The sun was high in the sky, casting its unrelenting light on the historic Homs Oil Refinery. The abandoned behemoth of steel and rust stood as an eerie monument to a time long past. As they approached the city, Toshiro noticed the stark contrast between the industrial structures and the serene beauty of their surroundings. The Orontes River flowed peacefully to their right, and beyond the river lay al-Basatin, a lush green oasis that beckoned them with its tranquility.
Baz glanced out the window, his eyes flitting between the refinery and the natural landscape. "This place is a paradox," he muttered, his brow furrowed in thought. "Guys, the rebel base isn't too far from here. We should ditch the car and continue on foot," Baz suggested, his voice filled with tension. "A car like this—in the city, no less—it screams suspicion."
Toshiro and Ren exchanged glances before nodding in agreement. Toshiro knew what Baz meant about the scarcity of cars they encountered. It was no surprise since motorized vehicles were a rare sight. With a deep breath, Baz pulled the car over and parked it inconspicuously amongst some thick vegetation.
"Alright, let's move," Baz said, determination etched across his face. The trio exited the car and began trekking toward Homs' western gate.
As the three of them walked down the cobbled pathway, the magnificent gate loomed before them, its architecture reminiscent of a bygone era of at least fifty years ago. The gate had been neglected. But despite its worn appearance, the white walls still stood tall and possessed a certain grandeur. Though cracks and dislodged bricks were evident, it remained an impressive sight to behold.
"Can you believe it? I feel like a real live tourist!" Ren exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with enthusiasm. Her excitement was contagious, and even Toshiro couldn't help but smile at her childlike wonder.
"Focus, Ren," Baz cautioned, his voice low and tense as he surveyed their surroundings.
Ren clapped her hands in a burst of energy. "Come on, Baz! Aren't you excited?"
"We don't have time to play games. And I think we should keep a—"
Some autowalkers passed by, prompting Baz to continue in a whisper, "We should keep a low profile. We need to meet up with the Homs arm of the Rebellion and restock our supplies."
Ren nodded, her enthusiasm dampened by the reality of their mission.
Toshiro watched as she glanced around, taking in the neglected beauty of the gate and the eerie silence that surrounded them. Deep down, he knew Baz was right; their mission required constant vigilance, especially with the threat of Zo's drones looming over them.
"Let's move," Baz urged, his voice firm but not unkind.
Ren stumbled a few paces away from the gate before her body convulsed, collapsing to the ground in a heap. Her face twisted in a mask of excruciating pain as she cried out in torment.
"Ren!" Toshiro shouted, his eyes widening in shock as he rushed to support her trembling form.
Baz reached her first, quickly grabbing her hand to connect to her vitals.
"What's wrong with her?" Toshiro asked frantically, looking to Baz for answers.
"It's the kill virus!" Baz hissed through gritted teeth. "The infection is catching up with her."
"Damn it," Toshiro muttered, feeling the weight of helplessness settle in his chest. He locked eyes with Ren, her normally vibrant gaze now clouded with agony.
"Help me get her back into the car!"
Ren screamed again as they carried her, but the nearby autowalkers continued their programmed march, utterly indifferent to the scene unfolding before them. Toshiro thought, A woman screaming in the street and a crowd oblivious, their minds immersed in VR.
Trembling with fear, Ren clutched the backseat of the car as Toshiro tried to ease her pain. Meanwhile, Baz monitored her physical condition.
Despite Toshiro's efforts to comfort her with soothing temple massages and a calming tune, her painful cries persisted.
Toshiro placed a hand on Ren's trembling shoulder, feeling the weight of her fragility in this moment. He took a deep breath and opened up to her, hoping to ease her pain. "Ren," he said softly, "I know you've been wanting to know why Zo killed my wife. I haven't been ready to talk about it before, but I am now."
Ren groaned.
Toshiro pressed on. "Ren, listen to me," he began, his voice wavering but determined. "I haven't told many people this, but my son Than was illegal. Luna and I had applied for permission to have a baby for years, but Zo denied our requests time and time again. We turned to the black market to unlock Luna's birth control virus, and that's when she gave birth to Than."
