Complying, but also while rolling her eyes, Donna dropped her revolver and raised her hands above her head, still feeling the sharp tip of Valorie’s knife against her neck.
“Now then,” Kieran breathed a sigh of relief, “Let’s not waste any more time—Take us to Euan…” Purely from eavesdropping on Nolan and Donna’s conversation, Kieran had quickly deduced that Euan was the leader of this rival group.
Following Alek’s surgery, Emile was desperately pacing around outside of the operating theatre.
Then, the door opened, as Erica slowly stepped out from it.
“Don’t beat around the bush, Erica. Please, just tell me, is he gonna be okay?” Emile asked with a racing heart; if it were pumping any faster, it would likely explode.
Looking up from the ground, Erica revealed the warm smile on her face. “Yes,” she nodded, pleased to be the bearer of good news for once, “As long as he takes his antibiotics, Alek’s gonna be just fine.”
Emile exhaled a huge sigh of relief, “Thank you, Erica. Thank you so much.”
“Well,” Erica snickered, “I couldn’t have done it without the help of my little apprentice there.” She nodded towards Cora, who was noting down Alek’s vital signs, through the window in the door.
“Thank her for me as well, won’t you?” Emile requested.
“Of course.” Erica was glad to do this for him as she went back into the room.
Everything was quiet in the hallway for several seconds, until, “I bet a part of you wanted him to die.” Adela appeared from around the corner and goaded Emile.
Emile was disgusted by her comment, “He’s my fiancé! How dare you say such a thing!”
Adela laughed right back at him, “Your fiancé whom you cheated on, you mean?”
Emile’s face quickly dipped into a mixture of anger and guilt.
“Let me tell you something,” Adela warned him as she made her approach, “When Alek finds out the truth, which he will one day, which one of us do you think he’s gonna kill first?”
Emile fobbed her off, “Whatever, Adela. I know Alek. He wouldn’t kill either of us, so you’ve got nothing to worry about.”
Adela smirked, “It’s not myself that I’m worried about…”
Realising what she meant by this, Emile was once again disgusted by Adela, “You’re just being ridiculous now! Seriously? Alek wouldn’t harm me. You’re an idiot if you think anything to the contrary.” He shook his head dismissively.
Adela pouted at him, “Or maybe the real idiot is the one who thinks he can lie to the man he’s about to marry for the rest of his life…”
Emile clenched his fists in guilt, “I’m going to tell him, okay? Just—Just not soon.”
She laughed and threw her head back, enjoying having mental control over her baby’s father, “So when, Emile? When will you tell him?”
Emile snapped at her, “When it doesn’t matter!” He yelled at her, his voice echoing out down the hallway as he did so.
Both Adela and Emile looked through the door window with concern, but fortunately, neither Erica nor Cora had just heard this outburst.
“It will always matter, Emile.” Adela gravely informed him, as she turned around and walked away.
The further away from him Adela went, the more Emile’s expression changed from anger to fear and dismay.
Chapter 14: What’s What
The new arrivals – Rajan and his group – had been escorted into the hotel restaurant by Annabelle, Mac, and Dawn in order to be questioned on what exactly they knew about The Bandits in front of Elliot and Gwen as well.
“Garry said that they’re ruthless,” Rajan revealed whilst he had many eager eyes on him, “They believe that the streets out there are their territory.”
Michelle had quickly realised that this was more than just a debriefing. Noticing just how much desperation there was in the eyes of Gwen and Annabelle as they wait for answers, she quickly realised there was something larger in play here.
“Why haven’t they attacked us then?” Gwen asked.
Rajan shrugged, “Going off of what the late Benji told us, it seems like what’s inside of these four walls isn’t what they want—They want the streets outside.”
Gwen shook her head in an idle confusion, “This doesn’t make any sense,” she asserted, “They’ve had years to reclaim this place, and it would be far safer than out there. What’s the logic behind that?”
