I know you probably don't care but my life is a mess right now and I'm just barely holding my shit together (pardon my french). Anyway, here's chapter fifteen and it's quite rich in action.
Also, I've started writing a new story, about Robb Stark (I'm rather obsessed with Richard Madden at the moment, in case you haven't noticed.) Anyway, it's called Across The Narrow Sea and I ask you readers to check it out
Please do not forgot to vote and comment, it's what keeps me going in the dark night, full of terrors.
PS: I'm not drunk.
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The dream was coming to an end. I could feel it, sense it, the way the edges started to darken until finally the whole image turned black. And then, there was a hand against my mouth, pressing down firmly so that I wouldn't, couldn't scream. Following my instincts, I bit down hard before trying to pull away from the assailant.
"Alma." David urgently whispered my name and I opened my eyes at once, realizing it was just him. He appeared worried, deep frowns on his forehead as he brought his finger to his lips and gestured for me to remain quiet. Still startled and confused, I nodded hesitantly. "Listen." He instructed.
I did as asked but with one ear firmly pressed against the pillow and sleep still weighing me down, I couldn't make out anything. "Someone's in here," David finally explained and it was my turn to frown. I hadn't heard anything. "I'm going downstairs. You stay here and lock the door," David ordered once again before swiftly jumping out of bed, making no noise in the process. He stopped by the window a quick second, peaking outside before grabbing his gun and leaving me alone.
I sighed deeply, before stretching out in bed and glancing at the battery-powered alarm clock. It was little after three in the morning. Surely it was nothing, just the wind or maybe a mouse, the house was old after all. The alarms would have gone off if there had been an intruder, there were sensors by every window and every door. David was just overreacting, I told myself before pushing back the covers and leaving the bed. If I was up at this hour, I might just as well get myself a snack from the kitchen.
The room was colder than I had expected so I put on David's shirt without bothering to button it up all the way up. I still couldn't hear any anything out of the usual, and softly shook my head, sighing, before walking into the en-suite bathroom. Absentmindedly, my fingers grazed over the light switch but the bathroom remained dark. I tried once again but it still didn't work.
"Stupid old house," I murmured under my breath, resigned to use the loo in darkness.
Stepping out the bathroom again, I walked over to the bedroom door, reaching for the handle when the door flew open, almost hitting my face. Before I could even think about screaming, the intruder showed me his badge. "Police constable, Devron." The young man announced as I read his badge. When he was sure I was done, he put it back inside his jacket pocket, the police cap almost falling off his head.
"What's going on?" I asked with a mixture of worry and suspicion as I let the man inside the room. "Why didn't you ring the doorbell instead of breaking in?"
"The power is out and the doorbell is electric, miss," Devron explained, walking inside the room like he owned the place. "We've got Nadia Ali and her accomplices in custody." He informed me, after a quick inspection of the room. What exactly had he been expecting to find?
"And this couldn't wait until morning?" I complied with a yawn, leaning against the wall.
"I'm afraid not, miss," Devron replied curtly, his bulletproof vest making him look bulkier than he most likely truly was. "PM Julia Montague herself asked for you to be brought back to London as soon as Nadia Ali was captured."
I couldn't help the way my brows furrowed at his words. Julia was no longer Home Secretary, terrorism was no longer within her area of competence. That was Mike Travis' job now. "Very well, let your colleagues downstairs know I need to pack a few things first."
"Miss, we will send someone to collect your belongings in the morning," Officer Devron objected, as politely as ever, but nonetheless firmly and I was slowly growing weary of him though I couldn't pinpoint the reason.
"I don't doubt that, officer." I said rather rudely, a fake smile plastered on my lips. "But you'll understand I'd rather take my toiletry bag and change into something more appropriate before following you." I saw his gaze drop from my face to my body and the blush appear on his cheeks as he realized my state of undress.
He slowly, almost unnaturally so, retrieved the radio from his vest and brought it to his mouth. "Miss Guinness requires a few more moments. We will be down shortly."
I had to stop myself from saying anything when he called me Miss Guinness instead of 'flapper' on the radio. David had told me, around lunch a few days ago, that once you got a nickname in the Police, you kept it for life. But Devron looked young, most likely he was just a little nervous.
"Copy that."
"Sergeant David Budd doesn't want to change as well?" I inquired lightly, picking out some fresh clothes and underwear from the dresser. Devron was still, very still as his hand rested on the gun at his waist.
"No, miss. He didn't ask." Devron said after too many seconds had passed but I merely nodded before walking into the bathroom and cursing internally as I realized the door had no lock and I wouldn't be able to see anything if I closed the door entirely since the power was out. Why would David want to leave the house in nothing but his boxers?