Ren opened her eyes just long enough to make eye contact with Toshiro before curling up in pain again.
He paused, taking a deep breath as memories threatened to overwhelm him. "Oh, Ren, you would have loved him. He was a little ball of joy, always smiling, always laughing. We used to wrestle, and I would pretend to lose, so that he would leap around the room with excitement at having won."
Ren lay still for a moment, her eyes closed.
Toshiro buried his chin in his chest, his voice trembling. "I'll never forget the look of fear on Than's face right before they threw a black bag over his head. They grabbed him by the midsection and took him. I ran after him, but an officer tased me, and I fell to the ground."
Ren opened her eyes.
Toshiro paused before mustering the courage to reveal more. "Luna did a back kick to the head of the police officer, then I watched as they pinned her to the ground and grabbed her head."
A single tear rolled down Ren's cheek.
Toshiro's voice cracked. "Luna looked at me and said, 'I love you,' before they broke her neck and scanned her into the token."
Baz was deep at work on Ren's vitals, oblivious to their conversation, when he snapped out of it and said, "There, I think we've got it under control now."
Ren nodded at Baz, then looked up at Toshiro. "Your story...it's heartbreaking," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "I'm so sorry, Toshiro."
Toshiro watched as Ren fought against the kill virus and slowly regained her strength. Her eyes, once filled with agony, now held a glimmer of determination. He couldn't help but admire her strength and resilience.
"Thank you for sharing your story, Toshiro," she said, her voice gaining strength. "I think it's only fair that I share mine."
"Ren, you don't have to," Toshiro replied, uneasy at the thought of dredging up more painful memories.
"Trust is a rare commodity these days," she said, taking a deep breath. "And we need that between us."
"Alright," Toshiro nodded, giving her the space she needed to open up.
Ren took a deep breath before speaking. "You already know that before joining the Rebellion, I was a top agent for Zo Intelligence," she explained. "But as time went on, I became disillusioned with Zo's rule. The things I saw...the things I did...they ate away at my conscience."
Toshiro could see the weight of those memories bearing down on her, her eyes clouding over with unspoken sorrow.
"Eventually, my doubts grew too loud to ignore," Ren continued. "In secret, I started expressing my dissent. It would have remained a private matter, had it not been for my brother."
"Your brother?" Toshiro asked.
"Yes. He was always a fervent believer in Zo, and when he discovered my private thoughts, he saw them as treason," Ren explained, bitterness seeping into her voice. "Rather than confronting me, he chose loyalty to Zo over blood. He reported me to the Terrorism Defense Force, branding me a traitor and severing our ties forever."
"Ren, I'm so sorry," Toshiro said, reaching out to place a comforting hand on her arm.
"Once my brother betrayed me, I was left with nothing," Ren continued. "Separated from my family, and hunted by the TDF, I became a pariah, living in the shadows and fearing for my life every day."
Toshiro could see how deeply this sense of betrayal had affected her, not just from Zo, but from her own flesh and blood. He felt a surge of anger at the injustice she had faced.
"Ren, your strength is inspiring," Toshiro said softly. "Despite everything, you've managed to fight back."
"Sometimes I wonder if it's enough," she admitted, her voice barely more than a whisper.
"Every blow we land against Zo matters," Toshiro asserted. "Like my attack on his most prized lake in Beirut."
"Tell me about that," Ren said, genuinely curious.
Toshiro's expression contorted with rage as he proclaimed, "Zo took Than, killed Luna, and left me this token as a sick reminder." His hand trembled as he held up the silver token for them to see. "Driven by my grief, I knew I had to take drastic action. Previous hacking attempts had failed due to Zo's impenetrable firewalls, so I opted for a direct assault."
"The spear?" Ren asked with a glint in her eye.
"Indeed," Toshiro nodded. "I devised a spear tipped with a digital virus meant to disable Zo's lake. The night of the attack, I discovered heavy security: robots, drones, barbed wire. I knew then that it would be a suicide mission, but I was determined to hit Zo where it would hurt him the most."
