𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 a deep breath, Noah stood up in front of the hundreds of residents of Everwinter. "All I have wanted to do since losing loved ones to this poisoned reality was to find peace again. I created this community for people to find that safety and peace with me, and I was going to stop anyone that threatened that fact. Those individuals were living amongst us."
Each face in the audience, from young to old, held expressions of worry, but also hope, as Noah continued, "Valta has always been our biggest threat, after being dormant for two years, we've had only bad interactions since then. But it seems that they seek the same goal of peace, I never wanted to believe it, but they might actually be able to help us."
"Our time avoiding war is gradually running thin, we need to be strong as a community to overcome what is waiting for us. Mackenzie and West are planning to destroy every last bit of Everwinter, if they can't kill me. We're going to make sure that that doesn't happen."
"We need an army of defences, everyone that is above the age of eighteen with no physical ailments and combat training, please stand on my left. The rest, we are making arrangements for evacuation to a safe shelter for your safety. It is crucial that we have everybody able to fight there alongside us, so that we can keep our home alive." Noah took a deep sigh and continued, "Some of us may not make it, the same goes for the Valtan army, it'll be as though we're fighting ourselves, but to ensure the safety of our community, it has to be done."
Noah gradually concluded and stepped down, encouraging a growth of murmurs. Monet crossed her arms, as Noah returned to his place beside her, Sasha and Zara. His eyes were focused on Sebastian, who took over to explain preparations, but he felt as though he was standing outside of his own body. His thoughts had drifted so far from what was at hand, conflicted on whether trusting Angelo was the best idea.
Monet's gaze was trained on the people of Everwinter. Those that had been moved off to the left were struggling to keep their composure from the fear slowly growing. She pursed her lips, she prayed they wouldn't crumble. Goldcrest had failed, she hoped Everwinter wouldn't have the same ending.
"Both of you," Sasha tutted in a low whisper, she finally caught the attention of Monet and Noah, after repeatedly trying to speak to them. "what the hell did you mean with that speech, what aren't you telling us all? You lot are making me worried."
"Yeah, it's scaring me. You think Angelo might help us?" Zara quizzed. Both Noah and Monet remained silent. He had only confided in her about the abrupt conversation with Angelo the night prior. He wanted to speak to him first, before he worried anyone else.
So, he sighed, returning his attention to Sebastian without uttering a word. He just had to be sure first... for his own sake.
•
Monet entered the abode she had become so accustomed to, as she held two flamboyantly-designed glasses from her brother's apartment. She walked into the kitchen to find Noah sat at the breakfast bar with his head in his hands. She placed the glasses down and removed her coat, which was just enough to catch his occupied attention.
"I found the nicest patterns he had, since I promised." she spoke, once his eyes fell to the glasses. He gently smiled. "You want a glass? You look like you could use it."
"Please." he answered lowly. She rinsed the glasses and opened a bottle of Jack Daniels whiskey that sat on the rack at the top of a shelf. She soon slid the half full glass in his direction, he cupped it but didn't drink, investigating the detail of the glass instead.
Monet sighed with her swallow, "The sun is setting in a few hours. Have you decided on whether to go or not? You've got that 'lost fish' look on your face. Always making that damn face when you're thinking too hard." she continued. He lifted his eyes and found a cheeky smile sitting upon her lips.
"'Lost fish'?" He soon broke into laughter.
"Yeah, man, your eyes are all big and you look confused as hell. You better not be creating bad scenarios about meeting Angelo." She shifted from her position across from him and gradually moved into his arms. He squeezed her at the waist tightly, wanting to warm up her cold skin due to the icy weather.
"I need a plan for us to win, if I don't come back from that meeting alive." he stated.
Monet abruptly pulled back, "Bruv, what do you mean you ain't coming back alive? Angelo isn't going to bloody kill you. I don't wanna be pessimistic, but I don't think we will win without his help." she retorted.
"The opposition is going to willingly help us defeat them?" Noah asked back. It sounded ridiculous, he knew it and so did she.
"We don't have an army." she contended firmly. "I don't know if you really saw the looks on people's faces when you were speaking this morning. It was fear. I've seen it before, the people of Goldcrest were so fearful for their lives that they lost them. People don't wanna die, so many people already have, and if we fight this alone, more people will."
