by John Davis
The hurt in his heart was as obvious as the chase soon to be given by the Germans. His normally comical demeanor was subdued into nothing more than short, emotionless answers.
And moments later, just as abundant droplets of rain began to squeeze from clouds above, two shadows sprinted away into the pitch of dark. One feeling the shame of her confession, while the other continued to harbor the guilt of his secret.
***
“Prepare for the hunt.” Preacher said, letting the German soldiers in her group know of his intentions.
Having found Nadia Jacobson, the sniper now longed for the hunt of both Americans. They would pay by the barrel of his rifle if things went according to plan. Though death by the hands of any German would suffice.
“Perhaps we should spare her life and take our anger out on Jackson instead.” Nadia commented.
Though it had been made crystal clear to her that a love with Alicia Lucard would never be, Nadia's heart continued to long for the touch of a brunette that she would love until her dying breath. Regardless of their history.
“No,” Preacher replied sharply. “I understand your feelings for her. I also know they have clouded your judgment when it comes to the obvious. She does not care for you, proven by her running away with him. I respect your command, but respect my loyalty when I say that I will run them both down like dogs. By myself if I have to.”
She had never seen Preacher angered to this magnitude. His eyes sharing a story of retribution.
“No,” the blonde replied quickly. “You are right, and a true soldier. I will accompany you.”
“Someone wake Baron up, we must move!” Preacher yelled, readying his rifle.
It was a split second later that he, as well as the rest of the group, realized their loyal soldier had embarked on an eternal sleep. Death, by the blade of Saunders. Proven by a large area of blood seeping through the front of his shirt, the cloth fibers sponging away the salt of crimson.
“Let these fuckers die with their screams!” Perk yelled, a hail of American gunfire beginning to rain down onto the unsuspecting German group.
Grabbing Nadia and pulling her to cover, Preacher saved the ailing woman's life. Though she was free of wounds, her heart had been injured beyond repair by a woman who she had considered to be her everything.
“Nadia, you must focus. Our country needs the soldier in you. I need you!” Preacher yelled.
But she was broken. Forever changed by the moment her true love betrayed her. Still, a broken Nadia was more fierce than a dozen normal soldiers in most cases.
And with that, a bloody start to what would prove nearly thirty-minutes of bloodletting between soldiers who had been hardened by the will to survive.
Through the hammer of cold rain and darkness, shots continued to ring out. Shots that would no doubt alert any Ancients who were close to their position.
“Stefan betrays us! He fights with the Americans!” one of the Germans yelled loudly.
Surely enough, the same German soldier who had brought Nadia's plot to light, also stood with the Americans. Fighting alongside his new brothers with tenacity as the cause of right was on his side.
“Then kill the bastard and bury him with them!” Preacher replied sharply.
He then ducked behind cover once more, sitting beside Nadia as the ringing of lead zipped past, nearly hitting him and loosing several wooden fibers where he had stood only moments before.
There is a moment frozen in time for each soldier. At least for those on the losing end of a battle. Nadia was the first to understand that no victory could be had. She saw the dead bodies of those loyal to her, accompanied by the charge of Americans who were thicker in ranks and better equipped.
“Give me your sidearm.” Nadia said, only three Germans remaining.
“I don't understand?” Preacher replied.
“You give me your sidearm,” she said, turning to grab Preacher by the front of his jacket. “And you promise me that you'll hunt them down!”
“I do not wish to leave you here.” Preacher responded.
“If you stay, we'll both die,” Nadia said with regret. “But if you go now, your promise of hunting them down is good enough for me. I will be assured of revenge.”
“I cannot...I will not.” he replied with sadness.
“My demise is inevitable. Such was the case the moment Alicia walked away for good. I will never again know of love, and that is not a life I wish to continue living. But I can know the battle of a soldier, at least once more. Do not take that from me old friend,” Nadia replied. “Go my friend.”
Preacher understood, firmly grasping his pistol and slowly handing it to the blonde. She wanted one last stand, a pistol in each hand and a heart without pain.
Nadia had accepted the loss of Alicia, a love that would never be. It had made her insufficient as a leader, but capable when it came to inflicting pain onto others. Which is what she planned to do.
“The Americans will know of a lion on this night.” Nadia said, her teeth gritting with hatred.
“You have my promise. I will hunt them both down and make them sorry for the pain they've caused. You can be assured of that.” Preacher replied softly, readying his sniper rifle for a getaway.
“It has been my honor to serve with you.” Nadia said, her goodbye to one of the few soldiers to ever earn her respect.
“As it has been mine. Give them hell, show them the resolve of a German warrior.” he replied.
“That my friend, you can be assured of.” Nadia said with a nod, turning to once again face the barrage of gunfire.
And just as the shadowy figures of Alicia and Jackson had slipped into the night earlier, a single figure carrying a larger than life weapon did the same; on a mission to stalk his prey. Easing his way from battle undetected, and preparing a hunt for those who had wrong his country...and his friend.
Having slipped past the area, several hundred feet between himself and the fight at hand, Preacher grinned wide.
