Chapter 13: Story
Chapter 13 Draft - The Story
“No one really escapes it, you know.” Noahn’s voice is cold and empty through the speakerphone. Trillanes knows nothing could help him run away from it. But he needed help; a coup d’etat couldn’t be successful without a leader.
“I know.” Trillanes imagined that the person speaking now had a smirk on their face. “But I need your best.”
“I only have one.”
“O-one? How can you have a high success rate with one bodyguard?” Sweat grips his palms, but he can’t turn back now. The government needed to be shown someone was unafraid.
The people needed him.
“Oh, I have enough bodyguards, all trained, all ready to die.” Trillanes imagined the person waving the thought away; trivial and unimportant. It worried him.
“But you asked for my best, and I only have one. Her name is Death.”
The office for this “meeting” felt small. He felt small. Who was this, the secretive head of a company that promised a 99% success rate (as long as you asked for the best)?
“Where is she?”
There was the softest sound of heels, muffled by the thick carpet. He looked in front of him, in his brightly-lit office and saw her.
He didn’t know when she’d come in. He didn’t even know how he managed not to see her.
How could anyone not notice a girl with metal wings?
“Are you Death?” The girl-unless the breastplate had been filled with silicone-looked up at him, cherry-fire eyes and a provocative smile. The rest of her features were covered in a mask.
It was a fluid motion, the way she began to pull the wings from her back.
“White Death.” Her tone held no sarcasm, no intimidation; it was a plain voice. “I’ll protect you.” Her fingers expertly assembled the wings into a lance, and she hitched the dress, pulling out something that resembled a gun before mounting the lance on top. It was the most bizarre weapon he’d ever seen.
“Can that thing fire bullets?”
That pretty smile and those cherry eyes never left his as she aimed the gun-thing directly at Trillanes, and pulled the trigger.
“No.”
Trillanes felt a sharp pain on his stomach, heard the shot, but smelled paint instead of blood.
There was an amused chuckle from the speakers.
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“Browning, Elizabeth? Has anyone seen Elizabeth?” Roll call. Murmurs about the lack of rain, and feverish scratching for homework that should have been done at, well, home.
Raighn raised his hand. “She texted last night, Sir Tañada. Flu.”
A student he recognized as Cossette whispered something to Simon, and they laughed. Petty people, with nothing else to do than form their own conclusions.
It was a cancer that spread in this school. Idly he wondered if these students knew how it was like to live without parents.
‘Their parents must be divorced, thinking about it or miserable.’
Raighn turned his head and stared at the Oakwood hotel, thoughts lost in the green mist of his eyes.
“…this will be on the test, so memorize this formula. Now, for some exercises…”
Forty minutes later, a fire alarm signaled the end of class. Raighn left and went directly to the corps room. Lunch was pleasant inside relative silence.
The key turned, but the light was already on.
“Hey. You’re eating here too?” Kyle Winchester. He was seated on the floor next to the male rifles, chewing what looked like a slice of pizza.
He placed his bag down on Browning’s table, when he noticed another bag leaning on the table’s edge.
“Where’s Adrian?”
“Went out.”
Raighn unpacked his lunch and ate standing.
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“I…thank you.” Adrian Nagant looked down at the bundle in his hands. He felt the grease of cookies, the small ones from Mr. Meadows. The girl in front of him was a freshman and nervous, pulling at her blazer.
He held the bundle and gave her a tired smile. It made her squeal and run back to wherever she came from, a girl-sound that hurt his ears even in the noise of the basketball court.
‘Maybe Browning would eat them.’ he liked marzipan cakes better, and the girl often had a stupid smile on her face anyway.
Opening the door, he was greeted with Raighn taking a swig from a blue-capped water jug.
“Hey. Where is she?”
A hand is put up and when the jug is back inside Raighn’s bag he replies, “Flu. She’s at home.”
Nagant’s brow furrows and he tosses the bundle to Raighn. “Will you give this to her?”
“Why don’t you stop accepting whatever those girls give you already?” Winchester’s voice is loud and out of place.
“…it would be rude.”
Raighn stared at the bundle and pulled at the ribbon, a neat pile of bite-sized cookies in soft red tissue paper. “Ah.” He placed it on Browning’s table.
“Yeah.” they were lumps of chocolate-colored nothing, butter sliding through his fingers. Winchester continued to gnaw on his food.