"So, you trust Angelo?"
"Trust is a big word, but I've seen Valta, it makes me deep how similar you two are. I know he won't want to lose all of his hard work—especially since it reminds him of his mother. They're scared too, they don't want to lose more people either. Working together will turn Mack and West's plan in on itself, they'll be seriously outnumbered." Monet explained, Noah sighed heavily, his eyes averting from hers for a moment. She waited patiently for his response, to which he simply resumed his tight hold at her waist.
"Okay, I trust you, chérie. Je compte sur toi." he mumbled into her neck. "I want you to come with me, for good luck..."
"Good luck?" she quizzed, cushioning her cheek against the side of his head.
"Yeah... and to chop his head off if he tries anything." She snorted. "Don't laugh, you look so cool when you fight, like my little sexy ninja." The more he said, the harder Monet laughed. She pulled back and held his face in her hands. His hazel brown eyes inspected her, dilating as he smiled.
"He won't hurt you, I'll make sure of that." she assured. He nodded softly, raising his chin to kiss her lips.
•
Parking the rover into an alleyway, Noah and Monet continued on foot further into the central city. The daylight-saving sun fell just after five p.m, adhering to the quiet, cold streets. Once they'd followed the one-way road to King William Street, they'd soon reached the beginning of London Bridge.
The sight of the area was enough to make Noah halt in his tracks—Monet noticed. His brows etched together, as his eyes began to form an image to a recollection of the memory he tried so hard to bury.
He could see Travis falling to the ground and the heated gunfight that struck Murphy and Sasha's screams that rang through his ears like sirens. The blood. He could see his life slipping away, while Angelo and the Valtans retreated, and West's fury. The blood. The small box that he gave him and his trembling hands that released pressure from his friend's wound—
"Noah," Monet redirected his focus onto her, "hey, eyes on me and nothing else." He blinked a few times, noticing the tightness in his throat and chest. He eventually exhaled the breath he hadn't realised he was holding. "It's okay. Just keep your eyes on me." She turned him around so that he wasn't looking towards the water.
It'd been almost six months since Murphy had passed, maybe more, she wasn't sure; it was one of the only things she was able to forget. She even remembered where she hid when the gunshots began. She took a deep breath herself, focusing on comforting Noah, who was trying to steady his breathing. She gently stroked the backs of his hands and watched for Angelo near the intersection by the water.
Angelo arrived ten minutes later, drawing from his cigarette once more before stamping out the smoke on the ground. He heavily exhaled, nervously stepping out of hiding and into the quiet street. Angelo never liked leaving the walls and if he did, he liked having the bird's eye view of it all. After the death of his mother, this irrational loathing gradually grew, even though contact with Noah never spurred until more than two years later.
He approached the railing seeing over the embankment by the bridge. The water was opaque, with only the remnants of the sun illuminating the water gradually moving towards the English Channel.
He turned around, leaning back against the railing and exhaling. He soon spotted two familiar faces approaching him. He actually came, Angelo sighed with relief. He met them in the middle, his eyes almost instantly falling to the pretty girl that Noah had such a soft spot for—that imbecile's sister, Monet. It didn't take him much longer to see that their hands were clasped together.
"How cute," he commented with a small smile, "I'm glad you decided to meet me, even though I didn't know I was allowed a plus one too."
"Just get to your plan," Noah heaved impatiently, being so close to the bridge was making him uncomfortable, he was trying so hard to avoid having to deal with a lapse of post-traumatic stress so close to this brewing war.
"Right. I hope you know that I am sorry, firstly, there wasn't meant to be anyone dead that night, my Ascots were meant to get in and out with the help of West; obviously that didn't go to plan due to his fragile ego. He'd told me that Mackenzie was locked up and that I had to be the one to kill you, I had no problem with doing so until you apologised. After despising you for all these years, I'm actually glad that I never completely had the strength to kill you. I do want a truce."
"I appreciate that." Noah replied lowly.