"How did you do it?" Ren asked, leaning in closer.
"I cut through the fence and slipped past the robot guards unnoticed. How I did that, I do not know. But next, I ran out onto the surface of the lake, my heart racing. I ran for what seemed like an eternity. When I was far enough out onto it, I stood tall, held the spear high in front of me, and brought it down with all my might."
Ren cheered, "Yeah! That's our hero! What happened next?"
Toshiro grinned. "The spear punctured the surface, revealing a blinding light and a shallow hole."
"Did it work?" Ren asked.
"Only partially," Toshiro admitted, frustration clear on his face. "The virus failed to activate as planned. In desperation, I used my left hand to break the spear's tip, inadvertently exposing myself to the pathogen."
Toshiro looked down at his prosthetic arm. The memory of that fateful night still haunted him, and he took a deep breath before continuing his story, his voice soft but resolute.
"Zo's forces captured me after I had struck the lake," he explained, his jaw tightening with anger. "They took me to one of their hidden facilities, where they decided my fate. The pathogen had seeped into my bloodstream. It's unclear whether it would have harmed me, but Zo wanted me alive, and he wasn't taking any chances—he amputated my arm the next day while I was in custody."
Ren's eyes widened in shock, her hand covering her mouth as Baz clenched his fists in fury. Toshiro could see the empathy in their eyes, and it gave him strength to continue.
"Though the cost was high, my attack on the lake showed Zo wasn't untouchable. It fueled my resolve to fight against his tyranny, for Than and Luna."
Ren asked, "How did you get Kura?"
"There was a trial for Zo to save face. My Aunt Lilith paid for Kura, hoping that having a professional-looking, medical-grade arm would influence the jury in my favor, but, of course, they were all under the influence of Zo."
Toshiro rubbed Kura with his right hand. "I grew very fond of Kura—as an arm, of course—in the little time I had with her before incarceration."
Ren's gaze softened, her eyes glistening with tears. "Well, you won! Zo lost the lake!" she exclaimed, her voice full of admiration.
"Except, he built a new lake—a bigger, better, and more heavily defended lake," Baz interjected, crossing his arms, his tone bitter.
"Stop being so negative, Baz!" Ren snapped, her determination unwavering. "Toshiro proved Zo is fallible and gave hope to tens of thousands of rebels. That's what matters."
"Hope alone won't bring change," Baz muttered, though his expression shifted to one of quiet respect as he regarded Toshiro. "You've done what few could even dream of doing. But why didn't you ever join the Rebellion?"
Toshiro sighed, his shoulders slumping slightly. "For me, it's never been about the cause—you know, the fight for humanity, independence, and control over our own lives. The truth is, it was only ever about Than and Luna. My issue with Zo is personal."
"Personal or not," Baz said, nodding solemnly, "We all have our reasons—what's important is that we agree Zo is evil. And together, maybe we can make a difference."
Toshiro looked at his friends, Ren's eyes shining with renewed conviction and Baz's fiery determination burning like a beacon. He knew the road ahead would be long and treacherous, but as he sat there, in Thaxter's camouflaged loaner car, he couldn't imagine doing it with anyone else.
Stepping out of the car, the trio stood at the edge of the city, their hearts heavy with the weight of shared revelations and determination etched on their faces.
"Alright," Baz said, his eyes scanning the streets as he adjusted his headscarf. "Given Ren's condition, I think it would be better now if we drove into the city."
Ren nodded. She looked at Toshiro, who was still coming to terms with opening up about his past. "You ready?"
Toshiro hesitated for a moment, staring at the gate that loomed before them. He clenched his fist, feeling the phantom pain of his lost arm. "As ready as I'll ever be," he finally replied, his voice steady despite the storm of emotions brewing within him.
"Let's go, then," Baz said as he climbed into the driver's seat, starting the engine with a low hum.
As they turned onto a main thoroughfare, the cityscape unfolded before them like a map of uncharted territory. Toshiro braced himself, his eyes fixed on the horizon, as they drove into the heart of Homs.