My rational priority would have been to change into something more comfortable but I only now realized how fast my heart was beating and how I could hear the blood pumping in my arteries. For a split second, I worried I'd have another panic attack until I realized it was just adrenaline and a bad gut feeling. But why? It was just the Police. But then, why hadn't David come back upstairs, at least to let me know everything was alright?
"Shit, David," I cursed in a whisper, my hands trembling as I gathered toothbrush, hairbrush and all that to put it inside the toiletry bag. It didn't properly fit inside and I had to use strength to force it down. Due to my shaking hands, the bag fell to the ground with a loud bang.
A shout travelled its way all up to my ears and I remained frozen, squatting on the bathroom floor, my hand reaching for the toothpaste. It was David's voice, I was certain of it. And then, there was a muffled gunshot noise.
I had no time to think it through as my hand grabbed the inox scissors instead of the toothpaste and I pulled myself to a standing position again. Almost simultaneously, Devron forcefully pulled the door open and he stepped inside, gun in hand, finger on the trigger. He tried to point it at my head, but I kicked the gun out of his hand before he had a chance to and the bullet shot through the muzzle, straight to the mirror which exploded into a thousand shards.
The noise startled me, the feel of glass falling on my skin almost in slow-motion until I noticed Devron reaching for me again at high speed. His hands twisted around my neck, almost lifting me off the ground. And then my body reacted almost without waiting for my brain to order it. I felt the scissors pierce through the skin of his throat, at the first there was resistance, like a small reminder that what I was doing was wrong, but then blood started squirting out of the wound, covering my face with it before his hands around my neck went limp.
"Shit!" I cried out as Devron slid to the ground, his hands desperately clenching at his wound but blood kept splattering out. I leaned down and for a moment, I believed I was going to help him, apply pressure to the wound. Instead, my hand reached for the gun next to him on the ground and before I could regret it, I leapt outside the bathroom.
My feet slipped on the bedroom floor and a quick glance downwards told me I had stepped on glass and was slipping on my own blood. I felt my stomach clench as I ran to the bedroom door, gun in hand and pulled it wide open. Holding the door handle for balance, I ran into the hallway and came face to face with another Police Officer who was dressed just like Devron. He was older, larger.
This time I didn't hesitate, immediately raising my arm and pulling the trigger. I wanted to watch as the bullet pierced through his forehead and his body fell to the ground, but I didn't have the time. Almost on auto-pilot, I ran down the stairs, tripping on the olive green carpet a couple of times and grabbing the handrail at the last possible moment.
There were two corpses on the floor, just by the entrance. I stepped on them in the darkness and the squishy sound almost made me vomit in my mouth. I followed the noise into the living room and witnessed David on the ground fist fighting another Police officer who appeared to have the upper hand until David managed to grab a large iron candleholder from the coffee table and hit the other man's head with it.
I pulled the body away from David, hearing it fall to the ground with a loud thump as a smartphone fell out of his pocket. David managed to pull himself up to a standing position, breathing with difficulty as I watched his body covered in blood. At once, I reached out for him, wanting to help until I saw my own hands and arm sleeves, stained red.
Without a word, David pulled me into a tight hug and I noticed the bullet hole in his shoulder, not far from his chest. "It's okay, love. Everything okay," David promised, kissing my forehead and running his hand through my hair as I cried into his chest.
I knew he was lying but I so desperately wanted to believe him. I felt David move away from me and immediately opened my eyes in fear, until I realized he had just crouched down to pick up the dead man's phone.
David cursed, looking at the screen. I looked up at him with confusion and he simply handed me the phone so I could read.
"More resistance than expected. Send reinforcement."
"2 cars on their way. ETA 3:25."
At once, I tapped the screen and noticed it was already 3:22.
"We should call the Police." I said eventually. But David shook his head before leaning over the body and unzipping the bulletproof vest.
"Go to the garage, turn on the car. I'll join you after I've collected their weapons." David groaned as he lifted the dead body off the ground. "If I don't come, you leave. Do you hear me?" He said in such a ferocious tone I wasn't familiar with. I wanted to object, but his cold stare told me that would be pointless so I ran downstairs, trying not to tumble in the darkness.
I pressed the button to open the garage door but it didn't budge. I tried again and again until I remembered there was no power. It was then that tears started spilling out of my eyes. All I wanted to do was scream and cry, but I didn't allow myself that luxury and picked up the car key before opening the driver's door and turning on the engine. The garage was dark, darker even than the rest of the house but thanks to the car's headlights I was able to find the crank. It was heavy, too heavy and it took me all of my strength to turn it.
