Chapter 35
Aliyah frowned. "I didn't do it". We all blinked in confusion, the moment she said it. We were having a rather quiet lunch when she just burst to our table and said those words.
Levi raised his eyebrow. "Didn't do what?" It looked like he knew what she was talking about, but he obviously wanted her to say it with her mouth.
"I had nothing to do with yesterday's protesters. I had no hand in it. I would never purposely turn Taye's death into a chance of pull you down. I just wanted you to know."
"Is that all?"
"Clearly."
Levi plainly nodded. "It's fine."
Once she was out of earshots, Kel asked. "Do you believe her?"
Levi sipped his glass of water, then answered. "I don't have a choice to. She seems sincere, but then again, she could be covering her tracks."
"I believe her." They all turned their heads to look at me. "Aliyah doesn't gives a damn about what she says or does. She wouldn't do this, if she's not comfortable for something she didn't do."
Juan snorted. "Not unless she's desperate and doesn't want to get caught. She's getting really sloppy these days. It's kind a getting obvious that it's her. It's almost pathetic."
Wale rolled his steely orange eyes. "If she's that much of a pain in your ass, why don't you fire her as your vice? You shouldn't sit on the same table with the enemy."
"I can't play my cards like that. She has alot of supporters down here. She's also Dame Josie's foster daughter. I wouldn't be foolish enough to cause an even bigger rift in this Clandestine."
Wale didn't look like he understood, but that didn't stop him from shaking his head in disapproval. "The politics in leading this tiny district is too intense. I don't know how you do it. It wasn't like this in the other district, why is it this way here?"
Levi just shrugged, and continued eating his meal. I frowned slightly. Was I the only one who saw how tense he really was? It seemed like he was trying to seem unbothered, but I noticed the way he rubbed the back of his neck and how his eyebrows drew together. His hands were clenched and unclenched repeatedly, under the table. Those were the cues he showed whenever he was frustrated and I easily read that.
Miriam sang. "Let's just hurry up. We do have a rescue mission to get to."
...
We had one task. To rescue two little girls. A regular simple job, but how did it go so wrong? How did one thing lead to a plethora of chaos?
Well it started out just after Miriam said. "Let's just hurry up. We do have a rescue mission to get to."
We all hummed in agreement and readied ourselves for the journey. We did our routine. Took our weapons from the mechanics domain, said our chants and jumped into the van. Just the usual routine. Nothing special.
Travelled for hours. My butt went stiff from the journey. Sat next to Levi. Usual stuff.
Finally found the van we were waiting for. Wale shot the tyres. Miriam used the tear gas as a form of distraction, that the mechanics domain came up with, and we attacked the damn security enforcers. More usual stuff.
You know what wasn't usual? It's what happened next.
Wale whistled. "Damn, that tear gas thing is badass. You looked badass doing it."
Miriam grinned. "I think I like doing it as much as I like using a shotgun. Makes me feel insanely powerful."
Levi's smiled softly. "Easy there, Harley Quinn. Let's get our -"
The sound of a gunshot and Levi falling on the ground, had all of us whirling around. A gash tore through his black shirt and carmine coloured blood oozed out of his lean body. He clutched his abdomen tightly and cried out in pain.
I screamed out Levi's name and turned my head around. I ran towards where he wriggled on the ground in anguish. My eyes caught the security enforcer and readied myself to shoot him, when an arrow shot through his head and knocked him down.
My eyes widened. Wale's lips thinned as he slung his bow to his back. "Take Levi somewhere safe. Miriam and I would handle it."
I nodded obediently and dragged Levi's body carefully. He weighed heavier than I thought he would. I rested his back against a date tree and began to apply pressure on the wound.
Levi muttered. Eyes partially opened. "You need to pull the bullet out."
"Jesus, Levi. I can't do it."
"Unless you want me to die on you, you need to."
Huffing out in frustration, I eventually asked. "What should I do?"
"Take me to the van. There's a first aid kit in the boot."
I did as he said, and managed to take him to the van. I searched for the first aid kit and found it where Levi said it would be.
He was sweating profusely and blood was spilling excessively from his body, and it scared the hell out of me. In the midst of his pain, he called out. "Relax. You can do it. I trust you will."
I nodded yet again and poured the disinfectant over his wound. He hissed in anguish, and I used the scalpel to pull out the bullet. It wasn't something I thought I'd be doing and neither was it an easy task, but yet I managed to pull through.
His attempt at a smile had me feeling apprehensive. "Good job. Now it's time to stitch me up?"
"What?"
"It's easy. I promise. Just like sewing." I forced myself not to throw up at the sight of his blood and exhaled slowly. This wasn't something I bargained for, and I was genuinely frightened by the ultimate outcome.