Innocuously, Rajan stated, “Garry and Benji both told us one thing that lined up perfectly: The Bandits have a martyr.”
Annabelle scoffed, “A martyr?”
But Gwen continued to glare at Rajan with firm eyes, “Who?”
“Well Garry thought his name could’ve been Kye, but then Benji’s rambling confirmed for us that it was Kyle.”
Elliot sighed and turned away from the table dismayingly.
Gwen and Annabelle shuddered upon the mention of ‘that’ name.
“You know him, don’t you?” Michelle butted into the conversation, having been monitoring the mother and daughter’s uneasy expressions ever since the interrogation began.
Annabelle had quickly become too distressed to answer.
“Kyle was the man who killed my husband.” Gwen stated bluntly as she wrinkled her nose up in abhorrence at the saying of his name.
“I’m very sorry to hear that.” Rajan expressed his condolences.
“Don’t be. I evened the score.” Gwen affirmed proudly, snivelling lightly as she did so in order to hide a lonely tear.
But this remark had led Rajan down another train of thought, “What do you mean you evened the score?”
Gwen took a deep breath, “I mean I killed him.” Although she would rather not have thought of such a long ago time, she was still proud of her act of vengeance.
Upon hearing this verification, Rajan squinted dismayingly.
“So, you’re the cause of all this, then.” Michelle stated exactly what her comrade was guiltily thinking.
“Excuse me?” Gwen turned to Michelle in astonishment.
“Like we already said, Kyle’s their martyr,” Michelle reminded her new rival, “If you’re the one who killed him, then the reason these bandits are so batshit crazy is because of you.” She intently pointed at Gwen with a blameful finger.
“It’s on them for killing my husband, actually.” Gwen rebutted with a sarcastic smirk.
“And were they territorial psychos back then, too?” Michelle further asked. “Because if you stepped into old Kyle’s territory, then I’m guessing that’s why your husband—”
“Michelle, enough!” Rajan spoke over her, despite not realising that Michelle was actually right. “This woman is a widow, let her be.” He instructed her.
Michelle rolled her eyes and shook her head in revulsion, “When one of our friends is dead, Raj, then you can tell me that it’s not the widow’s fault…” She forewarned him before walking away from the table, without giving so much as a parting look.
“Bitch.” Gwen quietly mumbled to herself.
Annabelle was still in complete disarray, looking to the floor as her mind was flooded with memories of what happened.
“If it really is the same group,” Mac weighed in on the situation having been silent at the table the whole time, “Then it’s also because of them that Cora was separated from her mother. That’s what happened, right?” He enquired, “The Bandits’ attack on this place separated the two of them up, didn’t it?”
“More or less.” Elliot answered, in spite of the question not being directed at him, though he could tell that both Gwen and Annabelle already had way too much on their mind now in order to be dealing with questions.
“If you don’t mind,” Rajan rose from his seat to excuse himself, “I’d like to go and see my friend.” He referred to Michelle who had very recently just stormed away from the restaurant.
“And I think we’ve got a few things to discuss as well…” Elliot further stated in reference to what th
is revelation meant for his kin.
Michelle had made her way to the canal which ran through the safe zone; the same canal that Olivia had once used to make a quick escape on.
Sulking on the railings, Michelle stared down at her reflection on the face of the water.
Rajan cautiously, and caringly, approached his friend from behind, “Not thinking of going for a swim, are you?” He asked in jest. “I hear the water’s pretty cold this time of year.” He referred to the bitter and freezing feeling of winter that was evident in the air.
Michelle ignored him, continuing to stare into the water instead.
“Come on, ‘Chelle, what’s the matter?” Rajan enquired.
Michelle tittered, “Like you said, once upon a time, I was holding a gun to your head—And now look at us, you’re out here consoling me whenenver I need it.”
Rajan did not see her point, “…And?”
“And?” She turned her entire body to face him, getting up off of the railings now, “How can you be so forgiving, Raj? How do you do it?”
