Chapter 33: Surrounded

He knew that it had been a gamble to begin with. This life that he had fought so hard to obtain had required ruthlessness, something he found inside himself right about the time the eightballs descended upon the world. He wasn't exactly spineless before the world went to hell, but he hadn't realized the depths to which he would sink in order to protect what was his and his alone.

Much like the glass sitting in front of him, David Whele felt empty. The constant stress of his world ending around him was taking its toll. What he had done in his past was not something he would ever be proud of. The things he had done to survive…he sighed.

He picked up the nearby decanter and refilled his tumbler. It was early that morning. The morning he was truthful with himself. The morning where he admitted to himself that he had absolutely no control over anything that was happening. His life was useless. His son was gone. The city he had fought for was no longer his.

Arika had seen to that. The Helena elite warden squad had already secured all of Vega with one full swoop. And he allowed it to happen. He invited this… this snake to slither into his city. His craving for a power alliance had been too strong.

He picked up the tumbler, studying its content.

"Breakfast?" Arika's voice broke into his thoughts as she walked by him and sat down at the oversized dining table. She arranged herself as a queen would, with grace and fluidity. A moment later, a servant placed a platter of food in front of her and a champagne flute.

David looked at the woman sitting in front of him and plastered a grim smile on his face. "Who needs food, when you can drink?"

She daintily used both fork and knife as she worked her way through breakfast. All the while, she studied the broken man in front of her. He looked worse for wear, the lines on his face more pronounced than usual in the stark streaming sunlight.

"It seems you have an endless supply of that lovely concoction. Helena has its own supply of enjoyable elixirs, but Vega's whiskey is quite…different. You must tell me how you come by such lovely drinks?" she said with a smile.

David couldn't help but think of a cat that had just eaten the canary. There was a smugness on her face that made his skin crawl. He wasn't sure what her plan was for Vega, but he knew that it might not include him. It had occurred to him before that his days were numbered. His hand clutched the tumbler as he abruptly stood up. His entire body was screaming at him to flee, to save himself.

Looking around, he noticed that her black-clad elite wardens were slowly surrounding them. When had they arrived? He had not seen them a moment ago. Gulping down the rest of the whiskey and then putting the glass on the table, he eyed Arika as she quietly ate her breakfast.

"Tell me, when did you find out?" Arika asked with certainty.

David exhaled an abrupt laugh and then stilled for a moment, weighing her words.

"Your soldiers were a bit of a give away," David said with a sarcastic overtone. "This was your plan all along, wasn't it, Arika?" he paused, chiding himself internally. "I should probably address you as Evelyn."

She smiled at him and picked up the champagne flute. "I think I've become accustomed to Arika."

He glanced around at the guards. "So because I know who you are, you're going to get rid of me now?" He shook his head, brain scrambling quickly to find a way out. He always found a way. Always. "I could be your greatest ally, Queen Evelyn. Had you trusted me to begin with…"

"You played the part I needed you to, David," she said as she took a sip of her champagne. "And now you are no longer needed."

David's face was frozen in a grim smirk. He knew this was coming. "I'll leave."

She smiled at him and sat back. "I realized the moment that you knew, David. You are quite adept at covering your true intentions. However, I've dealt with you long enough to see when that small change happened. It was a small expression on your face that was easily and quickly covered by your diversionary tactics. But mostly, it was the way that you so easily acquiesced to everything I asked for. Things that would never be in your best interest, and yet…. suddenly you were so agreeable and supporting of me." She paused, gazing at him thoughtfully. "I was waiting for when things were more…solidified in my stronghold of Vega."

He let out a mirthless chortle. "So my need to survive became my undoing."

"So it appears." She gave a small, almost imperceptible, nod to someone behind him.

David's heart raced as he turned around. One of the elite wardens stood directly behind him and he immediately jerked away, turning quickly back to face the queen. "Your highness, please. I beg of you! I will leave! You will never hear from me again!"

Evelyn laughed. Standing up, she walked around the table to face him directly, holding her champagne flute idly in her hand. "Ever the survivor. You would stop at nothing to save yourself. Even your own city. You would give anything, wouldn't you? Your loyalties are fleeting." She considered him for a moment longer. "It's unfortunate."

Her guard quickly produced a baton, smacking David in the back of his knees, causing him to fall onto them. His cry of pain was short-lived as the warden grabbed him around the neck and began squeezing. David's mind raced as he tried to find any exit strategy. On his knees in front of the royal queen of Helena, he, Consul of Vega, was going to die in such an undignified manner? There must be another way. A frustrated gurgle escaped his lips.

Evelyn placed the drink on the table and stood witness to his slow demise. It didn't stop him from struggling. He lashed out, causing a second warden to restrain his arms. It was a slow agonizing way to go and David fleetingly thought she must have wanted him to suffer.

The small smile on her face confirmed his suspicions.

And then the sirens began to wail.

Vega's security system kicked in and the room's alarm lights began flickering. The Wall's sirens loudly echoed throughout the streets and reverberated into the room. It startled Evelyn from her calm exterior, causing her to drop the champagne glass. Suddenly alert, she flicked her palm out to her wardens and they immediately let go of the struggling man, leaving him to collapse to the floor.

Within minutes, the room was clear of everyone except for David. Gasping on the floor, he wondered what had given him the reprieve. Evelyn could have just as easily ordered for his neck to be quickly snapped before leaving the room. Perhaps she believed he would still be useful in the coming days.

Pushing himself upright, his face was flushed and the look of terror was still fresh. He would not be around to find out what further plans she had for him when the dust settled. Slowly standing up, he scanned the doors to the room as he caught his breath. He hoped that the peculiar wardens in black would be occupied for a time.

The alarm lights continued to flicker.

~~~**D**~~~

Inside the war room, the energy was frantic. Surrounded by her ever-present wardens, Evelyn rushed in, moving around the room to the multiple monitors that displayed images of the desert as well as the roads leading into Vega. On several displays, images of billowing sand kicked up from the desert could be seen, along with an oncoming convoy of trucks and military vehicles.

Evelyn stopped moving, eyeing the area above the billowing sand on the screen. She pointed to it and demanded, "Zoom in on that. In the air just above."

The nearby tech assistant did as she was told, zooming in on the indicated spot. Evelyn held her breath as she watched the images grow larger.

A sky full of winged beings, all headed straight for Vega.

The room went silent as everyone stared at the images, allowing for the moment to sink as they realized what was coming for them. Shifting back, Evelyn knew what it meant, however, it was happening sooner than she expected. Immediately, she ordered, "Start the Phaser. We'll be implementing the Raven protocol. Now!"

The Queen of Helena crossed her arms and hoped that she had not made the wrong choice. She knew that Gabriel was not exactly trustworthy and it was all a gamble. Either way, it was going to hurt.

But she planned to be alive enough to feel the pain.