“She’s sick? That’s new. Who’s taking her place today?”
“Who’s her second-in-command?” Raighn looked at Winchester and winced. “Quit chewing so loud.”
Nagant shrugged. “I never knew she needed one. Maybe Luger could do it. Or Koch.”
A bitter laugh. “Koch handling the medics? They’re scared stiff of Browning; they’ll eat Koch alive.”
Nagant picked up a cookie. “that’s what I’m counting on. If they eat him, they won’t bother me and the AP Squad.”
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“What are you doing?” Trillanes glanced at the young girl wearing the white dress, scribbling on pieces of paper.
She had disassembled the odd weapon; it was lying next to her on the floor in neat pieces. Every other person that wanted to touch the pieces ended up getting a jolt of electricity.
“Responds to my fingerprints. You’re lucky I didn’t set it to nerve gas.” was the only explanation she gave when prompted. None of the other guards, or employees wanted to talk to her. Her code name was Death and she smiled often but the mask made every gesture seem artificial.
Her mask was still fixed on her face, with holes for eyes and a long triangle of a nose. “Paperwork.” He thought he’d seen ‘History’ in neat type, but that wasn’t any of his business.
The airconditioning’s hum was the only sound in the room. Deep inside of her head, White Death frowned.
Math problems were harder when you missed school and no one else could help.
‘Wonder what the squad did without me.’ An amused smile.
‘Naggie. What are you doing right now?’
____________
Afternoon. Adrian Nagant felt a bit better whenever he saw everyone wearing their crisp Air Force uniforms, from the girls’ neat buns to the boys’ socks-never carelessly rolled. The hallways were buzzing since the seniors found Nagant without his usual companion.
“Who’s taking over for her?” “Did you hear she’s absent today?” “I heard that Luger’s taking over for the Medics.”
Even a few teachers looked like they wanted to ask.
He felt his phone vibrate once, twice, three times. There were too many students about and he couldn’t risk an important ‘work’ message being read by a teacher (although he doubted any sensible person would believe assassins still existed).
Keeping in a sigh, he walked briskly through the hall, wanting to slam his headphones down on his ears and never take them off.
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During ACP time, the classrooms were rarely used. Whenever they were, the students looked forward to a comfortable lecture. Unfortunately, this type of lecture never happened, as the students were even more stressed and wished they were exercising on the field.
“PIPE DOWN OR SQUAT, CHOOSE.” Sten was known as the gentlest of the officers, but seeing her pissed gave Raighn a rare opportunity to smile. And smile he did, while looking down at the nervous, blue-uniformed students from the platform.
“So you lot can keep quiet after all. We don’t have a lot of time, so inspection will be double-time…”
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
“Yes?” Raighn’s voice was thin and icy, claw-like fingers opening the door. For a brief moment the other cadets saw Luger, glasses thick with steam.
“Look straight! Hindi pwedeng tumitingin kung saan-saan! Discipline! Sit straight! Sit straight nga eh, wag pasaway! Cadet Cruz, isa pang tingin sakin, take a rest yan!” Sten tugged at one of her pearl stud earrings, looking at Raighn speaking quietly to Luger.
After five minutes Luger nodded and entered the classroom and whispered something to Sten. Her eyes widened.
Sharply she turned her attention to the classroom of cadets.
“Gusto nyo ba at-ease kayo? Sagot!”
“Binibini, opo binibini!”
“At ease!”
In unison chairs scraped as the flight stood, hands behind their backs and legs spread slightly apart.
“Ma’am, thank you ma’am!” before finally relaxing, the buzz of constant chatter hung in the air, replacing tension bordering on fear.
“Pipe down! Okay. Classes are dismissed early, so after this go home immediately.”
“Ma’am, why ma’am?”
A hand was raised and a squeaky male voice from the back asked “Why are we being sent home, Sir Raighn?”
Sten, Luger and Raighn looked at each other. Luger said quietly, “Trillanes is leading a coup d’etat in Oakwood. Don’t take that route, tell all your drivers, or take another bus or train.”
“DISMISSED!”
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A/N: Personally I like the pacing. Finally done with Chapter 13. Inserted Tagalog because…well, it fits better than all-English, as far as ACP is concerned.
Translations…later.
Cutting and revisions later.