Rajan took a deep breath, having waited long for somebody to ask him such a wise question, “I adapted.”
But this blunt answer was hardly what Michelle was looking for, “When I was growing up in Spain, my family were at the mercy of a street gang for years,” she elaborated, “If I ever saw any of their evil little faces again, I’d drop them right on the floor where they stood without a second thought… I did similar things to you once upon a time, and yet you can live with me at your side, how?”
Rajan smiled at her, “Because you regret it.”
Michelle sighed, “Only because you weren’t a total asshole. If you’d have given me even the slightest bit of a cheek, I’d have blown your head right off.” She was rather careless with how she expressed her mindset.
“You know,” Rajan still smiled at her, “Somehow, I don’t think that’s true.”
Whilst she wanted to refute this at first, Michelle quickly realised there was no point in lying to neither herself nor the only person left alive that she even somewhat trusted.
“Everybody’s allowed to make mistakes, Michelle.” He patted her on the shoulder in comfort, “You’ve made yours and you’ve learnt from them. If I were to begrudge you for your past, all that learning which you did would be undone.” He explained his ethical stance.
“And—And what about these bandits?” Michelle further queried.
Understanding her concerns, Rajan politely affirmed, “It’s not our fight anymore. This vendetta is between the people in these walls and the ones outside of it; not us.”
“It’s not even a vendetta, Rajan. Neither side seems to have any interest in quashing the other.” Michelle noted.
“Well,” Rajan scratched his scalp awkwardly, “I think now that this lot know it’s their dead arch enemy’s group, there’s gonna be a vendetta rising up pretty quickly now.”
Michelle nodded in acknowledgment of this, but felt no guilt over the fact that, by killing Benji, she may have just brought her own group into this fight as well now.
Still sat around the same restaurant table, Elliot, Gwen, Annabelle, Mac, and Dawn were delegating over what their next move would be.
“We have to kill them! There’s no question about it!” Gwen was adamant as she passionately clenched her fists over the idea of mass murder.
“I agree,” Annabelle, having broken out of her traumatically nostalgic trance, seconded her mother, “These people are dangerous and ruthless, we’ve seen that with our own eyes. Going off of what our new friend Rajan told us, nothing has changed!”
But Elliot was looking at the situation through a much wider lens, “Cora’s group has been here for months, and not once have they even bothered to attack them,” he pointed out, “They clearly don’t want this safe zone, so why should we start conflict where none needs to be?”
“It’s not starting conflict, Elliot,” Gwen countered his argument, “It’s ending it! Our feud with The Bandits has been going on ever since my husband died—We just didn’t know it for all these years.”
“No, Gwen,” Elliot’s opinion was different to his stepmother’s, “The feud ended the moment you pushed Kyle into the sewers.”
“I agree with Elliot,” Dawn voiced her stance in a subdued tone, “It’s just unnecessary destruction that will end up in the deaths of more innocent lives,” She thought back to how unnecessary conflict was what had gotten her son killed, “Eric—Eric died because of bloodshed that didn’t need to happen.”
Nobody around the table could deny this, nor were any of them brave enough to speak against a forever grieving mother.
“I know I’m well out of my depth here,” Mac prefixed his opinion, acknowledging that he personally had no bad blood with the enemies outside, “But I don’t see any reason why we need to attack them – If they were attacking us, then sure, self-defence is a fair game – If they wanted this place, they’d have taken it in all the years that nobody has been living here for.”
“And if they find out that their martyr’s killer lives here?” Gwen asked in query about herself.
“Best keep a low profile, then.” Elliot answered his mother on Mac’s innocent behalf.
But now, Gwen became personal with him, “How can you be so forgiving?” She questioned intently.
Due to his blindness, it had taken Elliot a few seconds to realise that Gwen was asking him this question.
“Remember Steven?” Gwen prompted, “Remember how they came and stormed this place and left your friend to die? Remember how much that hurt Olivia--?”