Though he was hidden in the echoes of night, a dark painted thick around him, he knew the gunfight was too much for the Ancients to ignore. If the Americans did best his group, they would have hell to pay at the hands of the star-born race.
He also knew that Jackson and Alicia had not traveled far. They were in a foreign land surrounded by nightfall, while he knew these lands as though they were his own. Because, in fact, they were.
So Preacher continued his smile of retribution, knowing his friends would be avenged soon enough. By his own hands clinched onto the stock of such a massive rifle.
As the gunfire began to trickle to a halt, the American group advanced with caution.
“Watch 'em, they're bound to be tricky and desperate.” Saunders commented, every soldier slowly moving forward with battle rifles at the ready.
Just as his final word escaped, his teeth jarred with a sting, face having fallen victim to a swift boot from Nadia.
Her final accompanying soldier, one which had been with the blonde since the invasion of Ancients, took aim on the German who had betrayed them.
As he fired, however, his shot went astray. Due largely to the fact that Perk had buried the stock of his rifle flush into the German's face.
Before the reeling German could recover, several American soldiers zipped led into his torso, wishing the warrior off into the afterlife with the sting of lead.
“Well, this is awkward.” Nadia said tauntingly as she held both pistols to her sides.
“You put those toys down, and we might be able to work something out.” Perk said.
“Not likely.” she replied with a smile.
Several American soldier waited in the background, their rifles pointed to the woman in question. As did the German who had proven himself loyal to the Americans. Front and center, however, both Perk and Saunders hovered in wait.
“Stefan. I see you've made some new friends.” Nadia commented.
“It's nothing personal Nadia, I just don't see killi
ng innocent people. No matter the flag.” he replied.
“What about traitors? Do they deserve death?” she asked, her eyes still locking onto those of the group. In a sense, she had become a cornered serpent, preparing herself to strike with desperate fury.
Nadia Jacobson was good. In fact, the best, at least when it came to both speed and accuracy. But even she knew the numbers were too great. If she had cover and enough ammunition, perhaps. But this heavily outnumbered at point blank range, she knew the outcome was inevitable.
Her moment of death had arrived.
For Nadia, it was about carefully selecting the order in which she'd try to bring spirits to the afterlife with her. Having watched Alicia walk away was the defining reason behind her empty heart. In a sense, Nadia had died the moment Alicia declared her love for Jackson.
Something that hadn't died inside of her, however, was the knack for killing. Her masterful technique of soul reaping.
“This is going to get messy. You all know that, right?” Nadia declared.
“Not worried about it you bitch, we're...” Perk began to reply sharply.
Taking the group by surprise, Nadia lifted her pistols with a blister of speed.
Her first shot cut directly into the upper skull of Stefan, the German soldier turned traitor, having turned his back on his own people. At least in her opinion.
Nadia's second pistol flung two bursts of lead from the chamber before American gunfire struck her.
And though Perk's shot initially tore into the German bombshell, sealing her death warrant on impact, both of Nadia's final shots landed true. One of them striking Saunders, while the second drifted from him a bit and bit into an American soldier who stood directly behind.
A hail storm of gunfire drifted to her, the blonde's final thoughts on her love for Alicia as the world around her began to flicker to a close. And though she seemingly fell to her death in slow motion, Nadia Jacobson indeed fell to her death.
As did Saunders.
The hardened soldier had been hit flush, his heart now carrying a gaping wound as he followed Nadia into whatever the afterlife had in store for them.
Her final shot had struck an American soldier, and though he had not been killed, he wasn't far away.
The man's yelling of agony was merely white noise as Perk knelt to his fallen friend, taking a moment to say a final goodbye to Saunders.
Then, after realizing the volume of the fallen soldier's screams, Perk immediately turned with caution.
“Gag him, do something!”
“Yes sir.” one of the remaining soldiers replied, placing a torn piece of uniform into the man's mouth. An effort to provide a biting rag while hushing the agonized warrior.
“How bad is it?” Perk asked with a low voice, pulling another soldier to the side.
“Sir. He's as dead as the others. Just gonna take a few minutes to bleed out. Sorry, there's nothing we can do. We don't have the supplies with us.” the soldier replied.
Perk dealt with the news for a few moments. It was in his nature to kill those who deserved it, and that had always been the case. But he wasn't really equipped for killing those who had been so loyal. Heroes in his eyes. Nonetheless, the soldier would die. It was a matter of being humane.
“I want you to know that you've been the perfect soldier. As long as I've known you, your loyalty has never been put into question. The truth is, you won't make it back. You've lost way too much blood. The bitch who did this is laying right over there, face down and dead for her sins. I want you to take a hard look at her,” Perk said, pausing to allow the struggling warrior a moment to view his attacker. “You can lay here in pain until you bleed out, or I can put a quick end to it. That's a choice you have to make.”
“Here,” the soldier said with teary eyes, removing his gag. “I've been carrying this locket since the invasion. It was my daughter's,” he added. “Bastards took her life...took her from me. I promised her I'd carry it until we beat these son of a bitches. I need you to carry it on for me...since I can't.”