Between the tiny slots of the door blinds, I saw two black cars pull up and stop on the east side of the road. Cursing under my breath, I ran back to the car to turn off its headlights before continuing rolling up the door, glad the front of door was on the other side of the house.
I went to sit down behind the steering wheel, wanting to be ready to drive off as soon as David was here but I heard the front door open and close and there was still no sight of him. A part of me wanted to go back upstairs and do something, another part of me told me to have faith in him. Time seemed to go too fast and too slow all at once: I felt like I had been waiting for ages for David though it had barely been three minutes and yet every second the men were inside felt like an eternity.
Suddenly, I heard footsteps and the back passenger door was opened. "Drive, Alma! Just go!" He shouted, throwing a large duffel bag inside the binnacle before entering himself. I did as I was told, pressing down the gas pedal with my bleeding foot without worrying about scratching the car.
David was looking through the back window, gun in hand, and I dared a quick peak on the side mirrors, noticing black figures exiting the house and running to their cars. "Where should I drive?" I asked in panic, my heart beating too fast and my hands slippery on wheel.
"Doesn't matter. Just drive fast, love!" David shouted although we were barely a few feet away from each other.
Tears started running down my cheeks again, momentarily blurring my vision as I took the first highway entrance I could find. It started raining heavily and the windshield wipers didn't help much at this point. I just kept on pressing the gas pedal and avoiding collisions with other drivers.
After what felt like an eternity, David joined me in the front but his gaze never left the mirrors. He was bruised, severely so and the wound on his shoulder still kept oozing blood, his current state of undress doing little to hide it. I wanted to say something, offer comforting words but at this point, no sounds came from my dry mouth. "I think we've lost them." He announced after a while.
"We should call the Police," I deadpanned, taking the first exit on the right.
"We can't do that," he objected, shaking his head. He was right, we didn't even have the satellite phone at this point.
"We should go to the nearest Police station, then," I insisted, hoping one such station would miraculously appear in front of us. "We were attacked!" I yelled hysterically.
"Listen to me, love," David whispered softly, resting his bloodied on my naked thigh. "They cut off the power, the security cameras weren't working. When the Police, the uncorrupted one, get there, all they'll see are dead police officers and they'll think we did it." He explained, comfortingly squeezing my flesh. He had a point, he did but all I felt was the bile rising up in my stomach as I remembered what I had just done.
I took the first turn right, sharply, before realizing it wasn't a road at all but a path to the forest. I drove in as far as possible but soon enough the trees became too dense and I had no option but to stop. I tried taking a few deep breaths but the air in the car felt too warm and sticky. Carelessly, I threw open the car door, letting it hit a tree.
Heavy rain poured down on my body but the drops became reddish as soon as they touched my skin. It made me want to throw up but instead I screamed with all my lungs before repeatedly hitting a tree trunk with my fist and hurting myself in the process.
Without warning, warm arms circled my body from behind, holding my own arms prisoners between them. David held me tight even as I kicked his legs, trying to set myself free but he didn't let go of me. Instead, he lifted me off the ground, letting my feet kick the air instead and making me feel powerless.
"Just let go of me, David," I cried out, tears and rain now dripping inside my mouth but looking at the sky, all I could see was Devron and the way blood squirted out of his artery. Endlessly splashing my face as if he didn't run out of it. And then the other man, the other whose face I had barely registered before I pulled the trigger.
"Love, listen to me," David pleaded, too strong for me to overpower. "Everything is going to be fine, I promise."
Against my will, I felt my body slowly go limp in his arms as if I had run out of strength. The rain was cold now, so was the wind and everything else. "I killed someone," I whispered, saying it out loud for the first time. "I killed two men."
Carefully, he let me back me down to my feet but didn't set me free. "You did it, because you had to, Alma. It was them or you, and your life is worth a thousand of these men." He said softly. I didn't agree. A life for a life, maybe, and I had taken two. "I'm sorry you had to do that, love. I should have protected you," he admitted with regret.
We stood there in the rain for a long time, until I felt my lips turn blue and our bodies were both shaking against each other, the fabric of his shirt clinging to both our skins. I looked down at his thumb, holding my hands together against my chest. It appeared broken and I felt the sudden, irrational urge to kiss it which made me realize one thing. "I think I love you, David," I admitted, my voice so weak I wasn't sure he'd hear me.
"I love you too, Alma," he replied after a few seconds had passed. It was the first time we had said it out loud, though at least for me, it had been true a long time ago.
"Where do we go now?" I asked hesitantly, hoping he'd have an answer.
"Scotland."