be disgusted or judge you. I'm asking you to talk to me."

"Was it bad?" he asked quietly after a beat. She didn't need to ask what he was referring to. Her mind instantly went to the execution and she nodded.

"Yeah. The- those kids- they… they didn't deserve that." she murmured. "And he… he didn't even care."

He tipped his head back, closed his eyes, and sighed heavily. After a moment, he felt her fingers wrap around his and he turned his palm up to squeeze hers.

"This is my fault."

"No it's not."

"It is."

"You were unconscious. What were you supposed to do?"

"Not today. In general." He swallowed, turned his gaze to the window. "He was never like this. I… I made him this way."

"You didn't do anything to him." She scooted forward until their legs hit. "He made his own decisions."

"Because of me. I started this."

"That doesn't mean anything. He decided how to act. He… he let this all go to his head. He thinks he can do whatever he wants, can have whatever he wants, and there's not going to be any consequences."

"I didn't try hard enough to stop him. Actually, I didn't try at all."

"Would it have made a difference? And what have you been doing for the past month then? You said you were talking to him, trying to help him. That counts in my book."

"He was different while you were gone."

"Then that goes to show it's not going to matter what you do or say. The only opinion he cares about is his own. Personally, I don't think he tried. I think he played you."

"I don't even recognize him. I look at him and I can't even begin to figure out how everything turned out so wrong. I should never have tried to start the Republic."

"You can't say that. You don't know what would have happened if we hadn't. It could have been so much worse and who knows how we all would have turned out."

"How much worse? Everything's gone to shit over the past year or so. And now this rebel stuff? He's going to have a field day." He rubbed his hand over his eyes and tilted his head back. There was something he wasn't saying. She could see that much and it seemed to be eating at him.

"Honey,"

"It wasn't supposed to be like this. We were supposed to help people, give them security. They're not supposed to fear us or be scared to leave their houses. It's gotten so out of hand and-" he cut himself off as his tongue darted out over his lips. She moved closer, practically in his lap now, and pulled him forward to hold him. He stiffened but wrapped his arms around her and sunk against her shoulder. His face was pressed against her as she placed comforting kisses against the side of his head. "I tried to go with it and every time, it got worse. I know I've done things but he's- it's enough. This isn't what we do. I can't do this anymore."

"Okay. We don't have to. I told you that. Whatever you decide, whenever you decide, we'll do it."

"It's not that simple." He paused, trying to swallow back the anxiety that was clawing its way up his throat. He knew what he had to do. He knew how Bass was now. "He's not going to accept that. I know what he'll do. And- and even if we left, he's unstable. I've been able to… diminish certain things but if I wasn't here, I think he'd lose all control. It'll get worse and as much as I would want to wipe my hands of all this, I can't let that happen. I don't want to leave it a disaster. I fucked this all up. Him, the Republic. It's just… fucked. I have to fix it."

"What are you saying?" she peeled back slowly, heart pounding. She didn't like the tone in his voice or the blank gaze in his eyes.

"I need to stop him. Everything that has happened is my fault. I need to be the one who stops it- him. I have to."

"Hey," she took his face in her hands, trying to get him to zone back in. His eyes found hers and she saw the pain in them clear as day. "You're tired."

"No. For so long, I've sat back and let him self-destruct. You were right back when you said that I was too scared to try and change things. I was. I was afraid of losing him. He's my brother. Now it doesn't matter. I tried to defend what he's done, even went along with it. I can't anymore. I lost him a long time ago. He's never going to change or get better. This is who he is now and he's exactly the type of person I set out to stop."

"Don't talk like that."

"You told me I could say whatever and it didn't matter."

"I know but this isn't you."

"None of this is any of us. Don't you get it? We're not the people we started out as. Christ, he used to cry if I stepped on an ant when we were kids. Now, he's slicing kids open and doesn't even bat an eye. It doesn't matter to him. He'll do whatever it takes to… to do whatever the hell it is he's doing. He's going to step on everyone to get what he wants. I just have to do it before he does."

"He wouldn't do it to you."

"Yeah he would. He's already doing it. He's trying to get you, isn't he? I don't matter anymore."

"So… what, are you… are you thinking of starting a coup or something?"

"A coup wouldn't do anything to affect him. He'd slink away and gain power elsewhere. Come back and fight us. I'd- it'd have to be permanent. I'd- I'd have to kill him."

"Miles."

"I know. I know it sounds ridiculous."

"No, I-" she sighed, trying to find the right words, "I think you need to sleep. You need to think things over."

"I can't! I can't sleep. I haven't fucking been able to sleep properly since goddamn Baltimore. I feel like I'm losing my fucking mind. Every time I think it can't get any worse, it does. I swear to God Nora, I can't do it anymore." He leaned away from her and dug his hands into his hair. She could see his fingers curl, nails digging into his scalp.

"Stop. Baby, stop." She kept her voice quiet, trying not to startle him. She grasped his wrists gently, pulled his hands down. "I know it's been rough on you, as much as you try to hide it. I know how bad you feel about things and it's understandable. But you can't put all the fault on yourself. He made his own decisions and nothing you could have said or done would have changed that. I know you think you're doing the right thing but after- you wouldn't be able to handle that."

"But that's the thing. It doesn't matter anymore. I don't feel anything when I look at him. He's a stranger."

"Then why is the thought of doing it eating you up inside? You're angry, I get it. I know how much he's hurt you and how disappointed you are but at the end of everything, you've known him for thirty years."

"I'm not asking for your permission."

"I know that. I'm not trying to dissuade you either. I… you're right, he is out of control. Is… is killing him the answer? I… I think as the years go on, a lot more people are going to try to. But- I don't want you acting impulsively and living with regrets for the rest of your life. That's all I'm saying. I'm hearing everything you are saying but it's a lot more complicated than it is."

