Saturday June 23, 2023

make a u-turn when possible the GPS chimed with an automated female voice.

"God dammit," Ella mumbled and turned her blinker on to take a right for the u-turn.

"Just put the car in automatic," Ari stated, his voice gruff.

"I don't like automatic, I prefer to have control," she refused and made the right turn, hand over hand.

Ari shook his head and looked out his passenger side window, "you're not even good at driving."

"Excuse me?"

"You can't even follow directions, it said to turn left not right!"

She sighed and checked her mirrors before switching to make the correct turn, following the GPS directions as she was directed, "I was in the wrong lane, it's not my fault!"

They both fell silent as they pulled onto the side road, only the sound of tires swooshing through a thin layer of water filled the silence between them. The headlights from oncoming traffic flashed through the windshield occasionally and lit up the otherwise dark interior of the car. Ari checked his burner phone and read a text before setting it down on his lap and looked over to her.

"It's not too late," he said. His voice had changed, it was gentle and quiet- like an adult placating a child throwing a tantrum.

"This was your idea too, don't tell me your backing out now," she bit out, not bothering to take her eyes off the road to look at him.

He pursed his lips before leaning back in his seat, "I just think we need more time." 

"No, we do this now or never. If we don't do this, the war may never end!"

"If we do do this, the war could get worse. We're outnumbered and out-powered!"

"That's why this strike is so important. They are already seeing that we won't stop- if we hit them harder than we ever have, they'll get the hint," she attempted to convince herself more than Ari.

They drove past a refugee camp, one of hundreds in Philadelphia just like it. Despite the war that raged on, there were several cities that were deemed "safe zones". These cities were often under the control of the Ousia and no one dared fight within those zones, not due to fear of being shot down but because despite the disagreement on the front between the Ousia and Syndicate they could agree that the innocents needed a place to stay. No one dare betray that trust or sanctuary. 

"This is too much of a gamble. When you assassinated Faust back in '19, you said the same thing."

"Yeah, and now we have an army."

"Who're losing," Ari shouted and pounded his fist on the dashboard.

"You-"

In one mile, turn right, the GPS instructed.

Ella sighed, "we can't let them win and we can't win if we don't make tough calls."

"This is more than a tough call, Ella-" Ari startled slightly when his phone buzzed on his lap.

"Jumpy much, Ari," she blew a single harsh breath through her nose.

"The others have arrived."

As she glanced at the GPS she looked at the calculated arrival and nodded, "we're nearly there. Call them and tell them to get into position." 

Just as Ari was about to send out the text, it buzzed again; "they already are. North, South, and West entrances are covered- just waiting for us."

"We're nearly there," she repeated.

Ari shook his head, "explain to me again where you got this information. This is a safe zone, why do you think they're radicalizing here?"

"I have a network of spies in all the safe zones, they said there is a lot of Huijari movements. They're taking advantage of the safe zones and radicalizing the refugees. They have all, Ousia and their sympathizers, been convening once every two weeks at the Arena. This is our chance..."

"You said there are Litosts in there, we're going to kill them too?"

"They made their choice," she replied darkly, her voice strange even to her own ears.

"Not all of them!"

"It doesn't matter."

"Ella, no, c'mon. It's not too late, I'll call it off and we can go home..."

Her phone rang and she brought it up to her ear, "Michael," she greeted.

El, where are you?"

"I'm pulling into the parking lot now, I'll be in position in less than five minutes," Ella informed moments before she swiped her finger across the screen and dropped the phone in the center console.  

She pulled into a space and turned the car off before resting her hands in her lap- letting silence fill the space between them for a moment. The rain pattered on the roof and lightning flashed in the sky, illuminating Ari's hardened expression. Ella took a deep breath but refused to look over to him as she spoke, "are you with me?"

The delay in his response was nearly insufferable but when he spoke his voice was even and clear, "yes."

Ella simply nodded, stuffed the car key in her pocket, and opened her door. Ari took an extra moment in the car before getting out and met her at the back of the vehicle. She opened the trunk where they kept the duffel bags, they each took one, their arms jerking with the sudden weight of the bags. They kept their heads low, to avoid their faces being seen by parking lot cameras and keep the rain out of their eyes, as they walked to the East entrance of the building. 

They slipped in the glass door and made the practiced walk to the East Balcony. The Huijari and potential joiners all gathered in the lower levels, listening as the new spokesperson of the Ousia in Philadelphia shouted his propaganda like a deranged dictator attempting to rise to power.

As they slowly made their way to the top, Ella nodded at Ari to make the call to the others who awaited their orders. He handed his duffel bag to her and she got to work. 

"All teams, you're green," Ari announced, his voice hushed.

An accompaniment of confirmations chimed over the line as the other three teams made the same moves for the other balconies. 

As Ari worked with the others over the radio, giving orders and offering support questions, Ella unpacked the bags of electronics and attachments. As she inserted the explosives into the devices and laid them out, she started to feel hot; adrenaline coursed through her and she started to lose her concentration and her fingers trembled slightly. She began to wire the packs together her mind dwelling on the past, in an attempt to predict the future but she  found she couldn't comprehend the present. The voices of the Huijari congregation began to swell but she barely heard them over the sound of her own heartbeat thumping in her ears.

