Wild Side [h.s au]

Chapter 12

"We? Who said anything about you two going on that mission?" I say sternly, a frown taking over my features. Being on this meeting is one thing, but letting them participate in such an important mission is something I won't allow. There's only so much risk I'm willing to take.

"I did," David deadpans.

"You do realise you're giving them a chance to lead us right into a trap? Who says they knew nothing of that attack on Rogue?" I reason.

"Mate, you're giving us way too much credit," Alex says. "I'm certain when you guys met me you weren't like 'ooh, better fear him, he's a ruthless traitor sent here to kill us all!' I legit can't walk a straight line without tripping, let alone do such thing."

"I firmly believe they can help us," Jess says. "They have knowledge we could use to our advantage and that's a chance we can't miss."

I wish it was simple for me as it is for them. I'm aware Elena and Alex haven't done anything, and they most likely won't, but I would be more at ease if I knew the reason behind their stay here. My reaction, it appears to me, is only logical to me since most of the soldiers have accepted them as our own, but I still can't shake the feeling something's not right.

"You'll help us plan this," I say sternly after moments of silence, my eyes flicking between the two of them. "But that's where your involvement in this issue ends." I lift my hand when I notice David opening his mouth, ready to protest. "We'll discuss it later."

. . . .

Hours later, our meeting finally comes to an end. The attack still hasn't been planned to detail, but we have a rough draft, so to speak. We'll spend a few days going through every single thing, every single assignment each group will have to deal with when they go to confront with Vortex. My main goal is to decrease the losses of our soldiers, so I'll have to make sure each soldier has enough weapons with them and work through a strategy for them to avoid getting killed.

It's a shit ton of work basically, which means less sleeping hours. The horror.

As soon as David officially proclaims the meeting is over, I hastily leave the room. Despite the fact Elena and Alex have been helpful, I'm pissed David would just let them go to the mission, exposing everyone to danger. Maybe they don't plan to betray us now, but you never know what might happen on the field. People are unpredictable, they could easily change their minds in the last second.

"Sir!" Elena calls me, but I decide to ignore her, continuing to walk toward the lift. "H!" She tries again, but I won't budge. I know what she'll ask and I'm in no mood to fight.

My finger presses the call button next to the lift, my whole body tense. I'm tired from all the brainstorming I've been doing for the past few hours and the only thing I want is to take a short rest to regain my energy. However, when I feel Elena's light touch on my shoulder, I figure that won't be easy. I feel a pleasant sensation where her hand has touched me, but when she retracts it, I almost protest out loud.

Wait, what?

"You really can't take a hint, can you?" I snap, my fingers curling around the bandana holding my hair back and pulling it off. My other hand runs through the tousled curls, shaking them and pushing them back again.

"David has allowed us to go and everyone else agrees, why are you so against it? What do we have to do to prove ourselves?" Elena demands, her hazel eyes searching mine.