"On another note, Mackenzie and West are fucking crazy. The Everwinterian ammo crates were meant to be payment towards a man named Dixon, he was the leader of the Drifters. Valta have been in debt to them even before my mum passed. He was agitated recently because Travis was actually one of his men." Angelo explained.
Noah asked in confusion, "Who the fuck are these Drifters?"
"They're like a biker gang in south London. They're a small circle of tapped individuals, they don't care about anyone but themselves. You get too close and they kill you on the spot." Monet answered, drawing the attention to her.
"You've run into them?" Angelo questioned.
"When I was with a group leaving Oxford, we got too close to one of their posts along the M25 is the south-west. Few of us survived but they were enslaved and tortured, I think I was the only one that got away." she shortly described, her voice gradually diminishing as she concluded. Noah gave her hand a gentle squeeze.
"Yeah. They're pretty bad, but Dixon is dead, shot in the back of the head by Mackenzie in my bloody meeting room. I was thankfully able to convince the remaining Drifters to help us, since they already took a disliking to West. I think we should leave him to them."
"No." Monet asserted, "I'll deal with my brother."
"Mo," Noah strained. By the stone-cold expression on her face, Angelo thought it'd be best if he refrained from asking why, if she was going to get the job done then that was all that mattered to him.
"Fair enough," he nodded. "Now, their plan is to move at full speed towards Everwinter, it seems like they'll kill anyone in their way to get to you, Noah, this is why your defence is really important. I don't want either of us to lose people on the way, but we need to use that as a decoy, having you separated from Everwinter will ensure that they won't break down your doors looking for you.
"Don't fight with guns, we need the fight to uphold as long as possible to kill the two of them. My army know who to listen to, and those two don't have the upper hand on that. More like than not, we should have minimal casualties at our decoy. If she has West, all you have to worry about is killing Mackenzie before he kills you. I'm sure you have a few grievances to air out."
"And where will you be?" Noah narrowed his eyes.
"The majority of the Valtan army work from the rooftops, myself included. They are deciding to centre their attack on you in Stratford, so we'll have you situated a little away from the area, giving me the opportunity to back you if shit goes left." Angelo fished into his pocket and pulled out a folded map of the city. He crouched and laid it out on the ground, flashing a small pocket torch over a specific area.
"I'll have my Ascots surrounding this designated area in the Leyton county. If it means you drive yourself there, do whatever you can to let me back you up. I'm pretty certain the two of them will be carrying rifles. I suggest you have as many people as you can in bulletproof vests. If not, I'll try to arrange a meeting point for you to collect some from me without the two men's knowledge." he offered, glancing up at Noah who stared at him as if he was trying to decipher such a complex puzzle.
"You have this so thought out." Noah stated, it made him realise how little they were prepared for the havoc Mack and West were soon to cause.
"Revenge leads you to create a plan for everything. I just never suspected that I'd be using these to help you instead." Angelo shrugged, folding the map and handing it to Noah.
With details of attack and defence sorted, they stood up. A few walkers nearby caught Monet's attention and she drew her blades to take care of them, while the two men continued to converse. Angelo tilted his head with intrigue at her expertise with her choice of weapon. "I've gotta say, despite your odd choice of distasteful friends, I think you've got a good girl." he smiled.
Noah pulled a face before poking his finger into his shoulder, "If you plan to give me some man-to-man bullshit right now, I swear I'll punch you." They soon chuckled with one another.
"How long have you liked her?" the Valtan leader asked.
"Few months. Your abduction really put a few things in perspective." Noah mumbled, turning his head also to witness her slice through a walker with a backhanded spin.
"Rah, then you're welcome." Noah rolled his eyes at his charisma. "Do you know if you love her, though?"
"So you really want me to rock your jaw?" Noah jokingly quizzed, lifting his left fist intimidatingly.
"Hey, I'm just wondering, mate." Angelo chuckled, "Just tell her, when you know, yeah? You never know the last time you'll ever say it to someone in this poisoned world."
Monet returned before Noah had the chance to reply. She wiped down her blades with a cloth, as Angelo gave them both a wide grin. "Keep that burner close, and stay alive, lovebirds." he instructed as his farewell, sauntering off along the path and into the darkness.