Ari put a hand on her shoulder and she jumped slightly before turning her head to look up at him, "Jesus, Ari, what?"

"I just got an SOS from the north side, they're having a hard time arming the device. I'm going to head over and help them," he informed quickly but didn't wait long for a confirmation. 

She barely got a chance to acknowledge before he ran down the stairs and around the balcony walkway to get to the north side team. As Ella worked on clearing her mind and finishing assembling the device, the collective group below turned quiet- only a single speaker filled the auditorium with his voice. Once she'd finished her job, flicked the switch on the side of the metal casing and watched as the red numbers lit up the small screen and started to count down from ten minutes. Ella watched the numbers transform one by one with each second that passed, knowing what each second meant but she couldn't bring herself to move- her eyes fixated on the blinking lights.

"North is moving to evacuate," Ari's voice came from her earpiece and Ella slowly pulled out of her reverie. She blinked once as she listened for the other voices that confirmed they had left the building and were moving to evacuate the immediate area. Ari announced directly to Ella that he was leaving in team North's van, she confirmed her understanding absentmindedly and rose to her feet.

Down from the balcony and in the main strip that surrounded the auditorium, where concession stands and small souvenir shops were closed down with metal gates and partitions, Ella made her way to the exit as quiet as she could while jogging.  As she was making the final turn to the side exit, a blond woman stepped out from the bathroom to Ella's left and they nearly collided with one another, meeting face to face. Both women had eyes as wide and round as possible in surprise but a quick glance up and down from the blond woman and she relaxed- as if she recognized Ella.

"Why are you here," the woman asked, her tone light and sweet.

Ella blinked and diverted her gaze to the exit, "I was just leaving."

"This war... it's killed so many," as she spoke, the woman nodded gently and held Ella's gaze with her soft blue eyes.

"Hopefully it won't last much longer," Ella swallowed hard.

"You know, there is evil on both sides."

Ella  looked to the door once again as though the gesture would communicate her need to leave but the woman's statement caught her attention and she met her gaze once more. "Evil," she echoed.

The woman smiled gently, "sometimes, people who try to do right by the ones they love end up doing the worst of things. Acts of war are inherently evil- there will always be casualties and innocents will never be spared."

Her lips parted and Ella found it difficult to breathe evenly, "why are you here then?"

"My husband received the LNC and he's here. The Ousia may not have the best of methods but their cause is righteous."

Ella furrowed her brows, "I don't understand. You talk about evil on both sides but you think their cause is righteous? Which is it?"

"The two extremes will never be right, the only way we're going to stop the wars is to understand one another better- to be empathetic to one another's causes and hope that the reasonable on both sides will eventually outnumber the extremists," the woman tucked her hair behind her ear and offered another smile before sidestepping Ella to rejoin the congregation.

Ella looked out to the door as the woman's footsteps receded behind her, "but..." she started and pivoted to watch the woman leave but instead of the blond she came nose to nose with Michael, who stood in front of her with wide eyes and breathing heavily through an open mouth.

"I've been looking everywhere for you, we only have two minutes," he said in a harsh, breathless tone.

She searched the hall behind him, looking for the woman, "she knows."

Michael looked over his shoulder then back at her, "what?"

"She knew, I have to- this is wrong. We have to disarm the devices!"

As Ella moved to go back into the auditorium, Michael stuck out his arm and wrapped it around her waist to keep her from going, "No, it's too late- we need to evacuate!"

"Then we warn them! Get everyone to evacuate!"

"Then what? Be executed, replaced, worse?! No," he started to pull her towards the exit, "we're leaving."

She fought him, clawing at his arm to pull it away from her, "No! This is wrong- evil. We can't do this- there's too much innocence-"

"It's too late... if you stay- I'm not leaving without you. We'll both die."

Ella didn't need to look at her watch to know they were out of time and she didn't want to keep Michael in danger but she couldn't leave- not now. Before she could utter another protest or move to escape his grasp once again, she heard the door squeak open and felt the rush of cool air and the mist of rain water on her skin. He'd dragged her outside. It was too late, if she managed to run in and get to the first device she'd barely touch it before they went off.

She stopped struggling, for his sake more than her own- the longer she forced him to drag her the less chance they had at escaping the blast. Finding the mental ability, Ella glanced at her watch: they had less than a minute to get away from the auditorium. They got into her car, both of them soaking wet, and he drove away manually- pedal to the metal.

They weren't going to get to a safe distance in time, they both knew it, and so they buckled their seat belts and he turned the car to automatic. The car slowed to the speed limit and they both braced for impact, their eyes looking to the sideview mirrors- waiting for the explosion. When it happened; a bright white light followed by vibrant orange and red ball of fire, Ella felt a tear slip down her cheek- her hands trembling. She'd committed a war crime- one that cost so much more than innocent lives but her own humanity and the humanity of the soldiers she'd ordered to commit it with her.

The shockwave created by the explosion moved like a wave of dust and cement chunks- visible in the mirrors. Ella closed her eyes as she felt the car lurch forward and fly into the air. There was a weightless sensation moments before she was forced into a dreamless, unconscious, darkness.