"I'm not doing it tomorrow. It's going to take some time. I can't just- I'd have to have a plan in place. I'd need some idea for what to do after."

"Try talking to him one more time."

"Why are you trying to defend him?"

"I'm not. Of course I'm not. I'm trying to spare you a lot of pain. If you see that there is no hope for him, that he is so far gone that nothing is going to make a difference, then… then you do what you think you have to."

"I swore I'd do whatever it took to keep the Republic safe. I just never expected him to be the problem." he paused, then whispered, "I'd be doing it for the Republic."

"I know."

"Will you back me up?"

"Absolutely."

He nodded faintly and allowed her to hold him. He was limp against her shoulder, all the fight drained out of him. She leaned her face against his hair, kept one hand on the back of his head, and the other on his back. After a few minutes, he let her lead him back upstairs but neither of them slept.

The next morning, she accompanied him to Independence Hall, hoping to be a source of strength for him. But as soon as they entered the building, she knew all bets were off. This last stand, so to speak, was going to be futile.

They could hear the muffled yells as they approached Bass's office. The door was blocked by three stoic soldiers, grasping their guns tightly in front of them. After a few seconds, it was eerily silent.

"General Matheson," one of the soldiers, whom neither of them recognized, gave a salute as he noticed Miles. "I'm sorry sir but President Monroe stated no one was allowed access. He did not mention you would be coming."

"He didn't know I was coming."

Before anything else could be said, the doors to the office opened. The soldiers immediately made a path and Nora had to steady herself as another set of soldiers dragged a young man out of the office. He was dressed in a Militia uniform but badly injured, bleeding profusely from multiple wounds. Miles pushed into the room without another word and Nora followed after.

"What the hell is going on?"

"Miles," Bass seemed surprised to see him standing there. He was standing at his liquor cabinet, pouring himself a glass. He did not look the least bit affected by the fact that a bleeding man had been taken from his office. "I wasn't expecting to see you today."

His casual tone almost made Nora's eyes bulge. Miles looked perturbed at the scene as well. The sound of a knife slipping into a sheath caught her attention and she glanced over her shoulder to see another man standing by the fireplace. A chair was at his side with ropes dangling from the arms. Blood splattered the wooden floor around it.

"It dawned on me sometime yesterday that we had guards stationed outside that restaurant." Bass began to speak, catching Nora's attention once more. "Clearly, they did not do their job. A reprimand was in order. As I delved deeper into the problem, it became clear that our ranks had been infiltrated by rebels. Who knows how long this has been going on or who has been corrupted. I've requested Corporal Strausser to assist in interrogations. Corporal,"

The man in the corner stepped forward while he wiped his hands with a towel. There was something about him that didn't make Miles or Nora entirely comfortable. She slipped slightly closer to him, hand on his elbow.

"Corporal Strausser was part of a troop based in Pittsburgh. I've received a multitude of reports regarding his… effectiveness. A few weeks ago, I requested his presence and gave him a promotion. Once all this bullshit started, I figured this would be a perfect way to integrate him into our inner circle. Corporal, meet General Matheson and his wife Nora."

"General," Strausser greeted him with a salute. His eyes wandered over Nora with a small smile, "Mrs. Matheson. What a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise."

"We're finished here Will. Thank you for your help."

"Of course sir." He saluted, then gave another salute to Miles. "General."

His eyes slithered over Nora once again as he walked by, "Enjoy the rest of your day ma'am."

She watched him carefully as he came towards her. Blood stained the front of his uniform and parts of his face. Neither fact seemed to bother him. She shut her eyes in disgust as he disappeared behind her. Bass was smirking from behind a tumbler when she looked up again.

"Since when do you promote my guys?" Miles asked.

"I reserve that right. Call it an executive order if you will."

"I remember his name. He's the one that slaughtered those Georgian soldiers."

"They were trespassing and attempting to steal state secrets. He's a hero."

"He's something."

"What's the problem?"

"I'm going to wait outside." Nora murmured. She left without meeting Bass's eye and shut the door securely behind her. Miles gazed after her for a moment, then turned his attention back to Bass.

"I know you have your pet projects but I thought we talked about… keeping them at bay. We don't need people like him in the capital. There's no need for it."

"I'll keep him restrained. After all, I waited an ample amount of time before unleashing him. He's productive Miles. And no need? That's exactly what we need right now. Do you have any idea how many of our people are turning against us? He's going to help get to the bottom of it. He has a way with people."

Miles shook his head, clearly disgusted. Bass's smile dissipated and his eyes darkened at the obvious opposition.

"They almost killed you. I doled out the proper punishment and you're standing there like some scolding mother, ready to smack me on the wrist."

"I don't think you need to be so… severe."

"They need a firm hand. They need to know their place. And I'm sorry but I remember three months ago we clearly discussed that I would be taking lead on issues while you bowed to Nora's complaining. I told you I'd take whatever measures I deemed necessary and you agreed." Bass tipped his glass towards Miles, punctuating his statement. He took a long sip, emptying the contents, then seemed to relax. He took a step closer and changed the topic. "What are you doing here man? You're supposed to be resting."

"Came to pick up a couple things I forgot."

"Well, grab whatever it is and go. I need you at the top of your game. The expedition to the north can't be put off forever. I'm telling you Miles, we're going to run this entire continent."

"If you say so."

"And I do." A grin formed on his face as he turned to look at the map that hung on the wall. Miles could see the determination in Bass's gaze along with his ambition. He was so consumed by power that nothing else mattered.

"I'll see you later."

"Feel better brother."

Miles shut the door on the sentiment and found Nora waiting near the Liberty Bell. He shook his head slightly, his silent confirmation that there was nothing he could do.