“Don’t say that, mum.” Annabelle interrupted, for despite being on her mother’s side, she was also well aware that Elliot was feeling quite emotionally vulnerable being back in London without his old friends.
But Elliot wasn’t holding back any longer either, “…They only attacked us because of Annabelle.” Elliot briefly recapped.
A sudden and awkward silence came across the table.
“The very first thing that I remember you doing all those years ago,” Elliot tried his best to look sternly into her eyes, “Is killing two of Kyle’s bandits, one of which was his brother—Or have you forgotten that?”
Annabelle grunted, “I did that for my father.”
“No,” Elliot shook his head to deny this justification, “Gwen killed Kyle to avenge your father.”
“There’s no point in keeping track of the score!” Gwen suddenly burst out, slamming the table as she did so. “It’s not a fucking football match! They killed one of us, we killed a few of theirs’, and then a battle broke out which took plenty of lives on both sides!”
Once again, everyone fell into a silence, for this was another fact which none of them could deny.
Over in the hospital, the nurse had become the patient; Erica’s hearing was being tested by her wife.
With a blindfold covering her eyes, Erica had been asked to answer the questions which Tina would ask from different distances as she walked around the room.
“What vessel did we use to return to this place?” Tina mumbled to her within a close proximity.
“Airplane.” Gwen bluntly answered.
“Good.” Tina informed Erica as she backed further out, still circling around the room.
In a weird way, Erica was actually finding this exercise to be rather relaxing.
“What’s the name of the city we’re currently in?”
“London.”
The questions were deliberately easy, as Tina was only testing Erica’s hearing, and not her knowledge.
Tina tiptoed over into the farthest corner of the room, and mumbled, “What colour is an orange?”
Erica did not respond, nor did she even demonstrate the slightest indication that she had heard Tina mumbling.
“What colour is an orange?” She asked in a normal volume this time, albeit still from the distant corner.
Again, Erica did not respond.
Tina look several steps in an
d repeated the question at the same normal volume once more, “What colour is an orange?”
“It’s—Well, it’s orange.” Erica had, for a splitsecond, thought that this was actually a trick question.
“Hmm.” Tina raised her brow in curiosity as she lowered her voice once more, “What is the capital of France?”
“Sorry?” Erica asked as her ears pricked up, “Did you ask something just then?”
Tina sighed and strode slowly over to her wife’s side, “You’re immediate hearing, as it were, is definitey getting back to normal, that’s the good news.”
“…So, what’s the bad?” Erica hesitantly asked.
“Well, beyond that, I’m afraid the improvements are minimal to none whatsoever.” Tina revealed. “I think that the best of your improvements have already happened, dear. I don’t think you’re hearing’s ever gonna quite go back to normal.”
Erica laughed, “Well, that’s alright.”
Tina found this reaction to be rather peculiar, “Is it though?”
“Yes,” Erica affirmed as she removed her blindfold, “It just means that we’re gonna have to spend a lot more time together so that I can lipread off of you.” She winked.
Flushed, Tina tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. Then, she moved in passionately kiss her lover.
Chapter 15: The Martyr
Being held at gunpoint still, Nolan and Donna had escorted Nikola, Rubin, Kieran, and Valorie to the side of a large warehouse.
“It’s a trick.” Valorie grumbled, not believing that the two untrustworthy bandits had led the group to the right location.
“Oh, it’s not a trick.” Donna rebutted with a smirk.
Getting restless now, Valorie moved around in front of Donna. Then, with a smirk of her own, she raised Nolan’s own rifle towards him, “Isn’t it?”
Donna shook her head and rolled her eyes, “How ironic that you’re the real idiot in this situation.” She taunted Valorie, knowing that she was not going to pull the trigger.
“Brave words coming from the woman whose mate currently has two guns pointed at him.” Valorie referred to Kieran, who was still holding a pistol to the back of Nolan’s head.
Human Nature (Book 4): Human Nature IV Page 14