“How old was she?” Perk asked, the normally reserved soldier fighting hard to push tears back in as he extended his hand.
“Seven,” the soldier replied. “Her name was Samantha.”
Pausing for a moment to choke back a heavy stream of tears which he could no longer control, Perk finally grasped the locket in his hand, standing to his feet once more.
“When you see Samantha again, you tell her that I'll see this war to the end. And I'll make every gray skin that crosses my path sorry for what they've done here.” Perk replied.
Nodding his approval, the soldier teared up a bit.
“Alright, do me. I'd rather die by one of our own bullets than a German made piece of shit.” he said.
It was the first time Perk had ever turned away when making a kill, fearing he would know many sleepless nights as the zip of lead fired from his weapon and into the flesh of an American hero.
American lead ending an American hero.
“We should have a little breathing room. I need to rest for a minute.” Alicia said, her and her lover having nearly made it to the edge of Berlin.
“Your gun please.” Jackson said, holding a pistol into her direction.
“Jackson, what are you doing? Sit down and rest while you can. Don't be an idiot.”
As he slid the chamber back on the sidearm, however, Alicia realized he wasn't kidding in the least.
“Jackson, what is this? What are you doing?” she asked cautiously.
“I love you. The last thing I want to do is stand here holding a gun on you, but I need to tell you something. And before I do, I need your weapon.”
“But why?” she asked.
“Because you're going to be pissed. Real pissed, and I don't want you to start shooting until I've had a chance to explain.” Jackson replied.
“Jackson dear, I'm not going to shoot you. How mad could I possibly get?” Alicia asked.
Seeing both concern and truth on Jackson's face as they deadlocked into a stare, she finally began to understand the seriousness of his soon to be confession.
“Alright then.” Alicia commented, slowly easing her own pistol out to place on the ground, doing the same with a well-used battle rifle.
“Alright, please just step away from them. Please.” he asked with a slight nod.
“Just tell me what you have to already, geez.” Alicia said, quickly finding a large rock to sit on and face her lover.
“I want you to know right up front,” Jackson said, holstering his sidearm. “I had no choice but to mislead you. It wasn't personal, and I've wanted to tell you the truth since day one.”
“Alright?” she replied in a questioning tone.
“And everything I feel for you is true. I swear to God it is. When I look at you I melt. I can't sleep many nights because my love for you is real.”
“Alright, get on with it already.” Alicia said, this time with a bit of sheer sarcasm.
“Alicia, I'm not a United States soldier.”
For a moment, they stared onto one another with questioning eyes.
“Yes, I know. We're in Berlin, remember?” Alicia responded.
“I mean I never was.” he said.
A moment of quiet seemed to draped over them as Alicia did her best to make sense of things.
“What? What are you saying? That makes no sense, I was there when you called in an airstrike. Remember?” Alicia questioned in a challenging voice.
“Alicia, I'm a separatist.” Jackson replied.
“What, no. What about Norfolk? You were shot down.” Alicia said, fighting to decide the true background of the man in front of her.
“Alicia, I promise. I'm a separatist.” he said once more, doing so with a thick British accent.
Her eyes gave away the fact that her mind struggled with his sudden change.
“Alicia, I belong to a group called the Rise of Allies. We do have a bit of military-style muscle, but we're not affiliate
d with the United States at all. I can promise you that.” Jackson said.
“Well you're not affiliated with the Ancients. Right? I mean, we can get past a white lie if need be,” Alicia asked. “Please tell me you're not affiliated with them?”
“No. We're not affiliated with the Ancients either. In fact, that's why you and I met.” Jackson said.
“What do you mean?”
“When we first heard of a possible alliance between Washington City and the Ancients over a year ago, we began planning an all out assault. We got word your group was heading out, so the Rise of Allies put me in perfect position to meet you. We needed you on our side.” he admitted.
“You were a fucking plant?” she asked with raised tone. “And the paperwork you had on Nadia. Tell me that was legit.”
“Not exactly. We knew she was working with the Ancients, but couldn't prove it. The original plan was to earn your trust, provide you with documentation of the soon to be alliance, and work with you to take Washington City.” Jackson confessed.
“You mean break my heart. That must have been the plan.” Alicia replied with both anger and sorrow.
“No Alicia, I love you. I swear it!” he replied, pleading the truth to her.
“Then why the lies Jackson? Why not tell me all of this on one of the many nights that we shared a bed?” she asked angrily.
He hesitated, doing his best to find the right words.
“I had to. I couldn't tell you the truth until the Rise of Allies made its move.” he replied.
“And look where that's landed you. Landed us. I walked away from a woman that truly loved me in order to go on the run. A fugitive with a damn liar for a running mate!”
“Alicia,” Jackson said with gentleness, approaching her with caution. “This very moment the Rise of Allies is taking Washington. By morning, it will be back in the hands of those who hate Ancients. No more politicians pulling strings. No more puppet shows. Just people fighting for their damn freedom. I thought that is what you were about? Perhaps I misjudged you.”