Vikk's P.O.V.
After I swapped sides, I understood the points of view of each one. I understood why everyone was fighting for what they were fighting for, why the boys I had been with were fighting for control and why the boys I ended up with were fighting for freedom- and why they constantly created conflict.
But before I swapped sides, there was entire story.
Before I swapped to fight for freedom and peace, I was apart of the group called the Sidemen, a group of 6 other boys who were fighting for complete control over the city- no matter the cost. They didn't care about the material cost or even the cost of lives to gain control and it finally pushed me over the edge, because I just wanted peace. I understood why they fought that way, so no one could contest their power and they could finally make everything better for the other citizens, especially those in the lower class, but their method of obtaining that control scared me.
I was 23 years old when I finally fled the Sidemen and ended up on the outskirts of the city, trying to find somewhere to live that was sheltered, maybe just somewhere that I could live in peace. I didn't want to hear the constant gunfire within the city, the fires set in piles of garbage, the screaming and yelling as people fought.
And then I ran into them.
There were five of them, all of them about my age up to a couple of years older, and all of them were fighting for freedom- but peacefully. They recognised me, probably because I was often seen fighting, violently, to overtake sections of the city while being fought back by other gangs, but they accepted me very quickly into the group once they understood how much I had hated being there, surrounded by violence.
I quickly slotted myself into the group, finding that I fitted in almost like I had been there my entire life. All of them were happy to allow me into their group and it wasn't long before I was joining them on scouting missions, passing messages along to other members of our little resistance, gathering intelligence and surveillance on the Sidemen and I was quickly proved to be useful with my information on them.
One of the boys, Lachlan, who was a little less than a month younger than me, I grew especially close to as we had grown up in a similar section of the city, had similar memories of listening to the gunfire at night while we tried to sleep. We talked about how much we had hated it and how we simply wanted peace- which was why we fought for it.
The other four, Preston, Rob, Mitch and Jerome, all had similar experiences growing up. They knew the sound of gunfire, the risk that going to school was, and we all learned at the young age to sneak around, to stay out of the public eyes and how to keep your head down.
"Vikk?" Mitch asked, sticking his head around the door of my cramped, closet sized room. "Ready? Lachlan and I are, we're just waiting for you."
"Give me one minute." I said, pulling on my thick leather boots. My backpack and knife belt were lying by the door so yes, I was ready for another stealth mission across the city. This one was focused around some of Simon's underlings, surveying them and working out where their next move was going to be. We knew they were going to attack somewhere, an area they hadn't yet seized, but we didn't know exactly where. "I'll be out in a second."
He nodded and left me be, where I took in a deep breath. Each mission was terrifying- I never knew exactly what was going to be thrown at me so I had to be prepared for everything, hiding for days, a gun fight, a drive by, protesters or rival gang members. With one swift movement I tied my laces and stood up.
I was ready.
-------------------------------------------------------
Across the alley Lachlan gestured for me to continue forwards, according to him it was clear and I had to trust his judgement. It was clear and I was able to sneak through part of the market without being stopped or even really looked at. Lachlan followed behind, his shoulders hunched to make himself seem shorter and about a minute later Mitch rounded the corner- through his shirt I could just make out the vague outline of a gun.
We communicated without words, nodding in the direction we would head and using gestures to tell each other the way was clear. We didn't need to talk, our movement was synchronised and we knew where the others would go, which was what made our group so perfect for stealth missions.
As we approached our target, a small building just on the outskirts of the market, the three of us split up, Lachlan knocking on the door of a house opposite and quickly slipping out of sight, Mitch heading further down to street to set up his position and I headed to the buildings neighbour. I would have to scale it and hide on the roof, the most dangerous job of all of us.
Given my small size I was able to scramble up the multiple story building with ease, rolling onto the roof while keeping my head down, making sure I wasn't spotted. Once I was up there I settled down, binoculars in hand and ear piece in to be able to contact the other boys if needed, and got prepared. They were holding a meeting in the room mere metres away from me, and I needed information.
I heard them entering the room and sitting down, but what I wasn't expecting was a voice I knew very well. Simon was there, and so was Tobi. I had thought that only their underlings would be there, so something bigger was clearly going on. I whispered into the earpiece.
"Boys, there's something bigger going on here. Two of the big ones are here." Lachlan swore, his thick accent showing.
"Oh for fuck's sake! I thought this was going to be a small movement, that's what we've got before now!" Mitch was silent, but I could tell he was pissed off. He was only quiet when he was pissed. "I'll call backup, we need the others."
"You do you, but keep them away from me. I'm in position, I need time to get this information."
"Alright, out."
There was no more talking, and I moved my attention back to the room. They were talking now, a mixture of voices that I couldn't understand, until a third voice slammed their fist on the table- JJ, goddamn it. More trouble.
"Shut up!" He roared. "What are you, fuckin' idiots! We're here to discuss our plans, not for you to argue about who betrayed who!" Then Simon spoke.
"We're here discuss our takeover of the Laten District. Tomorrow. You know, the plan that is meant to be enacted tomorrow?!" Another desk slam. "You lot are useless!"
"Laten District, tomorrow." I hissed. "Alert the others."
"Oh we're prepared for that one." Lachlan said, his voice steely. "They don't know what they're walking into."